When I first moved to Altenburg back in 2010, I was able to find a dentist who came to Frohna once a week so I did not have to drive to Perryville or Cape Girardeau for dental care. There was a clinic in Frohna that had both a dentist and a medical doctor come from Perryville on a weekly basis to care for folks in East Perry County. Unfortunately, that service is no longer available, and now I have to go to Perryville to visit my dentist and doctor.

A few lonely baptism records in the books of local congregations have led me to ask a few questions about dentistry.

• Who was the first dentist to serve the folks of East Perry County?
• Prior to the arrival of the first dentist, how did the residents of East Perry County deal with tooth problems?
• Did local medical doctors include the care of teeth in the services that they performed?

I do not have the answers to those questions. I do know that there was a time when 2 young men from Altenburg went off to the Washington University School of Dentistry in St. Louis to train as dentists back in the early 1900’s. Those two, Leo and Edward Lottes, returned to be dentists in Altenburg. Leo was not a dentist for very long, but his brother continued in that profession in Altenburg for his entire career. His story was told in the post, The Dreaded Doc Lottes. The baptism records I located in our German Family Tree for a Glaser family has led me to think that the Lottes brothers were not the first dentists to provide care for the teeth of the folks in this area. I will give evidence that a dentist named Dr. Adolph Glaser was providing dental services around here in the 1890’s. I will also focus on the story of one of Dr. Glaser’s sons, who happens to be today’s birthday boy.

Bernhardt William Glaser was born on December 11, 1893, so today would be his 130th birthday. Bernhardt, who mostly went by the name Ben, was the son of Adolph and Maria (Hillenbrand) Glaser. There is evidence that both Adolph and Maria came to America from Germany in the early 1890’s and were married in Missouri. The 2 baptism records found in our German Family Tree give evidence that the Glaser’s were living in East Perry County shortly after their wedding. Their firstborn child was Bernhardt, who was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. His baptism record is displayed below.

In 1895, another baby boy was born to this couple named Richard Heinrich Glaser. That child was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, and his baptism record is pictured here. This record calls his father, Dr. Adolph Jakob Glaser.

The small Glaser family must have moved away from Perry County shortly after the birth of their 2nd son. Richard died in 1896, and he is buried in the City Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Texas. His gravestone is shown below. Fredericksburg is a city well-known for its German heritage.

When the 1900 census was taken, we find the Glaser family living in San Antonio, Texas. Ben was 6 years old at the time. This entry is where we get more solid evidence that Ben’s father was a dentist. There is even documentation available indicating that Dr. Glaser applied for a patent for his invention of a type of dental plate.

When Ben was fairly young, this photograph of him was taken.

I was unable to find the Glaser’s in the 1910 census. Then, in 1917, Ben got married, so let’s take a look at the woman who became his wife. Her name was Meta Elizabeth Lindner, who was born on September 26, 1896. The surname, Lindner, is one that has appeared on this blog before, but we discover that Meta was not a Perry County native. She was born in Comfort, Texas. What makes her more interesting is the fact that she was the daughter of Leo and Ida (Pfeiffer) Lindner. The name, Pfeiffer, is another one that can be found around here. By the way, Comfort, Texas is another small town with a German history. Meta is found in the 1900 census at the age of 3. Her family was living in Kerr County, Texas where her father was a farmer.

The map below showing Kerr County and the town of Comfort illustrates how Comfort is just outside the boundaries of Kerr County.

In 1910, we find Meta as a teenager in a rather large Lindner household.

On January 13, 1917, Ben Glaser married Meta Lindnor. I have no documentation for it, but I think it is quite likely that this wedding took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Comfort. The old church for that congregation is pictured here.

Later in 1917, Ben had his World War I draft registration completed. He was no longer living in Texas. His address is given as Redding, California, which is found in the northern part of that state. It says Ben was a dealer in electrical supplies.

Based on family histories on Ancestry.com and census entries, I figure that Ben and Meta had 2 children. In the 1920 census, we find the Glaser’s with their 2 children living in the Cottonwood Township in Shasta County, California. Redding is located in that county. Ben was called an electric operator at a power house.

I was once again unsuccessful at finding the Glaser’s in the 1930 census, but I did find some city directory listings for Ben showing him living in San Antono, Texas at about that time. That is where we find the Glaser’s in the next 2 census entries. When Ben and Meta celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 1937, they had the photo below taken.

Below is their entry from the 1940 census. Ben was an electrician for a railroad. His daughter, Eugenia, was an operator of a beauty shop.

I located this photograph of their daughter, Eugenia.

Ben had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It says he was an electrician employed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Ben and Meta’s son, Leonard, enlisted in the military in August of 1941, just 4 months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. In his enlistment form below, it says he was an aviation cadet.

Below is a photo of Leonard in uniform.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Ben continued at the same job. He and Meta had an empty nest.

Ben Glaser died in 1962 at the age of 68. We are able to view his Texas death certificate which states that he had been living in Comfort, Texas for 6 years.

Meta Glaser died in 1979 at the age of 82. Ben and Meta are buried together in the Comfort Cemetery in Comfort, Texas.

Some questions remain about dentistry in East Perry County, but I think it is safe to say that there was a dentist in the Frohna/Altenburg vicinity prior to the 20th century. In general, I think it is still a difficult task for small rural communities such as ours to support a dentist of their own. Altenburg and Frohna should probably be thankful for having a dentist like Dr. Edward Lottes who spent his career in our rural area. However, it will probably always be a difficult chore to overcome the fear that people have of taking a seat in a dentist’s chair, no matter where the dentist is located. I know I have many painful memories of my days growing up in St. Louis and requiring braces. I sat in a dentist chair at the Washington University School of Dentistry on numerous occasions being a guinea pig for students who practiced putting braces on my teeth. Ouch!