I ran into a minor problem while working on today’s post. A main character is named John Boxdorfer, and when I began saving images of his records, I discovered that our GFT images folder for the Boxdorfer name already had several files named John Boxdorfer as well as several files named John C. Boxdorfer. That means that I must have already written 2 posts about men named John Boxdorfer already. It also means the I had to call today’s set of files, John M. Boxdorfer. I will begin this post by looking at him, but before I do, let me also point out that there are quite a few other Boxdorfer men who carried the name, John, as their middle name.

Johann Martin Boxdorfer was born on September 8, 1863, the son of John George and Mina Christine (Hesse) Boxdorfer. That means there is a John G. Boxdorfer that has yet to be the subject of a blog post yet. Our German Family Tree includes John M. Boxdorfer. In fact, it contains two separate entries for John M. that are actually the same person, and neither one gives a clue as to where he was baptized. Apparently, he is not included in the Friedenberg Remembrances book, which would be the most likely place for his baptism. John is found in the 1870 census at the age of 6. You might notice that his father is called John G. in this entry, and he was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

The only other census entry in which we find John as a single man was the one taken in 1880. This time, the Boxdorfer’s were living in the Central Township. That may have just meant that the township boundaries had been redrawn. John M. was helping his father on his farm. You might also notice that there was a 7 year-old brother called John. A. on this form. That was Johann Anton Boxdorfer.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become John M.’s bride. Her name was Mary Josephine Hager, who was born on March 12, 1868. Mary only appears in our German Family Tree as the wife of John Boxdorfer. I have to go to Ancestry.com family trees to discover who her parents were. Mary was the daughter of Isadore and Malinda (Tippet) Hager. Since Mary and her future husband would be buried in a Baptist cemetery, I think that Mary was born and raised a Baptist, which also means that she was not likely baptized as an infant. Mary is found in the 1870 census at the age of 3. She was not only living with her parents, but also her grandparents, in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Next, we find Mary in the 1880 census at the age of 12. Perhaps this was about the time that she was baptized. This time the family was listed as living in the Salem Township. You can see that the Hager family had gotten much larger. Mary’s grandparents were still part of the household, but this time her father, not her grandfather, was listed first in the household.

John M. Boxdorfer married Mary Hager on April 17, 1887, thus making today their 137th anniversary. Their Missouri marriage license displayed here indicates that this wedding was performed by a Justice of the Peace.

Our German Family Tree lists 2 children born to this pair, both of which were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. Only one of them lived to adulthood, a girl named Josephine. Since we cannot view the 1890 census, we have to wait until 1900 to see this couple in a census entry. John was a farmer in the Central Township.

It must have been about this time in their lives that the photograph shown here was taken of John, Mary, and their daughter, Josephine.

We find the same trio in the 1910 census. Later that year, Josephine married Edwin Horn.

The 1915 plat maps for Perry County show a small farm owned by J.M. Boxdorfer located east of Perryville.

The 1920 census shows John and Mary with an empty nest.

John had a different occupation listed. He was some sort of laborer, but I cannot determine the other word in the occupation column. Perhaps you can.

Sadly, in 1920, their only child, Josephine died. Her death certificate below says she died from a premature birth complicated by a bout with measles.

I was unable to find the Boxdorfer’s in the 1930 census. The last entry in which we find John M. and Mary was the one taken in 1940. They were both in their 70’s and living in Menfro. No occupation is given for John.

Mary Boxdorfer died in 1941 at the age of 76. We can take a look at her death certificate here.

An obituary for Mary appeared in a local newspaper. This article says that the Boxdorfer’s had 3 children, who had all died.

John M. Boxdorfer died in 1944 at the age of 80. His death certificate can also be viewed.

An obituary was published for John also.

John and Mary Boxdorfer are buried together in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Cemetery in Crosstown.

I have this feeling that I may end up writing another John Boxdorfer post somewhere along the way. Maybe more than one.

One more thing. I am headed out of town on a trip tomorrow. I am not likely to find the time to research and write stories for a few days. Don’t give up on me. I plan to return.