The town of Farrar once had a baseball team called the Farrar Reds, and that team included 5 Lorenz brothers. The photo below has appeared on this blog before. The captions helps identify the players. Today’s highlighted character is Ernst Lorenz, who has “3B” on his sleeve indicating that he played thrid base.

Before we get to Ernst, let’s take a look at today’s birthday girl. Anna Maria “Marie” Meyer was born on December 17, 1899. That makes today her 125th birthday. Marie was the daughter of John and Anna Maria (Miesner) Meyer. The story of Marie’s parents was told in the post, Miesner/Meier to Meyer/Miesner. Marie was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, but since I am still away from Altenburg, I am unable to display any church records. Marie is found in the 1900 census as a baby. As is often the case with pages from the Salem Township in that year’s census, this entry is very difficult to read. Marie’s father was a farmer.

In the 1910 census, Marie was 10 years old. There were 6 Meyer children in the household at that time.

Since Marie would get married prior to the next census, we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Rudolph Albert Ernst Lorenz, who was born on April 17, 1896. As mentioned earlier, he went by the name Ernst. He was the son of Immanuel and Martha (Soehl) Lorenz. Ernst was also baptized at Salem, Farrar. There are quite a few family histories on Ancestry.com that do not include his 1900 census entry. That is because the image is so hard to read that Ancestry.com translates their surname as “Lassen”. Ernst was 4 years old at the time, and his father was a farmer. The first 5 children in this family were the 5 boys who played for the Farrar Reds.

Next, we find Ernst in the 1910 census at the age of 14. This time, his father was called a carpenter. The Lorenz family had gotten much larger. Ernst had an older brother, Martin, who was a public school teacher.

If the photo below was taken on the occasion of Immanuel and Martha Lorenz’s 25th anniversary, then this picture was taken in 1911. I have no idea where Ernst is found in the photo. This picture is called a Lorenz family reunion on Ancestry.com, but it looks more like an anniversary photo to me. The last Lorenz child was born in 1910, so that may be the youngster being held on Immanuel’s lap. This is also one of those photographs that includes a few beer waiters.

Another Lorenz family photograph was taken in 1913. The caption will help you identify the Lorenz family members. The 5 men in the back row were the Farrar Reds players.

Ernst had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He is called a 19 year-old saddler and grocer.

Ernst Lorenz married Marie Meyer on August 24, 1919 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. I am unable to display their church marriage record, but I can show 2 civil records for this event. First, here is the Missouri marriage license.

Here is a document that looks more like a certificate.

We find this young couple in the 1920 census in which Ernst is called a merchant at a general store. In 1920, I believe the general store in Farrar was operated by Henry Klaus.

According to several family trees on Ancestry.com, this couple had 3 children. Only their first child who was born later in 1920 was baptized at Salem, Farrar. There is a bit of evidence that their second child was born in Cape Girardeau, but before the 1930 census was taken, the Lorenz’s moved to the St. Louis area. In their 1930 entry, they were living in Kirkwood, which is located in South St. Louis. All 3 of their children were in their household. Ernst and Rudolph Meyer, Marie’s brother, were both called millwrights at a lumber yard in Kirkwood. Marie was called a seamstress.

Next, we find the Lorenz household in the 1940 census. Two children were still living with their parents. Ernst was a carpenter, and Marie was a dress maker.

Ernst had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. Ernst’s employer was the Holekamp Lumber Company.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Ernst was a stock man at a shoe trim factory. Two roomers were included in their household.

Before I bring Ernst’s story to an end, I would like to share another photograph that was taken of the Lorenz family members on the occasion of Immanuel and Martha Lorenz’s 50th anniversary in 1936. It was taken in front of Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Ernst is the man sitting on the far left in the 2nd row. Marie is standing right behind him. A previous post, A Lot in the Lorenz Lineage, gives a listing of all the people shown in this photo if you are interested.

Ernst Lorenz died in 1951 at the age of 55. He died on December 21st, just a few days after his wife’s birthday, and just a few days before Christmas.

Marie Lorenz died in 1979 at the age of 79. She died too recently to view her death certificate. Ernst and Marie are buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Kirkwood, which is located very near to where they lived.

Now you know about the life and career of the Farrar Reds third baseman. Nowadays, folks who are part of the St. Louis Cardinals Nation are wondering who will be the third baseman for the Redbirds this coming season.