Today’s birthday boy finds a Lutheran bride, and that couple spends their lives in the tiny town of Allenville in Cape Girardeau County. I will begin with the birthday boy.

Robert Eakin was born on June 14, 1876, thus making today his special 150th birthday. Robert was the son of Scott and Caroline (Achtermann) Eakin. I have no baptism information for him or his religious affiliation. Robert is found in the 1880 census at the age of 4. His father was a farmer in the Hubble Township of Cape Girardeau County. It is likely that his farm was located near Allenville.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the next census entry in which we find Robert was the one taken in 1900. He was still single and living with his parents. At the age of 24, he was helping his father on his farm.

Robert 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 Mary Louise Deimund, who was born on January 23, 1890, so she was about 16 years younger than Robert. Louise was the daughter of Wilhelm and Wilhelmine (Puntmann) Deimund. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view her baptism record here.

Louise is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10. Her father was a farmer in the Whitewater Township in Bollinger County.

Robert Eakin married Louise Deimund on October 8, 1908. According to the Missouri marriage license below, this couple was married by a probate judge in Perryville.

According to their Family Search information, this couple had 8 children. Two of them died at young ages. When the 1910 census was taken, there was just one child in their household. Robert was called a laborer, and the Eakin’s were living in the Hubble Township, probably in or near Allenville.

Robert had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given an Allenville address and working for a man named Walter Groves.

Next, we find the Eakin’s in the 1920 census with 3 children. Once again, Robert is called a laborer, and he was said to be “working out”.

The 1930 census says the Eakin’s were actually living in Allenville, Robert was doing odd jobs, and there were 4 children in their household.

The last census in which we find Robert is the one taken in 1940. At the age of 63, he was a steam engineer at a saw mill in Allenville.

Robert Eakin died in 1945 at the age of 69. His death certificate below says he died in a St. Louis hospital. His cause of death is called post-operative shock. He had cancer, and most likely efforts were made to try surgery to deal with it, and it failed.

In 1948, the widow, Louise Eakin, married a widower by the name of George Ginter. This couple was married on September 4, 1948 by a Baptist minister in Allenville. We can view their Missouri marriage license here.

We find George and Louise in the 1950 census with no children in their household. Neither of them had an occupation listed. They were living in the Hubble Township, likely in Allenville.

Louise Ginter died in 1958 at the age of 68. Her death certificate below says that she died at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

There is a gravestone in the Allenville Cemetery that names both Robert and Louise Eakin. Louise does not have a date of death on that gravestone. Her death certificate, however, says that she was buried in that cemetery. I have to think that she is buried with her first husband, but the date of death has not been put on the stone.

Family trees on Ancestry.com say that Robert’s surname was spelled as Eakins. I even began writing this post by using that spelling. However, as I looked at his documents, almost every one used the spelling as Eakin. The gravestone sealed the deal for me, and I changed his name to Eakin.

Now, to show the other side of the surname argument, I will say that there is a cemetery in Cape Girardeau named Eakins Cemetery that is located not that far from Allenville. There are just a few people buried there, but there are some stones that have the surname spelled as Eakins. Also, although there are not photos of their gravestones, Robert’s parents are buried there, and they are given the name Eakins. Perhaps someone in this family tree can answer the question about which spelling is correct. It also surprised me that there are a few grave sites in that cemetery with the surname, Diemund.