I do not often use a baptism date as a starting point for a story, but that is the case today. I guess what attracted this record to me was that it looked like yet another story that might begin with a lonely record in our German Family Tree that would take us elsewhere. And it was.

Hilda Marie Schumacher was born on July 9, 1898, the daughter of John and Marie (Erlbacher) Schumacher. Hilda was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells on July 17, 1898, so today would be her baptism birthday. We can take a look at an image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books here.

Hilda’s father had been born in Grand Tower and then married Marie Erlbacher in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Just a year later, this couple had their first child, Hilda, in New Wells. John Schumacher’s obituary states that he and an Erlbacher brother-in-law operated the first threshing machine operation in Cape Girardeau and Perry Counties.

Hilda is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. Her father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

When the 1910 census was taken, we see that the Schumacher’s had relocated to Cape Girardeau. This time, her father was a janitor. He would later work for the International Shoe Factory in Cape Girardeau.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Hilda’s husband. His name was John August Krueger, who was born on February 24, 1894. John was the son of John and Mathilda (Noltensmeyer) Krueger. His later military draft forms say that he was born in Hope, Missouri, but I think his boyhood home was actually in or near a place called Krueger Ford. When John is found in the 1900 census, his family was living in the Boulware Township in Gasconade County, Missouri. That is actually not that far from the city of Hope. John’s mother had died earlier in 1900, so his father was a widower in this entry.

When I located the Boulware Township on a map, I noticed that within that township was a place called Krueger Ford. It was found on the banks of the Gasconade River. I think that little populated area was named after someone in John’s family. If you look closely, there is a Helmig Ferry Road on this map. On the 1900 census page for the Krueger’s, right next to them is a Helmig family, thus supporting my premise that John was living in Krueger Ford. I figure there must have been a low place in the Gasconade River (a ford) that once had a ferry operating by the Helmig family.

John’s father died in 1904, so he became an orphan. In the 1910 census, we find him living in the Theodore Hoffman household, and he and his brother, Orville, were called nephews. They were living in the Hubble Township of Cape Girardeau County. Theodore was married to Friedericka Noltensmeyer, the sister of John’s mother. John and Orville were helping on the Hoffmann farm as teenagers.

On June 5, 1917, John Krueger had his World War I draft registration completed. He is given a Chester, Illinois address and said to be a shoe machine builder at the International Shoe Company. He had this document completed in Randolph County, Illinois, where Chester is located.

A later military headstone application indicates that John was called into service during that war.

Just a matter of days after filling out his draft registration, on June 23, 1917, John Krueger married Hilda Schumacher at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau. We can view this couple’s Missouri marriage license. This form says John was from Cape Girardeau, not Chester.

We can also view a more certificate-like document that is called a marriage license. This document says John was from Hope, Missouri.

It appears that John and Hilda had just one child, and that child did not live to adulthood. In the 1920 census, we find the Krueger’s living in Chester, with a very young daughter named Dorothy who was said to be born in Illinois. John was a machinist at a shoe factory.

Dorothy is no longer listed in the 1930 census. The family was still living in Chester, and John still had the same job.

The Krueger’s changed locations prior to the 1940 census. In that year’s entry, the Krueger’s were living in Fredericktown, Missouri. John was once again working in a shoe factory.

When John had his World War II draft card completed in 1942, it said he was working at the Spalsbury, Steis and Deevers Shoe Company in Fredericktown. I understand that this shoe company was a precursor to the Brown Shoe Company.

The last census we can view, the one taken in 1950, once again shows John and Hilda living in Fredericktown. This time, Hilda’s father was living with them.

John Krueger died in 1960 at the age of 66. His death certificate below indicates that he and Hilda were living in Cape Girardeau when he died. John is called a machinist at a shoe factory on this document.

Hilda Krueger died in 1974 at the age of 75. As I write this article, we are only allowed to view death certificates up to 1973, so I am not able to display Hilda’s. Both John and Hilda Krueger are buried in the Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau.

The lonely baptism record in our German Family Tree certainly took us to several different locations, but all of those places are really not that far from the church in New Wells. The Krueger name enters this story, and that is a name that has shown up on this blog before and is found in our German Family Tree, but today’s John Krueger comes out of another Missouri location. John then spends his entire career woking in the shoe business at several different factories. I will also state that it is not often that a person being highlighted in this blog seems to have a little town named after his surname.