Today’s birthday girl was a Berkbigler. That is a name that is not found much in our German Family Tree. That is because, for the most part, that surname is primarily one found in the Catholic parish books around here. However, today you will read about a Berkbigler who found her way into the Lutheran church books.

Maria Catharina Berkbigler was born on January 7, 1876, so today would be her 150th birthday. Her baptism record is likely found in the books of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Apple Creek. For the purpose of this story, let me point out that this Catholic church is the one nearest to Uniontown. Mary was the daughter of Anton and Elizabeth (Lappe) Berkbigler. Mary is found in the 1880 census at the age of 4. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

As it turns out, that census entry would be the only one in which we can see Mary prior to her marriage. So, we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Emanuel G. Thomas, who was born on Leap Year Day, February 29, 1864. That means he was about 12 years older than Mary. Emanuel was the son of Gottlieb and Sophia (Mueller) Thomas. The Thomas family had arrived in America in 1854 with some children, and others were born in this country. Most of the children born in the United States were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, but there is no baptism record in that congregation’s books for Emanuel. I think that may be because Trinity got a new pastor in 1864. Perhaps there was a vacancy in February of that year, and he was baptized by a different pastor or person. Emanuel is found in the 1870 census at the age of 6. His father was also a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Next, we find Emanuel in the 1880 census, which was also the year in which he was confirmed at Trinity, Friedheim. He was 16 years old and helping his father on his farm.

Emanuel Thomas married Mary Berkbigler at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim on September 3, 1893. We can view this pair’s church marriage record here.

I am also able to display 2 different civil marriage records for this event. The first one is rather difficult to read.

According to our German Family Tree, this couple had 9 children. All of them were baptized at Trinity, Friedheim. When the 1900 census was taken, the Thomas’s had 3 children, and Emanuel was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

In the 1910 census, we find 6 children in the Thomas household. Their oldest son was able to help his father with his farm work.

The 1920 census would turn out to be the last one in which the Thomas’s were found living in the Apple Creek Township. Five children are found living with their parents.

At some point during the 1920’s, the Thomas family moved across the Apple Creek into Perry County. In the 1930 census, we find them living in the Union Township where Emanuel was still farming. Three Thomas sons remained in their household.

The Thomas’s are found in the 1940 census, and, at the age of 77, Emanuel no longer was given an occupation. Their son, Roy, had gotten married during that year to Leona Koenig, and those newlyweds were included in this entry. Roy was working at the shoe factory in Perryville.

The last census in which we find Emanuel and Mary was the one taken in 1950. They had an empty nest and were still living in the Union Township.

Both Emanuel and Mary died in the 1950’s. Emanuel was the first one to die in 1952 at the age of 88. His death certificate below says he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Mary Thomas would die a year later in 1953. Pneumonia was the cause of death according to her death certificate pictured here. She was 77 years old when she died.

Emanuel and Mary Thomas are buried in the Grace Lutheran Cemetery in Uniontown, but Findagrave.com has no gravestone photos for them.

Even though this may be a rare occurrence of a Berkbigler being a character of a post on this blog, if you are a regular reader, you probably have run across the name of one of our museum’s important supporters, Kathy Berkbigler. Kathy has been a fairly regular presenter at our immigration conferences and operates the zionrootsgenealogy.org website that is an internet resource for people with East Perry County roots. Kathy’s surname was Palisch prior to marrying a Berkbigler.