I was reminded of a recent conversation I was part of when I looked into today’s couple. The discussion was about beer, in particular about Stag Beer, which is a local favorite around here. In the course of that conversation, someone referred to Anheuser-Busch as “AB”. As you can see in the title, today you will be reading about an “AB” pairing. It only makes sense to begin with the “A”.

Edward Charles Armbruster was born on March 31, 1892, the son of Charles and Josephine (Siebert) Armbruster. Edward was born in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. I know that the name, Arbruster, does not sound German, but when I found a family tree on Ancestry.com that documented Edward’s ancestors, it says that the first Armbruster in his family was from Baden, which is a region located in Germany. I have no idea where Edward was baptized. If I was able to look at his baptism record, it might clear up whether his given name was Edward. I have to wonder because, in his first 2 census entries, he is called Edgar. Perhaps he was baptized as Edgar but later chose to be called Edward. He is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. His father was a farmer in the Saline Township.

Next, we find Edward in the 1910 census. This time, his family was located in the Bois Brule Township. This move also included an occupational change for Edward’s father. This time, he is called a blacksmith, and Edward (or is it Edgar), at the age of 18, was also a blacksmith at his father’s shop.

Edward would get married during the next decade, so let’s take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Philippine Anna Boxdorfer, who was born on April 23rd. She was the daughter of George and Theresia (Maisel) Boxdorfer. There is a bit of debate about the year of her birth. Her baptism record from the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville shown below says she was born in 1891. If that is the case, today would be her 134th birthday. However, her gravestone, which will be displayed later, says she was born in 1892. I will side with the 1891 year of birth. As you can see in the image below, Philippine’s baptism record is in the midst of other baptism records placed in that church’s books in 1891.

Philippine was 9 years old when the 1900 census was taken. This is more evidence that she was born in 1891. Her father was a farmer in the Bois Brule Township. You can see that this was a large Boxdorfer household, with a pair of older brothers helping their father on his farm, along with a few young men who was living in this household and called farm laborers.

I had some difficulty finding Philippine in the 1910 census. I know that she was no longer living with her parents. I think I found her in a census entry from St. Louis, but I cannot be positive whether it is her. In the entry below, there is an 18 year-old girl who is living in the Thomas Arnold household and working as a servant. However, the entry just calls her Boxdorfer without a first name.

The fact that Edward Armbruster married Philippine Boxdorfer in St. Louis adds some credence to the above census entry actually being Philippine’s. According to this St. Louis marriage record, these two were married on September 1, 1915 by a justice of the peace. Both Edward and Philippine are said to be living in St. Louis at the time. This is the first document I located that used the name, Edward.

According to Family Search, this couple had two boys, both born prior to the 1920 census. They were named Edward, Jr. and Philipp, so it appears they were each named after one of their parents. Each of them was baptized at Emmaus Lutheran Church in St. Louis. I will display their baptism records below.

Edward had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. It says his employer was the International Harvester Company in St. Louis.

The Armbruster’s were living in St. Louis, and Edward was called a road engineer for an implement company when the 1920 census was taken.

When the 1930 census was taken, we see that this family was still living in St. Louis, and Edward was a salesman for “Harvester Co.”.

I have to think that after the above census was taken, this family moved across the river to Illinois. Philippine died in 1935 at the age of 43. Her Illinois death record shown here says she died in Wood River Township in Illinois.

Although she died in Madison County, Illinois, she was buried in Randolph County. She is buried in the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery in Baldwin, Illinois. That is the cemetery in which Philippine’s mother was buried when she died in 1934.

Now, I need to point out that there is a rather large mystery in Edward’s story. After his wife’s death, Edward apparently married a woman name May. However, no family tree that I looked at on Ancestry.com told of a second marriage, nor did the information about Edward on Family Search. So, I do not know May’s surname. When the 1940 census was taken, we find Edward and May living in Quincy, Illinois. Edward was still working for an implement company.

In 1942, Edward had his World War II draft card completed. He is given a Quincy, Illinois address. Both of Edward’s military documents say he was born in Ste. Genevieve County. Once again, Edward’s employer was listed as the Internation Harvester Company.

The last census we can look at is the one taken in 1950. Edward and May were still living in Quincy, and he was a salesman of parts for a farm machinery company.

It appears that Edward and May made a move to Denver, Colorado at some later point in time. Edward Armbruster died in 1964 at the age of 72. His wife, May, would die in 1964. They are buried together in the Queen of Peace Cemetery in Denver.

I know that the marriage of Edward and Philippine was an “AB” wedding. I have to wonder whether Edward’s second wife was another “AB” wedding or perhaps he married a woman whose maiden name began with a C, and I could call this whole tale an “ABC” story. Maybe one of our readers will know who May Arbruster was.