Normally, I find most of the church records for the people that are characters on this blog for occasions that took place early in their lives, especially baptism records. That is not so in today’s tale. The only church record I will be able to display today will be a burial record. Another difference in this story is the fact that the characters were not from East Perry County. They could be described as being from North Perry County. We begin with a birthday girl.

Mary Louise Voelker was born on January 15, 1893, so today would be her 132nd birthday. Mary Louise was the daughter of John Henry and Anna (Erwin) Voelker. I have no baptism information to share with you for Mary Louise. She is found in her first census in 1900 at the age of 7. Her father was a farmer in the Saline Township, which is the northernmost township in Perry County. At this point in time, there were 4 daughters in this Voelker family. There was just one son in that family, but he was not born until after Mary Louise was married.

We find the Voelker’s in the 1910 census, and once again, we find 4 daughters in the household. Mary Louise’s older sister, Stella, had married in 1909, and another daughter, Mabel, was living with Stella in 1910. Two more Voelker daughters were born in the previous decade, thus bringing the number of children in this household back up to 4.

I think this photo of Mary Louise was taken when she was still single.

Mary Louise got married later in 1910, so we will now turn our attention to the man she would marry. His name was John Francis Wengert, who was born on March 15, 1886. John was the son of Charles and Christina (Cambron) Wengert. I located this photo of John’s parents.

John is found in the 1900 census at the age of 14. There were 7 children in this family at that time. John was one of the oldest. John was working with his father on his farm in the Saline Township.

In the 1910 census, John, at the age of 24, was the oldest child in this Wengert household. He and several other brothers were helping on the family farm.

The 1915 plat map shown here illustrates how close the Wengert and Voelker farms were to one another. They were located west of the town of Lithium. If I have it figured correctly, I think Interstate 55 now runs right through that part of northern Perry County.

I discovered a very interesting situation when I looked at the wedding of John Wengert and Mary Louise Voelker. First, I will display this couple’s Missouri marriage license. John and Mary Louise were married on October 24, 1910. Please note that this pair was married by a probate judge.

Another wedding took place on October 24, 1910. It was the marriage of Mary Louise’s sister, Mabel Voelker and Gustav Boesch. Below is that couple’s Missouri marriage license. One might think that the two Voelker sisters would have had a double marriage if they were married on the same day, but this form says that Mabel’s wedding was conducted by Rev. A.W. Hill, and it took place in his parsonage.

I have to wonder how these two weddings actually transpired. One would think that there would have been a wedding reception for the two Voelker sisters afterwards, but were there actually two wedding ceremonies that took place at two different locations on that day? I know that I am able to display this wedding photo that includes both of the brides and grooms that were married that day. John and Mary Louise are the couple on the left. The brides were in similar dresses, and the grooms were in similar suits.

The marriage certificates shown below also give evidence of the facts given above. Here is the Wengert/Voelker marriage certificate.

Here is the certificate for the Boesch/Voelker wedding.

Evidence on Ancestry.com indicates that John and Mary Louise had 4 children, one which died right away. After their marriage, it looks like they moved to St. Louis. That is where we found them in the 1920 census with 2 children. John was called an insurance agent.

Apparently, the Wengert’s had moved to St. Louis prior to the time when John had his World War I draft registration completed. It says he was employed by the Chicago National Life Insurance Company.

In the 1930 census, there were 3 children in the Wengert household. John is called an insurance salesman.

At some point in time, John Wengert had this photo taken.

The 1940 census shows the Wengert’s with 2 remaining children. Also in the household was John’s elderly widowed father. John is called a grocery salesman.

John had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. It says he was employed by the Rawleigh Product Company and his place of business is described as door-to-door canvassing.

I failed to find the Wengert’s in the 1950 census. Then, as is often the case when parent’s get older and are retired, they often live with their children. In the case of the Wengert’s, I think they made their way to Texas where one of their daughters, Velma, lived. It was in Texas that John Wengert died in 1968 at the age of 82. I am able to display his Texas death certificate. Pneumonia is given as his cause of death.

I do not know when or how it took place, but apparently somewhere along the line, the Wengert’s became involved at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. As I will show later, John was brought back to be buried in that congregation’s cemetery.

After her husband’s death, it looks like Mary Louise moved to St. Louis to live with another one of her daughters, Norma. Mary Louise Wengert died in 1971 at the age of 78. She is given a St. Louis address on her death certificate, and the informant was Norma Reidel, but she died as a patient at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

The only church record to be included in this post is the burial record for Mary Louise that is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. I suspect John does not have a burial record in this congregation’s books because he died in Texas.

John and Mary Louise Wengert are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

I was assisted greatly in my research for this story by several family trees on Ancestry.com that have plenty of sources included in them. The photographs I have been able to display also came from those family trees. I also found a reference to the fact that John Wengert played the fiddle, and several other people in the Wengert family were musicians. I really appreciate it when I find that kind of anecdotal reference for a character in my stories.