You will read a story that begins in Illinois, moves to Missouri, and ends up in Arkansas. That may sound like a pretty long trip, but it really is not. This tale will also tell the story of a man and a woman, but this couple does not make up a married pair. It’s the story of two lifelong singles.

Clara Marie Theresia Hartwig was born on March 22, 1895, so today would be her 130th birthday. Clara was the daughter of Ernst and Bertha (Schmidtke) Hartwig. Clara’s parents were married at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois in 1892, and then proceeded to have 3 children baptized at that church. Those 3 were born between 1893 and 1896. Clara was the second of those three. We can take a look at Clara’s baptism record from that congregation’s books below. I have to display it in 2 images.

Before we move on, let’s backtrack to the first of those children born in Illinois. His name was Friedrich August Hartwig, who was born on December 22, 1893. His baptism record is pictured here. He was born in 1893, but got baptized in 1894.

Prior to 1900, the Hartwig family moved across the river to Perry County. In that year’s census, the Hartwig’s are found living in the Brazeau Township. The father of Fred and Clara was a farmer. There was a 1 year old child who was born in Illinois and a baby born in Missouri in this entry. I did not find either of those child’s baptism records in any Lutheran church books.

The Hartwig’s did not spend much time in Perry County either. Another child was born in Missouri in 1901, but when the following daughter was born in 1904, that child was born in Arkansas. When the 1910 census was taken, the Hartwig’s are found living in the Cleveland Township in Clay County, Arkansas. Fred and Clara were teenagers, and their father was still farming. There were 9 children in the family along with Herman Hartwig, Fred and Clara’s single uncle, who was helping with the farming.

Fred had his World War I draft registration completed when the United States joined that war. He is given a Corning, Arkansas address and was working on his father’s farm.

The map below shows where Corning, Arkansas is located. The dashed line toward the top of this image is the border between Missouri and Arkansas.

In the 1920 census, we see that a few of the Hartwig children had moved away, but it was still quite a large household. Fred and his father were called farmers.

Fred and Clara’s mother died in 1926, so their father was a widower when the 1930 census was taken. Fred is called Fritz in this entry. He and Clara were in their 30’s and still single.

Fred and Clara’s father died in 1933, so we find a different situation when the 1940 census was taken. Fred was the head of his household, and his younger brother, Herbert had gotten married to Norene Phillips, and that couple had 2 children by this time. Fred and Herbert were farming together.

Clara Hartwig is not found in the above entry. This would be the only census that would indicate that Clara and Fred were not living in the same household. Clara was still living in the Cleveland Township, but she is found in the Arville Phillips household. Arvill was Norene’s brother.

Fred had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. This time, he is given a Success, Arkansas address. You can see where Success is located on the map shown earlier.

When the 1950 census was taken, we find that Fred and Clara were once again living under the same roof. Herbert and his family were also part of this household. Fred and Clara were in their 50’s.

Fred Hartwig died in 1966 at the age of 71. Because he died in a Poplar Bluff, Missouri hospital, we are able to view his Missouri death certificate. It gives stomach cancer as a cause of death. This document gives Fred a Success, Arkansas address.

Clara Hartwig died in 1979 at the age of 84. If she died in Missouri, it was too recently for us to view her death certificate. Fred and Clara are each buried in the Williams Cemetery in Corning, Arkansas. There are several other Hartwig’s buried in that cemetery.

The Hartwig story is one that appears only for a short time in local church books around here. It even appears that there is the possibility that they left the Lutheran church after moving to Missouri. During the rest of their lives in Northeast Arkansas I found no “Lutheran documentation”. There is an LCMS congregation in Corning, Arkansas that was established in 1893, but we do not have access to that congregation’s books to see if there were any Hartwig records to be found there. The Hartwig story began in Jacob, Illinois and ended in Success, Arkansas. A map program says that these two towns are 159 miles apart, and using today’s roads and vehicles, it takes about an hour and a half to make the trip. Fred and Clara made their trip through life together almost from cradle to grave.