October 30th was one of the wedding anniversaries for the main character of today’s story.  It was the first of three wedding anniversaries for him.  His name was Emmanuel David Fischer.  Not only did he get married three times, but there were also three different pastors who performed his marriage ceremonies.

Emmanuel was born on March 3, 1859 and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  This is his baptism record.  It is in two images.

Emmanuel was the son of Albert and Marie (Palisch) Fischer.  He was the only child in this family who was baptized at Immanuel.  The Fischer and Palisch families were two of the charter member families of Immanuel Lutheran Church when it split off from Trinity in 1857.  Albert and Marie must have been members there for just a short time.  Their next child, born in 1861, was once again baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church.

The first census in which we find Emmanuel was the 1860 census for Altenburg.  His father is shown in this census as a wagon maker.

Emmanuel is shown in this photo along with his father and sister, Emma.

Next, we find him in the 1870 census.

This time, his father is listed as a retail dry goods merchant.  I might add at this point that there were several Fischers over the years that were merchants.  The 1880 census from Altenburg shows an interesting situation.  Emmanuel is now an apprentice carpenter residing with the Charles Boehme family.  Charles was a furniture maker and dealer.

What makes this especially interesting is the fact that Emmanuel’s second wife is found in this census entry.

Now we get to October 30, 1887.  Emmanuel married Magdalena Birner at Trinity Lutheran Church.  Rev. J.F. Koestering was the pastor.  This is their marriage license.

Magdalena was the daughter of Johann and Ernestine (Goethe) Birner.  On August 17, 1888, this couple had a son by the name of Theobald Heinrich Eduard Fischer.  This is a record of his birth from a Perry County register (in two images).

This document show that Emmanuel was a carpenter.  It also shows Magdalene Mueller as the midwife who assisted in the birth.  A previous blog was written about her work in Perry County.  Sadly, this child only lived until June of 1889, and then one month after his death, Magdalena died of consumption.  Consumption is a term used back in those days and probably referred to tuberculosis.

On July 26, 1891, Emmanuel married again, this time to Agnes Boehme, who was shown in the 1880 census.  Agnes was the daughter of Charles and Ernestine (Schlimpert) Boehme.  This is the marriage license for this wedding, which was performed by Rev. Roesener of Trinity Lutheran Church.

This couple would have four children, but their first would die after just a matter of days.  We see this couple in the 1900 census with two children.  One more child would be born after this census in 1901.

It was during this time period that this Fischer family photo was taken.  It must have been taken before 1903 because Emmanuel’s mother, Marie, died in that year.

Agnes and Emmanuel are shown standing in the back on the far right.  In 1904, Agnes died of typhus, leaving Emmanuel as a widower for a second time.  The 1910 census shows him still living as a widower.

This time, Emmanuel is shown as a farmer.  Fourteen years after Agnes died, Emmanuel would marry for a third time on November 17, 1918.  His new wife was Hulda Meister.  Hulda was the daughter of Valentine and Christina (Pfau) Meister.  Emmanuel was 59 years old and Hulda was 54 years old when this marriage took place.  Hulda had never been married.  Here is their marriage license.

Rev. Adolph Vogel performed this marriage.  We see Emmanuel and Hulda in the 1920 Altenburg census with two sons.  I think Emmanuel’s age is incorrect.  He should have been shown as 60 or 61 years old.

In 1930, Emmanuel is listed as a stock tender at the age of 71.

Emmanuel died in 1935 at the age of 76.  This is his death certificate.

Hulda died in 1944 at the age of 79.  This is her death certificate.

Emmanuel, Agnes, and Hulda Fischer are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery.  I was unable to find the burial location for Magdalena.

The death certificates for both Emmanuel and Hulda show the doctor’s signature as Emmanuel’s nephew, Dr. Theodore Fischer.  The Fischer family was a very influential one in the early days of Altenburg.