Surnames: Mueller, Voelker, Sauer, Loos

----Source: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 17 Nov 11 1949

Mueller, Wilhelmina (98th Birthday - 10 Nov. 1949)

FIVE GENERATIONS--Shown above are five generations, four of whom are descendants of Mrs. Wilhelmina Mueller Of Colby, Wisconsin, who celebrated her 98th birthday anniversary on November 10th.  Shown here are Mrs. Mueller, Walter Loos, 53, Mrs. Anna Loos, 77, Mrs. Herbert Sauer, 27, and Walter Sauer, 3.  All except Mrs. Sauer and her son, who reside in Medford, Wis., live at the Walter Loos farm, one-half mile south and one-half mile west of Colby.

Mrs. Wilhemina Mueller, who lives at the farm home of her gandson, Walter Loos, a half miles south and a half mile west of Colby, reached her 98th birthday anniversary, wednesday, Nov. 10th, 1949.  She is happy, healthy, clear-eyed and still posseses a firm handclasp.  Four generations live on the Walter Loos farm -- Mrs. Mueller, her daughter, Mrs. Anna Loos, Walter Loos and three great-grandchildren, Darrell, Emilie, and Dean Loos.  Mrs. Mueller has 122 living decendants - five children, 21 grandchildren, 62 great-grandchildren and 34 great-great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Mueller was born in Germany Nov. 10, 1851, slightly less than 14 years before the assassination of Lincoln.  She came to this country with her parents at thea ge of 2, crossing the tumultuous Atlantic in a sailing vessel.

Misfortune and adversity dogged their journey.  Her oldest sister died and was buried at sea, and somehow or other they lost all their possessions upon docking in New York.  Al they had left were the clothes on their back.

 Because she was so small small at the time, Mrs. Mueller remembers little of the rigorous trek to Kiel, other than that it was amrked with hardship and toil.

Settling on 80 acres of land brought no successes from their labors.  Fields had to be cleared of trees, a log cabin had to be raised for shelter, and food somehow had to be obtained to sustain life during the long hard winters.

Mrs. Mueller agrees that it was the age of the horse and buggy but adds that whenever they wanted to go anywhere they walked in wooden shoes. Her family had no horses. They used oxen to till the fields.

As the years went by the family became more prosperous and they hired a handsome young man, Frederick Voelker, to help with the chores. In 1870, Wilhelmina and Frederick were married in Rockville, where they established their home on a farm.

Six children were born of the union and all but one, Fred, who died last year, are living. They are William, Colby; Anna Loos, Colby; Herman, Kiel; August, Colby, and Helena of Kiel.

Her husband died June 4, 1924, and at the age of 77 she was married for the second time to Ferdinand Mueller at Pestigo Oct. 16, 1928. They made their home at Pestigo, Wisconsin until he died in September, 1937. Since then she has lived at Kiel and Colby, the last five years at her present home.

Her son, Walter, and his wife, state that Mrs. Mueller’s health is remarkable. In fact, none of the family can recall her ever falling victim to any serious illnesses. She did, however, have a cataract removed from an eye about 15 years ago.

One day last year she fell in her room, located just off the kitchen, but when taken to St. Joseph’s hospital, Marshfield, it was found that she sustained only bruises.

Though Mrs. Mueller no longer takes the stairs two at a time, the family reports she makes her own bed, darns her stockings when necessary, and occasionally sews a patch on her apron.

For recreation she reads in her German Bible or sits on the porch during nice weather and watches everything going on around the farm.

She attributes her age to heredity, more than anything else. She said that her mother reached 77 before passing on.

Up until last year, she used to write her children regularly in a mixture of German and English. Now, however, she reverts almost entirely to German in her conversation.

No family birthday party was held but many relatives and friends visited her on her birthday anniversary. She also received numerous cards and gifts. Her 98th birthday anniversary was a happy one.