Perry County, Missouri
2
Martha Margaretha Cordes was the fourth child and second daughter of Heinrich and Margaretha (Meier) Cordes. When Martha was born on March 20, 1879, near Farrar, Missouri, her father, Heinrich, was 29, and her mother, Margaretha, was 31.
- WHAT: Portrait of Martha Margaretha Cordes
- WHO: Martha Margaretha Cordes, daughter of Heinrich and Margaretha (Meier) Cordes
- WHEN: Circa 1899 – assuming that Martha was about 20 years old
- WHERE: Farrar, Missouri
- SOURCE: Shared by Ella (Kirmse) Krueger December 30, 2003
Martha’s Parents: Heinrich and Margaretha (Meier) Cordes
- WHAT: A composite photograph of Margaretha (Meier) and Heinrich Cordes.
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Margaretha “Marie” (Meier) Cordes; Heinrich “Henry” Cordes
- WHEN: Before 1899 – Heinrich Cordes died 28 Mar 1899.
- WHERE: Farrar, Missouri
- SOURCE: Shared by Ella (Kirmse) Krueger December 30, 2003
Heinrich Cordes was born on May 1, 1849, in Scheeßel, Kingdom of Hanover and immigrated to Perry County, Missouri in 1867. Margaretha Meÿer was born September 21, 1847 in the village Winkeloh of the Scheeßel Parish, Kingdom of Hanover and immigrated to Perry County, Missouri with her parents in 1889.
Heinrich and Margaretha married on February 16, 1871, in the Salem Lutheran Church at Farrar, Missouri and had five children during their marriage: John Peter August Cordes (1873–1874), Anna Marie Cordes (1876–1907), Heinrich Cordes (1878–1878), Martha Margaretha Cordes (1879–1967), and Marie Christina Cordes (1881–1915).
Heinrich died on March 28, 1899, near Farrar, Missouri, at the age of 49, and was buried in the Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery at Farrar, Missouri. Margaretha died on August 30, 1929, near Alva, Oklahoma, at the age of 81, and was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery at Alva, Oklahoma.
The Henry Cordes Farm
After Martha’s parents were married they made their home on a farm near Farrar, Missouri.
- WHAT: Former Henry Cordes Farm
- WHEN: 1948
- WHERE: Near Farrar, Missouri
- SOURCE: The photograph was taken when Julius Henry Kirmse and his parents, Martha and William Kirmse, visited relatives and did a memory tour of familiar sites in Perry County.
- NOTES:
- On the farm was a hill that was given the name “Swienbach” (hog back).
- Fred Eggers had a vague recollection of the Fritsche’s having a barn fire and he remembered that the barn to the left of the house was the “new” barn when he was young. Fred looked at aerial photos and found that the valleys in front and in back of the house are consistent with the hogback shown in the photo. Fred then checked with Charlie Fritsche who confirmed that this was Charlie’s parent’s place.
- WHAT: Henry Cordes farm on plat map of Perry County, Missouri
- WHEN: 1898
- WHERE: Near Farrar, Missouri
- SOURCE: Shared by Fred Eggers August 3, 2018
- NOTES: By the 1915 Plat Map, the farm was owned by the Fritsche family. Charlie Fritsche now owns that property.
Martha’s Father Became Paralyzed
When Martha was about ten years old, her