I could not resist this story. First of all, it can be considered a continuation of yesterday’s tale about Arthur Vogel. This story also connects back to a post published in 2020 called Mrs. Reinkensmeyer. However, before I continue to tell this story, let me add a little to yesterday’s post. I am now back home in Altenburg and have had the opportunity to look through Daniel Oetjen’s family binder. I found this page that tells the tale of Clara Oetjen who married Arthur Vogel. And yes, it does contain a photo of Clara. I have placed a photo of the entire page along with a close-up photo of Clara below. The thumbnails are clickable.

The story today will include Arthur’s brother, Gustav Vogel, but we have to look at his bride’s birthday to tie him to today’s date. But before we look at her, let me display this photo of another Vogel, Dorothea, who married William Reinkensmeyer at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois in 1913.

Next, if you look at the marriage record for William and Dorothea in the books of Christ, Jacob, you will see that there were 2 witnesses for this wedding, Gustav Vogel and Eleonora Reinkensmeyer.

So, the young man and young woman standing behind the bride and groom in the above wedding photo are the two individuals who would get married in today’s post…the best man and the maid of honor. This question remains. Did these two become acquainted as a result of the above wedding that took place in 1913?

Eleonora Reinkensmeyer was born on February 21, 1892, making today her 131st birthday. Eleonora was the daughter of Fred and Julia (Tyberendt) Reinkensmeyer. It gets a little complicated because Eleonora had a brother named William, but that brother was not the William Reinkensmeyer that married Dorothea Vogel. I figure that Eleonora was some sort of cousin to the William that married Dorothea. Eleonora is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. Her father was a farmer in Clinton County, Illinois.

Next, we find Eleonora in the 1910 census as a teenager.

Now, we will return to the Henry Vogel family in Jacob, Illinois. On May 26, 1888, Gustav Carl Vogel was born to Henry and Amalia (Palisch) Vogel. As you may have already figured, Gustav was the brother of Arthur Vogel, yesterday’s main character, and Dorothea Vogel, who married William Reinkensmeyer. Gustav was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. Since I can once again get at the church records in our research library, we can take a look at Gustav’s baptism record below (in 2 images).

Gustav was 12 years old when he appears in the 1900 census. Right below his name, you will see the names of Arthur and Dorothea. This is the same entry that was displayed in the story about Arthur yesterday.

The 1910 census is the last one in which we find Gustav as a single man. He was a laborer on his father’s farm at the age of 21.

The marriage of Gustav Vogel and Eleonora Reinkensmeyer did not take place in Jacob. It likely took place at the church where Eleonora attended. A family tree on Ancestry.com says this marriage took place on September 12, 1915 in Clinton County, Illinois. I found no documentation for this event. However, Gustav brought his new bride back to Jacob where they would live the rest of their lives.

In this photo that was also displayed yesterday, we find all the Vogel siblings pictured with their parents on the occasion of their 40th wedding anniversary later in 1915. The caption will help you find Gustav, Arthur, and Dorothea. Gustav was a newlywed.

At this point, let me tell you that another Vogel, Clara, had married Rev. Justus Lohrmann who was the pastor in Covington, Illinois where Dorothea had gotten married. That Lohrmann/Vogel marriage also contributed to this whole plot of Vogel/Reinkensmeyer marriages.

In 1917, Gustav Vogel had a World War I draft registration completed. This form says Gustav was married and living in Jacob, Illinois.

In 1920, the Vogel household included 2 daughters. Gustav was a farmer in the Fountain Bluff Township.

The 1930 census shows that Gustav’s family had grown considerably. The German Family Tree lists 7 children born to Gustav and Eleonora, all baptized at Christ, Jacob. In the image below, I have also included the next household in this entry which shows the family of Arthur Vogel. That entry was displayed in yesterday’s post. Both Gustav and Arthur had hired hands with the name, Darnstaedt. Those two Darnstaedt’s, Paul and Theodore, were two of the single Darnstaedt’s highlighted in the post, Gottfried’s Single Trio.

Three more children were born to the Vogel’s in the 1930’s, so we see the following household in the 1940 census entry. This time, the Arthur Vogel family was listed above that of Gustav.

Eleonora Vogel died in 1943 at the age of 51. One more census entry can be viewed in which we find Gustav listed as a widow. The 1950 census entry for the Vogel’s is shown below. It looks like Gustav and Arthur were neighbors in Jacob for a long time. Gustav’s daughter, Adeline, had married Ernst Bock from Perry County, Missouri and her family was included in Gustav’s household.

Gustav Vogel was a widower for over 40 years. He died in 1990 at the age of 101. Gustav and Eleonora are buried together in the Christ Lutheran Cemetery in Jacob.

This is not the first story in which I have discovered that a pair of singles who were part of a wedding party later get married. I doubt that it will be the last. If the ritual of tossing a bouquet or garter were parts of the wedding reception back in those days, I wonder if the couple that would later get married did some catching.