Today’s post was inspired by a marriage. Today’s date marks the day on which a wedding took place back towards the end of the 19th century. Since I mentioned someone named Michael in the title of this post, I will begin with him.

John Michael Fassold was born on January 30, 1859, the son of Andrew and Gertrude (Hafner) Fassold. During most of his life, this boy went by the name, Michael, but toward the end of his life, a few documents and his gravestone use the name John. I can show a photo of Michael’s parents that was included in a post about them titled, Married in America.

Michael was the middle child, number 4 in a family of 7. He was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Michael was very young when he showed up in his first census in 1860. His father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Next, we find Michael in the 1870 census at the age of 11. All 7 of the Fassold children are found in this entry.

The 1880 census entry is the one that I found the most interesting. Not only do we find Michael Fassold on this census page, but right below the Fassold’s, we see the household of Christian Horn who was a physician. In Dr. Horn’s family was a daughter named Emma, who was going to become Michael’s wife. Michael, at the age of 21, was working on his father’s farm. The Salem Township was added to the list of townships in Perry County, and the Fassold farm was in the boundaries of this new township.

Emma Horn was 16 years old in the above census, but let’s backtrack in her life. Emma Barbara Horn was born on May 5, 1864, the daughter of Christian and Wilhelmina (Reihn) Horn. Emma was the firstborn child of 7 born to this Horn couple. I am not positive where Emma was baptized. I know the Horn family members have some records of being members of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, and Cross Lutheran Church in a rural area near Longtown. Emma is found in her first census in 1870 where she is called 7 years of age, although I think she was just 6. Her father was a physician in the Cinque Hommes Township.

You have already seen Emma in the 1880 census.

John Michael Fassold married Emma Horn on October 6, 1895, so today would have been this couple’s 127th wedding anniversary. This pair was married at Cross Lutheran Church, a congregation that existed for a relatively short time near Longtown. We have a binder that lists some of the church records for that congregation. The record for the Fassold/Horn wedding is displayed below.

We can also take a look at the marriage license for this pair.

We can view the wedding photograph of Michael and Emma.

In a history of Cross Congregation, we discover that Michael’s father, Andreas Fassold, donated some property on which that congregation would build their church sanctuary.

Our German Family Tree lists 6 children born to Michael and Emma Fassold. All of these children were baptized at Peace Lutheran, Friedenberg. One child died shortly after being born. The 1900 census shows this couple living in the Salem Township with two children. Michael’s parents were also part of this household. Good luck trying to read this entry.

The 1910 census lists 4 children in the Fassold household, along with one of Michael’s brothers, Andrew, who never married.

Next, we find the Fassold’s in the 1920 census. Their last child had been born in 1911, so now we see all 5 of their children that lived to adulthood.

The last census in which we find Michael was the one taken in 1930. In this census entry, he is called John M., not Michael. He was a farmer all his life. At this point in time, it looks like he had plenty of help with his farm, with 4 grown-up sons still living in his household.

John Michael Fassold died in 1937 at the age of 78. His death certificate is displayed below.

An obituary for John Michael Fassold was published in the Perry County Republican.

After her husband’s death, Emma Fassold went to live with her daughter, who was also named Emma and who had married Gunnar Berg. They were living in St. Louis. Another one of the Fassold children, one who was also named Michael, was also living in this household. Both Gunnar Berg and Michael Fassold were working at a brewery.

Emma Fassold died in 1951 at the age of 86. Her death certificate indicates that she died in St. Louis.

John Michael and Emma Fassold are buried together in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in Friedenberg.

There are only two angels who are given names in the Bible, Gabriel and Michael. Michael is known as the archangel who led the fight against Satan. This story of a Michael who married a Horn reminds me of a passage found in the Bible in I Thessalonians 4:16.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.“

The gravestone of Michael and Emma states that they are “Asleep in Jesus”. They await the sound of a trumpet to awaken their bodies.