From 1911-1916, Rev. Nicolaus Wettengel served as the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. During that time, 3 of his children were confirmed and one child was born and baptized. This is the first time that this surname has appeared on this blog, and we will begin with one of those children who was confirmed here. She is also today’s birthday girl.

Maria Pauline Wettengel was born on July 27, 1898, the first child born to Nicolaus and Rosa (Hornfischer) Wettengel. That makes today her 125th birthday. Mary was born when her father was a missionary in South Australia. We find evidence that the Wettengel’s left Australia in 1906 aboard the ship, Darmstadt, that was headed to Germany. This passenger list says that there were 3 children in the Wettengel family.

In 1907, the Wettengel’s headed to the United States aboard the ship, Hannover, which landed in Galveston, Texas. Here is a document that says Mary was a passenger on that ship.

When the 1910 census was taken, we find the Wettengel’s living in the Whitewoman Township of Wichita County, Kansas. Mary was 11 years old, and her father was a minister.

As said before, Mary and her family moved to Altenburg in 1911. It was there that Mary was confirmed in 1912. I can just imagine the stories that Mary could tell her classmates about her childhood in Australia. Here is an image of her confirmation class from the books of immanual, Altenburg.

I am not sure where Maria was living when the 1920 census was taken, but I know her family was living in Tripoli, Iowa at that time.

Now, we will look at the man who would become Mary’s husband. His name was William Grover Weber, who was born on January 12, 1893. Weber is certainly a Perry County name, and there was also quite a large Weber family that were members of Immanuel, Altenburg. William was also born in Missouri, but he never had a Perry County presence. He was born in Moundville, Missouri, which is in the western part of the state, almost to Kansas. William was the son of William and Luty Belle (Hubbel) Weber. We find William in the 1900 census at the age of 7 living in Deerfield, Missouri, which is very near Moundville. His father was a farmer.

William was a teenager when the 1910 census. His family was living in the same place. William was helping his father on the farm. The Weber family had gotten quite large.

Fairly early in his life, this Weber family had this photo taken. William was the oldest son, so I think he is standing in the back on the right.

William had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. This document gives William a Moundville address, but says he was a student at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

Waverly and Tripoli, where Mary’s family was living, are both in Bremer County, Iowa. That county is a place where quite a few Perry County natives migrated, especially ones who were members of Immanuel, Altenburg. I think it is because that was where the Iowa Synod had its headquarters, and Immanuel was a part of that synod.

On June 19, 1921, William Weber married Mary Wettengel. According to this Iowa marriage record, Mary’s father officiated at the wedding. It says William was from Moundville, Missouri, and Mary was from Crane Creek, Iowa, which is near Muscatine. It also indicates that Mary was born in South Australia.

I am able to display this wedding photo for this couple.

It appears that William and Mary had 5 children. There is evidence that one child was born in Harvel, Illinois and another in Tonica, Illinois before this couple moved to Iowa. When the 1930 census was taken, we find the Weber’s living in Kellogg, Iowa with 3 children, all born in Illinois. William was a Lutheran clergyman.

In the 1940 census, the Weber’s were living in Lost Nation, Iowa. There were 5 children in their household. It says all of them were born in Iowa, but I think that is mistaken. William was called a minister of the Gospel. I was fascinated by the name of this town, but I was unable to discover how Lost Nation got its name.

I located this baptism record for Simon Peter Jerome Weber, who was born in 1938. It comes from the books of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lost Nation.

Rev. Weber left Lost Nation in 1946. When the 1950 census was taken, the Weber’s were living in Elkport, Iowa. Mary’s widowed mother was living with them.

I am able to show you a few photos taken of Rev. William Weber.

Mary Weber died in 1977 at the age of 78. She reportedly died in Tama, Iowa. William died in 1987 at the age of 93. His obituary is displayed here.

There is a listing of all the towns in which William served as a pastor during his life. I have produced this map which shows each of these towns.

William and Mary Weber are buried together in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Tama, Iowa.

Mary spent just a short time in Altenburg. But it also appears that she spent just a short time in plenty of small towns during her life. It all began with her birth “down under” in South Australia and ended up residing all over the place in Illinois and Iowa. I am thinking that by the time she got up there in years and was living in Tama, Iowa, she was ready to stay put.