I know I am going to be dating myself, but I remember watching a TV show as a boy called “The Real McCoys”. When you hear the title, you might assume that there were some Fake McCoys. You are going to read the story of a “Real Mirly” today because we also know of a branch of this Mirly family that refer to themselves as “Fake Mirly’s”. I will explain later. I am going to begin today’s post with the husband, but eventually get around to the fact that one of his two wives is today’s birthday girl…maybe.

Wilhelm Martin Mirly was born on November 10, 1867, the son of Matthias and Marie (Lehner) Mirly. This boy would go by the name, William, during most of his life, so I will use that name. William was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can take a look at his baptism record from that congregation’s books below.

I was unsuccessful at finding this Mirly family in the 1870 census. However, there was a Missouri state census taken in 1868 for Cape Girardeau County, and I found the Mirly family in an entry for that census. William is called Martin W. in this entry, and he is the youngest child in the family.

In the 1880 census, we find William at the age of 12. His father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

William would get married before we can see him in another census, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his first wife. Her name was Marie Steiner, who was born on January 23. 1861 in Austria. Marie was the daughter of Matthias and Rosalia (Schupfer) Steiner. When Marie was just 6 or 7 years old, her family came to America aboard the ship, Deutschland, in 1868. We find Marie on the passenger list for that ship shown below.

I was also unable to locate Marie in the 1870 census, even though I am pretty sure she was living in the Shawnee Township by then. The first time I find her in a census was in the one taken in 1880. She was 17 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township. There was a young man named Anton Landl living in their household and helping with the farming.

William Mirly married Marie Steiner on December 26, 1890 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. This looks like one of those weddings in which the bride and groom got married as soon as they could after the Advent/Christmas season was over. We can view the church marriage record for this couple below.

Before I move on, let me say that this was not the first marriage between a Mirly and a Steiner. In 1876, Marie’s older sister, Josepha Steiner had married William’s cousin, Christian Mirly. That childless couple was the one who took in the orphan, August Steenbock, who then took on the name August Mirly. August’s descendants have become known as the “Fake Mirly’s” around here.

We can also look at 2 other civil marriage documents for this Mirly/Steiner wedding. Here is the standard Missouri marriage license.

Next, I will show a marriage document that looks more like a certificate.

This Mirly pair had 3 children, all of whom were baptized at Immanuel, New Wells. In the 1900 census, we find the Mirly’s with all 3 of their children. William was a farmer. Also included in their household was William’s father and a lodger named Rudolph Dost, who was helping on the farm.

Marie Mirly died in 1903 at the age of 42. Her death record from the books of Immanuel, New Wells, gives a cause of death, but it is in German and has not been translated.

Marie is buried in the old cemetery at Immanuel Lutheran Church, but Findagrave.com has no gravestone photo for her.

William married again, so let’s take a look at the woman who would become his second bride. Her name was Lina Marie Koch, who was either born on August 1st or August 2nd in 1880. That means either today is her 145th birthday or yesterday was that special birthday. Lina was the daughter of Jacob and Wilhelmine (Hellwege) Koch. Lina was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Her baptism record is shown here. This document gives August 1st as her birthday.

Lina was born too late in 1880 to make it into that year’s census, so we have to wait till the 1900 census to find her in her first entry. She was 19 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

William Mirly married Lina Koch on October 9, 1904 at Immanuel, New Wells. The church marriage record for this event is shown here.

We can also view the same two types of civil marriage records for William and Lina as we viewed for William’s first marriage. Here is their Missouri marriage license.

Here is their marriage certificate.

No more children were born to William and Lina. In the 1910 census, we find the Mirly’s with the 3 children born to William’s first wife. William and 2 of his sons were farming in the Shawnee Township.

In the 1920 census, we find the Mirly’s with all 3 of their children, but their oldest son, Arthur (Otto) had married Helene Koenig, and that couple had a young child. Martin and Otto were still helping their father with the farming.

The last census in which we find Lina is the one taken in 1930. In this entry, Arthur was the head of the family, and his family had gotten a bit bigger. William, Lina, and their daughter, Concordia, were living with Arthur’s family.

In plat maps produced for Cape Girardeau County in 1930, we find the Wm. Mirly farm located just east of the town of New Wells.

Lina Mirly died in 1934 at the age of 54. Her death certificate below says she died a few days after Christmas. Her stepson, Arthur, is listed as the informant on this document. This form says that Lina was born on August 2nd in 1880, which disagrees with her baptism record.

William is found as a widower in the 1940 census. He is back to being classified as the head of the household, and Arthur’s family is listed below William’s name.

William Mirly died in 1946 at the age of 78. Once again, Arthur is the informant on his father’s death certificate.

Both William and Lina Mirly are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells. Lina’s gravestone is another place where she was said to be born on August 2nd.

Now you know the story of yet another Mirly found in our German Family Tree. William is one of those who we affectionately call the “Real Mirly’s”. He ended up marrying 2 women who had surnames, Steiner and Koch, which are also names found in and around the New Wells/Shawneetown/Pocahontas area in the Shawnee Township.