This past week, a group of cousins from the Schroeter family visited our museum and proudly proclaimed that they were Schroeter’s with a “T”. I will write a post about some Schroeder’s with a “D” today. Whether it is a Schroeter or a Schroeder, they are pronounced about the same, using a long “A” vowel sound. Meanwhile, there are some Schrader’s, many of which have roots in Randolph County, Illinois, who pronounce their name as Schr-ahh-der.
Johann Conrad Schroeder was born on August 20, 1821. The names of his parents found on some Ancestry.com family trees is somewhat puzzling. They say he was the son of Johann Baer and Barbara Schroeder. One must wonder how their baby took on the name, Schroeder. As for the baby, there are times when documents call him John and others that call him Conrad. Since he had a son named John that has already been discussed on this blog, I will use Conrad to avoid confusion. Conrad was born in the Bavarian region in Germany.
The woman who would become Conrad’s wife was Margret Barbara Wagner, who was born on August 12, 1825. Barbara was the daughter of John and Margarethe (Lutz) Wagner. She, too, was born in Bavaria. Conrad and Barbara would get married in 1849, but according to other documents that support this fact, this couple had a daughter, Anna Barbara, who was born on June 24, 1848, the year before this couple’s marriage. I figure there has to be a story there, but I do not know it.
Conrad Schroeder married Barbara Wagner on June 23, 1849, thus making today their special 175th anniversary. They were married in Germany. I am going to display a record below that says a Conrad Schroeder arrived in America in 1849 whose destination was Missouri. I am not 100% sure that this is the right person, but If Conrad arrived then, he must have come with a wife and a young child. His date of birth is correct on this image.
If the Schroeder’s came in 1849, it would have been possible to find him in the 1850 census, but I was unsuccessful at finding them. According to our German Family Tree, 5 more children were born to Conrad and Barbara in the United States. All of those were baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. This family can be see in the 1860 census living in the Bois Brule Township with 4 children. Included in their household was Conrad’s mother, Barbara. Conrad was a farmer.
During the Civil War, Conrad served some time in the Union Army. His record of military service is shown here. He had the rank of corporal under Captain Ochs.
The Schroeder’s last child, a son named William, was born in 1863 during that conflict. In the 1870 census, we find this household living in the Cinque Hommes Township. I think the Barbara Baer listed in this entry is Conrad’s mother, but this time she has the surname, Baer. I figure the Catherine Wagner living with them was related to Conrad’s wife, but I do not know how. Conrad had a few sons who were old enough to help him on his farm.
In 1876, Missouri compiled a state census, and we find the Schroeder family in it. This time, they were living in the Salem Township. It appears that Conrad’s mother must have died prior to this census.
The last census in which we find Conrad and Barbara was the one taken in 1880. Four children were still living with their parents.
In 1882, a new church was established not far from Longtown called Cross Congregation. Even though the term, Lutheran, is not always used to describe this congregation, it was basically a Lutheran church. It appears that Conrad and Barbara’s family were some of the first members of this church. That congregation only lasted until 1897, but it was during the time of their existence that Conrad and Barbara died. Also, because that congregation’s records are now found on Ancestry.com in a collection of Missouri Synod Lutheran church books, we can view this pair’s death records. Conrad died in 1884 at the age of 63. His death record is pictured here. This document confirms Conrad’s date of birth.
Three years later, Barbara Schroeder died in 1887 at the age of 62. Her death record is also found in the Cross Congregation records. They must have had a different pastor because the handwriting is different, and this pastor did not include (or did not know) Barbara’s date of birth.
Conrad and Barbara must have been buried in the Cross Congregation Cemetery, which was also known as the Holy Cross Lutheran Cemetery as well as the Dry Fork Cemetery and the Stumpf Cemetery. However, that cemetery’s site on Findagrave.com has no entries, and therefore no gravestone photos, for these two. Perhaps their gravestones are unreadable.
The Schroeder’s with a “D” seem to have lived mainly in the Friedenberg vicinity, while the Schoeter’s with a “T” centered around Frohna. Just this morning, though, I noticed that we had another family visit our museum yesterday who spelled their name, Schrader. They were from Alabama. And while I am mentioning the Schrader’s, I will say that my college roommate at Concordia, Seward was Steve Schrader. He could trace some of his roots back to Randolph County, Illinois. And he pronounces his name with the long “A” vowel sound.