In previous posts, I have mentioned the multitude of Anna Popp’s that are found in our German Family Tree. I will once again display the list of Anna Popp’s that show up in the Fritsche-Miesner family tree on Ancestry.com put together by our friend, Lori Adams.

One of the above Anna Popp’s has a birthday today, and she will be the central character that ties all the pieces of the puzzle together in this post. The one we will look at is the last one on the right, Anna Sophia Popp. However, I am going to begin with a different character.

August Gotthold Feig was born on April 12, 1854, the son of Christoph and Christiana (Aloe) Feig. Gotthold was the 4th of 7 children in his family. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Gotthold is found in the 1860 census at the age of 6. His father was a farmer.

Gotthold was a teenager when we find him in the 1860 census. For some reason, his father is not given an occupation. Gotthold was the oldest boy in the family.

We will now turn our attention to Gotthold’s first wife. Her name was Maria Pauline Mueller, who was born on September 23, 1853. Pauline was the daughter of one of those marriages that we find in our GFT occasionally in which both the bride and groom had the same surname. Pauline was the product of a Mueller/Mueller marriage. Her parents were Johann Christian Friedrich and Justine (Mueller) Mueller. I will place these two in their respective Mueller clans by mentioning their noteworthy brothers. Johann Christian Friedrich was the brother of the first graduate of Concordia Seminary, Altenburg, J.A.F.W. Mueller, who carries the nickname, Alphabet Mueller. That family was also known early on for being brickmakers. Justine was the sister of Zacharias Mueller, an early merchant in Altenburg. Pauline was the 5th child of the 12 that are listed in the GFT for this family. By the way, every girl in this Mueller family had the first name of Maria. She was also baptized at Trinity, Altenburg. We can take a look at her baptism record.

Pauline is found in the 1860 census at the age of 7. Her father looks like another Alphabet Mueller in this entry, and he was a brickmaker.

Pauline is next found in the 1870 census as a teenager. This time, her father was called Christian Mueller. Even Pauline’s mother looks like she is called Christian Mueller.

Gotthold Feig married Pauline Mueller on November 6, 1873, probably at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. This marriage took place during the empty spot in that congregation’s marriage and death records that we call the “Koestering Hole”. There is a civil marriage record from Perry County for this event.

If these records are accurate, there was some scandal involved here because after this marriage in November of 1873, there was a baby born to this couple the next month in December of 1873. Then, sometime soon after that birth, Pauline must have died. I suspect the child died rather early also because we find no later record of her. The “Koestering Hole” keeps us from knowing the exact date of these deaths.

That leads us up to the story of Anna Sophia Popp, who was born on April 8th. She was the daughter of John and Anna (Grother) Popp. That means that Anna’s mother was another Anna Popp by marriage. There is a bit of a puzzle concerning the year of Anna’s birth. Her baptism record from the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna says she was born in 1856. Yet, her later death certificate says she was born in 1857. Here is an image of her baptism record.

Anna is found in the 1860 census at the age of 4. Her father was a farmer.

Next, we find Anna in the 1870 census. At least I think so. The 16 year-old in this entry looks like Anna, but her age would not be correct. All the siblings’ names seem to fit, though.

The widower, Gotthold Feig, married Anna Sophia Popp on October 5, 1875. This marriage took place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but, unlike his previous marriage, this time Gotthold’s marriage record is found in that congregation’s records. It was about this time that Rev. Koestering’s marriage records started showing up in the church books.

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

The German Family Tree lists 3 children born to this couple. We find the Feig household in the 1880 census.

Another child was born in 1881, but that baby died right away. Then in 1883, Gotthold Feig died at the age of 28. That left Anna as a widow with 2 young children. She would marry again. Let’s take a look at the early life of her 2nd husband.

Ernst Edward Weber was born on January 21, 1845, the son of Friedrich Wilhelm and Regina (Goethe) Weber. Ernst’s father was from the Weber clan that could be called the “Boat Weber’s” because they were part of the Gesellschaft in 1839. Ernst’s uncle was the notable Charles Weber, who was a Civil War captain and later a judge in Perryville. Ernst was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Here is his baptism record.

Ernst’s father had another notable relative. His sister, Emily Weber, had married Dr. Ernst Eduard Buenger. Dr. Buenger was one of Ernst’s sponsors, so I think it is likely that Ernst Edward Weber was named after Dr. Buenger. Ernst’s father died in 1848, and his mother then married George Kaufmann. Ernst is found in the 1850 census at the age of 6. His stepfather was the head of this household.

Ernst was a teenager in the 1860 census. The Kaufmann household had gotten quite large.

Ernst looks as if he is named Ernst Kaufmann when the 1870 census was taken.

Ernst was in his 30’s and still single when the 1880 census was taken.

Ernst was 42 years old when he married Anna Feig on November 6, 1887 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Below is the church record for this occasion.

The marriage license for this couple can also be viewed.

The GFT lists 3 children born to Ernst and Anna. We find the Weber household in the 1900 census.

The last census in which we find both Ernst and Anna was the one taken in 1910.

Anna Weber died in 1911 at the age of 54. Her death certificate states that she died of stomach cancer.

Ernst Weber died in 1915 at the age of 70. His death certificate says he was not sick, but just laid down and never got up again.

All of the characters in this story were likely buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg, but Findagrave.com has no gravestone photos of any of them. I took a trip to the cemetery to search for them. The deaths is the 1800’s are in an area where very few stones are readable. I had more hope for the last two deaths. I found some empty sites that could have been where they were buried.

There you have it. Gotthold Feig had 2 spouses. Anna Sophia Popp had 2 spouses. And the story contains several early deaths.

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One other note. I don’t know if you ever get to the bottom of our website’s pages, but for several years now, there has been a clock ticking down leading up to the next total eclipse that will take place. Today marks the day when we are exactly 2 years away from that special event taking place on April 8, 2024. East Perry County will be one of the best places in the country to view this eclipse.