Karl Oswald Gerhardt was born on July 31, 1869, the final child of Julius and Amalie (Leine) Gerhardt. If he was still alive today, he would be celebrating his 153rd birthday. Oswald’s baptism record can be found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of that record is displayed below. Oswald … More White Pearl Maker
I have run across several stories in which spelling changes are made to surnames. The story you will read today has a rather dramatic spelling change to a surname. It involves not only a difference at the end of the name. It does not only involve the addition of a vowel. More amazingly, it includes … More A Young Postal Clerk from Perryville
Martin Hellwege was the 5th child of Henry Hellwege and his 4th wife, Friedericke Winter. A previous story was written about Martin’s father and his 4 wives titled, The Fourth Marriage. You are going to discover that Martin would be another Hellwege who would have more than one wife. Martin Theodor Hellwege was born on … More Martin, Ida, and Nina – The Hellwege’s
I believe that if you look at the family trees of folks that live in this area, you will eventually discover a Schmidt amongst the branches. We will be looking at the Fiedler family tree today, and, lo and behold, one of the Fiedler’s married a Schmidt. However, the Schmidt bride in today’s story did … More If You’re Gonna Be a Fiedler, You Gotta Have a Schmidt in the Band
In today’s story, you will read about how one of the original immigrants who was part of the Gruber Group in 1839 married a girl who was the child of one of the first Perry County Lutheran marriages. I will then follow one branch of this couple’s family tree all the way out to California … More Lutheran Teacher’s Perry County Parents
Today’s tale has what could be described as several “missing pieces”. Actually, I think a better way to describe these missing pieces is that they are pieces that I was unable to find. I spend a few hours each day gathering the pieces to put together for a story. I use the term “drive-by genealogy” … More A Poehner Pair
My wife and I were married on July 1st. My wife’s birthday is on July 3rd (I had better not tell you the year of her birth). So, her anniversary and birthday are very near each other on the calendar. Today’s main character has a birthday and betrothal on the same date on the calendar. … More Brandes Birthday and Betrothal
Matthias Wukasch died on March 19th in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. When he was buried in Frohna, they put a portion of Daniel 12:3 on his tombstone. Matthias Wukasch gravestone Daniel 12:3 reads as follows: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many…
When you look at Lutheran marriages that took place in the 1800’s, you often find a couple in which one was born in Germany and one was born in the United States. When you get to marriages taking place in the 1900’s, almost all brides as well as grooms were born in this country. The … More A Thieret Throng
I will not relate the story of a birthday boy or girl today. Nor will I relate the story of a couple’s anniversary. Instead, I will be honoring the date that one of our cherished local congregations was established. I guess you could call it either a special birthday or a special anniversary. I will … More Zion, Longtown’s 125th
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