You will read the story of two people who shared the same birthday today. They also shared the same mother because they were twins. It was a boy/girl set of twins, and in this case, this set of twins were not the first such twins born to this mother. Four years before today’s set of twins was born, there had been another boy/girl set of twins born to the same parents. In this post, you will read about a girl twin who lives a long life with husband and children while the boy twin had a very short life.

Maria Louise Josephine and Paul Johannes Oehlert were born on August 9, 1886, so today would be their 140th birthday. Josephine and Paul were the children of Henry and Lisette (Burroughs) Oehlert. The story of these parents was told in the post, Lisette’s Labored Life. These twins were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Their baptism records are displayed below.

We can also view Perry County birth records for these twins in the 2 images shown here. The twins would have called the doctor listed on this form, Uncle John Neumeuller because he was married to Lisette’s sister, Wilhelmine Oehlert.

These twins never ended up appearing in a census together. In fact, Paul did not find his way into any census record. He died in 1888 at the age of 2. We can view his Perry County death record below. It says he died of bronchitis.

Since we cannot view the 1890 census, Josephine is found in her first census in 1900 at the age of 13. She is called M. Louise in this entry. Her father had died prior to 1900, but I am not sure exactly when. Josephine would also be confirmed at Trinity, Altenburg during 1900.

During the next decade, it appears that the Oehlert family moved to St. Louis. It was during that decade when Josephine got married, so we will now look at the man who would become her husband. His name was William Carl Nass, who was born on December 28, 1880. I found that different family trees and documents say that William was born in Germany, Illinois, or Indiana. I was only able to determine his father’s name as Carl. William is found in the 1900 census living in St. Louis. He is found as a boarder in the Fred Bauer household and working as a varnisher at the age of 19. This entry says William and his parents were born in Illinois.

William Nass married Josephine Oehlert on January 18, 1908 at Emmaus Lutheran Church in St. Louis. We can view this pair’s church marriage record here.

A St. Louis marriage record can also be viewed. Rev. Kretschmar was the pastor at Emmaus Lutheran Church.

According to Family Search, William and Josephine had 4 children, only 2 of which lived to adulthood. In the 1910 census, just their first child, a son named Raymond, was listed in their entry. William was a painter of buildings. This entry says William and his parents were born in Germany.

William had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It once again calls him a painter.

Three children were born during the next decade, but 2 of them died as infants. So, we see the Nass’s with 2 children in the 1920 census. William was a finisher for a carpet company.

Next, we find the Nass family in the 1930 census with their son and daughter. William and son, Raymond, were both painters for a painting company. This entry says William was born in Indiana and his parents born in Germany.

The 1940 census shows William and Josephine along with their daughter, Ethel, who had married Paul Hedge. William was a furniture finisher, and Paul was a meat cutter.

William had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war. This form says William was born in Germany. William’s employer was the Lammert Furniture Company.

I found this photo of the Lammert Furniture building in St. Louis.

In the last census we can view, the one taken in 1950, The Nass couple had an empty nest, and neither William or Josephine had an occupation. They were each in their 60’s.

William Nass died in 1951 at the age of 70. According to his death certificate below, he died at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis. This is another document that says William was born in Indiana.

Josephine Nass died in 1956 at the age of 70. I think that age is determined by her date of birth, which says she was born in 1885. Since she was born in 1886, I think she was just 69 years old at the time of her death. Her death certificate says she died at the Shamrock Rest Home.

The death certificates above say that each of them was buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Louis. However, their entries on Findagrave.com have no gravestone photos.

Our museum is going to be visited tomorrow by a few folks descended from the Poppitz family. In fact, they descended from a twin in that Poppitz family, and their grandparents were another couple that had two sets of twins. What are the chances?