In a previous post, Uniontown Hall of Fame Names, I noted that perhaps the most notable “Uniontown Names” were Hemmann, Hopfer, Frentzel, and Telle. You will read a story of a couple that unites two of these names. You will also discover that this couple qualifies to be one of those “cradle to grave” couples that have all of their church records in the books of the same congregation all of their lives. In this case, their records are to be found in the books of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. The reason I am writing this story today is that this Uniontown twosome would be celebrating their anniversary today. I will begin with the groom.

Ernst Gottfried Reinhold Telle was born on February 11, 1876, the son of Andrew and Sarah (Noennig) Telle. This boy went by the name Reinhold. His baptism record from the Grace, Uniontown books is displayed here.

Reinhold is found in the 1880 census at the age of 4. His father was a farmer in the Union Township.

Because the 1890 census was lost in a fire, we do not see Reinhold in another such entry until after he is married. So, we will now take a look at the bride. Her name was Anna Justine Hopfer, who was born on July 25, 1877. Anna was the daughter of Emanuel and Caroline (Rabold) Hopfer. Her baptism record from Grace, Uniontown is pictured here.

Quite a few Hopfer family trees on Ancestry.com do not have an entry from the 1880 census attached to Anna’s name because the Hopfer census entry is found on the long lost Union Township pages of that year’s census that were only found relatively recently. Anna was listed as being 2 years old in that entry.

Reinhold Telle was confirmed at Grace in 1889, and Anna Hopfer was confirmed at that church in 1890. If their pastor did what a lot of congregation’s do, Reinhold and Anna were likely in the same confirmation class in 1889.

Reinhold Telle married Anna Hopfer on November 25, 1895 at Grace. There is a bit of scandal associated with this wedding. This couple was married on the same day that their first child was baptized. We can view this pair’s church marriage record below.

This couple’s Missouri marriage license can also be viewed.

A marriage certificate for these two contains an interesting note. It appears that above the date of November 25 is written as October 25. I have no idea why that was done.

The German Family Tree lists 11 children born to Reinhold and Anna. All of them were baptized at Grace, Uniontown. When the 1900 census was taken, we find this couple living with Reinhold’s parents, and they had 3 children. Reinhold was helping on his father’s farm.

Next, we find the Telle’s in the 1910 census. Their family had grown to having 7 children. Reinhold’s mother had died in 1904, and his father was now living in Reinhold’s household. I suspect that they were on the same farmland on which he was born and raised.

When the 1915 plat maps were produced, we find several parcels of land owned by Reinhold. They were quite near Uniontown.

Reinhold had a World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is described as being tall and stout, with blue eyes and light hair.

In 1920, Reinhold and Anna were in their 40’s. A few of their children had left the Telle nest, and their last 4 children were added.

The Telle’s were down to 3 children living with them when the 1930 census was taken.

The last census in which we find Reinhold and Anna was the one taken in 1940. This time, included in his household was the young family of their son, Edward, who had married Agnes Franke in 1927. That is another famous Uniontown name…Franke.

Reinhold Telle died in 1942 at the age of 66. His death certificate below says he died at the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

An obituary for Reinhold was published in the Perry County Republican. It says he had undergone a gall bladder operation. I will display this obituary in 2 images.

Anna Telle lived only about a year after her husband died. She was 67 years old at the time of her death in 1943 Her death certificate says she died at the Manchester Nursing Home in the St. Louis area.

Anna had an obituary published in the same newspaper. It mentions that all 11 of their children were living. I discovered that many of these Telle children migrated to St. Louis where they spent most of their lives.

Reinhold and Anna Telle are each buried in the Grace Lutheran Cemetery in Uniontown.

There is just one glitch in the statement that this couple was a “cradle to grave” couple. Anna died in St. Louis, but I figure she was living in that city for such a short time, that it does not disqualify the Telle couple from being put into this category.

One other thing I discovered in the process of looking at this Telle family. In the 1940 census, a grandchild of the Telle’s was listed by the name of Donald Telle. I found Donald’s obituary because he died just 2 years ago. I have been told that Donald Telle was part of the family that operated the Telle dairy farm that can be seen at the intersection of Highway A and Highway 61 in Uniontown. That is explained by the land map that was displayed earlier. I understand that Donald was also involved in the operation of the Arnsberg Insurance Company that also has its offices at that same intersection. I know I sent that company a sizable sum of money to insure my property recently.