I located a baby who was born on Christmas Eve for today’s post. Her name was Anna Amalia Sittner, who was born on December 24, 1864. That means today would be her 160th birthday. Amalia was the daughter of Charles August and Wilhelmine (Mehner) Sittner. She was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so we are not able to view an image of her baptism record. It was rather difficult to locate Amalia in the 1870 census. I actually think that Amalia is missing from this entry. She had siblings with the names in this entry, but Amalia, who would have been 6 years old, is not included. Amalia’s father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. That location is also surprising because a person living in the Apple Creek Township was not likely to attend church in Friedenberg. Plus, their surname is given as Sidna.

Next, we find the Sittner’s much closer to Friedenberg, which makes me wonder if Amalia may have been baptized elsewhere or later in her life at Peace Lutheran Church. We find her family living in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Amalia’s husband. His name was William J. Caspar Ludwig, who was born on May 13, 1864. I have already written a few blog posts about men named William Ludwig, one of which was the son of today’s character. That story was titled, William and Ida – A Ludwig/Mecker Match. William was the son of Caspar and Catherine Schreiner. Here is a photo of William’s parents that has shown up on previous posts.

William was a younger brother of Herman Ludwig, who was a main character in the post, Herman the Brewer. Those previous posts pointed out that Caspar Ludwig was involved in operating the brewery in Old Appleton.

I was unable to find a baptism record for William, even though his older brother was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. William is found in the 1870 census at the age of 6. This was another census entry that was a challenge. The family was called Ludwick, and this is the only time when William was called Caspar in a census. His father was a brewer in the Apple Creek Township.

When the 1880 census was taken, William was a teenager. I have displayed this census entry before. It is an interesting one. Included in the Ludwig household were two individuals of note. First, there was a niece named Mary Whittler, who was called a “visitor”. I think this is the only time I found a person in a census who was called a visitor. Also, there was a young carpenter named Charles Groh, who was the son of the carpenter who worked on the new church sanctuary that was built at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg in 1867. Recently, another Charles (Chuck) Groh moved back to Altenburg and joined Trinity. The Charles Groh in this census entry would later move to Alva, Oklahoma, and his story was told in the post, Groh-klahoma!

William Ludwig married Amalia Sittner on November 22, 1888 at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. We cannot view a church marriage record, but I am able to display 2 different civil records from Perry County. First, here is this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

We can also view this marriage certificate. Both of these documents say that William was from Appleton.

This Ludwig couple would have 3 children, and all of them were baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. In the 1900 census, we find the Ludwig’s with all 3 of these children. William is called a teamster, and I suspect that he was delivering beer for his father’s brewery.

Both of William’s parents died during the next decade, and that may have been a reason that he and his family made a move. There is also a story that is told about the original Ludwig home in Appleton being destroyed by fire at about that time. In the 1910 census, William and Amalia are found living in St. Louis. That was also about the time that William’s brother, Herman, moved to St. Louis. William was called a freight handler for a brewery, probably the same brewery at which Herman worked. Included in their household was a boarder named Rose Sachse who was a milliner. Rose was also from the Appleton area originally.

At some point in time, William and Amalia had this photograph taken.

Next, we find the Ludwig’s in the 1920 census. There were just 2 children still living with their parents. William still had the same job.

In the 1930 census William and Amalia had an empty nest. This time, William is called a porter for a hardware business.

The Ludwig’s were in their 70’s when the 1940 census was taken. No occupation is listed for either William or Amalia.

William Ludwig died in 1943 at the age of 79. He is called a retired porter for the Lammert Furniture Company on his death certificate below.

Amalia Ludwig died in on November 24, 1948 at the age of 83. She died on the day before Thanksgiving, so I guess we could call that Thanksgiving Eve. Her death certificate says she died at the Sunset Sanitarium in Ellisville.

William and Amalia Ludwig are buried together in the New Bethlehem Memorial Park in St. Louis. I guess it is also appropriate that a Christmas Eve birthday girl would be buried in New Bethlehem.

In closing, let me wish you all a Blessed Christmas Eve. I hope you all have the opportunity today and tomorrow to gather with other Christians and worship the Christ Child with friends and family.