The main character of today’s story in Johann Georg Gotthold Darnsteadt. His second marriage took place on May 31st, so he made my radar today. Johann was one of the original immigrants, coming by himself to America when he was 24 years old. He made the voyage on the Copernicus. We have a trunk at … More Widows and Widowers Abounded
I have another sad story to tell today. It is one that illustrates the very difficult times that were so often experienced in the early days of the settlements in Perry County. The year was 1842. Dr. Ernst Eduard Buenger was about the only person living in the German Lutheran communities in East Perry County … More Urgent Trip with Deadly Consequences
As we remember our fallen soldiers on this Memorial Day, there is one we would like to highlight today. Theobald Lungwitz, a resident of East Perry County, lost his life during World War I. Theobald was the son of Herman and Mathilda (Meyr) Lungwitz of Altenburg. He was born on April 16, 1891 and baptized … More Theobald Almost Made It
May 28th was the birthday of a tall Oklahoman by the name of Newton Amos Bodenschatz. He was not born in Oklahoma though. He was born into the family of a farmer from north Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. Newton was born in 1922 as the tenth child out of eleven to Herman and Rosa (Landgraf) … More Oklahoma Ground Sweethearts
Today’s article is the result of starting out looking for information on one story and ending up telling a different story. It all started with the birthday of Friedrich Ferdinand Grosse on May 27, 1811. Ferdinand was one of the original immigrants whose family decided to stay in St. Louis and not move to Perry … More A Census Hall of Fame
Gottlob Grebing and Lucia Preusser were married on May 26, 1895 at Trinity Lutheran Church. We have a wedding photo of this Altenburg couple. Gottlob was the youngest child of Hartmann and Justina (Goethe) Grebing. Lucia was the youngest child of Friedrich and Juliane (Kuehn) Preusser. When this couple was married, Gottlob was employed as … More Saddle Shop Still Standing
Two significant events are about to occur in Perry County. One of these events is a religious anniversary that will be observed all across our planet. The other is an astronomical event, and Perry County is one of the few places on the planet where this event can be observed. Five hundred years ago, Martin … More Martin Luther’s Eclipse
Once again, today’s post was authored by our friend, Fred Eggers. We are so grateful for his contributions to our museum and to this blog. **************** Johannes (John) Heinrich Wilhelm Jacob was born on May 24, 1869 to Heinrich and Maria Kramer Jacob. This is the record of his baptism at … More From Perry County to the Mountains to the Plains
One does not have to spend too much time studying the family histories of people on The Ridge before realizing that the folks living there were not shy about loving their neighbors. Over and over you find stories about Ridge residents finding their spouses at farm places not far away from their own homes. I … More Love Thy Neighbor
When I was a boy and my family would travel to Perry County to visit my relatives, we would travel down Highway 61 and pass through the village of Longtown. I remember asking why they called it Longtown because it certainly wasn’t long after entering Longtown that you were then leaving it. It is a … More Some Funke Longtown Beginnings
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