In less than a week, I will have to remember that it is Valentine’s Day, and I’ll have the privilege of giving my sweetheart some extra special attention. So when I ran across a birthday boy named Valentine, and I discovered that I hadn’t written his story yet, I knew I had to write this post.
Valentine Fiedler was born on February 8, 1844, making today his 180th birthday. Valentine was the son of Andreas and Christina (Gerth) Fiedler. He was born in Korbussen, Germany, and I was able to find his baptism record from that parish.
I think Valentine was the first Fiedler to arrive in this vicinity. When he was 24 years old, he came to America aboard the ship, Allemannia, in 1868. We see his name on that ship’s passenger list below.
Even though he was in this country when the 1870 census was taken, I was unable to find him in a census entry for that year. That would also be the year that he got married, so I will now take the time to look at the woman who would become his wife. Her name was Hanna Maria Amelia Kasten, who was born on August 27, 1846. Maria was the daughter of Henry and Wilhelmina (Grebe or Greve or Grefel) Kasten. She was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. An image of her baptism record is pictured here.
Maria was 4 years old when the 1850 census was taken. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.
In 1860, Maria was confirmed at Grace, Uniontown and appears in her family’s census entry at the age of 14. Her family was living in the Cinque Hommes Township.
Next, we will look at the man who would become Maria’s first husband. His name was Herman Koenig, who was born on March 7, 1843 in Korbussen, Germany. Herman was the son of Christian and Marie (Kirmse) Koenig. I was also able to find Herman’s baptism record from the Korbussen parish.
Herman likely came to America in the 1860’s. He became a naturalized citizen in 1867, the same year that he got married. Herman Koenig married Maria Kasten on October 15, 1867 at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. The church record for that occasion is displayed here.
We can also view a civil marriage record from Perry County.’
Our German Family Tree lists 2 children born to Maria and Herman. Both of them were baptized at Immanuel, New Wells. Then, Herman Koenig died in 1869 at the age of 26, leaving Maria as a widow with 2 young children. This is where Maria’s Valentine enters the picture. Maria Koenig married Valentine Fiedler on January 25, 1870 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. The church marriage record for this pair is shown here.
There is also a civil marriage record from Cape Girardeau County that we can view.
The GFT lists 8 more children born to Valentine and Maria. In the 1880 census, we see 2 Koenig children and 5 Fiedler children. Valentine was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.
Next, we find the Fiedler’s in the 1910 census. Twenty years had passed since the previous census, so by this time several children had moved away. Just 3 children remained in the household.
When the 1910 census was taken, we find Valentine and Maria living in the same household with their son, Herman, and his young family.
The last census in which we find Valentine and Maria is the one taken in 1920.
Valentine Fiedler died in 1923 at the age of 79. His death certificate below says he died of old age and calls him a retired carpenter, despite the fact that every census entry calls him a farmer.
Maria Fiedler died in 1925, also at the age of 79. We can view her death certificate.
Valentine and Maria Fiedler are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.
In German, the word, koenig, means “king”. Also, the word, fiedler, means “fiddler”. So, in the case of Maria Kasten, she first married a king, thus making her a queen. This king and queen produced 2 princesses. Then the queen found her Valentine. She and her new sweetheart had 8 more children. I guess you could say that when Maria sat down at her dinner table with her Valentine, she always sat with a violinist, a “fiddler”, to serenade her. How romantic!
Just a few more things. Around here, many folks actually pronounce the name, Fiedler, as “fiddler”. And, I would ask this question. What are the chances that Maria Kasten would marry 2 husbands, both of which were baptized at the same church in Germany? Knowing that fact, I also have to presume that Maria’s 2 husbands knew each other as boys growing up in Germany. Did Maria get to know Valentine because he and her first husband were old friends?
Dear Warren Schmidt,
I’m writing in response to your blog post of February 8, 2024: “Maria’s Valentine and Fiddler.” I first read it the day you posted it because my cousin Len Fiedler forwarded it to me and sixteen other family members that same day. I just reread it yesterday after sending it to another cousin of mine who asked me for the name of the German village in which my great grandfather Valentin Fiedler was born and from which he emigrated to the US. I was familiar with much of the story you reported from my own research into Fiedler family history that began with a pre-conference seminar on researching family history at the 2001 German Studies Association in Salt Lake City, Utah. The hands-on part of that seminar took place at the Family History Library in that city, now called FamilySearch Library at least on the internet. There, as I recall, I was directed first of all to the 1900 census where I learned that Valentin had emigrated to the US in 1868 and then went to the reference work Germans to America where I learned that he had listed his profession as Zimmermann or carpenter at the time of his emigration, a trade that in a German context would have required the successful completion of a lengthy apprenticeship on his part. Apparently he and his children were still very proud of his having done so at the time of his death. This would explain why his death certificate identified him as a retired carpenter rather than a farmer.
My other comment refers to what I take to be a typo on your part. About two-thirds of the way through your post you note: “Next we find the Fiedler’s in the 1910 census.” However, immediately following the excerpt from that census, you correctly date that census as “1900 census—Shawnee Township.” My grandfather Benjamin was still living at home in 1900, but no longer in 1910.
Just so you know, I was born and grew up on a farm about four miles north of Altenburg that I still co-own. I usually make it to Altenburg two to three times a year and plan to stop by the museum the next time I’m in town in the hope of meeting you.
Ted Fiedler
Emeritus Professor of German Studies
University of Kentucky