Paul Gerhard Stueve was born on January 11, 1891, thus making today his 135th birthday. You will discover by reading his story today that he began his life in Perry County but eventually found his bride in Pocahontas and spent the remainder of his life there. Paul was the son of Claus and Margaretha (Steffens) Stueve. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can view his baptism record here in 2 images.

Paul was born during the time when Perry County kept birth records. We can view the one for Paul below. I also have to display this record in 2 images.

Paul was raised on a farm on The Ridge north of Altenburg. He is found in the 1900 census at the age of 9. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Paul in the 1910 census as a teenager. This entry is potentially confusing. Right below Paul’s name, you see a woman named Maria who is said to be a wife. That was not Paul’s wife, but was the wife of Emmanuel Stueve, who is seen farther above in this entry. The granddaughter, Amanda, was the daughter of Emmanuel and Maria Stueve. Paul was still single.

Paul would get married during the next decade, so we will turn our attention to the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Lena Matilda Suzanne Leimer, who was born on July 18, 1886. That means she was about 5 years older than Paul. Lena was the daughter of Franz and Pauline (Petzoldt) Leimer. She was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We cannot view actual baptism records from that congregation, but we have a binder that gives information about people who are found in those church books. Here is the information for Lena found in that binder.

Lena is found in the 1900 census at the age of 13. Her father had died in 1895, so her widowed mother was the head of this Leimer household. Lena’s mother is called a farmer, and the Leimer’s were living in the Shawnee Township.

By the time of the 1910 census, we discover that Lena was no longer living with her mother. She is found living in St. Louis where she was a servant in the Charles Eckhard household.

Paul Stueve married Lena Leimer on November 7, 1915 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We can view this couple’s Missouri marriage license here. This form says Paul was from Wittenberg. Several other documents also indicate Wittenberg as Paul’s place of birth, but that is likely because the mail on The Ridge was delivered by the post office in Wittenberg

I am also able to display this wedding photo for the Stueve/Leimer marriage. In a previous post, I had used this photo as one for a different wedding, and was corrected by one of our readers.

I can also show this photo of Paul and Lena on their wedding day.

Paul had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. It indicates that after his wedding, he became a farmer in Cape Girardeau County. He is given a rural Jackson, Missouri address. It also mentions that he had one defective eye.

The German Family Tree lists 3 children born to Paul and Lena. The second child was born and died on the same day. In the 1920 census, the Stueve’s had just one son in their entry. Paul was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

In the 1930 census, the Stueve’s had both their son and daughter in their household. Their son, Raymond, was called an adopted son. On Raymond’s later military draft card, it says he was born in St. Louis. I do not know the story behind this notation, but perhaps our expert on the Stueve family tree, Diane Anderson, might know. Also included in this entry is Josephine Leimer, Lena’s sister.

An atlas of plat maps for Cape Girardeau County was produced in 1930. We find the Stueve farm located south of Pocahontas in the direction of the village of Leemon.

In the 1940 census, we find the Stueve’s once again with their 2 children. This time, it does not designate Raymond as an adopted son. Raymond was helping his father on his farm.

In the 1950 census, the last one the public can view at this time, we find this entry for Paul and Lena. Their daughter, Norma, had married Glenn Brown, and that family was living with them. Paul and Glenn were both called farmers.

Paul Stueve died in 1958 at the age of 67, despite the fact that his death certificate below says he was 87 at the time of his death.

An obituary for Paul was published in the Cash Book Journal.

Lena Stueve died in 1963 at the age of 77. Her death certificate says that she died at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

Paul and Lena Stueve are buried together in the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery in Pocahontas.

Paul Stueve may have begun his life as “Perry County Paul”, but because he married a Leimer from the Shawnee Township, he later became “Pocahontas Paul”.