Just three days ago, I wrote the story of a husband and a wife who were both members of the same congregation from the time they were born till the time they died. Today, I located another such couple, and it is even a pair that were also members of the same congregation as in the previous story. Not only that. The previous post was about a Grossheider couple. The wife in today’s tale was also a Grossheider.

We begin with a birthday boy. Herman Friedrich Wilhelm Pohlmann was born on October 31, 1896. That means today would be his 130th birthday. Herman was the son of Fred and Caroline (Wilke) Pohlmann. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view Herman’s baptism record here.

Herman is found in the 1900 census at the age of 3. His father was a farmer in the Whitewater Township in Bollinger County.

In the next census taken in 1910, Herman was 13 years old, and his family was still living in the same location. No more children had been added to the Pohlmann family during the previous decade.

Herman had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given a Hilderbrand address and was said to be working for his father.

Herman was still single and living with his parents when the 1920 census was compiled. His mother had died in 1914, so his father was a widower in this entry. Two sons, including Herman, were helping their father on his farm. The only daughter, 20 year-old Mathilda, is not given an occupation, but I have to think that she was doing the housekeeping.

Now, we need to take a look at the woman who would become Herman’s bride. Her name was Clara Martha Grossheider, who was born on April 10, 1900. Clara was the daughter of Charles and Clara (Schroeder) Grossheider. Below is a photo of Clara’s parents.

Like Herman, Clara was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. Her baptism record is displayed here.

Clara was born prior to the visit of the census taker in 1900. She is listed as a newborn baby in this entry. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Clara was said to be 9 years old when the 1910 census was taken. It looks as if the census taker missed Clara when he recorded the Grossheider family on one page of that year’s census. At the bottom of that entry, it says that Clara was transferred to page 12, line 62.

That explains why we see Clara in the image below where it says she is a daughter, but it looks like she was part of the Henry Sewing household. This had me snookered for a while.

Clara was still single and living with her father when the 1920 census was taken. Her mother had died in 1919. Clara was 19 years old at the time.

Herman Pohlmann married Clara Grossheider on Christmas Day, December 25, 1922. Their church marriage record is found in the books of Trinity, Friedheim. We can view that record here.

I will also display 2 different civil marriage records for this pair.

I located two wedding photographs for Herman and Clara. One is a photo taken in a studio, and the other is one that looks like it was taken outside at the party after the wedding on Christmas Day.

Herman and Clara had just one child, a boy named Pearl Roy Pohlmann. He was not born until the end of 1930, so he is not included in the Pohlmann household in the census that was taken in that year. Along with Herman and Clara was Clara’s father, Charles Grossheider. Herman was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. Perhaps Herman took over his father-in-law’s farm after he married Clara.

There were 4 members of the Herman Pohlmann household when the 1940 census was taken. In addition to the 3 people we see in the 1930 census, we see Herman and Clara’s son, Pearl Roy.

Herman had a World War II draft card filled out when America entered that war. He is given a Friedheim address and was farming.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. Clara’s father had died in 1941, so we no longer find him in the Pohlmann household. Their son, Pearl, was 19 years old and helping his father with the farming.

At some point, the small Pohlmann family had this photo taken.

Herman Pohlmann died in 1968 at the age of 71. His death certificate does not give a specific cause for his death, and it says that he was found dead in his bed.

Clara Pohlmann did not die until 1982 at the age of 81. She died too recently to view her death certificate. Herman and Clara Pohlmann are buried together in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Friedheim. This Pohlmann family must have decided to spell their name with only one ending “n”, probably later in their lives. Herman’s name was spelled with two “n’s” on both of his military registration forms. Their son, Pearl Roy, has his name spelled with one “n” on his gravestone which is also found in this same cemetery.

I wonder how many other gravestones are found in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery for couples like today’s pair. How many members of the Friedheim church were couples made up of two people that went from birth to death while members of that congregation.