I was attracted to today’s story because it involves a Metzner, and that surname is fresh in my mind because I published a story a few days ago, Destination Wedding – 150 Years Ago, that included a Metzner. In that post, I questioned whether Friedrich Metzner was correctly included in a family with several other Metzner siblings. I think I found a clue that may substantiate my claim in today’s tale.

It seems like I have been writing more posts than usual lately that describe individuals that either remained single all their lives or were married couples that had few or no children. You will read another one of those stories today. The event that took place on this date was a wedding. I will begin by looking at the groom who was involved in that marriage.

Johann Adam Weinrich was born on April 24, 1831, the son of another Johann Weinrich and Eva (Neubert) Weinrich. The Friedenberg Remembrances book says he was born in Fersturdum Reus, Bavaria, Germany. However, I could not locate such a place on internet map sites. For a few reasons, one must be careful when researching men with the name, John Weinrich. First of all, today’s Johann Adam Weinrich had a brother named Johann Heinrich Weinrich, who went by the name Henry. Secondly, Henry had a son named John C. Weinrich. I wrote a blog post about John C. titled, John and Emilie – A Pair of Longtown Weinrich’s, that detailed his life. A lion’s share of the Weinrich entries in the German Family Tree are descendants of Johann Heinrich Weinrich.

The Weinrich family came to America aboard the ship, Minerva, in 1853. We see the 22 year-old John Weinrich on the passenger list for that ship displayed below. John A. was the oldest child in his family.

John A. Weinrich got married before he appeared in American census records, so we will turn our attention to his bride. Her name was Johanne Ernestine Christiane Metzner, who was born on October 1, 1836 in Gefell, Germany. She was the daughter of Johann and Christiane (Aloe) Metzner. I do not know exactly when this Metzner family came to this country, but evidence points to them coming sometime in the 1850’s. There is also evidence that members of this Metzner family were members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg after they arrived.

It was at Immanuel, Altenburg that John A. Weinrich married Ernestine Metzner on January 24, 1858. At least it is in that church’s books that we find their marriage record. Perhaps this wedding took place in the Metzner home. Today would be the 164th wedding anniversary for this couple. The church record for this couple’s marriage is the very first one found in the books of Immanuel, Altenburg. Below, you can view the church record for this occasion.

We can also take a look at a civil record for this marriage.

There are no children listed in the German Family Tree for this couple, but a few other documents say that there was one stillborn child. We find this Weinrich couple in the 1860 census in which it states that John A. was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Next, we find John and Ernestine in the 1870 census. Living in their household was a girl by the name of Ann Weinrich. I spent some time looking for an Ann Weinrich but failed. Eventually, after looking at the next census in 1870, in which we see an Anna Doering, I discovered that I had written a previous post, Let the Children Come to Us – Part 3, that told about children of John and Margaret (Hausmann) Popp who had been farmed out to other families. I am convinced that the Ann in the census entry below was actually Anna Popp.

The 1880 census is the last one that describes John A. as a farmer. Anna Popp had married Ernst Doering, and that couple was also included in this household.

It would be 20 years before we can view another census, the one taken in 1900. This time, John A. and Ernestine were living in the Central Township (likely Perryville) in the entry shown below. John is called a “captialist” in the occupation column. As near as I can figure, that means that he was retired and living off his savings.

In 1902, an article was published in the Perry County Republican about John Weinrich. I think this is the correct person because the other John Weinrich was living in the Apple Creek Township when the 1900 census was taken.

The last census in which we find either John or Ernestine Weinrich was the one taken in 1910. This time the term “own income” is used to describe John’s occupation.

John A. Weinrich died in 1911 at the age of 80. His death certificate is the place where we find the maiden name of his mother.

An interesting obituary appeared in the Perry County Republican for John. The title calls him Uncle John Weinrich. This article describes John amassing a little fortune that enabled him to retire at ease. It is also a document that says he and his wife had a stillborn child. I have to display this article in two images that may have to be clicked to enlarge.

Another article appeared in that newspaper in 1918 concerning Ernestine Weinrich. She was treated to a surprise birthday party on October 1, 1918.

Ernestine died just a couple of weeks after that birthday party. She was 82 years old when she died.

An obituary for Ernestine was also published in the Perry County Republican.

The statement that “Mrs. Weinrich was the last of her family” implies that she no longer had any living siblings. According to our GFT, all of her siblings died before 1918, except for Friedrich Metzner. This gives credence to the idea that Friedrich was not really a member of Ernestine’s immediate family. Friedrich may well have been related to Ernestine, but I am even more convinced that he was not her brother.

John A. and Ernestine Weinrich were buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

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I want to take the time to wish a Happy Birthday to our museum’s previous director, Carl Jordan. I am wise enough to not announce how old she is today, but I will tell you that it is one of those special birthdays. We hope you have a very blessed day, Carla.