I guess I am showing my age when I say that when I hear the names Paul and Mary, I automatically think of the folk singers, Peter, Paul, and Mary. Today’s tale involves a bride and groom named Paul and Mary, and a man named William enters the story at the end, so thus the title.

Paul Christian Friedrich Schilling was born on August 18, 1896. so today would be his 128th birthday. Paul was the son of Gotthilf and Juliane (Militzer) Schilling. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Below is an image of his baptism record from Trnity’s books.

Paul is found in his first census entry in 1900 at the age of 3. He was the oldest child in his family. Paul’s father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

The Gotthilf Schilling farm was located just west of the Seelitz neighborhood. His farm is the one indicated by the red arrows in the image below.

In the 1910 census, Paul had just turned a teenager. That was also the year that he was confirmed at Trinity. By this time, Paul was the oldest of 6 children in this household.

Paul had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. Even though he is given a Wittenberg address, his employer, Henry Arbeiter, was located in Gorham, Illinois which is found across the river from Perry County.

We find Paul living in the Fountain Bluff Township of Jackson County when the 1920 census was taken. He was a hired hand on the Gottlieb Miesner farm.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Paul’s wife. Her name was Marie Anna Werner, who was born on March 13, 1897. Marie was the daughter of August and Caroline (Ristig) Werner. There is evidence that Marie was from Tilsit, and I suspect that she may have been baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tilsit. We have a binder that mostly gives burial information for that church, and I did find several folks who were buried in that congregation’s cemetery with the surname, Werner. Marie is found in the 1900 census at the age of 3. She was also the oldest child in her family. Her father was a farmer in Burfordville. That town is just a few miles away from Tilsit. Marie is often called Mary in census entries.

Next, we find Marie in the 1910 census as a teenager. This time, her family was living in Jackson, Missouri where her father was a butcher.

The last census in which we find Mary as a single woman was the one taken in 1920. The Werner’s were living in Cape Girardeau, and Mary’s father was called a sausage maker at a butcher shop. I have never seen it called this, but Marie is called a “hello girl” for the telephone company. I assume she was a telephone operator.

Paul Schilling married Marie Werner on August 18, 1923, which means that Paul was married on his 27th birthday. This wedding took place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau. The church record for this occasion is pictured here.

We can also view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

Paul and Mary had just one child, a girl born in 1926. In the 1930 census, the Schilling’s were living in Cape Girardeau, and Paul is called a pipe fitter at a cement plant.

Tragically, Paul lost his life in a work-related accident in 1933. His death certificate says he died from a fall off some scaffolding at the Marquette Cement Plant that resulted in a fractured skull.

The Marquette Cement Plant was found on the south end of Cape Girardeau. A photo of that plant is shown below.

I talked to one of our docents, Joyce Theiss, this morning. She has some Schilling’s in her family tree, and she remembers hearing that Paul Schilling died from falling off a bridge. The photo above has a structure that I think could have been called a bridge.

Mary Schilling is found as a widow in the 1940 census. She was living with her 13 year-old daughter, Ruth, and working as a clerk in a retail grocery.

The last census the public is allowed to view is the one taken in 1950. Mary was living by herself and doing office work for a dairy company.

When Mary Schilling was 61 years old, she got married again. They were married in 1958. Her second husband was Willliam Suedekum, who was also a widower, who had lost his first wife, Laura, in 1956. I was unable to find documentation for this wedding. A short history of William on Findagrave.com says that he operated a hardware store in Cape Girardeau. He was also a judge for a while.

Marie Suedekum died in 1967 at the age of 70. Her death certificate below indicates that heart problems caused her death.

William Suedekum died in 1968 at the age of 82. Prostate cancer was the cause of his death.

Paul Schilling, along with Marie and William Suedekum, are all buried in the Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.

Today’s story has similarities to the one I wrote yesterday about Emma Palisch. Both Emma and Marie Werner had lives in which they were married twice, once when they were young, and then a second time when they were much older. Each of these women had just one daughter who became fatherless at a rather young age. Both Emma and Marie are buried with a surname that was not the same one as their daughter’s. Both had what I would consider lives that were challenging.

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Joyce Theiss has now provided me with this copy of a newspaper article that was published describing Paul Schilling’s death. You may have to click on it and enlarge it to better read the small print.