I will be sharing what may be called a typical story today. I could call it a “Ma and Pa Farmer and Their Family” tale. This one is not one of those stories that takes us all over the country with men changing occupations often. The one thing that makes this tale a bit different than most is the fact that it appears that Ma and Pa attended different churches.

I will begin with Pa. August Hermes Ochs was born on November 17, 1868, the son of Henry and Barbara (Popp) Ochs. I believe August was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. He is found in the 1870 census at the age of 1. His father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township. August’s grandfather, Conrad Ochs, was also living in this household.

In the 1880 census, August was 11 years old. He was the oldest child in his family. Grandpa Conrad had more grandchildren to live with by this time.

We cannot view another census entry until the one taken in 1900, and August got married before then, so we will now take a look at Ma. Her name was Clara Maria Meyer, who was born on February 18, 1877. Clara was the daughter of Andrew and Mary Jane (Bloom) Meyer. She was also baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Clara is found in only one census we can view before she got married, the one taken in 1880. She was 2 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Central Township.

August Ochs married Clara Meyer on May 9, 1895, so today would be this couple’s 129th anniversary. These two were married at Peace, Friedenberg. The Missouri marriage license for them is displayed here.

This was not the first marriage between an Ochs and a Meyer. August’s uncle, Michael Ochs, had married Clara’s aunt, Magdalena Meyer, in the previous generation in 1861. It would also not be the last Ochs/Meyer wedding. In the story, Erwin Ochs Marries a Neighbor Meyer Girl, there was another such marriage that took place in 1920.

According to our German Family Tree, August and Clara had 9 children, most of which were baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. Their second child, Clarence, was just the 4th baptism to be included in that new congregation’s records in 1897.

In the 1900 census, we find the Ochs household living in the Cinque Hommes Township. Ma and Pa had just 2 young children. A farm laborer named Felix Shoults was helping August on his farm.

The Ochs family is considerably larger when we see them in the 1910 census. A pair of twin girls had been born earlier in 1910. One more child would be born to August and Clara in 1913.

The 1910 census turned out to be the last one in which we find August. He died in 1914 at the age of 45. His death certificate below says he died of pneumonia. That left Clara as a widow with a bunch of children, including an infant.

An article about August’s death was published in the Perry County Republican.

The year after August died, Perry County produced an atlas of plat maps. We see the A.H. Ochs farm located right next to a church. That was York Chapel, a Methodist congregation just north of Longtown. This explains why the newspaper article says that August died at his home at York Chapel.

They did not have to take August’s body very far to be buried. He is buried in the York Chapel Cemetery. I will display his gravestone later. Clara is found in the 1920 census with 7 of her children still living with her. Ma Ochs was said to be farming. It must have been a very difficult time in her life. I have to think that her 2 oldest sons were helping with the farming, but this census entry does not indicate it.

The last census in which we find Clara was the one taken in 1930. Most of her children had gotten married an moved elsewhere. One of her daughters, Myrtle, died as a teenager in 1926. Myrtle was also buried in the York Chapel Cemetery. By 1930, Clara was living with her oldest son, Clarence, and his wife, Talitha.

Clara Ochs died on Christmas Day in 1933 at the age of 57. Her death record is found in the books of Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. That record and her death certificate give heart problems as her cause of death.

An obituary for Clara was published in the Perry County Republican.

Ma and Pa Ochs are buried together in the York Chapel Cemetery outside Longtown.

All appearances indicate that August Ochs at some point became a member of York Chapel, while Clara Ochs was a member of Zion Lutheran Church from the time of its establishment in 1897 until she died. The fact that so many Ochs children were confirmed at Zion might indicate that they also attended Zion Lutheran School in Longtown. I do not think York Chapel ever operated a school, but I could be wrong. I have to wonder if the members of this family might have attended York Chapel on occasion, not because they were official members, but because it was so close to their farm. If I could talk to descendants from this family, I might be able to confirm where these children went to school and what their worship habits were. As it is, I can only speculate. In conclusion, let me say that this Longtown Ochs duo was not a longtime Longtown duo, having each died at relatively young ages.