Today’s birthday boy was not born and raised anywhere near here. He gets into our German Family Tree by marrying a woman who was born and raised in this area.

Heinrich George Hoerath was born on November 6, 1896, thus making today his 130th birthday. Henry was the son of Johann and Margaretha (Meyer) Hoerath. He was born in Beaufort, Missouri. Most likely, Henry was baptized at St. John Lutheran Church in Beaufort, a congregation that had been established in 1852. Below is a present-day photo of that church, which was built in 1876.

Henry is found in the 1900 census at the age of 3. His father was a farmer in or near Beaufort.

In the 1910 census, Henry was a teenager. He was still living with his parents in Beaufort.

Now, we need to take a look at the woman who would become Henry’s bride. Her name was Josephine Anna Amschler, who was born on June 21, 1898. Josephine was the daughter of Johann and Margaretha (Rathjen) Amschler. Josephine was born in or near Jacob, Illinois. She was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books here.

Josephine is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. Her father was a farmer in the Fountain Bluff Township.

The Amschler’s are next found in the 1910 census. Josephine was 11 years old at the time.

I found no evidence to explain how it happened that Henry met Josephine. Henry Hoerath married Josephine Amshler on May 26, 1918 at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob. The church marriage record for this couple is pictured below.

After just a matter of days after his wedding, Henry had his World War I draft registration completed. It gives him a Wellston, Missouri address, which is a municipality in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Henry was employed by the United Railway Company in St. Louis.

According to Family Search, this Hoerath pair had 2 children. One of them was born prior to the 1920 census. Their daughter, Elvira, is found in that year’s census entry. Henry was called a conductor of a street car.

Next, we find the Hoerath’s in the 1930 census with both of their children. Henry was still a conductor for public works.

The 1940 census shows the same 4 members of the Hoerath family in their entry. Henry was still a street car operator in St. Louis. Their daughter, Elvira, was a stenographer, and their son, Vernon, was a musical entertainer for a radio advertising company. I located a later obituary for Vernon, and it said that he was part of the Army Air Force Band for a part of his life.

Henry had his World War II draft card completed when America entered that war. His address was still in St. Louis.

It must have been about this time that a transition was being made from street cars to public busses. Henry was one who switched from operating street cars to driving a bus. Then a tragic event took place in 1944. The bus that was being driven by Henry drove onto a train track in St. Louis and was struck by a train, causing the bus to burst into flames. Henry and 10 passengers all died in this crash. I discovered that a story was even written in the New York Times about this tragedy. Below is a newspaper article that told a little bit about this event. Additional deaths resulted from this crash after this article was printed.

I found other information in reports about this crash that did not agree with info in the above article. Henry did not just start driving that bus the day before. Other reports say that he was an experienced driver on that route. The bus was traveling at only 2 mph when it was crossing the track. The train was going 30 mph. It was also in the days before cross-arms that go up and down to stop vehicles from crossing in front of trains.

The death certificate for Henry is displayed here. He was 47 years old at the time of his death.

I have expanded the part of the form that gives the cause of death so that you can read it better.

Here is a photo taken of Henry Hoerath at some time in his life.

Josephine Hoerath died in 1950 at the age of 51. We can view her death certificate here.

Henry and Josephine Hoerath are buried together in the St. John Lutheran Cemetery in Beaufort, Missouri.

Both Henry and Josephine died at rather young ages. Henry was killed in a very tragic event. That event was so newsworthy that one can still find reference to it when you search the internet for it.