Yesterday’s story about a Poehner/Stuebinger couple centered around the small village of Crosstown. It turns out that you are going to read another story that takes place in that vicinity today. Once upon a time, a baby girl was born by the name of Laura Burns. Laura Ann Burns was born on September 24, 1862, so yesterday would have been her 163rd birthday. Laura was the daughter of Robert and Catherine (Shoults) Burns. She was likely not born as a Lutheran, so I am not able to display a baptism record for her. In fact, Laura is found in our German Family Tree, but she is not listed as Laura Burns. She is found in the 1870 census at the age of 7. Her father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.
When the 1880 census was taken, we find the Burns family living in the Salem Township. As was mentioned in a similar situation yesterday, the Salem Township was a new one, and the Burns family may not have made a move. Laura’s father had died in 1878, so her mother was the head of the household. It must have been a very difficult time for Laura’s mother, who was said to be keeping house with 6 children between the ages of 3 and 17. Laura, the 17 year-old, was the oldest child.
Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Laura’s first husband. His name was Joseph Anderson Cashion, who was born on May 5, 1857. Joseph was the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Warren) Cashion. In the 1860 census, Joseph was 3 years old, and his father was farming in the Cinque Hommes Township.
The Cashion family is next found in the 1870 census. Joseph is called Anderson in this entry.
Joseph was still single when the 1880 census was taken. Like was the case with the Burns family, this time the Cashion’s were living in the newly-formed Salem Township. Also, as was the case with Laura in the 1880 census, Joseph’s father had died prior to this census in 1876, so his mother was the head of the household as a widow. Joseph, at the age of 23, and another teenage son, were doing the farming.
On January 30, 1881, Joseph Cashion married Laura Burns. The marriage record shown below indicates that they were married by a justice of the peace.
According to family trees on Ancestry.com, this couple had 3 children. This pair is never found together in a census because Joseph died in January of 1890 at the age of 32. Joseph is buried in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Cemetery in Crosstown.
Later in 1890, Laura Cashion married again, so let’s take a look at the man who would become her second husband.
John Edgar Horn was born on May 22, 1865, the son of Charles and Wilhelmine (Riehn) Horn. Some of the Horn family have records in various Lutheran churches in Perry County, but I found no baptism record for Edgar. He is found in the 1870 census at the age of 4. His father was a physician in the Cinque Hommes Township.
In the 1880 census, Edgar was a teenager. This was yet another case in which a family switched to being part of the new Salem Township.
Edgar Horn married Laura Cashion on September 25, 1890, one day after Laura’s 28th birthday. Today would also mark this couple’s 135th wedding anniversary. The Missouri marriage license below says that this couple was also married by a justice of the peace.
This is where we see Laura getting mentioned in our German Family Tree. However, she is just called Laura Cashion. This Horn couple has 5 children listed in the GFT. The first 2 were baptized at Cross Congregation which was located between Longtown and Crosstown. I do not know where a set of twin girls who were born in 1900 were baptized. Their last child was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Point Rest. In the 1900 census, we find the Horn household living in the Salem Township. The image below is difficult to read, but it includes Horn children and Cashion children. Edgar was a farmer.
The 1910 census shows only Horn children living in the household. Edgar and his only son were doing the farming.
The plat maps produced in 1915 show land owned by Wilhelmine Horn, Edgar’s mother. This may have been the land that Edgar was farming.
The 1920 census turned out to be the last one in which we find Edgar. He and Laura were living in Vandalia, Missouri with their daughter, Bertha, who had married Roy Wright. Roy and Edgar were working for a brick plant. Edgar was called a timberman.
Edgar Horn died in 1928 at the age of 63. He died at the State Hospital in Farmington.
An obituary printed in the Perry County Sun gives more details about the circumstances of his death . The above death certificate says he was just at that hospital for 15 days before he died. As it says in the obituary below, Edgar was buried in the Horn Family Cemetery which is located in the same vicinity as the Cross Congregation was located. He has no gravestone photo on Findagrave.
In the 1930 census, we find Laura living as a widow in Granite City, Illinois with her daughter-in-law, Josephine Cashion, who was also a widow.
At some point, the photo below was taken of Laura (second from right), along with 4 of her daughters (one Cashion daughter and 3 Horn daughters) and her brother, Oliver Burns (far right).
The 1940 census is the last one in which we find Laura still as a widow. This time, we find her at the age of 77 and living with her daughter, Gertrude, who had married Edward Clifton. Edward was working at the glass works factory in Crystal City.
Later that year, Laura Horn married John Henry Smith. Once again, she was married by a justice of the peace.
I cannot tell you much about John Smith. All I know is that I did not have the energy to find information about a man with the common name of John Smith after going through all the other research for this story.
Laura Smith died in 1948 at the age of 85. Her death certificate says she died of old age.
Laura is buried in the Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens in Crystal City.
Now you know the story of Laura (Burns)(Cashion)(Horn) Smith, a woman who made her way into our German Family Tree when she had children with her second husband, a Lutheran named Edgar Horn.