The event that triggered today’s story is a wedding that took place in Perryville, Missouri 140 years ago on this date. That would be where this pair got started, but it certainly would not be where this couple remained all their lives. Let’s begin with the groom.

Louis Phillip Hooss was born on November 15, 1858, the son of Henry and Barbara (Fath) Hooss. Louis was the 7th of 9 children born into this family according to our German Family Tree. A few of the early children born to Henry and Barbara were baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, but the records for most of the others are mentioned in the reconstructed records of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Perhaps that is where Louis was baptized. He is found in the 1860 census at the age of 1. His parents operated a hotel in Perryville, so you see in this census entry that this household does not just include Hooss children, but also many other individuals who were residing at the hotel.

If you would like to read more about the earlier history of the Hooss family and the history of their hotel, you can do so by reading this previous post, White House Builder’s Bride’s Bicentennial Birthday?

Louis’s father died in 1868, so we do not see him in the next census in 1870. At that time, Louis was 11 years old.

The last census entry in which Louis was still unmarried is the one taken in 1880. Louis, at the age of 21, was called a carpenter.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Louis’s bride. Her name was Maria Anna Koch, who was born on June 10, 1860. Mary was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of George and Anna (Sterkel or Strobel) Koch. I was unable to find the Koch’s in the 1860 census for Cincinnati, and even if I did, we may have not seen Mary in their entry because she may have been born after the census was compiled. Then, apparently sometime in the 1860’s, the Koch’s moved to Perryville. That is where we find Mary when the 1870 census was taken. She was 9 years old, and her father was a brewer. Mary’s later obituary states that her father’s brewery was located on the east side of the courthouse square in Perryville. Mary was the only child in the household.

Next, we find Mary in the 1880 census at the age of 19. Just she and her mother were listed in this entry. The “D” in the marital status column indicates that Mary’s parents had gotten divorced.

That leads us up to the wedding that took place on April 15, 1884, 140 years ago today. The marriage between Louis Hooss and Mary Koch took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can take a look at a transcription of this couple’s church marriage record. It says that Louis was a cabinet maker.

The Missouri marriage license for this pair is pictured here.

Our German Family Tree lists 3 children born to Louis and Mary. They were each baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. Their firstborn child died in infancy and is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. The 1900 census illustrates that this Hooss couple had moved to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Louis had changed professions. Now he is called a dry goods merchant. In addition to their 2 children, we see 3 other lodgers in their household. Perhaps they had a multi-purpose building used as a house, a store, and a hotel.

The Hooss family did not remain in Poplar Bluff. When the 1910 census was taken, we find them living in St. Louis. Louis was called a commercial traveler (traveling salesman) for a clothing company. Earlier that year, their daughter, Isabella, had married Cary Townsend, who was a medical doctor.

When the 1920 census was taken, we see that the Hooss’s had gone to Oklahoma City to live with their daughter and her husband, the Townsend’s. Louis had the same type of job, a traveling salesman for a clothing company.

The Hooss’s were not done traveling yet. In the 1930 census, Louis and Mary were living in San Antonio, Texas. No occupation was given for the 71 year-old Louis.

Mary Hooss died in 1934 at the age of 73. Texas is a state that makes some of their death certificates available to the public. Mary’s death certificate is pictured here. It says Mary was born in Germany, but I do not think that is correct.

Back in Perryville, an obituary was published in the newspaper on the occasion of Mary’s death. It is shown in 2 images below. You may have to click on them to make them readable.

The above obituary says that at one time the Hooss’s operated the Hotel Koch which at a later time was called the Juanita Hotel. I have been told that the Juanita Hotel was also once called the Hotel Perry, which is shown in an early photograph of Perryville here. So, it looks like Louis grew up in a hotel and would later be involved in operating another one, followed by him taking in lodgers when he lived in Poplar Bluff.

Louis Hooss was not done traveling. He moved once again prior to the 1940 census, but he is still found in Texas. In that year’s entry, we find him at the age of 81 and living in Donna, Texas, which is located in the vicinity of McAllen. It says that Louis was farming. A lodger, R.M. Bacon, who was 69 years old, and his wife, were living in Louis’s household. R.M. was also said to be farming.

Louis Hooss died in 1949 at the age of 90. His Texas death certificate below says he was a retired salesman.

Both Louis and Mary Hooss are buried in the Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City, but Findagrave.com does not have gravestone photos for them.

Not only was Louis Hooss a traveling salesman for much of his life, but he and his wife did plenty of traveling themselves. For a man who began his life living in a hotel, then operating a hotel, Louis must have spent many a night staying in hotels as he traveled selling his wares.