Spouse: Catherine Ehrler
(1885 - 1967)

Joseph became a bricklayer (Franz Carl wanted all of his boys to have a trade), becoming a member of Brick and Masons Local #45. Joseph is remembered as a friendly, outgoing person who loved to play cards (especially pinochle), and he was always chewing on a cigar. Joseph was a big man with a rather gruff voice, a corny sense of humor, and he took pride in his vegetable and flower garden.

On August 23, 1913, at Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church, Joseph married Catherine Ehrler (= Ehler = Ehlers), daughter of Edward Ehrler (orginally of Heitersheim, Baden) and Louise (née Malsch) Ehrler (originally of Staffort, Baden). According to the marriage records, Catherine was born on March 22, 1885. Witnesses to the ceremony included Martha Schwert and Paul J. Schwert.

Joseph and Catherine had three children: Edward, Gladys, and Kenneth. In about 1925, Catherine separated from Joseph. The reasons are unclear, but part of it may have been heritage and class: Catherine was the daughter of proud, well-educated, self-made man from Baden; Joseph was a bricklayer and the son of a marginally-educated (albeit hard-working) laborer from West Prussia. For whatever were the reasons, Joseph remained estranged from Catherine and from his children and grandchildren for the remainder of his life.

Joseph lived at 115 Nevada Street with his mother and his brother, Frank. Joe owned a little toy bulldog (" Mitzie"), and he and "Mitzie" would visit his nephews and nieces. When Julia died in 1938, the house at 115 Nevada Street was sold to Martha (née Schwert) and Edward Mary. Joe and Frank then left Buffalo to room at a boarding house owned by Mary ("Mayme") Kruse at 152 East Main Street in Hamburg, NY.

In his later years, Joe developed a bad wheeze (asthma? emphysema?) and died on March 18, 1963, of a heart attack at the age of 78. He left the bulk of his estate to his landlady, Mary Kruse. Joseph is interred in Section A, Lot C2 of Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery, Hamburg, NY.

In her later years, Catherine resided on the first floor of 1088 Parkside Avenue in Buffalo, along with her widowed daughter, Gladys Krull, and granddaughter Nancy Krull. In the 1960's, Catherine became house-bound, due to losing a leg to gangrene. On August 7, 1967, Catherine passed away. She is interred in the Ehrler family plot (Lot 134, Section 26) at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY, alongside her parents, sister, Gladys, and Nancy.