A story I wrote two days ago still sticks in my mind. It was about a baby girl who was abandoned on the property of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and taken in by Jacob and Justine Goenner. Now, two days later, I will write the story of a baby girl who was born two days later during that same year. And since those two events took place in 1850, that means these events took place 175 years ago. I begin with that birthday girl.

Catherine Marie Flachmeier was born on September 3, 1850, thus making today her 175th birthday. Mary was the daughter of Henry and Catherine (Schaefer) Flachmeier. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books below.

Mary was born too late in 1850 to appear in that year’s census, so the first one in which we find her was in 1860. She was called 8 years old, but I think she was closer to 10. Mary’s mother had previously been married to Karl Jaeger and had a few children from her first husband. Christian and Phillipine, the teenagers in this entry, were Jaeger’s. It also looks like the 3 youngest children were Jaeger’s, but they were actually Flachmeier’s. Mary’s father was a farmer in the Appleton Township.

Next, we find Mary in the 1870 census at the age of 18. Once again, I think she was closer to 20. The Flachmeier’s were living in the Apple Creek Township.

Since Mary got married during the next decade, we will now look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Gottfried Putz, who was born on November 28, 1836 in Austria. Gottfried was the son of Johann and Anna (Schattauer) Putz. When Gottfried was 28 years old, he came to America aboard the ship, D H Watjen. We see his name on that ship’s passenger list below.

Gottfried is found in the 1870 census at the age of 33. He was a farm hand in the Edward Cotter household. This family was living in the Shawnee Township where Edward Cotter was farming.

Gottfried Putz married Mary Flachmeier on February 23, 1872. I am able to display 2 different civil marriage records for this couple. Both of them indicate that this pair was married by a justice of the peace named Christian Haupt in Cape Girardeau County. We have church records for Christian Haupt found in the books of Trinity, Friedheim. Here is the first record for the Putz/Flachmeier wedding.

The other record for this occasion is pictured here.

Our German Family lists 5 children born to this couple, all baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. However, Family Search lists 7 children. I think 2 more children managed to not make it into the records we have for St. John’s, Pocahontas. In the 1880 census, we find the Putz’s living in the Shawnee Township with 4 children. Gottfried was a farmer.

We cannot view the 1890 census, and when the 1900 census was taken, it says that Mary was a widow. Gottfried probably died in the 1890’s, but there is no death record for him. I also failed to find an entry for Gottfried on Findagrave.com, so I do not know where he is buried.

Mary was a widow when the 1900 census was taken. Four children were still living with her. Mary is called a farmer, and 2 sons were called farm laborers.

The 1910 census lists Mary as the farm owner, and one of her sons was a farm laborer. There were also 2 daughters in her household, along with a grandson named Leo. I was unable to figure out who Leo’s father was. There was another grandson named Leo Putz in Mary’s family, but he was not born until 1917.

The last census entry in which we find Mary was the one taken in 1920. She was living with her single son, Christian. There was also an 84 year-old widower whose entry includes the name Jaeger. He was likely related to Mary.

Mary Putz had this photo taken at a late time in her life.

Mary Putz died in 1924 at the age of 73. I was unable to locate a death certificate for her. Mary has a grave site listed on Findagrave.com for the Darby Cemetery in Leemon, Missouri, but there is no gravestone photo.

This post once again required me to add another surname folder to our collection. It is the first time that the name, Flachmeier, has appeared on this blog. The surname, Putz, however, is one that has appeared quite often, most of which highlighted people in the Pocahontas vicinity. That makes today’s couple one of the ones that I call the “Pocahontas Putz’s”.