Around Perry County, the surname Hoehn rhymes with McLain. You will read a post today that describes a Hoehn woman who marries a McLain man. We begin with the birthday girl.

Hulda Emma Hoehn was born on May 25, 1894, thus making today her 130th birthday. Although our German Family Tree uses the spelling, Hulda, her later gravestone is inscribed with the name Holda, so that is what I will use. Holda was the daughter of George and Barbara (Lintner) Hoehn. She was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so, even if I was at home, I would not be able to display her baptism record. Holda is found in the 1900 census at the age of 6. She was the youngest of 3 daughters in her family. Her father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Holda was a teenager when the 1910 census was taken. She had been confirmed at Peace, Friedenberg in 1907. The same characters were included in this census entry, with the exception of a young farm laborer named Blaylock, who had been found in the previous entry.

In the atlas of plat maps produced for Perry County in 1915, we find the farm of George J Hoehn located west of Longtown.

The last census in which we find Holda as a single woman was the one taken in 1920. Her mother had died in 1910, so Holda, even though this entry does not say it, must have been the homemaker in this household made up of just her and her father.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Holda’s husband. His name was Elam Robert McLain, who was born on February 9, 1896. Elam was the son of David and Julia (Strong) McLain. I do not have any information to provide about Elam’s baptism, but there is later evidence that he and his family were Presbyterians. Elam is found in his first census in 1900 at the age of 4. He was the youngest of 6 children in his family. His father was a farmer in the Liberty Township of Cape Girardeau County, which is located on the western side of that county.

Next, we find Elam in the 1910 census as a teenager. At that time, the family was living in Cape Girardeau, and his father continued to farm. One of Elam’s older brothers, Thomas, had gotten married, and he and his wife were part of this household.

Elam had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He is given a Cape Girardeau address, and he was working as a shoe worker for the International Shoe Company.

In the 1920 census, Elam was a lodger in the Elsie Pair household in Cape Girardeau. Elam and several other young men in the household were working at the shoe factory.

Below is a photo of the International Shoe Company in Cape Girardeau.

Elam McLain married Holda Hoehn on December 11, 1926 in Jackson, Missouri. They were married by John Putz, a justice of the peace. I have written a post about the life of John Putz that has been published on this blog. This form says Holda was from Cape Girardeau. Her father had died in 1925, so I am guessing that she had moved to Cape Girardeau to find work after that. I suppose there is also the possibility that she found work at the International Shoe Company and met Elam there.

Elam and Holda had just one child, a girl named Mildred, who was born in 1929. We find the McLain family in the 1930 census living in Perryville. Elam is not given an occupation, although his later obituary states that he was transferred to the Perryville location of the International Shoe Company.

Elam McLain died in 1936 at the age of 40. His death certificate shown below says he died of pneumonia.

I located obituaries for Elam in both the Perry County Republican and the Perry County Sun. They each have different details about Elam’s life. You may have to click on the images below to enlarge them.

I failed to find Holda in the 1940 census, but she is found as a widow in the 1950 census. She and Mildred were living in Perryville where Holda was working at the shoe factory.

When Mildred was attending Perryville High School in 1946, she had this photo which appeared in that school’s yearbook.

Holda McLain died in 1976 at the age of 81. She died too recently for us to view her death certificate. She and Elam are buried in different cemeteries, even though they have similar gravestones, the type that contain a photograph of the person buried there. Elam is buried in the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Cemetery in Fruitland; Holda is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

There are 27 entries in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery on Findagrave.com that include the surname, McLain. Below is a photo of the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church which is located just outside Fruitland. The cemetery in next to the church.

To see them better, here are some enlargements of the photos of Elam and Holda found on their gravestones.

Sadly, Holda only had 10 years living with her husband and had to raise her daughter for a lot of years by herself. And Mildred was only 7 years old when her father died.