Today’s story about Alfred Brunkhorst was one that challenged my researching abilities. I told my wife on several occasions that I was going down another rabbit hole. As it stands right now as a I write the story, there are still plenty of unanswered questions. One of the big questions is, “How many wives did Alfred have?” I figure that it was probably 4 of them, and I found no evidence that any of them ended with his wife’s death, but rather resulted in some sort of split.

Alfred Benjamin Brunkhorst was born on March 5, 1900, so today would be his 125th birthday. Alfred was the son of Heinrich and Catharina (Wichern) Brunkhorst. He was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. Two images of his baptism record from that congregation’s books are displayed below.

Alfred is found in the 1900 census as a baby. And he was the baby in the family…his parents’ last child. Alfred’s father was a farmer in the Fountain Bluff Township.

Next, we find Alfred in the 1910 census at the age of 10.

Alfred had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It said he was farming with his father and given a Jacob, Illinois address.

The last census in which we find Alfred as a single man was the one taken in 1920. He was still living with his parents and helping his father on his farm.

Alfred Brunkhorst married a woman by the name of Edith Peck on February 21, 1925. The marriage record from the books of Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois shown below says that Edith was the daughter of Pearl and Minnie (Schular) Peck. That is about all I know about Edith.

I do not think that this marriage lasted very long. I do not know for sure what happened to Edith, but there is an article in a Murphysboro newspaper in December of 1925 about Mrs. Alfred Brunkhorst. We do not have access to Newspapers.com, so I cannot read the article. The article is described as a human interest story. Perhaps one of our readers can tell us what that article says. It might explain what happened to Edith.

A family tree on Ancestry.com says that Alfred Brunkhorst got married again in 1926. According to that family tree, her name was Mary Ellen Wilson, who was born in 1906. That source also says that Mary married a man named Alvis Smith when she was just 14 years old. That marriage apparently did not last, and Mary then married Alfred. I found no documentation for that marriage. When the 1930 census was taken, we find Alfred and Mary living in the Vergennes Township in Jackson County, Illinois. Alfred was a machinist at an auto repair shop.

I also do not know what happened to Mary. Then, I think Alfred got married again in the early 1930’s, but once again, I am not able to document it. What may have been his 3rd wife was Velma Marie Boyd, who was born in 1912. Later census entries says she was born in Texas. Velma married a man named Marion Nelson Childers in 1929 in Arkansas. When the 1930 census was taken, Marion and Velma (called Thelma) are found living in the Ash Hill Township in Butler County, Missouri, which is near the Arkansas border. Nelson was working at a saw mill, and this couple had a baby named Marie who reportedly was born in Arkansas.

The Childers/Boyd marriage did not last long either. Velma would then marry Alfred Brunkhorst. When the 1940 census was taken, we find Alfred and Velma living in St. Louis where Alfred was a commercial truck driver. There were 2 children in their household. I think the daughter named Marie was actually Velma’s daughter with Nelson Childers. The other daughter, Ruby, who was 5 years old, must have been born to Alfred and Velma.

Alfred had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. This form says he was employed by the Volunteers of America.

Alfred’s marriage to Velma also looks as if it came to an end in the 1940’s. It appears that Velma married a man named Clinton Collins prior to the 1950 census, and that couple was still living in St. Louis when that year’s census was taken.

Alfred Brunkhorst got married again in 1945. His last wife was named Eugenia Clark. These two were married on May 22, 1945 by a justice of the peace in Jefferson County, Missouri.

In the 1950 census, we find Alfred living in the Rock Township in Jefferson County. This entry says Alfred was separated, and we do not see Eugenia. It looks as if two more children were born to Alfred and Velma before they split. Alfred was still driving a truck.

Alfred Brunkhorst died in 1961 at the age of 61. His death certificate below says he died of liver cancer. It says he was married to Eugenia Brunkhorst. His usual occupation was listed as a tavern owner.

Alfred Brunkhorst is buried in the Pilgrim’s Rest Baptist Cemetery in Ware, Missouri.

Alfred surely took me on a ride, and I’m still not sure about all of his marriages along the way. I will say also that it not every day that you get to write the story of a tavern owner who is buried in a Baptist cemetery.