The birthday girl for today’s post is Mary Ann Hahs, who was born on April 21, 1876. That means today would be her special 150th birthday. Mary was the daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth (Probst) Hahs. I was not able to determine where Mary was baptized. In the 1880 census, Mary was 3 years old. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. She is called Anna in this census, but the rest of her census entries call her Mary.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, and Mary got married before the 1900 census, we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Heinrich Friedrich Schuette, who was born on February 7, 1864. He was called Friedrich or Fritz during his life. I will call him Fritz. He was the son of another Friedrich, who was often also called Fritz. His mother’s maiden name was Charlotte Wolfenkoehler. Fritz was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. An image of his baptism record is shown here. He was born in February but was not baptized until November. That may have been because the Schuette’s lived a good distance from Friedheim and may have not gotten to church often back in the horse and buggy days.

Fritz is found in the 1870 census at the age of 7, although I think he was only 6. Both he and his father are called Fritz in this entry. The father was a farmer in the Whitewater Township of Cape Girardeau County. One has to be careful because there was a Whitewater Township in both Cape Girardeau County and Bollinger County.

Fritz is found in the 1880 census at the age of 16. Fritz was helping his father on his farm.

It would be almost time for the 1900 census before Fritz Schuette married Mary Hahs. These two were married on November 2, 1899. According to the 2 civil marriage records shown below, Fritz and Mary were married by a justice of the peace in Cape Girardeau County named Henry Hahs. Mary would have called him Uncle Henry.

In a previous post titled, First Friedheim Friese’s Become Sargent’s Chapel Friese’s, it was mentioned that several men who had the surname, Hahs, were justices of the peace in Cape Girardeau County. Even Mary’s father was one of them. I figure Mary’s father must not have wanted to perform his own daughter’s wedding, so he asked his brother to do it. Mary’s grandfather, Daniel Hahs, had also been a justice of the peace. On the above forms, Mary’s surname is spelled Haas. I think the recorder is the one who misspelled her name. Henry Hahs filled out his portion of these forms and certainly knew how to spell his own surname.

According to Family Search, Fritz and Mary had 4 children. The Schuette farm was likely located near the small town called Kurreville, and a Lutheran church had been established in Kurreville in 1891. That congregation was known as Zion Lutheran Church. I think that, if we could view that congregation’s records, we might find the baptism records of the Schuette’s children there. Since it was so soon after Fritz and Mary were married that the 1900 census was taken, we find this couple without any children yet.

When the 1910 census was taken, the Schuette’s had 3 children. Also included in their household was Fritz’s mother and sister, as well as a man named William Wolfenkoehler, who was Fritz’s uncle.

The Schuette’s are found next in the 1920 census. Another son had been added to their family. Fritz’s single sister, Emma, was still included in this household.

The above census was submitted in February, and Mary Schuette died in April. In fact, Mary died on her 44th birthday. Her death certificate, which does not include her date of birth, says that Mary died at the age of 43 years, 11 months, and 2 days, even though it says she died on April 21, 1920, which was her birthday. The cause of her death was a goiter.

Fritz is found in the 1930 census at the age of 65. He was still farming. Included in his household were 2 of his children, and his widowed sister, Mary Schoenbeck.

Fritz Schuette died in 1935 at the age of 70. His death certificate below says he died of heart failure.

Both Fritz and Mary Schuette are buried in the Kurreville Cemetery, which is given a Millersville address on Findagrave.com. Neither one of them have a gravestone photo on Findagrave.

This story has two interesting characteristics. First, we find a rather impressive list of justices of the peace with the surname, Hahs, and one of them performs the wedding for today’s birthday girl who was a Hahs. Secondly, it is rather rare that a person like Mary dies on her birthday.