In 1920, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was building a new church sanctuary in Wittenberg, Missouri. The photo below is one that our museum has which shows that building during construction.

That church would be dedicated in November of 1920. The members of that congregation had worshiped in a building located in the middle of the town of Wittenberg that had a dual purpose for a lot of years, even before it became congregation with a constitution and a pastor of their own in 1903. The old building was used on Sundays for worship services and on weekdays as a school classroom. In 1920, these folks would have a building dedicated to just worship. Today, you will read the story of the couple who were the first to be married in the new 1920 church. Here is what that church looked like upon completion.

I located this story because a baby girl was born on July 14, 1899, making today her 125th birthday. That baby was named Esther Wilhelmine Johanna Oehlert. Esther was the daughter of Ernst and Pauline (Huber) Oehlert. In a previous post, A Pair of Oehlert-Huber Pairs, it was told that Tobias and Christiane (Harnagel) Oehlert had moved their family to the Joachim Township in Jefferson County where a few of his children married spouses with the name, Huber. One of those pairs, Ernst and Pauline, later moved back to East Perry County and settled in Wittenberg. Their move must have taken place right before Esther was born. She was the 3rd child in her family and the first one to be baptized in Perry County. Esther’s baptism record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church, but I think it is a safe bet that she was baptized in the church/school building in Wittenberg. We can view her baptism record below.

Esther was just a baby when the 1900 census was taken. The Oehlert’s were living in the town of Wittenberg, and her father was a day laborer.

When the 1910 census was taken, the Oehlert’s may not have been living in the town of Wittenberg, but I suspect they lived nearby. This time, Esther’s father was called a laborer on a farm. I think the census taker really messed up the children’s names and ages on this entry. Pauline is called the youngest child, but she was the oldest and should have been the one who was 19 years old. As for Esther, she is listed as being 17 years old when she was only 10. Mathilda was the one who was 17 years old. Dora was the one who was 6 years old, not Pauline.

Esther was confirmed in the spring of 1913 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg. That congregation was still using the old church at that time. My father was born in January of 1913 and baptized at St. Paul’s, so he was just a baby when Esther was confirmed.

Esther would get married in 1920, but in that year’s census, she was still single. Ernst, along with his daughters, Esther and Dora, were working at a factory. That is almost certainly the swing factory located in Wittenberg.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Esther’s husband. His name was Carl Arthur Jungclaus, who was born on January 22, 1892. Arthur was the firstborn child of Herman and Elizabeth (Weber) Jungclaus. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Two images below illustrate his baptism record from that congregation’s books.

Arthur was born and raised on The Ridge north of Altenburg. We can see the Jungclaus farm on this plat map that was produced in 1915. You will also see how Arthur’s parents, a Jungclaus and a Weber managed to get acquainted.

Arthur is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. His grandfather, another Herman Jungclaus, was the head of the household and was a retired farmer. Arthur’s father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

The 1910 census lists Arthur as a teenager who was working with his father on their farm. There were 4 Jungclaus children in this family, but Arthur’s brother was working at a neighboring Weber farm when the 1910 census was taken.

I figure it was about this time when a photo was taken of the 4 Jungclaus children. Arthur is standing in the back on the right.

In 1917, Arthur had his World War I draft registration completed.

Arthur, at the age of 28, was still living with his parents when the 1920 census was taken.

On December 12, 1920, Arthur Jungclaus married Esther Oehlert at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. If you look at the church marriage records shown below, you will see that a Schmidt/Eggers marriage took place in that congregation in September. The new church sanctuary was dedicated in November, and then Arthur and Esther were married, thus making them the first couple to be married in the new church building.

An article was published in the Perry County Republican that also pointed out that this wedding was the first one at the new church.

The Missouri marriage license for this couple is pictured here.

We can take a look at the wedding photograph of this pair.

The next decade for this Jungclaus couple was packed full of events that were not all that wonderful. First of all, there apparently was a baby girl born in 1919 named Anna Mathilda. That child was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Our German Family Tree says that this young girl was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg in 1921, and Anna Mathilda was called an adopted daughter of Arthur and Esther Jungclaus.

D2.JUNGCLAUS, Anna Mathilde (Born 18 Oct 1919) [AltenburgMO-Immanuel]: Anna Mathilde Jungclaus, Born 18 Oct 1919 in Seventy-Six MO & Baptized 11 Sep 1921, adopted dau of Arthur & Esther nee Oehlert Jungclaus, Sponsors: Ernst Oehlert, Elisabeth Jungclaus, Herman Jungclaus Jr & Pauline Oehlert

I was unable to find any future information about Anna Mathilde, so I do not know what happened to her. Next, Arthur and Esther had a child of their own in 1922, a boy named Harland. That child was baptized at Immanuel, Altenburg.

In March of 1925, a natural disaster occurred in Perry County that became known as the Tri-State Tornado. It was the deadliest tornado in American history. That tornado ripped right through Arthur Jungclaus’s farm (which was likely the same one shown in the 1915 plat maps with his father’s name). We have this photo of the damage done on the Arthur Jungclaus farm. I found no evidence for injuries or deaths to the Jungclaus family, but that does not necessarily mean no one was hurt. Even if there were no injuries, this storm must have been a traumatic event for this young family with a very young child or two.

In the following year, 1924, another child was born to Arthur and Esther, but that child died before she was even 3 months old. That daughter was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg and buried in their cemetery. In 1926, a daughter named Bernatta was born and baptized in Wittenberg. That is the last child to be recorded in our German Family Tree. However, there apparently was another child named Milton born in 1929 whose baptism is not found in our GFT.

Before I display proof of Milton’s birth, let me point out another event that must have taken place toward the end of the 1920’s. Prior to the 1930 census, Arthur and Esther were divorced. Arthur is found in the 1930 census living in the Gerhardt Weber household and working as a farm laborer. He has a “D” in the marriage column, indicating that he was divorced.

I really tried hard to find Esther in the 1930 census. I looked for her in Perry County, St. Louis, and even tried finding her in Farmington at the state hospital. I looked for her with the name Jungclaus, the name Youngclaus, and her maiden name, Oehlert. All to no avail. My best guess is that she was living in St. Louis. In 1931, the youngest child, Milton, died in St. Louis at the age of 1 1/2 years. We can view his death certificate. It says he died of measles in an Isolation Hospital. That makes it likely that Esther, who was divorced by this time, may not have been allowed to be with her son as he died. You can see that his surname is spelled Youngclaus. Another interesting notation is that the line for birthplace was first written as Wittenberg, but then crossed out and written as St. Louis.

Now, the question remains, “What happened to the other Jungclaus children?” I located them in the 1930 census. I found both of them living in the Lutheran Orphan’s Home in Des Peres, Missouri, outside St. Louis. Technically, they were not orphans because both their father and mother were living.

Now, I will track both Arthur and Esther separately. Arthur is found in the 1940 census working on the Otto Weber farm on The Ridge.

Another puzzle in this story is the fact that I was unable to locate Arthur’s World War II draft card. I know that I have found such documents for men who were even older than Arthur in the past.

In 1940, we find Esther living in St. Louis, and she was reunited with her children, Harlan and Bernetta. Esther was a cook at a restaurant.

Arthur is found in the 1950 census at the age of 58. This time he was helping on the Leo Steffens farm.

Esther was still living in 1950, but I did not find her in a census. She was almost certainly still living in St. Louis.

Arthur Jungclaus died in 1960 at the age of 68. His death certificate is displayed below.

Arthur is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

Esther, who was then going by the name Youngclaus, died in 1982 at the age of 82. She is buried in the St. Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in St. Louis.

My mind just gets all cluttered with possibilities about what exactly was happening at the time when Arthur and Esther were divorced. It must have been difficult for both of them, but it must have been especially hard on Esther. She had a baby at about the same time as the divorce, followed by the death of her young son when he was so young. Add to that the fact that she must have had to make the decision to place her 2 other children into the orphan’s home. I am at least glad that those two children eventually were able to once again live with their mother.