The birthday boy for today’s post is Herman Ernst Starzinger, who was born on October 13, 1871. That means today would be his 153rd birthday. Ernst was the son of Gottlieb and Theresia (Brandt) Starzinger. Our German Family Tree lists 11 children born into this Starzinger family, and Ernst was #9. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. An image of his baptism record from the books of Immanuel is displayed below. He may have gotten his middle name from his male baptism sponsor, Ernst Meyr, and it turns out that would be the name used by Ernst during his life.

As mentioned in the title, Ernst was a lifelong cripple. Ernst is found in the 1880 census at the age of 8. Already at this young age, I think we see evidence that something was different about Ernst. He had an 11 year-old brother in this entry who was said to be “at school”, however Ernst, who was at an age to be attending school, is not said to be “at school”. I have to wonder if Ernst ever had the opportunity to be a student in a regular school setting. Ernst’s father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

We cannot view a census entry again for Ernst until he was in his 20’s, but we do know that he was confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in 1889. This indicates a few things. First, he must have been able to receive the instruction necessary for confirmation. But he was confirmed at the age of 17, which is a few years older than a regular confirmand. His confirmation record is included with the rest of his confirmation class in the image shown below. The pastor listed this class by age, starting with the oldest and working to the youngest. Ernst was the first one listed. The rest of the members of the class were born in 1875 or later. There were some others in the class listed on the next page that I chose not to display.

Ernst’s father had died in 1898, so he is not found in the 1900 census. Ernst and his mother were included in the household of Charles Starzinger, who was Ernst’s older brother. Ernst was 28 years old at the time. This household was even larger as a result of including Charles’s niece, his sister-in-law, and a lodger who was helping with the farming.

Ernst is found living with the Charles Starzinger family for the rest of his life. I have already written a post about Charles Starzinger and his wife, Emma Vogel. That story explained all of the people with special relationships to Charles that lived with him over the years. That post also gave evidence that Charles and Emma did not have any children of their own. You can read it by clicking here…Starzinger Couple and Their Assorted Households. In the 1910 census, Ernst was in his 30’s. The assortment of household members this time included a niece, an adopted child, a sister-in-law, and a hired hand (who was also named Starzinger).

Next, we find Ernst in the 1920 census at the age of 48. Throughout his life, he was never given an occupation.

Plat maps were produced for Cape Girardeau County in 1930. The Charles Starzinger farm was located very near the town of New Wells.

The 1930 census entry for Ernst shows him at the age of 58. Charles’s adopted son, Eugene, had gotten married and had 2 children by this time, and they were also included in this household. There was also a young farm hand included in this entry.

The last census in which we find Ernst was the one taken in 1940. It included the same characters as the previous entry except for the farm hand. This entry is the only one that described Ernst as a cripple.

Ernst Starzinger died in 1944 at the age of 72. His death certificate below gives pneumonia as his cause of death. It also indicates on the “usual occupation” line that Ernst was a cripple his entire life. His brother, Charles, who could be described as Ernst’s longtime caretaker, was the informant on this form.

Ernst Starzinger is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.

I have all kinds of questions that came to my mind as I wrote this story. Did Ernst’s parents know that he had some sort of disability right away when he was born, or did they discover it at some later time? How independent was Ernst? Was he able to contribute in some way to the family when he became older, or did he require constant care? Was Ernst able to attend church regularly with his family?

All indications are that Ernst’s Starzinger family were always willing to include Ernst as a family member. I think you can also say that his church made accommodations to make it possible for Ernst to feel he was an important member in their midst, even if it may have taken him a bit more time to complete his confirmation instruction. After all, Scripture tells us that we ought to include all people. The Bible is full of people who had situations that made life difficult. There were widows, the blind, the mute, the paralyzed, along with people with various diseases. God was always advising his people to care for all kinds of people in need. I think this story illustrates that the Starzinger family stepped up to the plate to provide the necessary care for Ernst, as well as his family of faith at Immanuel, New Wells who cared for his spiritual needs. I like to think that families and churches still consider it their mission to care for all kinds of people with special needs.

And as for Ernst, I think he could always find comfort in his confirmation verse, Psalm 37:5 which says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

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Since I published this post a few days ago, I have received some additional information from a member of the Starzinger family tree…Donna Parnell. She also shared a photo of Ernst Starzinger. I have been told that Ernst had become very knowledgeable about herbs and their healing properties. Some folks would even visit him prior to visiting a doctor, and he was even called “Doc” by some. Ernst was sometimes transported by using a small wagon pulled by a goat. It is believed that he had some sort of dwarfism, and he had no use of his legs. Below is a the photo of Ernst that has been shared with me.