Two of the most well-known surnames in East Perry County are Mueller and Palisch. In the case of the name, Mueller, we know that there were 4 different clans of Mueller’s that were part of the original immigration in 1839. Our Mueller surname folder containing images that have been used in posts on this blog is likely the largest folder that we have. As far as the Palisch surname is concerned, the original Palisch, J.G. Palisch, arrived in America with 6 children, and his family ended up with a dozen children.

When I found a Mueller man who was born on this day and saw that he would marry a Palisch girl, I figured that I may have already written his story. I soon discovered that I have only written one previous tale that involved a Mueller marrying a Palisch, and that one involved a Palisch boy marrying a Mueller girl. Today, you will get the first one that involves a Mueller boy and a Palisch girl. I cannot guarantee that it is the only one.

Karl Benjamin Mueller was born on August 17, 1874, so today would be his special 150th birthday. Like so many men named Karl or Carl on their baptism records, they end up being called a more Americanized name, Charles. He was the son of Martin and Amalie (Naumann) Mueller, so he would be part of the clan that we often call the “Frohna Mueller’s”. Here is a photo of Charles’s parents.

Charles was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Charles is found in the 1880 census at the age of 6. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Charles would get married prior to being able to view him in another census in 1900, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his wife. Her name was Emma Christine Palisch, who was born on September 21, 1877. Emma was the daughter of Moritz and Pauline (Koenig) Palisch. Here are photos of Emma’s parents.

Emma was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Her baptism record is displayed below.

Emma is found in the 1880 census at the age of 3. Her grandfather, J.G. Palisch, was the head of this household and called a retired farmer. Her father, Moritz was doing the farminng in the Brazeau Township.

Charles Mueller married Emma Palisch on April 12, 1898. I usually display the church record prior to that of the Missouri marriage license, but in this case, I will first show the marriage license because there is no church record. However, if you look at this document, it says that Rev. Mensing performed the wedding. Why is there no church marriage record in the Immanuel, Altenburg books?

I have a theory. Rev. Mensing was the pastor at Immanuel, but he left there in 1897. A new pastor took over in 1898. Perhaps the new pastor had not arrived in Altenburg yet, and the Palisch’s contacted their previous pastor and had him come to Altenburg to perform this marriage. Then, maybe Pastor Mensing did not have the opportunity to record this event in the church books. By the way, this license also indicates that Charles was living in Jackson County, Illinois at the time of his wedding.

I located this photo of Emma (Palisch) Mueller which must have been taken fairly early in her life.

Charles and Emma had just one child, a girl who was born in December of 1898. When the 1900 census was taken, the Mueller’s were living in the Brazeau Township, and Charles was a farm laborer. I think it is possible that Charles was still working on his father’s farm because his father’s household is found near Charles’s entry on the same census page.

Sadly, Charles Mueller died in 1909 at the age of 35. His church death record states that he died of liver and gastric problems. It also says he died in Murphysboro, Illinois, so it is likely that Charles, who had lived in Jackson County, Illinois earlier in his life, had taken his small family to live in Murphysboro in the 1900’s. Charles is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

Emma, now a widow, brought her daughter back to Perry County after her husband’s death. In the 1910 census, she and her daughter are found living with her parents. Also included in this household were two Engert grandchildren. Their mother had died in 1906, and their father had been sent to an institution to deal with some mental health issues.

In 1912, Emma married again. Her second husband was Bernhard (Ben) Habermehl, who was also a widower when these two were married. They were married in Jackson County, Illinois (probably Murphysboro) on August 31, 1912. I am able to show a transcription of an Illinois marriage record for this event.

This couple had no additional children. When the 1920 census was taken, we find just Ben and Emma living in Murphysboro. Ben was about 15 years older than Emma, and his children from his previous marriage were no longer living with him. Ben was called a blacksmith and a foreman for a railroad.

That would be the only census in which we find Emma and Ben because Ben Habermehl died in 1925 at the age of 62. I located this Illinois death record for Ben.

Emma remained a widow the rest of her life. In the 1930 census, we find her living by herself in Murphysboro with no occupation.

The 1940 census is a repeat of the 1930 entry except that Emma is 10 years older.

We find Emma in one more census entry in 1950 at the age of 72.

Emma Habermehl died in 1952 at the age of 75. An obituary for her was published in a local newspaper. It makes no mention of Emma’s first marriage to Charles Mueller. Amanda Sutter, who is mentioned in this obituary, was the daughter Emma had with Charles.

Ben and Emma Habermehl are each buried in a Habermehl family plot in the Tower Grove Cemetery in Murphysboro. Both of Ben’s wives are buried there, and both are called mothers on their gravestones. I will only display the ones for Ben and Emma. I have this feeling that it was Amanda Sutter who had Emma’s gravestone inscribed with the words, “My Mom”.

Today’s birthday boy ended up having a rather short life, and his wife, Emma, had a rather troubled one. Emma had 2 different stints at being a widow during her life and 2 different stints at being married. All in all, she ended up being a widow for more years than the combined years of her being married.