Today’s birthday girl is Anna Louise Martha Brune, who was born on March 23, 1885. That means today would be her 140th birthday. Martha, or Mattie, as she was often called, was the daughter of Christian and Marie (Sewing) Brune. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured below.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the only census entry in which we find Martha prior to her marriage was the one taken in 1900. She was 15 years old at the time. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. Martha was the youngest child in this Brune family.

Two years prior to the above entry, Martha was confirmed at Trinity, Friedheim. Her confirmation record is shown here.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Martha’s husband. His name was William David Friese, who was born on April 25, 1884. William was the son of Jacob and Hannah (Propst) Friese. He was baptized at Sargent’s Chapel, a Lutheran congregation in Sedgewickville, Missouri. I located his baptism record on Ancestry.com, but it was not in the Missouri Synod collection of records because Sargent’s Chapel was not part of that synod. William is found in a list of 4 children who were baptized on June 22, 1884. The list includes 3 Friese’s and 1 Propst.

The list of charter members of Sargent’s Chapel, which was established in 1869, that is shown below includes several Friese’s and Propst’s.

Here is a photo of Sargent’s Chapel.

William is found in the 1900 census at the age of 16. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

William Friese married Martha Brune on October 14, 1906 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. The church record for this event is displayed below.

Also included in the Trinity, Friedheim books are some forms that are filled out by the pastor when a couple is married. Here is the one for William and Martha.

We can also take a look at the Missouri marriage license for this couple. Even though Friedheim is located in Cape Girardeau County, this license is for Perry County.

In 1907, William Friese was confirmed at Trinity, Friedheim. Here is his confirmation record.

Our German Family Tree lists 3 children born to William and Martha, all boys. They were each baptized at Trinity, Friedheim. In the 1910 census, we find the Friese’s with one son. They were living in the same household as Martha’s parents. William and his father-in-law were farming together.

William had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given a Hildebrand address.

A series of plat maps for Cape Girardeau County was produced in 1930. On the image below, you will see several parcels of land owned by Friese, Est. There are also some Brune parcels of land in this image. You can see on this map the proximity of the town of Hildebrand to Friedheim.

In the 1920 census, we see the Friese’s with all 3 of their sons. Martha’s father-in-law had died in 1910, so we do not see this family in the Brune household any longer.

In November of that year, William Friese died at the age of 37. His death certificate below says he died of typhoid fever.

The widow, Martha, is found as the head of her household with two remaining sons when the 1930 census was taken. Martha is called the farm manager with the two sons doing the farm labor.

Next, we find Martha living with her son, Elmer, who had married Jewel Statler. Two of Martha’s grandchildren were in this household.

The final census entry we can look at is the one taken in 1950. Martha was still living in the Elmer Friese household.

Martha Friese died in 1955 at the age of 69. Her death certificate can be viewed below.

I found two obituaries for Martha. One was published in the Perry County Republican and the other in the Perry County Sun. Both of these use the name Anna, even though every census entry called her Martha or Mattie.

William and Martha Friese are each buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Friedheim.

There are 8 Friese grave sites that are documented on Findagrave.com in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Friedheim. On the other hand, the Sargent’s Chapel Cemetery has 66 grave sites that include the name of Friese. I would say that there are plenty of folks from this area that still carry the surnames, Friese and Brune.