Olga Agnes Maria Schmidt is today’s birthday girl because she was born on June 26, 1895. That means today would be her 130th birthday. Olga was the daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Roth) Schmidt. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is shown below.

Olga is found in the 1900 census at the age of 4. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. Please note that Olga had an older brother named Theodore. His name will show up later in this post.

Next, we find Olga in the 1910 census as a teenager. She had been confirmed at Trinity, Altenburg the previous year.

A photo of the Martin Schmidt family was taken. Olga and Theodore are the two in the middle of the back row in front of the window.

I failed to find Olga in the 1920 census. I figured there was a possibility of her finding work in St. Louis, but I was unsuccessful when looking for her there. I do know that she was not living with her parents in 1920. Now, since Olga would get married in the next decade, we will take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Eldor Petzoldt, who was born on November 19, 1898. Eldor was the son of Friedrich and Linda (Bodenschatz) Petzoldt. For some unknown reason, Eldor’s baptism record is not indexed in our German Family Tree. Other children in Eldor’s family were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but Eldor’s baptism record is not found in that church’s books. Eldor is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

In the 1910 census, Eldor was 11 years old.

Eldor had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. I do not think Eldor participated in that war in any way.

Eldor was still living with his parents when the 1920 census was taken. Both Eldor and his father are called farmers.

Eldor Petzoldt married Olga Schmidt on May 3, 1925 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The church record for that event is displayed here. This form says that Eldor was from St. Louis.

We are also able to view 2 civil marriage records for this couple. Both of these say that Eldor was from Altenburg. First, here is the typical Missouri marriage license.

A marriage certificate documenting this occasion is displayed next.

Evidence suggests that after these two were married, they moved to St. Louis. A child that was born in 1928 died after just about 6 months. That child has a death record in the Trinity, Altenburg books that says the death took place in St. Louis. Another child, a son named Ralph, was born in 1929 prior to the 1930 census. In that year’s census entry, we find the Petzoldt’s living in St. Louis where Eldor was a driver of an ice wagon. Their young son, Ralph, was included in their household along with Olga’s sister, Emma, and her son, Virgil. Emma had been married to Ernst Noennig, and even though this census entry says Emma was married, later documents indicated that Emma and Ernst got divorced.

Olga Petzoldt died in 1935 at the age of 39. Her death certificate below says she died of tuberculosis in St. Louis.

Eldor would get married not long after his first wife’s death, so we will now look at the woman who would become his second wife. Her name was Martha Susanna Frieda Lorenz, who was born on February 23, 1901. Freida was the daughter of Emmanuel and Martha (Soehl) Lorenz. She was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can view her baptism record below.

Frieda is found in the 1910 census at the age of 9. Her father was a carpenter in the Salem Township.

Frieda’s Lorenz family also had a photograph taken. It was reportedly taken in 1913 when Frieda would have been about 12 years old. The caption will help you identify her in this picture.

In the other census entry in which we find Frieda prior to her getting married is the one taken in 1920. She was 19 years old, and this time, her father was called a farmer.

Now, we will take a look at the man who became Frieda’s first husband. His name was Theodore Peter Adolph Schmidt, who was born on April 13, 1893. Yes, this was Olga’s older brother, Theodore, who was mentioned earlier. Like his sister, Theodore was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record is shown here.

We have already seen the early census entries for Theodore. Then, in 1917, Theodore had his World War I draft registration completed.

Theodore did serve in the military during that war, but according to his military record below, he was not sent overseas.

The census entry I have not yet shown for Theodore prior to his marriage was the one taken in 1920. Theodore was living with his parents and farming with his father. You can see that Olga is not found in this census entry.

Theodore Schmidt married Frieda Lorenz on December 26, 1922. This looks like one of those weddings that took place as soon as possible after the Advent/Christmas season was over. These two were married at Frieda’s church, Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. The church marriage record is pictured here.

We can also view 2 civil marriage records for this couple. Here is the common Missouri marriage license.

Next, we can see a document that looks more like a certificate.

According to our German Family Tree, this pair had 3 children. Their first was baptized at Trinity, Altenburg, their third was baptized at Salem, Farrar, and I have no idea where the second one was baptized. Sadly, this marriage did not last long. Theodore Schmidt died in January of 1927 at the age of 33. His death certificate below says he died of tuberculosis.

The fact that Theodore died in January of 1927, and Frieda gave birth to her last baby in July of that year, means that Freida was pregnant when Theodore died. This would also explain why their 3rd child was baptized at Frieda’s home church. An obituary for Theodore was published in the Perry County Republican.

Theodore is buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg. The flag shown in the gravestone photo below probably was put there to recognize his military service, perhaps on Memorial Day.

Frieda Schmidt is found as a widow in the 1930 census. She was once again living with her parents in the Salem Township. Her two living children were also in the household.

Eldor Petzoldt then married his previous sister-in-law, Frieda Schmidt, on June 6, 1936 in St. Louis. The St. Louis marriage record below lists Rev. Paul Hansen as the pastor. He was serving St. John’s Lutheran Church in St. Louis at that time.

One more child was born to this couple, a daughter named Melba, born in 1937. In the 1940 census, the Petzoldt household included 3 children. Eldor was a truck driver for an ice and fuel business.

Eldor had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It says his employer was the City Ice and Fuel Company.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. Just their daughter, Melba, was living with Eldor and Frieda. Eldor still had the same job.

Eldor Petzoldt died in 1991 at the age of 92; Frieda Petzoldt died in 1999 at the age of 98. In the St. Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in St. Louis, we find this interesting gravestone that marks the graves of Eldor and both of his wives.

Yesterday, after I published a post about a Brueckner, I informed a friend of mine whose maiden name was Brueckner. That same friend married a Petzoldt. So, I guess I am going to have to let her know that I wrote a story today that would be found in her husband’s family tree, although I think her husband is probably fairly far away from Eldor Petzoldt’s branch in that tree. And, by the way, the Schmidt’s mentioned in this tale are not part of my Schmidt clan.