William Ernest Eckert, 1883–1955

William Ernest Eckert was born on 1 May 1883 in Pilot Knob, Iron County, Missouri. He was the son of Charles W. Eckert and Frederika Kunstel. William was the fifth child of this couple but the first child born in the United States. Charles and Frederika immigrated to the United States in May 1882 with four children: Otto, Freda, Emma, and Anna. William grew up in Iron County and St. Francois County; his younger brothers were baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Farmington, Missouri. By 1900, the family had moved to St. Louis and lived at 3926 Manchester Avenue. On 1 June 1905, William married Anna Marie Temme of Okawville, Washington County, Illinois. She was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Temme and Maria Henriette Blumhorst. This marriage produced the following children: Raymond, Ethel, and Wilbert. William opened a grocery and meat market at 3442 Manchester Avenue; the family lived at 3516 Clark Avenue.

The family photo shows William and Anna holding their first child, Raymond, who was born 14 May 1906. This address no longer exists. According to a 1900 city map, Manchester curved north and ended at Beaumont Street, at a point where Market Street ended. This confirms a family story of how my grandfather and his brother raced a pair of matched white horses down Market Street. A lot of the streets were not paved in 1900. By 1910, the city was getting too crowded for William, so he moved to the county. This store was located at 700 Louisa Avenue, in Lemay on the corner of Louisa and Erskine, since changed to Lagro. In the second photo, William is standing on the left of Anna. This store was originally a bakery.

Gethsemane Lutheran Church was formed in 1905, and they purchased a lot on the corner of Louisa and Wachtel. This was one block east of the grocery store. The church was destroyed by fire on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 23 November 1920.

William moved his family back to the city in 1928 and opened a store on the corner of Virginia and Taft. He built a two-family flat at 5044 Alaska Avenue, where William and Anna spent the remainder of their lives. Having survied the Depression, William was very protective of his children and bought a rental property for each to live in after they were married. Ethel married on 29 May 1930 and moved into a four-family flat located at 4119-4120 North Florissant Avenue. Raymond married on 22 November 1936 and moved into a two-family duplex located at 4095-4097 Haven Street. Wilbert married on 1 June 1938 and moved into a two-family flat located at 4022 S. Spring Avenue.

(Sources include 1900–1930 U.S. census records, City of St. Louis property records and marriage licenses, Gethsemane Lutheran Church 100th Anniversary Book, WWI draft registrations, and personal knowledge of the family.)

Written by Don Eckert
May 2020

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