Today’s birthday girl is another one who had quite a disruptive early childhood. The issues began even before she was born. Let me explain.

Anna Katherina Emma Weber was born on August 3, 1874, thus making today her 150th birthday. Although we do not see the name Emma on her baptism record, that is what she was named throughout her life. She was the daughter of August and Gesche (Urban) Weber. As mentioned before, Emma’s childhood difficulties started before she was born. Her father died about 7 months before her birthday, so when he died, his wife, Gesche, must have been about 2 months pregnant. Her father had 2 children from his first marriage who lived beyond infancy, and one previous child form Gesche who lived beyond childhood. So, after Emma was born, there were 4 children who had a mother who was a widow. Emma was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of her baptism record is displayed here.

Emma is found in the 1880 census at the age of 5. Gesche’s family consisted of 2 stepchildren and 2 of her own children. The oldest stepson was farming.

Emma’s problems became even worse when her mother died in 1883 when Emma was just 9 years old. That left the children as orphans. The 2 older stepchildren were likely old enough to continue their lives on their own, but the 2 youngest, Charles and Emma, still required parental care. I do not know what happened with Charles, but a short description of Emma’s life is found on Findagrave.com. It states that she was raised by her uncle, Emanuel Urban. Emanuel would later move his family to Louisiana, Missouri, but I do not know when that happened. It is likely that Emma spent some of her childhood in Louisiana. Emma would get married prior to the next census we can view in 1900 (barely), so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband.

Dominick John Kern was born on July 13, 1873, the son of John Edward and Philomena (Govro) Kern. Dominick was born in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. He also experienced the early death of a parent. His father died in 1877 when he was just 4 years old. In the 1880 census, we find Dominick (although he is called Louis for some unknown reason) at the age of 7. His mother was raising her family in Ste. Genevieve at that time.

After this census entry, I have no idea what happened to the Kern family. Then, on May 16, 1900, Dominick Kern married Emma Weber at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in St. Louis.

Right after their wedding we find this couple in the 1900 census living in Ste. Genevieve. Dominick was a tinner.

Dominick and Emma had 3 children. I found the baptism records for the 2nd and 3rd children in the books of Grace Lutheran Church in Wellston, which is located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Below is the baptism record for their youngest child, Pearl.

The 1910 census shows the Kern’s with all 3 children. Dominick was said to be a tinner of houses.

Dominick had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This form gives Dominick a Wellston address.

The 1920 census shows the same members of the Kern family. All 3 of their teenage children were part of the work force. One son was working with his father in his tin shop.

I had to solve a little mystery when I looked at the 1930 census for this family. In the entry below, we see Dominick, Emma, and a granddaughter named Fern Kern.

The mystery was solved when I looked at the previous page in that census. At the bottom of the previous page, you find the couple, Allen and Ella Kern. Fern was their child, but she was listed under her grandparents on the top of the next page.

Emma Kern died in 1938 at the age of 63. Her death certificate below gives pancreatic cancer as her cause of death. This document says Emma was born in 1875, but that is incorrect. It also gives her a Pine Lawn address.

Emma’s Findagrave.com site gives this brief history for her that mentions her becoming an orphan at a young age.

In 1940, the widower, Dominick, is the head of the household in his census entry. His son, Allen’s, family was living with him. Dominick was still a tinner, and Allen was a carpenter.

The last census in which we find Dominick was the one taken in 1950. This time Allen was the head of the household, and Dominick was living with him and his family, which had gotten quite large. Dominick, at the age of 76, no longer had an occupation.

Dominick Kern died in 1957 at the age of 84. He died in a St. Louis hospital, and was given a Hillsdale address. Hillsdale is another part of the St. Louis area.

According to each of the above death certificates, both Dominick and Emma were buried in the St. Peter’s Cemetery in Normandy. However, the gravestone shown below is only inscribed with Emma’s name, not Dominick’s.

Emma Weber certainly had a hectic childhood, but things eventually settled down for her. She found her “Tin Man” somehow and ended up raising a family on the north side of St. Louis. A lot of the St. Louis neighborhoods were quite familiar to this blogger who also grew up in north St. Louis.