On today’s date back in 1895, an undertaker in Altenburg and his wife had a baby. Her name was Adele Sophia Preusser. Because she was born on August 3, 1895, she would be 130 years old today. Sophia was the daughter of August and Fredericka (Winter) Preusser. At that time in Altenburg, we find several Missouri death certificates that list August Preusser as the undertaker, as we see in the image below.

Sophia was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed here.

Sophia is found in the 1900 census at the age of 4. Her father was called a day laborer in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Sophia in the 1910 census as a teenager. She had been confirmed at Trinity, Altenburg the year before this census was taken. Her father is called the church sexton in this entry.

Sophia would get married during the next decade, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Edward Martin Popp, who was born on October 9, 1879. Edward was the son of Christopher and Eva (Dietrich) Popp. Edward was born near Perryville and was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in that city. We can view his baptism record below.

We find Edward (called Martin Ed.) in the 1880 census at the age of 8/12. His father was a farmer in the Central Township.

It would be 1900 before we can view Edward in another census. In that entry, he was 20 years old and was helping his father on his farm. He had an older brother, Louis, who was a dentist in Perryville.

Although I was unable to locate Edward in the 1910 census, I am almost certain that he was in St. Louis studying to be a medical doctor. In an article published in the Perry County Republican, it says that Edward started practicing medicine in Perryville in 1911.

In 1915, Dr. Popp chose to move to Altenburg. The short article shown below from the same newspaper says he was going to be occupying the old millinery store in Altenburg. That would have been the building which had been the Neubeck Store.

The Neubeck Store can be seen on Main Street in Altenburg in the photo below. It is next to the Old Bank Building which was built in 1910. I think the store still housed the millinery shop at that time as well. The millinery shop was operated by several Neubeck women whose sister had married Dr. Theodore Estel, another doctor in Altenburg. The Estel’s lived right behind the Neubeck Store.

A year later,in 1916, another article says that Dr. Popp, who had also occupied the Buenger building in Altenburg, moved his office to the Kluegel’s property, where Dr. Kluegel had previously had his office.

Dr. Kluegel’s residence and office is the home that most folks around here call “The Inn”, which is now an Airbnb. It is located just across Main Street from the Log Cabin College.

Dr. E.M. Popp married Sophia Preusser on February 17, 1917. This couple’s church marriage record is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville, although the wedding actually took place in his mother’s home.

We are also able to view the Missouri marriage license for this couple.

An article was published in the Perry County Sun about this occasion. It was described as a quiet wedding.

Edward had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He had an Altenburg address. The registrar on this form was Edward Lottes, who was a dentist in Altenburg.

Mary Dillon includes a paragraph about Dr. E.M. Popp in her Altenburg book. It adds the fact that Edward was also the Perry County Coroner and Deputy Health Commissioner.

Our German Family Tree lists 3 children born to this pair. All 3 were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. In the 1920 census, we find the Popp’s with 2 children. Edward is called a physician.

In 1925, Dr. Popp moved his family to St. Louis according to the newspaper article below.

It was not long after they moved to St. Louis that Sophia Popp died in 1927 at the age of 30. Her death certificate says she died at the Dellworth Hospital. There are quite a few items given as causes of death. I can read a few things. I think it lists pulmonary embolism and peritonitis, but there are other items that give me the impression that it was a difficult death. I see also that an autopsy was done. The doctor’s handwriting is difficult to read, but I am sure the doctor’s signature on this form was not that of Sophia’s husband.

Sophia is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Louis, but Findagrave.com does not have a gravestone photo for her. We find Dr. Popp in the 1930 census as a widower living with his 3 children. He was a physician in St. Louis.

When the 1940 census was taken, we find Dr. Popp living in Bismarck, Missouri with his daughter, Ada. Ada had married William Sloan, and they had a child by this time. Edward is not given an occupation.

Edward had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. He is given a Marston, Missouri address.

The 1950 census is the last one we can view for Edward. He was living by himself in Myrtle, Missouri, which is located near the Arkansas border. He is once again called a doctor.

Dr. E.M. Popp died in 1961 at the age of 83. We can view an Arkansas death certificate for him. It says he died in Arkadelphia. The informant on this document is Mrs. E.M. Rethurford, who was his daughter, Zita.

Dr. Edward Popp is buried in the Shiloh Baptist Cemetery in Shiloh, Arkansas.

Several doctors have served the medical needs of people in East Perry County over the years. Quite a few of them were born and raised in Perry County and returned after medical school to be doctors in this area. Dr. E.M. Popp was one of them. I happen to think that Dr. Popp may have been encouraged to have his practice in Altenburg after Dr. Kluegel left by Dr. Theodore Estel, who may have been overcome with a heavy workload during a time when Altenburg may have needed more that one medical doctor.