Yesterday, I shared an old post that told about a woman named Clara who had two husbands. You will read another one of those stories today. I will begin by taking a look at today’s Clara, also our birthday girl.

Clara Josephine Bergmann was born on October 13, 1895, so this would be her 130th birthday. Clara was the daughter of Ferdinand and Emma (Rauh) Bergmann. Since she was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, we are not able to view her baptism record. When Clara was just about 5 years old, her mother died. So, when we find her in the 1900 census, her father was a widower. Clara was the oldest child in that family at the age of 4. Clara’s father was a farmer in the Union Township.

In 1908, when Clara was confirmed, that event took place at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown, which had not yet been established when Clara was born. In fact, the next Bergmann child in Clara’s family, born in 1898, has her baptism record in Zion, Longtown’s records. Below is Clara’s confirmation record.

When the 1910 census was taken, Clara was 14 years old. By that time, her father had married again. His second wife was Louisa Fassold, who was previously married to Oliver Thorpe, who had died in 1899. So, in this census entry, we find a few Thorpe children, who would have been Clara’s half-siblings.

Clara would get married during the next decade, so we will now look at the man who would become her first husband. His name was Gilbert Rudisaile, who was born on December 11, 1893. Gilbert was the son of Norman and Caroline (Rutledge) Rudisaile. Gilbert was likely baptized at Peace, Friedenberg. In the 1900 census, Gilbert was 7 years old. His father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Like was the case with Clara, Gilbert’s mother died when he was quite young. She died in 1902, and her father also remarried. His second wife was Carrie Reid. In the 1910 census, Gilbert was a teenager and helping his father on his farm.

Gilbert Rudisaile married Clara Bergmann on April 22, 1916, but they did not get married in Perry County. They were married in St. Louis at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church. A St. Louis marriage record for this couple is displayed here. This document says that both Gilbert and Clara were from St. Louis, which indicates that each of them probably moved there to find work.

Here is a photo of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church. I am not certain if this building was already in existence in 1916.

When their first child, a girl named Gilberta, was born in 1917, she was baptized at St. Peter Lutheran Church in St. Louis. Gilberta’s baptism record is shown here.

Gilbert had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He is given a St. Louis address, and he is called a conductor for the United Railways Company. That was a company that operated street cars in St. Louis.

The Rudisaile’s were living in St. Louis when the 1920 census was taken. Gilbert was called a street car conductor.

This couple must have moved their family back to Perry County not long after the above census. When their next child was born in June of 1920, that daughter was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. A third child was born in 1925, so when we take a look at their 1930 census entry, we find the Rudisaile’s and their 3 children back living in the Union Township where Gilbert was a farmer.

Next, we find the Rudisaile household in the 1940 census with their 3 children and Gilbert’s widowed father. Two of their daughters were working at the shoe factory in Perryville.

Gilbert had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. He was given a Biehle address, which likely indicates from where he received his mail.

When we find Gilbert and Clara in the 1950 census, we discover that they had once again relocated to St. Louis. Gilbert was a welder at an auto manufacturing plant, and Clara was called a demonstrator for an electrical supply business. They were both in their 50’s at that point in time.

Gilbert Rudisaile died in 1966 at the age of 72. His death certificate says that he died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville as a result of colon cancer.

Clara Rudisaile got married again in 1968. Her second husband was Erich Heinrich Ruesler, who was born on December 16, 1903. Erich was the son of William and Wilhelmina (Bangert) Ruesler. Erich was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim.

I am just going to summarize what happened to Erich Ruesler during most of this life. He married Nettie Emde in 1928 and was a farmer in the Whitewater Township in Bollinger County. That couple had 2 or 3 children before Nettie died in 1934. Erich then married Clara Laurentius in 1940. That Clara died in 1965, leaving Erich a widower for the second time.

Erich Ruesler married Clara Rudisaile on April 5, 1968. They were married at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, but we do not have marriage records that are that recent. I am able to display this couple’s Missouri marriage license below. Erich was 64 years old at the time, and Clara was 72.

Clara died in 1985 at the age of 89. Clara and her first husband, Gilbert Rudisaile, are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

Erich Ruesler got married again in 1987. His fourth wife was Flora Garrett. It is not every day that I get to write about an 89 year-old woman who dies, and her widowed husband marries again. And he, at the age of 84, married a woman who was 75 years old.

Clara had an interesting life, one that started on a farm in Perry County. Then, for much of her life married to a man who, for a time, was a street car conductor in the big city of St. Louis. Then, this couple mostly raised their family of 3 girls in Perry County. When she finally had an empty nest, she and Gilbert moved back to St. Louis where both of them were part of the work force. They then apparently moved back to Perry County prior to their deaths. After Gilbert died, Clara then remarried when she was in her 70’s. That is not a story that I would describe as ordinary.