Today you will read about a husband and wife that passed through East Perry County early in their lives before spending their later days in St. Louis. I guess you could say that it is in opposition to my own personal story which has me beginning my life in St. Louis and will likely end my life in East Perry County. I will begin this tale by looking at today’s birthday girl.

Anna Maria Rogalski was born on May 6, 1885, thus making today her 140th birthday. Maria was the daughter of Friedrich and Juliane (Hintmann or Hindmann) Rogalski. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the first census in which we can see Maria is the one taken in 1900. Maria was not living with her parents in this entry. Her parents were living in Altenburg at that time, and that is also where we find the household in which Maria was living, but they were separate households. The one shown below requires a bit of explanation. Maria’s mother, Juliane, had previously been married to Carl Schulenburg, but he had died in 1878. Juliane had then married Friedrich Rogalski in 1879. There were a few children born to Juliane’s first marriage, and 2 of them show up in this entry, Charles and Henry Schulenburg. Maria and her older sister, Friedricke Rogalski, were called servants in this household. Maria was 16 years old at the time.

Now, we will take a look at the man who became Maria’s husband. His name was Herman Friedrich Meyer, who was born on December 9, 1879 in Germany. Herman was the son of August and Bertha (Anspach) Meyer. When Herman was just 3 years old, his Meyer family came to America. We can see his name on this passenger list for the ship, Salier, which arrived in this country in 1883.

In the first census in which we find Herman in 1900, we see him at the age of 20. His mother had died in 1899, so his father was a widower in this entry. Herman’s father was a stone mason living in the Brazeau Township, and Herman was called a farmer.

Herman Meyer married Maria Rogalski on April 13, 1902 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The church record for this event is pictured here.

Not long after this wedding, Maria’s father died in early 1903. Then, her mother married Dr. John Neumueller. I find it interesting that one of the attendants at Herman and Maria’s wedding was Karoline Neumueller. I figure that she must have been related to Juliane’s third husband.

Our German Family Tree lists 11 children born to this couple. Their first 2 children were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Then, beginning with a child born in 1906, the baptisms began taking place at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg. When the 1910 census was taken, we find the Meyer’s living in the Brazeau Township, most likely in Wittenberg. The railroad had begun operating through Wittenberg in 1904, and it looks like Herman might have been one of that railroad’s early employees. He is called a section boss in this entry. There were 4 Meyer children in their household.

Herman had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given a Wittenberg address and is called a section foreman for the St. L & S.F.R.R.

In the 1920 census, the Meyer’s were still living in Wittenberg where Herman was still a section foreman. Two sons were working in the swing factory near that town.

At some point in time, the photo below was taken of a section crew for the railroad in Wittenberg. Herman Meyer is the man standing on the far left.

During the next decade, the Meyer’s made a move to St. Louis. When the 1930 census was taken, the Meyer family was living in that city where Herman was still a foreman for a railroad section.

The above census entry was the last one in which we find Maria. She died in 1938 at the age of 52. Her death certificate gives her an Affton address, which is located in South St. Louis, and says she died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Herman is found as a widower in the 1940 census. He was still working for the railroad and was living with 6 of his children. All but one of them were sons, and several of those sons were part of the work force.

Herman had his World War II draft card completed in 1942 despite being 62 years old. His employer was the Frisco Railroad.

Herman Meyer died a year later in 1943 at the age of 63. His death certificate says he also died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was a patient at the Frisco Employee’s Hospital in St. Louis when he died.

Below is a photo of the Frisco Employee’s Hospital.

Herman and Maria Meyer are buried together in the Our Redeemer Cemetery in Affton.

There are plenty of people with the surname, Meyer, that are part of our German Family Tree, but Herman’s family is one which showed up toward the end of the 1800’s and would later migrate to St. Louis, so there are not likely to be any of those Meyer’s who still live in Perry County. And as for the Rogalski surname, since Maria and her siblings that lived to adulthood were all females, the Rogalski name died out in East Perry County.