After looking over the documents I located for today’s story, I have come to the conclusion that the marriage date for today’s couple as it is found in our German Family Tree is incorrect. In fact, I think it is off by about 5 years. The GFT says that today’s couple was married on May 2, 1870, but there are absolutely no documents given to indicate that was when the wedding took place. That marriage date seems to come out of thin air. That does not mean that the wedding did not take place on May 2nd, but I am almost certain that it did not take place in 1870. You will read some reasons why I say this later in this post.

Before I get too far, let me say that another story similar to this one was published a little over a year ago about a couple that carried the same surnames as you will find in this story. That post was titled, One of the Bracher/Stueve Couples in Prairie City. Another previous post explains how and why a number of Perry County natives moved to Bates County, Missouri shortly after the Civil War. It was written by Fred Eggers and titled, An Early Out-Migration of Original Immigrants.

We will begin with the groom in today’s couple. Abraham Traugott Bracher was born on November 12, 1842, the son of Johann and Maria (Krause) Bracher. Traugott’s parents were two of the original immigrants who had arrived in America in November of 1839 as part of the Gruber Group. Traugott was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. That baptism record is displayed here.

Traugott is found in the 1850 census at the age of 8. He is called Abraham in this entry. His father was a weaver in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Traugott in the 1860 census as a teenager. Both of his parents had died in 1855, so now Traugott was living with his older half-brother, Charles. He is called a farm laborer.

Now, we will take a look at the early life of the woman who would become Traugott’s wife. Her name was Doris Catharina Stueve, who was born on June 24, 1848. She was the daughter of Claus and Margaretha (Buck) Stueve. Our German Family Tree says Catharina was born on July 24th, not June 24th, but that is almost certainly wrong. A baptism record for the parish church in Lamstedt, Germany pictured here indicates her date of birth as June 24th. Her later gravestone would also display that date.

While she was a very young girl, Catharina’s’ family moved to America. When the next child was born in this family, that child was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg in 1851. This Stueve family is found in the 1860 census with 5 children, 2 born in Germany and 3 born in Missouri. Catharina is called Dora in this entry. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Traugott Bracher married Catharina Stueve prior to the 1870 census. In a Stueve family binder that we have in our research library that was produced by Diane Anderson, it says that this wedding probably took place in about 1865.

Why would we not know when exactly this marriage took place? My best guess is that it has to do with the “Koestering Hole” that exists in both marriage and death records for Trinity, Altenburg. The other Bracher/Stueve marriage took place in 1864, and that record is found in the Trinity books. Pastor Koestering arrived at Trinity in 1865. No civil record for this marriage is to be found in the Perry County records either.

Another reason that I think this couple’s wedding did not occur in 1870 is the fact that 2 children were born to this couple prior to 1870. We find 2 baptism records in the books of Trinity, Altenburg for those Bracher children. First, here is the one for Juliane Bracher, who was born in 1868.

A son named Claus Joseph Bracher was born in 1869.

The Bracher’s migrated to Bates County, Missouri prior to the 1870 census. That year’s entry displays 2 Bracher families right next to each other. Both of them were farmers. Right below Traugott’s entry is that of his brother Fred, whose wife Elisabeth, was also a Stueve. Just one child is in Traugott’s family because their first daughter died as an infant.

In the 1880 census, we find the Bracher’s living in the Hudson Township of Bates County. Two more children had been born to Traugott and Catherina after they moved to Bates County.

In 1895, some plat maps were produced for Bates County. We find several parcels of land belonging to men named Bracher. They had property right on the boundary between the Hudson and Rockville Townships, so we have to look at two different maps.

The next map also shows some land owned by a few others with Perry County roots.

In the 1900 census, we find the Bracher’s with an empty nest. In this entry, we see that this couple had reportedly been married for 35 years, which would indicate that they got married sometime around 1865. This is probably where Diane Anderson got the clue that they were married at that time and put it in her Stueve family binder.

Catharina Bracher died in 1909 at the age of 61. When the 1910 census was compiled, we find Traugott as a widower who was living with his daughter, Mary, who had married John Jacob Fischer.

Next, in the 1920 census, Traugott is once again found in the John Fischer household.

The last census in which we find Traugott is the one taken in 1930. He was 87 years old at that time.

Traugott Bracher died later in 1930. Because he died in Missouri after 1910, we are able to view his death certificate.

Traugott and Catharina Bracher are buried together in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Prairie City.

Zion Lutheran Church in Prairie City was established in 1868. It appears the Bracher brothers arrived in Bates County shortly after that church was started, but I figure they were some of the very early members of that congregation which celebrated their 150th anniversary back in 2018.