Whenever I attempt to write the story of a Stueve, I know I will be presented with a challenge. The Stueve family tree is indeed a daunting one to navigate. Our research library has several large binders that include so many different members of that family tree.
We are in the midst of an ice storm here in Altenburg, so I am not going to make the treacherous trip to the museum to consult these binders today. I really could use the help of our friend, Diane Anderson, for this post because she is the one who put these binders together, and I consider her to be the expert on the Stueve family. In this Stueve family, there are not only several Claus Stueve’s, but I have discovered there are also several Claus Stueve, Jr.’s. You will read about one of those in this post, assuming that I do not lose electricity while I am writing. I will eventually get around to a wedding that took place on January 5th, which is why I chose this story. That wedding not only took place on January 5th, but it took place on the day after the birth of the man I wrote about yesterday, Otto Finger. He was born on January 4, 1890.
Johann Claus Stueve was born on July 1, 1861 in Ankelohe, Germany. Since I already indicated that he was a junior, we know that his father was also named Johann Claus Stueve. His mother was Rebecka Meinz. Both of his parents died in Germany, but several of his father’s siblings came to America. This is explained somewhat in this little tidbit of Stueve history I found on Ancestry.com that was originally put there by Diane Anderson. Today’s character is mentioned in the last sentence.
As it says in the above article, Claus Stueve, Jr. came to America in 1880 with his brother, Peter. They made the voyage aboard the ship, SS Mosel. We see their names on that ship’s passenger list below.
Here is a photo of the SS Mosel. By the time these two brother came to this country in 1880, they did not have to travel on a sailing ship. These two came on a steamship.
After arriving, Peter and Claus settled in Perry County where several of their aunts and uncles were living. Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Claus’s first wife. Her name was Amalia Friedericke Alvine Braeuner, who was born on October 18, 1868. Alvine was the daughter of Herman and Caroline (Winter) Braeuner. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Her baptism record from that congregation’s books is shown here.
Alvine is found in the 1870 census at the age of 1. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.
Next, we find Alvine in the 1880 census at the age of 11.
Now, we come to the event that happened on January 5th. On that day in 1890, Claus Stueve, Jr. married Alvine Braeuner at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can view this couple’s church marriage record below. I have to display it in 2 images.
The Missouri marriage license for Claus and Alvine is pictured here.
Also, a marriage certificate for this occasion can be viewed.
Our German Family Tree lists 6 children for this couple, one of which died right away. They were all baptized at Immanuel, Altenburg. When the 1900 census was taken, the Stueve’s had 5 children, 4 boys and a girl. Claus was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.
Next, we find this family in the 1910 census with 3 remaining children. One son was old enough to be helping Claus on his farm.
That census entry would be the last one in which we find Alvine because she died in 1917 at the age of 48. I should have been able to locate her death certificate, but I failed. Her church death record says that she had cancer. Another death occurred in 1918. Their son, Johann Stueve, died in 1918 while at Camp Funston in Kansas. Most likely he died of the Spanish Flu Epidemic that ravaged that camp.
Claus married again about a month after his son’s death in Kansas. His second wife was Sarah Louise Mathilde Leine, who was born on October 25, 1879. Sarah was the daughter of August and Louise (Martin) Leine and born in New Wells. I am going to skip ahead to show that Sarah Leine, at the age of 26, was living in 1910 with Alvine’s brother, Herman, in Perry County. Herman married Elizabeth Leine, Sarah’s sister.
On November 21, 1918, Claus Stueve married Sarah Leine. The marriage license for this couple is shown here.
The German Family Tree lists 2 more children born to this couple. In the 1920 census we see the following entry for the Stueve’s. The youngster, Reinhold Stueve, was the son of Claus and Sarah. A fascinating aspect of this census entry is that there was a girl named Louise Leine, who was called a niece. About 2 months after this census was submitted, Louise married Ernst Stueve, who is listed right next to Louise in this entry. Even more fascinating is that another son, Rudolph, would marry Louise’s sister, Dora Leine, in 1926.
In the 1930 census, the Stueve household just contained the 2 children born to Claus’s 2nd wife.
The last census in which we find Claus was the one taken in 1940. Claus had no occupation at the age of 78, and his son, Reinhold, was doing the farming.
Claus Stueve died in 1945 at the age of 84.
Below is an obituary for Claus.
Sarah Stueve is found as a widow in the 1950 census. She was living with her two children, Reinhold and Nora. Reinhold was the farmer.
Sarah Stueve died in 1955 at the age of 75. We can view her death certificate below.
Claus Stueve and both of his wives are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.
This story not only was one that was a Stueve challenge. It is also one that presented me with other difficulties involved in looking at the Leine family tree. At least the electricity has held up, but I now wonder whether I will be able to write a story tomorrow.