I have previously written posts about children in the Henry Lueders family. Today, I will tell the story of Henry and his wife, Louise. They would be celebrating a wedding anniversary today. I will begin with the groom.

Heinrich Wilhelm Christian Lueders was born on either December 24th or December 25th in 1859. Henry was the 3rd child of a dozen born to August and Anna (Roth) Lueders. His baptism record, which is found in the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, says that he was born on Christmas Eve. Other later documents say that he was born on December 25th.

Henry is found in his first census entry in the 1860 census at the age of 8 months. His father was a merchant in Frohna. He operated the Lueders Store.

In the 1870 census, Henry was 10 years old. You can see that the Lueders family had gotten considerably larger.

The last census in which Henry was unmarried is the one taken in 1880. He was a clerk in his father’s store.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Henry’s bride. Her name was Johanna Louise Wilhelmiina Elbrecht, who was born on July 18, 1864. Louise was the daughter of Charles and Wilhelmina (Sewing) Elbrecht. Since other records mention that Louise was born in Friedheim, I thought her baptism might be located in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, but I was not successful at finding it there. Louise is found in the 1870 census at the age of 8, although I think she was just 6. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township

Next, we find Louise in the 1880 census at the age of 16, which seems more correct. This time, her father was called both a farmer and a boiler maker.

Henry Lueders married Louise Elbrecht on November 19, 1882, thus making today this couple’s 142nd wedding anniversary. They were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, and we can take a look at their church marriage record from that congregation’s books below. It says Henry was from Frohna.

We can also view this pair’s Missouri marriage license.

Our German Family Tree lists 8 children born to Henry and Louise, including a set of twin girls born in 1899. All of the baptism records for these children are found in the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. When the 1900 census was taken, there were 6 children in the Lueders household. Henry was a farmer not far from Frohna.

When Henry’s parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1905, they had a family photo taken in front of the August Lueders home in Frohna. Henry is identified by the red arrow. I figure that the photographer was Henry’s brother, Paul, who is standing in the right in the front row. Perhaps he had a timer on his camera or he had someone else snap the photograph so he could be in it.

In the 1910 census, there were 7 children in the Lueders household.

Two other photos of Henry and Louise were taken at some point in time. It appears that these two photos were taken on the same day. Once again, I think the photographer was Paul Lueders. This time the photos were taken in a studio. The second photo shows these two wearing flowers that might indicate that they were celebrating an anniversary. The last special anniversary they would have celebrated together would have been their 30th in 1912.

In the atlas of plat maps produced in 1915, we find where the Henry Lueders farm was located.

The 1920 census turned out to be the last one in which we find both Henry and Louise. Henry was still farming at the age of 60. Louise’s mother was also living with them.

The above census was submitted in January of 1920. Henry Lueders died later that year in June at the age of 60. We can view his death certificate here. This form says that Henry was born on Christmas Day.

Below is an obituary for Henry that appeared in the Perry County Republican.

There is evidence that after her husband’s death, Louise went to live with her daughter, Anna, who had married Theodore Poppitz, and was living near Potter, Nebraska. Louise Lueders died in 1929 at the age of 65. Her obituary from the Perry County Republican says she died in Dalton, Nebraska.

Henry and Louise Lueders are each buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna.

Although Henry grew up in a household that was very involved in running a store in Frohna, Henry ended up being a farmer. I know that his father once grew grapes and made wine. Perhaps Henry learned a bit about farming by being involved with grapevines.