I am once again away from Altenburg for a few days, so I will not be able to display any church records from our research library. However, I found a story that would not enable me to find any church record images anyway. The post will focus on the woman in the tale because she had 2 husbands.

Isabella Urban was born on September 10, 1866, the daughter of Emanuel and Theresa (Gertiser) Urban. I have no baptism information for Isabella. She is found in her first census in 1870 living in the Cinque Homme Township at the age of 3. Her father was a retail dry goods merchant.

Next, we find Isabella in the 1880 census at the age of 14. The Urban’s were living in the Union Township. I doubt if this family moved. The Union Township was established in the 1870’s, and the Urban’s must have been included in the new boundaries. Isabella was the oldest child in her family, which had grown considerably during the previous decade.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Isabella’s first husband. His name was Johann Conrad Wirth, who was born on October 11, 1858. Conrad was the son of Peter and Anna (Adler) Wirth. He was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so we are not able to view an image of his baptism record. Conrad is found in the 1860 census at the age of 1. He had several older siblings, and his father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

The 1870 census shows the Wirth household with 4 children. Conrad was called 9 years old, but that age must be incorrect.

I failed to find Conrad in the 1880 census. I failed to find his parents either. I even looked for him in the long-lost pages of the Union Township from that year. No success. I did, however, find Conrad in the Missouri state census that was taken in 1876.

Conrad Wirth married Isabella Urban on May 17, 1885, thus making today this couple’s 139th wedding anniversary. We are only able to look at this pair’s Missouri marriage license. We can tell from this document that they were married at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to this couple, but there are no baptism records associated with any of them. Their later gravestone shows the names of 6 children. In the 1900 census, we see this Wirth household with 5 children. Conrad was a farmer in the Salem Township.

A photo of Conrad and Isabella is shown here.

The 1900 census would be the last census entry in which we find Conrad Wirth because he died in 1908 at the age of 49. That left Isabella as a widow. We find her in the 1910 census in which she is called a farmer.

Isabella got married again. Her second husband was Edward Lane, who was the son of Joseph and Mary (Knox) Lane. Edward was likely born and raised as a member of the Brazeau Presbyterian Church in Brazeau. Based on an Ancestry.com family tree, it looks as if Edward had married Fannie Milster, who then died in 1901. Then he married Anzie Milster in 1908, and that marriage ended in divorce. Then, on July 12, 1913, Edward Lane married Isabella Wirth. We can look at that couple’s Missouri marriage license.

In the plat map atlas produced in 1915, we find the R.E. Lane farm located near the town of Brazeau.

The Lane’s are found in the 1920 census in which we see Edward as a farmer in the Union Township. There was a servant girl named Dorothy Swan living with them.

Next, we find the Lane’s in the 1930 census in which we find just Edward and Isabella.

Isabella’s life came to a tragic end in 1933 at the age of 66. She was shot by her husband, who then attempted to commit suicide. I could describe other details about this death, but I find it too unpleasant. Isabella’s death certificate below gives the cause of death as homicide.

Below is an obituary for Isabella.

Later, Edward Lane, who survived his suicide attempt, would be declared insane by a court of law and went to the state hospital in Farmington.

Isabella was buried together with her first husband, Conrad Wirth, in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Crosstown. That is a Baptist church, which is likely why we do not have any baptism records in our German Family Tree. Their gravestone lists 6 children.

It makes sense to me, that after such a tragic death, Isabella would be buried with Conrad. I also find the inscription, “Sheltered and safe from sorrow” to be especially meaningful after Isabella lost her first husband at such an early age and then having her life taken in a homicide.