As would be said in a manner similar to what was said in the movie, Wizard of Oz, I would say, “You’re not in Perry County anymore…….you’re in Kansas.”  A wedding took place in Cheney, Kansas in 1906 on this date, October 13th.  Both the bride and the groom were born in Altenburg, Missouri.  Both of them were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Let’s start with the bride.  Her name was Ernestine Petrine Oehlert.  She was born on New Year’s Day in 1886.  Her parents were Robert and Minna (Engert) Oehlert.  Robert and Minna were subjects of a previous story titled, A-Lert in Kansas.  Their family moved to Sedgwick County, Kansas prior to 1900.  Wichita is the county seat for that county.  Here is the 1900 census showing this family.

Ernestine is called Dena in this census. This next photo shows Ernestine’s father, Robert, and her brother, Heinrich, sawing wood on their farm near Reno, Kansas.

Next, let’s look at the groom.  His name was Carl Friedrich Grother.  He was born on May 23, 1881.  His parents were Johann and Emilie (Palisch) Grother.  A previous story was written about this family also.  It was titled, Another Vanished Name.  The photo below shows Carl’s parents.

A photo was taken of the only two boys in the Grother family.  Carl and his brother, Henry, are shown in this picture.

Sometime after 1900, Carl moved to Sedgwick County, Kansas.  However, in his case, he was not accompanied by his family.  They remained in Altenburg.

Now both of these Perry County natives could be found in the same vicinity out in Kansas.  In 1906, Carl and Ernestine…..or Fritz and Dena, as it seems they were sometimes called…..were married.  Here is their marriage license.

This marriage likely took place at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cheney, Kansas, which was organized in 1884.

Here is the 1910 census showing the Grothers.

By that time, they had two children, and another Perry County native, Paul Lungwitz, was boarding with them.

The 1920 census shows this family still living in Sedgwick County, but in a different township.  Another two children were added, bringing that total up to four.

One more child would be born in November of 1920, but one month after that child was born, Ernestine would die, leaving Carl with a very young child to care for.  I do know that this child did survive and live a full life.

In 1921, one year after his wife died, Carl made a trip back to Altenburg where his parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.  A photo was taken of that gathering.

Carl is in the back row on the right.  The two girls on the left and the boy and girl on the right in the front row are Carl’s children.  The youngest, Helen, who was born in 1920, is not in the photo.

Carl died in 1948 at the age of 66.  He and his wife, Ernestine, are buried in the Waco Cemetery in Sedgwick County, Kansas.  Here are their gravestones.

East Perry County natives contributed to the development of Lutheran churches in several prairie states.