There were occasions in days gone by when a pastor wrote a death record in the church books, he would indicate how many years, months, and days that person lived. In some instances, backtracking that person’s length of life would be the only way to determine his or her date of birth. The problem is that sometimes the pastor made a mistake. There is a problem with today’s main character. If you use the pastor’s calculations, he was born on June 25th, but if you look at the date of birth inscribed on the gravestone, you see June 24th. I happen to think that the June 24th date is the correct one, so I am writing this man’s story today, not tomorrow.

According to his tombstone, Wilhelm Karl Weinhold was born on June 24, 1825. That means today is his 199th birthday. He was born in Niederfrohna, Germany. The names of Wilhelm’s parents is an unanswered question. Wilhelm was married in Germany, but his marriage date is another unsolved mystery. Let’s take a look at the woman who was his wife.

Emilie Lindner was born on April 16, 1831. Like her husband, she was born in Germany. I am not sure exactly where she was born, but there are several other Lindner’s in our German Family Tree who originated from the Niederfrohna area. Most likely, Wilhelm Weinhold married Emilie Lindner in the early 1850’s. Their first child was born in 1853, and then another one was born in 1857 while this couple was still in Germany.

The Weinhold’s came to America in 1860 aboard the ship, Magdalene. We can view this family’s names on the passenger list shown below. Wilhelm is described as a farmer on this form.

I have discussed the two main Weinhold clans who are found in our German Family Tree before. I call one of the clans the “Miller Weinhold’s” because the original Weinhold’s in this clan became proprietors of flour mills. I call the other clan the “Dirt Weinhold’s” because one of the descendants from that clan that I know calls them by that name. It refers to the fact that most men from that clan were farmers. As near as I can tell, Wilhelm Weinhold was the first of the “Dirt Weinhold’s” to live in Perry County.

According to our German Family Tree, Wilhelm and Emilie had a total of 6 children. Four more were born in America, and those children were baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The Weinhold’s arrived in 1860 after that year’s census was taken, so the first census in which we find them was the one taken in 1870. We find all 6 children in their household, but the census taker did not list them in the order of their birth. The boys are listed first, followed by the girls. Wilhelm was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

During the 1870’s, a new Union Township was established in Perry County. It was in that township that we find the Weinhold’s when Missouri compiled a state census in 1876. The Weinhold surname is impossible to read in the image below, but the first names of the members of the Weinhold family are correct.

Wilhelm Weinhold did not live long enough to make it into the 1880 census. He died in 1877 at the age of 52. His death record pictured below from the books of Concordia, Frohna says he died of gall bladder fever. This is the document that says Wilhelm was 52 years and 23 days old when he died. Backtracking from his date of death, you come up with a birthdate of June 25th.

Emiliie is found as a widow in the 1880 census. She is called a farmer, and her 14 year-old son, Phillip, was also helping with the farming.

It would be 20 years later before we are able to view another census. In the 1900 census, Emilie was still alive and living with her son, Phillip, and his family. Phillip is called a farmer while Emilie is called a landlady.

Emilie Weinhold died in 1903 at the age of 72. We are also able to view her death record from Concordia, Frohna. It says she died of pneumonia.

Wilhelm and Emilie are each buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna. A close inspection of Wilhelm’s gravestone demonstrates a date of birth as June 24th.

This post has mentioned several unsolved mysteries. The big unsolved mystery, as far as I am concerned, is whether the “Miller Weinhold’s” are related to the “Dirt Weinhold’s”. A lot of people think that they are related somehow, including me, but so far, no one has come up with any proof. Both families came from the same area of Germany and became members of the same Lutheran church in Perry County. Someday, someone with more resources than we have at our museum may resolve this issue.