Today’s post begins with us looking at the fact that a baby girl was born on this day, February 13, 1900, making today this girl’s 125th birthday. That baby girl was named Rose Rosalia Wichern. When I first saw this name, I figured it was a situation that a Rosalia was nicknamed Rose, but I found a bit of evidence that she actually had those two similar names. Rosa, as her name appears on her gravestone, was the daughter of Henry and Louise (Leible) Wichern. Here is a photo of Rosa’s parents.

In a previous post, it was mentioned that Rosa’s parents were married by a Catholic priest, so it is likely that Rosa has her baptism record in a local Catholic parish. I do know that none of the Wichern children in this family have a baptism record in any of the local Lutheran churches. Rosa is found in the 1900 census as a baby. She is listed as being 3 months old. Rosa’s father was a day laborer in the Union Township.

Next, we find Rosa in the 1910 census at the age of 10. This time, it says her father was doing odd jobs.

Since Rosa 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 Floyd Hatcher Blair, who was born on August 24, 1894. Floyd was the son of William Thomas and Mina Bell (Shoults) Blair. I discovered that some of Floyd’s ancestors were early members of Brazeau Presbyterian Church in Brazeau. Many of those original members came to Perry County from North Carolina around 1820, but the Blair’s came from Georgia. It is likely that Floyd’s baptism record is found in the books of Brazeau Presbyterian. Floyd is found in the 1900 census at the age of 5. His grandfather is called a landlord in the Union Township, and his father was doing the farming.

In the 1910 census, Floyd was a teenager and helping his father on his farm.

The 1915 plat maps for Perry County show the Blair farmland located not far from the town of Brazeau.

Floyd had a World War I draft registration completed when America got involved in that war. He is given a Schalls address, and it says he was a farmer. He was still single at that time.

I was having difficulty finding a marriage date for Floyd and Rosa. Then, I located a short article found in the Perry County Republican in 1918. This article directed me to look for a marriage record in St. Louis.

I eventually found such a marriage record. I might suggest to others who may be looking for a St. Louis marriage record that they look on the Family Search website, because you cannot find these records on Ancestry.com. Floyd Blair married Rosa Wichern on September 24, 1918. They were married by a justice of the peace. I suspect that Floyd and Rosa went to St. Louis to get married because a Presbyterian minister and a Catholic priest would not agree to marry these two.

I also had quite a difficult time finding Floyd and Rosa in the 1920 census. I only found them when I decided to see if they still lived close to Floyd’s parents in Perry County. You find the Blair’s right above Floyd’s parents’ entry. I think you can see why Ancestry.com had trouble transcribing Floyd’s name in this entry because it is almost unreadable. Living with Floyd and Rosa, you will find Floyd’s grandfather and Rosa’s mother, both of whom were widowed. No children had yet been born to this couple.

The Blair’s had 3 children, all of whom were born in the 1920’s. None of their baptism records are found in local books of Lutheran churches. I think these baptism records would be found in the books of Brazeau Presbyterian. When the 1930 census was taken, we find the Blair’s 3 children. Floyd was a farmer.

A photo was taken of Rosa’s mother along with her other Wichern siblings. The caption points out which one was Rosa.

The last census in which we find Floyd was the one taken in 1940. This time, Floyd and Rosa were living in the household of Floyd’s parents. Floyd was doing the farming, and 2 of Floyd and Rosa’s children were still living with them.

Floyd had a World War II draft card completed in 1942. He is given a Seventy-Six address and is called a farmer.

Floyd Blair died in 1946 at the age of 51. His death certificate says he died of myocarditis while being a patient at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau. It says he had been a fireman at the Apple Creek brewery.

An obituary for Floyd was published in the Perry County Republican.

Rosa Blair married again prior to the next census. Her second husband was Joseph Leo Schnurbusch, who was born on June 26, 1898. I am not going to go into much detail about Joseph’s life other than to tell you that he had previously been married to Hermine Wingerter and had a bunch of children. Below is a photo of Joseph and Hermine. Hermine had died in 1944.

Joseph Schnurbusch married Rosa Blair on August 19, 1948. The Missouri marriage license says the wedding was conducted by Rev. Charles Rice in Crosstown.

The 1950 census shows Joseph, Rosa, and several Schnurbusch children born to Joseph’s first wife.

I located two other photos of Rosa taken at different times in her life. I failed to find a photo of Floyd Blair.

Rosa Schnurbusch died in 1976 at the age of 76. She died too recently to view her death certificate. Floyd and Rosa Blair are buried together in the Brazeau Presbyterian Cemetery in Brazeau.

Although we do find Floyd Blair and Rosa Wichern in our German Family Tree, it is not because either of them were Lutheran. Rosa had Lutheran ancestors, but that is about the only Lutheran connection we have for the couple highlighted in this post. Even Rosa’s 2nd husband was a Catholic, not a Lutheran. However, all of these people resided in East Perry County throughout their lives, and we Lutherans could call them our neighbors.