I will drift away from my normal story strategy today. Instead of telling the tale of one family, I am going to give brief attention to three people that are not related to each other in any family way. What they do have in common is a connection to Reformation Day, October 31st. Two of the three individuals have already appeared on this blog before. However, when they did, their relation to Reformation was not highlighted. That’s what I hope to do today.

The first character with Reformation ties is Amalia Friedricka Kuehn. She could be called the original matriarch of the Frohna Mueller’s. In fact, the post that was published a while back that told her story was titled, The Beginning of the Frohna Muellers. Amalia married Karl Mueller, and it was that couple that eventually bought some land near Frohna and their clan become known as the Frohna Mueller’s. One census called her Molly Mueller. Her connection to Reformation Day is the fact that she was born on October 31, 1820 in Germany. Yes, that means she would be celebrating a bicentennial birthday today. Molly was part of the Gesellschaft that arrived in America in 1839. We have a photograph that is said to be of Molly Mueller. It apparently is part of a larger photograph because she has someone’s hand on her shoulder.

You can find more details about her life in that previous post. Today, I simply want to recognize her special birthday. Happy 200th Birthday, Molly Mueller.

Next, we will take a look at Lina Maria Petzoldt. Lina was born on October 23, 1867, the daughter of Richard and Johanna (Lindner) Petzoldt. Her connection to Reformation Day is the fact that she was baptized on October 31, 1867. That day was not only Reformation Day, but it was the 350th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation which began on October 31, 1517. Below is her baptism record from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.

The history of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg says that their present sanctuary was dedicated on Reformation Day (or Sunday) in 1867. I am not sure whether that dedication was held on October 31st, which was on a Thursday in 1867, or on a Sunday. We do have documentation that Lina was baptized on October 31st, on the other side of town at Immanuel.

Lina would later marry Oswald Palisch. There is a previous post about this couple also. It was titled, Palisch-Petzoldt Premier Pedigree. We have this photo of Lina and Oswald when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1941.

The third person I would like to highlight today is Hilda Grass. Hilda was born on October 31, 1917. Just a few days ago, I wrote a post titled, Where’s Gustav? That article included a photograph that was taken on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Reformation Day of 1917 was also the birthday of Hilda, the daughter of Henry and Martha (Schubert) Grass. Hilda was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, Missouri. I found her baptism record in that church’s books.

Hilda would later marry Herbert Vogel, the son of John and Martha (Hopfer) Vogel at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. Hilda and Herbert died about a month apart from each other back in 2009. They are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in New Haven, Missouri.

There you have it. Three special Reformation Day characters. One with a bicentennial birthday, and two with a birth or baptism associated with a special anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation that took place in 1517. Evidence seems to indicate that all three of these individuals remained faithful until their deaths. I pray that you do too.