I am writing a story that will be published today, two days after the time when I originally planned to write it. I originally chose to tell the story of William Kirmse because he was born on May 21st. There are several reasons why I did not want to miss telling this story, even though it a couple days late. First of all, it is related to a post that Denise Hellwege wrote recently about some Cordes photographs that were recently given to our musuem. This story is also connected to one of our museum’s friend, Dale Kirmse, who has previously made a presentation at one of our immigration conferences. And finally, it is Dale Kirmse’s family tree on Ancestry.com that contains a treasure trove of photographs that I want to share with you.

Wilhelm Kirmse was born on May 21, 1875, so he recently celebrated his 151st birthday. Wilhelm, or William, was the son of Julius and Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse. He was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at his baptism record from that congregation’s books here.

William is found in the 1880 census at the age of 4. His father was a farmer in the Salem Township.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the next one in which can see William was the one taken in 1900. And since he was still living in the Salem Township, his entry is one of those that is very difficult to read. His father was still a farmer, but at the age of 24, William is called a carpenter.

Since William would get married not long after that census was taken, we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Martha Margaretha Cordes, who was born on March 20, 1879. Martha was the daughter of Henry and Martha Margaretha (Meier) Cordes. It looks like Martha was name after her mother. Other Cordes children were baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, but Martha does not have a baptism record in that church’s books. That congregation got a new pastor in 1879, so that might have been the reason that her baptism record did not find its way into those books. Martha is found in the 1880 census at the age of 1. Her father was a farmer in the Salem Township.

There were 5 children in this Cordes family, 3 girls and 2 boys, but both boys died as infants. That means only 3 girls remained. Also, just prior to then next census we can view in 1900, Martha’s father died in 1899. So, in that year’s census, we see Margarehta Cordes as the head of the household. Included in this household were the 3 girls and a young man, Richard Fritsche, who was doing the farming.

This photo was taken of the 3 Cordes sisters.

William Kirmse married Martha Cordes on February 11, 1904 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can view this pair’s church marriage record below.

A Missouri marriage license for this occasion is pictured here.

And I am also able to display this ornate marriage certificate for this event.

Below is the wedding photograph of William and Martha.

An article printed in the Perry County Republican about this wedding states that couple had intentions of moving to Oklahoma after the they were married.

This couple did make the move to Oklahoma, and we see that all 6 of their children were born in that state, beginning with their oldest son, Julius, who was born in 1905. When the 1910 census was taken, we find the Kirmse’s living in Shattuck, Oklahoma. They had one child in their household. Another girl had been born in 1908, but she died prior to her 2nd birthday. William was a farmer.

The photo below was taken in front of their home in Shattuck. Included in the photo are the 4 people found in the 1910 census above.

William had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It indicates that prior to when this form was filled out, the Kirmse’s had moved from to extreme western part of Oklahoma to a farm near Alva.

In the 1920 census, William and Martha are found living in the Valley Township of Woods County, Oklahoma, which is near the town of Alva. William was farming, and his oldest son was helping him on the farm.

The photograph below was taken in 1928 and shows the Kirmse farm place near Alva.

One more daughter was born in the 1920’s, so when the 1930 census was taken, we find the Kirmse family with 4 children. Their son, Alvin, had died in 1928 after an operation for appendicitis.

I cannot resist showing this photo of William which was taken with 2 mules.

We find the Kirmse household with 2 remaining daughters when the 1940 census was compiled. At the age of 64, William was still farming, with the assistance of a young man, Gilbert Krueger, who had been living in Perry County, Missouri in 1935. Their daughter, Ella, would marry Gilbert a year later in 1941. Gilbert was also the grandson of Rev. John Krueger, who had been the pastor who married William and Martha back in 1904.

William and Martha celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 1944 and had this photo taken with their 4 surviving children.

An aerial photo of the Kirmse farm is shown here. The town of Alva is seen in the distance.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. William and Martha had an empty nest, and they had moved into the town of Alva.

On the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1954, William and Martha had this photo taken with their children and their spouses.

Martha Kirmse died in 1967 at the age of 88; William Kirmse died a year later in 1968 at the age of 93. These two are buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Alva, Oklahoma. Although this cemetery does not contain the name Zion Lutheran in its name, I figure that it is the cemetery for the Zion congregation.

I located Dale Kirmse in the 1950 census living with his parents, Julius and Hilda Kirmse, so we know that today’s couple would have been Dale’s grandparents. Dale Kirmse is also the person who made it possible for our museum to have copies of the Zion Lutheran Church records from Alva, Oklahoma. There are quite a few other photos of people in the Kirmse family tree that are found on Dale’s Ancestry.com pages if you would like to view them. Many of them have been colorized.