Anna and Jerry Suda, Montgomery County

Anna and Jerry Suda came to Illinois in April 1895 and were initially placed in the home of Murray Easley in Walshville, Montgomery County. Changes occurred though and by 1898 Anna was living in a home with OTR William Quattlander and her brother was living somewhere else. Anna's new guardian was John Westphal, a German immigrant, in Rountree. In William Quattlander wrote a letter in 1898 and reported that he was going to the German school and learning German. William's parents were German, but Anna came from a Bohemian family (Bohemia was a part of what is now the Czech Republic), and she was most likely going to a German school as well. Before WWI there were German language schools scattered throughout Illinois. During WWI German language schools and newspapers were forced to close or cease operations in the German language (why would you want to be able to understand your enemy??)

No other letters appeared in the reports from Anna or her brother to explain their movements. In 1908 Anna married Henry Lindeman, a man from Nokomis. The headrest she wears in the photo of her and Henry on their wedding day (from a family tree) seems to indicate that Anna had persisted in old world traditions she may have learned from her parents, Augustin and Rosa Merkle Suda. Anna and Henry had five children, but twin girls died the year they were born and a young son lived less than two years. One daughter, Rosa, and a son, Carl, lived to grow to adulthood and have their own families.

In 1900 Jerry Suda was living with the Saathoff family in Walshville, Montgomery County. He was the only OTR in his home, but his family had three young children and were natives of Germany. Jerry was most likely also required to learn German. By 1918 Jerry was married to May Emmerick according to his draft card for WWI. In 1920 they had four children. Jerry was working as a colporteur (bookseller) for the Seventh Day Adventist church in Pana, Christian County. Before 1930 Jerry and Mae were divorced. Mae lived in Springfield with all four children and Jerry was living in a rented room in Springfield and working as a colporteur in Springfield. Jerry died in 1933 at a Springfield Hospital and was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery.