our paternal grandfather      

  Half-sister, Bertha Thoma, (-2G) died in Altenschwand on 17 May 1875
  His parents and half-brother Leo Thoma (-2G) immigrated to the U.S. on 4 Oct. 1880?
  His half-siblings Otto, Kunigunde and Rosina applied for emigration from Baden on 12 Feb. 1881
  His mother died after 1881
  Immigrated to the U.S. on 30/31 Dec. 1892 at Philadelphia

  Married to Adeline Winge* (-2G), 20 Dec.1904 at St. Louis County, MO
  Son Emil Otto Thoma* (-1G) born 11 December 1906 at St. Louis, MO
  His father, Fridolin Thoma (-3G), died ca. 05 Oct. 1910 in the St. Louis area
  Son Albert Theodore Thoma (-1G) born 20 February 1912 at St. Louis, MO
  Daughter Alberta P. Thoma (-1G) born 20 February 1912 at St. Louis, MO
  Citizen declaration in1908 and naturalized on 20 Apr. 1912 along with his wife, in St. Louis
  His half-brother Otto Thoma (-2G) died in St. Louis ca. 31 May 1930
  His half-brother Leo Thoma (-2G) died in Kansas City in 1939
  Died 11 December 1948 at St. Louis, MO

  The surname "Thoma"
  The given name "Emil"
  Listed on the St. Louis page
  Listed on the Altenschwand page
  Listed on the Grafenhausen page
  Included on the Thoma Families Chart
  Listen on the Antwerp page and the Philadelphia page

*marks direct-line ancestors. The (-2G), etc. after the names indicates the number of generations before Erven Thoma.

His birth record shows no middle names. He was probably named after his mother Emilie, but there was previous use of the name Emil and Emil Thoma in Baden.

His parents were married at the catholic church of Grafenhausen in the area of Bonndorf in Waldshut county of Baden on 5 Feb. 1874.  These small towns are located in the southern part of Baden, south of the Black Forest, near the Rhine River and the border with Switzerland.  His father, Fridolin Thoma, was an innkeeper in Altenschwand at the "Hirschen" Inn, a small town in the same Waldshut county of Baden.  His mother, Emilie Jaeger* (-3G), was from Grafenhausen. Emil had half-siblings from his father's first marriage (to Rosa Schmid (-3G)). They were Otto Thoma (-2G) (b. 23 July 1864), Leo Thoma (-2G) (b. 3 Apr. 1866), Kunigunde Thoma (-2G) (b. 21 Feb. 1868), Bertha Thoma (-2G) (b. 17 Nov. 1869), and Rosina Thoma (-2G) (b. 10 Apr. 1871). They lived in Altenschwand where Emil was also born.

Here is a picture of the Hirschen Inn (Gasthof) in Altenschwand (as it appeares in August 2004). Emil and his siblings were born there; his parents were the owners.
Here is another view (dining rooms, inside) of the Hirschen (Stag) Inn in Altenschwand (as they appeared in 2001).
On the left is an old picture of the church in Rickenbach where Emil was probably baptized. On the right side of the card is a picture of the rectory.
Here is how the church looks now--not much different on the outside.

Half-sister, Bertha Thoma, (-2G) died in Altenschwand on 17 May 1875

His half-siblings and parents emigrated to the U.S. in 1880 and 1881 according to the German church records. There are listings in the St. Louis City Directory for Fridolin (in 1886), for Leo (1886, 1888, 1890-92), Otto (1883-86, 1890-92). His half-sister Rosina returned to Baden to marry in Feb. 1896.

Here is a picture of the school house in Altenschwand (as it appeared in 1902?) where Emil went to elementary school from about 1880 to whenever he graduated or moved to Grafenhausen. Part of the building was also used for the city hall.
Here is a picture of the same school house as it appears today (in summer of 2004). The building is owned by the Altenschwand community and the upstairs is rented out for living space. There is also an attic that has a large storage area. The building is no longer used as a city hall.

Nothing else is known of his life between his birth and his immigration. I wonder with whom he lived between the ages of ca. 6 and 18 years old. According to the Baden Emigration Index he emigrated from Grafenhausen, so he may have been living with relatives of his mother who was from that town. However, he may not have seen his mother after the age of 6 since I have no evidence of her living after 1880. He did not see his father between ca. 1881 and ca. 1894 because the father had emigrated in 1881 and the earliest date for him in St. Louis is 1895.

Emil emigrated from Grafenhausen, Baden in 1892 according to the Baden Emigration Index (1866-1911). Perhaps he, his mother and half-sisters had moved there after the emigration of the father in 1881. Emil immigrated to the U.S. in 1894 according to the Missouri Census of 1900 (district 154, sheet 10, line 57). My father said that his father (above Emil) left Baden to escape the military and the war situation. My Father also said that his dad (subject of this page) arrived in New York and first visited someone in Utica, NY before coming to St. Louis. Actually, he was living in Grafenhausen, traveled to Antwerp, boarded the ship "Switzerland" (American Lines) which set sail on 14 (or 16) Dec. 1892 and arrived in Philadelphia on 30 Dec. 1892 (microfilm F158.25 .P45 1883, reel 17) (Philadelphia, PA Passenger Lists 1883-1920, vol. Y-1). Of course, he may very well have traveled to New York and visited relatives or friends there but his ultimate destination was the home of his half-brother, Otto, as designated on the passenger list where Otto's address is given (2817 Wyoming). Curiously, Emil said that he was going to live with his father at that address, perhaps because of his young age. Perhaps his father was living with Otto and Otto's family at that time.

There is a Soundex index (code T500) in the "Index to Passenger Lists, Phidelphia, PA 1883-1948" (microfilm CS 68.1545, 1980, reel 54). One Soudex card (Y1, 287, 65, 3) shows Emil arriving on the 30 Dec. 1892, emigrating from Grafenhausen, with the destination of St. Louis and the occupation of carpenter. Another Soundex index card (Y3, 182) says he was 18, is a laborer, and has only $7 to his name when arriving on the Switzerland ship in Philadelphia. This same card gives his father's name as Fred, living at 2817 Wyoming St. in St. Louis, Kentucky [sic!]. One actual passenger list shows that Emil was 20 years old when he immigrated, arriving in Philadelphia aboard the ship "Switzerland" on 31 Dec. 1892 from Antwerp. The chronological list of ship arrivals at the front of reel 17 shows the "Switzerland" arriving on the 30th (pp. 285-288). The cover of the title page of the captain's report shows the 30th also.

The 1895 St. Louis City Directory lists Emil Thoma, carpenter, living at 1621 S. 2nd St. It is the first time we see him listed, though perhaps he was living in St. Louis as early as 1893. Curiously, we also see a Fridolin Thoma, pedlar, in the 1895 Directory, living at the same address on 2nd. Fridolin is the name of Emil's father. Emil is found in the 1896 Directory as a carpenter and the 1897 and 1898 Directories as a cabinet maker, living at 2817 Wyoming. The 1896 Dir. does list Fredolin Thoma living at the rear of 749 S. 3rd, which is the same address as that of Leo Thoma, varnisher. Emil is not in the 1899 St. Louis Directory.

Here is a picture of the house at 2817 Wyoming Ave. in St. Louis where Emil lived from about or before 1896 to 1904. The house still stands today but is in very bad condition. There is no date on this picture.

In or before the recording of the 1895 Directory, until his marriage, he was living with his father or the family of his half-brother, Otto Thoma, the weiss beer brewer of St. Louis, whose address was 2817 Wyoming St. or with his other half brother, Leo.  Perhaps Emil was living there for several years before 1900 because the same address is listed in the 1892 passenger lists for his destination. Family members said that Emil and Otto (and Otto's brother Leo) were half brothers. That is proven by the Altenschwand family records.

He is included in the 8 June 1900 Fed. Census for St. Louis (enum. dist. 154, ward 10, supervisor's dist. 11, sheet 10) listed in the household of his half-brother, Otto Thoma. Emil is 26 years old and was born in Oct. of 1873 [sic!] . He and his parents were born in Germany. His occupation was cabinet maker. According to this Census he immigrated in 1894 and has been in the U.S. for 6 years [sic!, see above]. The head of the household is Otto Thoma, 35 years old, born in July 1864 in Germany. Also in the household are the wife of Otto and their three children. (see the page for Otto for more details).

He is in the 1900 city directory, but not in the one for 1901. The 1902 and 1903 Dir. lists Emil Thoma, cabinet maker, living at 2817 Wyoming. The Gould's St. Louis City Directory of 1904 gives the address of Emil as 2817 Wyoming in St. Louis which is the same as his half-brother, Otto. His occupation is given as cabinet maker.

His marriage application of 20 Dec. 1904 gives his age as 30. At the time he was living at 2817 Wyoming St. in St. Louis which was the home of his half brother Otto. (Application and License No. 116409). Adeline was 27 years old. A family story relates that Adeline and Emil were married while seated in a car on the large Ferris wheel at the 1904 World's Fair. However, I cannot say that the World's Fair was still in operation in December although they might have kept the Ferris wheel in operation beyond the official closing of the Fair. However in December it might have been rather cold to sit in a Ferris wheel car for very long, even at the bottom of the circle. They were married by a Justice of the Peace. After his marriage he and his family lived on Compton St., then at 4401a Virginia Ave. and 4657 Idaho Ave., all in St. Louis, MO. 

The giant ferris wheel at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Each car could hold 60 people.

The 1905 St. Louis Dir. has Emil Thoma, cabinet maker, living at 2817 Wyoming.

He did not have full siblings; no one in the family mentioned any and I have not found any in the German records.  According to his son's delayed birth certificate (filed Jul. 3, 1961), he was 33 years old at the time of his son Emil's (Emil Otto) birth. Since his son, Emil, was born 11 Dec. 1906, 33 years to the past would be 1873. His marriage application gives his age at 30 which places his birth in 1874.  The death certificate gives his birth date as 31 Oct. 1874.  Another source gives 27 Oct. 1874 as his birth date. The birth record in Altenschwand gives the 29th of Oct. 1974.

At the time of his first son's birth (11 Dec. 1906) the family was living at Nebraska and Meramec Sts. in St. Louis. He is not listed in the 1906 or 1907 St. Louis Dir. The 1908 Dir. lists Emil H. Thoma, cabinet maker, living at 2856a Meramec. The 1909 Dir. lists him as Emil E. Thoma, cabinet maker, living at 3125 Meramec.

He filed the Declaration of Intention papers in Circuit Court (Missouri, Eastern Division) (#1314, page 114, vol. 8, LDS film #1750540, SLCL film 87, item 5). I do not know the date except that it was in the first quarter of 1908. His citizenship papers were filed in 1900 according to the 1920 Census.

Here is a picture of the building at 3125 Meramec St. in St. Louis across from St. Anthony R. C. Church. This is where the family of Emil and Adeline Thoma lived ca. 1906-13. This picture was taken in early Jan. 2003 so I do not know how it compares to decades earlier.

His listing has not yet been found in the 1910 Census for Missouri. The 1910 St. Louis City Directory lists Emil E. Thoma, cabinet maker, living at 3125 Meramec.

In the lot (block 7, lot 41) owned by Otto Thoma (-2G) in New St. Marcus Cemetery in St. Louis County, we find the grave of a Friedolin Thoma. He died on 05 Oct. 1910 at the age of 80 and was interred on 08 Oct. This would put his birth in the year 1830, which agrees with the German records for Emil's father. The Rickenbach church records indicate that Fridolin Thoma died in 1888, but I can prove that that is another, related person with the same name.

At the time his twins were born (20 Feb. 1912) the family was living at Michigan and Meramec Sts. in St. Louis. Emil and his wife were naturalized in St. Louis on 20 Apr. 1912.

The 1913 St. Louis Directory has two listings for Emil Thoma, cabmkr; one showing him living at 3125 Meramec and the other living at 4403a Virginia Ave. This Meramec listing gives the middle initial of "E." Apparently he moved during the year 1913 and got listed twice by the canvasers. The Directory of 1915 lists Emil, cabinetmaker, living at 440_a Virginia Ave. We can assume that his wife and three children are also there.

This is a picture of the buildings at 4401 and 4403 Virginia (at Osceola) in St. Louis, probably taken before 1919. The Thoma's lived upstairs, most likely above the bakery which was owned by Adeline's sister Hedwig and her husband Severin. Another sister, Emma, and her husband Fred Marty had the saloon at the corner. Click to enlarge.
Here are the buildings at 4401 and 4403 Virginia Ave where a few of the Winge relatives lived and operated stores. Although the picture was taken at the beginning of 2002, the buildings look very much like they did decades ago. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.
This is an unidentified picture of Emil, his wife Adeline and three children. It and the following picture were taken ca. 1915-16 and thus would be the earliest pictures of Emil. Click to enlarge.
Here is another picture from the same time as the one just above. It also was most likely taken in St. Louis. The names are identified on the back of the picture. Appreciation is extended to Thomas Rezsonya, a second cousin, for the digital copy of this picture. Click thumbnail to enlarge.

The 1916 and 1917 St. Louis Directories show Emil Thoma, cabmkr (cabinetmaker), living at 4657 Idaho Ave. In 1917-18 his children were attending Neosha Elementary School in temporary facilities (waiting for Scruggs School to be built).

He registered for the World War I draft on 12 Sep. 1918 (order #5738, serial #4442, draft board 13, roll 1683751). His birth date is given as 01 Nov. 1874. He was a cabinet maker at Washington Fix Co. at 711 N. 7th St. He is living at 4657 Idaho Ave. in St. Louis; his wife Adeline, is at the same address. He is 42 years old, of medium height and build, and has blue eyes and black hair. However, he never served in the military service because at the time of WWI he was married and had three children.

The 1918 Directory shows Emil Thoma, cabtmkr, living at 4657 Idaho Ave.

The 1920 Fed. Census for Missouri (vol. 98, district 250, sheet 5, line 42) shows him and his family living at 4657 Idaho Ave. in St. Louis, MO. He is 44 years old, born in 1874 (which does not calculate correctly) in Germany. His occupation is given as cabinet maker for a refrigerating company. His immigration is given as 1894 (but the Baden Emigration records and ship records give 1892). His citizenship papers were filed in 1900. His wife Adeline is 42 years old (which does not agree with other sources) born in Germany, citizenship papers filed. Living there are their children: Emil (13, Missouri) and the twins Albert and Alberta  (8, Missouri).

This seems to be a picture of Emil Thoma and his wife Adeline Winge. Can't think of anyone else it could be! Don't know the date or place but it is certainly fairly early--second or third decade of 1900's?

In 1920-21 his children were attending Scruggs Elementary School on South Grand in St. Louis (the same school I attended many years later).

In the 1922 St. Louis City Directory Emil is listed as a cabinet maker living at 4624 Virginia Ave. She and her family probably moved to 3210 Osceola St. between 1922 and 1925.

The St. Louis City Directory of 1925 shows Emil Thoma, cabtmkr, living at 3210 Osceola. The Directory of 1926 lists Emil as a cabinetmaker, living at 3210 Osceola. Also listed as living there are his sons, Emil Otto, a carpenter. Since his other children are only 13 or 14 at tis time, we can assume they are living there too. We can also assume that Emil's wife Adeline is also there. The 1927 Directory has Emil Thoma living at 3210 Osceola (no occupation).

The 1930 Fed. Census for Missouri (T626_1233, enum. dist. 432, supv. dist. 9, page 17B, lines 69-73, house #253, family #389) shows Emil and his family at 3210 Osceola St. in St. Louis (city) (ward 11, block 2699). Emil, is 54 years old, born in Germany, parents also born in Germany. He immigrated in 1893 [actually the last days of 1892] and has the naturalization status of "Na". German was his native tongue. His occupation is listed as cabinet maker at a fixture co. but he is not presently working. He is not in school but can read, write, and speak English. He was married at age 30. He was not a war veteran. He and his wife are renting at $30 per month and own a radio set. Emil's wife, Adeline, is 53 years old, born in Germany, her parents also born in Germany. 1881 was given as her year of immigration [really 1880] and her naturalization status as "Na". German was her native tongue. She can read, write, and speak English, but is not in school. No occupation is given for her. Emil (Otto), is 23, born in Missouri, his parents born in Germany. He is single, is not in school, but reads, writes, and speaks English. His occupation is carpenter in the house trade and he is presently employed. The other children, Albert and Alberta, are both 18, born in Missouri, their parents born in Germany. They are not in school but read, write and speak English. The twins have no occupation and are both single.

His half-brother, Otto, died ca. 31 May 1930 in the St. Louis area and was buried in New Marcus Cemetery in south St. Louis County.

The St. Louis City Directory of 1930 lists Emil as a cabinetmaker living at 3110 Osceola. We can assume that all of his family is there too. The son Emil Otto has a separate listing there as a carpenter. The 1931 Directory shows them at 3210 Osceola. Did they move down the same street or is there a mistake? Albert is listed separately as a plasterer and Alberta as a clerk. The 1932 Directory also shows the family at 3210 Osceola. Albert is listed separately as a plasterer and Alberta as an indry. worker. Emil O. (my father) is also listed separately.

This is a picture which is identified as "Erven with Grandparents June 26, 1937 one year old". This is the earliest identified picture of my grandfather, Emil. Click to enlarge.

The 1937 and 1939 St. Louis Directories show Emil Thoma (with wife Adeline), cabinet maker, living at 4163 S. Compton Ave.

His other half-brother, Leo, died in 1939, probably in Kansas City, MO. I do not know the exact date.

From 9 Jan. 1939 until his death he was living at a Rehab Center, although from 21 Sept. 1948 he was at the St. Louis Infirmary. A living relative said he may have had a mastoid problem or operation sometime before his admissions. Just before the time of his admission he and his wife were living at 4354 S. Compton in St. Louis.

These pictures were taken sometime between 1939 and 1948 in St. Louis, both on the same day at the Rehab Center. The date is most likely closer to 1948 because I remember visiting him. The first one shows Emil with his wife, Adeline.

There is a medical case history for Emil dated 30 Sept. 1948 at a city hospital (case #90435). I do not yet know the nature of the medical report but it is probably related to the problem that caused his death at the end of the year.

His death occurred at 4:15 PM on 11 Dec. 1948 in St. Louis. His death certificate gives his occupation as carpenter. It gives his age as 74 years, 1 month, and 10 days. His parents are given as Fredeline Thoma and Amelia Yaeger, both born in Germany. The address of his wife is given as 4401a Virginia Ave. in St. Louis. The informant on the death certificate was his wife and it was dated 15 Dec. The cause of death is given as a rupture of the left heart ventricle. His date of birth was given as 31 Oct. 1874. An oral source gave 30 Oct. 1875 and the German records give 29 Oct. 1874. He was cremated at the Missouri Crematory in St. Louis.

--------------------

His wife and children died after he died. His half-sister, Rosina, died in 1959 in Baden, Germany. I do not know when his half-sister Kunigunde died.

Created Wed, Apr. 5, 2000  Updated 04 May 2006.