Emil Paul Ochs was born on March 11, 1900, thus making today his 125th birthday. Emil was the son of John and Anna (Stuebinger) Ochs. A previous post about Emil’s parents, The Ochs/Stuebinger Couplings, gives some background information about the origins of Emil’s Ochs family in Perry County. In that previous post, you discover that Emil’s parents were married at the Cross Congregation near Longtown. However, by 1900, that congregation had folded. When Emil was baptized, we find his baptism record in the books of Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. That record is displayed here.

The above record states that Emil was baptized at Point Rest. It was about 1900 when Salem, Farrar was in the process of trying to establish a new congregation in Point Rest, which was located in the Mississippi River Bottoms near Menfro. I suspect that the pastor at Salem may have already begun holding services for German Lutherans in Point Rest in early 1900 when Emil was baptized. Later that year, a pastor was called, and the books for Trinity Lutheran Church in Point Rest began to include records in 1901. Emil was baptized on March 25, 1900, which was a Sunday. I think that after Sunday morning services were held at Salem, their pastor went to Point Rest later in the day, and it was then that Emil was baptized.

Emil is found as a baby when the 1900 census was taken later that year. His father was a farmer in the Bois Brule Township, which is the township in which Point Rest was found.

Next, we find Emil in the 1910 census at the age of 10.

Emil had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He was called an 18 year-old farmer in Point Rest. I found no evidence that Emil ended up serving in the military.

The 1920 census is the last one in which we find Emil before he got married. He was still living with his parents and helping his father on his farm.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Emil’s bride. Her name was Martha Louise Popp, who was born on June 25, 1902. Martha was the daughter of Henry and Rosa (Knoll) Popp. A previous post has also already been published about Martha’s parents titled, Henry and Rosa – Friedenberg Popp’s. Martha was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so we are not able to view an image of her baptism record. Martha is found in her first census in 1910 at the age of 7. Her father was a farm laborer in the Bois Brule Township.

When the 1915 plat map atlas was produced, we find the Henry Popp property located near Menfro.

When the 1920 census was taken, Martha was a teenager.

Emil Ochs married Martha Popp on April 3, 1923 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Point Rest. I cannot display an image of this congregation’s marriage record, but since we have a binder in our research library that includes lists of their church records, I am able to display what that binder contains for this wedding.

The Missouri marriage license for Emil and Martha’s wedding can be viewed below. This form says that Rev. Aug. Schulz officiated at this wedding.

In a list of early pastors at Trinity Lutheran Church in Point Rest, we see that Rev. A. Schulz was the pastor at that congregation in 1923.

A marriage certificate for the Ochs/Popp wedding can also be viewed.

Emil and Martha only had one child, a son born in 1926, but that baby died a few months after birth. That baby was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg.

After they were married, it looks like the Ochs couple took up residence in the city of Perryville. In the 1930 census, that is where we find them living, with Emil working as a mechanic at a bus station. Also included in their household was Rosa Popp, Martha’s mother, and Evelyn Popp, Martha’s sister.

The Ochs household is found in the 1940 census containing the same quartet of characters shown in the previous census. Emil had the same occupation, and Evalyn Popp was teaching school.

The final census entry we can view is the one taken in 1950. It says Emil was working in his own garage. We once again find Martha’s mother in their household, but this time, we also see Paul Ochs, Emil’s brother. It says that Paul was married, but I think he was a lifelong bachelor. Paul was a milk salesman.

Emil Ochs died in 1961 at the age of 60, just a matter of weeks short of his 61st birthday. His death certificate below gives the primary cause of his death as diabetes. I will also point out that Emil’s death record can be found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville, even though he was not buried in that congregation’s cemetery.

We can take a look at Emil’s obituary that was published in the Perry County Republican. This obit gives the additional information that Emil was part of the Fire Department in Perryville.

Martha Ochs did not die until 1981 at the age of 78. Emil and Martha Ochs are buried together in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in Friedenberg.

The two families that made up today’s couple, the Ochs’s and the Popp’s, were found as members of quite a few Lutheran congregations in Perry County over the years. We see church records for members of these families in the books of Cross Congregation near Longtown, Salem Lutheran Church in Frohna, Trinity Lutheran Church in Point Rest, Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville.