Today’s story begins in East Perry County, but it takes us on a tour of America by the time we come to the end. The birthday girl for this post is Dorothea Elizabeth Maisel, who was born on December 20, 1879. This girl went by the name Dora during her lifetime. She was the daughter of Johann George and Margaret (Muench) Maisel. I did manage to find a photograph of Dora’s mother.

Let’s backtrack a little. The Maisel family immigrated to America in 1870. This family made the voyage across the Atlantic aboard the ship Ohio in 1870.

We find this Maisel family in the 1870 census for the Cinque Hommes Township in Perry County where Johann was working on a Tauber farm.

Prior to the next census in 1880, Johann Maisel must have moved to Wittenberg. One year before that census, Dora was born, and that explains why her baptism record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Even though her record is in that church’s books, she was likely baptized at the church/school building located in Wittenberg. I’m still out of town, so I cannot display her baptism record, but I can tell you that our German Family Tree says her sponsors had these surnames: Doering, Weinhold, and Lueders. Those are all Wittenberg names. Dora shows up as a youngster in the 1880 census for Wittenberg. Her family was listed right next to the Joseph Weinhold family. Joseph ran a flour mill in Wittenberg, and Dora’s father was likely a cooper at that mill. The Dora Weinhold on this image was one of Dora Maisel’s sponsors.

An Ancestry.com family tree says that, according to a later obituary for Dora (which I cannot show), the Maisel family moved to Illinois in 1883. They likely moved to the area just across the river from St. Louis. Dora would get married before the next census in 1900, so let’s take a look at her future husband.

Edward Hampton Bounds was born on June 20, 1877 in Drake, Illinois. Edward was the son of Isaac and Lucinda (Johnson) Bounds. I found a photograph of the family of Edward’s father. Isaac (Edward’s dad) is the man standing in the back on the right.

Edward is found in the 1880 census living in Greene County, Illinois, where Drake is located. For some reason, Edward is called Alva in this entry. He was 3 years old at the time.

That leads us up to the marriage of Edward Bounds and Dora Maisel which took place on July 19, 1897. I can only show a transcription of an Illinois marriage record. They were married in St. Clair County, Illinois, which is located across the river from St. Louis.

When the 1900 census was taken, we find this couple living in Jacksonville, Illinois, which is not far from Drake. Edward was a laundry man, and one young son is included in the family.

My search for the Bounds family in the 1910 census was unsuccessful, but I next found them in a Kansas state census taken in 1915 where we find them living in Fort Scott, Kansas. This entry does not indicate an occupation for anyone. Their second son, Clarence, was included in their household.

When Edward had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918, he was back living in East St. Louis, Illinois. He was once again called a laundry man.

We find the Bounds household in the 1920 census living in Granite City, Illinois which is also just across the river from St. Louis. He was still in the laundry business, and both of his sons were living with them.

The last census in which we find Edward Bounds is the one taken in 1930. This time, the Bounds family was listed as living in Wood River, Illinois. Edward and Dora had an empty nest.

A 1931 St. Louis city directory shows this couple living in that city. The man named Isaac Bounds listed below them was Edward’s father. He was living at the same address.

Edward Bounds died in 1933 at the age of 55. A death record from Illinois says he died in Granite (probably Granite City). This document has several other facts about Edward that are useful to family researchers.

Edward was buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Bellville, Illinois.

Although I was unable to find Dora Bounds in the 1940 census, I was able to find her in a 1942 city directory for Mobile, Alabama. She was living with Clarence Bounds, her younger son, and his family.

I found an interesting story included on a family history on Ancestry about Dora Bounds. This is where we find her affectionately called “Little Mama” Bounds. She is described as being very short in stature.

Dora Bounds died in 1967 at the age of 87. I found an Alabama death record for her, but I was unable to find her burial place. This document states that she was 86 years old when she died, but it also says she was born in 1881. Based on her birthday on this day in 1879, she was 87 years old.

This couple, especially Little Mama Bounds, bounded all over the country during her life. Much of their lifetimes were spent in Illinois near St. Louis, but they were never found living in the same exact location in any of their census entries.