Yesterday, I highlighted the fact that I was writing about two brand new names to this blog. I get to do the same thing today. Today’s birthday boy had a surname that is brand new to this blog, and it turns out that he did not remain in Perry County very long. Then he later found his bride in a faraway location, so it is not unusual for such a person to marry a person with another surname that is brand new. Let’s start with the birthday boy.

Albert Heinrich Stern was born on March 20, 1887, so today would be his 138th birthday. Albert was the son of Nicholas and Augusta (Hinze) Stern. Before I proceed further with Albert’s story, let me backtrack to give a previous document for his parents which may explain what happens later. In the 1880 census, prior to Albert’s birth, we find Nicholas and Augusta living in Denver, Colorado. Nicholas was a cigar maker.

You can see that the Stern’s were living in the Albert Hinze household. Albert was Augusta Stern’s brother. The Stern couple had no children yet at that time. It may be the fact that August and Albert Hinze were born in Missouri that explains why today’s birthday boy was born in Perryville. Three Stern children are included in our German Family Tree because they were all baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in that city between 1884 and 1889. Albert’s was the second of those children, and his baptism record is displayed below. I happen to think Albert may have been named after his uncle, Albert Hinze.

It is a good thing that Albert was born during the time when Perry County was keeping birth records. Albert’s birth record below shows that his father was a cigar maker, which confirms that this was the correct Stern family that once lived in Denver.

We never can see the Stern family in a Perry County census. Perhaps if we could view the 1890 census, they may have still been living in Perryville. I found an 1892 Denver city directory that shows the Stern’s living in Denver.

By the time of the 1900 census, the Stern’s are once again found living in Denver. Albert was 13 years old, and his father was still a cigar maker. Two of Albert’s older sisters were dress makers.

Albert got married prior to the next census, so now we will take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Augusta Waidmann, who was born on June 27, 1888. Augusta was the daughter of Henry and Caroline (Meyer) Waidmann. She was born in Denver, and she is found in her first census in 1900 at the age of 11. Her father was a tailor in Denver.

Albert Stern married Augusta Waidmann on June 9, 1909. The Colorado marriage record for this event is shown here. It really doesn’t give many details.

Based on future census entries, I think this couple had 3 children. In the 1910 census, we find the Stern’s with their first baby, a son whose name is pretty unreadable. Ancestry.com transcribes that name as Anglesta. Later, we see that a son named Robert, who was born in 1910, was buried with his parents. Albert was a granite cutter at a stone yard in Denver.

In 1917, Albert had his World War I draft registration completed. It says he was a granite cutter for the Standard Granite Company. It also says that he had a wife and 3 children.

I was not able to locate the Stern’s in the 1920 census, but I did find them in this city directory for Denver that was published during that year. In this document, it says Albert was a granite cutter for the Bayha & Bohm company. I found evidence that this was a company that made monuments like gravestones.

In the 1930 census, we see only 2 children. Their oldest son, Robert, had died in 1930. Albert was still a granite cutter.

The 1940 census show Albert and Augusta with an empty nest. Albert had the same occupation.

Albert completed a World War II draft card in 1942. It looks like he changed occupations. He was working for the Denver Water Department.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. This entry also says Albert was a city water worker.

Albert Stern died later in 1950 at the age of 63; Augusta Stern died in 1967 at the age of 79. Albert, Augusta, and their son, Robert are buried together in the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. Since Robert had died in 1930 when Albert was still a granite cutter, maybe he made the monument shown here.

Today’s tale is one that really begins in Denver, Colorado. Then the Stern family spent a short amount of time in Perryville, at which time some baptism records get this family into our German Family Tree, and that is how I found this story. After spending that time in Perry County, the Stern’s returned to Denver where today’s birthday boy found a Denver bride and spent the rest of his life.