I will be telling the tale today of a couple that was married on April 7th. The bride had her beginnings in Friedheim, and the groom had his start in Uniontown. Like so many couples over the years, this pair would migrate to the big city of St. Louis. Sadly, the wife died at a very young age, and the groom spent much of his life as a widower. I will begin with the groom because he was born first.

Martin Ludwig Meister was born on March 16, 1860, the son of Valentin and Christina (Pfau) Meister. There is a bit of debate about his date of birth because his death certificate says he was born on June 16th, not March 16th. I am going to trust the date given on his baptism record. Martin was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. We can view that record below. I have seen the entire page on which this baptism record is found, and I can tell you that some records above Martin’s are from February and some below his are from April. I can also tell you that there were no baptisms listed for that congregation during the month of June. Martin’s record definitely say Marz (March).

Martin is found in the 1860 census as a baby. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Martin in the 1870 census at the age of 9.

Martin’s entry for the 1880 census cannot be found on Ancestry.com. That is because during the next decade, a new township was established called the Union Township, and a portion of that township’s census pages for 1880 got lost. Those pages were found not long ago, and those newly-discovered pages have not been added to the Ancestry.com databases yet. However, the website for the Missouri Secretary of State enables us to look at them. Martin was 19 years old and called a laborer. I suspect that he and a few other brothers were farming with their father.

Now, we will take a look at the bride. Her name was Amalie Marie Dambach, who was born on January 2, 1866. Amalie was the daughter of Friedrich and Wilhelmina (Mehner) Dambach. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, and her baptism record is displayed below.

In the 1870 census, Amalie was 3 years old, and she was called Mary in this entry. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Amalie was a teenager when the 1880 census was compiled. The Dambach family had added several children. Amalie is called Mollie.

Martin Meister married Amalie Dambach on April 7, 1885, so that makes today this pair’s 140th wedding anniversary. They were married at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Their church marriage record is pictured here.

We can also view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to this Meister couple between 1885 and 1892, and all of them were baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Three of their children died at early ages. Then, prior to the 1900 census, the Meister’s moved to St. Louis. Then, in 1899, Amalie died at the age of 33. A St. Louis death record for her says that a miscarriage led to her death.

In the 1900 census, Martin was a widower with 2 children in his household. He is called a day laborer in St. Louis.

It appears that the oldest daughter, Anna, moved back to Perry County shortly after 1900 because in 1902, she was confirmed at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna.

The 1910 census shows Martin living with his sister, Hulda, and his mother, who was a widow by this time. Martin was doing odd jobs. His daughter, Anna, was married by this time and living in St. Louis. I was unable to locate his son, William, in a census entry for this year, but I know he got married in the next decade.

When the 1920 census was taken, Martin was living with his son, William, and his small family. William had married Anna Nutman. Martin was called a planer at a furniture company. William was a teamster.

Martin Meister died in 1926 at the age of 65. His death certificate says he died of liver cancer. It also says Martin was a laborer in a rope factory.

Amalie and Martin Meister are buried in two different cemeteries in St. Louis. Amalie is buried in the New Bethlehem Cemetery, and Martin is buried in the Calvary Cemetery. Each of them has a grave site on Findagrave.com for their respective cemeteries, but neither one of them has a gravestone photo.

The story of today’s bride and groom turns out to be a rather tragic one. Martin lost 3 of his 5 children along with his wife, all prior to his 40th birthday. However, Martin did live long enough for his remaining two children to bless him with at least 3 grandchildren.