As summer at The Lutheran Heritage Center draws to a close, we are humbled and grateful for the many blessings that we have enjoyed during the summer months. These blessings include record numbers of visitors, world-acclaimed collections, many tours, and the generous giving of friends from around the country and beyond. Just in the last … More This week at the Museum…
I am pasting a 6 year-old blog post today because it is time for another road trip. I will not have time to do much writing this weekend, and then on Monday, I will have my second cataract surgery. The business mentioned in this post is presently called “Say Grace”. It is now a well-established … More A Building in Transition
I have discovered that several natives of this area migrated to settle in the vicinity of Coffeyville, Kansas, which is right on the border between Kansas and Oklahoma. Many of those folks had connections to Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. I will be writing another one of those stories today. We begin with a … More Brunkhorst and Dietrich in Coffeyville
We are in the midst of the Major League Baseball season, and around here, there is much excitement because the St. Louis Cardinals are in first place in the Central Division of the National League. They are in excellent position to be playing in the postseason. So, when I found a birthday for Theodor Dietrich, … More Batting #3 for the Altenburg Giants
I will present you with a name that has not appeared on this blog before today. It is not a German name. It is an English name…Miles. On a very detailed Ancestry.com family history, this Miles name can be tracked all the way back to an arrival in Maryland back in the 1600’s. That is … More A Miles-Sandler Family
I am going to begin this post today by explaining the process that I use to discover a story to write. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know that I usually tell the tale of someone who has a birthday or wedding anniversary happening on the day that I write … More Baptism Triplets
Yesterday’s story highlighted the life of Hilda Gerler, who was born on September 10, 1897. One day after Hilda was born, another baby girl was born across the Mississippi River in Jacob, Illinois. That means, once again, we will be looking at a girl who, if she was alive today, would be celebrating her 125th … More Lenora and the Milk Man
Hilda Eleonora Gerler is today’s birthday girl, celebrating the 125th anniversary of her birth. She was born on September 10, 1897, the daughter of Friedrich and Bertha (Lehner) Gerler. Hilda was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We can take a look at an image of her baptism record below. Hilda is found in … More Hilda’s Lumberman Landgraf
I have written several stories over the years that begin with a rather lonely church record and then proceed to take place beyond the confines of our German Family Tree. Today, you will read another one of those tales. The only record in our GFT for a man by the name of Ernst Andrew Diefenbach … More A Diefenbach Duo
As we proceed through the year 2022, I find it difficult to ignore a birthday that occurred in 1822. Since that year was well before the Gesellschaft arrived in Perry County, such a birth had to take place back in the German homeland. I discovered such a story for today’s post. Margaretha Buck was born … More 200 Years for a Buck
