I will be writing a story today that introduces some brand new names to this blog. Even though I found evidence that the surnames of the bride and groom have been around in this area for a very long time and also members of a local Lutheran church, I have not run across their names after a lot of years searching for stories in the German Family Tree. The main reason for this is the fact that the church books for Trinity Lutheran Church in Freidheim have only recently been added to the GFT. I found this tale because today would be the highlighted couple’s wedding anniversary.

Joseph Conrad Kester was born on January 2, 1860, the son of George and Mahala (Bürkbüchler) Kester. Maybe our museum’s friend and outstanding researcher, Kathy Birkbigler, can tell us if Joseph’s mother had a surname that eventually became spelled as Birkbigler, which is a fairly common name in Perry County historical records. Joseph’s father arrived in America in 1838, even before the large Lutheran immigration that arrived in 1839. His parents had gotten married in 1858 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, and Joseph was their first child. Joseph’s baptism record is found in the books of Trinity, Friedheim. We can view that record below.

Joseph was born early enough in 1860 to be found in that year’s census. The Kester’s were living in the Apple Creek Township where Joseph’s father was a farmer. This entry says Joseph was 6 months old.

In the 1870 census, we see that the Kester family had gotten considerably larger, and Joseph was the only son. Joseph was 10 years old at the time.

The last census entry in which we find Joseph prior to his marriage was the one taken in 1880. His father had died in 1872, and since the 20 year-old Joseph was the only male in the household, he was doing the lion’s share of the farming.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Joseph’s bride. Her name was Mary Justine Maintz, who was born on May 5, 1860, just two months after Joseph was born. Mary was the daughter of William and Wilhelmine (Haupt) Maintz. This surname looks like it was originally spelled as Mänz. Mary was also baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. An image of her baptism record is pictured here. I thought I would find Mary’s baptism record near that of Joseph’s, but it was not. If you look at this image, it says Sudh. on the right side. This was a baptism that took place in Sudheim. I am now aware that there was once a Lutheran church in Kurreville, and that was the town that was once called Sudheim. Back in those days, the pastor who served both churches recorded the Dissen (Friedheim) records separate from those that were conducted in Sudheim (Kurreville).

Like, Joseph, Mary was born early enough to make it into the 1860 census. She was 4 months old and living in the Apple Creek Township. Her father was a farmer. Unlike Joseph, Mary had several older siblings, but like Joseph’s family, this one was filled with females.

Next, we find Mary in the 1870 census. It says she was just 8 years old, but I think she was 10 years old at the time. Two sons were born in the previous decade, so now there were some male children in the household.

Since Joseph and Mary were born during the same year, I figured that I would find them getting confirmed in the same year, but Joseph was confirmed in 1873 and Mary in 1875. The Maintz household in the 1880 census indicates they were living in the Whitewater Township. Mary was 20 years old, and her father was still farming.

Joseph Kester married Mary Maintz on March 19, 1885, so today would be their 140th wedding anniversary. As expected, they were married at Trinity, Friedheim. The church record for that occasion is displayed here.

The Missouri marriage license for this couple can also be viewed.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to Mary and Joseph, but I found family trees on Ancestry.com that list a few more. We have to wait until the 1900 census was taken before we can see this family in a census entry. By then, there were 5 children in their family. Joseph was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

In the 1910 census, we see the same 5 children in the Kester household. One son was old enough to be helping on the farm.

The Kester household was down to having 2 daughters living with Mary and Joseph when the 1920 census was taken. At the age of 60, this entry indicates that Joseph was no longer farming.

The last census entry in which we find Mary and Joseph was the one taken in 1930. Now, at the age of 70, Joseph is once again called a farmer. Just one single daughter was still living with them.

Both Joseph and Mary died in the 1930’s. Joseph died in 1930 at the age of 70. On his death certificate below, for the cause of death, I think it says, “Apoplexy…was found dead and investigation found this to be cause.” Also, Joseph’s mother’s maiden name is spelled Berkbigler on this document.

Joseph’s obituary from the Perry County Republican says that he was found dead in a field.

Mary Kester died in 1932 at the age of 71. We can also take a look at her death certificate.

Mary’s obituary was also published in the Perry County Republican.

Joseph and Mary Kester are each buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Friedheim.

What I find interesting about the Kester and Maintz families is that for several generations, these two surnames pretty much remained in the Friedheim church books. People with those surnames seemed to find their spouses who also were from the Friedheim congregation. So, these two names were really uncommon in our German Family Tree until we managed to have them included recently. I am experiencing a learning curve on what I may have to call the “Friedheim names”.