One of the great sources that we have for the stories that we tell on this blog can be found on Ancestry.com. On that site, you can find a family history with the title, “Fritsche-Miesner Family Tree”. The author of that tree is Lori Adams. I have never met Lori, but I do know that she has done an incredible amount of research to complete this family tree. It does not just contain people who are directly connected to Lori’s ancestors. In this tree, one can find just about every name that can be found in the church records in the East Perry County vicinity. All of this has been done despite the fact that I think Lori lives in Arizona.
Today, I will tell the story of a Fritsche that married a Miesner. There is a birthday girl. Her name was Meta Miesner who was born on February 17, 1906 in Jacob, Illinois. Before I tell the story of this married couple, I need to go back across the Mississippi to find their roots in Missouri.
Meta Anna Margaretha Miesner was the daughter of Henry and Anna (Guetersloh) Miesner. Henry was a farmer in the Jacob, Illinois area, but he was relatively new to the area when Meta was born. Records appear to indicate that he moved to Illinois when he married Anna, whose family was from there. They were married in April of 1899, and Henry became a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob in November of that year. Here are photos of Henry and Anna.
Before moving to Jacob, Henry lived in the Farrar, Missouri area, and he and his family were members of Salem Lutheran Church. We still refer to Miesner being a “Farrar name”.
Here is the baptism record for Meta from the Christ Lutheran, Jacob church books.
We have a photo of Meta when she was very young. Her older brothers are also in the photo, with John on the left and Otto on the right.
By the way, I have posted several photos from this era that were done at the Dagle Studio in Murphysboro. That studio has an interesting story of its own.
Now we switch over to the Fritsche side of his marriage. Although nowadays, we refer to Fritsche as being another “Farrar name”, this Fritsche came originally from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Arthur was the son of Robert and Magdalena (Darnstaedt) Fritsche, and Robert was baptized at Immanuel in 1866. When he was just 14 years old, Robert was living with the Degenhardt family in Seelitz. It was probably there that he became interested in a neighbor girl in the Darnstaedt family. Not long after Robert married Magdalena in 1888, they must have moved across the river. It is recorded that they became members of Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob in 1891. Arthur was born in 1894, and we have his baptism record from that church’s books.
Arthur was twelve years older than Meta. When they were married in 1923, Meta was just 17 years old. Here is their wedding photo.
Here is a Miesner family photo which was taken about the time of this couple’s wedding in 1923.
Arthur is in the dark suit and hat toasting with the man in the white shirt and tie. I am guessing that Meta is the girl on the left in the striped hat.
We also have this photo of a dashing young Arthur Fritsche.
Finally, we have this photo of Henry and Anna Miesner’s 40th wedding anniversary. That would mean this photo was taken in 1939.
Meta and Arthur are the second couple from the left.
We at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum are very grateful for the work that Lori Adams has done on Ancestry.com. I am guessing that she may be happy to know that our museum now has the church records from Christ Lutheran in Jacob, Illinois on our shelves. Maybe it’s time for her to come back to visit us soon and put those records to use.
Reblogged this on and commented:
It’s not a good day for blogs or pigs in Altenburg today. A group of folks from the Schlimpert branch of my family gather annually to butcher hogs, and today is the day. This activity not only helps us keep our meat supply less expensive, but also provides an opportunity for some valuable family time. Sadly, most of the family gatherings I attend these days are funerals. In contrast, today’s family gathering is one at which the participants wear old clothes and do a lot of laughing. I am republishing a post that was written on this day in 2017. It happens to be a post that includes several photos of family get-togethers.
My name is Jeff Miesner in St. Charles MO. Grandpa (Otto Miesner) passed away after my parent got married in 1958 l. My dad Marvin Charles Miesner married my Mom (Georgianna Josephine Hager), whose family was from Perryville MO (right across the river from Jacob IL) Rose and Otto had 3 children, Pearl (1928), Reno Otto (1933) and Marvin Charles (1938). My Uncle Reno Otto Miesner passed away on December 24th 2000. Marvin Charles Miesner passed away February 7, 2017 with family around him.
I’m am the only surviving child of Charley and Ida Luedeman Fritsche. My name is Lornie Fritsche Hollmann. I am really thankful for all your time and energy you invest in searching and compiling all this interesting information. My husband Ralph Hollmann also wants me to thank you for all the information you published on his family tree. His grandfather was Henry Hollmann.
There is also another Fritsche-Miesner connection, which came a generation later. Arthur Fritsche’s younger sister, Rosalie Pauline Miesner, married Otto Henry Miesner, the older brother of Arthur’s wife, Meta. They were married in Jacob on September 8, 1927. Interesting to know that all of their kids (including my dad) were first cousins … twice!
Rosalie Pauline Fritsche, that is!
Warren, thank you so much for the comments you made on my Fritsche-Miesner tree. I’m happy to know that someone has noticed it and hope that it helps others find connections for their own families. It’s been an adventure, to say the least, but it’s been an intensely satisfying and enjoyable adventure, which I cannot get enough of!
There was another Fritsche – Miesner wedding on May 4, 1946 at Salem, Farrar. The groom was Eugene Bruno Wilhelm Fritsche and the bride was Frieda Hilda Miesner. Meta’s father, Heinrich and Frieda’s father, Ernest were brothers. Frieda was my aunt.
Enjoy your blog, find it very informative.
While researching this story, I did notice this wasn’t the only Fritsche-Miesner connection. Thanks for pointing it out. I encourage you share these stories with others in your family. Our museum benefits when we get more people to visit our website.