Theodore Eduard Berthold Tanz, if he was alive today, would have had to blow out 145 candles on his birthday cake. Theodore was born on February 1, 1876, the son of Herman and Margaretha (Blanken) Tanz. Theodore was the firstborn child in the Tanz family. Our German Family Tree lists 11 children all together in that family. Theodore was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, Missouri. His baptism record is displayed below. It is a record that does not contain much information.
The first census in which we find Theodore Tanz was the one taken in 1880. His family happened to be found in the records that were only recently discovered for Union Township. Theodore was 4 years old. His father was a farmer.
We cannot view the 1890 census, so the next census in which we find Theodore was the one taken in 1900. Theodore was a 24 year-old farm worker. You can see that this Tanz family had gotten quite large.
Now, we will turn our attention to Theo’s future wife. Her name was Juliana Amelia Dambach, although she was most commonly called Anna. She was born on April 12, 1887, the daughter of Friedrich and Ernestine (Mehner) Dambach. Anna was child #11 out of 12 children in her Dambach family. Anna was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Below is an image of her baptism record.
When we find Anna in her first census in 1900, we find a very interesting and potentially confusing situation. By 1900, Anna’s mother had died. Her father was living in the household of a Theodore Tanz. However, that Theodore Tanz was not the one we have discussed thus far in this story. What is amazing is that Anna’s sister, Julia, had married another Theodore Tanz. That Theodore Tanz would have been today’s Theodore’s uncle. What are the chances of two different Theodore Tanz’s marrying two Dambach sisters? There is also an amazing similarity in the names, Juliana Dambach, and her older sister, Julia Anna Dambach.
On December 27, 1905, two days after Christmas, Theodore Tanz married Anna Dambach at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Below is this couple’s marriage license.
We can also view this couple’s church record.
Our German Family Tree lists 9 children born into the Tanz family. When the 1910 census was taken, we find the following Tanz household. Theo’s family was living in the household of his parents.
Theo had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This form says that Theo was involved in the occupations of farmer, saw miller, and thresher. It does not appear that Theo was actually called into military service during this war.
Next, we find the Tanz family in the 1920 census. This family was still living in the household of Theo’s parents.
The 1930 census shows the following Tanz household. We no longer see Theo’s parents in this entry because each of them died in 1925.
I was unable to find the Tanz family in the 1940 census. Theodore Tanz died in 1965 at the age of 89. His death certificate says he died at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.
The following year, Anna Tanz died in 1966 at the age of 78. Her death certificate says she died at the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau.
Theo and Anna are each buried in the Grace Lutheran Cemetery in Uniontown.
The Tanz and Dambach families were both very large ones. Then, we find Theodore and Anna ended up having over 9 children of their own. Also, the surname, Tanz, is sometimes spelled Tanz around here and sometimes spelled Danz. This family was one who used the Tanz spelling.