Maria Magdalena Hansen was born on April 27, 1875, so not only is she today’s birthday girl, but she would be celebrating a special 150th birthday. Maria was the daughter of Peter and Sophia (Poehner) Hansen. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can take a look at her baptism record below.

Maria shows up in the 1880 census at the age of 5. She was the oldest child in this Hansen family. Her father, who was of Danish descent, was a farmer in the Bois Brule Township.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, the next one in which we see Maria is the one taken in 1900. She was no longer living with her parents. She was a 25 year-old servant in the Gottlieb Bergmann household in the Central Township.

Maria would get married later in 1900, so we will now turn our attention to the man who would become her husband. His name was Emanuel Ernst Hoffstetter, who was born on May 16, 1875, about 3 weeks after Maria was born. Emanuel was the son of Christian and Emilie (Gruenwald) Hoffstetter. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record is displayed here.

Emanuel’s father died in 1877, so when the Hoffstetter family is found in the 1880 census, Emilie Hoffstetter was the head of the household. This must have been a difficult time for this family. None of the people in this entry had an occupation. The oldest children were daughters and the sons would have either been in school or too young to attend school. One has to wonder how they made ends meet.

Emanuel’s mother would marry again in 1885. Her second husband was Friedrich August Neupert. If we could view the 1890 census, we probably would find Emanuel living with his mother and stepfather. However, his stepfather died prior to the 1900 census. As it turns out, when the 1900 census was taken, Emanuel was no longer living with his mother. He had moved to St. Louis. In the census entry below, we find Emanuel living in the Frank Wlasek household. Both Frank Wlasek and Emanuel were called bakers.

Emanuel Hoffstetter came back to Perry County later that year to marry Maria Hansen at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. They were married on November 11, 1900. This couple’s church marriage record is pictured here.

We can also take a look at this pair’s Missouri marriage license.

Our German Family Tree lists 7 children born to this couple. All of them were baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. When the 1910 census was taken, the Hoffstetter household included 4 children. Maria’s sister, Emelia, was living with them. This family was living in Perryville where both Emanuel and Maria are called bakers.

In 1911, their son, Walter died at the age of 7. His church death record says he died as a result of a wasp sting.

Emanuel had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. Emanuel was a self-employed baker, which means he had his own bakery shop.

In the 1920 census, we find all 6 of the remaining children in the Hoffstetter household. Emanuel was called the proprietor of a bakery. This time, Maria is called a housekeeper.

Perhaps it was about this time that Emanuel had this photo taken. I was unable to locate a photo of Maria.

Emanuel had a change in occupation prior to the next census in 1930. He had become a salesman for a medicine company. There were 3 remaining Hoffstetter children living with their parents.

Maria Hoffstetter died in 1938 at the age of 62. We can view her death certificate below.

An obituary for Maria appeared in the Perry County Republican. I will display it below in two images that may have to be clicked to enlarge them.

Emanuel is found as a widower when the 1940 census was taken. He was living with his son, Fred. Also included in the household was a boarder named Raymond Papin and a housekeeper named Marie Lueders. Emanuel was a salesman of home products.

Emanuel married again. On July 12, 1941, he married Anna Dorothea (Heise) Kimball. Dorothy had previously been married to Henry Kimball, but he had died in 1938. This pair’s church marriage record is found in the books of Immanuel, Perryville. This document says that Dorothy was from Overland, a suburb of St. Louis.

The Missouri marriage license for this couple is shown here.

This marriage did not last long because Emanuel Hoffstetter died in 1945 at the age of 70. His death certificate is pictured here.

We can also read an obituary for Emanuel.

Emanuel is buried together with his first wife, Maria, in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

This story presented us with an Emanuel who was baptized at Immanuel who married a woman who was baptized at a different Immanuel. Emanuel ended up getting married twice at Immanuel and being buried at Immanuel. There are certainly a lot of Immanuel’s in this tale. There are likely quite a few descendants that are around today who come from today’s Hoffstetter/Hansen pair. And since 4 of their sons lived to adulthood and got married, many may still carry the Hoffstetter surname.