The birthday girl for today is Josephine Caroline Oberndorfer, who was born on March 21, 1886. Josephine was the daughter of August and Wilhelmine (Ruehling) Oberndorfer. She was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. For some reason, family trees on Ancestry.com say that Josephine’s middle name was Pauline, and even her gravestone says she was Josephine P. However, the baptism record shown here says it was Caroline.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, Josephine was even confirmed in 1899 prior to us seeing her in her first census in 1900. She was 14 years old at the time. Since her Oberndorfer family was listed right next to Rev. Zschoche, who was the pastor in Frohna, I figure that they were living in the village of Frohna. Josephine’s father was a cooper. Perhaps he was a cooper at the Frohna Flour Mill.

When the 1910 census was taken, Josephine was no longer living with her parents. Like so many other young ladies back in those days, she went to St. Louis to find work. She is found living in Maplewood, which is a municipality of St. Louis, and working as a servant in the John Matthews household.

Josephine would get married not long after the above census, so we will now turn our attention to the man who would become her husband. His name was Alfred Marcus Weaver,who was born on March 4, 1884 near Lexington, Nebraska. Alfred was the son of John and Rachel (Kinyon) Weaver. A Nebraska state census was taken in 1885, and we find the Weaver’s living in the Robb Precinct which is found not far from Lexington. Alfred, called Marcus in this entry, was just 1 year old. His father was farmer.

I was unsuccessful at finding Alfred in the 1900 census when he would have been about 16 years old. The next census in which I found him was the one taken in 1910, and he was living with his parents in Kirkwood, Missouri, another municipality of St. Louis not far from Maplewood. Alfred was a driver for an ice wagon, and his father was working for the railroad.

Alfred Weaver married Josephine Oberndorfer on July 27, 1911. According to the St. Louis marriage record pictured below, they were married by Rev. Theo. Walther in Kirkwood.

The listing of early pastors of Concordia Lutheran Church in Kirkwood below says that Rev. Walther was the pastor of that congregation in 1911.

Alfred had his World War I draft registration completed when America entered that war. It gives him a Kansas City address and says he was a salesman for the Glenn Spring Creamery.

As near as I can tell, this Weaver couple had 2 sons, both of whom were born before the 1920 census. In that year’s entry, this Weaver family was living in Kansas City, Missouri. It says Alfred was a salesman for a coffee company.

The 1930 census once again shows the Weaver family with 2 sons, both teenagers at the time. It says Alfred was a commercial salesman for a grocery staple retail business.

Next, we find Alfred, Josephine, and their son, Clarence in the 1940 census. It is difficult to read, but I think it says that Alfred was a foreman of maintenance for the Skelly Oil Company.

Alfred had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It gives him a Kansas City address but also says he was employed by the U.S. Government as a painter at Camp Crowder, which was built during World War II in Neosho, Missouri in the southwest part of that state.

Alfred Weaver died in 1944 at the age of 60. He died in Kansas City at the Vineyard Park Hospital. He was called a painter on this form.

Josephine is found as a widow in the 1950 census. She was still living in Kansas City with a lodger in her hosuehold.

Josephine Weaver died in 1975 at the age of 89. We are able to view death certificates up to 1975, so we are able to view Josephine’s. She died at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Kansas City.

Both Alfred and Josephine Weaver are buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City.

As near as I can tell, today’s birthday girl, Josephine, spent her whole life in the state of Missouri. She began on the east side of this state, but ended up being buried on the western side. Just a small percentage of her life was spent in Perry County. I wonder how often she managed to get back to her hometown to visit her Oberndorfer family.