Someday, I might have to look into when the first person with the surname Popp appeared in the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. There certainly were several Popp families to be found in Frohna over the years. I will be telling the story of a Popp who moved to Frohna around the turn of the 20th century today. The event that led me to this story is a wedding that took place on this day 125 years ago. Let’s begin with the groom in that marriage.

Emanuel Andreas Popp was born on January 23, 1871, the son of Martin and Margaretha (Hacker) Popp. Emanuel was the firstborn child in a family that would have 7 children. The first 3 children, including Emanuel, were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The children born between 1877 and 1885 were baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The 7th child, born in 1888 does not have a baptism record listed in our German Family Tree for some reason. Below is Emanuel’s baptism record from the Immanuel, Altenburg books.

Emanuel is found in the 1880 census living in the Brazeau Township at the age of 9. His father was a farmer. A while back, I mentioned that there are a lot of women who were named Anna Popp, either by being born with that name or who had gotten that name through marriage to a Popp. Emanuel’s grandmother was an Anna Popp, and she was living in this Popp household in this census entry.

Now, we will look at the early life of Emanuel’s future wife. Her name was Clara Maria Seibel, who was born on February 15, 1875. Clara was the daughter of Immanuel and Sophia (Grass) Seibel. She was child #3 in a family of 5. Clara was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The original Seibel’s to arrive in Perry County was a set of brothers who were part of the New York Group. When the split between Trinity and Immanuel took place in 1857, one brother went with the Immanuel group and one stayed at Trinity. Clara’s father was from the Trinity Seibel, but he later became a blacksmith in Frohna, thus becoming a Frohna Seibel. We can take a look at Clara’s baptism record from the Concordia books. One of her sponsors, Wilhelmine Schmidt, was not only her aunt, but also my great grandmother.

A researcher must be careful when looking for Clara Seibel because there was another Clara Seibel born in 1876 and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.

Clara is found in her first census in 1880 at the age of 5. As you can see, her father was a blacksmith. Clara’s older brother, Friedrich, also became a blacksmith, whose story was told in the post, Marie and the Frohna Blacksmith.

On November 15, 1896, Emanuel Popp married Clara Seibel at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The church record for this occasion indicates that Emanuel was from Frohna, but was now living in Longtown. When Clara Seibel was in the process of becoming Clara Popp, one of the witnesses to her wedding was another Clara Popp.

We can also take a look at the marriage license for this couple.

The year after these two were married, Zion Lutheran Church was established in Longtown in 1897, and we find Emanuel Popp listed as a charter member.

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Emanuel and Clara had 5 children. The first two, born in 1897 and 1901, were baptized at Zion, Longtown. We find this Popp family in the 1900 census living in the Cinque Hommes Township. There was just one child in their household at the time.

In an article published in the Perry County Republican in 1902 that dealt with news from Frohna, we see that Emanuel was moving back to that place.

The census taken in 1910 shows the Popp family living in the Frohna area based on the names of their neighbors in that census. Four children were in the household.

The 1915 plat maps for Perry County show a piece of property not far from Frohna owned by E. Popp.

One more child was born in 1912, so we find this Popp household in the 1920 census. We find all 5 of their children in this entry.

Next, we find the Popp’s in the 1930 census. Emanuel was a farmer all his life.

In another article published in 1930 in the Perry County Republican, we can see the reason why their son, Arthur, was listed as being 24 years old in the above census, yet having no occupation. In 1930, Arthur was graduating from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and becoming a missionary to Argentina.

The last census we can view for the Popp’s was the one taken in 1940. His son, Theophil, who had married Hedwig Bock, was living in this household.

Clara Popp died in 1952 at the age of 77. We can view her death certificate.

Emanuel Popp died in 1954 at the age of 83. Prostate cancer is mentioned as a cause of death on his death certificate.

Emanuel and Clara Popp are each buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna.

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The surname, Popp, presents challenges when researching it. There are several different Popp clans that settled in Perry County and are sometimes hard to keep straight.

In closing, let me say that I have heard a few pops while writing this post this morning because Perry County is in the midst of deer hunting season. And those are not just Popp guns.