You will read the life story of a man by the name of Simon Shuford today. It will be a rather tragic story about the son of a lawman who lived in Perryville almost all of his life. His surname is a new one on this blog, and he made his way into our German Family Tree when he married today’s birthday girl.

Bertha Mathilde Popp was born on May 13, 1886, thus making today her 140th birthday. Bertha was the daughter of Christian and Eva (Dietrich) Popp. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books here. It appears that she may have gotten her two names from her two female baptismal sponsors.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, the first one we can look at with her in it was the one taken in 1900. She was 14 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Central Township. Bertha was the youngest child in this Popp family.

I was unsuccessful at finding Bertha in the 1910 census. I did find her parents, and Bertha was not living with them. Then, Bertha got married prior to the 1920 census, so we will now look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Simon William Shuford, who was born on October 17, 1884. Simon was the son of William and Mary (Lukefahr) Shuford. I am unable to display a baptism record for him because it is not included in our German Family Tree. Simon is found in the 1900 census at the age of 15. His father was a constable in Perryville.

Like was the case with Bertha, I failed to find Simon in the 1910 census. He also is not found living with his parents in that year’s entry. Then, on April 24, 1913, Simon Shuford married Bertha Popp. Their wedding took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. The church record for this event is pictured here. This form says both Simon and Bertha were from Perryville.

We can also view this civil marriage record from Perry County.

This couple had just one child, a boy named William, who was born in 1914. Simon had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This form says that Simon was a farmer and stockraiser.

In the 1920 census, we find the Shuford’s living in Perryville. Simon is called a stock trader in this entry. Included in their household was Bertha’s mother.

Not long after the above census was taken, Bertha died in April of 1920 at the age of 33. Her death certificate below says that she died of tuberculosis.

Bertha’s death record is found in the books of Immanuel, Perryville.

Bertha’s death certificate says that she was to be buried at the Lutheran cemetery in Perryville. She has an entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery on Findagrave.com. However, that entry does not have a gravestone photo, only an image of her obituary which is shown below. It does not mention tuberculosis as the disease that caused her death. What it does mention is that her brother, Dr. Edward Popp, was a doctor in Altenburg.

Tragedy struck again a year later. The Shuford son died in 1921 at the age of 7. His death certificate below says he also died of tuberculosis, only it says tuberculous meningitis. William died at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

William is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. He shares a gravestone with his cousin, Cherry Shuford, who died in 1912 of pneumonia at the age of 9 months. Below is Cherry’s death certificate.

Below is an image of William and Cherry’s gravestone.

Simon is found as a widower in the 1930 census. This census entry has been pictured on this blog before. It was in a story about some people who were involved in operating the Hotel Perry in downtown Perryville. Simon was a boarder, and he was called a trader in livestock.

The photo below of the Hotel Perry was taken from the roof of the Perry County Courthouse, with Immanuel Lutheran Church in the background.

When the 1940 census was taken, we once again find Simon living at the Hotel Perry. Harry Fritz was operating that hotel in 1940. Simon was said to be feeding stock.

Simon had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war.

In the 1950 census, Simon was still residing at the Hotel Perry at the age of 66. He was called a cattle buyer. Included in this entry was a man named Ronald Lurk, who was Harry Fritz’s son-in-law. He was a minor league baseball player for a few years in the early 1950’s who never made it to the big leagues.

Simon Shuford died in 1957 at the age of 72. His Findagrave.com entry says he died in East St. Louis, Illinois. I am unable to display a death certificate for him. Simon is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. He shares a tombstone with his sister, Louivina, who had died in 1930.

It looks as if Simon Shuford lived for 3 decades at the Hotel Perry in Perryville. He must have been seen walking around the town square regularly and probably became a well-known Perryville resident. However, his branch of the Shuford family tree had no descendants to be found in the next generations. His must have had a rather lonely life after losing his wife and child. But he must have made many friends over the years as a consistent resident of Hotel Perry.