The surname, Sittner, has appeared in some posts on this blog before, but I think all of those with that surname have been women. I know that I had to make a new folder for the Sittner name to store the images I found for this story. I don’t have to make new folders very often any more after writing these posts for almost 6 years. Today, you will read the story of a Sittner man. I will begin with his story before I get to his wife, today’s birthday girl.

Christian Charles August Sittner was born in Germany on April 2, 1838, the son of Johann Gotthold and Johanne Rosine (Wagner) Sittner. This Sittner family came to America as part of the Gruber Group, making the voyage across the Atlantic aboard the Johann Georg toward the end of 1839. That means August was just one year old when he made that trip. We see the Sittner family on the passenger list for that ship. August’s father was a mason from Goritzhain, Germany.

August Sittner is in the 1850 census in which we find his family living in the Cinque Hommes Township of Perry County. August was 12 years old, and his father was a farmer. There was a 73 year-old woman in the household whose name is difficult to read. She was likely one of August’s grandmothers.

In the 1860 census, August, at the age of 22, was working on his father’s farm.

It was at the end of 1860, that August got married, so we will now take a look at his bride’s story. Her name was Wilhelmine Christiane Mehner, who was born on December 18, 1838 in Germany. That would make today her 183rd birthday. Wilhelmine’s parents were Johann Gottlieb and Johanne Juliane (Lintner) Mehner. The Mehner family came to America in 1855 aboard the ship, Emma Lincoln, when Wilhelmine was 16 years old.

Wilhelmine is in the 1860 census, where we find her family living in the Cinques Hommes Township. Wilhelmine was 21 years old at the time.

The only marriage record I found which is displayed below comes from some Cape Girardeau County records. I have no clue why this pair was not married in Perry County. This marriage is said to have taken place on December 27, 1860, but I don’t see that date on this record that mostly contains the surnames, Sittner and Mehner.

Since they got married two days after Christmas, perhaps this is another couple that got married soon after the moratorium on Advent marriages came to an end.

For a while, August Sittner became a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. The document shown below describes his military service during that war. He served under Captain Wagner, but I don’t know if that captain was related to August’s mother or not.

Our German Family Tree lists 11 children born to August and Wilhelmine. Their records are listed in the Friedenberg Remembrances book, so they were all likely baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. I was unable to find the Sittner family in the 1870 census, but I must admit that I didn’t take a lot of time searching for it.

The 1880 census shows a rather large Sittner family living in the Cinque Hommes Township. Most of the children were girls. August, who is called Charles in this entry, was a farmer.

The next census we can view for the Sittner’s was the one taken in 1900. Their household had diminished considerably, with just two single daughters left. These two daughters never married.

The last census in which we find August Sittner was the one taken in 1910. This entry, which spills over two census pages, includes the same individuals as we saw in the 1900 entry.

The plat maps for Perry County produced in 1915, show the August Sittner farm located to the west of the village of Longtown.

Actually, it appears that August may have sold his farm in 1913. At least, in that year, articles that appeared in the Perry County Republican said he was trying to sell it.

August Sittner died in 1919 at the age of 80. We can take a look at his death certificate which says he died in Perryville.

August’s obituary appeared in the Perry County Republican. I have to display it in 2 images.

Wilhelmine and her two single daughters are seen in the 1920 census living in Perryville.

Wilhelmine Sittner almost made it into the 1930 census. She died in January of that year. Her death certificate says she died of chronic bronchitis. It also says she was 92 years old when she died, but I figure she was only 91.

Wilhelmine’s obituary also appeared in the Perry County Republican.

August and Wilhelmine Sittner are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

I have seen several cases in the past that had unmarried siblings are buried together. Such is the case with the two unmarried Sittner sisters, Bertha and Theresa. They, too, are buried together in the same cemetery.

Plenty of Sittner descendants must have come from this Sittner family. I suspect that plenty of readers of this blog can point to August and Wilhelmine as members of their family trees.