A baby girl was born in Jackson County, Illinois, probably in the Degognia Township, on this day 130 years ago. I am going to attempt to tell the life story of that girl today.

Cora Emma Schuerenberg was born on July 25, 1894, the daughter of Gottfried and Emma (Engert) Schuerenberg. A story was previously written about Cora’s parents on this blog titled, Butcher from Friedland. Two children in this family were baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois, but the rest were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Cora was the last child to be listed in this family in our German Family Tree, but one more child was born in 1896 whose baptism is unknown., Cora was brought across the Mississippi River to be baptized in Altenburg. I am unable to display her baptism record from the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church because I am out of town.

Cora is found living in the Degognia Township in Illinois when the 1900 census was taken. She was 5 years old, and her father was a farmer.

During the next decade, the Schuerenberg’s moved back across the Mississippi River to Missouri. A 1907 record of church membership can be found in a United Methodist church in Vanduser, Missouri. It shows Cora’s parents and an older sister, Louise. Behind Louise, you see the name, Charles Martin, and behind Cora, you see the name, Jesse Boyett. Those were the men that Louise and Cora married, but they were married after 1907 and must have been added to these records later.

In the 1910 census, we find the Schuerenberg’s living in Morley, Missouri where Cora’s father was a butcher. Cora was 16 years old at the time.

I must admit that I learned a bit of southeastern Missouri geogaphy while researching this post. I had no idea where Vanduser or Morley were located. You can see these towns on the map below which illustrates that they are near Sikeston.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Cora’s husband. His name was Jesse Boyett, who was born on May 6, 1886. Jesse was the son of William and Mary (Craddock) Boyett. In some records, we see the surname spelled as Boyette. Jesse’s later death certificate says he was born in Mississippi County, Missouri. Jesse is found in the 1900 census at the age of 15 living in Morley, Missouri. His father was a farmer.

Jesse Boyett married Flora Palmer on March 12, 1904. The Missouri marriage license for that event is shown below. It indicates that both Jesse and Flora were from Crowder, Missouri, another town near Morley and Vanduser. They were married by a justice of the peace.

That marriage must have been very short-lived because in 1906, Flora Palmer was getting married again to James Daniels, and her 2nd marriage license indicates that Flora was back to using her maiden name. In 1910, we find Jesse Boyett living in Morley with his parents. He is called a barber. In his marriage status column, it indicates that he was widowed, but that is not the case, but at least, we see that he was no longer single.

Jesse Boyett married Cora Schuerenberg on July 17, 1911. They were married in Lake County, Tennessee. My guess is that this pair went to Tennessee to get married because Cora was just approaching her 17th birthday when they got married.

Jesse and Cora had one child, a daughter named Xenoline, who was born in 1912. Jesse had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This form says that Jesse was a minister, but does not give his employer’s name.

The 1920 census shows Jesse, Cora, and their daughter living with Jesse’s parents in Crowder, Missouri. Jesse was called a Christian preacher.

In the 1930 census, Jesse, Cora, and Xenoline were called lodgers, along with several others. The son of the head of the household was called a hotel clerk, so perhaps this was some kind of hotel or boarding house in which they were living. Jesse was a traveling salesman for a drug company, and Cora was a packer at a shoe company.

Jesse Boyett died in 1940 at the age of 54. His death certificate below says he was living in Vanduser when he died. It calls his “usual occupation” as farmer, even though I found no evidence of him being one. It says he was buried in Morley, but I found no information about his gravesite on Findagrave.com.

In that same year, the 1940 census shows Cora living with her daughter, Xenoline, who had married Ralph Bailey. They were living in Sikeston. Cora had a “D” in the marriage status column which would indicate “divorced”, but this is the only place where we see that designation. On Jesse’s death certificate for the same year, it says he was married. Cora was still working at a shoe factory.

Cora is found in the 1950 census, still living with her daughter’s family. Cora was called a widow. She was also still working at the shoe factory.

Cora Boyett died in 1983 at the age of 89. Her gravestone uses the Boyette spelling of her married name.

The baby born 130 years ago ended up living in an area of Missouri that is not known for having a large Lutheran presence, and I must admit that I did not find any evidence of her remaining a Lutheran after moving to the Sikeston vicinity. She did manage to marry a man who was a preacher for at least part of his life. I wish I knew if Jesse was associated with any particular Christian denomination.