Today’s birthday girl is Irene Rosa Hoff, who was born on July 8, 1890. That means today would be her 135th birthday. Irene was the firstborn child of John and Ida Mae (Sanders) Hoff. I located this photo of Irene’s parents.

Irene was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is shown below.

Irene was also born at a time when Perry County kept birth records. Irene’s is shown here in 2 images.

Irene is found in the 1900 census at the age of 9. Her father was a farmer in the Bois Brule Township. Included in the Hoff household was a 14 year-old orphan named Clarence Ciesel and two hired hands who were helping with the farming.

Next, we find the Hoff family in the 1910 census. Irene was 19 years old, and her father was still farming.

Irene would get married prior to the next census, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Joseph Berry Yeager, who was born on November 18, 1887. Joseph was the son of Peter and Ida Mae (Franklin) Yeager. That means the mothers of today’s main characters were both named Ida Mae. I do not know when or where Joseph was baptized. I do know that his father was of Dutch descent. Joseph is found in the 1900 census at the age of 12. His father was also a farmer in the Bois Brule Township. He was at school at that time, but his older brother who was just 13 years old, was a farm laborer for his father. I suspect that Joseph may have been in his last year of schooling that year and would start helping on the farm the next year.

Joseph was not living with his parents when the 1910 census was taken. I think I found him living in St. Louis in the Arvel Carlock household. If this is the correct Joseph Yeager, he was working as a packer for a fruit tree business. One fact that makes this entry doubtful is that it indicates this Joseph Yeager’s father was born in Missouri, not Holland.

Joseph had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He was back living in Perry County. He is given a McBride address and was farming with his father. This form also notes that Joseph had defective hearing.

Before we look at the marriage of today’s main characters, let me display this image that was produced as part of the Perry County plat maps in 1915. This map is of the town of McBride, and you will see that the Hoff’s were living just outside of McBride, and the Yeager’s were living in that town in 1915. It is easy to see how Irene and Joseph managed to get acquainted.

Joseph Yeager married Irene Hoff on December 29, 1918. The Missouri marriage license below says that both Joseph and Irene were from McBride. They were married in Lithium by a man named Charles Warren. There is no indication that Charles was a pastor or a justice of the peace, so I do not know if this was a church wedding.

We can also view a marriage certificate for this couple.

In the 1920 census, we find this pair living in the Bois Brule Township where Joseph was farming. They had yet to have any children.

The above census entry was submitted in January of 1920, and the Yeager’s had their first child in March of that year. Family Search says this pair had 4 children, all born in the 1920’s. The Yeager children do not have baptism records in our German Family Tree. One child was born and died without making it into the 1930 census. The Yeager household in shown in that year’s census entry below.

When we take a look at the 1940 census, we see the same 5 people listed as in the previous census entry. Joseph was still farming. One son was called a new worker, and a daughter was working at the shoe factory in Perryville.

Joseph had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. He was given a rural Perryville address, and it says he was a farmer.

The last census we can view is this one taken in 1950. The Yeager’s daughter, Ruth, who had married John Heck, and a granddaughter were living with Joseph and Irene. It says Ruth’s name was Ruth Yeager, but her married name was Heck. It appears that Joseph and his son-in-law, John, were farming together.

Joseph Yaeger died in 1968 at the age of 80. His death certificate below says he died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville of heart disease.

Irene Yeager died a year later in 1969 at the age of 78. Her death certificate says a form of leukemia was the cause of death.

The death records for these two Yeager’s are found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. Joseph and Irene Yeager are buried together in that church’s cemetery.

I displayed evidence in this post that today’s birthday girl had her start as a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. But then, I was unable to determine her or her husband’s church membership, if any, during most of their lives. Then we find evidence of both Joseph and Irene being members of Immanuel, Perryville at the time of their deaths.