Today’s tale documents the story of a couple, neither of which make it to their 50th birthdays. It’s a story that begins in New Wells and ends up with the husband and wife being buried in Crosstown. I will begin with today’s birthday boy.

Karl Erwin August Hoffmann was born on July 5, 1899, so today would be his 126th birthday. Karl, as was the case with many men who had the name Karl, would spend most of his life being called Charles, so that will be the name that I use. Charles was the son of Carl and Emilie (Mirly) Hoffmann. I am still away from home, so I will not be able to display Charles’s baptism record which is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Charles was just 10 months old when the 1900 census was taken. His father was a day laborer in the Shawnee Township.

In the 1910 census, we find Charles at the age of 10. His father was doing odd jobs. Included in the household was Joseph Mirly, Charles’s maternal grandfather who was widowed.

Charles was confirmed at Immanuel, New Wells is 1913. Then in 1918, Charles had his World War I draft registration completed. It gives him a Shawneetown address and says that he was a farm hand for his employer, August Meyr.

Charles got married prior to the next census, so we will now look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Hilda Rosina Bodenschatz, who was born on October 20, 1900. Hilda was the daughter of Ernst and Marie (Fiedler) Bodenschatz. Like her future husband, she was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Hilda was born too late in 1900 to make it into that year’s census, so the first one in which we find her is the one taken in 1910. By then, her family was living in Altenburg. She was 9 years old, and her father was a driver for a flouring mill. She was the oldest of the Bodenschatz children.

Hilda was confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg in 1914.

Charles Hoffmann married Hilda Bodenschatz on November 4, 1919. For some reason that I do not know, this couple was married at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Jackson, Missouri. I would not be able to display that church marriage record anyway because our museum does not yet have access to that congregation’s records. I am able, however, to share 2 different civil marriage documents from Cape Girardeau County. First, here is the standard Missouri marriage license.

We can also take a look at a document that looks more like a certificate. Both of these civil records state that Charles was from New Wells, and Hilda was from Altenburg.

Our German Family Tree lists 6 children for this couple, and all of those were baptized at Immanuel, New Wells. However, a later obituary states that the Hoffmann’s had 10 children. I do not know where the rest of the Hoffmann children were baptized. When the 1920 census was taken, Charles and Hilda were living with Charles’s parents in the Shawnee Township. Hilda is called a daughter in this entry, but she was really a daughter-in-law. There were still no children born to this couple, however, Hilda was likely pregnant at that time because their first child was born in June of 1920. Charles’s father was called a laborer and farmer, but Charles is not given an occupation.

Next, we find the Hoffmann’s in the 1930 census with 4 children. Charles is called a farm laborer. His mother had died in 1921, and his widowed father was living in this household.

The Hoffmann’s made a move during the next decade. When the 1940 census was taken, they are found living in Menfro, which is located in Perry County. Neither Charles nor Hilda had an occupation listed. Two older children were in the work force. There were 8 children in the Hoffmann household at the time.

Hilda Hoffmann died in 1941 at the age of 40. Her death certificate below says she died of heart problems. She died at the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau. It also states that Charles, the informant, was living in Crosstown.

Charles had his World War II draft card completed when that war broke out. His employer was called the Special Road District in Menfro. He is given a Crosstown address. At the top of this form, the word “deceased” is written. I figure that was added after this form was completed.

Charles Hoffmann died in a very tragic way in 1944. While working at the Sears Building in St. Louis, he was crushed by a freight elevator. An article about his death was printed in the Perry County Sun. I will display it in 2 images which can be clicked to enlarge. This article gives some details about what may have caused his tragic death.

Charles’s death certificate says he died while being transported to a hospital. He was just 44 years old when he died. He was employed by the Sears Roebuck Company.

Charles and Hilda Hoffmann are each buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Crosstown. They have very simple gravestones, which may indicate that the family was unable to afford other ones.

When Charles died, several younger children were left as orphans. Their youngest would have been only 6 years old. I was not able to determine what happened to all these children because privacy issues do not enable me to view documents for them. I have to think that the time shortly after their parents’ early deaths was very difficult for the Hoffmann children.