I know it may be a stretch, but today’s tale has an unusual connection to the one I wrote yesterday. The story, Three Ochs – No Acorns, highlighted three lifelong singles who had no children. Today, you will be reading the story of a man who was married three time, which does not seem similar, but in his case, he had no children with any of them.

William End is today’s birthday boy, being born on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1879. That means today would be his 143rd birthday. William was the son of Gabriel and Barbara (Hausmann) End. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can take a look at his baptism record here. His surname is spelled, Endt, in this document.

William is found in the 1880 census at the age of 6 months. His father was a shoemaker in Perryville.

The next census we can view is the one taken in 1900. William’s father had died in 1895, so his widowed mother was the head of the End household. William, at the age of 20, was a salesman of dry goods in Perryville.

William was still single when the 1910 census was taken. He was the only child still living with his mother. William had a photography gallery in Perryville.

Now, we will look at the woman who would become William’s first wife. Her name was Isabella Bergmann, who was born on November 3, 1884. Isabella was the daughter of Andrew and Susan (Cashion) Bergmann. She was baptized at Peace, Friedenberg. We do not see Isabella in a census entry until 1900. She was 15 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Salem Township. Her mother had died in 1889, and her father had married Marceline Bessand in 1895. The image below is one of those that is difficult to read in the Salem Township’s 1900 census pages. I have highlighted Isabella’s name to help identify her.

Isabella was still single when the 1910 census was taken. Her stepmother had died in 1904, so her father was once again a widower. Isabella was 26 years old at the time.

William End married Isabella Bergmann on April 10, 1913 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can view the church marriage record for this event below.

I am also able to display 2 civil marriage records for this wedding.

An article appeared in the Perry County Republican that described this wedding.

William End completed his World War I draft registration in 1918. It gives him a Perryville address and calls him a photographer.

William and Isabella had no children. In the 1920 census, we find just these two in their household. William was a photographer, and Isabella was a housekeeper.

The 1930 census shows the same characters who were 10 years older.

Isabella End died in 1934 at the age of 49. Her death certificate below says she died of a heat stroke.

An obituary for Isabella can be read here.

William would get married again in 1936. His second wife was Cora Margaret Brewer, who was born on August 8, 1889. Cora was the daughter of James and Anna (Fassold) Brewer. I think she may have been baptized at Peace, Friedenberg. Cora is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10. Her father was a farmer in the Central Township.

I was not able to locate Cora in the 1910 census. Then, Cora married a man named Charles Brown in 1913. According to the marriage record below, they were married at Grace Lutheran Church and Chapel in St. Louis.

I do not know what happened to Charles Brown, but he is not found living with Cora when the 1920 census was taken. She was using the name Cora Brewer and living with her parents in Perryville and called single. There was a grandson called Melvin Brown in this household, so she had a child with Charles.

I also did not located Cora in the 1930 census. Then, William End married Cora Brown on January 11, 1936 at Grace Lutheran Church in St. Louis. This might have been the same congregation at which Cora had been married in 1913, but the marriage records found on Ancestry.com for that church do not go up to 1936. Here are 2 civil marriage records for this pair.

An article was written in the Perry County Republican about this wedding. It mentions that Cora’s son, Melvin, was a cadet at West Point Military Academy.

In the 1940 census, we find just William and Cora in their household. William was still working as a photographer.

Cora End died in 1941 at the age of 51. Her death certificate says she died at the Christian Hospital in St. Louis.

An obituary for Cora from the Perry County Republican can be read.

William married for a third time in 1943, so let’s take a quick look at his 3rd wife. Her name was Amanda Eleanor Lottes, who was born on May 18, 1888 in Altenburg. She was the daughter of Gabriel and Maria (Ludwig) Lottes. I think writing about a Gabriel and Mary is rather appropriate for Christmas Eve. Amanda was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Her baptism record is below.

I am not going to go into detail about what happened in the interim because part of Amanda’s story was told in the post, A Whole Lottes Dentists. William End married Amanda Holtmann on January 31, 1943 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in St. Louis. Here is a church marriage record for that occasion.

Here are some civil records for this wedding.

Another article was published in the Perry County Republican about this wedding.

Amanda End died in 1963 at the age of 75. She died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

An obituary for her was printed in the Perry County Republican.

William End died in 1971 at the age of 91. He also died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital.

William End and his first 2 wives are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville. His 3rd wife, Amanda, is buried in the Home Cemetery in Perryville where her first husband was buried.

I found additional evidence in newspaper articles that William also had an interest in the conservation of our environment, the operation of a baseball team in Perryville, and an professional organization for photographers. Plus, I located this article in the Perry County Republican that indicates William had the special talent for being able to photograph children.

So, I have to think that even though William went through his whole life without having children, he must have spent plenty of time photographing them. Below is a photo of his twin nieces that was found in a previous post on this blog that I figure was taken by William.

I think it is ironic that I do not have any photographs of the husband or any of his wives in a story about a man who spent his career as a photographer. This story has gotten quite long, but now I will say it is….

The End