It has already been almost 6 years since a post was written on this blog about Delbert Schmidt turning 90 years old. Delbert and his wife, Dolores still are very active at our museum, serving faithfully as docents. They are an incredible pair. Today, you will read a post that tells the story of Delbert’s parents. It starts with mentioning that his mother would be celebrating her 125th birthday today.

Emily Hanna Lea Bachmann was born on March 13, 1899, the 9th of 10 children born to Joseph and Emily (Schmidt) Bachmann. Her name is written as Lea on her baptism record from the books of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, as well as other census records, but several other documents use the spelling, Leah. Her gravestone is inscribed with the name, Leah, so I will use that. We can view her baptism record below.

Leah was just 1 year old when she is found in her first census entry in 1900. You can see that she was part of a rather large family. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

A photo of this Bachmann family appeared in a later newspaper article that has been pictured on this blog before. That article claimed this photo was taken in 1897, but if that was true, Leah would not have been included with the family. Leah is the youngest child in this photo standing in front. One more child, a daughter named Olga, was born in 1907.

Leah was 11 years old when the 1910 census was taken. A few of her older brothers were helping their father on his farm.

Leah is found in one more census entry before she was married. Her father had died in 1915. The 1920 census lists Leah’s older brother, Enos, as the head of the household which included 3 Bachmann sisters along with their mother.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Leah’s husband. His name was Martin Jacob Schmidt, who was born on October 18, 1897. Martin was the 4th of 7 children of Martin and Elizabeth (Roth) Schmidt. He was often called Max during his life. His father also carried that nickname, so he was Max, Jr. I can also state that Max, Jr. was the nephew of the Schmidt twins who have been discussed on many occasions on this blog. Max was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of that baptism record is displayed below. I cannot help but notice that Max, Jr. was baptized on the 380th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

Max was 3 years old when the 1900 census was taken. At that point in time, he was the youngest child in the Schmidt family. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Like was the case with Leah’s Bachmann family, the Schmidt family had a photo taken when Max, Jr. was quite young. He is found in this picture standing in the back on the left. The youngest daughter sitting on her mother’s lap was born in 1910.

We find Max in the 1910 census at the age of 12. All 7 of the Schmidt children are included in this entry.

Max had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It gives him an Altenburg address and says he was working on his father’s farm.

In 1920, Max was in his 20’s and still living with his parents.

Max Schmidt married Leah Bachmann on the first day of 1925, January 1st. They were married at Leah’s congregation, Grace, Uniontown. The church marriage record for this wedding is pictured here.

We can also view the Missouri marriage license for this couple.

As a result of this marriage, Max Schmidt would also gain a mother-in-law who was originally a Schmidt, the product of another Bachmann/Schmidt marriage. Our German Family Tree lists 4 children born to Max and Leah, 2 boys and 2 girls. In the 1930 census, we see 2 children in their family, one of them being Delbert.

Next, we find the Schmidt’s in the 1940 census with all 4 of their children. Their youngest daughter, Dorothy, who married Al Hemman, is another great promoter of preserving the Lutheran history of this area, being involved in the operation of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna for many years.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. In that year’s entry, there were 3 remaining children living with their parents. Delbert was helping on his father’s farm, and I find it interesting that this entry also credits Leah with being a farm helper.

At some point later in their lives, Max, Jr. and Leah had this photo taken.

Max Schmidt died in 1976 at the age of 78; Leah Schmidt died in 1981 at the age of 82. Both Max and Leah are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

This story contains some interesting characteristics. First, it is one that includes not just one, but two, marriages of a Bachmann and a Schmidt. Also, it is not every day that I write a story that displays 3 separate census entries that include a person who is still alive. I know Delbert Schmidt certainly qualifies to be called an old man, but he certainly doesn’t act like it. I wonder if he’s out fishing at a local pond this morning, glancing up in the sky saying, “Happy Birthday, Mom.”