Back in 2022, I wrote a story titled, The Trinity, Friedheim Sewing Circle, which highlighted a very large family with the name Sewing. The father in that family was a man named Henry Frederick Sewing. Our German Family Tree lists 12 children born into this Sewing family. Just one of those children died as an infant. Later in their lives, the Sewing siblings along with their parents had this photo taken. It includes 11 children. The caption gives all of their names. You can see that most of the Sewing children were males. There were plenty of people carrying the Sewing surname into the next generation.

Today, you will read the story of one of the Sewing sons shown in the above photo. His name was Henry John Sewing, who is standing in the back row, third from the left. I have already identified Henry J.’s father. His mother’s maiden name was Mathilda Zoellner. Henry John was born on April 9, 1877. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view his baptism record here.

Henry is found in the 1880 census at the age of 4, although I figure that he was only 3. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, the next one in which we find Henry was the one taken in 1900. He was still single at the age of 23. This large Sewing household spilled over 2 census pages. Henry was one of 6 sons who were helping their father on his farm.

Henry would get married during the next decade, so we will now turn our attention to the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Clara Alma Lena Hoppe, who was born on May 6, 1880. That means she would be celebrating her 146th birthday today. Clara was the daughter of Charles and Caroline (Dickmann) Hoppe. Like her future husband, Clara was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. Her baptism record is displayed below.

Clara is found in the 1880 census when she was just a baby. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Clara is next found in the 1900 census at the age of 20.

Henry Sewing married Clara Hoppe on October 12, 1902 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. The church record for this wedding is pictured here.

We can also take a look at the Missouri marriage license for this couple. Even though both the bride and groom lived in Cape Girardeau County, this document is from Perry County. That is likely because the county seat for Perry County was closer than the one in Cape Girardeau County.

In the Sewing Circle family book that we have in our research library, I found this wedding photo of Henry and Clara.

Henry and Clara had 2 children, both girls who were born prior to the 1910 census. In that year’s census entry, we find that Henry was farming in the Apple Creek Township, with the help of a young hired hand.

Henry had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given an Oak Ridge address, but that is because that is where his mail originated. I do not think Friedheim had a post office.

In the 1920 census, we once again find Henry and Clara with their 2 daughters, and Henry was still farming.

Clara Sewing died in 1923 at the early age of 43. Her death certificate below says she died of pneumonia.

A short article about Clara’s death was published in the Perry County Republican.

Henry is found as a widower when the 1930 census was taken. His daughter, Norma, had married Walter Kaiser, and that couple was living with Henry. Both Henry and Walter were called farmers.

Also found in the Sewing Circle book is this paragraph that states that Henry sold his farm in 1939 and moved to Jackson, Missouri.

The 1940 census finds Henry living in Jackson with his son-in-law’s family. Henry was a carpenter.

Another paragraph from the Sewing Circle book gives more details about Henry’s life. It says he worked for the Henderson Lumber Company in Jackson.

The final census entry we can view is the one taken in 1950. Henry was still living with the Kaiser’s. Once again, he is called a carpenter.

Henry Sewing died in 1964 at the age of 87. His death certificate attributes heart disease as his cause of death. He is called a farmer and carpenter on this form.

Henry and Clara Sewing were not buried in the same cemetery. Clara is buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Friedheim, and Henry is buried in the Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.

I just have to share one more aspect of Henry Sewing’s life that I located in the Sewing Circle book. Apparently, according to this information from that book, Henry had a special skill…eating peas with a fork.