Friedrich William Grossheider was born on February 4, 1866, so if he was still alive, he would have to blow out 160 candles on his birthday cake. Friedrich was the son of Friedrich and Theresa (Mehner) Grossheider. Here are photos of his parents.

Friedrich was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is shown here.

Friedrich was called Fred or Fritz on documents during his life. I will use the name that is found on his gravestone. That is Fred. He is found in the 1870 census at the age of 4. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

In the 1880 census, Fred was a teenager. He and some other brothers were helping his father on his farm.

Fred would get married prior to the next census we can view, so we will now turn our attention to the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Emma Marie Luecke, who was born on September 21, 1869. Emma was the daughter of Wilhelm and Charlotte (Schneider) Luecke. A photo of her parents is displayed here.

Emma was born in or near Gordonville. In the 1870 census, we find Emma as a baby. Her father was a farmer in the Hubble Township, which is where Gordonville is located.

Next, we find Emma in the 1880 census at the age of 10. According to a family history on Ancestry.com, there were 4 other children born into this Luecke family, but only Emma lived long enough to make it to 1880. Also, Emma’s father died in 1876. So, in the entry shown below, we find just Emma and her widowed mother.

Fred Grossheider married Emma Luecke on April 28, 1889 at Zion Lutheran Church in Gordonville. The Missouri marriage license below is not very easy to read.

The marriage certificate pictured here is much easier to read. On it, you can see that it was Rev. Pflantz who performed this wedding. He was the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Gordonville at that time.

A wedding photo of Fred and Emma is displayed below. Emma would fall into the category of wearing a black and white outfit, featuring a white veil and a darker wedding dress.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to this couple. However, the Family Search entry for them says that there was a set of twins born in 1897, and only one of those twins survived. Also, a family tree found on Ancestry.com adds another son born in 1920 who died in 1921. That son has a gravestone in the Christ Lutheran Cemetery in Gordonville. The first census entry after their wedding that can be viewed is the 1900 census. After they were married, it appears that Fred obtained some farm land near Gordonville. The census entry below is from the pages of the Hubble Township. Fred was farming, and there were 3 children along with 3 boarders and Emma’s widowed mother in their household.

Here is another photo of Fred and Emma.

In the 1910 census, Fred was still farming near Gordonville, and there were 5 children in their family.

A Grossheider family binder we have in our research library has this photo of the Grossheider home in Gordonville.

The Grossheider’s made a move during the next decade. In the 1920 census, we find them living in Cape Girardeau. Fred is not given an occupation at that time. One daughter was working at the shoe factory.

Perhaps it was at about this time that this Grossheider family had this photo taken. It shows 5 children.

The Grossheider couple is found in the 1930 census with just one single son living with them in Cape Girardeau. Their son, Henry, was a bookkeeper at a bank.

When the 1940 census was taken, Fred and Emma had an empty nest, and neither of them have an occupation listed. They were both in their 70’s.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950, and in that year’s entry for the Grossheider’s, they were each in their 80’s.

Fred Grossheider died in 1953 at the age of 87. We can take a look at his death certificate here.

An obituary for Fred can be read below.

Emma Grossheider died in 1961 at the age of 91. Her death certificate says she died at the Maple Crest Nursing Home in Cape Girardeau.

Emma’s obituary can also be read.

Both Fred and Emma Grossheider are buried in the Cape County Memorial Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.

Fred Grossheider was born and raised in the Friedheim area, but after he found a bride from Gordonville, he raised a family in that town. Later in his life, he moved what remained of his family to Cape Girardeau. Because he and Emma lived very long lives, they ended up living in Cape Girardeau for several decades.