Leo H. (Heinrich?) Thoma (Sr.) (-2G)

a half-brother of our paternal grandfather
(click to see the relationship between Leo and us)

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

Both his parents were born in Baden, Germany. Before Leo there was born a brother, Otto, on 23 July 1864 in Altenschwand, Baden.

Leo was born on 03 Apr. 1866 in the little town of Altenschwand, in southern Baden. The birth records for Leo do not contain a middle name. There was a Leopold Thoma born in Altenschwand in November of 1831. Perhaps our Leo was named after him. However, their relationship is not known to me.

Here is a picture of the Hirschen Inn (Gasthof) in Altenschwand. Leo and his siblings were born there; his parents were the owners.
Here is another view of the Hirschen (Stag) Inn in Altenschwand.

Below are three pictures of the old schoolhouse where Leo and his siblings went to elementary school.

Here is a picture of the school house in Altenschwand (as it appeared in ) where Leo 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.

Leo, his older brother Otto (b. 23 July 1864) and their father (perhaps also a step-mother and sisters) came to this country in 04 Oct. 1881 or 1880 (the passport application of 1925 says Sep. 1880). The Baden Emigration Index 1866-1911 shows Otto and Leo emigrating from Altenschwand in 1881. The passport application says the ship left Havre, France. I have searched Germans to America, microfilm indecies for the ports of Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New Orleans and the Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (inc. all supplements). Neither a Leo or an Otto has been found in the years 1880 or 1881. Family sources have indicated the dates 12 Feb. 1881 or 4 Oct. 1880.

No known Thoma appears in the 1881 St. Louis Directory. Their first jobs in America were in the restaurant and wholesale wine business for five years. At least Leo and Otto settled in St. Louis, MO by 1886. The Directory of that year lists a Leo Thoma, varnisher, boarding at 749 S. 3rd. It also lists a Fridolin Thoma at the rear of the same address. Is this Leo's father or another relative with the same name?

Otto H. Thoma (Sr) was a partner in the Stettner-Thoma Weiss Beer Brewery. There was a brewery founded in St. Louis by Louis Milentz in 1858 which operated at 1535 Carondelet [South Broadway]. Following several ownership changes, Christian Stettner and Otto Thoma took over the brewery in 1886. They operated under the name Stettner and Thoma Weiss Beer Brewery. As was typical of these brewers at the time, they only produced Weiss beer. Leo worked with Otto for a while.

The 1888 St. Louis Directory lists Leo Thoma, bottler, living at 1535 S. Broadway.

Leo was naturalized on 10 Oct. 1888 in the Circuit Court of St.Louis. His native country was Germany and his age was 22) He was a minor when he immigrated. Witnesses were Caspar Gross and Leo's brother, Otto. (MO Archives vol. D, p. 195.)

The marriage application and license for Leo's marriage to Anna (6 Aug. 1890) is available from the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds-Archive. It is # 37270. At the time Leo was 24 years old and was living at 1503 S. 7th St. in St. Louis. Annie (Anna) was 20 years old and was living at 822 Julia. They were married at St. Vincent Church (R.C.) by Rev. O. G. Kreutz, 1427 S. 9th St. in St. Louis.

Click on this thumbnail to enlargen Leo's wedding picture (6 Aug. 1890)

The 1890 St. Louis City Directory shows Leo Thoma, laborer, living at 1503 S. 7th St. in St. Louis. The 1891 Directory shows Leo Thoma, brewer, living at the rear of 1523 Menard.

His son, Leo (Jr) (-1G), was born in March 1891 in St. Louis.

The 1892 Dir. list Leo Thoma, brewer, living at 1512 S. 7th.

Leo's daughter, Rose, was born on 8 Sep. 1892 in St. Louis. Her birth is recorded in the Register of Births--City of St. Louis, MO (vol. 76B).

Leo's half-brother, Emil Thoma (-2G) immigrated to the U.S. on 30 Dec. 1892 from Grafenhausen, Baden. The passenger list shows that Emil's destination was the home of his father and half-brother, Otto in St. Louis.

The 1893 St. Louis Dir. lists Leopold Thoma, brewer, living at 1514 S. 7th. The 1894 Dir. has him as a foreman and the 1895 Dir. as a brewer, both years living at 1514 S. 7th. There is also a Fridolin Thoma, pedlar, listed in the 1895 St. Louis Directory. He is living at 1621 S. 2nd St. which is the same address where Emil is living. In the 1896 St. Louis Dir. Leo is a brewer living at 619 Soulard. In the 1897 and 1898 St. Louis Directories Leo is a brewer living at 614 Marion. He is not listed in any St. Louis Directory after 1898.

Leo Thoma does not appear in the 1897 Kansas City, MO City Directory, but he does appear in the 1898 Kansas City Directory. There he is listed as Leo Thoma (Bremer & Thoma), residing at 20 East 24th St. which is also the business address. His partner in the weiss beer business is Aug. Bremer who I believe to be his father- or brother-in-law. Aug. Bremer is living at 2345 Wyandotte in Kansas City in 1898. The same information appears in the 1899 Kansas City Directory.

Leo Thoma, assisted Otto in the brewery for 14 years, then moved to Kansas City, MO in 1898 where he set up his own brewery and later a bottling business. At first Leo operated a weiss beer brewery at the corner of 23rd and Westport Rd, (or 20 East 24th St.?) which was originally the home of one of Kansas City's first breweries. It was built in 1862 by H. W. Helmreich and George Messerschmidt as the first building in Kansas City specifically designed and built to be used as a brewery. Leo first was in partnership with an in-law and called the business, Bremer & Thoma Weiss Beer Brewery. On July 1, 1900 the partnership was dissolved and Leo operated it alone.

The Fed. Census of 1900 for Missouri (vol. 43, enum. district 47, sheet 10, line 24, family 206, dwelling 182?) lists Leo Thoma, born Apr. 1866, age 34, and his family living in Kansas City. He has been married 10 years, was born in Germany, his parents also born in Germany, immigrated in 1872 [sic!], 28 years in the U.S., NA status. He is a brewer, continuously employed and can read, write and speak English. His wife Annie, born in April 1870 in Missouri, is 30 years old. Her parents were born in Germany and she can read, write and speak English. Two children were born to her; both are living. Their son Leo, born March 1891 in Missouri, is 9 and his daughter, Rose, born in Sept. 1892 in Missouri, is 7. They were both at school for 9 months. The children's father was born in Germany and their mother in Missouri. They are renting the house at 23 E. 24th St. in Kansas City, MO in ward 5.

The 1900 Kansas City Directory does not list Aug. Bremer but it does list the Bremer & Thoma Brewers at 20 East 24th St. Leo Thoma is listed as the sole proprietor. He is living at 23 East 24th St. The 1901 Kansas City Directory lists Leo Thoma, brewer at 20 East 24th St., living at 23 East 24th St. A Fridoline Thoma (presumably his father) is also living at 23 East 24 St. The 1902 Kansas City Directory lists Leo Thoma, brewer at 20 East 24th St., living at 23 East 24th St. Fridolin is not listed. The 1903 Kansas City Dir. shows Leo Thoma, brewer at 20 East 24th St., living at 9 East 24th St. Fridolin is not listed. The business is also listed in the business section under breweries. The 1904 Dir. has the same information. It also has a listing under Breweries for the Weiss Beer Brewery at 20 East 24th St. The 1905 Dir. has the same information as in 1904 and lists Leo Thoma in the business section under Brewers. The 1906 Dir. has the same information. The 1907 Dir. has Leo Thoma, brewer at 1308 W. 28th St., living at 915 W. 29th St. His son Leo (Jr.) is listed separately as a helper living at the same address. The 1908 Dir. lists father Leo Thoma, brewer at 1308 W. 28th St., living at 3821 Terrace. The son, Leo J. Thoma, has a separate listing as a helper living at the same address. There is also a listing for Leo Thoma in the business section, under Brewers. The 1909 Dir. has the same information for this Leo. His son and daughter have separate listings. No business section is available on the microfilm. The 1910 Dir. has the same info for Leo (Sr). Leo (Jr) and Rose have separate listings but live at the same address. There is also a listing in the business section under Brewers.

The Fed. Census of 1910 for Missouri (vol. 40, enum. dist. 55, page 7A, dwelling 126, family 138, lines 23-26, dated 27 Apr.) lists Leo H. Thoma as 44 years old and born in Germany, his parents in Germany. He immigrated in 1880 and has the NA status. He is a brewer of weiss beer and is the supervisor. His wife is listed as "Asona" (sic!) in the Soundex index but "Anna" on actual Census sheet. She is 40 years old, born in Missouri. She has no occupation. Her parents were born in Germany. They have been married 20 years. Two children were born and both are living. Their son Leo is 18, born in Missouri and his daughter Rose is 17, born in Missouri. The son Leo is a clerk in a brew co. [probably his father's]. Rose is a stenographer for a manufacturing co. The children's father was born in Germany and their mother in Missouri. All four can read, write and speak English. They are living in Kansas City, Jackson County at 3821 Terrace St. in ward 4..

There is an 80 year old Freidolin Thoma who was buried in the Otto Thoma lot in New St. Marcus Cemetery in St. Louis County on 08 Oct. 1910. Since this is the right age that Leo's father would be in 1910, this Freidolin is most likely our great-grandfather and the father of Leo. Reinforcement of this theory comes from an obituary in the St. Louis Post of 07 Oct. (p. 20) which calls him Otto Thoma, but a burial-permit notice in the same paper, same day (p. 23) calls him F. Thoma. The latter says he was 80 and that he died at the Home for Aged of bronchitis. I believe that the obituary has a couple of errors, but there is enough there to convince me that it refers to my great-grandfather.

In 1910 (or 1911?) the Leo Thoma Brewery relocated to 1308 W. 28th St. and continued producing weiss beer with the assistance of the son Leo E., until Prohibition in 1919. (See the following link: http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/kedrivingtour,html)

The Kansas City Dir of 1911 has Leo Thoma, brewer at 1308 W. 28th St., living at 3821 Terrace. His son and daughter have separate listings. There is also a listing in the business section under Brewers. The 1912 Dir. has the same information as the 1910 Dir. and includes a business section listing. The 1913 Dir. has Leo Thoma, brewer living at 3821 Terrace; no business address is given. There is no listing in the business section either. The 1914 Dir. has Leo Thoma, weiss beer 1308 W. 28th St., living at 3821 Terrace. The listing in the business section is the only one under Weiss Beer Brewers, but is not included under Brewers. The 1915 Dir. has Leo Thoma. weiss beer brewer 28th and Terrace, residing at 3821 Terrage [sic!]. The business section listing is the same as in 1914. The 1916 Dir. has Leo Thoma, weiss beer brewer at 1308 W. 28th St., residing at 3821 Terrace. The business section listing is under Weiss Beer Brewers. The 1917 & 1918 & 1919 Directories have the same information as in 1916. The Thoma section of the 1920 Dir. is missing on the FHL film. However the Leo Thoma business at 1308 W. 28th St. is listed under the Bottlers section.

The Fed. Census of 1920 for Missouri (vol. 46, supv. dist. 5, enum. district 49, sheet 14A, line 31, dwelling 258, family 335, dated 10 Jan.) gives their residence as 3821 Terrace (ward 3, precinct 6) in Kansas City in Jackson County. Leo is 53 years old, born in Baden, Germany, immigration in 1880, naturalization in 1888. Although high German was his native tongue, he is able to speak English. His parents were born in Baden and also spoke high German. He is a proprietor of a soda water factory. His wife, Anna, is 49, born in Missouri. Her father was born in Hanover and spoke low German; her mother was born in Westphalia and also spoke low German. Anna has no occupation. Their son, Leo Jr. is 28, born in Missouri and works as a bottler in a soda water factory [probably his father's]. Their daughter, Rose, is 27, born in Missouri and works as a clerk in a factory office. The children's father was born in Baden Germany, and their mother in Missouri. Leo, Anna, Leo Jr, and Rose all speak English.

On 19 Jan. 1925 a U.S. passport was issued to Leo. At the time he was living at 3821 Terrace St. in Kansas City, MO. The application papers have a lot of additional information. He was born in Altenschwand on 03 Apr. 1866 and his father (deceased) was Fredolin. He immigrated to the U.S. in the Fall of 1880, leaving Havre, France in about September. He lived in Michigan (perhaps Ann Arbor?) and Illinois before moving to Missouri. He was naturalized before the Circuit Court of St. Louis on 10 Oct. 1888. His occupation is in Bottling Works. This is his first passport. He is taking a trip for pleasure and travel purposes not to extend beyond 3 months. He will visit Great Britain, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, leaving the port of New York, N.Y. on the ship Cleveland on 05 Mar. 1925. His personal appearance is described: 58 years old, 5' 10" high, medium forehead, brown eyes, slightly aquiline nose, medium-mustached mouth, square chin, dark brown-grey hair, dark complexion and a round face. The picture below is attached to the application. His identity was vouched for by a John Clifford, a cigar manufacturer, who has known Leo for 25 years. Leo's brother also applied for a passport at this time and was scheduled to travel with Leo on the same ship.

Here is Leo's picture attached to the passport application, from Jan. 1925.

Leo and his brother Otto returned to the U. S. at the port of New York on 29 May 1925. They arrived on the ship Rotterdam which had departed from Southhampton, England. On the record (roll T715_3659, p. 215, lines 7 and 8) their addresses are given: 3821 Terrace in Kansas City for Leo and 2817 Wyoming in St. Louis for Otto. Their ages (58 and 61) and naturalizations are also given.

The 1930 Fed. Census for Missouri (T626_1195, enum. dist. 80, page 33B, dwelling 39, family 63, dated 23 April) lists a Leo Thoma, 64 years old, born in "Deutschland" of the White race, living in Kansas City, Jackson County, MO. His parents were born in Germany. He immigrated in 1879, has the naturalization status "NA" and had German as his native tongue before immigrating. His occupation is given as retired. He was never a veteran. On the same Census page we find an Anna Thoma, 60 years old, born in Missouri. Her parents were born in Germany also. No occupation is listed for Anna. Both are able to speak English. Their son Leo (Jr) is living elsewhere. Evidently their daughter Rose is married, living out of state because I cannot find her under "Thoma" or "Housekeeper" (her married name) in Missouri. They own the house at 3817 Terrace St. (ward 5, block 139?), Kansas City, which is valued at $5,000 and they have a radio set.

His brother Otto died in St. Louis, on 31 May, 1930, after the Census. He is buried in the New Marcus Cemetery in St. Louis County.

Leo died in 1939; I do not have the exact date yet. His brother had died ca 31 May 1930. His wife, two children, and sister Rosina all died afterwards. I do not know when his other sister Kunnigunde died.

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The brewery building where Leo worked still stands today. To see it, park at Margarita's lot, then walk north in the alley to 28th St. and stop. The building on the right, now covered with vinyl siding, housed the Leo Thoma Weiss Beer Brewery.
 

Created Wed, Apr 28, 2000. Updated on 26 Jun. 2009.