The only record I will show you today that comes from our German Family Tree is the one that shows a boy being born on this day in New Wells, Missouri. The boy’s name was Richard Daniel Biedermann. Richard’s father was also named Richard, but his middle name was Henry. Richard’s mother was Dorothea Schaefer, but I could not tie her together with any of the Schaefer’s from Apple Creek Township or Uniontown. I did find the marriage record for Richard H. Biedermann and Dorothea Schaefer in the Old Trinity Lutheran Church books in St. Louis. They were married in 1862.
This record states that this wedding took place in the Schuricht house. That may be significant later. It must have been shortly after this marriage that Rev. Richard Henry Biedermann became the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, Missouri. He served that church from 1863-1866 and then again from 1869-1871. During his time in New Wells, the church sanctuary in which Rev. Biedermann served is shown below.
During his second stint at this congregation, a new church was begun which was completed not long after he left for the second time.
Let’s take a look at the 1880 census for the Richard H. Biedermann family who were then living in Hebron, NE.
This census does not show Richard D. Biedermann, but it does show that a set of twins were born in Michigan during the time between his two stints in New Wells. Rev. Biedermann must have been a pastor in Michigan for a short while. We see other evidence of the Biedermann family moving around because other children were born in Illinois, Ohio, and Nebraska. It was during his first stint in New Wells that Richard Daniel was born. His birthday was October 5, 1864. We have his baptism record from the Immanuel church books.
Two of the sponsors for this baptism were nearby pastors, Rev. Ehrhardt Riedel and Rev. J.F. Koestering. In addition, it looks like there were two other women who had a stand-in sponsor, Mrs. Bergt, who may have been another pastor’s wife. We find Richard D. in his first census in 1870 during his father’s second stint at Immanuel.
At the age of 15, we find Benjamin Daniel Biedermann in the census for Fort Wayne, Indiana where he was a student at Concordia College. He was in the beginning stages of preparing to become a Lutheran pastor just like his father.
After he became a Lutheran pastor, he began serving St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. We see him in this 1891 city directory for St. Paul. Since that congregation began in 1886, I believe that Rev. Biedermann was their first pastor.
All the clues point to the fact that it was while he was a pastor in St. Paul, Minnesota, that he met his bride. It just so happens that this bride of his has very significant ties to the Gesellschaft. If you are a faithful reader of this blog, you have read about the surname Tirmenstein on several occasions. Also, on a few occasions, I have written blog posts that contain both the Tirmenstein and Schuricht names together. The fact that this pastor’s father was married in the house of a Schuricht may provide another reason for finding a Tirmenstein bride. However, the biggest reason was probably the fact that Rev. Martin Tirmenstein was another pastor in St. Paul, Minnesota at this time, and he had an unmarried daughter named Agnes. We find Rev. Martin Tirmenstein in an 1885 city directory for St. Paul.
Agnes Tirmenstein was the daughter of Martin and Amalia (Stoeppler) Tirmenstein. She was born on October 29, 1869 when her father was a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like other pastor’s children, she likely lived in several locations before her time in Minnesota.
On August 29, 1889, Rev. Richard Daniel Biedermann married Agnes Tirmenstein. By the time of the 1900 census, this couple had 4 of their 5 daughters. They were living in Kendallville, Indiana.
Their oldest daughter was born in Minnesota. Then two daughters were born in Alabama. Rev. Biedermann had served a Lutheran church in Mobile, Alabama. Then the 4th daughter was born in Indiana. When the 1910 census was taken, this family was living in Indianapolis, Indiana where Rev. Biedermann was serving St. Paul Lutheran Church.
I included the Rev. Martin Tirmenstein household in this image. Both Rev. Biedermann and his father-in-law are shown as being clergymen in this entry. Also, I find it fascinating that Eleonora Biedermann is listed as a 19 year old teacher at a university. That’s something you don’t see often. I would also add that this congregation in Indianapolis would later be served by several teachers who were Perry County natives, with the surnames of Mueller, Nennert, and Wukasch.
In a 1915 city directory for Springfield, Illinois, we find Rev. Biedermann listed as the President of Concordia College.
The 1920 census still shows this household living in Springfield. Agnes’s mother was living with this family.
Rev. Biedermann died in 1921 at the age of 56. A biography for him is included in the Christian Cyclopedia.
Agnes Biedermann can still be found in both the 1930 and 1940 censuses.
The 1940 census shows her living with her daughter, Clara’s, family.
Agnes died in 1964 at the age of 94. She and her husband are buried together in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Indianapolis.
When you look at Google Translate for what the English word for “Bieder” is, you find that it can mean honest, respectable, upright, worthy, or unadventurous. Agnes managed to find her Biedermann….an honest man. And what better place to find an honest man than one you can locate in our German Family Tree where you also find plenty of Tirmenstein’s. Our friend, Lutz Backmann, from Saxony tells me that in High German, the word “tirmen” might mean “to shape” while the word “stein” is said to mean “stone”. It may be a stretch, but the name Tirmenstein might imply that it may have special meaning for church builders. I do know that when you look into the Tirmenstein family tree, you find plenty of Lutheran pastors and pastors’ wives.
One thought on “Agnes Finds an Honest Man”