I have written quite a few posts about people who had the surname, Lorenz. In fact, I have classified some Lorenz’s as “Altenburg Lorenz’s” who were part of the original immigration in 1839, and I have classified others as “Farrar Lorenz’s”. Today, I will write the story of a man named Lorenz who I cannot tie to either of those Lorenz clans. You will discover why I call him a Lithium Lorenz.

Henry A.C. Lorenz was born on April 3, 1854, the son of Johann and Sophia (Voelker) Lorenz. His parents had been married at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so his parents are also located in our German Family Tree, but the GFT does not list Henry as a son. I do not know where Henry was baptized. When the 1860 census was taken, Henry was living with his family in the Saline Township. He was 6 years old, and his father was a farmer.

In the 1870 census, Henry was a teenager.

Henry would get married during the next decade, so let’s take a look at the woman who would become his first wife. Her name was Sarah Elizabeth Vessells, who was born on April 21, 1858. Elizabeth was the daughter of Charles and Mary Ann (Kline) Vessells. She is found in the 1860 census at the age of 2. Her father was a farmer in the Saline Township.

The Vessells family is next found in the 1870 census. The same characters are in this household as were found in the previous census entry.

Henry Lorenz married Elizabeth Vessells on April 22, 1878. I only was able to locate a transcription of a marriage record for this couple, and it does not indicate if they were married in a church or not, so I do not know where they were married, other than the fact that they were married in Ste. Genevieve County.

According to Family Search, Henry and Elizabeth had 7 children, but none of them were born until after 1880. In the 1880 census, we find Henry, Elizabeth, William Vessells, Elizabeth’s brother, and a farm worker named John Tucker. Henry was a farmer in the Saline Township.

Elizabeth Lorenz died in 1897 at the age of 35. Elizabeth is buried in the St. Mary’s Cemetery in St. Mary, which is found in Ste. Genevieve County, but Findagrave.com has no gravestone photo.

Now, we will look at the woman who would become Henry’s second wife. Her name was Abigail Radcliff, who was born on April 5, 1861. She was the daughter of James and Minerva (Marsh) Radcliff. On November 21, 1888, Abigail Radcliff married Robert L. Tucker. I am not going to go into great detail about Robert, but I will say that the Tucker name entered Missouri prior to it becoming a state, even before it was part of the United States. His parents were James and Margaret (Abernathy) Tucker. Some family trees say his name was Robert E. Lee Tucker. Here is the Missouri marriage license for this couple. They were married by the pastor of the M.E. (Methodist Episcopal) church. Based on later evidence, I think they were married at the Cedar Fork M.E. Church, which was located west of Perryville in Perry County.

I am also able to display this marriage certificate for this pair.

I found no evidence that this couple had any children, and because Robert Tucker died in 1895, we can never view them in a census entry together. Robert was just 29 years old when he died, and I think he was buried in the Cedar Fork Cemetery. There is a gravestone there for a Tucker that died in 1895, but no first name is given on Findagrave.com.

Henry Lorenz married Abigail Tucker on February 22, 1898. That means this couple would be celebrating their 128th wedding anniversary today. This is how Henry gets a mention in our German Family Tree. This wedding took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can take a look at the church marriage record below. Henry is called a farmer from Lithium in this record.

We are also able to view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

Henry and Abigail had just one daughter, Sophia, but she was not born until after the census was taken in 1900. The children listed in this entry were from Henry’s first marriage.

Next, we find the Lorenz’s in the 1910 census. There were 3 children in the household. For some unknown reason, Henry is not given an occupation.

When the plat maps for Perry County were produced in 1915, we find several parcels of land attributed to Henry Lorenz. His land was found not far north of the town of Lithium.

The 1920 census entry for Henry Lorenz’s household includes his wife, Abbie, a daughter, Anna, a child from his first wife, and the daughter, Sophie, the only child of Henry and Abigail, who had married Harold Graff.

The 1930 census shows just Henry, Abigail, and Anna Lorenz. Anna never married. Henry, at the age of 76 was still farming.

Henry Lorenz died in 1936 at the age of 82. We can view his death certificate here.

An obituary for Henry was published in the Perry County Sun.

Henry is buried in the Cedar Fork Cemetery. I am putting two images of his gravestone here. It must be one of the tallest stones in that cemetery.

Abigail is found as a widow when the 1940 census was taken. She was living by herself in Perryville.

Abigail is found in her last census in 1950. She was living in the Harold Graff household in the Saline Township.

Abigail Lorenz died in 1957 at the age of 95. Her death certificate is displayed below.

We can also read Abigail’s obituary. She is called Lithium’s oldest resident.

Abigail is buried in the Home Cemetery in Perryville.

Henry Lorenz only makes it into our German Family Tree because he was married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. And now you know the story of a Lithium Lorenz.