The story I have to tell today has some missing pieces. My wife likes to do jigsaw puzzles. If and when she realizes there is the possibility of a missing piece, she starts looking on the floor and elsewhere to see if the piece managed to escape her table. Every once in a while, she never finds that piece and the puzzle, when completed, has a hole in it where that piece would fit. If I am to write stories on this blog on an almost-daily basis, I do not have the time to look for all the missing pieces. And every once in a while, one of our readers tells me where the missing piece is found.

Albert Friedrich Klemp was born on October 16, 1867, the son of William and Margaret (Schneider) Klemp. Albert was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. That congregation was established in 1866, so Albert’s baptism record is one of the first ones in that church’s books. We can take a look at Albert’s baptism record here.

Albert is found in the 1870 census at the age of 4, although I think he was only 3. His father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township. It was quite a large Klemp family.

In the 1880 census, Albert is called Frrederick. Three more Klemp daughters were added to this family in the previous decade.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Albert’s wife. Her name was Mary C. Lorberg, who was born on March 8, 1878, so she was about 11 years younger that Albert. Mary was the daughter Adam and Nancy (Schrum) Lorberg. I do not know where Mary was baptized. She is found in the 1880 census at the age of 2. Her father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Albert Klemp married Mary Lorberg on April 21, 1895, so today would be this couple’s 130th wedding anniversary. This pair’s marriage record is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. This document says they were married in the house of the bride’s parents.

We can also view 2 civil marriage records for this event. First, here is their Missouri marriage license.

There is also this document that looks more like a marriage certificate.

Our German Family Tree lists only one child born to this couple, but Family Search lists 4 of them. Only their first child was baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. When the 1900 census was taken, there were 2 children in the Klemp household. Albert was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

At some point, this Klemp family made a move to Madison County, Missouri around Fredericktown. That is where we find the Klemp household when the 1910 census was taken. Albert was still called a farmer.

At this time, I ran into one of those missing pieces. I was unable to locate this family in the 1920 census, although I have every reason to believe that they were still living near Fredericktown. The photo below was probably taken at about this time. However, there is a bit of a mystery here. This photo has been captioned as being Mary, Albert, and Flora Klemp. This really does not make sense because Flora just 7 years old when her father died. Perhaps, it was their other daughter, Edith.

In 1922, Albert Klemp died at the age of 55. His death certificate below says he died of tuberculosis.

Mary is found as a widow in the 1930 census. She and her daughter, Flora, were living in the Polk Township which is found near Fredericktown. Mary is called a farmer.

In the 1940 census, Mary was living by herself and still called a farmer. She is found in the same location as the previous census indicated.

The last census in which we find Mary was the one taken in 1950. This time, Mary, at the age of 72, was living in Fredericktown with no occupation.

Mary Klemp died in 1956 at the age of 78. Now, I have to tell you about another missing piece. I was unsuccessful at finding Mary’s death certificate. I have gotten pretty good at finding these documents, but all my strategies failed. Both Albert and Mary Klemp are buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Fredericktown.

Maybe some of our readers can be more successful at finding the missing pieces in today’s tale. I just know there comes a time when I have to write the story and move on to another one.