Back in March of 2020, I wrote a post titled, George’s Girls. That was a story about George Bingenheimer who had 6 children, all girls. Today, I found the story of George’s brother, John, and lo and behold, he had 4 children, and all of them were girls.

I am not sure when exactly John Bingenheimer was born. The nearest I can come is to say that he was born in February of 1867. John was the son of George and Elizabeth (Reinemer) Bingenheimer. John had 3 siblings, an older brother, who was also named George (who had the 6 daughters) and two sisters, one older and one younger. I thought I might find a baptism record for John in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, but I was unsuccessful. I did find a baby girl baptized in 1867 with the surname of Bingenheimer, but not one for John. The Bingenheimer family can be found in the 1870 census for the Apple Creek Township. John was 3 years old at the time, and his father was a farmer.

The only other census entry in which we find John as a single person was the one taken in 1880. John was 13 years old.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become John Bingenheimer’s bride. Her name was Helen (or Lena) Moeller. Our German Family Tree just says that Helen was born in May of 1869. I did find a family tree on Ancestry.com that says she was born on May 7th of that year. Helen was the daughter of Christian and Louisa (Sewing) Moeller. I also thought that I might find Helen’s baptism record in the Trinity, Friedheim books. I found a page on which her record might be found, but it is almost impossible to read. I was also unsuccessful at finding the Moeller family in the 1870 census, so the only census I can display in which Helen is single is the one taken in 1880. Helen (Lena) was 11 years old at the time.

John Bingenheimer married Helen Moeller on May 10, 1894, making today their 128th anniversary. These two were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can take a look at the church record from that congregation’s books.

The marriage license for this couple is pictured below.

As mentioned earlier, our German Family Tree lists 4 children born to John and Helen, and all of them were girls. Three of them were baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. That congregation was established in 1897, and the first Bingenheimer baby was born in 1895. Already in 1897, when that congregation began, both the John and George Bingenheimer families were listed as communicant members.

The 1900 census finds the John Bingenheimer family living in the Union Township where John was a farmer. Two daughters were in the household.

Next, we find the Bingenheimer’s in the 1910 census. All four of the daughter are found in this entry.

There would be one more census in which we find this Bingenheimer family living in Perry County. That was the one taken in 1920. Right below their entry is a note saying it was the end of the enumeration for the village of Longtown. I find it interesting that the two older daughters living with them are called farm laborers.

Before 1924, this family moved to Alton, Illinois. A city directory for that year shows several Bingenheimer names. In addition to John and Helen, we find 3 of their daughters, Concordia, Martha, and Norma.

The above directory says that John was employed by the Illinois Glass Company. We find the Bingenheimer’s in the 1930 census from Alton. This entry says the 63 year-old John was a yard man for private families.

The last census in which we find John and Helen was the one taken in 1940. At the age of 73, John no longer had an occupation.

Helen Bingenheimer died in 1942 at the age of 73; John Bingenheimer died in 1949 at the age of 82. Both John and Helen were buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Alton, Illinois.

Those gravestones are also marked with a family marker with both the names of Bingenheimer and Keller on it. Martha Bingenheimer married George Keller, and their gravestones are found in this family plot.

John and George Bingenheimer had 10 girls between the two of them. Their two sisters had a few boys along with more girls, but if and when these Bingeheimer’s got together for a family reunion, there had to be a whole bunch of girl cousins attending.

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The last two days, workers have been installing some new tiling in front of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. I felt obligated to take a few photos to document this new addition to one of the East Perry County churches. By the end of today, I believe this project will be completed. Folks attending or visiting this beautiful church in the future will have the opportunity to view this new update. Here is a gallery of clickable thumbnails.