A baby boy was born in Pocahontas, Missouri on February 9, 1896, thus making today his 130th birthday. His name was Paul Walter Ruehling, the son of Frank and Wilhelmine (Edlinger) Ruehling. He was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We can view his baptism record from that congregation’s books below. His name was written as Walther on this document, but he went through life called Walter. He was only the 7th baptism record at this relatively new congregation in Pocahontas.
Walter is found in the 1900 census at the age of 4. His father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township of Cape Girardeau County.
When the 1910 census was taken, Walter was a teenager. He was working for his father on his farm.
In 1917, Walter had his World War I draft registration completed. It gave him a Pocahontas address, but it also said he was doing farm labor for John Leimer in Bancroft, Nebraska. Leimer is another Pocahontas name, so I am thinking he was working for someone he knew from Missouri.
Walter did serve in the military during that war, but I was not able to find him listed as a Missouri soldier. I am thinking that he may have enlisted in Nebraska. I did find a document that said he was returning to America in 1919 aboard the ship, USS Liberator, so he must have seen combat duty in Europe.
Walter must have returned to Pocahontas after the war because that is where we find him living when the 1920 census was taken. He was living with his parents and was a 23 year-old farm laborer.
Evidence seems to indicate that Walter made a move during the 1920’s. When he got married, he was living in Bates County, Missouri. That county was the location where quite a few Perry County natives moved shortly after the Civil War because there was free and cheap farmland available there. I have even written a previous post, Likely Leimer Link?, that told of a Leimer from Prairie City, Missouri (in Bates County) who came back to Pocahontas to marry Theresia Edlinger, who was Walter’s aunt. Also, Walter’s sister, Bertha, had married Ernst Fleischer in Prairie City in 1922.
Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Walter’s bride. Her name was Magdalena Fleischer, who was born on May 29, 1900 in Bates County. In fact, Magdalena was the sister of Ernst Fleischer, who had married Walter’s sister. Magdalena was the daughter of Louis and Caroline (Hintz) Fleischer. A post was written about Magdalena’s parents titled, Some Fleischer’s Flee. That story gave some background on the Perry County natives who settled in Bates County. I will also mention that the original Fleischer’s in America were part of the Gesellschaft that arrived in Perry County in 1839.
Magdalena is found in the 1900 census as a baby. She is called Hattie in this entry. Her father was a farmer in the Rockville Township in Bates County.
Next, we find Magdalena in the 1910 census at the age of 10. This time, she is called Lena.
Magdalena was still single when the 1920 census was taken. She was still living with her parents.
Walter Ruehling married Magdalena Fleischer on February 4, 1926. On the Missouri marriage license below, you can see that this wedding took place at Zion Lutheran Church in Prairie City. Both Walter and Magdalena were said to be from Rockville.
The Ruehling couple had 3 children. In the 1930 census, we find them living in the Hudson Township in Bates County. Walter was a farmer, and they had 2 young daughters.
Next, we find the Ruehling’s in the 1940 census. All 3 of their children are included in this entry. A son had been added to their family during the previous decade.
The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. This time, their entry is found in the pages of the Prairie Township in Bates County. Just their son, Melvin, was still living in their household.
Walter Ruehling died in 1961 at the age of 65. His death certificate below says he died at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Kansas City.
Magdalena is found in a city directory for Kansas City in 1963.
Magdalena Ruehling died in 1977 at the age of 77. She died too recently to view her death certificate. Both Walter and Magdalena Ruehling are buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Prairie City.
Today’s birthday boy, Walter Ruehling, started his life at Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas and later became a member at another Zion, the one in Prairie City. And along the way, he found a wife with Perry County roots from that congregation. And if you want to read the story about the other Fleischer/Rueling marriage, it was titled, Prairie City Groom – Pocahontas Bride.