Perry County, Missouri
1
Wilhelm[1] Kirmse was the fifth child and fourth boy born to Julius and Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse. When Wilhelm was born on May 21, 1875, near Farrar, Missouri, his father, Julius, was 40 and his mother, Barbara, was 33.
William’s Parents: Julius and Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse
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- WHAT: Portrait of Barbara (Kraus) and Julius Kirmse
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse; Julius Kirmse, Parents of William Kirmse
- WHEN: Circa 1900 – just a guess from their apparent ages.
- WHERE: Missouri – possibly Farrar, Missouri or Perryville, Missouri
- SOURCE: Scanned from Dale Kirmse’s Ancestors Album, March 24, 2015.
Julius Kirmse was born on February 6, 1835, in Fichtenhainichen, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg and immigrated to the Buffalo, New York in 1853 eventually making his way to Perry County, Missouri about 1858. Barbara Kraus was born on May 7, 1842 in Hutschdorf, Bavaria. She immigrated with a sister to Perry County about 1862.
Julius and Barbara married on November 20, 1866 in Perry County, Missouri and had seven children in 12 years: Maria “Mary” Kirmse (1868-1947); Johann Kirmse (1869-1869); August Karl Kirmse (1870-1958); Joseph Kirmse (1873-1957); Wilhelm Kirmse (1875-1968); Louis Kirmse (1877-1963); Johanna Katharina Kirmse (1880-1962).
Julius died on December 12, 1915, near Farrar, Missouri, having lived a long life of 80 years, and was buried in the Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery at Farrar, Missouri. Barbara died on February 20, 1920, near Farrar, Missouri, at the age of 77, and was buried in the Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery at Farrar, Missouri.
Julius Kirmse Farm
After William’s parents were married they made their home on a farm near Farrar, Missouri.
- WHAT: Former Julius Kirmse Farm
- WHEN: ca 1995
- WHERE: Farrar, Missouri
- SOURCE: Helen (Kirmse) Hacker shared October, 2003
- NOTES: The former Julius Kirmse farm is now owned by his granddaughter Helen (Kirmse) Hacker
The following map shows the location of the 40 acre property that Julius Kirmse purchased in 1859 (Now owned by his granddaughter Helen Kirmse Hacker).
- WHAT: Township 1993-1994 landowners map showing the location of former Julius Kirmse farm
- WHEN: 1993-1994
- WHERE: Salem Township, Perry County, Missouri
Growing Up
William Kirmse grew into adulthood during the several Oklahoma land rushes. The first of these was April 22, 1889. Other runs followed in 1891, 1892. 1893, and 1895. After that, there were also “land lotteries.”[2]
The newspapers of the time had many articles about the mad dashes that settlers made to claim cheap Oklahoma lands.
Each week when the weekly paper came, William’s father, Julius Kirmse, would read the paper out loud by the light of an oil lamp to the family after the evening meal. William wished that he were old enough to make one of the runs and dreamed about going out to Oklahoma and obtaining his own land.
At age 18, William Kirmse took up the carpenter trade building houses and barns. He would walk to the construction site at