Pastor John Krueger served Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar from 1900-1924. It was the last congregation that he served, and he is buried in that congregation’s cemetery. Rev. Krueger and his wife had 6 children, all of whom had been born before this pastor arrived in Farrar. Their oldest son died right away, so the next son would become the oldest son in the family. That son will be a highlighted character in this story.

John William Paul Krueger was born on October 3, 1882 in Otter Tail County, Minnesota where his father was a young pastor. John was the son of John and Gabriele (Plass) Krueger. One must automatically assume that this baby boy was baptized at that Lutheran church by his father. The photo of John Krueger shown here was perhaps his confirmation picture.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, we cannot see John in a census entry until he was a teenager in 1900. When that census was taken, John is found living in the Leonard Miller family as a boarder. That family was living in Lenawee County, Michigan. Although he is given no occupation in this entry, I think he was working as a farm laborer. This may have been where John learned the farming trade, since the son of a pastor usually does not have much opportunity to learn what it takes to be a farmer. John’s parents were also living not far away in Michigan when that year’s census was taken, but that would also be the year that they moved to Farrar.

John must have also moved to Farrar at about that time because he would get married in the first decade of the 20th century in Perry County. So, we will now look at the woman who would become his first wife. She is also today’s birthday girl. Her name was Sophie Adelheid Stemmermann, who was born on June 13, 1882, thus making today her 142nd birthday. Adelheid was the daughter of Herman and Mary (Heidt) Stemmermann. She was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can view her baptism record below.

Adelheid was also a teenager by the time we are able to see her in her first census in 1900. And we find her in those miserable pages for the Salem Township that are so difficult to read. Her father was a farmer.

The photo shown below includes the 4 Stemmermann daughters. I believe Adelheid is the one leaning on the porch post in the middle of the photo.

John Krueger married Adelheid Stemmermann on June 18, 1905 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. John’s father performed the wedding. The church record for this event is pictured here.

We can also view the Missouri marriage license for John and Adelheid.

Sadly, this marriage did not last long. About 4 months after they were married, Adelheid died in October of 1905. Missouri death certificates were not completed until 1910, so we cannot view one for Adelheid. The church record from Salem’s books says she died of typhoid. She is buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar and has an entry for that cemetery on Findagrave.com, but there is no gravestone photo.

John Krueger would get married again, so let’s take a look at his second bride. Her name was Martha Maria Fritsche, who was born in Germany on December 10, 1884. Martha was the daughter of Karl and Bertha (Boehme) Fritsche. In 1891, several members of the Fritsche family came to America aboard the ship, Oldenburg. Martha was said to be 5 years old, but I think she was a bit older.

Martha is found living in the Salem Township in the 1900 census, but she was not living with her mother. Her father had died in 1896. She is found working as a servant in the Ernest Bachmann household. Ernest was a farmer.

The widower, John Krueger, married Martha Fritsche on September 1, 1907 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Once again, John’s father performed the wedding ceremony.

The marriage license for this couple is pictured here.

The German Family Tree lists 6 children born to this pair, all of whom were baptized at Salem, Farrar. Just one of them was born prior to the 1910 census. John was a farmer in the Salem Township.

We find a farm owned by John Krueger in the atlas of plat maps produced in 1915. You can see that his farm was located not far from Farrar.

John had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918.

In the 1920 census, we find 5 children in the Krueger household, 2 daughters, followed by 3 sons.

The last census in which we find John is the one taken in 1930. One more daughter was born in the previous decade, and a few older children had moved away, so we see 4 children left who were living with their parents.

John Krueger died in 1935 at the age of 52. Heart issues caused his demise according to his death certificate below.

Martha Krueger is found as a widow in the 1940 census. Her son, Walter, is called the farmer, and another son, Gilbert, is called a farm laborer.

The last census we are permitted to view was the one taken in 1950. This time, Walter is called the head of the household, and he was married with 2 children. Martha was 66 years old at the time.

Martha Krueger died in 1952 at the age of 67. We can also take a look at her death certificate.

John and Martha Krueger are each buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.

John Krueger’s father was a Lutheran pastor. John, the pastor’s son, was never a pastor. Then, one of his sons, Raymond, became a Lutheran pastor, as we can see on Raymond’s World War II draft card below.

Sometimes, sons follow in their father’s footsteps; others do not. John did not follow in his father’s footsteps and became a farmer. Sometimes, grandsons follow in their grandfather’s footsteps. And in this case, that is what Raymond Krueger did.