I found both today’s bride and groom in our German Family Tree, but neither of them have a church record in any of the church books that are included in that document. However, each of them have other family members whose church records like baptisms and marriages are included in the GFT. I will begin with the groom.

George Philip Bingenheimer was born on April 19, 1855, the son of Martin and Louisa (Reinemer) Bingenheimer. His parents were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim in 1854, but that church record says that they were not members of that congregation. George was the first child born to that couple. As said above, there is no baptism record included in the German Family Tree, so I do not know where he might have a baptism record. George is found in the 1860 census at the age of 5 living in the Cinque Hommes Township. For some reason, his father does not have an occupation listed in this census entry. George’s paternal and maternal grandmothers were part of this household.

In the 1870 census, George was a teenager, and this time his father was called a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

George would get married during the next decade, so we will now take a look at his bride. Her name was Wilhelmina Ruppel, who was born on August 11, 1857. She was born in or near Arnsberg in the Apple Creek Township, the daughter of Casper and Margaretha (Schaefer) Ruppel. A fairly recent blog post was written about Wilhelmina’s parents titled, Kasper and Margaretha – The Original Ruppel’s. I was able to locate the surname, Ruppel, in some Arnsberg Lutheran Church records, but I do not know if Wilhelmina was baptized there because only a limited number of Arnsberg records can be found in the Missouri Synod collection of church books on Ancestry.com. The Arnsberg records are not included in our GFT. Wilhelmina was mostly called Minnie during her life, and in our GFT, she is called Hermine. She is found in the 1860 census at the age of 3. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

The 1870 census lists Wilhelmina at the age of 12. She was one of 8 children in the Ruppel family at that time.

George Bingenheimer married Minnie Ruppel on February 3, 1879, which means that today would be this couple’s 147th wedding anniversary. There is no church marriage record for this wedding because they were married by a justice of the peace in Cape Girardeau County. We can view a civil marriage record for this occasion shown here.

This Bingenheimer pair had 3 children, but none of them were born prior to the 1880 census. After their wedding, it looks as if they obtained some farmland in the Byrd Township. In the entry below, we see these newlyweds along with a young farm laborer named Benjamin Patterson.

We are not able to view the 1890 census. If it were available, we would see George and Minnie with 2 of their children. In the 1900 census, we find the Bingenheimer’s with all 3 children. Also in the household was a nephew named Oliver Ruppel, who was helping with the farming.

Next, we find the Bingenheimer’s in the 1910 census. We find them living in the city of Jackson, Missouri where George was a teamster. Only their 2 daughters were still living with their parents.

Another move was made by the Bingenheimer’s prior to the 1920 census. In that year’s census entry, we find George, Minnie, and their daughter, Rose, living in Cape Girardeau. At the age of 64, George no longer had an occupation. Their daughter, Rose, was a teacher in a public school.

George Bingenheimer died in 1928 at the age of 73. Chronic Bright’s disease is given as his cause of death on his death certificate pictured here.

An obituary for George was published in the Cash Book Journal. It mentions that his funeral took place at the Christ Evangelical Church in Cape Girardeau.

Minnie Bingenheimer is found as a widow in the 1930 census. She was living with her daughter, Rose, who had married Edward Haman, in Cape Girardeau. Edward was a laster at the shoe factory.

Minnie Bingenheimer died in 1935 at the age of 77. Her death certificate says she died of heart failure. She died on February 2nd, so that was one day prior to her 56th wedding anniversary.

Both George and Minnie Bingenheimer are buried together in the Jackson City Cemetery in Jackson.

The Bingenheimer and Ruppel surnames are certainly found in our German Family Tree. Both George and Minnie are found in that document, but each managed to circumvent having any church records attached to their names in that document. George’s younger brother, Louis, has had his story told on this blog in the post titled, Louis Bingenheimer – Jackson Farmer/Street Commissioner. He and his wife managed to have church records found in our GFT, but not his older brother.