April 6 was the birthday of Kunigunda Wirth in 1849. Her name can be found in both the Friedenberg and Longtown, Missouri church records. After seeing this name, we became curious about the name Kunigunda’s origin. The name appears to have roots in Germanic tribes in Europe, and the name means “brave warrior”. This also is exclusively a feminine name. One can only wonder how a name which means “brave warrior” could be assigned to a girl back in the 1800’s.
In perusing the church records around Perry County, Missouri, we only found this name showing up in the Friedenberg and Longtown churches. The name also appears with surnames such as Wirth, Fassold, and Amschler.
It seems every day brings new questions when we start digging into the records in the research library at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum.
The story of “my” Kunigunda.
On April 14, 1857, Kunigunda Fassold was born in Perry County, Missouri. She was the daughter of Andrew and Gertrude Fassold nee Hafner.
On January 23, 1887, she married Albert Hoehn. Albert had previously been married, but lost his wife the year before and had several young children to raise. They lived on a farm near Frankenberg and were members of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, Missouri.
Albert and Kunigunda’s marriage produced 6 children. Their children were: Michael, Alvin, Emma, Albert Jr., Lena, & August. The names of Kunigunda’s step children were: Lity, Lizzy, & Ed.
After Albert and Kunigunda could no longer farm, they moved to Perryville, MO. They became members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville.
Kunigunda became a widow on April 5, 1928. She lived until June 20, 1934. She was 77 years old. The cause of death was listed as apoplexy or stroke. She is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery.
My grandmother, Betty Kasten nee Hoehn, often told me a story about her grandmother, Kunigunda. My grandmother was a surprise child. She was 18 years younger than her only brother, Walter Hoehn, and her parents were both in their mid-40s. Her mother kept the pregnancy very secretive, not even telling her only son! After my grandmother was born, they took her to be introduced to her grandmother, Kunigunda. At meeting the baby, Kunigunda repeatedly asked, “who is that baby” and “whose baby is that”. (My grandmother was born just a year before Kunigunda’s death and by that point in her life, I think, she was experiencing some dementia issues and could never fully grasp whose baby it was.)
Kunigunda is my great great grandmother. (1. Kunigunda Hoehn nee Fassold, 2. Alvin Hoehn, 3. Betty Kasten nee Hoehn, 4. Beverly Erdmann nee Kasten, 5. Clayton Erdmann)