I will be writing the story of a bride and a groom who were married on this day back in 1856. Although, this couple was married in St. Louis, when they began having children, they were baptized in Friedheim, Missouri. I will begin with the groom.

Johann Carl Elbrecht was born on April 4, 1833 in Vörden, Germany. Carl, who was later called Charles, was the son of Gerhard and Catherina (Wesselkramer) Elbrecht. I am able to display his baptism record from the parish in Vörden.

Later census entries that included a bit of immigration information say that Charles came to the United States in 1850. However, I was unable to locate a passenger list with him included. I think Charles arrived in this country after the census was taken for that year because I was unable to find him in the 1850 census. He then got married prior to the 1860 census, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride.

Wilhelmina Catharina Elsabein Sewing was born on September 20, 1836 in Borgholzhausen, Germany. She was mostly called Wilhelmina during her life. Wilhelmina was the daughter of Friedrich and Catharine (Koch) Sewing. I was also successful at locating a transcription of her baptism record which is displayed here.

Wilhelmina and her family made the voyage to America aboard the ship, Diana. The image below of the passenger list has been shown in other stories on this blog, and it says this family arrived in 1843. However, this document on Family Search says that it arrived in 1844.

Like was the case with Charles Elbrecht, I was unable to locate Wilhelmina in the 1850 census, so the only census entries for either the bride and groom in today’s tale are ones in which they are a married couple.

Charles Elbrecht married Wilhelmina Sewing on June 9, 1856. That makes today this pair’s 170th wedding anniversary. Information found on Family Search says that this couple was married at Holy Ghost German Evangelical Church in St. Louis. A St. Louis marriage record for this wedding is shown below.

Our German Family Tree lists 7 children born into this Elbrecht family. All of them were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. When the 1860 census was taken, we find 2 children in their family. This household has a collection of different family members, and I think the census taker may have made some errors. First, the spelling of the name Elbrecht is “Elbratt”. Often, surnames are misspelled on census entries. We also do not find Wilhelmina, who would have been 24 years old, on this entry. Charles’s parents are listed in this household. They are the Gerhardt and Elizabeth found in this entry. The 13 and 8 year-old children were Charles’s younger siblings. Charles was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Next, we find the Elbrecht’s in the 1870 census. They had 5 children, one which was born earlier in 1870 and was just a baby.

Two more children were born in the next decade. There were 6 children in the 1880 census entry for this family. This time, Charles is called a farmer and boiler maker. Their oldest son, Henry, was also called a farmer.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the next census in which we find Charles and Wilhelmina is the one taken in 1900. Just their youngest son, Frederick, was living with them. They were living in Jackson, Missouri. Charles, at the age of 67, had no occupation, and Frederick was a salesman at a retail store. Also, for some reason, Charles and Wilhelmina are each called John S. Elbrecht in this entry.

The last census in which we find Charles is the one taken in 1910. Charles and Wilhelmina had an empty nest, but right below their entry, we find the entry for their son, Frederick, and his young family. Charles has the unusual entry in his occupation column. It says he had “own income” and “garden and yard” as his business.

Charles Elbrecht died in 1911 at the age of 78. His death certificate mentions that he died of some sort of liver disease.

Wilhelmina is found as a widow in the 1920 census. She was living with her daughter, Louisa, who had married Henry Lueders. That family was living in the Brazeau Township.

Wilhelmina Elbrecht died in 1921 at the age of 84. We can also view her death certificate. Her church death record is found in the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna.

Charles and Wilhelmina Elbrecht are buried together in the Jackson Cemetery.

The two surnames united in today’s marriage, Elbrecht and Sewing, are ones that had their early beginnings documented in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim.