Today’s post will include a birthday boy and a birthday girl. That is because both the bride and the groom in today’s tale shared the same day of birth. However, they did not share the same year of birth. I will begin with the groom because he is the one found in our German Family Tree, and it is his birthday that led me to tell this story.

Rudolph Erich Telle was born on December 26, 1898, so he would be celebrating his 125th birthday today. Rudolph was the son of Reinhold and Anna (Hopfer) Telle. The two names, Telle and Hopfer, are ones that point me to Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown for their church records. That is indeed the case for Rudolph. He was baptized at that congregation. I am presently out of town and normally would not be able to picture an image of a baptism record because of that, but the records of Grace, Uniontown are included in the collection of Missouri Synod records that are now found on Ancestry.com. So, here is an image of Rudolph’s baptism record.

At this point, let me tell you that there are some family trees on Ancestry.com that say Rudolph was born in 1899, not 1898. That may be because Rudolph was born in December of 1898, but was not baptized until January 1, 1899. You can see in the above image that Rudolph’s was the first baptism to take place at Grace, Uniontown in 1899.

Rudolph is found in his first census at the age of 1. He and his family were living with his grandparents, Andreas and Sarah (Noennig) Telle in the Union Township. Rudolph’s grandfather is called the farmer in this household, and his father was a farm laborer. This entry says Rudolph was born in December of 1898.

A later plat map indicates that R.G. Telle, who I think was Rudolph’s father, had several parcels of land just west of Uniontown. This is likely where Rudolph grew up.

In 1910, we find Rudolph at the age of 11. His grandmother had died in 1904, but his grandfather is still listed in this entry. However, now his father, Reinhold, was listed as head of the household.

Rudolph changed locations a few times during the next decade. When he completed his World War I draft registration in 1918, his form gives him a Uniontown address, but his employer was A.W. Schlichting in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. A.W. Schlichting was another Perry County native who had relocated to the part of Nebraska near Potter during the early 1900’s. This is a document that gives Rudolph’s year of birth as 1899.

Quite a few young men went to Cheyenne County to find work in those days. Some stayed, and some would later return to Perry County. Rudolph did not remain in Nebraska, but he also did not return to Perry County. In the 1920 census, we find him living in St. Louis where he was a mechanic for an electric company. It appears that he was living in some sort of boarding house with many other boarders, most of which were young single men. Rudolph was 21 years old at the time.

Rudolph would get married before the next census, so let’s take a look at the woman who would become his wife. Her name was Marie Doerr, who was also born on December 26th, but in 1907. Marie was the daughter of William and Louise (Wiegert) Doerr. I found a St. Louis birth record for Marie, but it was unreadable. That record does confirm that Marie was born on December 26th, the same day as Rudolph. Marie is found in her first census in 1910 at the age of 2. Her father is called a collector of cleaning and dyeing.

Next, we find Marie in the 1920 census when she was 12 years old. This time her father is called the proprietor of a saloon.

On September 27, 1926, Rudolph Telle married Marie Doerr. According to the Missouri marriage record below, this wedding was conducted by a justice of the peace in St. Charles County.

I found no evidence that this couple had any children. We find them in the entry shown below from the 1930 census. Rudolph was a chauffeur for a rubber company.

The last census entry in which we find Rudolph was the one taken in 1940. He is called a milk driver for a dairy. Marie’s parents were living in the Telle household. Her father was still the proprietor of a tavern.

Rudolph had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. This document states that the dairy at which Rudolph worked was the Pevely Dairy in St. Louis. This form gives Rudolph’s correct year of birth…1898.

These photos of the Pevely Dairy have shown up on this blog before. By the time Rudolph worked at this dairy, I’m sure they were no longer delivering by horse and wagon.

Rudolph died in 1945 at the age of 46. His death appears to be suspicious. The cause of death on his death certificate below gives morphine poisoning as his cause of death. It indicates that an investigation may have occurred upon his death, but on the line for accident, suicide, or homicide, it says “open verdict”.

Rudolph is buried in the St. Marcus Cemetery in Affton. There is space on his gravestone for a wife’s name, but it is blank.

Marie Telle married again in 1946. Her second husband was Ernst Arnold. I am not going to say much about him, but it appears that he was also previously married. On his World War II draft card, it says his wife’s name was Virginia. I found this application for a marriage license for Marie and Ernst.

Ernst and Marie Arnold are found in the 1950 census living in St. Louis. Ernst was called a lead burner at a lead company.

Marie Arnold died in 1996. She must have been around 90 years old when she died. She and Ernst Arnold have their remains in the Hillcrest Abbey Crematorium in St. Louis.

I do not think this is the first case of a bride and groom that share a birthday that have appeared on this blog, but it is safe to say that such a coincidence does not occur often.

My best friend when I attended high school in St. Louis was Paul Doerr. I know I have asked if his family was related to some Doerr’s who lived in Perryville, but that is not the case. Now, I wonder if Paul was related in any way to the Marie Doerr in this post. 

Just for your information. If you have access to Ancestry.com and would like to view the collection of Missouri Synod church records, you can click on Card Catalog and type in the word “synod”. The Missouri Synod records will be at the top of the search results.