The birthday boy for today is Martin Joseph Versemann, who was born on June 22, 1886, making today his 138th birthday. Joseph was the son of Henry and Ernestine (Eggers) Versemann. He was the 2nd of 3 boys born to Henry and Ernestine. Joseph was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed here.
Joseph is found in the 1900 census at the age of 13. This was also the year that Joseph was confirmed at Salem, Farrar. Prior to this census, Joseph’s mother had died in 1889. His father then married Emma Koening in 1891. Henry and Emma had 12 more children. So, in the entry shown below, we find 3 sons born to Henry’s first wife and 5 children born to his second wife. There was also a servant girl named Alvena Fiedler in their household. Joseph’s father was a farmer in the Salem Township.
Some time during the next decade, Joseph made the decision to move to New Mexico. I have written a few posts telling of Perry County natives that moved to an area near Logan, New Mexico. That is where we find Joseph in the 1910 census. Although Joseph is listed as the only person in his household, there were several other Perry County natives listed near him on the same census page. You will find the Charles Bronnenkant household, which included a girl named Bartie Barber, and the Emanuel Newberry household. Joseph was a farmer.
Several of the folks who migrated to New Mexico did not remain there long. That included Joseph. He would return to Perry County and was married here. So, it is time to look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Lina Rebekka Brueckner, who was born on October 1, 1889. Lina was the daughter of John and Catherine (Hesse) Brueckner. She was also baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Her baptism record is shown below.
Lina is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10. She was the last child born in her family. Her father was a farmer in the Salem Township.
Lina’s mother is missing from the above census entry. I found her in that year’s census as a patient in the State Lunatic Asylum #1 in Fulton, Missouri. Catherine would be found back in Farrar living with one of her daughters when the 1910 census was taken, but when she died in 1922, she was a patient at the state hospital in Farmington.
Lina’s father died in 1901, so it must have been a very traumatic time in her life with her mother living elsewhere and her father no longer living. She also had a brother who died in 1903, making matters even worse. I was unable to locate Lina in the 1910 census. I do know that she was not living with her mother and sister in Farrar when that census was taken. Perhaps she had gone to St. Louis to find work, but I was not able to find her there either.
On May 25, 1913, Joseph Versemann married Lina Brueckner at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can view this couple’s church marriage record below.
The Missouri marriage license for this pair is a bit unusual. The bottom portion of the form which includes the information about the location of the wedding and the pastor’s name is left blank.
This Versemann couple had 7 children born between 1914 and 1929. All of them were baptized at Salem, Farrar. When the Perry County plat maps were produced in 1915, we find some Joseph Versemann land located right along the Mississippi River where the Red Rock Landing was located.
As you can see on the map, the Red Rock Landing was located at a spot where the Mississippi River took a bend to the north. It was also where the railroad, which had begun operating in 1904, went inland away from the river and headed toward Menfro. A large area of bottomland existed between the railroad tracks and the river.
Joseph had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. This form says Joseph was both a farmer, and his employer was listed as the Red Rock Landing.
By the time of the 1920 census, the Versemann household included 2 children. Ancestry.com transcribes Joseph’s occupation as “Pard Con Co”. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it also says his business was “river landing”.
Joseph Versemann died in January of 1930, so he was not alive when the census was taken that year. Joseph was just 43 years old when he died. Cancer of the bowels is given as the cause of death on the certificate below. This form says Joseph was a landing keeper.
An obituary for Joseph was printed in the Perry County Republican.
The 1930 census for the Salem Township was submitted in April, so Lina was likely still a grieving widow with plenty of children, one of which was less than a year old. Lina is called a farmer, and her 16 year-old son was a farm laborer. There is also evidence that Lina was the landing keeper for a short while after her husband’s death.
The last census in which we find Lina was the one taken in 1940. It looks as if Oliver, Fred, and Harold were operating the Versemann farm.
Lina Versemann died in 1942 at the age of 53. She died of a stroke. Her youngest daughter, Delores, had just become a teenager prior to her mother’s death. Delores did not get confirmed until 1944.
This obituary for Lina was published in the Perry County Republican. This article notes that Lina was preparing to visit her ailing sister when she died. That sister died about 3 hours after Lina did.
Joseph and Lina are each buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.
When I first skimmed over some information about Joseph and Lina Versemann, I thought I might be telling the story of another couple who had spent their lives from cradle to grave living in the same place as members of the same church. However, I then discovered that Joseph spent some time in New Mexico. I think it is also likely that Lina was not living in Perry County when the 1910 census was taken. What I did find was the story of a woman who experienced quite a bit of tragedy during her life, and she even died at a relatively early age. Even her death was one that coincided with her sister’s death. I cannot help but think that the pastors at Salem must have had to console and counsel people in this Versemann/Brueckner family quite often.