I located two marriages in our German Family Tree that united a person with the surname Neislein with one who had the surname Tuschoff. In the case of the two Nieslein’s, they were siblings, but not so with the Tuschoff’s. You will be reading about one of those couples today. The Nieslein name is a brand new one that has never shown up on this blog before.

Franklin Benjamin Neislein was born on October 12, 1887, the son of Andrew and Pauline (Hilderbrand) Neislein. I was able to locate a baptism record for Frank, but that baptism is not indexed in our German Family Tree, which includes the church records for a lot of Lutheran churches in this area. Frank’s baptism record can be found in a collection on Ancestry.com called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records. In the image below, we see that Frank and his older brother, Andrew, were each baptized in September of 1888 at Sedgewickville Lutheran Church in Sedgewickville. That town is located in Bollinger County.

Frank is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10, although I think he was older. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. I have included a Tuschhoff family which is found right below that of the Neislein’s. It is not the Tuschhoff family from which his future wife would come, but we are able to see that there were Tuschhoff’s who lived near the Neislein’s.

The last census in which we find Frank before he got married was the one taken in 1910. Frank was working on his father’s farm, and his brother, Andrew, was a blacksmith.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Frank’s wife. Her name was Mathilda Hanna Tuschhoff, who was born on June 11, 1891. That qualifies her to be today’s birthday girl. She would be celebrating her 130th birthday today. Mathilda, who was often called Tillie, was the daughter of Christian and Johannette (Brune) Tuschhoff. Tillie was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view her baptism record from that congregation’s books below.

Tillie is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. Her father had died in 1898 when Tillie was just 6 years old. Her mother is the head of this Tuschhoff household, and she is called a farmer. She was raising 5 young children, mostly daughters, by herself.

Tillie had quite a troubled early life. Not only did her father die when she was very young, but her mother went to live at the state hospital in Farmington, Missouri. When her mother died in 1938, her death certificate says she was at the state hospital for 30 years. That would mean that she left her family near Friedheim in 1908. When the 1910 census was taken, Mathilda, at the age of 18, was the head of a household made up of her younger siblings. Her 14 year-old brother was called a farm laborer.

Frank Neislein married Tillie Tuschhoff on November 22, 1914 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view this couple’s church marriage record here. Their record is at the bottom of this image. At the top, you will see that Frank’s brother, Andrew, had gotten married to Johanna Oehl a few weeks before at the same church.

I will also display 2 different civil marriage records from Cape Girardeau County for this event.

Frank had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. It gives Frank a Friedheim address. He was renting a farm from Dr. A.E. Dalton. He had a wife and a child at that time. I also find it interesting that this time he gives his name as Benjamin Franklin Neislein, not Franklin Benjamin Neislein.

Frank and Tillie had two sons, Waldo and Wilbert. Just Waldo, born in 1916, was baptized at Trinity, Friedheim. Wilbert, born in 1925, was not baptized there, and I do not know where he was baptized. In the 1920 census, we find this couple with one child. Frank was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

By the time of the 1930 census, the Neislein’s had another son. We see both of their boys in that year’s census entry. They were still living in the Apple Creek Township.

The Neislein’s made a move during the next decade. When the 1940 census was taken, they were living in the Salem Township in Perry County. Frank was still farming with the help of his son, Waldo.

Frank had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war. He is given the name Benjaminn Frank on this form. I have to wonder whether his family actually gave him the name of Benjamin Franklin to honor one of our Founding Fathers.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. This time, he and his son, Wilbert, were farming together.

Frank Neislein died in 1965 at the age of 77. His Findagrave.com site says that he died in Chester, Illinois, which explains why I was unable to locate a Missouri death certificate for him. His burial record is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville.

Tillie Neislein had this photo taken later in her life. I found this photo on her Findagrave.com site.

Tillie Neislein died in 1988 at the age of 96. Her burial record is probably also in the books of Immanuel, Perryville, but the records that I am able to view for their books do not go up to the year, 1988. Frank and Mathilda Nieslein are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

Tillie certainly had a difficult life prior to her marriage. Yet, the evidence points to a conclusion that she remained faithful to her God till her own death. At breakfast this morning, I was told that the Neislein surname can still be found around here these days.