A pair of twins were born on November 6, 1869 in Friedland, Missouri. Friedland was never really a town, but it was an area north of Altenburg that received this name and is sometimes used in the church records at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Nowadays, that area is called The Ridge. The twins were named Emma and Emanuel, a girl and a boy. They were the children of Johann Carl and Emilie (Gebner) Weber. These twins have baptism records in the Immanuel Lutheran Church books. They were baptized on Sunday, November 14th. Here is that record.
Emma and Emanuel Weber baptism record – Immanuel, Altenburg
That has all the looks of baptisms which took place in the church during a Sunday morning worship service, but I have my doubts. November 14th was also the day when it is said that Emma died. I wonder whether that baby was brought to church if she was in experiencing a life-threatening illness. Emanuel became the youngest child in this Weber family.
When Emanuel was 23 years old, he married a neighbor girl, Mathilda Leimbach. They were married on September 7, 1893 at Immanuel. Mathilda was the daughter of Paulus and Louise (Schrier) Leimbach. The Leimbachs also lived on The Ridge very near the Weber family. Here are two images which display the marriage record for this couple found in the Immanuel church books.
Weber/Leimbach marriage record – Immanuel, Altenburg
This map from 1915 shows Emanuel’s land, but you can also see several other Weber and Leimbach parcels of land in their neighborhood on The Ridge.
Emanuel Weber land map – 1915
All the census records over the years indicate Emanuel was a farmer. He and Mathilda had nine children, 7 boys and 2 girls. However, two of the sons died when they were just 2 years old. Here is a wonderful photo which was taken of this family.
Emmanuel and Mathilda Weber family
I was scratching my head about this photo for a short time because the photo has the parents with 8 others who looked like children. They only had 7 children who lived to be as old as the people in this photo. Who was the extra person? I discovered the answer by looking at the wedding photo of Frieda Weber and her husband Otto Richter.
Weber/Richter wedding
The man standing on the right in the back row of the family photo must be Otto Richter. This couple was married in 1919, and it just so happens that the people pictured in this photo look about the right ages they would have been in 1919. I am guessing that the family had this photograph taken when the whole family was in town for this wedding.
The two girls in this family ended up living in other locations later in their lives. Frieda and Otto lived in the Springfield, Missouri area, and the young girl in the photo, Anita, is buried in Williston, Ohio. She apparently never married. Two of the boys moved to the St. Louis area and are buried there.
Emanuel died in 1936 at the age of 66. Here is his death certificate.
Emanuel Weber death certificate
Mathilda died in 1949. Here is her death certificate.
Mathilda Weber death certificate
They are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg. Here is their gravestone.
Emanuel and Mathilda Weber gravestone – Immanuel, Altenburg
One harrowing experience took place on The Ridge during Emanuel and Mathilda’s time living there. That was the deadly Tri-State Tornado of 1925. I have not found any indication that these Webers had any property damage or injuries as a result of that devastating event. However, based on their location on The Ridge, that tornado must have gone by very near them.
Emanuel had a cousin whose family was involved in running a general store on The Ridge, but that will be a story for another day.
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