Tombstone Tuesday–Esther A.E. Sauer

Esther A.E. Sauer, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Esther A. E. Sauer, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Esther A. E. Sauer
Mar. 15, 1908
Mar. 9, 1994

Esther A. E. Sauer was born 15 March 1908 in Monroeville, Allen County, Indiana, the daughter of Henry and Justine (Pflueger) Sauer. [1] The family probably attended church in or near Monroeville because there is no record of her baptism in the records of Zion Lutheran, Schumm.

In 1910 the Henry Sauer family lived in Monroe Township, Allen County, Indiana: Henry, 26; Justine RM, 20; Esther AE, 2; and Paul EJ, 8 months. [2] 

Esther’s mother, Justine (Pflueger) Sauer, died from LaGrippe on 12 March 1918 in Van Wert County, Ohio. She was only 28 years old and left 5 underage children behind. She is buried in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm. Her husband Henry never remarried.

The Henry Sauer family in 1920, residing in Willshire Township: Henry, 35, widow; Esther AE, 11; Paul AJ, 10; Reinhold F, 8; Herman E, 6; and Lena N, 3. [3]

In 1930 Henry Sauer, 46, farmed and lived in Adams County, Indiana, with his two daughters, Esther, 22, and Lina, 13. [4]

In 1940 Esther Sauer was a lodger in the home of Freda Lancaster at 2313 North Anthony, Fort Wayne, Indiana: Freda Lancaster, 45, head; Emma Lancaster, 71, mother, widow; Nellie Fetters, 68, lodger; and Esther Sauer, 32, lodger. All in the household were born in Indiana. The writing is difficult to read, but it appears that Esther worked as a maid in a priest’s house. Freda Lancaster, the head of the household, was the principal at a public school. [5]   

In 1940 Esther’s father Henry Sauer, 56, lived by himself at 229 First Street in Decatur. [6] Henry died 3 June 1948 at the Richmond State Hospital, Wayne County, Indiana, at the age of 64. [7] Henry was brought back to Zion Schumm’s cemetery and was laid to rest in row 3. 

Esther A.E. Sauer, aged 85, died of a heart attack on 9 March 1994 at the Woodview Health Care Center, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. She was buried on 12 March, buried very near her father. [1]

Esther never married.

Henry and Justina (Pflueger) Sauer had the following children, including Esther and her siblings:
Esther A.E. (1908-1994), never married
Paul A. John (1909-1988), married Clara Alena Stump
Reinhold Ferdinand (1911-1993), married Helen M. Fritzinger
Herman Edgar (1913-1986), married Dorothy Alice Featherer
Lena Paula Emelia (1916-2013), married Russell E. Fleming

[1] Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indiana State Board of Health, Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011, 1994, roll 4, Esther Sauer, 9 Mar 1994; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com.  

[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Monroe Allen, Indiana, ED 17, p.2B, dwelling & family 21, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1910uscenindex/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019). 

[3] 1920 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 146, p.3B, dwelling 63, family 64, Henry Souer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1920usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[4] 1930 U.S. Census, Root, Adams, Indiana, ED 14, p.9B, dwelling & family 212, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1930usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[5] 1940 U.S. Census, Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, ED 94-5A, p.60A, lines 5, 18, 23, Freda Lancaster, Esther Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1940usfedcen/ : viewed 16 Sep 2019).

[6] 1940 U.S. Census, Decatur, Adams, Indiana, ED 1-12, p.2B, line 41, Henry Sauers; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1940usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[7] Indiana Death Certificates, 1948, roll 7, Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com.

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