One of today’s main characters is found in our German Family Tree because he was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. Then, later in his life, he got married on February 26th, so he and his wife would be celebrating a wedding anniversary today. Since he was married at a Catholic parish, and because he spent his married life in St. Louis, his presence in our GFT is very small.
Martin August Sandler was born on March 30, 1877. August was one of 11 children born to William and Ann (Boxdorfer) Sandler. Below are photos of August’s parents.
August’s baptism record from the Immanuel, Perryville books is pictured here.
August is found in the 1880 census at the age of 3. His father was a farmer in the Bois Brule Township.
I was unable to locate August in the 1900 census, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Mary Stella Parres, who was born on June 8, 1878. Stella was the daughter of Joseph and Susan (Tucker) Parres. All indications are that Stella was born and raised as a Roman Catholic, so she was almost certainly baptized at a Catholic parish. Stella is found in the 1880 census at the age of 1. She is called Mary early in her life, but went mostly by Stella later on. Her father was a farmer in the Saline Township.
Mary’s entry in the 1900 census is a bit puzzling. She is living in the James Parres household and called a sister-in-law. It also says she had been married for 3 years. Perhaps this is not the correct Mary Stella Parres.
August Sandler married Stella Parres on February 26, 1900, so today would be this couple’s 125th wedding anniversary. Their Missouri marriage license is displayed here. They were married by a Catholic priest.
Later census entries indicate that this couple had 3 children. It also appears that they moved to St. Louis after they were married. By the time of the 1910 census, that is where they were living with 2 of their children. August was a wagon driver for a dry goods company, and Stella was called a dressmaker.
August had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He was called a wash wheel operator for the Ely Walker company. There was an Ely & Walker Dry Goods Company in St. Louis at that time.
I located this ad for the Ely & Walker Dry Goods Company that shows the building in which that company operated.
In the 1920 census, the Sandler’s had added a son to their family. This time, August was called a clerk at a laundry.
Next, we find this family in the 1930 census. August was a laundry foreman at a hospital. Their 2 daughters, both in their 20’s, were also part of the work force.
The 1940 census shows a household made up of August and Stella, along with their daughter, Irene, who had married Harley Kline. August had the same occupation, and Harley worked at a brewery.
The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Their daughter, Ethel, was living with them, and she was called divorced and working for the telephone company.
Stella Sandler died in 1953 at the age of 74. Her death certificate below says she died at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis.
August Sandler died in 1963 at the age of 86. His death certificate says he was a retired laundry foreman at St. Mary Hospital, which I believe was operated by the Catholic church.
August and Stella Sandler are buried in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, but Findagrave.com does not have gravestone photos for them.
August Sandler likely not only worked as a laundry foremen at a hospital, but also the same hospital for a lot of years, and that was probably St. Mary’s Hospital. Hospitals require a lot of laundry to be done on a daily basis in order to maintain a sanitary environment, and August probably supervised many other workers. The fact that he remained in this position of leadership for so many years is evidence that he was good at what he did.