Today’s birthday boy is named August Carl Lueders. August’s grandfather, whose story was told in the post, Frohna Entrepreneur, could also be called an August Carl. In addition, his uncle was named August Carl. I believe when today’s birthday boy was born, his parents wanted to give him a name that either honored his grandfather or his uncle or both.

August Carl Lueders was born on October 17, 1899, so today would be his 125th birthday. August was the son of Louis and Mathilda (Markwart) Lueders. August was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can take a look at an image of his baptism record below.

August was a very young boy when he appears in the 1900 census. His father was a watch maker in Frohna.

In the 1910 census, August was 10 years old. Two more children had been added to the Lueders family in the previous decade. His father was still a watch maker.

Prior to the next census, the Lueders family moved to St. Louis. August’s father was no longer a watch maker, but his older brother, George, was. His father was a drug miller at a chemical works. August was a 20 year-old druggist.

August would get married in the next decade, so we will now look at the woman who became his bride. Her name was Helen Florence Meury, who was born on the last day of 1901, December 31st. Helen was the daughter of Otto and Bertha (Bahn) Meury. She was born in St. Louis. Helen is found in the 1910 census at the age of 8. Her father was a barber in St. Louis.

Next, we find Helen in the 1920 census at the age of 18. I think Helen was an only child.

I was unable to locate a marriage record for August Lueders and Helen Meury, but they most likely got married prior to the birth of their first child in 1928. When the 1930 census was taken, we find a trio of Lueders family members living in the household of Helen’s parents. August was a pharmacist. Helen’s father was still a barber.

A 1932 city directory for St. Louis shows that August was the secretary-treasurer-manager for the Grand Franklin Drug Store.

In the 1940 census, we see the Lueders’s with 2 children, both girls. Also living in their household was Helen’s widowed mother. August had the same occupation.

August had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. It said August had a business of his own.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. August was still a pharmacist, and his daughter, Lorraine was a secretary for a life insurance company. Helen’s mother was still living with them.

August Lueders died in 1984 at the age of 84; Helen Lueders died in 1995 at the age of 93. They are each buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in North St. Louis. August has a gravestone photo on Findagrave.com, but Helen does not. However, on August’s entry on that site there is also a photo of 2 gravestones under a tree. I zoomed in on the second one and managed to get a photo of Helen’s gravestone.

I know when I was growing up in St. Louis, my family would make regular visits to Perry County to visit relatives. I have to think that August may have taken his family to the place of his roots back in his day also.