February 28th was the birthday of a former pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His name was Rev. Paul Roesener (although there are different documents that show that he had several different first and middle names), and he was born in Berlin, Germany in 1853. I am going to start with Pastor Roesener’s obituary … More Happy Birthday, Pastor Roesener
I was all ready to tell a very sad story today, and I will, but that story led to some really great news for our research library. Charlotte Saalfeld, a 60 year old woman, who was one of the original immigrants, died on February 27, 1839 in St. Louis, Missouri. In other words, this elderly … More A Treasure Trove
We had a wonderful time with the Zschoche-Hilpert family. On Saturday, we opened the biographical exhibit of their family story that derived in Frohna, MO. (See Warren Schmidt’s previous blog on the family history). We are happy to have this incredible family as supporters of our site. John Hilpert will be joining our docent team, … More Hilpert-Zschoche Family Gathering & Exhibit Opening
If you are a member of a church like the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod that uses a traditional church year, then you probably know that today was Transfiguration Sunday. The story for the day was the one where Jesus, along with Peter, James, and John, went to the top of a mountain where Moses and Elijah … More Stephan’s Hill
When Holy Cross Lutheran Church began in 1848, there were five families who were involved in its organization. Two of those five families had connections to Perry County. Those two were the Fischer and Grass families. Before I was done rounding up information about those two, I managed to find a few other Perry County … More From New York to Perry County to Collinsville
Our museum friend, Darlene Burt sent us the Playmobile toy company Martin Luther character in celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Her daughter works in a toy store in Seattle. Note Luther’s little German script Old and New Testaments and his writing quill-so appropriate for this great scholar who wrote voraciously. My favorite … More All the Best Super Heroes have Capes
I have spent way too much time researching today’s story. And after all is said and done, I still have questions. Johann Martin Quest was one of the original immigrants. He came to America aboard the Johann Georg and up the Mississippi River aboard the Clyde. Here we see him listed on the Johann Georg … More My Quast Quest
Rev. Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther was one of the original immigrants who was part of the Gesellschaft. In fact, after the removal of Rev. Martin Stephan, Rev. Walther became probably the most prominent leader of this group. He went on to become the first President of what would later be called the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. … More Maybe They Should Have Been Named Law and Gospel
My dad, Richard Schmidt, grew up in Wittenberg, Missouri, and for most of his school years he had one teacher, George Stohs. I would like to tell his story today. Teacher Stohs did not have his roots here in Perry County. He was born on Valentine’s Day in 1893 in Bremen, Kansas. His parents were … More Teacher Stohs – Dad’s Teacher
I haven’t often written about deaths recently, but I couldn’t resist one today. It is another story that is connected to the production and distribution of beer, and when I get a whiff of beer, my radar goes up, and I start researching. I cannot help myself. Walter Deer (yes, that rhymes with beer) died … More Green Tree Brewery
lutheranmuseum.com 