Today’s birthday girl is one of those people whose birthday only comes from calculating a date of birth from a death record that states how old a person was when they died in numbers of years, months, and days that they lived. If that calculation is correct, then this woman would be celebrating that special 175th birthday today. This woman’s birthday is the starting point for this post that is going to take us on a little bit of a wild ride. Hang on!

When Anna Maria Putz died on February 27, 1871, she was reported to be 23 years and 9 months old. So, her date of birth would be May 27, 1847. Anna Marie was born in Austria, and one family tree on Ancestry.com speculates that her parents were Leopold and Maria (Gorz) Putz. It’s difficult to find much information about Anna Maria because she died so young, but there is an immigration record that states an Anna Putz arrived in America in 1867, which fits other facts. On April 12, 1868, Anna Maria married Gottlieb Reisenbichler. These two were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can take a look at the church record for this event.

There is also a civil marriage record for this wedding. It’s rather difficult to read.

Let’s take a look at the life of Gottlieb Leopold Reisenbichler, who was born in Austria on July 7, 1844. Gottlieb was the son of Leopold and Theresa (Grillen) Reisenbichler. Gottlieb, at age 14, and his family arrived in Baltimore in December of 1858. This passenger list has been displayed on this blog previously.

Gottlieb and Anna Maria had 2 children, both boys. The timing of the births of these two boys is rather interesting. I have an older brother who was born in February of 1949. I was born 11 months later in January of 1950. The births of Henry and Louis Reisenbichler exhibit the same situation, only they were more amazing. I think this is the first time I have described such a case. Henry was born in January of 1869, and Louis was born in December of 1869. Their birthdays, too, were 11 months apart, but they were each born in the same calendar year. These two sons were baptized at Immanuel, New Wells. We find this Reisenbichler family in the 1870 census.

Anna Maria Reisenbichler died in 1871 at the age of 23, leaving Gottlieb as a widower with 2 very young children. Anna Maria was probably buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells, but Findagrave.com does not include an entry for her. Gottlieb’s wife died in February of that year, and he got married again in September. He married a woman who had also recently become a widow. Let’s take a look at her.

Anna Maria Pilz was born on September 28, 1851 in Austria. Her father was Matthias Pilz, but I am not sure what her mother’s name was. Yes, that means both of Gottlieb Reisenbichler’s wives were named Anna Maria. While I’m at it, let me place an image here that I’ve shown before of all the women named Anna Pilz found in Lori Adams’s Fritsche-Miesner family tree on Ancestry.com. Almost all of these are variations of Anna Maria. Two of them were even born in 1851. The one in today’s post is the one that died in 1906.

Like Anna Maria Putz, Anna Maria Pilz came to America in 1867. She then married Friedrich Christian Lindner on November 8, 1869. The marriage record for this couple is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. I showed a larger image than necessary in order to display the fancy curly-cues the pastor used at the bottom of the page.

This couple had no children, and their marriage was cut very short. Friedrich Christian died in 1870 at the age of 24. He was buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

That leads us up to the marriage of Gottlieb Reisenbichler and Anna Maria Lindner which took place on September 27, 1871. That marriage took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can look at the church record for that wedding.

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

Our German Family Tree lists 7 more children born to this pair. We can find the Reisenbichler’s in the 1880 census. The 2 children from Gottlieb’s first marriage are combined with 3 from his second. Gottlieb was a farmer.

We have to skip ahead to 1900 in order to view the next census for the Reisenbichler’s. The last child was just 6 years old, so that means Gottlieb was fathering children from 1869 until 1893.

Anna Maria Reisenbichler died in 1906 at the age of 54, leaving Gottlieb once again a widower. Next, we find the Reisenbichler household in the 1910 census. Just 3 children remained living with their father.

The last census in which we find Gottlieb was the one taken in 1920. His son, William, was the head of the household, and another daughter, Bertha, was living with them.

Gottlieb Reisenbichler died in 1924 at the age of 80. I find it interesting that the undertaker listed on his death certificate was his son, Christian Reisenbichler.

Gottlieb and Anna Maria Reisenbichler are buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Pocahontas.

In yesterday’s post, I said that it would not be the last one in which a man who lost his first wife would marry a woman who lost her first husband. I did not know at the time that I would find another such story today. There are two differences, however. First, Anna Maria Lindner did not have any children by her first husband. Also, the second marriage had plenty more children.