I thought I would be writing the story of a woman who would be celebrating her 200th birthday today, but I think I am wrong about her birth date. That also means that someone else may have made a mistake to begin with. Now, I am more convinced that this woman was actually born on May 23rd, not April 23rd, in 1824. However, I choose to write her story today anyway.

Hanne Rosine Thurm was likely born on May 23, 1824 in Ossig, Germany. She was the daughter of Johann Christian Gottlieb and Maria Rosina (Poppe) Thurm. I located a baptism record for a girl by this name from the parish in Ossig, Germany, which happens to be the place where other Thurm’s came from who settled in Perry County. This baptism record would also provide documentation that Hanne (or Johanna) was the brother of Traugott Thurm, the original Thurm who was the patriarch of a large Thurm family in Perry County. She also had a sister who married a Ruehling in Perry County, and that became a rather large family as well. The baptism record shown below definitely gives a May 23rd date of birth for Hanne Thurm. I choose to use the name Johanna for her because that is the name of her grave marker.

The next document I located for Johanna was her first marriage that took place in Ossig, Germany to Ernst August Schamburg on November 24, 1850. About all I can tell you is that Ernst August was born in about 1820, and his parents were named Friedrich Rudolph and Maria Barbara Schamburg. Below is the marriage record from the parish records in Ossig.

This couple had 3 children in Germany before coming to America in 1857 aboard the ship, Edmund. We can see this family on the passenger list for that ship shown below. This is the first place where we see that Johanna is also called Theresa in some records. I have no idea why she went by that name.

Two more children were born in Perry County to this couple. Those 2 children were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The last of the Schamburg children was born in March of 1860. Ernst August was the father of that child, so he must have still been alive at about this time, but by the time of that year’s census, he was not included. He likely died at about the time of the birth of his last child, but no death record is found in any local church books. Below is the 1860 census entry for the Schamburg’sk, which only displays Therea as the mother.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Johanna’s 2nd husband. His name was Carl Friedrich Franz Braeuner, who was born on April 26, 1826 in Koestritz, Germany. Franz was the son of Christian Carl and Johanne Christiane Rosine (Matthess) Braeuner. Franz’s family came to America aboard the ship, Leontine, in 1853. The Braeuner’s are seen on that ship’s passenger list below.

Franz’s first wife was Henriette Eichhorn. I cannot tell you much about her, other than to say that her parents were Carl Heinrich and Christiane Eichhorn. Franz Braeuner married Henriette Eichhorn on December 30, 1856 at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. We can take a look at the church record for that wedding.

A civil marriage record from Perry County is also available to view.

There are no children found in our German Family Tree for this couple, and there is no death record for Henriette, but it appears that she likely died not long after getting married to Franz. Then, on November 27, 1860, Franz Braeuner married the widow, Johanna Schamburg at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.

We can also view a civil marriage record for this wedding.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to Franz and Johanna, all of which were baptized at Immanuel, Altenburg. I would really like to be able to view the Braeuner’s in the 1870 census, but I was unsuccessful at finding their entry. I think it would have displayed a blended family of Schamburg and Braeuner children.

Johanna Braeuner died in 1879 at the age of 55. I am going to display her death record from the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. I am not aware of a reason that the Braeuner’s changed their membership to that congregation before their deaths. This death record is where we find a birth date of April 23, 1824 for Johanna, and if that would be the case, she would be celebrating her bicentennial birthday today.

Franz Braeuner is found in the 1880 census at the age of 57. He was a farmer in the Brazeau Township, and had 2 Braeuner children living with him.

Franz Braeuner died in 1882 at the age of 56. His death record is also found in the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Both Franz and Johanna are buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna. They each have the type of grave markers that were placed in that cemetery by that congregation to indicate people who were buried there without being previously marked with a gravestone. The markers are not likely placed at the exact site of their burial.

There are a few empty spots in this story of Braeuner’s, Eichhorn’s, Thurm’s, and Schamburg’s. I also fail to understand why today’s main character went by both the names, Theresa and Johanna, during her life, especially when her baptism record calls her Hanne Rosina. The missing 1870 census entry is also a mystery. In closing, I will suggest that you remember today’s post a month from now and celebrate the bicentennial birthday of Johanna (Thurm)(Schamburg) Braeuner.