Reuther Family
Edited by Ann Chrissos
John Frank Reuther came to America from Germany in 1895. He was a priest who served at St. Monica’s Church in Creve Coeur, Missouri. On December 18, 1895, he purchased 130 acres on Wild Horse Creek Road and Wilson Avenue from William J. Andrae and Cornelius Andrae. John invited his brother, William, to come to America to farm his property. William Reuther and his wife, Wilhelmina Frankenstein Reuther immigrated to America in 1896 and moved onto his brother’s property in 1924, which became the home place. They had eight children: Mary, Frank, Elizabeth, Pauline, Minnie, Anton, Joseph and Theresa. The family farmed the land, raising grain, hay and potatoes. They also raised dairy cows and delivered the milk to Drew’s train station. When William took the potatoes to market, he spent the night in Olivette and made his delivery the next day. By the time he returned home another load was ready to go to market. William acquired another acre of property on the west side of Caulks Creek from the Andraes. William C. Turner had granted this land to William M. Miller from Kentucky for the purpose of building a mill, which became known as Miller’s Mill.
William’s son Anton was 17 when he came to America to avoid serving in the German army. He married Gertrude Klaus and they had five children: Lawrence (b. 1/1/1916), Frieda (b. 11/20/1920), Bernadette (b. 11/7/1922), John (b. 12/18/1926), and Edward (b. 10/23/?).
William’s daughter Theresa became a nun and donated one acre of land for the establishment of Ascension Church. It became a mission parish until 1941 when Father Godfrey became a permanent pastor and took up residence on the church property.
Sources
Recollections and clippings were given to Jane Durrell and Arland Stemme on 11 May 1995. The clippings are stored in the Chesterfield Historical Commission’s file cabinet at City Hall.