John Jacob Sittner is today’s birthday boy. He was born on April 18, 1891, although other documents say that he was born on April 17th. That means today or yesterday would be his 135th birthday. John was the son of Joseph and Martha (Wills) Sittner. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can take a look at his baptism record from that congregation’s books.
John is found in the 1900 census at the age of 9. His father was a farmer in the Cape Girardeau Township.
Prior to the 1910 census, the Sittner’s had made a move to the Byrd Township. John and a brother were helping their father with the farming.
John got married during the next decade, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Juanita Rexer, who was born on February 24, 1900. Juanita was the daughter of Samuel and Claudia (Beauchamp) Rexer. I found evidence that Juanita was a Baptist, so I am thinking she was likely not baptized as an infant, but decided at a later date to be baptized. Juanita is found as a baby in the 1900 census. The Rexer’s were living in the town of Diehlstadt, which is located in Scott County. It is a bit difficult to read, but I think it says that her father was a miller.
Next, we find Juanita in the 1910 census at the age of 10. This time, the entry says that her father was a storekeeper in Diehlstadt.
On September 26, 1916, John Sittner married Juanita Rexer. According to the Missouri marriage license shown here, this couple was married by a justice of the peace in Ironton. It says that John and Juanita were both from Scott County. Juanita’s mother gave permission for her 16 year-old daughter to marry John.
In 1917, John had his World War I draft registration completed. It gives him a Cape Girardeau address and says he was a telegraph operator for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad. This document says that John was born on April 17th, not April 18th. I find it interesting that both this military form and his later death certificate say that John was born in Longtown.
John and Juanita had 2 sons, both born prior to the 1920 census. In that year’s entry, John was called the operator of a telegraph office.
The Sittner’s made a move during the next decade. When the 1930 census was taken, we find them living in Holcomb, Missouri. Holcomb is located in the Missouri Bootheel. John was called an agent at a train depot.
In a 1937 yearbook for the University of Missouri we find the two Sittner sons as students.
In the 1940 census, the Sittner’s had an empty nest. This time, John was said to be a farm laborer, but we also find that Juanita was a telegrapher.
John had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war. Both of John’s military forms say that he was born on April 17th.
The two Sittner sons also had World War II draft cards completed. Here is the one for their older son, John, Jr. It says he was living in Caruthersville and working for the newspaper in that town called the Democrat Argus. I do not know what happened to John, Jr. for the remainder of his life, but I do know that he did serve in the military during World War II.
As you can see on the map below, both Holcomb and Caruthersville are located in the Missouri Bootheel.
Below is the draft card for their younger son, Weldon. It indicates that he was still at the University of Missouri.
I found this article that was written on the occasion of Weldon’s marriage. It mentions that he had achieved a Ph.D and was working for Western Electric in the development of a magnetron. I researched what that was, and it involved some pretty fancy physics way above my ability to understand. However, I discovered that it led to the development of radar and the microwave.
The last census we can view is the 1950 census. In that year’s entry, John and Juanita were still living in Holcomb. John was once again working as an agent and telegrapher for the railroad. This time, Juanita was working as a census taker.
At the top of this census page, we see that Juanita placed her signature as being the census taker.
John Sittner died in 1960 at the age 69. We can view his death certificate below. It says he was a railroad telegrapher.
Juanita Sittner made it to the century mark. She died in 2000 at the age of 100. John and Juanita Sittner are buried together in the Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton, Missouri.
It appears that members of this Sittner family were involved with technology. It is not that often that we see a husband and wife who had the same job like we see with both John and Juanita being called telegraphers. It makes me wonder whether Juanita learned that skill from her husband. And their son, Weldon, was certainly involved in the development of new and useful technology.