The birthday boy for today is Richard Edward Benjamin Grebing, who was born on September 10, 1899. Therefore, he would be celebrating his 125th birthday today. Richard was the last child born to Charles and Emma (Rust) Grebing. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at his baptism record displayed below.

Richard was listed as 8 months old when the 1900 census was taken. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. There were 2 young folks living in their household. One was a 14 year-old girl named Mina Poppitz who was called a servant. The other was a young man who was named Otto Goehring, who was an 18 year-old farm laborer. Since Richard’s older brother was also named Otto, there were 2 Otto’s in the household. And since another older brother was named Charles, there were 2 who were named Charles in the household.

In the 1910 census, Richard was 10 years old.

Richard was confirmed in 1914, and his confirmation record is found in the books of Trinity, Altenburg. When the 1915 plat maps were produced, we find the Charles Grebing land located south of Frohna. Nowadays, because of where the paved roads are located, Frohna would be easier to get to than Altenburg, but back in the day of unpaved roads, you can see that Altenburg would be just as close as Frohna, which could explain why the Grebing church records were still found at Trinity, Altenburg, which was also where the original Grebings had their church membership.

Richard had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given an Altenburg address and was working on his father’s farm at the age of 19.

The 1920 census is the last one in which we find Richard as a single man. There were two 20 year-olds in this entry, but the 20 year-old woman named Grebing in this entry was Otto’s wife, Amanda. Three sons in this family were said to be farmers, including Richard, who were working with their father.

Richard would get married in the next decade, so we will now look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Leona Marie Minna Wilkens, who was born on October 26, 1908. Leona was the daughter of Henry and Alwine (Kaiser) Wilkens. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells.

Leona is found in the 1910 census at the age of 2. Her father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Next, we find Leona in the 1920 census at the age of 11. The Wilkens family had gotten considerably larger during the previous decade.

Leona was confirmed in 1922, and her confirmation record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown. Trinity was a congregation that was established during the year of Leona’s birth, 1908. At some point, it looks as if the Wilkens family joined that congregation which was quite near the one in New Wells.

I am not sure where the Wilkens farm was located in the Shawnee Township, but I know that, as the crow flies, it was likely not far from the Grebing farm in Perry County. All a young man would have to do in order to court a young lady near Shawneetown would be to cross the Apple Creek, which often did not carry much water during certain times of the year. Richard somehow became acquainted with Leona and must have carried out his courtship across the Apple Creek.

Richard Grebing married Leona Wilkens on August 26, 1928. I am going to first display the Missouri marriage record for this couple. There are a few interesting things about this document. One of the first things I noticed was that it was Rev. Adolph Vogel who performed this wedding. He was the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. And indeed, this license is one for Perry County. However, I know that the marriage record is not found in the books of Trinity, Altenburg. This form also says that Pastor Vogel performed this ceremony in Shawneetown.

There was a Rev. Wein who had been the pastor at Trinity, Shawneetown, but he left during 1928, and their next pastor did not start serving that congregation until 1929. I think they were vacant when the Grebing/Wilkens wedding took place, and Pastor Vogel went to Shawneetown to perform this wedding. We also find a very interesting record for this wedding in the books of Trinity, Shawneetown. There is hardly any information included in this record. It doesn’t even include the name of the groom. All you see is the name, Leona Wilkens, and the pastor’s name, Rev. Vogel lightly written on the bottom right of this image. No date is recorded for the marriage either, except for the fact that it occurred in 1928.

Richard and Leona have 2 children listed in our German Family Tree, both of which were baptized at Trinity, Altenburg. They were also born in the 1930’s, so when we find the Grebing’s with an empty nest when the 1930 census was taken. They were living in the Brazeau Township where Richard was farming.

The 1940 census shows Richard and Leona with their 2 children, a girl named Marion and a boy named Robert.

Richard had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. This time, he is given a Frohna address, which is likely because he was getting his mail from a Frohna post office.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. Since their daughter had gotten married in 1949, the Grebing’s had only their son living with them. Their son, at the age of 15, was helping Richard on his farm.

Richard Grebing died in 1985 at the age of 85; Leona Grebing died in 2005 at the age of 96. These two are buried together in the Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson. I figure this couple moved into Jackson at some time later in their lives.

The story of Richard Grebing finding his bride, Leona Wilkens, across the creek in Cape Girardeau County is not the first such story found on this blog about a bride and groom on both sides of the Apple Creek. It happened quite often, especially when one farm was located near one another on opposite sides of the creek, easily travelled by foot or horseback.

Let me add one more thing to this story. At the present time, the congregations of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg and Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells have agreed to become a dual parish. They are in the early stages of calling a pastor to serve both those churches. I suppose you could consider this another marriage that is taking place across the Apple Creek, a marriage of two Lutheran congregations which were also involved in the Grebing/Wilkens couple.

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After this post was published, I was sent these 2 photos of Richard Grebing. The first shows Richard in the middle holding a baby, and the other shows Richard as a baby.