Today’s birthday girl had two husbands, having children with both of them, and was involved in two different local congregations which had the same name.
Emilie Hacker was born on September 7, 1880, so today would be her 145th birthday. Emilie was the daughter of Andreas and Brigitta (Friedmann) Hacker. Since she was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, we are unable to view her baptism record. If the Lutheran church in Longtown had been established in 1880, she would have likely been baptized there, because the Hacker family lived near Longtown.
Emilie is one of those rare people who, because we are unable to view the 1890 census, and in her case she was born too late to be included in the 1880 census, we do not see her in a census entry until she was married. So, we will now turn our attention to the man who would become Emilie’s first husband. His name was August Wilhelm Heise, who was born on February 27, 1875. William was the son of Andreas and Anna (Keyl) Heiser. He was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. An image of his baptism record is pictured here. His surname is spelled Heiser on this document.
William is found in the 1880 census at the age of 5. His father was a cooper in the Brazeau Township. I suspect that he may have been employed at the Frohna Flour Mill.
William Heise married Emilie Hacker on October 2, 1898 at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. This marriage, which was just the second wedding to take place at that congregation that had been established in 1897, is shown below. You can see that the first two weddings at Zion included Hacker brides.
The Missouri marriage license for this couple can be viewed here.
A short article about this Heise/Hacker wedding was written in the Perry County Republican.
William Heise was one of the charter members of Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown according to the history that was written about that congregation. Two images below list those founding members. You may have to click the images to read all of it.
Two children were born to this Heise couple, both of them boys, and both baptized at Zion, Longtown. When the 1900 census was taken, we find a combined household of Hacker’s and Heise’s. William and Emilie were living with Emilie’s parents. They had just one son at the time.
Another son was born in 1902, but then William died in 1903 at the age of 28. William is buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Longtown.
Emilie Heise would get married again before that decade ended, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her second husband. His name was August Karl Kirmse, who was born on September 2, 1870, so he was another character in this story who had an early September birthday. Like so many other Karl’s, he would go by the name, Charles. Charles was the son of Julius and Barbara (Krause) Kirmse. He was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at his baptism record here.
Charles was born too late in 1870 to be included in that year’s census, so the first one in which we find him is the one taken in 1880. He was called 8 years old, but I think he was closer to 10. His father was a farmer in the Salem Township.
Charles was still single when the 1900 census was taken. At the age of 29, he was no longer living with his parents. He was a farm laborer in the Clemens Dornhoefer household. Clemens was married to Charles’s older sister, Maria.
Charles Kirmse married the widow, Emilie Heise, on June 25, 1907 at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. The church record for this occasion is shown below.
We are also able to view this pair’s Missouri marriage license.
I managed to locate this wedding photo of Charles and Emilie.
According to our German Family Tree, the Kirmse’s had two children. However, the son born in 1908 died as an infant. The 2 Heise sons were the only children in the household when the 1910 census was taken. They were living in the Salem Township where Charles was a farmer.
A daughter named Amanda was born in 1911 and was baptized at Salem, Farrar. When the 1920 census was taken, it looks as if there are 3 Kirmse children, but the 2 boys were actually Heise’s. The 2 Heise sons were helping Charles on his farm.
The 1930 census shows a Kirmse household that is a bit larger. Paul Heise had gotten married and his wife and 2 children were included. Paul and Charles were farming.
Charles and Emilie were living with just their daughter, Amanda, when the 1940 census was enumerated.
Emilie Kirmse died in 1946 at the age of 66. According to her death certificate, she died of cancer.
An obituary for Emilie was published in the Perry County Republican. There is evidence in this obituary that the Kirmse’s had become members of Zion Lutheran Church in Crosstown.
Charles is found as a widower in the 1950 census. He was living with his stepson, Paul Heise, and his family. At the age of 79, he no longer had an occupation.
At some point later in his life, Charles is included in this photo of him and his Kirmse siblings. Carl is standing on the far right. It looks as if hats and suspenders, and mustaches were a “thing” for the Kirmse men.
Charles Kirmse died in 1958 at the age of 88. His death certificate says he died at the Pine Lawn Nursing Home in Perryville.
An obituary for Charles was also printed in the Perry County Republican.
Charles and Emilie Kirmse are buried together in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Crosstown.
Today’s birthday girl, Emilie (Hacker)(Heise) Kirmse outlived her first husband, but her second husband outlived her. Her early life was spent in the Longtown area, but after her second marriage, she lived out her days in the Farrar/Crosstown vicinity.