Writing posts on this blog gives me plenty of opportunities to learn.  Not only do I learn the story of a character involved in the history of East Perry County, but often I get to learn about the historical context of those stories.  Today is one of those times when I came across a term with which I was unfamiliar…the sanitary train.  Maybe you are not familiar with that term either.  In which case, you should learn something new by reading this post.

It all begins with the birth of another Weinhold child into an already huge family.  Edwin Otto Weinhold was born on March 4, 1896, the son of Martin and Magdalena (Noennig) Weinhold.  Martin was one of the Weinhold brothers who were proprietors of the Frohna Flour Mill.  Our German Family Tree lists Edwin as child #13 out of 14 in that family.  He was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna.  Here is an image of his baptism record.

Edwin is found in his first census in 1900 at the age of 4.

At about the time when the above census was taken, this photo of the two youngest Weinhold boys was taken.

Edwin was confirmed in 1909 at Concordia.  It must have been around that time that a photo was taken of the Martin Weinhold family.  Edwin is the boy standing in front to the right of his father, and he looks like he’s at about confirmation age.

Next, we can find Edwin in the 1910 census at the age of 14.

Edwin’s father died in 1913.  Edwin then registered for the World War I draft in 1917.  The document states that Edwin was an employee of the Miesner Lumber & Manufacturing Company in Wittenberg.  We often refer to that as the swing factory.

As it turns out, Edwin was inducted into the U.S. Army on April 25, 1918.  When boys from Perry County were inducted in the military in Perryville, they would gather on the steps of the courthouse to have a group photo taken.  Most of those photos are dated, but there is not one for April 25, 1918.  One photo in what is called the Dobbelare Collection is undated.  I will display that one.  Perhaps this is the one that included Edwin Weinhold.

Below is a document giving a few details of Edwin’s World War I service.

When Edwin’s service overseas was completed, we find him on a passenger list for a ship that would bring him home.  The ship was the S.S. Agamemnon.

This is where we see the term, sanitary train.  This sent me on an internet search.  I found an article that contained a description of a sanitary train.

The photo below provides an image of what a sanitary train may have looked like.  I find it interesting to see both horse-drawn and motorized vehicles in the picture.

Here is another photograph showing a World War I ambulance picking up the wounded.

After the war, Edwin returned to Perry County.  In the 1920 census, we find him living with his brother, Arthur, and his family.  Another of his brothers Walter, can be found nearby.  They are all involved in a flour mill, but it is not the one in Frohna.  They were working at the flour mill located in Wittenberg.  Their Uncle Joseph Weinhold, who had previously operated that mill, had died in 1919.  Joseph had a houseful of girls, and no boys.  So, after his death, some Frohna Weinhold nephews came down to Wittenberg to run that operation.

Let’s turn our attention to Edwin’s future wife.  Her name was Hildegard Schade.  She was born on October 29, 1899, the daughter of Bruno and Hulda (Fischer) Schade.  Hildegard was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  Here is her baptism record.

We find Hildegard in the 1900 census as a toddler.

We find her ten years later in the 1910 census.

Hildegard is found in one more census before her marriage…the 1920 census.

On August 6. 1922, Edwin Weinhold married Hildegard Schade at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  Below is the church record for that wedding.

We also have the marriage license.

A wedding photograph was taken of Edwin and Hildegard which included the whole wedding party.

I do not know when this happened during his life, but Edwin took on the nickname, Ebs.  Ebs and Hildegard would have two children, Laverne and Dorothy.

A photograph was taken about 1923, when Laverne was a baby.  The photo showed Grandma Magdalena with many of her children and grandchildren.  The caption will tell you where Edwin, Hildegard, and Laverne can be found.

In 1930, we find Ebs and his family living in St. Louis where he is said to be a clerk in a wholesale shoe company.  On a later document, we see that he was working at the International Shoe Company.

A similar situation is displayed in the 1940 census.

Edwin was required to complete a World War II draft card in 1942.  This is the document that says Ebs’ employer was the International Shoe Company.

The man on the form above who is identified as the person who will always know your address was Rev. Paul Koenig.  He was the pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in St. Louis.  For a while, Rev. Koenig was president of the Western District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  Also, Ebs’ brother, Theophil was also president of that district for a while.  The present-day map below shows how close that address was to Holy Cross.

I am placing a photo gallery here which includes two other photos pertaining to the life of Ebs and Hildegard.  The thumbnails can be clicked to make them bigger.  The caption on the photos explains them.

Ebs Weinhold died in 1982 at the age of 86; Hildegard died in 1993 at the age of 93.  Because of Edwin’s military experience, they are both buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

Many of the photographs in this post come from a very valuable book we have in our research library which tells the history of the Weinhold millers from East Perry County.  It is even titled, The Weinholds – Missouri Millers.  We are so blessed to have resources like this and are very thankful that the Weinhold family has provided us with a copy of this book.

I’m going to close today with another photographic tease.