A few things attracted me to the story that you will be reading today. First of all, the surname is Lueders, and the Wittenberg books that I have written highlight several characters with that name. And, yes, today’s birthday girl has a connection to those characters. Also, you will see evidence that today’s main character was born in the town of Seventy-Six. I had a memory that someone in the Lueders family once used Seventy-Six as a place to ship goods on steamboats. Then, I discovered that the father of today’s character had been appointed as the postmaster in Seventy-Six. It piqued my interest.

Anna Susanne Lena Lueders was born on August 3, 1888, so today would be her 138th birthday. Lena was the daughter of Theodore and Wilhelmina (Huth) Lueders. That also makes Lena a granddaughter of August and Mary (Roth) Lueders, who were highlighted in the post, Frohna Entrepreneur. August Lueders operated a successful store, along with other ventures such as wine-making, in the town of Frohna. An article about August Lueders and his family was included in Goodspeed’s History of Southeast Missouri. I am showing a portion of that article below that mentions establishing another store in Seventy-Six. Charles Lueders, who is mentioned, was Theodore’s brother.

August Lueders had a store in Frohna. His brother, William Lueders, had a store in Wittenberg. In 1888, the article notes that, in partnership with Ferdinand Goehring, Charles Lueders was operating a branch store in Seventy-Six. The map below shows where these towns were located in East Perry County.

Here is an old aerial photo of the town of Seventy-Six.

Before I display a baptism record for Lena Lueders, I want to show a Perry County birth record for her. That record is shown in 2 images below.

There are a couple of references on the above form that mention the town of Seventy-Six. It also calls Lena’s father a merchant. Another fact on this form that may explain a future move is that Lena’s mother was from Pinckneyville, Illinois. We certainly find evidence that not only Charles Lueders was involved in operating a store in Seventy-Six, but also his brother, Theodore. I also located another form that listed the postmaster appointments for towns in Perry County. I have highlighted Theodore’s name as being appointed the postmaster of Seventy-Six at the time of Lena’s birth.

Lena was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Her baptism record from that congregation is shown here. I have also displayed the record for Clara Hilpert, who was also born on August 3rd. Clara was baptized just 2 days after she was born, but Lena did not get baptized until April 10th. That may indicate it may have taken longer for Pastor Zschoche to arrange a trip to Seventy-Six to baptize Lena. Since both April 5th and April 10th were not Sundays, the baptisms did not take place during a Sunday morning worship, but probably in the homes of the parents.

Lena is not found in a census entry for Perry County because her family made a move to Pinckneyville, Illinois prior to the 1900 census. This move may have been made to get Lena’s mother back closer to her family in Pinckneyville. In their 1900 census entry, it says Lena was 11 years old. Her father was a farmer. It looks as if the Lueders family was still in Perry County in 1894 when their 6 year-old daughter was born.

The Lueders family made another move during the next decade. In the 1910 census, we find them living in St. Louis. Lena, at the age of 21, was a packer at a biscuit company. In a previous blog, I wrote about a Nabisco plant being located in St. Louis. Perhaps that is where Lena worked. Her father was a shipping clerk.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Lena’s husband. His name was Joseph Anthony, who was born on October 30, 1883 in the Alsace-Lorraine area of Germany. Joseph was the son of Joseph and Marcella (Seiler) Anthony. On his naturalization record below, it says that Joseph came to America in 1888 aboard the ship, Normany. This form also says that Joseph was blind in his left eye.

Joseph is found in the 1900 census at the age of 16. He and his father, also named Joseph, were both called day laborers.

In the 1910 census, we find Joseph in his 20’s. He and his father were both working at a bottle factory in St. Louis. Several of his younger siblings were also part of the work force.

Joseph Anthony married Lena Lueders on February 24, 1914. This couple’s St. Louis marriage record below says they were married by a preacher, but I was unable to identify a Lutheran church in St. Louis that had a pastor by that name in 1914. I think they were not married by an LCMS pastor.

Joseph had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It gives him a St. Louis address and says he was employed as a shipping clerk for Goetzman Bakers. This is another document that states Joseph was blind in his left eye.

Joseph and Lena had 3 children. Two of them were born prior to the 1920 census. In that year’s entry, it notes that Joseph was still working as a clerk for a bakers supply company.

The Anthony family is found in the 1930 census with all 3 of their children. This time, it says that Joseph was working for the National Bed Company in St. Louis.

When the 1940 census was compiled, only their two sons were found in the Anthony household. Joseph was called a porter for a private school. One son was a mechanic at an auto dealer.

Joseph had his World War II draft card completed when the United States entered that war. This form says Joseph was employed by the St. Louis School of Medicine.

The last census that the public can view, the one taken in 1950, shows Joseph and Lena with an empty nest. It looks like Joseph was still working for that university at the age of 66. This entry calls him a laboratory helper.

Joseph Anthony died in 1958 at the age of 74. His death certificate says he died of cancer.

I think the photo of Lena Anthony shown below may have been taken after her husband had died. She must have been celebrating her birthday, so this picture must have been taken on today’s date.

Lena Anthony died in 1979 at the age of 91, too recently to view her death certificate. Joseph and Lena are buried together in the Park Lawn Cemetery in Lemay. That is a cemetery that is located adjacent to the St. Trinity Lutheran Cemetery.

Lena would have been a first cousin, once removed, of Otto Lueders, one of the main characters in my Wittenberg books. Those 2 books had the setting of the town of Wittenberg in 1903 and 1904. During those years, Otto had taken over for his father, William Lueders, and operating the Lueders Store in Wittenberg. Apparently, Otto’s first cousin, Theodore Lueders, did not remain in Perry County for very long. Both of Lena’s parents died in St. Louis but are buried in Pinckneyville, Illinois where Lena spent some of her childhood years.