Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Genealogy posts about the Deweese, Diaz, Ellis, Mosblech, and Zimmerman families.
My great grandfather Parker L. Zimmerman married three times. After a couple of months marriage to Victoria Harris during 1897 in Franklin County, Missouri, Parker moved to Bollinger County, Missouri to be closer to his family. His parents, Samuel and Sarah Zimmerman, lived in Dongola, Bollinger, Missouri. On March 31, 1902, 27-year-old Parker married his second wife, 22-year-old Mellie Bollinger.
On February 23, 1946, my great uncle Francis Mosblech married Rosemary Kalt at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. The 23-year old Francis had recently returned from service in the U.S. Army during World War II. Aunt Rosemary was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Kalt. Father Clarence Winkler officiated the ceremony. The March 3, 1946 edition of
At one point before I bought my own house, I thought home repairs were one of my skills. I helped my grandfather, Gilbert Ellis, make repairs to our house and the flat he lived in. Grandpa Ellis taught me how to replace electrical outlets, washers on sinks and build lots of things with wood. I put together lots of prefabricated
Growing up I heard lots of stories about my Great Grandmother Caroline “Lee” Ellis from my mother. She spent lots of time with her grandmother who lived in St. Louis. Grandpa Ellis moved to Illinois a couple of times during the 1940s and 1950s. Mom would come back to St. Louis frequently to see Great Grandma Ellis. Grandma and Grandpa
My second great-grandfather August H. Elker was born in Hanover, Germany on May 22, 1848 in the year of revolutions in Europe. Whether related to the revolutions or not, August’s family travelled to America in 1854. After landing in New York City, the Elker family made its way to St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis had a large German Catholic community, which
My grandfather’s first cousin, Julius W. “Joe” Johannpeter, was one of St. Louis’ airplane pioneers. Julius, who was known in the family as “Punks”, joined the Air National Guard in the mid-1920s. He would be commissioned as a Lieutenant. Julius flew planes for both the military and civilian air corps. Most of the men in his unit, which included Charles
Frederick William Johannpeter (1839 – 1915) was my second great grandfather on my mother’s side. He died 4 months before the birth of his grandson, Gilbert P. Ellis, who was my grandfather. Since he died before my grandfather was born, I had very limited information on him, when I started researching the family history. Grandpa didn’t have any verbal history
Rosa or Rose Elker was born in St. Louis on February 5, 1890. Aunt Rose was my great-grandmother, Magdalena Elker’s, youngest sister. On Saturday, September 22, 1906, the 16-year-old Rose was walking to her job at the Plows Candy Factory in St. Louis. Aunt Rose was walking about 8 am in the morning, when she started to cross the 18th
1909 was probably the worst year of Parker Lonzo Bator Zimmerman’s life. He lost both his ten month old daughter Ida May Zimmerman and his second wife Mellie Bollinger Zimmerman. Before Parker’s death in the Cape Giraurdeau Tornado of 1949, he would bury two more of his children. Both of them were adults. I can only imagine how hard 1909
On November 1908, three bishops and an abbot dedicated St. Francis de Sales Church, “the Cathedral of South St. Louis”. Built to serve the growing German Catholic population in St. Louis, the huge church would become the home to many families including my great grandparents, Eduard and Magdalena Mosblech, and their 14 children. The St. Louis Archdiocese dedicated the church