When German names had been spelled with a “K” at the beginning, it often got changed to a “C”. For example, Karl would often get changed to Carl. I discovered that both surnames of today’s couple got spelled differently, sometimes with a “K” and sometimes with a “C”. It even has a surname that is sometimes spelled with a “z” at the end and sometimes with an “s”. I will use the spellings, Clementz and Klaus, for this post.
Today’s birthday boy is Wilhelm Friedrich Clementz who was born on December 11, 1853, so today would be his 172nd birthday. William was the son of Franz William and Margaretha (Deimund) Clementz. I do not have any baptism information to share for William, but an Ancestry.com family tree says he was born in Arnsberg. William’s father died in 1858 when he was just 5 years old. His mother then married Nicholas Mueller in 1859. When the 1860 census was taken, it appears that William is called William Mueller (spelled Miller). He was 6 years old, and his stepfather was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.
I was unable to locate William in the 1870 census. I attempted to use several different surnames and spellings in my search, but failed. Since he would get married in the 1870’s, I will now turn our attention to the woman who would become his bride.
Anna Maria Klaus was born on October 11, 1854, the daughter of Casper and Katherine (Wehmueller) Klaus. Just for the record, that qualifies Mary to be the brother of Henry Klaus, who would later operate the general store in Farrar. Mary was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freidheim. We can view an image of her baptism record below.
Mary is found in the 1860 census at the age of 6. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.
Next, we find Mary in the 1870 census as a teenager.
William Clementz married Mary Klaus on October 21, 1873 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view this pair’s church marriage record here. You can see that the pastor spelled William’s name as Klemens (with a closing “s” and no “t”) and Mary’s name as Claus. Those are the opposite spellings of the names Clementz and Klaus that I am using in this post.
I can also display 2 different civil marriage records for William and Mary. Both of them use the spellings of Klemenz and Claus.
Our German Family Tree lists 11 children born to William and Mary. Some of them died early. Although none of them were baptized at Trinity, Friedheim, there are future records of their children having records in that congregation’s books. In the 1880 census, we find the Clementz’s with just one child. William was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.
We have to wait 20 years to view another census, and at some point during that interim, the Clementz family moved to the Shawnee Township, more specifically, to a piece of land near the town of Leemon. In a later plat map made in 1930, we see a parcel of land right outside Leemon with the name, Clements. I will also add that the Clementz’s oldest daughter married George Ruppel, and his land is found right next to the Clements land.
In the 1900 census, the Clementz household had 4 children, along with a young farm laborer named Henry Kaiser. William was farming in the Shawnee Township.
William and Mary were each in their 50’s and 2 children were still living with them when the 1910 census was enumerated.
The 1920 census would be the last one that included William. He and Mary had an empty nest.
William Clementz died in 1922 at the age of 68. His death certificate below gives him a Leemon address.
An obituary for William was published in the Cash Book Journal.
Mary Clementz is found in the 1930 census as a widow and living by herself.
Mary Clementz died later in 1930 at the age of 75. We can also take a look at her death certificate.
William and Mary are buried together in the Apple Creek Cemetery near Pocahontas. Apple Crrek Cemetery is found right next to the Apple Creek Presbyterian Church, a church that was established at about the same time as the earliest Lutheran churches in Perry County.
Now, for some photographs that were taken during the lifetimes of William and Mary. Today, I chose to show them at the end of the story.
Just one last suggestion. The Apple Creek Presbyterian Church is one of the stops on next week’s Christmas Country Church Tour. Perhaps if you get there in the daylight, you might choose to wander through their cemetery and find the Clementz gravestone. And while you’re at it, make sure you stop at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum to see our Christmas exhibit. One more thing. The river forecast says the Mississippi River should be low enough during that tour for people to walk out to Tower Rock. Just sayin’.