Earlier this month, I wrote a post about a Noennig couple…Arthur and Amanda. That post was titled, Arthur and Amanda – The Noennig’s. Today, I will tell the story of another Noennig…Martin Noennig. Arthur Noennig would have called today’s character, Uncle Martin.

Martin Gottfried Noennig was born on June 28, 1850, the son of Gottfried and Johanna (Poppitz) Noennig. Martin’s parents were each part of the Gesellschaft in 1839, and each came to America aboard the Copernicus. Not long after their arrival, they were married in June of 1840. Perhaps this couple’s romance began on the Copernicus. Those two began having children in 1842, and eventually had 9 of them. Martin was child #5 in that family. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record from that congregation’s books is shown here.

Martin was born early enough in 1850 to appear in that year’s census. Martin’s age is given as 4 months in this entry. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Martin in the 1860 census when he was 10 years old. At this time, there were 7 Noennig children in the household.

The last census in which we find Martin as a single man was the one taken in 1870. At the age of 20, Martin was helping his father on his farm.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Martin’s bride. Her name was Pauline Josephine Froebel, who was born on February 10, 1857. Pauline was the daughter of Valentine and Christiane (Seidler) Froebel. She was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can take a look at her baptism record below.

There were 7 children born to this Froebel couple, and all of them were girls, so this branch of Froebel’s will not carry their surname to the next generation. The first census in which we find Pauline was the one taken in 1860 when she was 3 years old. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. Two young men, Louis Gerler and Peter Stueve, were helping Pauline’s father on his farm.

Pauline’s father died in 1868, leaving her mother as a widow. In the 1870 census, we find a bunch of females. Pauline was in the household with her widowed mother and 4 younger sisters. This must have been a difficult time for the Froebel’s. One must wonder what their source of income might have been.

Let me point out at this time that Pauline’s mother, Christiane, would get married again in 1880. Her second husband was Rev. J.A.F.W. Mueller, who had been the first graduate of Concordia Seminary in Altenburg. In 1880, Rev. Mueller was the pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Chester, Illinois. His first wife had died in 1877, so he was also a widower when he married Christiane Froebel.

Martin Noennig married Pauline Froebel on April 18, 1877, so today would be this couple’s 146th wedding anniversary. Martin and Pauline were married at Pauline’s church, Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The church record for this wedding is pictured here.

I almost did not find this civil marriage license because Martin’s surname was butchered on this form. Ancestry.com translates his name as Gartin Knoch. This form also says this couple was married on October 18, 1877, not April 18th.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to Martin and Pauline. When the 1880 census was taken, we find them with just their first child, a boy who was also named Martin. One of Pauline’s sisters was included in their household, along with a young laborer named Henry Foster, who was likely helping on Martin’s farm.

It would not be until 1900 that we can view another census for the Noennig’s. Just 3 children remained in their household.

At this point, let me tell you that this couple’s oldest child, Martin Gottfried Noennig, had become a medical doctor and had a practice in Perryville in 1900. However, in 1901, he died at the very young age of 22. He is buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna.

The 1910 census shows Martin and Pauline in their 50’s with 2 remaining children in their 20’s. A servant by the name of Dora Starzinger was living in their household.

The plat maps for Perry County in 1915 shows the Martin Noennig farm located north of Altenburg along what is now Highway Y. Near Martin’s farm is that of Gottfried Noennig, his younger brother.

Both Martin and Pauline Noennig died in the 1920’s. Pauline died in 1923 at the age of 66. Breast cancer is given as the cause of death on her death certificate shown below.

Martin Noennig died in 1927 at the age of 77. The maiden name of his mother is given on this form as Froebel. That was his wife’s maiden name, not his mother’s.

Both Martin and Pauline Noennig are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

Before I conclude this post, let me say that after I publish this story, I am going to take some time to add some additional photos to a story that I wrote just a matter of days ago titled, Hope in the Resurrection. Two individuals have sent me photos that pertain to that story. If you are interested in seeing those photos, I encourage you to revisit that blog post. It might just take me a little bit of time to make those additions.