We have a birthday girl for today’s post by the name of Ida Lena Holschen, who was born on September 10, 1891. That makes today her 135th birthday. Ida was the daughter of Herman and Augusta (Leimbach) Holschen. She was the firstborn child in her family. Ida was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Two images of her baptism record are displayed below.

Ida is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. Her father was a day laborer in the Brazeau Township.

Ida was also confirmed at Immanuel, Altenburg in 1904. Next, we find Ida in the 1910 census as a teenager. But she was no longer living with her parents in Perry County. Like so many other young ladies in those days, she went to St. Louis to find work. However, I would not call the household in which we find her living to be an ordinary one. It was made up of two different families, each of which had its breadwinner in the lumber business. One was a vice president of a lumber company, and the other was a traveling salesman for the lumber business. Both of these men had a wife and at least one teenaged child. Ida was called a servant.

In the 1920 census, we find another interesting situation. Ida was still living in St. Louis, only this time, she was the head of the household, and that household was made up of 5 Holschen siblings. The 2 oldest were sisters, and the 3 youngest were brothers. Their ages ranged from 28 down to 12. The 4 older siblings were all part of the work force, with Ida being called a seamstress at a cloak factory.

Ida would get married soon after the above census was taken, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Charles Jacob Recker, who was born on January 27, 1888. Charles was born in Brighton, Illinois, the son of Charles and Elise (Schallenberg) Recker. Charles is found in the 1900 census at the age of 12. His father by this time was a widower, and he was a farmer in Brighton.

By the time of the 1910 census, Charles was living in St. Louis. He was 21 years old and living in the Frederick Wiese household. There were 3 Recker’s in this household, and they were all called either a brother-in-law or sister-in-law. They must have been siblings of Frederick’s wife, Dena. Charles was a salesman of wholesale coffee.

Charles had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. It gives him an address on Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis and says he was a machinist. His employer was the Landis Machine Company.

I also found this 1917 St. Louis city directory that shows Charles living at the same address, but this record says he was a barber.

Charles did get called into service during World War I. His military record shown below indicates that he was also sent overseas for almost a year during that war.

I failed to locate Charles in the 1920 census, but I have reason to believe that he was still living in St. Louis. He probably had to get a different address after the war. Then, on June 29, 1921, Charles Recker married Ida Holschen. According to the St. Louis marriage record below, this couple was married at a Lutheran church on 5329 Maffitt Avenue.

It took me a little while, but I eventually found out that the church located at that address was called Faith German Evangelical Lutheran Church, a congregation that was part of the United Lutheran Church in America.

This Recker couple had two children, both girls who were born in the 1920’s. When the 1930 census was taken, we find Charles and Ida with those 2 children in their family. Charles was a barber.

Next, we find the Recker’s in the 1940 census with two teenage daughters. Charles was still cutting hair, but this time, Ida was called a corsetiere at a corset company.

Charles had his World War II draft card completed around 1942. It gives him one address for his residence and another for his own barber shop. I find it amazing that he indicated to the person completing the form that he did not know his telephone number.

I had to look at the census entry shown below from the 1950 census several times, wondering if it was a correct one for today’s couple. A lot is crossed out on this entry, but you can still see the words that were crossed out. I think those words confirm that this was the right family, but I don’t know why so much information on the form was crossed out. Charles was called a farmer in the Bear Creek Township of Montgomery County, Missouri. Ida was called a real estate agent, and one of their daughters, Helen, was also listed but crossed out.

Charles Recker died in 1964 at the age of 76. I find it puzzling that the address given on his death certificate is the same one that appears on his World War II draft card. If that was the case, why did this family have a census taker writing their names in a census entry in Montgomery County in 1950?

Ida Recker died in 1974 at the age of 83. Her death certificate is another place where it says that Ida was a real estate agent.

Charles and Ida Recker are buried together in the New Bethlehem Cemetery in St. Louis.

Today’s birthday girl went to St. Louis, found a husband there, and established her Recker home. Then later on, not only was she not a home wrecker, but she was in the business of finding a dream home for others.