I will be attempting to tell the story of Levi Myers today. He came to my attention because one of his wives is found in our German Family Tree, and she is today’s birthday girl. She will appear later in this story.

Levi Melly Myers was born on September 3, 1881, the son of Frank and Belinda (Loberg) Myers. His later death certificate says that he was born in Bollinger County. Levi is found in the 1900 census at the age of 18. He is called a day laborer, and his father was a mail carrier in the Union Township.

We will now look at the woman who would become his first wife. Her name was Etta Mary Weisbrod, who was born on March 25, 1877. Etta was the daughter of Mathias and Ann Elizabeth (Shoults) Weisbrod. She is found in the 1880 census at the age of 3. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Etta is found in the 1900 census still living with her parents at the age of 23.

Levi Myers married Etta Weisbrod on October 26, 1902. According to this Missouri marriage license, this couple was married by a Methodist pastor in Appleton.

It appears that this Myers pair had 5 children. In the 1910 census, we find the Myers household living in New Madrid, Missouri where Levi was a building contractor. There were 3 children in the family.

Before I move on, the youngest child in the above entry, Dave Myers, would become a barber in Old Appleton and would travel once a week to cut hair in Altenburg. Some of the old-timers here remember him. This photo of Dave Myers is found in Mary Dillon’s Altenburg book.

I actually think Etta may have been pregnant with another child because she died in 1917 at the age of 40. Her death certificate below gives causes of death related to childbirth.

The above document says that Etta was to be buried in Wittenberg, but she is buried in the Zion Methodist Cemetery near Old Appleton.

Levi got married again later in 1917. His second wife was Mildred Moss, who I know little about. Levi Myers married Mildred Moss on December 6, 1917 in Jefferson County, Missouri. Below is an application for a marriage license for this pair. It says both Levi and Mildred were from Barnhart, Missouri.

Levi had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He is given a Herculanuem address and was said to be a carpenter for the St. Joseph’s Lead Company. Since it appears that his marriage to Mildred did not last long, I think you can see evidence on this form that she was already not part of the picture. Naomi Ruth Myers, not Mildren Myers, was identified on this form as Levi’s nearest relative.

Prior to the next census entry, Levi would get married again. I have no idea what happened to Mildred. Levi’s third wife was Mathilde Wilhelmine Hoffmann, who was born on December 29, 1896, so she would be today’s birthday girl. Today would mark her 129th birthday. Mathilde, often called Tillie, was the daughter of Carl and Emilie (Mirly) Hoffmann. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Her baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed here. It looks like she might have gotten her two names from her two female sponsors.

Tillie is found in the 1900 census at the age of 3. Her father was a day laborer in the Shawnee Township.

Next, we find Tillie in the 1910 census when she was 13 years old. Her father was doing odd jobs.

Levi Myers married Tillie Hoffmann on June 21, 1919. According to the Missouri marriage license below, they were married by a justice of the peace in Jackson, Missouri. This form says Tillie was from New Wells, and Levi was from Altenburg. Perhaps Levi had moved to Altenburg after his second wife had died.

I believe that Levi and Tillie had 3 children. Their first child born in 1920 was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can view the baptism record for Irma Myers below.

When the 1920 census was taken, the Myers household is found living in the Shawnee Township where Levi was a carpenter. The 5 children listed in their entry were all children of Levi’s first wife.

Tillie Myers died in St. Louis in 1923 at the age of 25. Her death certificate says she died at the Barnes Hospital.

Tillie is buried in the Valhalla Cemetery in St. Louis, but Findagrave.com has no gravestone photo for her.

Levi would get married yet again. His 4th wife was named Daisy Funk, who was born on December 11, 1879. I am not going to go into much detail about her life, but I can tell you that she was the daughter of Christian and Ernestine (Kunz) Funk, and she was born and raised in the Plattin Township in Jefferson County. That is located near the city of Festus. On June 24, 1925, Levi Myers married Daisy Funk at the Lafayette Methodist Church in St. Louis. The St. Louis marriage record below says both Levi and Daisy were from Danby, Missouri, which is located in the Plattin Township.

In the 1930 census, the Myers’s were living in the Plattin Township where Levi was a farmer. The children in this entry were from 2 previous wives of Levi.

The 1940 census shows the Myers family with 3 remaining children. Both Levi and Daisy were called farmers.

Levi had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war despite the fact that he was already 60 years old. This document says that Levi was a Methodist minister. This is the first bit of evidence that I found that indicates Levi was a preacher. Levi had a Danby, Missouri address.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. Levi, Daisy, and one son were still living in the Plattin Township.

Daisy Myers died in 1955 at the age of 76. According to her death certificate, she died at the Bethesda Hospital in St. Louis.

There is a family tree on Ancestry.com that says that Levi had a 5th wife named Louisa Biri. I have no documentation for that wedding if it took place. If Louisa married Levi, she was likely a widow at the time and rather advanced in age. After all, Levi was 74 years old when Daisy died.

Levi and Daisy Myers are buried together in the Festus Presbyterian-Methodist Cemetery in Festus. You can see that Levi is given the title, Reverend, on his gravestone.

Levi Myers surely had a wild and crazy ride through life, with a stop along the way among the German Lutherans.