1846 – Gustav Bauer
Gustav Bauer was born in the town of Heilbronn on the Neckar River in Neckarkreis (Neckar County) in Königreich Württemberg (the Kingdom of Württemberg) on April 13, 1846. He was baptized on April 21st. Gustave’s name has been alternatively spelled Gustav and Gustavus. Saint Louis City Directories of the late-1800s spelled it Gustav and this was probably the spelling he preferred.
His parents were Ludwig (Louis) Bauer and Louise Schneider. A brother, Carl, was born a year later. We have no marriage or birth records for the family.
Heilbronn
The city of Heilbronn in Württemberg is a port on the Neckar River built on the site of a Roman settlement. It is a commercial and industrial center located in a noted wine-producing region. Heilbronn includes more than 1,000 acres of vineyards within its city limits.
In 741, Heilbronn was first mentioned in an official document of the Diocese of Würzburg as villa Heilbrunna together with a church called the Michaelsbasilica. The name Heilbrunna (healing well) hints to a well that is located not far from the basilica.
In 1371, Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, issued a charter to the city enabling Heilbronn to answer only to the Emperor and giving it the status of an Imperial Free City. Heilbronn’s independence was threatened by the ambitious house of Wirtemberg (later spelled Württemberg). But for over 400 years, a very close relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor kept the Württembergs at bay.
On September 9, 1802 the city of Heilbronn lost its status as Imperial Free City when the troops of the Duke of Württemberg marched into town. The Duke had lost his holdings on the left bank of the Rhine to France during the French Revolutionary Wars but had been compensated with areas on the right bank. Heilbronn became part of Württemberg in 1803, and the seat of an Oberamt (district).
The town grew rapidly amidst the changes of the Industrial Revolution. In 1820, the first train lines were placed in service in Württemberg. Heilbronn was at the end of the line of a branch that connected Heilbronn with Stuttgart. In the 1860s the train tracks were extended and by the end of the 19th century Heilbronn had become an important hub and second only to Stuttgart as one of Württemberg’s largest industrial cities.
From 1400 to 1800, the population of Heilbronn had hovered around 5,500 to 6,000 people. Then in the nineteenth century, it began to increase dramatically—to 10,700 in 1830, 24,400 in 1880, and 37,800 in 1900.
Württemberg
Württemberg was a historic region of Germany, bounded by Bavaria, Baden, and the Bodensee, or Lake of Constance, which separated the area from Switzerland. The capital was Stuttgart.
The region was originally occupied by the Celts. In the first century CE it was conquered by the Romans, in the third century it was overrun by the Alamanni, and eventually it was subdued by the Franks. The Frankish emperors organized the area as part of the duchy of Swabia and in or before the 13th century gave the title of counts of Württemberg to a local family. The counts became increasingly powerful, and in 1495 Württemberg was raised to the rank of a duchy—Herzogtum Württemberg. The area became Protestant during the 16th century and was ravaged during the Thirty Years’ War.
In 1806, after Napoleon conquered most of the Rhineland, he raised Württemberg to the status of a kingdom—Königreich Württemberg—allied to France as a satellite and part of the Confederation of the Rhine—Confédération du Rhin (in French) or Rheinbund (in German). The Confederation collapsed in 1813, after Napoleon’s defeat in the Battle of Leipzig. King Fredrick I of Württemberg then joined an Austrian alliance at the Congress of Vienna.
Württemberg allied with Austria against Prussia in 1866, during the Seven Weeks’ War, but it eventually joined the Prussian-dominated Norddeutscher Bund (North German Confederation) in 1867. In 1870, Württemberg supported Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War and in 1871, it became a member of the Deutsches Reich (German Empire).
1847 – Christina Bauer
Christina Bauer was born on July 25, 1847 in Württemberg, most likely in the city of Stuttgart. The 1920 census lists her birthplace “Stuckhardt,” Germany. Perhaps the enumerator spelled the name of the town the way he heard it. If so, it is likely that she was born in Stuttgart which lies about 24 miles south of Heilbronn.
Although Gustav Bauer and Christina Bauer both had the same surnames and both came from nearby towns in the kingdom of Württemberg, they were not closely related, at least as far as we can determine. The name Bauer was a very common one. It means “farmer.”
Christina was the daughter of Moritz Bauer and his wife Maria. Based on their ages in those census records, they were both born around 1812 or 1813.
Christina was the third of five children born to Moritz and Maria in Württemberg, most likely all in Stuttgart :
- Wisola Bauer, a girl, born in 1839
- Niclaus Bauer, born in 1844
- Christina Bauer, born on July 25, 1847
- Carl Bauer, born in 1851
- Mary Bauer, also born in 1851 (perhaps Carl’s twin)
The 1860 census lists all their birthplaces as Württemberg. But, in a confusing twist, the 1870 census says that Moritz, Niclaus, and Carl were all born in the German state of Hessen, not Württemberg.
Stuttgart
The city of Stuttgart lies about 24 miles south of Heilbronn on the Neckar River. It was the historical capital of Württemberg.
Settled in the 10th century, the community was named for a stud farm (Stutengarten) that was originally on the site. The town became a residence of the counts of Württemberg in 1320. In the late 15th century it was made the capital of Herzogtum Württemberg (the Duchy of Württemberg), and from 1806, Königreich Württemberg (the Kingdom of Württemberg). The city is a commercial, manufacturing, and transportation center situated in an area of vineyards.
1854 – Christina’s emigration
Christina immigrated to the United States at the age of seven or eight in 1854 (based on information in the 1920 census) or 1855 (based on the 1900 census) and became a naturalized citizen in 1859. The naturalization form would have shown allegiance being transferred from the King Wilhelm I of Württemberg to the United States.
Shipping records show that a Moritz Bauer arrived in the United States on September 15, 1848. We don’t know if this was Christina’s father arriving before the rest of the family or where this Moritz Bauer settled. This would have been about three years before the last two children, Carl and Mary, were born, so it may indicate a different person.
Also, a marriage record in St. Louis indicates that a Moritz Bauer married a woman named A. Mary Lang on November 30, 1854. If this is the same Moritz Bauer, he may have immigrated in 1854 as a widower with five children and remarried soon after in St. Louis. All of this is speculation.
1857 – Gustav’s emigration
Although we have no actual record of their immigration, according to census records, Ludwig and Louise Bauer, their sons Gustav and Carl, and Louise’s father, Friedrich Schneider, came to St. Louis, Missouri in 1857.
The Württemberg Germany Emigration Index shows that a Ludwig Bauer and family applied for emigration to North America in August 1857. Ludwig’s birthplace is recorded as Neuenhaus (New House), Württemberg.
1860
The first U.S. census record that we have of Gustav Bauer’s family is in 1860. His father Ludwig (or Louis) was not listed as part of the household. This means that by June 1860, Ludwig Bauer was most likely dead.
St. Louis city death records list a Louis Bauer, born in Germany, who died on August 2, 1858, and is buried in Holy Ghost Cemetery. Whether or not this was the same person is also speculative and a bit problematic, as you will soon see.
The 1860 census lists Frederik Schneider (60), a tailor, living with his daughter Louise (42) and her two children, Gustav (16) and Carl (14) in the First Ward of St. Louis. A street addresss is not listed. All were born in Württemberg. Gustav’s age is listed as 16. But if he was born in 1846, he would have really been 14 in 1860, and the subsequent census records bear that out (24 in 1870, 34 in 1880, 54 in 1900). He was employed as a storekeeper’s helper.
Louise must have been pregnant at the time, because ten years later the 1870 census lists a daughter, Sophia, age 10. However, if Sophia was Ludwig’s child, and she was born in June or July 1860, for example, she would have been conceived around September or November 1859. So Ludwig couldn’t have died any earlier than that date. That means that the Louis Bauer who died in August 1858 was another person. Also a Civil War record suggests that Ludwig (Louis) served in the Union Army.
The 1860 census lists Moriz [Moritz] Bauer (48) and his wife Mary (48) and their five children—Wisola (21), Niclaus (15), Christina (12), Mary (10) and her twin brother Carl (10). All were born in Württemberg. Moriz was employed as a brick molder, Wisola (21) was employed as a servant, and Christine (12) worked in a factory.
The census records of 1860 show that Christina and Gustav were both working at a young age. In 1860, Christina (12) was working in a factory and Gustav (14) was a storekeeper or storekeeper’s helper.
Moritz Bauer became a naturalized citizen of the United States on August 1, 1860. Within nine months, he enlisted in the U.S. army and entered service in the Civil War. Military records show that he enlisted on May 7, 1861 in St. Louis for a period of three months in the 1st United States Reserve Corps Volunteer infantry regiment of Missouri. He served in company A (as a corporal) and then in company F (as a sergeant). He was mustered out on August 20, 1861 at the St. Louis Arsenal. This regiment, like many others, only existed for the first three months of the war. As it appeared that the war would drag on, soldiers were then encouraged top re-enlist as new units were formed for the duration of the war.
Many Germans living in the United States volunteered for service in the Union Army when Abraham Lincoln issued a call for volunteers in 1861. Germans arriving after 1850 were usually ardent abolitionists and nationalists. Their political activism made them instrumental in keeping Missouri in the Union during the Civil War.
On January 1, 1861 a large crowd assembled at the St. Louis courthouse for the traditional slave sale. However, this crowd, primarily Germans, heckled the auctioneer. They created a ruckus and prevented the sale from going above $8.00, ending the auction. This was the last public slave auction held in the city of St. Louis, and German-Americans are credited for ending it.
1860 – the outbreak of the American Civil War
Scarcely a month after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina adopted an ordinance of succession. Soon other states in the Deep South followed: Mississippi on January 9, 1861, Florida on January 10, Alabama on January 11, Georgia on January 19, Louisiana on January 26, and Texas on February 1. On February 4, 1861, delegates from all these states met in Montgomery, Alabama where they drafted a constitution for the Confederate States of America.
On April 12, 1861, a Confederate army fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina demanding the surrender of the fort. This action intiated the armed conflict known as the American Civil War. Three days later, on April 15, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers for three months’ service, for few people supposed that the war would last longer than that.
The Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, immediately sent a letter to state governors, calling on them to support the Union by raising troops:
“I have the honor to request your Excellency to cause to be immediately detached from the militia of your State the quota designated in the table below, to serve as infantry or riflemen for the period of three months, unless sooner discharged.
“Your Excellency will please communicate to me the time at or about which your quota will be expected at its rendezvous, as it will be met as soon as practicable by an officer or officers to muster it into the service and pay of the United States. At the same time the oath of fidelity to the United States will be administered to every officer and man.
“The mustering officer will be instructed to receive no man under the rank of commissioned officer who is in years apparently over forty-five or under eighteen, or who is not in physical strength and vigor.”
The governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson, a supporter of the Confederacy, sent a letter of refusal to the Secretary of War.
Your dispatch of the 15th instant, making a call on Missouri for four regiments of men for immediate service, has been received. There can be, I apprehend, no doubt but these men are intended to form a part of the President’s army to make war upon the people of the seceded States. Your requisition, in my judgment, is illegal, unconstitutional, and revolutionary in its objects, inhuman and diabolical, and can not be complied with. Not one man will, of the State of Missouri, furnish or carry on such an unholy crusade.
German volunteers for the Union
Governor Jackson wanted U.S. troops out of Missouri and the St. Louis Arsenal turned over to state authority to prevent the arms stored there from being used against “sister southern states.” Most Missourians wanted the state to remain neutral in the event of a war. The governor found himself at odds with the majority of the state legislature in his southern sympathies. However, only in St. Louis was there significant support for the Union cause. Congressman Frank Blair and St. Louis’ German community began secretly enlisting Missouri volunteers to fight on behalf of the Union.
Blair advised Lincoln of the Missouri situation and obtained the authority to have the German militias armed. Lincoln also ordered a highly motivated officer, Captain Nathaniel Lyon, to travel to St. Louis from Kansas to take over command at the St. Louis Arsenal. Lyon would eventually become the hero and martyr of the Missouri Union cause. But all of Lyon’s efforts would have been hopeless without the intense support he received from Missouri German community.
Many German immigrants were veterans of the 1848 “Peasant Revolution” in a Germany that was broken up into a patchwork of monarchy-ruled states. They fought a losing war for the idea of a centralized federal government that would have radically abolished feudal domination and Kleinstaaterei (“small-statism”).
Serfdom in Europe was a form of slavery. Many immigrants could see the parallel between the Southern “slave baron” and the feudal baron that denied peasants the right to own land in their fatherland.
That is why, ever since the death of pro-immigrant Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, a Democrat, the German majority supported the “Free Soil” and later the Republican Party. Lincoln knew he could count on Missouri Germans when the time came to preserve the Union against breaking it up into “small-statism”.
An Adjutant Generals Report of Missouri State Militia for the year of 1861, published in St.Louis in 1862 provides the following information:
The President’s proclamation calling for 75,000 three-months volunteers, under which Missouri was to furnish four regiments, was issued on the 15th of April 1861. On the 22nd of the same month, the Arsenal gates were thrown open for the reception of troops. On that day some 2,000 men were mustered and in the course of a fortnight, numbering in all upwards of 4,500 men, had been raised, and the fifth regiment of infantry was about half formed.
Early in May, authority was obtained to enroll and arm the loyal citizens of St. Louis as a “Reserve Corps” the number so enrolled not to be more that sufficient to make the whole number of volunteers and Reserve Corps amount to 10,000. This limit was not strictly adhered to. On the 7th, 8th and 11th days of May, five regiments of Reserve Corps, numbering 4,774 officers and men were mustered.
A brigade morning report of the June 1st shows the strength of the whole force then under the command of General Lyon to have been as follows:
[A detailed breakdown of the various regiments follows, but of interest to us is only the First Regiment U. S. R. C. which consisted of 1,195 volunteers commanded by Colonel Henry Almstedt. Moritz Bauer enlisted on the first day the regiment was mustered.]
The whole of this force was raised in St. Louis, and it is due to our German fellow-citizens to say, that they furnished at least four-fifths of it. The whole of it was actively and usefully employed in the field and in garrison, until discharged or remustered into the three years’ service.
The First Regiment U. S. R. C. Volunteer Infantry was organized in the First Ward of St. Louis, south of Soulard street. Its Armory was Jaeger’s Garden on Sidney and Tenth streets. Its commander, Colonel Henry Almstedt (1817-1884), was a native of Germany and was one of many foreign-born St. Louisans whose prior military experience was called upon in the early days of the Civil War. He received his military training in the United States, and served as a Lieutenant in the St. Louis region in 1846. In 1847, he served with the 2nd and 12th United States Regular Infantry regiments during the Mexican War. After the start of the Civil War he was elected Colonel and commander of the 1st United States Reserve Corps regiment, who led in the capture of “Camp Jackson” in May 1861 as the units were still forming. He later took command of the 2nd Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery, a position he held until his resignation from active service.
The term “Camp Jackson” referred to an event of muster and drill by about 700 members of the Missouri Volunteer State Militia which took place in St. Louis every year. Although at least a third of the militia members were either neutral or committed to the Union, the majority were largely supporters of Govenor Claiborne Fox Jackson and the Confederate cause including a small unit known as the Minute Man Militia who rabidly supported states’ rights, slavery and secession.
In May 1861, the Missouri Militia gathered to drill at an open area known as “Lindell’s Grove,” just north of the St. Louis city limits. The event was named “Camp Jackson” in honor of Governor Jackson and his pro-Confederacy stance. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, informed Governor Jackson that he was planning to secretly ship guns and ammunition to Missouri in anticipation of the state’s succession from the Union. These arms, including artillery which was stolen from the Federal Arsenal at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were to be transported to Camp Jackson in wooden crates labeled “Tamoroa Marble.” There was some fear among supporters of the Union that during their muster, the Militia would attempt to capture the federal arsenal in St. Louis, but the number of militia at the camp was far too small to take on such a strongly defended position. This was a routine muster with no planned objective except to get these secretly obtained weapons secured for Governor Jackson’s future use.
What the governor did not know was that Captain Nathaniel Lyon, the commander of the U.S. Arsenal, had received intelligence of the secret arms being transported to Camp Jackson. In fact, it is widely acclaimed that Lyon himself surveyed the camp while disguised as a woman riding inside a carriage. Lyon decided to take preemptive action and ordered U.S. troops and the newly-formed U.S. reserve troops to march on Camp Jackson.
Lyon rallied his forces composed of ten regiments of largely German American volunteers, an artillery battery and two companies of U.S. Infantry (regular Army). This massive force, approximately 10,000 men, was set in motion to capture the 700 Missouri State forces at Camp Jackson, encamped on ground that is now occupied by St. Louis University.
The following account is from Robert J. Rombauer’s book The Union Cause in St. Louis in 1861, written in 1909:
Early morning on May 10, a horseman was seen galloping southward on the Carondelet Road to Jefferson Barracks. He took orders to the First Volunteers, which camped there, to march without delay and with forty rounds of cartridges to the Arsenal, fully eight miles distant. They started about eight o’clock, [and were met] at the Arsenal by two Companies of Regulars under Lieutenant Sweeney, and followed their Colonel, Frank P. Blair, and the commander of all the troops, Captain Nathaniel Lyon. This column moved north on Seventh street to Chouteau avenue and westward on the latter until coming in full view of Lindell Grove, they saw the Secessionists run to their cannons and rally to arms. From here this column advanced across the commons in a diagonal line, alternating the “quick step” with “double quick”, to a narrow lane west of the camp, and marched on same northward to Olive, passing Frost’s sentinels within twenty yards. A part of the First Volunteers was still in the western lane when the head of its column, marching eastward on Olive, met the Union troops coming westward from the city.
The Second Volunteers, Colonel Boernstein, started from Marine Hospital, marched on Broadway to Chouteau avenue and followed that avenue and the route taken by Lyon and Blair; the distance was near six miles. Six pieces of artillery and the Third Volunteers under Colonel Francis Sigel started from the Arsenal, marched up Broadway to Olive and out Olive to the camp, the Artillery taking position on the elevated ground at the east end, also north of the camp, commanding its entire length and threatening it thus in case of a combat, with a most destructive fire. The Fourth Volunteers, Colonel Nic Schuettner, also started from the Arsenal with the Third, but branched off on Market Street and followed that street and Laclede Avenue to the southern line near the east end of the camp. The Reserve Regiments were disposed as follows: From the First Reserve [Moritz Bauer’s regiment], Colonel Almstedt, one Battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel R. J. Rombauer, marched from Jaeger’s Garden on Tenth and Sidney, across the commons to Jefferson Avenue; thence to the east end of Camp Jackson, and took position on the left of the Artillery. From the Second Reserve, Colonel Kallmann, one Battalion under Lietenant-Colonel J.T. Fiala, marched from Soulard Market, north to Olive and west on Olive to the camp, and took position southwest of the First Reserve. The Third Reserve, Colonel John McNeil, formed at the St. Louis Turner Hall on Tenth and Walnut; marched out on Pine Street, then turned to Clark Avenue, following this to west of Jefferson Avenue and formed there the line in front of a little church and near the southeast corner of the camp. The Fourth Reserve, Colonel B. Gratz Brown, marched out on Morgan to near the northeast corner of the camp, guarded with the Third Reserve the approaches to town, forming an actual reserve force for Lyon’s command and cutting off the approach to the camp from the city.
Some of the Regulars and the completed Companies of the Fifth Volunteers, under Colonel C. E. Salomon, held the Arsenal, while one Battalion of the First Reserve, under Major Philip Brimmer, and one Battalion of the Second Reserve, under Major Julius Rapp, occupied the streets and guarded the approaches to the Arsenal, with the order to pass no one. The Fifth Reserve, Colonel Charles G. Stifel, not yet armed, but ready for muster, was assembled at headquarters, Stifel’s Brewery.
The distance which each column had to march, being known to Captain Lyon, he timed their starting to secure the simultaneous arrival in their respective positions, in order to surround the camp from all sides.
As soon as the inhabitants noticed Regiment near Regiment to press westward on parallel streets with the cadence of fate, and observed the waves of glittering bayonets roll steadily onward along the avenues and many thousand serious, determined men move like veterans toward one destination, an indescribable excitement spread among the people. The rumor of the Union host’s march towards Camp Jackson spread like wild fire through the city. The simultaneous movement on various streets bewildered the population, and set large numbers of men that belonged to the camp, as well as their friends, in motion, of whom Scharf says in the History of St. Louis: “Numbers of men seized rifles, shotguns, or whatever other weapons they could lay hands upon and rushed pell mell to the assistance of the State troops, but were of course obstructed in their designs,” still many of them gathered near the camp, while the majority of men, women and children were actuated by curiosity only, and rushed in wagons, buggies, and on horseback, most of them, however, on foot, like a living stream, ahead, on the side and behind the troops and towards Camp Jackson; not at all deterred by the certainty that in case of a conflict, even a great many spectators must lose their lives. From the pavements, from the windows, even from roofs, people gazed upon the martial array. Mothers of Union sons cast saddened looks upon their passing offsprings, while sisters and wives looked wistfully after the vanishing ranks; nor was the anguish of the families in the center of town less, creating anxiety in the older persons, and often disdain akin to hatred in the more demonstrative girls and boys, who ostentatiously withdrew from sight and slammed many a door and shutter in order to give patent expression to their sentiments.
Messages were then sent between Brigadier-General Daniel M. Frost, who commanded the state militia, and Captian Nathaniel Lyon, who commanded the Union forces. Lyon gave the militia thirty minutes to lay down their arms. The state troops immediately stacked arms and gave up peacefully. Reports state that there was no cheering among Lyon’s men. Frost’s troops were marched in between files of the First Volunteers. Other Union troops stayed at Camp Jackson to guard the captured arms and supplies.
Immediately after the surrender, Captain Nathaniel Lyon was kicked by his own horse while dismounting and was disabled for some time. While Lyon’s officers waited on the Captain, the nearby crowds grew larger and angrier by the moment. “Damn the Dutch” and “Hurrah for Jeff Davis” were shouted along with other insults. Rocks and dirt clods were thrown at Lyon’s men. Some in the crowds brandished pistols. One armed drunk tried to make his way through the troops and was pushed away. Feeling insulted, the drunkard opened fire, wounding an officer. Union troops then fired back randomly and the troops were in turn fired upon from the crowds. As many as 100 men, women, and children were wounded with 28 dead or dying. Among the dead were three Camp Jackson prisoners, and a baby in its mother’s arms. This all happened along Olive Street.
The troops with their prisoners left the area by marching down Olive street, then south to Chouteau and east to Broadway. Rowdies followed along shouting insults and obscenities. By the time the troops reached Chouteau Avenue, Union flags began appearing. As the troops progressed down South Broadway crowds gathered to cheer and shower Lyon’s forces with flowers. This was clearly a different welcome than they had received in the northern part of the city which was dominated by the Catholic Irish and southerners of varying ethnicities.
Once the St. Louis Arsenal was reached, the prisoners were guarded by the First Volunteers, and remained there until paroled.
But the shooting of civilians, soon known as the “St. Louis Massacre,” sparked several days of rioting in which U.S. troops again fired on citizens. The situation was only subdued with the installation of martial law and the arrival of Federal Regulars.
The majority of militia men at Camp Jackson, some of whom had been neutral, now became hardened against the Federal government. Many remained loyal to the Missouri state government and enlisted in the Missouri State Guard which was created by the state legislature on the day following the Camp Jackson affair. The intent was to create a force to defend the state from attacks from perceived enemies, either from the North or South, but the troops were decidedly on the side of Governor Jackson.
The Missouri State Guard later defeated the newly promoted Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861, just three months following the Camp Jackson Affair. At Wilson’s Creek, just a few miles south of Springfield, 6,000 Union soldiers met a combined army of Confederate forces and the Missouri State Guard numbering 12,000 men. Nathaniel Lyon was shot in the leg, chest and head while trying to rally his badly outnumbered forces. He died that day and was the first Union General to be killed in the Civil War.
Moritz Bauer was one of 10,000 Missouri Volunteers who joined forces to support the Union. 80% of these were either German or of German descent. Among other German-Americans who served in the U.S.R.C. Missouri Volunteers, was Adolphus Busch, a Corporal in Company E, 3rd Regiment Infantry. After the war, he became a partner in his father-in-law’s beer brewery, and eventually took over the leadership of the company, which became the world-famous Anheuser-Busch Beer Brewery in St. Louis.
In the three months following the Camp Jackson Affair, Moritz Bauer had most likely marched with General Lyon to the state capitol in Jefferson City where part of the brigade was assigned to guard railroad property. Another part of the brigade moved on to fight in the battles of Boonville, Carthage, and Wilson’s Creek. Ten days after the Wilson’s Creek defeat, the 1st Brigade U.S.R.C Volunteer Infantry was mustered out at the St. Louis Armory. It reorganized as a three-year Reserve Regiment by September 12, 1861 under Colonel Robert Julius Rombauer. I have no record of Moritz Bauer re-enlisting.
post-war St. Louis
Militarily, the Civil War barely touched St. Louis; the area saw only a few skirmishes in which Union forces prevailed. But the war shut down trade with the South, devastating the city’s economy. Missouri was nominally a slave state, but its economy did not depend on slavery, and it never seceded from the Union. The arsenal at St. Louis was used during the war to construct ironclad ships for the Union.
1870 – 1879
The 1870 census shows this picture of the Moritz Bauer family:
In 1870 Moritz (57) and Mary (57) have their two sons living at home—Nic (Niclaus) (26) and Chs (Charles/Carl) (18). Moritz is a laborer, Nic is a brick molder and Charles is a laborer.
But this census lists different birthplaces. Mary was born in Württemberg, but Moritz, Nic and Charles were recorded as born in Hesse.
Presumably, the daughters Wisola (31), Christina (22) and Mary (20) were married by this date, or working outside of the home as domestic servants.
In 1870, a Christine Bauer (age 23) was working as one of two house servants living in the home of Math. Goettler, a retired hat and cap merchant from Baden, Germany. She too was born in Württemberg. Perhaps this is the same person.
As for Gustav Bauer, the 1870 census shows this picture of the Frederich Schneider / Louisa Bauer family:In 1870, Frederich Schneider (69) was now retired. Gustav (24) and his brother Carl were working in an iron foundry, and Gustav was stil working there a decade later at age 34 (1880). According to city directories, Gustav was a molder. In 1900, at age 54, Gustav was a foreman in the foundry.
Christina Bauer married Gustavus Bauer on April 13, 1871 but two different scenarios suggest different churches and pastors performing the ceremony. One record suggests that the marriage was performed by Rev. Heinrich Braschler at Deutsche Evangelische Sanct Markus Versammlung (St. Marcus Evangelical Church) in St. Louis. Another marriage document shows the wedding being performed by Pastor John G. Eberhard who served at the Independent German Protestant Evangelical Church of The Holy Ghost in St. Louis.
More research needs to be done on this matter.
St. Marcus Church was founded in 1843 as the southern part of the Deutsche Evangelische Gemeinde—the German Evangelical Church in the Benton Park area of South St. Louis. It separated from the first German Protestant church in St. Louis called Independent German Protestant Evangelical Church of The Holy Ghost in order to serve the German community living south of downtown. In 1856, the southern branch adopted the name Deutsche Evangelische Sanct Markus Versammlung (German Evangelical St. Marcus Congregation). It was located at Third Street and Lafayette Avenue.
During the decade of the 1870s, the first four of six children were born to Christina and Gustav Bauer:
- Louisa (Louise or Lou), born January 8, 1872
- Lena, born February 22, 1873
- Sophia (Sophie), born September 8, 1874
- Frank Gustave, born March 5, 1876
Gould’s St. Louis City Directory lists Gustav Bauer as a molder residing at 910 Russell Avenue.
1880 – 1889
The 1880 census gives us this picture:
By 1880, Frederich Schneider was dead.
In 1880, Gustav’s brother Carl (Charles) (34) was living at 2207 Jackson Street with his wife, Lena (32), who worked as a washwoman. They had one child, Julia (9).
At the same time, Gustavus (34) and Christine (32) were living at 940 Russell Avenue with their first four children: Louisa (8), Lena (7), Sophia (6), and Frank G. (4).
Gustav’s mother, Louisa (Schneider) Bauer (64), was living with them and keeping house. (See photo at left.) Twenty years later, the 1900 census shows Louisa (83) still living with the family.
In the decade of the 1880s, two more daughters were born.
- Emma, born May 19, 1881
- A. Lisbeth (Bettie), born March 28, 1885
The Gould’s St. Louis City Directory for 1883 lists a Gustav Bauer as a collector for the Samuel Wainwright Company residing at 940 Russell Avenue. Samuel Wainwright was the founder of the Wainwright Brewing Company in St. Louis located in the Soulard area. I thought perhaps this was a different Gustav Bauer (there were several listed), but two years later in the 1885 edition, Gustav is listed as a molder at the same address, 940 Russell.
Gould’s St. Louis City Directory for 1889 once again lists Gustav as a molder, but now he was residing at 1010 Allen Avenue.
Gould’s 1889 directory also listed a Frank Bauer, who lived at 1813 South Broadway and worked as a clerk at the Meyer Schmid G. Company. In the same directory was a listing for the Meyer, Schmid and Robyn Grocer Company at 616 North 3rd Street. However, Frank G. Bauer would have been just 13 at the time and it is unlikely that he lived at a separate address from his parents.
1890 – 1899
The 1890 Federal Census records were destroyed in a fire in the Commerce Department in Washington, D.C. in 1921. There are no surviving fragments for Missouri. But the 1890 St. Louis City Directory records that Gustav Bauer, a molder, lived at 1004 Russell Avenue.
In Gould’s St Louis City Directory for 1893, Gustav was once again a molder, this time residing at 1010 Allen. Gustav’s mother Louisa lived at the same address, listed as a widow of Louis (Ludwig).
In 1893, Frank G. Bauer, now 17 years old, also lived at 1010 Allen and was a clerk at Hess and Meiser, a dry goods store. The company, formed by William E. Hess and Lewis J. Meiser, sold “gent’s furnishings” at 201 North 4th Street.
A similar record appeared in Gould’s St Louis City Directory for 1895 for Gustav and Frank with the same occupations and address.
1900 – 1909
In the 1900 census, Gustav and Christina Bauer (seen at left) were still living at 1010 Allen. Sophia, who was 26, and Frank, who was 24, were both living outside of the house. Lena was working as a dressmaker and Emma as a bookbinder.
In 1900, Gustav’s mother Louisa was still living with them. This is the last record I have of her life. To date, I have not located a death record, but she died sometime in this decade. In 1900, Louisa was 83.
Around 1900, Bettie Bauer began working for the Western Union Telegraph Company.
Frank Gustave Bauer (seen at right) married Catherine (maiden name unknown) sometime prior to June 1900. In the 1900 census their surname was transcribed as “Baner,” instead of Bauer. Recorded on June 2, 1900, Frank and Catherine were living at 3000 Indiana Avenue. Frank was working as a salesman at a dry goods store, perhaps Hess and Meiser. Catherine’s parents were both born in France.
On July 18, 1901, Emma Bauer married Alphonse Joseph Schuller in St. Louis.(See Alphonse Schuller and Emma Bauer.) Apparently, Alphonse was initially not well accepted by Emma’s family. He was Roman Catholic and they were not. By occupation, he was a blacksmith and farrier (horse shoer). Some of the Bauer’s evidently thought that Emma had married beneath her station. Perhaps another, and more important, issue was that Emma was six months pregnant when they were married.
On April 18, 1908, Louisa Bauer (seen at right) married Oscar Frommann in Clayton, Missouri. In 1920, his occupation was listed as a machinist in a pulley company.
Lena (seen at left) and Bettie Bauer never married. Lena worked as a seamstress and dressmaker for the Famous-Barr department store. Bettie worked as a Western Union telegraph operator. She did not miss a day of work for 37 years.
Gustav Bauer died at age 62 of cirrhosis of the liver on October 21, 1908 in St. Louis at St. Anthony’s Hospital. His residence was still 1010 Allen and his occupation on the death record was “foreman.”
Gustav was cremated at the Missouri Crematory and his remains were placed in a a marble niche in the Missouri Columbarium on Sublette Avenue in St. Louis. The niche was purchased on October 28, 1908 by Christine Bauer, 1010 Allen Street, for $35. I don’t know what kind of receptacle his ashes were originally in, but in 1932, after Christine’s death, their son Frank purchased two copper receptacles for their remains at a cost of $20.
The Missouri Crematory was built in 1888, and was the first crematory west of the Mississippi River. Nearby on the same property is the Missouri Columbarium, built in 1897. It was the fourth building of its kind in the United States.
Today, the crematory and columbarium are called Valhalla’s Hillcrest Abbey, located at 3211 Sublette Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63139. (314) 645-4305.
The Bauer family favored cremation over burial, and at least seven family members are interred in niches in the Columbarium. In marble niche 138 are receptacles containing the cremated remains of Gustav and Christine Bauer, their unmarried daughters Lena and Bettie, and their son Frank. The ashes of Oscar Frommann are in niche 422B. His wife Louise is in niche 313.
1910 – 1919
In 1910, Christina (62) was living at 1010 Allen with her daughters Lena (37), Sophie (35) and Bettie (25). Lena was a dressmaker in a department store, Sophie was a “feeder” in a book bindery, and Bettie was an operator at a “telephone company”. (This was an error. Western Union remained a telegraph company and not a phone company until it stopped telegraph service in 2006.)
In 1910, Frank and Catherine Bauer were living at 2010 Wyoming Street. He was the propriator of a business. Later in life, Frank later worked as a clerk in the St. Louis City Hall.
In 1910, Emma (28) and Alphonse (33) Schuller were living at 4609 Easton Avenue in north St. Louis with their three children: Alice (8), Elmer (6) and Kenneth (7 months). Alphonse’s occupation was “horseshoer.” His father, Michael Schuller was a carriage maker and a blacksmith. As the eldest son, Alphonse became a blacksmith as well. Eventually, as automobiles replaced horses, he transferred his skills into auto bodywork.
In September 1918, on his World War I draft registration card, Alphonse Schuller’s business was listed as Schuller Auto Repair Company, 4543 Delmar Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri. His residence was 1343 Walton Avenue.
1920 – 1929
By 1920, Christina (72) was the head of the household. She was living in a two-family flat at 3424 Winnebago with her daughters Lena (46), Sophie (45), and Betty (34). The census record says that both Christine and her husband came from “Stuckhardt” Germany.
Lena was employed as a seamstress at a department store (most likely Famous-Barr in downtown St. Louis). Sophie was working as a folder in a book bindery. Betty was was correctly listed as an operator for a telegraph company.
In the upper flat, at 3424A Winnebago, Christina’s daughter Louisa (48) was living with her husband Oscar Frommann (48). Oscar was a machinist at a pulley company.
The 1920 census record of Frank Bauer is on a page where the enumerator apparently went back at a later time and recorded people he missed. Frank Bauer was also living at 3424 Winnebago and his relationship was “brother-in-law” to the head of the household. Perhaps he was living with Oscar and Louise Frommann at the time. Frank’s occupation was a bookkeeper for a railway. I have no record of Frank’s wife Catherine after 1910. I am assuming she died sometime between 1910 and 1920, but I have found no death record.
In 1923, Sophie Bauer married Louis Emil Kaltwasser, Jr. in St. Louis. On his World War I draft registration in September 1918, Louis was working as a bookkeeper at the Kaltwasser Carpet Company, 4349 South Broadway in St. Louis.
In 1925, Christine Bauer and three of her children—Frank, Lena and Betty—built a two-family flat at 4928 Loughborough. The 1930 census put the value of the home at $15,000.
In an 1868 map of the area, the original property was the site of the Rudolph Möllenhoff (or Moellenhoff) farm. It ran east to west, facing Gravois Road, which was then a dirt and gravel road. Rudolph Moellenhoff is listed in an 1890 St. Louis City Directory with an address at 6901 Gravois Road and an occupation as a gardener. Many of his neighbors were similarly either farmers or gardeners.
Interestingly, just south of Moellenhoff’s property was the Rudolph Stuckmeyer farm at 7039 Gravois. (Notice that the name is Stuckmeyer, not Struckmeyer) Today, the descendents of that family operate the Stuckmeyer Farm and Nursery at 249 Schneider Drive in Fenton, Missouri.
Before 1910, when this area was mostly farmland, the community was known as Gardenville, acquiring its name from the many vegetable garden farms which were then on the southern fringe of the city. The area was a part of Carondolet Township which stretched west from the Carondolet village border at Morgan Ford Road.
Rudolph Möllenhof was born in Hannover, Germany in December 1823. He came to the United States in 1842 at the age of 19 and married Catherine Elise Stackemeyer [most likely Stuckemeyer or Stuckmeyer] on August 11, 1848 in St. Louis. The 1850 census shows Rudolph (26) and Catherine (23) living in Carondolet Township with Diedrich Moellenhoff (60), most likely Rudolph’s father, and Mary Stuckmeyer (18), most likely Catherine’s sister.
Rudolph Möllenhoff’s wife, Catherine Elise Stuckmeyer (born about 1833) may have been a sister of his neighbor Rudolph Stuckmeyer. In 1854, Rudolph Stuckmeyer (born about 1833) married Catherine Regina Möllenhoff (born about 1833), who likewise may have been a sister of Rudolph Möllenhoff, who also came from Hannover, Germany.
And just south of the Stuckmeyer property, several farms had been converted in 1862 to a cemetery owned by the Independent German Protestant Evangelical Church of The Holy Ghost. It was initially called the Independent Evangelical Protestant Cemetery, but like an older cemetery that the congregation owned, it was soon named after their former pastor, Frederick Picker, who served the congregation from 1843 to 1855. To differentiate it from the older cemetery, the property on Gravois became known as the New Picker Cemetery. Today, it is known as Gatewood Gardens. When they died, both Rudolph Moellenhoff and Rudolph Stuckmeyer were buried in the New Picker Cemetery.
The brick 1867 farm house owned by the Moellenhoff family still stands at 4966 Loughborough. The house is oriented differently than other homes on the block, facing east instead of north, although a northern entrance and porch were later added, probably after 1924.
Rudolph Moellenhoff’s first wife Catherine died sometime around 1860. He remarried in 1861 to Elisabeth (Elisa or Elizza) Charlotte Windmüller.
In the 1900 census, Rudolph and Elisa Moellenhoff were living at 6901 Gravois with their son Herman, his wife and their three children. Also in the house were three farm laborers and two domestic servants. A little farther south on the property, at 6961 Gravois was the home of another son, William Moellenhoff, his wife and four children, and a resident farm laborer.
Rudolph Moellenhoff died at his home on May 26, 1904 at age 80. As housing developments began to creep in from the north, his wife sold the southern portion of his property to developers around 1905.
The first development of his property was the McDermott and Hayden Hildesheim Subdivision which created Nagel, Blow, and Quincy Streets in 1906. At the same time the north-south oriented Moellenhoff and Brunswick (now January) streets were also created. The Moellenhoff family retained the narrow strip of property along what would eventually become an extension of Loughborough Avenue.
The street names in the new Hildesheim subdivision were non-contiguous extensions of streets in the old Carondelet neighborhood near the Mississippi river. Running south of Loughborough in Carondolet are Quincy, Blow, Nagel, Robert and Upton.
Around 1910, Loughborough Avenue ran west from Carondolet and ended at Gravois Road. The Moellenhoff farm lay on the other side. In a 1911 map, a westward extension of Loughborough is shown only in a dashed line as a proposed street. When it was finally created, sometime before 1915, the street took a jog at Gravois moving further to the north so that the new street would bypass the Moellenhoff house. By 1915, the north side of Loughborough Avenue was becoming developed, but the south side of the street would wait for nearly another decade before being subdivided.
In 1924, upon the death of Elisabeth Moellenhoff, the rest of the Moellenhoff property was developed as the Gravois Loughborough Place subdivision. The Bauer’s home was built there in 1925.
In 1935, the Stuckmeyer family sold their farm to developers and bought property on Pardee Road by Grant’s Farm further south on Gravois. Robert Street and Sunshine Drive (originally Upton Street) are now situated on the former Stuckmeyer farm.
Today, the house at 4928 Loughborough is in the Princeton Heights neighborhood of St. Louis. Roughly triangular in shape, the neighborhood is bounded by Hampton Boulevard on the west, Eichelberger on the north, Christy Boulevard on the northeast, and Gravois on the east and south. Princeton Heights got its name from the Princeton Creamery which was located on Kingshighway Boulevard just north of Gravois. The “heights” comes from the fact that the land in the area is elevated high above the River Des Peres which lies south of the neighborhood’s boundaries.
1930 – 1939
By 1930, the Bauer household were living in the newly built two-family flat at 4928 Loughborough. Louise (58) and Oscar (58) Frommann lived upstairs, and Christina (83), Frank (53), Lena (56), and Bettie (43) lived downstairs. The census record lists Frank as the head of the household. The Frommann’s paid $50 a month rent.
In 1930, Sophie (48) and Louis (48) Kaltwasser, Jr. were renting a flat at 4314 Oregon Avenue for $30 a month. Louis was working as a bookkeeper for a carpet company (the Kaltwasser Carpet Company on South Broadway). Louis’ father, Louis Kaltwasser, Sr., lived two doors away at a two-family flat which he owned at 4305 Oregon with a daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. The other flat was rented by his son, Karl Kaltwasser and his family.
At some point in his life, Frank Bauer had become a member of a Masonic Lodge and at least two of his five sisters were members of the Eastern Star.
At his death, Frank’s obituary said that he was a past master of Cosmos Lodge No. 282 of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons (A.F.&A.M.), and a member of the Royal Arcaneum Hickory Council No. 766.
The obituaries for Bettie and Lena Bauer show that they were members of Anchor Chapter No. 54 of the Order of the Eastern Star (O.E.S.).
On November 18, 1932, Christina Bauer died at age 85. She was cremated at the Missouri Crematory and her ashes placed alongside her husband Gustav in niche 138 at the Missouri Columbarium. On December 13, 1932, her son Frank purchased two copper receptacles from the Missouri Crematory for $10 each for the remains of Gustav and Christine.
On May 26, 1936, Sophia (Bauer) Kaltwasser died at age 62. She committed suicide by hanging herself in a closet at her home at 4319A oregon Avenue. Her body was cremated on May 29th and her ashes placed in a copper urn. I don’t have a record of where her remains were placed, but they may also be in niche 138.
On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, Betty Lee Sagner and LeRoy Struckmeyer met for the first time at the Bauer home at 4928 Loughborough Avenue. (See LeRoy Struckmeyer and Betty Sagner.)
On holidays, Betty’s family, along with her grandparents Alphonse and Emma Schuller, would travel from North St. Louis to celebrate with the Bauers.
Betty Lee had been named for her two aunts Bettie Bauer and Lena Bauer. As a young child, she had often called her great-grandmother Christina Bauer “Grandma Flower.”
Betty was working at an advertising design studio where she became friends with Joella Danes. Joella was dating John Zimmermann, who was a good friend of Lee Struckmeyer. Joella and John set up a blind date for Betty and Lee that Sunday. The Bauer home was chosen as a place to meet because Lee lived just 11 blocks away at his parents’ home at 5616 South Kingshighway. They spent Easter afternoon at the Hillcrest Country Club on Tesson Ferry Road.
It is interesting to note that on this same day, Easter Sunday of 1939, that a significant moment in the civil rights movement occurred. The great contralto Marian Anderson had been barred from performing at Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest and supported the NAACP as it organized an Easter Sunday concert on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. More than 75,000 Americans turned out, one of the largest crowds ever to gather on the Mall at that time.
On December 2, 1939, Bettie Bauer died at 6 PM at Missouri Baptist Hospital. She was 54 years old. Her obituary says that she had been ill for the previous fourteen months. Prior to that, she had not missed a working day in her 37 years of employment with the Western Union Telegraph Company. She was cremated on December 5th. Her remains are in a copper urn in niche 138 of the Missouri Columbarium.
1940 – 1949
Oscar Frommann died on February 4, 1941. The funeral was handled by John L. Ziegenhein & Sons at 7027 Gravois Avenue. The total cost of the funeral “unit” was $341. This included the cremation fee ($50), the cost of an extra limousine ($12), and notices in the Globe Democrat ($3.40) and the Post Dispatch ($3.40). Oscar’s body was cremated at the Missouri Crematory and his ashes placed in a bronze urn purchased by his wife Louise on February 7th for $10.
After Oscar’s death, Louise (Bauer) Frommann moved into the downstairs flat with her sister Lena and brother Frank and the upstairs flat was rented.
Louise Frommann was a Christian Scientist. The Church of Christ, Scientist is a religious philosophy based on the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy as laid out in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, first published in 1875.
Christian Science does not rely on conventional medicine but holds that illness—and eventually even death itself—can be healed through prayer and growing closer to God. This belief extends to the possibility of healing any kind of disharmony, not just illness. Christian Scientists see sin, disease, and death as illusions resulting from a false sense of separation from God. They believe that healing is accomplished when one’s understanding of God grows. This may include a better understanding of one’s perfection as the image and likeness of God.
One of the tenets of Christian Scientists is that God is divine Love. On the living room wall of the lower flat on Loughborough Avenue hung a sign which read simply “God is love.”
On December 3, 1942, LeRoy Struckmeyer and Betty Sagner were married.
1950 – 1959
In 1954, Lee and Betty Struckmeyer moved to the upper flat at 4928A Loughborough with their children Kurt and Karen. (They would live there for nearly 57 years.) Lena, Louise, and Frank Bauer lived downstairs in the first-floor flat.
Soon, Lee and Betty purchased the house from Lena Bauer and Louise Frommann.
Frank Bauer died on November 24, 1954 and was cremated three days later. His remains are in a bronze receptacle in niche 138 of the Missouri Columbarium.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1954, the Columbarium records show that Oscar Frommann’s remains were removed from the Columbarium and taken to 4928 A Loughborough. His wife Louise must have kept the remains at her home until her death in 1965.
Lena Bauer died at home on December 29, 1956. She was cremated on December 31st at the Missouri Crematory. Her remains are in a bronze receptacle in niche 138 of the Missouri Columbarium.
Sophia Bauer’s husband Louis Kaltwasser died in Arnold, Missouri on June 30, 1959.
1960 – 1969
Louise (Bauer) Frommann died in July 1965 and was cremated on July 23, 1965. Her remains were placed in a receptacle in niche 313.
1970 – 1972
Emma (Bauer) Schuller died in February 1972 at age 90. She is buried in Laurel Hills Cemetery. 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63133. The cemetary is located south of St. Charles Rock Road in Pagedale. The Schuller gravesite is on lot 263 in an area west of Pennsylvania Avenue called the Garden of Prayer.