When I hear the name, Janzow, I immediately am taken back to my days as a student at Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska. When I began preparing to become a Lutheran educator, Dr. W. Theophil Janzow was the president of that college. Today’s birthday boy was a Janzow, and, like President Janzow, he was a Lutheran pastor. In fact. he spent part of his ministry here in Perry County at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna.

Carl Ludwig Janzow was born on July 1, 1848, so today would be his 175th birthday. Carl, who also went by the name Charles, was the son of Carl Friedrich and Caroline (Hartwig) Janzow. His Findagrave.com entry says he was born in Heringsdorf, Germany. In a short biography of Carl Ludwig, Carl Friedrich’s father, it gives a few more details about this Janzow family. Carl Friedrich’s father was likely the person who today’s character was named after. That Carl was born on the island of Usedom, which is located on the Baltic Sea. That location is found in the region of Germany known as Pomerania.

Below is a map showing both Heringsdorf and the island of Usedom.

This passage is found in some biographical information about Carl’s parents, Carl Friedrich and Caroline.

Came from Amsterdam in yr 1848 to Ft Wayne, Indiana to Joplin, Mississippi to Lewiston, Minnesota. 

If this is true, then today’s birthday boy came to America during the same year as his birth. It also indicates that his family made their way to Lewiston, Minnesota. That is likely where Carl Janzow spent his early days, but I was unable to find him in the 1850 or 1860 censuses. In the late 1860’s, Carl probably attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Carl’s wife. Her name was Anna Wilhelmine Mueller, who was born on July 28, 1854 in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Wilhelmine was the daughter of Wilhelm and Sophia (Kracht) Mueller. She is found in her first census in 1860 at the age of 5. Her father was a farmer in Cedarburg. It looks like she was called Anna during her childhood.

Next, we find Wilhelmine in the 1870 census as a teenager.

I have no idea how Carl Janzow met Wilhelmine Mueller, nor do I know how Wilhelmine got to St. Louis, but it is in that city that Carl and Wilhelmine were married on October 22, 1872. This marriage has the looks of a Lutheran pastor who gets married shortly after graduating from the Seminary. We can take a look at a civil record of that wedding. Interestingly, these two were married by Rev. J.F. Buenger, who was one of the builders of the Log Cabin College in Altenburg.

Rev. Carl Janzow’s first call was to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Farley, Missouri, which is near Kansas City. In the list of early pastors at that congregation shown below, we see that he served that congregation from 1872-1876. He was the first pastor of that church.

Pastor Janzow served for a short time in Dryden, Minnesota. Then in 1879, Rev. Janzow became the pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. In a similar list of early pastors at Concordia, it says that he served in Frohna from 1879-1883.

During his time in Frohna, Carl and Wilhelmine had 2 of their children who have baptism records in the books of Concordia. Every family tree that I looked at on Ancestry.com for this Janzow couple did not include a link to an 1880 census entry. I had an advantage over others. I knew he was living in Frohna, and I knew who were likely his neighbors. I searched for one of the Weinhold brothers who ran the Frohna Flour Mill and once I found the page for him, I found the Janzow household on the same page. All my other efforts to find him doing a search of census entries on Ancestry.com had failed. Please note on the image below that it says Carl was from Pomerania. The Janzow’s had 3 children at the time, and the 3 year-old was reportedly born in Minnesota.

In 1883, Rev. Janzow accepted a call to become the pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Louis. According to the list below, he was at that congregation from 1883-1907.

We find the Janzow’s in the 1900 census living in St. Louis. There were 5 children in their household.

Rev. Janzow served at one more church after Bethlehem. He became the pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Freedom, Pennsylvania, which is in the Pittsburgh area. In the 1910 census, we find the Janzow household in Freedom. Just one teenage daughter remained living with them.

I found this short biography of Carl’s life.

At some point in his life, this photograph was taken of Rev. Carl Janzow.

Carl must not have remained in Pennsylvania for very long. When he died in 1911, he had a Missouri death certificate. He was 62 years old at the time of his death.

I located this obituary for Carl which states that his funeral was held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church where he had previously served.

Wilhelmine Janzow died in 1920 at the age of 65. I suspect that she may have died in a different state because I was unable to find a Missouri death certificate for her. Both Carl and Wilhelmine Janzow are buried in the New Bethlehem Cemetery in St. Louis. There is a gravestone listing both Carl and Wilhelmine, along with two individual markers for each.

The name Janzow takes me back to Concordia Teachers College in Seward. Next week, my wife and I will be taken back in our car to Concordia for our 50 years reunion. President W. Theophil Janzow was the grand nephew of today’s birthday boy. A building on the campus has been named after President Janzow. I found this short video promoting the Janzow Campus Center. I know we will be spending some time in this building soon.