My grandmother’s maiden name was Bertha Mueller. When Bertha married my grandfather, Emanuel Schmidt, she was a widower and named Bertha Loebs. However, that pair could be considered a Schmidt/Mueller couple. Not long ago, I re-posted a story about another Schmidt who married a Mueller which was originally titled, Another Schmidt/Mueller Couple. It told the tale of Ernest Schmidt who married Sarah Mueller, my grandma’s sister. Ernest was not the only Schmidt in his family that married a Mueller. Today, you will read about Ernest’s brother, Reinhold, who also married a Mueller, but his Mueller bride was not from Perry County. In fact, she was not even from Missouri.

Reinhold Johann Schmidt was born on February 1, 1876, so today would be his special 150th birthday. Reinhold was the son of Jacob and Wilhelmine (Schmidt) Schmidt. I have already published several stories on this blog about children of this Schmidt/Schmidt couple. After all, our German Family Tree lists that pair with 10 children, and all but one of them were boys. And just for your information, my Schmidt clan is not related to either of Reinhold’s parents. Reinhold and all of his siblings were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at an image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books.

Reinhold is found in the 1880 census at the age of 4. He was one of 7 children in the Schmidt family at that time, and only one of them was a girl. His grandmother and his Aunt Emma were also living in this Schmidt household.

Reinhold was confirmed at Trinity, Altenburg in 1890, and he would have been listed in the census for that year, but those census records were destroyed in a fire. Reinhold would have been 24 years old when the 1900 census was taken. However, I failed to find him in that year’s enumeration. I do know that he was not living with his widowed father at that time. Because of his future history, I suspect that he was living in St. Louis or Altamont, Illinois, but I did not locate a census entry in either of those locations.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Reinhold’s bride. Her name was Caroline W. Mueller, the daughter of Herman and Charlotte (Michel) Mueller. Her later death certificate says that she was born in St. Peter, Illinois. That same death certificate says that Caroline was born on October 8, 1882, but several family trees on Ancestry.com give October 7, 1881 as her date of birth. Caroline is found in the 1900 census at the age of 18. Her father was a farmer in the Lone Grove Township of Fayette County, Illinois. That is where St. Peter, Illinois is located.

It is a mystery to me how Reinhold from Perry County (and probably St. Louis) would become acquainted with a farmer’s daughter from the small village of St. Peter, Illinois. Nonetheless, Reinhold Schmidt married Caroline Mueller on April 29, 1906 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altamont, Illinois. That congregation is not that far from St. Peter. Some old records from that church are found in Ancestry.com’s collection of Missouri Synod church books, so I am able to display this pair’s church marriage record below. It states that Reinhold was from St. Louis. If you look at the column on the right where it shows the witnesses for this wedding, you will see the names, Arthur and Emanuel Schmidt. Those were Reinhold’s younger brothers, the rather well-known Schmidt Twins from Altenburg.

I was also able to locate an Illinois marriage record for this couple. Caroline is called Carrie on this form. This document also adds the fact that Reinhold was a merchant from St. Louis.

Reinhold would take his bride back to St. Louis, and it would be there that they had one child, a son named Herbert. When the 1910 census was taken, the Schmidt’s had yet to have their child. Reinhold was called a retail merchant for a dry goods business.

In a 1914 St. Louis city directory, it says that Reinhold was a sec. (secretary?) for the Krietemeyer Dry Goods. The address given for Reinhold’s residence is found just blocks away from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Louis, so I suspect that is where the Schmidt’s attended church and likely where their son was baptized.

The Schmidt’s are found in the 1920 census with their son, Herbert. Reinhold was called the owner of a retail dry goods business.

That would be the last census entry in which we find Reinhold. He died in 1925 at the age of 48. His death certificate below says that he died at the Union Station in St. Louis.

An article was published in the local Perry County Sun about Reinhold’s death. I will display it in 2 clickable images. This article mentions that his funeral took place at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Louis.

Caroline is found as a widow in the 1930 census living with her 19 year-old son. Caroline was said to be doing house work for a private family, and Herbert was an errand boy for a flooring company.

In 1940, Caroline was 58 years old. Herbert had married Vera Hassebrock in 1936, and that young couple was living with Caroline. By the way, Vera Hassebrock was also from St. Peter, Illinois.

Caroline is found in a separate entry in the 1950 census, but right below her entry, you find that of her son Herbert.

Caroline Schmidt died in 1962 at the age of 79. A cerebral hemorrhage is given as a cause of death on the form below.

Both Reinhold and Caroline Schmidt are buried in the New Bethlehem Cemetery in St. Louis.

Last October, when I re-posted the story about Reinhold’s brother, Ernest, I included this photo of the siblings in the Schmidt/Schmidt family. This picture was taken in Altenburg, and the occasion that gathered this group must have taken place after Reinhold’s death. He is not included.