We find a birthday girl who has her baptism record in the early pages in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. That baptism record is the only one in which this girl is found locally before she and her family moved elsewhere. She ends up taking us on an interesting trip and to an occupation that is not often featured on this blog.

Marie Louise Niedert was born on September 1, 1851, so today would be her special 175th birthday. Louise was the daughter of Conrad and Louisa (Gilla) Niedert. Her baptism record from the Trinity, Friedheim books is shown here. The first called pastor at Trinity, Rev. Franz Julius Biltz, also one of the first graduates of the Log Cabin College, would have been the pastor who baptized Louise.

When Louise appears in her first census in 1860, her family had already moved away from Friedheim, even though it was not far. We find the Niedert’s living in Pilot Knob, Missouri. Her father was called a common laborer. Louise was 8 years old at the time.

By 1870, the Niedert’s had moved a bit farther away from Friedheim. They were living in the Pendleton Township in St. Francois County. That location was near the city of Farmington, Missouri. This time Louise was 18 years old, and her father was a farmer.

Louise would get married during the next decade, so we will now look at the man who would become her husband. He had a surname which is common on this blog, but I found no connection with him and anyone in Perry County. His name was Johann Lorenz, who was born on September 21, 1843 in Germany. He was the son of Carl and Elizabeth (Gilbert) Lorenz. I am able to display John’s baptism record from a parish in Koblenz, Germany. I have to display it in 2 images.

A few later census entries state that John came to America in 1857. We find him in the 1860 census living in Liberty, Missouri, which was a small village not far from the city of Farmington. John was 15 years old at the time. He and his older brother, William, were each called miners. A younger sister, Magdalena, was also living in the household headed up by a man, John Club, who was a blacksmith.

When we find John in the 1870 census, he was 26 years old and called a peddler. He was living in the household of his brother, William, who had gotten married. William was a saloon keeper in Farmington.

John Lorenz married Louise Niedert on April 18, 1872. The only documentation I found for this wedding was a newspaper article that I cannot actually view which says that they were married on that date. That article is found in a Farmington newspaper. Family Search says that this couple had 11 children. When we find the Lorenz’s in the 1880 census, they had 4 children in their household. One of the others who were living with them was Louise’s sister, Ida. John was a soda water manufacturer.

I have now discovered that soda water (carbonated water) was invented in the late 1700’s. Soda water was introduced in America in 1810, and the first bottled soda water was produced and sold in the United States in 1835. Soda water was first manufactured in St. Louis in 1872. So, the soda water business was rather new in this state when John Lorenz got involved in manufacturing it in Farmington.

It must have been shortly after the 1880 census was taken that this Lorenz family made the move to Nashville, Illinois. Their next child was born in Illinois in 1881. The next census we can view is the one taken in 1900, and by then, this family is found living in Nashville with 9 children in their household. John is once again called a soda manufacturer.

Next, we find the Lorenz’s in the 1910 census. John was a soda manufacturer in a soda factory. His later obituary says that John was the owner of that business. Four daughters were part of the work force, and a son, John, Jr., was called a bottler at his father’s soda factory.

In the 1920 census, John and his son, John, Jr., were still in the soda business. There were 6 single children living with their parents with ages from 28-40. Most of them had jobs in Nashville.

The last census entry in which we find John and Louise is the one taken in 1930. John was 86 years old, and Louise was 78. Just two single children, Kate and John, Jr., were still living with their parents. Only John, Jr. had an occupation listed, and he was said to be an owner of the soda factory.

Louise Lorenz died later in 1930 at the age of 79; John Lorenz died in 1933 at the age of 90. I am only able to display an Illinois death certificate for John. It says he was a retired soda water manufacturer.

I also only located an obituary for John, which is quite lengthy compared to most. I am displaying that obituary below in 7 images that you may have to click to enlarge. This obituary states that 13 years prior to his death (in 1920) John transferred his soda business to his sons, John, Jr. and Edward.

John and Louise Lorenz are buried together in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Nashville.

I did some searching for a soda manufacturer in Nashville when the Lorenz’s were living there. I failed to find such a business. However, in the nearby town of Breese, Illinois, the Excel Bottling Company began to operate in 1936. That company still exists today, and, in addition to producing craft beers and special teas, they also produce their own sodas shown in the photo below.

Since this company began shortly after the death of John Lorenz, and since it looks as if the soda business may have ended in Nashville at about that time, is it possible that the soda company that began in Breese may have been influenced by the Lorenz soda company in Nashville. Did people who had worked in John’s factory learn the trade from him and then started their own company after his death? Perhaps someone from the Nashville vicinity might know the answer to that question.