Martin Paul Theodore Lorenz is today’s birthday boy. Paul was born on November 3, 1895, so today would be his 130th birthday. Paul was the son of John and Caroline (Mueller) Lorenz. Caroline Mueller was my Grandma Mueller’s cousin, so, if you extend out my family tree far enough, I suppose I would be related to Paul in some way. Paul was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can view his baptism record below. I am thinking that it is possible that the sponsor named Bertha Mueller may have been my grandmother.

Paul is found in the 1900 census at the age of 4. His father was a day laborer in the Brazeau Township. A few older brothers were farm laborers.

In the 1910 census, Paul was 14 years old. He and his father were called farm laborers. Paul was confirmed in 1910, and his confirmation record is also found in the books of Trinity, Altenburg.

When Paul’s brother, Alfred, married Ella Doering in 1914, Paul was included in the wedding party. We can find Paul in the photograph below.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Paul’s bride. Her name was Josephine Zimmerer, who was born on June 10, 1902 in St. Louis. She was the daughter of Jacob and Stella (Bates) Zimmerer. A St. Louis birth record shown here gives evidence that her birthplace was that city. She is not given a first name, but the details are correct for Josephine.

Josephine’s father died in 1903 when she was just a year old. Then, her mother married a man named Charles Stein. In the 1910 census, we find Josephine living in the Stein household and called a stepdaughter. Her stepfather was called a superintendent of a lime plant in St. Louis.

The Stein marriage does not appear to have lasted long. Stella, Josephine’s mother, married again in 1916 to Roy Garris. However, prior to that wedding, Josephine got married that same year. But before I get to that, let me tell you that there is a photo in Mary Dillon’s Wittenberg book that states that this class photo from the Wittenberg Public School was taken in 1915. Mary’s source for this photo (perhaps Gilbert Theiss) says that there is a Josie Garris Lorenz standing in the back row, the third person from the right. Josephine would have been 13 years old at the time.

Paul Lorenz married Josephine Zimmerer on April 19, 1916. That would mean that Josephine was still 13 years old (almost 14) when she got married. On an application form for a marriage license, we discover that Paul, Josephine, and Josephine’s mother, all signed this form saying that Josephine was 17 years old. Josephine and Stella also stated and signed that their last names were Zimmer.

I am also able to display 2 other civil marriage records for this event. Both say that the wedding was conducted by a Justice of the Peace.

Below is a form that looks more like a certificate.

Our German Family Tree lists 3 children born to this couple. Those 3 were baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg. The baptism record for their first child, a daughter named Eileen, who was born in 1917, is displayed below. Normally, such a baptism record would include the maiden name of the mother, but this document just says her name was Josephine. Perhaps she had been called two different names during her life, Zimmerer and Stein, and add to that the fact that by the time of this baptism, her mother recently became Stella Garris.

Paul had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He was given a Wittenberg address and called a tie maker for the T.J. Moss Tie Company. Those would have been railroad ties, not neckties.

In the 1920 census, Paul and Josephine had 2 children, and Paul is called a section hand for the railroad.

Next, we find the Lorenz’s in the 1930 census. Paul is back to being called a farm laborer. All 3 of the Lorenz children are found in this entry.

The 1940 census shows the Lorenz’s with their 3 children and one of Paul’s brothers, Martin Lorenz. Paul had no occupation listed, and Martin was a section hand for the railroad. Also in the household was a lodger named Welton McKennon, who was working at a stone mill.

I do not know exactly when they were married, but when Welton McKennon completed his World War II draft card, it said he was married to Eileen Lorenz. Paul Lorenz had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war.

The 1950 census is the last one the public can view. In that year’s entry, we find Paul and Josephine, and once again, Martin Lorenz was sill living with them. Paul was doing carpenter work, and Martin was still a railroad section hand.

I figure that the photo below which includes both Paul and Josephine, must have been taken prior to 1959 because that is when Stella Garris died. Also in the photo is Martin Lorenz, who never married.

Josephine Lorenz died in 1960 at the age of 57. Her death certificate below says that she died of ovarian cancer while being a patient at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

As indicated on the above form, Josephine was buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg. However, there is no gravestone photo for her on Findagrave.com. I went to the cemetery this morning and took this photo of the empty space next to Henry Dreyer’s marker. Henry died just 5 days after Josephine died.

An obituary for Josephine was published in the Perry County Republican.

Paul Lorenz died in 1987 at the age of 91. His Findagrave.com site says he died in Fredericktown, Missouri. He is buried in the Marcus Memorial Cemetery in Fredericktown, but there is no gravestone photo for him either.

My father was born in Wittenberg in 1913. I cannot ask him, but if I did ask him if he knew Paul and Josephine Lorenz, he would say he did. I also think that my father went to school with some of the Lorentz children, who would have been younger than him, but not by much.