You will be reading about a bride and groom who got married on October 23rd today. This post will include a name that has not yet appeared on this blog. That name is Welland. Our German Family Tree has some issues with the spelling of this name. The other name included in this post is one that has appeared on several occasions. That name is Klemp. I am going to begin with the bride.

Amelia Klemp was born on April 7, 1860, the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Witzke) Klemp. Amelia was born back in the day when Immanuel Lutheran Church had not yet been established. I believe she was born in the vicinity of Silver Lake and Yount, two small villages found west of Perryville. I found no evidence of where Amelia was baptized. We find Amelia in the 1870 census at the age of 9. She is called Mary in this entry. Her father was a farmer in the St. Mary’s Township.

The other census entry in which we find Amelia as being unmarried is the one taken in 1880. Her father had died in 1877. His death record can be found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. Amelia’s family is found living in the Cinque Hommes Township with her mother being the head of the household. Amelia was called 18 years old, but I think she was closer to 20.

Now, we will take a look at the groom. His name was Heinrich Welland, who was born on February 11, 1859. Although our GFT gives a few other spellings of Henry’s surname, his gravestone and a few other documents use the Welland spelling. Henry was the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Weitkamp) Welland. I figure that Henry might have also born in the Silver Lake/Yount area of Perry County. I failed to find the Welland family in the 1860 census, so the first census entry in which I found Henry was in 1870. He was 10 years old and his father was a farmer in the St. Mary’s Township.

Next, we find Henry in the 1880 census at the age of 21. He was working on his father’s farm, and this time the location given on the census page says they were living in Yount.

Henry Welland married Amelia Klemp on October 23, 1883, so today would be this pair’s 141st wedding anniversary. This couple was married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. An image of their church marriage record is shown here. This form says Henry was a farmer in Silver Lake.

We can also view the Missouri marriage license for this couple.

One of the children of Henry and Amelia was a daughter named Clara, who was born in 1898. I am going to display Clara’s baptism record from Immanuel, Perryville, mainly because she was baptized on Henry and Amelia’s 15th wedding anniversary.

According to our German Family Tree, this pair had 7 children, all of which were baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. The first census entry in which we can find this married couple is the one taken in 1900. There were 5 children in the Welland household at that time. There were also 3 Klemp names included in this entry. Two of Amelia’s siblings, Effie and Charles, are listed, along with a nephew named Fritz. Charles Klemp had married Henry’s sister, Minnie Welland, in 1885. That couple had 4 children, but by 1900, they had divorced. This entry says Charles was married, but in that year’s census, Minnie was living with her mother, and it says she was divorced. Three of her children were living with her, but Fritz was living with his father.

The 1910 census has 5 children living with Henry and Amelia. Two more children had been born in the previous decade. Two of Henry’s sons were helping with the farming.

The 1915 plat map atlas for Perry County shows several parcels of land owned by Henry Welland. These properties were located a bit north of Silver Lake.

In the 1920 census, there were 3 Welland children still living with their parents.

The last census in which we find Henry was the one taken in 1930. Just their daughter, Clara, was living with Henry and Amelia. A boarder named Henry Moonie was helping with the farming.

Henry Welland died in 1934 at the age of 75. His death certificate below says that he died of cancer in his intestines. This document says Henry was born in St. Louis. Perhaps that is true.

Amelia is found in the 1940 census as a widow. Her daughter, Clara, and her nephew, Fritz, were living with her. Each of them were still single.

Amelia Welland died in 1944 at the age of 83. We can also view her death certificate.

Henry and Amelia Welland are buried together in the Yount Community Cemetery in Yount.

It is not often that I tell a story that takes place primarily in what could be called West Perry County. Most of the posts on this blog have the setting of East Perry County. Now, we have also introduced yet another surname to our blog readers. Even though I had never heard the surname, Welland, prior to writing this post, I suspect there are plenty of readers of this blog who know this name very well…or should I say Welland.