I just so happened to find another Dambach for today’s story. That will make 3 out of the last 4 posts which have included a reference to the surname, Dambach. Today, you will read about a man named Oscar Wesley Dambach. You will eventually read about his wife being today’s birthday girl.

Oscar was born on July 28, 1886, the son of Jacob and Maria (Richter) Dambach. Since both of Oscar’s parents are buried in the Arnsberg Lutheran Cemetery in the Apple Creek Township, I suspect that Oscar was baptized there, but we cannot view many church records for that church. An Arnsberg binder we have in our research library has a page of information about Oscar and his parents and siblings. An image of that page is shown here.

This also means that this is the second consecutive post that has mentioned that small congregation that only existed for a short time. Oscar is found in the 1900 census at the age of 13. He and another brother were helping their father on his farm in the Apple Creek Township.

Oscar is next found in the 1910 census when he was called 22 years old, and he was no longer living with his parents. He was a hired man doing farm labor in the Andrew Heisserer household located in the Kelso Township in Scott County.

Oscar would get married not long after the above census was taken, so we will now look at the woman who would be his first wife. Her name was Elisabeth Eva “Lizzie” Balsmann, who was born on March 30, 1889. Lizzie was the daughter of Anton and Francisca (Leible) Balsmann. There is plenty of evidence that Lizzie was born and raised as a Roman Catholic. I think her baptism record is likely found in the books of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Apple Creek. Lizzie is found in the 1900 census at the age of 11. Her father had died in 1896, so Lizzie’s mother was the head of the Balsmann household. She was called a farmer, and her oldest son, Leo, was also called a farmer.

In the 1910 census, the Balsmann household contained just Lizzie, her mother, and a younger brother. Her mother was called the farmer, and both Lizzie and her brother were farm laborers. Lizzie was 21 years old at the time.

Oscar Dambach married Lizzie Balsmann on November 28, 1911. According to the Missouri marriage license below, this pair was married by a Roman Catholic priest in Apple Creek. That must have been St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. This form says that Oscar was from Appleton, and Lizzie was from Schalls in Perry County.

I can also show this marriage certificate for this couple.

Lizzie Dambach died on May 8, 1912, just 5 months after being married to Oscar. Our German Family Tree says an infant was born and died on May 8th, but I have my doubts about that. Lizzie’s death certificate below mentions nothing about her death being related to childbirth. It gives her cause of death as heart failure due to embolism.

I will display 2 different obituaries for Lizzie from local newspapers, and neither of them mention anything about the birth of a child.

Oscar would get married again in 1913, so we will now look at the woman who became his second wife. She is also today’s birthday girl. Her name was Helen Marie Meyer, who was born on April 16, 1896, thus making today her 130th birthday. Helen was the daughter of Louis and Agnes (Leible) Meyer. Like was the case with Lizzie, Helen’s parents are also buried in the St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, so that is likely where Helen was baptized. In the 1900 census, Helen was 4 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Union Township.

In the 1910 census, Helen was a teenager and still living with her parents.

Oscar Dambach married Helen Meyer on September 8, 1913. This wedding also took place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Apple Creek. We can view 2 different civil marriage records for this event below.

Oscar had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He is given a Uniontown address and was said to be employed by Arthur Frentzel and farming. It also says that he had a wife and 2 children.

Our German Family Tree and Family Search both say that this pair had 8 children. None of their children have baptism records in any of the local Lutheran churches. There is also other evidence that the Dambach’s became members of a Catholic church. In the 1920 census, the Dambach’s had 3 children in their household. Oscar was called a mail carrier. This entry says he delivered mail on the Star Route. I also found newspaper articles that said he was delivering mail from Uniontown to Frohna.

Next, we find the Dambach family in the 1930 census. Their household had gotten much larger, now including 7 children. All but 2 of them were daughters. This time, Oscar was called a farmer.

The Dambach’s must have made a move during the next decade. In the 1940 census, we find them living in the Shawnee Township. Oscar was once again called a farmer on rented land. One of his sons was helping him with the farm work.

Oscar had a World War II draft card completed when America entered that war. He was given a Shawneetown address and said to be farming.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. The Dambach’s were living in Perryville where they had an empty nest. Oscar was a carpenter.

It may have been about this time that these photos of Oscar and Helen were taken. It looks as if they were celebrating a special anniversary. If it was their 40th anniversary, it must have taken in 1953. If it was the 50th wedding anniversary, that event took place in 1963.

A photo was taken of Oscar and Helen and all of their children.

Oscar Dambach died in 1968 at the age of 83. His death certificate below indicates heart problems as being his cause of death. He died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

Helen died in 1980 at the age of 83, too recently to view a death certificate. Oscar and Helen Dambach are buried together in the St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery in Perryville.

I did notice that several of Oscar and Helen’s children ended up being buried in Lutheran cemeteries. So, although their father, who had Lutheran roots and had become involved with a Catholic church after marrying Catholic wives, these children later become Lutherans, possibly after getting married to Lutherans.