Johannes Edwin Bachmann is today’s birthday boy. Edwin was born on May 3, 1890, so today would be his 135th birthday. Edwin was the son of Edward and Mathilde (Eggers) Bachmann. I am able to display this wedding photo of Edwin’s parents.

Edwin was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at an image of his baptism record here from that congregation’s books.

Edwin is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10. His father was a farmer in the Salem Township. Considering that this entry is from those pages of the Salem Township 1900 census that are often so difficult to read, this image is not so bad.

In the 1910 census, Edwin was 20 years old and still living with his parents. He and another brother, Arthur, were working with their father on his farm.

Just prior to Edwin’s marriage, some plat maps were produced for Perry County in 1915. In that atlas, we find two different pieces of property owned by an Ed. Bachmann and an Ed. W. Bachmann. They are found very near one another north of Farrar and also near Crosstown.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Edwin’s bride. Her name was Ida Hedwig Koenig, who was born on November 10, 1894. November 10th is also Martin Luther’s birthday. Ida was the daughter of Theodore and Louise (Popp) Koenig. Like her future husband, Ida was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Her baptism record is pictured below.

Ida’s mother died in 1897, so Ida did not really get to know her mother. Then, in 1898, Theodore married Emma Ruehling. So, when the 1900 census was taken, we find this Koenig household. This image is one that is difficult to read. Ida was 5 years old, and her father was another farmer in the Salem Township.

In the 1910 census, Ida was a teenager. Several other children had been born to Theodore’s second wife. Ida was the only girl in this family at that time.

The Theodore Koenig farm was found not far from the Bachmann farm north of Farrar.

Edwin Bachmann married Ida Koenig on November 9, 1916, the day before Ida’s 22nd birthday. These two were married at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. The church record for that occasion is displayed here.

We can also view 2 civil marriage documents from Perry County. First, here is this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

Next, here is a document that appears more like a certificate.

In 1917, Edwin had his World War I draft registration completed. It gave him a Farrar address and said that he was farming for himself.

Our German Family Tree lists 4 children born to this couple. The last of the 4 was stillborn. I failed miserably at locating the Bachmann’s in the 1920 census. I think the census taker must have missed them because all indications are that they were living in Perry County and probably farming on the same land. In the 1930 census, there were 3 children in the Bachmann household. Edwin was a farmer.

Prior to the 1940 census, the Bachmann’s moved into Perryville. At that time, this census entry says Edwin was a common laborer. Two of the Bachmann children were working at the shoe factory.

Edwin had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. This form says that Edwin was self-employed.

Edwin Bachmann died in 1949 at the age of 59. His death certificate says that he died while a patient at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis. It also says Edwin was a shoe worker.

An obituary for Edwin was published in the Perry County Republican.

Ida Bachmann is found as a widow in the 1950 census. She was living in the household of her daughter, Olga, who had married Adolph Weber. Another son, Melvin Bachmann, was also included in this household.

I located Ida in a 1958 city directory for St. Louis.

It looks like Ida moved back to Perry County prior to her death. She died in Perryville in 1964 at the age of 70. We can view her death certificate below which says she died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

We can also read Ida’s obituary from the Perry County Republican.

Edwin and Ida Bachmann are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

The Bachmann and Koenig surnames are ones commonly found in the Farrar and Crosstown vicinity. It is also true that this Bachmann/Koenig wedding was not the first one that we find in our German Family Tree. It turns out that if you trace back the branches of today’s Bachmann and Koening trees, you eventually discover that they each had common great-grandparents, Gottfried Koenig and Rosine Wunderlich. That would make Edwin and Ida second cousins. Their great grandparents were married at Grace, Uniontown in the 1850’s, prior to the organization of Salem, Farrar.