Today’s story is attached to our German Family Tree by a single thread. The couple in this story were almost always members of a local Lutheran church, but not one that is a member of the Missouri Synod. The husband in this tale, however, might have been confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, but that record is somewhat doubtful. Other than that, we have no other church records for either the bride or the groom in the GFT. I am going to write this story anyway.

Let’s begin with the groom. Henry Christian Friese was born on October 20, 1839, the son of August and Caroline (Kannegieser) Friese. Henry was born in Missouri, so he was born not long after the German Lutheran immigrants arrived in East Perry County earlier that year. I found a bit of evidence that the Friese family had arrived in this country in 1834. I do not know where Henry was baptized. Henry is found in the 1850 census at the age of 10. His father was a farmer in Cape Girardeau County.

We have a confirmation record for Henry Friese in our German Family Tree that says he was confirmed in 1850. In the image below, I think the highlighted name might be the one listed in our GFT. I have a problem with this record (other than the fact that I have trouble reading the names), and that is that if this was the main character in this story, he would have been confirmed when he was only 11 years old. Most young people get confirmed when they are about 14. That’s why I even have doubts that the one church record in our GFT is really a record for Henry Friese.

Next, we find Henry in the 1860 census. This time we find the Friese’s living in the Union Township of Bollinger County. Henry was 20 years old at the time.

Henry served in the Union Army during the Civil War. I found 3 different documents that reference his service during that war. You may have to click the thumbnails to enlarge them.

Henry would get married shortly after that war concluded, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Mary Elizabeth Rader, who was born on May 13, 1845. This is how I found today’s tale. Mary would be celebrating her 180th birthday today. Mary was the daughter of William and Keziah (Brown) Rader. Both of Mary’s parents were from Tennessee, and a previous child born to them in 1843 was born in Tennessee. That means the Rader’s were fairly new to the state of Missouri when Mary was born. I also do not know where she was baptized. Mary is found in the 1850 census at the age of 5. Her father was a wagon maker in Cape Girardeau County. You can see on this entry that Mary was the first Rader child to be born in Missouri.

Mary is found in the 1860 census at the age of 14. This time, her family was living in the Apple Creek Township, and her father was called a farmer and carpenter.

Henry Friese married Mary Rader on July 23, 1865. These two were married by a justice of the peace. I am able to display 2 civil marriage records for this event.

Here is another one.

Before I move on, let me say that a few years after Henry and Mary were married, Henry’s younger brother married Mary’s younger sister, so this would not be the only Friese/Rader wedding.

Family trees on Ancestry.com and information found on Family Search indicate that Henry and Mary had 12 children. All of them lived until the 1900’s except one child who died when he was just a youngster. In the 1870 census, we find the Friese’s with 2 children. Henry was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

The 1880 census shows that the Friese household had gotten much larger. There were 8 children listed. This entry is at the bottom of a census page, and the head of the next household on this image is that of Mary’s father, William Rader. Perhaps after Henry and Mary got married, they moved onto the Rader property to farm the land with the Rader’s.

As near as I can figure it, I think the photograph of the Friese family below may have been taken around 1890. Their youngest child, Clara, had been born in 1888. There are 11 children in the photo.

We have to wait until 1900 to view the next census. A lot of time had transpired, so in this entry, we see that just 3 children remained in the Friese household.

It might have been about this time that Henry and Mary had this photo taken with their 2 youngest daughters, Effie and Alice.

The last census in which we find Henry was the one taken in 1910. Henry and Mary had an empty nest, and they were living in Old Appleton. No occupations were given for them.

Another photo was taken of Henry and Mary with a grandchild at a late time in their lives.

Henry Friese died in 1912 at the age of 72. His death certificate below says that he died of tuberculosis.

Mary Friese is found living with her son, August, in Daisy, Missouri when the 1920 census was taken.

Mary Friese died in 1926 at the age of 84. We can also take a look at her death certificate.

Henry and Mary Friese are each buried in the Sargent’s Chapel Cemetery in Sedgewickville.

All indications point to the fact that Henry and Mary Friese were members for a long time at Sargent’s Chapel Lutheran Church in Sedgewickville. That church was established not long after Henry and Mary were married. That congregation began in 1869. Some of that church’s books can be found on Ancestry.com, and I located several baptism records for the children of Henry and Mary.