Today’s story will originate in Shawneetown, Missouri and end up in Los Angeles, California, with quite a bit of time in the Dakotas in between. We will start with the fact that today would be the 125th birthday of George Arthur Wunderlich, who was born on February 21, 1899. George was the son of Bernard and Julie (Kasten) Wunderlich. George was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. His baptism record is displayed below.

George was just an infant when he shows up in the 1900 census. At this point in time, there were 7 children in the Wunderlich family, with only one of them being a girl. Our German Family Tree lists 13 children born to George’s parents. George’s father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown was established in 1908, and the Wunderlich family joined that church. We see them in an early membership list for that congegation. There were 13 children listed.

In addition to that church being started, a school was begun as well. I found this photo of the students attending that school in the 1909-1910 school year. George Wunderlich is found in the back row of this picture. The caption will not only help you identify George, but will also give you a good idea of some of the surnames associated with the Shawneetown church. The pastor’s name is misspelled. It should be Zschoche.

In the 1910 census, we see an even larger Wunderlich family, with a total of 10 children in their household. Three of George’s older brothers were helping their father on the farm.

George was confirmed in 1912, and his confirmation record is found in the books of Trinity, Shawneetown.

George had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given a Pocahontas address, and he was working for his father.

The final census in which we find George living in Missouri is the one taken in 1920. George was 21 years old at the time.

It turns out that George’s story is also tied to that of his older brother, Walter Wunderlich. You will see his name in the above census entry. However, just one year later, Walter is found getting married in the Brown County of South Dakota. He married Esther Bartz in Aberdeen, South Dakota according to the marriage record shown here. It appears that after the 1920 census was taken, Walter moved to South Dakota and did not take long to find a bride.

I can display this wedding photo for that event. In this photo, we find, from left to right, Walter Wunderlich (the groom), Esther Bartz (the bride), Ida Bartz (the maid of honor and cousin of the bride), and today’s birthday boy, George Wunderlich.

It appears that George Wunderlich also moved north, and two years after the wedding of his brother, George married Ida Bartz, the maid of honor. His South Dakota marriage record is displayed here. This is not the first time the story of a best man marrying the maid of honor has shown up on this blog. The other one was titled, Best Man Marries Maid of Honor.

Let’s take a quick look at Ida Bartz, who was born on December 7, 1903. She was the daughter of August and Margaretha (Young) Bartz. In the 1910 census, we find Ida living in the Hanson Township, which is found in Brown County, South Dakota. Her father was a farmer.

We find Ida in one more census as a single woman. She was a teenager in 1920, and her family was living in the same location.

Both George and Walter Wunderlich managed to both make their way to the Olivia Tonwship in McHenry County, North Dakota. These two men and their families are found on the same page of the 1930 census for that township. Both of the Wunderlich brothers were farmers. George and Ida had a daughter named Elaine. It turns out that she was their only child. Walter and Esther had 4 children at this time, all sons.

When the 1940 census was taken, George and his brother were still living in the same location. Although they are once again both found on the same census page, I will just display George’s census entry.

In 1942, George had his World War II draft card completed. The Wunderlich’s had relocated to Los Angeles, California where George worked for the Western Arc Welding, Inc. I will add that George’s brother decided to remain in North Dakota and is buried there. I suspect that the summer heat and winter weather may have influenced George’s move to California.

In the last census entry we can view, the one taken in 1950, the Wunderlich’s are found living in South Gate, California, which is found in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. George, at the age of 51, was an equipment operator for the city of South Gate. I am sure his familiarity with operating farm equipment qualified him for that job.

George and Ida Wunderlich both died in 1978. Ida died in March at the age of 74; George died 2 months later in May at the age of 79. They are each buried in the Rose Hills Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

I did a search for “Wunderlich California” on our website and discovered that I have already written 3 posts telling about folks with the Wunderlich surname who made their way to California. Perhaps I will find more California Wunderlich’s in the future. And, maybe I will find another situation in which a best man marries the maid of honor as well.