A wedding anniversary is the starting point for today’s post.  Laura Weinhold married William Pebler on February 18, 1912 in Frohna, Missouri.  I have previously written a post about Joseph Weinhold from Wittenberg who had 8 daughters, several of which married full-time church workers.  That post was titled, Surrounded by Good Lookin’ Women.  We have a similar story today of a Weinhold girl who married a Lutheran minister, but this Weinhold comes from Joseph’s brother’s family.

Laura Weinhold was born on March 6, 1888, the daughter of Gotthilf and Bertha (Thomas) Weinhold.  Here is a photo of Laura’s parents.

It just so happened that another brother of Gotthilf and Joseph, whose name was Martin Weinhold, had a son, Rudolph, born on March 8, 1888, two days after Laura.  These two cousins were baptized on the same day at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna.  Here are the baptism records for those two babies.

In about 1899, the Gotthilf Weinhold family had this photo taken.  The caption will tell you which one is Laura.

Laura can be found in the 1900 census as a 12 year-old.

The house shown below is the one in which Laura grew up.  It was located right near the Frohna Mill which was operated by Gotthilf and his brother, Martin.

We find Laura once again in the 1910 census.

The groom for the 1912 wedding would be William Pebler.  The first document I will display from his life is a naturalization form filled out in 1910.  It indicates that he arrived in America from Germany in 1905.

That same year (1910) we find William in the census living in St. Louis and attending Concordia Seminary.  He was studying to become a Lutheran minister.

Gotthilf Weinhold had another family photo taken around 1911.  That photo includes William Pebler.  If that date is right, Laura and William would not have been married yet.  I am of the opinion that this photo may have been taken in 1912 when the family gathered for Laura’s wedding.

William was born on June 28, 1889, but I am not sure who his parents were.  However, let’s take a look at the marriage record for the Pebler/Weinhold wedding at Concordia, Frohna.

If you look at the column on the far right which tells the name of the officiating minister,  it does not show the Frohna pastor.  Instead it says that a Rev. C.P. Pebler officiated.  I am thinking that may have been William’s father.  The name of that minister is also found on the marriage license for this couple.  It also states that William was from LaMaure, North Dakota where he was likely a pastor at the time.

We have this wedding photo of William and Laura.

We also have the photo including the entire wedding party.

Since she married a Lutheran pastor, Laura would spend her lifetime living in several different locations.  Based on where her children were born and census records, the places shown on the map below were ones in which the Pebler family lived over the years.  After starting in North Dakota, this family spent the rest of their lives in Nebraska and Kansas.

Another Weinhold family photo was taken in 1918.  The  Pebler’s are included.

In 1917, William had his World War I draft registration completed.  He and Laura were living in Moorefield, Nebraska, which was in Sherman County.

I will show the different censuses in which we find this family.  First, here is the one for 1920.  They were living in Bristol Township in Sherman County, Nebraska. By that time, it shows them with 4 children.  Also, Laura’s sister, Sarah Weinhold, who was also part of Laura’s wedding party shown earlier, was living with them.

1920 census – Bristol Township, Sherman County, NE

In the 1930 census, we find the Pebler’s still living in Bristol Township.

The last census which we can view for this family was the one taken in 1940.  They were living in Olive Branch, Nebraska.

We find the Pebler couple living in Great Bend, Kansas in 1959.  They can be found in a city directory.

It was in that year, 1959, that Pastor Pebler died at the age of 70.  Laura would die in 1981 at the age of 93.  William and Laura are buried together in the Concordia Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

I guess we would wish William and Laura a happy 108th wedding anniversary today.