William Johann Heinrich Arbeiter was born on July 26, 1886, so today would be his 140th birthday. William was the firstborn child of William and Engel (Bellmann) Arbeiter, whose story was written in the post, William and Engel – The Arbeiter’s. William was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. We can view his baptism record from that congregation’s books here.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the first one in which we find William is the one taken in 1900. By then, William was a teenager and helping his father on his farm in the Fountain Bluff Township. There were 6 children in the Arbeiter household, and 5 of them were boys. Also living in this household were William’s Bellmann grandparents and a young carpenter named August Fick.

That year, William was confirmed at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob. We can take a look at his confirmation record below.

In an Arbeiter family binder we have in our library, I found this photo that includes William at a rather young age. The caption will direct you to which one is William.

William would get married prior to the next census, so we will now look at the woman who became his bride. Her name was Martha Hulda Gaudlitz, who was born on June 4, 1889. Martha was born in Cowden, Illinois, the daughter of Oswald and Martha (Windus) Gaudlitz. Martha was 10 years old when the 1900 census was taken. Her family was living in Altamont, Illinois where her father was a section foreman.

William Arbeiter married Martha Gaudlitz on May 16, 1909 in Altamont. I can display an Illinois marriage record for this event. It says William was a machinist in Murphysboro, and Martha was from Altamont. I have no idea how these two managed to become acquainted.

Below is the wedding photo of William and Martha.

I can also display this photograph that includes the entire wedding party.

I failed to locate this Arbeiter couple in the 1910 census. I think they would have likely been living in Murphysboro. William had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He is given a Murphysboro address and was said to be the proprietor of a garage. It says he had a wife and 3 children. I do not think that William served in the military, but his younger brother, Theodore, was killed in that war.

According to Family Search, William and Martha had 3 children, all girls. If we had access to the church books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Murphysboro, we would likely find the baptism records for these 3 girls. When the 1920 census was taken, we find the Arbeiter’s with all 3 of their daughters. William was a salesman of automobiles. There were 3 others living with the Arbeiter’s, 2 young men, one who worked for the railroad and the other who worked at the shoe factory. The young girl was called a servant.

The Arbeiter’s middle daughter, Eunice, died in 1924 at the age of 11. Her Illinois death certificate below says that she died of nephritis, which is a kidney ailment. I am guessing that Eunice was a student at Immanuel Lutheran School in Murphysboro. Her teacher and fellow students at that school must have grieved at her loss.

The Arbeiter’s are next found in the 1930 census. Their two daughters were still living with them, along with two men, Edwin and Herman Arbeiter, who are both called brothers of William. However, I think Herman was a cousin. William, along with Edwin and Herman, were working at an automobile garage in Murphysboro operated by William.

Below is an ad for William’s auto business in Murphysboro.

The Arbeiter binder has a few photos of William with his siblings at different times. The caption helps you find William.

This photograph of Martha Arbeiter was taken later in her life.

Two deaths in the Arbeiter family occurred in the 1930’s. First, their daughter, Viola, died in 1937, shortly after she gave birth to her only child. Then, Martha Arbeiter died in 1938 at the age of 48. Her Illinois death certificate shown here says she died of pneumonia.

In the 1940 census, we find William as a widower living with his daughter, Helene, in Murphysboro. William was an automobile salesman, and Helene was working at what we used to call a “five and dime store”, or simply a “dime store”.

William had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war. William was living in Carterville, Illinois, which is located not very far from Murphysboro. He was working at the Illinois Technical School there.

Although I cannot document it, William got married again after 1940. His second marriage was to Addie Phifer, who was born on June 23, 1894. She was the daughter of Lee and Belle (Winchester) Phifer. I am not going to go into detail about her life, but I will say that she was born and raised in Murphysboro and her marriage to William was her only one.

I was not able to locate William and Addie in the 1950 census. Then, in 1963, William died at the age of 76. An obituary for him was published in a Carbondale newspaper.

William and Martha Arbeiter are each buried in the Tower Grove Cemetery in Murphysboro. Addie, who died a few years after William died, is buried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Murphysboro with some of her other Phifer family members.

Before I close, let me say that I think it is appropriate to find a story for today that has its beginning at the congregation, Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. This Sunday is the first of 3 Sundays that this congregation has planned to celebrate their 150th anniversary. We congratulate them for their many years of serving the people of the Fountain Bluff Township just across the Mississippi River from our museum.