Johann August Dambach was born on May 31, 1875, which means that he would be celebrating his 150th birthday today. John was the son of Friedrich and Ernestine (Mehner) Dambach. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

John is found in the 1880 census at the age of 5. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, and because John got married before the 1900 census, we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Amalia Martha Mueller, who was born on November 26, 1877. Martha was the daughter of Emil Mueller. Emil, although a Mueller, is not attached to any of the Mueller clans found in our German Family Tree. I found a bit of evidence that Emil may have been originally from the Hermann, Missouri area, but it is not conclusive. I think it is likely that Martha was a daughter from his first marriage with an unknown wife. I was unsuccessful at finding Martha in the 1880 census. In 1884, Emil married Lisette Danz, who was a member at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. That is where Emil married Lisette. Martha was confirmed at Grace, Uniontown in 1891.

John Dambach married Martha Mueller on October 21, 1897 at Grace, Uniontown. The church record for that event is displayed below.

The Missouri marriage license for this couple can also be viewed. This document says that John was from Washington County, Missouri.

The first child of John and Martha, a son named Walter, was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. This would be their only child that was baptized at Grace, and no other children are listed in our German Family Tree. However, family trees on Ancestry.com say that this pair had 6 children.

When the 1900 census was taken, the Dambach’s were living in Bismarck, Missouri where John was a farm laborer. They had just that one son, Walter.

In the 1910 census, the Dambach’s were living in St. Louis with 5 children. John was called a truck farmer.

One more son was born in 1911, but then John Dambach died in 1912 at the age of 38. His death certificate below says he died of tubercular laryngitis. This document says that John was born on May 30th, but I think that is wrong.

The above form says that John was buried at the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery in St. Louis. He does have an entry on Findagrave.com for that cemetery, but it has no gravestone photo for him.

Martha Dambach got married again prior to the next census in 1920. I was unable to identify a date for her second marriage, and her second husband is a bit of a mystery also. His name was George Lautner, who was born in Edwardsville, Illinois in about 1852. I did find just a hint that George may have lived not far from Hermann, Missouri, which makes me think that Martha may have some Muelller relations in that area that may have led her to become acquainted with George. In the 1920 census, we see George Lautner as the head of the household, and all of the children appear to have the surname, Lautner, but they are actually all Dambach children. They were living in the Rock Township of Jefferson County, likely near the city of Kimmswick. George was already 70 years old, almost 30 years older than Martha. He was called a laborer. Two of Martha’s sons worked for the railroad.

At some point in time, this photo of the children of John and Martha Dambach was taken. All six of them are included.

The last census in which we find George Lautner was the one taken in 1930. The family was still living in the same location, and George, at the age of 78, was still working as a farm laborer.

George Lautner died in 1936 at the age of 84. His death certificate is pictured here. It gives us no help on identifying his parents, although it does tell us that he was born in Edwardsville.

George Lautner was buried in the Jefferson County Poor Farm Cemetery in Hillsboro, but he has no gravestone photo on Findagrave.com.

Martha Lautner is found in the 1940 census living in the Valle Township of Jefferson County, likely near the city of DeSoto. A married couple, Fred and Margaret Sauer, were living with her.

When the 1950 census was taken, Martha was living by herself in St. Louis.

Martha Lautner died in 1953 at the age of 75. She died of heart problems according to the death certificate below.

Martha is buried in the New St. John’s Cemetery in Mehlville. Her daughter, Hattie, and her husband, Richard Kassebaum, are buried in that cemetery, and Martha’s name is inscribed on the back side of their gravestone.

A story beginning with the birth of a boy 150 years ago has now led us on a journey from Apple Creek and Uniontown till we find the Dambach couple in Jefferson County and St. Louis. An early death of today’s birthday boy leads us to another marriage and back to Jefferson County. Martha’s second husband, a rather puzzling character much older than her dies and is buried in Jefferson County. Martha ends up back in St. Louis where she dies and is buried with her daughter. I find it interesting that the only name from this story that we can find on a gravestone is one which is found on the back side of someone else’s tombstone.

One more thing. The sons in this Dambach family all appear to have changed the surname from Dambach to Danback. I wonder why.