Three days ago, I wrote the story of the life of Anna Lueders in the post, Another Lueders/Poppitz Pair. I did not know that a few days later, I would be writing the story of her brother, Henry. I will begin with Henry’s wife because she is today’s birthday girl.

Emma Louise Helena Weber was born on June 7, 1890, so today would be her 135th birthday. She was called Lena throughout much of her life, so I will use that name. She was the daughter of Henry and Amalia (Kaufmann) Weber. Lena was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at an image of her baptism record here.

Lena was born at a time when Perry County kept birth records. For some reason, the person recording this document called her Magdalena L.M. instead of Helena E.L.

Lena is found in the 1900 census at the age of 9. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

You can see where the Henry Weber farm was located on the plat map below. Right next to the Henry Weber farm was the one owned by H.K. (Herman) Weber, Henry’s brother. Their land was located right along the banks of the Apple Creek in the very southern part of Perry County.

In the 1910 census, Lena was 19 years old and still living with her parents.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Lena’s husband. His name was Heinrich William Arthur Lueders. He is almost a junior because his father was named Heinrich William Christian Lueders. His mother was Louise Elbrecht, so if you read the story 3 days ago, you should recognize these parents. Henry was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. His baptism record is displayed here.

We can also view a birth record for Henry.

Henry is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10, although I think he was at least 11. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

The Henry Lueders farm was located not far from Frohna as shown on the plat map below. If you look at the very bottom of this map, you will see the initials, H.K. That is the farm of H.K. Weber shown in the previous land map for the Weber’s. You can see that Henry and Lena lived rather close to one another.

Henry would later be known as Heini, so I am going to use that name to distinguish him from his father. Heini is found in the 1910 census at the age of 21. He was working on his father’s farm.

Heini Lueders married Lena Weber on April 14, 1912 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The church marriage record for this wedding is pictured below.

We can also view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

I located this photo of Heini, Lena, and their wedding party. I know that Heini’s sister, Anna, who was the character in the the story 3 days ago, was an attendant for this couple, but I do not know which one is her in this photo.

Heini and Lena had 4 children. They were all baptized at Concordia, Frohna.

Heini had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. It gives him a Frohna address and says he was a farm hand working for his grandfather, August Lueders. He had a wife and 2 children at that time.

In the 1920 census, the Lueders’s had 3 of their 4 children in their household. Heini was simply called a laborer.

Next, we find the Lueders household in the 1930 census. They had relocated to the Trognitz Township in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. Perhaps you remember that Henry’s sister and her husband, Theodor Poppitz, had moved to that county. Heini is called a farmer, and all 4 of their children were living with them.

This Lueders family did not remain in Nebraska. They returned to Perry County prior to the 1940 census. This entry says that Heini and Lena had lived in Nebraska in 1935. Neither of them had an occupation listed, and they were living in the Union Township.

I have seen evidence that Heini had a shoe repair shop in Altenburg at about this time. Also, it is reported that Lena was one of the first telephone operators in Altenburg and that Heini helped with that task as well. At some point, a photograph was taken of Heini and Lena’s family.

The last census which the public can view is the one taken in 1950. Heini and Lena were living in Altenburg where Heini is called a shoe repairer. We can see some other neighbors of the Lueders couple. Not too far above their names, you will see the name of Herman Weber, who would have been Lena’s uncle. I know that Herman Weber had built a house across the road from the library in Altenburg. Also, right below Heini and Lena, you will see the household of Cornelius (Corny) and Frieda Boettcher. Frieda was one of Heini and Lena Lueders’s daughters. You can see that Frieda was a telephone operator in 1950.

I have to tell you about a rather well-known member of this Lueders family. Their son, Wilbert Lueders, is known by many around here, but they would likely not recognize that name. Wilbert almost always went by the name of Pete, and he operated a restaurant/bar in Altenburg for a lot of years. It was simply known as Pete’s Place. Here are a few photos of that building just before it was torn down.

I need to add one more item to this story. This weekend, a large family reunion is taking place here in Altenburg. It is the reunion of the Herman Weber family. As mentioned earlier, Herman Weber was the brother of Lena’s father, Henry Weber. The Herman Weber Family reunion expects to have about 120 people in attendance. The home of Herman Weber as shown in the 1950 census is now owned by Gene Weber, who is an organizer of that reunion.