A baby boy was born on June 16, 1876, about 3 weeks before America celebrated their Centennial Fourth of July. That boy’s name was Stephen Ludwig Kasten, the son of Karl and Juliane (Lehner) Kasten. Stephan was child #4 in a family of 8. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed below. This document uses the spelling, Stephan, but his gravestone would use the spelling, Stephen, so I am going to use that spelling in this post.

Stephen is found in the 1880 census at the age of 3. His father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, we have to wait until the 1900 census was taken to see him again in a census entry. His father had died the year before in 1899. In 1900, Stephen was 23 years old and living with his brother, Reinhold, and his new family. Reinhold had married Lina Gaebler in 1898. Both Reinhold and Stephen were called merchants. I found a postmasters list that said Reinhold was named the postmaster in Shawneetown in 1900, so I think they had a store in that town.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Stephen’s bride. Her name was Mathilda Florentine Landgraf, who was born on October 11, 1881. Mathilda was the last child of 10 born to Herman and Mathilda (Naeser) Landgraf. Like Stephen, she was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Her baptism record is pictured here.

The first census in which Mathilda would have been found was the one taken in 1900, and by that time she was 19 years old. I was unsuccessful at finding her in that census. I do know that she was no longer living in her parents’ household in the Shawnee Township. She likely had found work elsewhere.

The picture below was taken after Mathilda was married, but she was included in this Kasten family photo. Since Mathilda was the youngest girl in the family, my best guess is that she is standing on the far left.

Stephen Kasten married Mathilda Landgraf on May 3, 1903. They were married at Immanuel, New Wells. The church record for that wedding is shown here. It says Stephen was from Shawneetown.

We are also able to view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

Stephen and Mathilda had just one child, a girl named Edna who was born in 1908. In the 1910 census, we find this small family. Stephen was a merchant at a general store.

Stephen had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This form says he was a laborer for Charles Gerharter, who was also the registrar on this document.

The 1920 census says Stephen was a carpenter. In addition to his wife and daughter, this entry says Mathilda’s widowed mother was also living with them.

During the 1920’s, the Kasten’s made a move to Cape Girardeau. The 1930 census has this family living in that city where Stephen was a clerk in a grocery store. It says their daughter, Edna, was also a clerk in a grocery store.

The map below shows the address at which the Kasten family lived in 1930.

When the 1940 census was taken, Stephen was called an assistant manager of a retail grocery, and Edna was a bookkeeper, probably at the same grocery store.

The last census we can view was the one taken in 1950. Stephen and Mathilda had an empty nest. This time Stephen, at the age of 73, was called a checkout man at a grocery store.

Stephen Kasten died in 1959 at the age of 82. His death certificate says he died at the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Edna Kasten, their daughter, is called the informant on this form. She had married Walter Frede. The registrar on this document also had the surname, Kasten.

Mathilda Kasten died in 1973 at the age of 92. She also died at St. Francis Hospital.

Stephen and Mathilda are each buried in the Cape County Memorial Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.

Stephen Kasten, although he grew up on a farm, went on to spend most of his life working in a store. I think he spent some of that time in positions of management, although I found no evidence that he was ever the proprietor of a store.