Louise Knoll, because she was born on August 13, 1898, would be celebrating her 125th birthday today. Louise was the daughter of Michael and Sarah (Venable) Knoll. According to our German Family Tree, Louise was the 8th of 10 children in her family. I think Louise was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, but her information in the Friedenberg Remembrances book just mentions her being confirmed at that church. That biography of Louise is pictured here.

Louise is found in the 1900 census at the age of 2. Her father was a farmer in the Central Township.

Next, we find Louise in the 1910 census at the age of 11. She is called Lulu in this entry. Her mother had died in 1907, so her father is shown as a widower in this entry.

Louise was confirmed in 1911. Then when the 1920 census was taken, I think she was still living with her parents in Perry County. I am somewhat doubtful because Lulu is described as being 16 years old in this census entry at a time when she was 22. However, Louise did not have a younger sister, and Rudolph, the 19 year-old in this list, was the youngest child in her family.

Since Louise would marry a man who was living in St. Louis, I suspect that she may have moved to that city at some point in the 1920’s. Now, we will look at the man who would become Louise’s husband. His name was William George Herman Kolath, who was born on January 17, 1884 in Germany. He was the son of Herman and Auguste (Benitz) Kolath. In 1903, when William was 19 years old, he came to America aboard the ship, Columbia. We find him on the passenger list for that ship below.

In 1906, William became a naturalized citizen. We can see the form for that event below.

William is found in the 1910 census living in St. Louis in the household of Mary Lang, who had 3 sons. William was a barber.

William had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. His “nearest relative” was Mary Lang.

We find that there was an interesting development during the next decade. When the 1920 census was compiled, we find that William had a wife named Mary and a stepson named Leonard. Although I found no documentation for it, William must have married Mary Lang, with whom he had boarded in 1910.

It looks like William made a trip back to Germany in 1923 to visit a parent. His application for a passport is shown here. It says he had lived in both New York and St. Louis during his early years in this country.

Mary (Schenck)(Lang) Kolath died in 1927 and was buried in the Western Lutheran Cemetery, which was the cemetery for Immanuel Lutheran Church. There is no gravestone photo for her on Findagrave.com.

Then, prior to the 1930 census, William Kolath must have married Louise Knoll, although once again, I found no documentation for it. The 1930 census entry for the Kolath’s is displayed here. A son, also named William, was born in 1929. William was still a barber.

Next, we find the Kolath’s in the 1940 census. There were 3 sons in their household.

In 1942, William had his World War II draft card completed. This form indicated that William was the owner of a barber shop located in the Wainwright Building in St. Louis.

I found a photograph and an article about the Wainwright Building on Wikipedia. That building has a rich history and is still standing in the downtown area of St. Louis.

You can read about this building by clicking on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wainwright_Building

Below are individual photographs of Louise and William.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. It says William was a barber at a hotel. I also have included the entry for William Kolath, Jr. which is right below that of William and Louise.

I located a few other photos of William. I am not sure when they were taken, but it must have been later in his life.

William Kolath died in 1961 at the age of 71. His death certificate says he died at the Lutheran Hospital of cardiac failure.

Louise Kolath died in 1978 at the age of 79. She died too recently to view her death certificate. Both William and Louise are buried in the Bellerive Cemetery in St. Louis.

This post enabled me to add yet another new surname folder to our collection…Kolath. Today, we wish a special Happy 125th Birthday to Louise Kolath.