The couple I will highlight in today’s post would be celebrating their 140th anniversary today. The couple was made up of a German Lutheran and an English Methodist, so it is not an ordinary type of couple to be found in this blog. I will begin with the groom.

John George Hoehn was born on June 2, 1858, the son of George and Katharina (Kleinhein) Hoehn. I am not sure where John was baptized. He is found in the 1860 census at the age of 2. He was the oldest of the Hoehn children. John’s father was a cooper in Perryville.

Next, we find John in the 1870 census at the age of 12. This time the Hoehn family was living in the Cinque Hommes Township, and his father was a farmer.

The last census in which we find John as unmarried was the one taken in 1880. The Hoehn’s were living in the Central Township, and John, at the age of 22, was working on his father’s farm.

John would be married in the 1880’s, so we will now look at the woman who would become his wife. Her name was Effie May Rutledge, who was born on August 22, 1864. Effie was the daughter of Robert and Margaret Jane (Nance) Rutledge. Effie’s mother died prior to the 1870 census, so in that year’s entry we find Effie in a household which was headed up by Wiliam Farrar. Effie, at the age of 5, and her widowed father were included, along with her father’s brother, William Rutledge. Her father was working on the Farrar farm.

In 1880, we find Effie living in Perryville with her aunt, Susan Wilkinson. Her father was still alive and working on the William Farrar farm, but for some reason, the 18 year-old Effie was not living with him.

John Hoehn married Effie Rutledge on November 12, 1884, so, as mentioned before, today would be this pair’s 140th anniversary. Their wedding took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. Their church marriage record is shown here.

We can also view 2 different civil marriage records for this event. First, here is the standard Missouri marriage license.

Next, here is a marriage certificate for John and Effie.

Our German Family Tree lists 4 children born to John and Effie. The first 3 of them were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. My best guess is that their last child born in 1900 may have been baptized at York Chapel Methodist Church near Longtown. We find the Hoehn’s in the 1900 census with 3 children. One of their 4 children died as an infant. A boarder named Dave Abernathy was also living in their household.

That would be the only census entry in which we find both John and Effie together. Effie died in 1905 at the age of 41. An obituary was published in the Perry County Republican which says that she died of blood poisoning.

John Hoehn is found as a widower in the 1910 census. He was living in Perryville, and this entry says that he was a laborer who was “working out”.

I was not able to locate John in the 1920 census, but when the 1930 census was taken, he was living in St. Louis. He was included in the household of his daughter, Emma, who had married Joseph Layton. This entry says Emma was a widow, but I think that may be incorrect. Joseph was found living in Perry County and working as a public school teacher in 1920, and it says he was single. John Hoehn was said to be working at contracting.

John Hoehn died in 1936 at the age of 78. His death certificate below says he died of stomach cancer.

John and Effie Hoehn are each buried in the York Chapel Cemetery in Longtown.

The fact that both John and Effie are buried in the York Chapel Cemetery is the reason that I suspect that this couple’s last child was baptized at that church. John and Effie only had about 20 years together as husband and wife. Then, after quite a few years as a widower, John made sure he was buried in the same cemetery as his wife.