The 14 Mosblechs

Recently, I was searching for information about my Great Uncle Francis’ marriage to my Great Aunt Rosemary Kalt.  What I discovered was an unexpected genealogy treasure, a picture in the July 5 edition of the St. Louis Star-Times of my great grandparents and 12 of the 14 Mosblech children.

I had never seen a picture of my great grandparents, Eduard and Magdalena Mosblech.  In this photo, Eduard is 49 and Magdalena is 48.  They were married in 1907 and had 14 children between 1907 and 1929.  12 of the 14 children were in this picture.

The oldest daughter Margaret did not live at home, so she was not in the picture.  Both she and Aunt Agnes would be married in 1936.  The other missing child was little Loretta, who died at only 4 years of age in 1930.  She was confined to the Isolation Hospital, where she was being treated for diptheria.  The dread disease took her life.

At the time of the picture, the 12 children still lived at home with their parents at 2324 Texas Avenue.  2324 Texas Avenue is a two-story brick home two blocks from St. Frances De Sales Church, the Catholic Church they attended since childhood.  2324 Texas was about three blocks from their first home on Sidney Street, which was sold to allow a bank to be built at the corner of Gravois Avenue and Sidney Street.

My grandmother Alvina was 18 not 19 as it said in the newspaper.  She is sixth from the left.  She married my grandfather Gilbert Ellis four years later in 1938.

If not for such a large family, the local newspaper would not have been interested in them.  I would not have this picture nor would I know what my great grandparents looked like.   Finding this picture was hitting the genealogy lottery.

What precious family heirlooms do you have?  How do they make you feel?  You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.

 

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