Today’s birthday girl gets into our German Family Tree, not because she was baptized in a local Lutheran church, but because she married a Lutheran man who was. You will eventually learn about her, but I am going to begin this post by looking at the man who became her husband.
Joseph Emanuel Brunkhorst was born on March 18, 1892, the son of John and Mary (Versemann) Brunkhorst. Below are photos of Joseph’s parents.
Joseph was child #5 in a list of 13 children in our GFT. Joseph was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured below. His middle name is given her as Amanua.
Joseph is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. His father is called a dealer of groceries in the Fountain Bluff Township.
John Brunkhorst operated a store in a small, populated area near the Mississippi River that became known as Brunkhorst Landing. It was a place of commerce especially in the years before the railroad began running through the town of Jacob, which was located farther inland. Steamboats would stop at Brunkhorst Landing to unload goods which could then be transported by land to other nearby sites. It was also a place where a ferry operated carrying passengers to and from Perry County in Missouri. It was located where the cemetery for Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob is found. Below is a map that may help you visualize where this place was found.
In 1906, Joseph was confirmed at Christ, Jacob. A complete list of his confirmation class can be seen in the image below. This time, Joseph’s middle name is given as Immanuel.
Then, in the 1910 census, we find his family living in the Sand Ridge Township of Jackson County, Illinois. His father was still operating a store, but Joseph is called a coal heaver for the railroad. After the railroad began running through Jackson County, it took over as the way people in this region would receive their goods from elsewhere.
You can see where the Sand Ridge Township is located on the map below. It adjoins the Fountain Bluff Township.
I will now switch over to tell the tale of the early life of the woman who would become Joseph’s wife. Her name was Erma Ganson, who was born on September 20, 1898. That means today would be her special 125th birthday. Erma was the daughter of Herman and Florence (Purdy) Ganson. She was born in Forest City, Illinois. I failed to find Erma and her family in the 1900 census, but I do know that in 1904, her mother died. There were only 2 daughters in the Ganson family at the time of their mother’s death. When the 1910 census was taken, we find these 2 girls living in Marion, Illinois. Take a look at this census entry.
Erma and her younger sister, Jennie, were living in a household in which a woman, Charlotte Godding, a 46 year-old single high school teacher, was the head. There was also another woman, Nettie Conant, a 26 year-old single woman who is described as an assistant who was also called a housekeeper in a school. The rest of the household consisted of young girls who were called scholars, including Erma and Jennie.
Joseph Brunkhorst married Erma Ganson on April 1, 1916. I was only able to determine the date for this wedding from an obituary for Erma which I will display later. I know that a marriage record for this couple is not found in the books of Christ, Jacob. When Joseph had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917, it states that he had a wife and one child. Joseph was given a Gorham address and working as a car inspector for the railroad.
The 1920 census shows the Brunkhorst’s living in the Sand Ridge Township where Joseph is given the same occupation as the one listed on his WWI draft registration form.
Erma Brunkhorst went through confirmation instruction at Christ, Jacob and was confirmed in the presence of an elder at that congregation in 1920. Her confirmation record is shown here. The pastor did not use her first name in this record, just calling her Mrs. Joseph Brunkhorst.
By the time of the 1930 census, we see the Brunkhorst’s living in a different location and Joseph with a different occupation. The family was living in Grand Tower, Illinois where Joseph was a foreman at a power plant. There were 3 children in their household.
The power plant at which Joseph worked can be seen just across the river from Wittenberg, Missouri. I took this photo with that power plant in the background a while back.
Joseph continued to work at that power plant for a while. We find him in the 1940 census with a similar description for his occupation.
Joseph had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. This form says he was employed by the C.I.P.S. Company in Grand Tower, which stands for Central Illinois Public Service Company.
The last census we can view for the Brunkhorst’s is the one taken in 1950. This time, Joseph is called a relief man for a public utility.
Joseph Brunkhorst died in 1988 at the age of 96. I located an obituary for him on Findagrave.com. It was this description of his character that led me to come up with the title I used for this post. You will see that Joseph was remembered for being quite the storyteller and volunteered of his time to preserve the history of the places in which he spent his life. He must have been quite the character.
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Joseph E. Brunkhorst — a Southern Illinois antique collector, historian and storyteller — died in his Grand Tower home at 1 a.m. Friday. He was 96.
Brunkhorst still carried the German accent inherited from his father, who settled in the Fountain Bluff area after moves from Altenburg, Mo., and Hanover, Germany.
Brunkhorst’s friends said he used that accent to tell tales of early Southern IIllinois, perhaps embellished stories, but always based in fact.
“We just thought he was quite the spinner,” said Jeanne Inbendahl of Tamaroa. The Brunkhorsts “loved company, and they had lots of it. People loved to sit and hear Joe talk.”
Erma, his wife of 72 years, was reserved and blushed at, many of his stories, added Ibendal. “She’d say, ‘Oh, Joe, don’t tell that one,’ but he’d laugh and tell them anyway.”
Brunkhorst was curator of the Huthmacher House museum. He also owned an impressive collection of antiques, books and historical machinery of his own, which he and his wife collected gradually and inexpensively in their decades together.
He was also superintendent of Devil’s Backbone Park at river’s edge in Grand Tower, a park that he and his wife were instrumental in building.
Mr. Brunkhorst was a retired engineer with Central Illinois Public Service Co.
He was a member of the Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, the Lutheran Layman’s League, the Grand Tower Park District, the Jackson County Historical Society, the Grand Tower Senior Citizens and the International Union of Operating Engineers.
He was born March 18, 1892, in Jackson County to John and Mary (Verseman) Brunkhorst. His siblings include a brother, Edward Brunkhorst of Miami.
He married Erma Ganson in 1916. She survives. Their children include Joseph Brunkhorst of Marymontie, Calif., and a daughter and a son who preceded him in death.
Source: Obituary on file at the Jackson County Historical Society
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Erma Brunkhorst died in 1992 at the age of 92. A much shorter obituary for her is found on Findagrave.com. It is the place where we find this couple’s wedding date.
Erma Brunkhorst was born Sept. 20, 1898, in forest City to Herman and Florence (Purdy) Ganson. Her parents preceded her in death.
She married Joseph E. Brunkhorst on April 1, 1916. He died Oct. 7, 1988. Survivors include one son, Joseph W. Brunkhhorst, of Miramonte, California.
Mrs. Brunkhorst was a homemaker. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church, War Mothers, Presbyterian Church Auxiliary in Grand Tower and the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.
Mrs. Brunkhorst died at the age of 92 in St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro.
Source: Southern Illinoisan, Wednesday, July 24, 1991
Joseph and Erma are buried together in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Murphysboro.
Joseph Brunkhorst must have been a fascinating storyteller, but we can also describe Erma as a good story listener. She must have patiently listened to her husband regale others with his stories over and over again. As you might expect, I can do some storytelling myself. I will add that I have a wife who has listened patiently (most of the time) to my oft-told stories. Like those of Joseph Brunkhorst, my stories sometimes get embellished. My wife has even told folks that I have developed a bit of the East Perry County dialect in my speech patterns. If you add Joseph’s interest in history to his bio, I guess you could say that he and I have plenty in common. However, even though I have heaved plenty of things during my lifetime, I must say that I have never heaved coal.