Yesterday’s post was about a baby boy who was born on March 5, 1900. Today’s story will be about a baby girl who was born on the next day, March 6, 1900. Yesterday’s story began on the other side of the Mississippi in Illinois. Today’s baby girl was born in Perry County, Missouri.
Thekla Olga Hooss was born in Perryville, and today would be her 125th birthday. Thekla was the daughter of Charles and Minnie (Markwort) Hooss. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. An image of her baptism record is pictured below.
Thekla is found as a baby in the 1900 census. Her father had a hardware store in Perryville. Some other posts have been written on this blog about a few of Thekla’s siblings.
The only other census entry in which we find Thekla before she was married was the one taken in 1910. She was 10 years old, and another Hooss child had been born into this family.
Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Thekla’s husband. His name was Christian Carl George Mecker, who was born on October 29, 1892. Christian was the son of William and Barbara (Schade) Mecker. Like Thekla, Christian was baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. We can look at an image of his baptism record here.
Christian is found in the 1900 census at the age of 7. His father was a saloon keeper in Perryville.
Christian was a teenager when the 1910 census was taken. This time, his father was said to be working for a beer agency. I suppose that could mean that he was still operating a tavern.
Christian moved to St. Louis sometime after this census was taken. He had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917 and is given a St. Louis address. He was called a stenographer. This is also a document where he uses the name, Christy, not Christian.
I think Thekla moved to St. Louis during this decade also because that is where she got married. Christian Mecker married Thekla Hooss on January 7, 1918. The St. Louis marriage record below says they were married by Rev. Rich Kretschmar, who was the pastor at Emmaus Lutheran Church in St. Louis. The Missouri Synod collection of records on Ancestry.com does include some records from this congregation, but they do not start until the mid-1920’s. Once again, this document uses the name, Christy Mecker.
It looks as if the Mecker’s had 2 children, both boys. The 1920 census shows this couple with their first son. Christian’s occupation is described as working for a recruit service with the government.
The second son was born in 1926, and that son’s baptism record from Emmaus Lutheran’s books can be found on Ancestry.com. I will display it below.
The 1930 census entry for the Mecker’s includes both of their sons. This time, Christian was called an insurance agent.
When the 1940 census was taken, we find the same quartet of family members. Christian is called a life insurance agent. Their older son, William, worked in a feed mill office.
Christian had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. This document says that Christian’s employer was the Prudential Insurance Company.
The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Just their younger son was living with Christian and Thekla. Christian had the same job.
Christian Mecker died in 1980 at the age of 87; Thekla Mecker died in 1989 at the age of 89. Thekla died in Arizona where she was living with her son, William. These two are buried together in the St. Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in St. Louis.
Add this Mecker/Hooss story to the list of posts that have been published on this blog that tell the story of people who began their lives in Perry County, but later spent most of their lives in St. Louis. I did find some evidence in local newspapers that told about the Mecker’s coming to Perryville to visit family members over the years after their marriage.