A baby girl was born in New Wells on this date in 1871. This girl will be a main character in today’s post. Her name was Bertha Wunderlich, who would be celebrating her 153rd birthday today. Before I go on, let me point out that the name, Bertha Wunderlich, had shown up on this blog on two previous occasions, and they were different Bertha Wunderlich’s. One was a Bertha Wunderlich born in Kornthal, Illinois in 1894. The other was a Bertha Mirly who married a Wunderlich, thus becoming Bertha Wunderlich by marriage. Today’s Bertha was the daughter of Zacharias and Maria (Ludwig) Wunderlich. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed below.

Bertha is found in the 1880 census at the age of 10 (although I think she was just 9). Her father had died in 1876, so Bertha’s mother was the head of the household and called a farmer. Maria was also the 2nd wife of Zacharias, so there were Wunderlich’s in this entry that were actually Bertha’s half-siblings. Two of those older siblings were farm laborers.

When the 1900 census was taken, we find Bertha no longer living with her mother. She was a 29 year-old servant in the household of John Craik in St. Louis.

Bertha was still single when the 1910 census was taken. I struggled with whether the St. Louis census entry shown here was the right one for today’s Bertha. Her age is given as 35, and she would have been about 39 at this time. I began looking into the niece that is in this entry named Bertha Putz. I was not getting anywhere finding a Bertha Putz in family trees on Ancestry.com. I discovered that an older sister of Bertha Wunderlich named Elizabeth, had married Joseph Putz, but I was not able to find a family tree that listed a child of Joseph and Elizabeth named Bertha. However, I eventually discovered that there was a Bertha Putz born in 1892 who is listed in our German Family Tree for this couple. I am amazed that this Bertha somehow does not appear in so many family trees on Ancestry.com.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Bertha’s husband. Bertha would not be his first wife. His name was Frank Joshua Bruce, who was born on September 13, 1869. Frank was born in Ohio to his parents, Elias and Malinda (Rhodes) Bruce. Frank is found as an infant in the 1870 census living in Miami County, Ohio. His father was a farmer in the Springcreek Township.

Next, we find Frank in the 1880 census. His family had relocated to Pontiac, Illinois. Frank was listed as being 9 years old, and his father was still farming. Pontiac is located between Peoria and Chicago.

It must have been while Frank was still living in Pontiac that he had the photo below taken. The photo studio was in Pontiac.

Frank Bruce married his first wife in 1893. Her name was Ida Mae McCollough, who was born in 1871 according to her gravestone. I found very little information about Ida. I do not know the names of her parents or her exact date of birth. Frank Bruce married Ida Mae McCollough on August 8, 1893. According to the Illinois marriage record shown here, their marriage took place in Jefferson County, Illinois.

As best as I could determine, Frank and Ida had 3 children. In the 1900 census, we find the Bruce’s with one child living in the Spring Garden Township in Jefferson County. Frank was a telegraph operator.

Ida Bruce died in 1910 when she was in her 30’s. She apparently died before the census was taken for that year because we find Frank living in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri in that year’s census entry. He was still a telegraph operator and was called a widower.

I was unable to find any documentation for the marriage, but Frank Bruce married Bertha Wunderlich, probably sometime around 1911. Then, when we find this couple in the 1920 census, they were living in Nashville, Tennessee. Frank was a railroad station agent. Two children from Frank’s first marriage were living with them.

The 1930 census shows Frank and Bertha with an empty nest. Frank was still a station agent in Nashville.

The last census in which we find this pair was the one taken in 1940. They were living with one of Frank’s daughters, Margette, who had married Marvin Grady.

In 1941, Bertha died at the age of 69. She died in Missouri, so we can view a death certificate for her. It says she died of influenza. Her usual residence is given as Nashville, so I suspect Bertha was in Missouri visiting family members when she died.

Bertha is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells. There is a grave marker for her in that cemetery.

Frank Bruce died in 1948 at the age of 78. Frank and his first wife, Ida, are buried together in the Kirk Cemetery in Ina, Illinois. Ina is located in Jefferson County.

Bertha lived more years as a single person than as a married woman. She married later in life and helped raise a few of her husband’s children from a previous marriage. Frank, her husband, worked most of his career for the railroad, ending up living in several different locations during his life. This post tells a story that is quite a bit different than the standard type of tale I write, but it certainly had some interesting twists and turns, plus some research challenges of its own.