Rev. J.F. Koestering often gets mentioned in this blog because of the missing marriage and death records in the church books of Trinity, Altenburg and Concordia, Frohna that we call the “Koestering Hole”. Here’s just a little background information about what was happening at the time when Rev. Koestering arrived on the scene in East Perry County. In 1862, Rev. Christoph Loeber had left Concordia, Frohna to take a call to the Chicago area. For a year or two, Rev. Beyer from Trinity, Altenburg served both the Altenburg and Frohna congregations. Then in 1863, Rev. Beyer left. It was in 1864 that Rev. J.F. Koestering was called to serve both Concordia and Trinity. It must have been a very challenging time for him to serve two congregations that were experiencing quite a biit of growth. Also, because of that growth, both congregations became involved in constructing new church buildings. Trinity’s was dedicated in 1867, and Concordia’s was dedicated in 1874. I happen to think that Pastor Koestering’s demanding schedule may have contributed to the “Koestering Hole”. It was not until 1877 that Concordia decided they wanted a pastor of their own and called one. Then, believe it or not, once Rev. Koestering had just one church to serve, he began to conduct regular services in Wittenberg, and that led to that group becoming a congregation of their own at a later time. He continued to be a very busy man. He and his wife were also very busy. They came to Altenburg with 4 children, and after their arrival, they had 7 more, adding up to a total of 11 children listed in our German Family Tree. One of those children was born in 1874, the same year that Concordia was finishing the building of their new church. I will tell the story today of that daughter who is today’s birthday girl.

Lina Friedricke Johanna Koestering was born on September 15, 1874, so today would be her special 150th birthday. You already know her father. Her mother was Louise (Boese) Koestering. Johanna was baptized by her father, and her baptism record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at that record below.

Pastor Koestering took a call to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in St. Louis in 1887. That would have been about the time when Johanna was taking confirmation classes with her father. I do not know if she was confirmed in Altenburg or in St. Louis. There is no record in the Trinity books. It would be in St. Louis that Johanna would get married, and that occasion would take place prior to the 1900 census, so I will now take the time to look at the man who would become her husband.

Otto Edward William Wachholz was born on October 8, 1873, the son of Carl and Augustine (Schatz) Wachholz. Otto was born in Winona County, Minnesota in the southeastern portion of that state. A plat map made later in 1894 shows the Charles Wachholz farm located not far from the town of Stockton, Minnesota.

Otto is found in the 1880 census at the age of 6. His father was a farmer in the Hillsdale Township in Winona County.

I wish we could view the 1890 census to see where Otto was living. I think there is a possibility that he may have gone to St. Louis at some point, perhaps to study to become a Lutheran pastor. I do know that he would become a Lutheran teacher. I do not know for sure, but I think Otto was in St. Louis when he became acquainted with Johanna Koestering. Otto and Johanna were married at Johanna’s father’s congregation, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, on July 9, 1895. A St. Louis marriage record is diplayed below for this couple. This form says that Otto was from Ludington, Michigan, which is where he was a teacher for many years.

Otto took his bride back to Ludington, and that is where we find this couple in the 1900 census. The Wachholz’s had two young children, and Otto was teaching school. The Lutheran school in Ludington was St. John’s Lutheran School. Otto’s younger sister, Clara, was living with them and called a housekeeper.

Next, we find the Wachholz family in the 1910 census still living in Ludington. Another child had been born in 1900, but that child died of cholera in 1903 at a very young age. So, in this entry, this couple still had just 2 children.

One more child was born to this pair in 1912. Then Johanna Wachholz died in 1915 at the age of 40. It is a puzzle to me that Johanna was buried in the Dundee Township Cemetery East in the Chicago area. I will display her gravestone later.

Otto had a World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It said he was a school teacher at the German Lutheran school in Ludington. I did notice that the nearest relative on this form was Otto’s sister, Lydia Wachholz, whose address is given as Maywood, Illinois, which is also in the Chicago area. Perhaps, Johanna had died in Chicago when visiting relatives.

Otto would marry again. His second wife was Hedwig “Hattie” Sielaff, who was born on May 11, 1875. Hattie was the daughter of Albert and Wilhelmina (Matzke) Sielaff. She was born in MIlwaukee, Wisconsin, and that is where we find her living in the 1880 census. She was called 5 years old, and her father was a clerk in Milwaukee.

We are not able to find Hattie in another census until 1900. At that time, she was still living with her parents in Milwaukee when she was 24 years old. Her father was some sort of dealer.

Hattie’s father had died in 1900 right after that census was taken, so, in the 1910 census, her mother was the head of the household. Hattie was in her 30’s and had no occupation listed.

I have no idea how Otto managed to get to know Hattie in Milwaukee, but he married her on July 7, 1919. A Wisconsin record of that marriage is pictured here.

The 1920 census indicates that Otto was still teaching in Ludington. There were 3 children in their household. The 2 older children were part of the work force.

Otto relocated during the next decade. Otto and Hattie were living in Chicago, Illinois where it says Otto was a public school teacher.

Hattie Wachholz died in 1931 at the age of 54. An Illinois record of her death is shown here.

The above record says that Hattie was buried in the Union Cemetery. That cemetery is located in Milwaukee, so she is buried in the city where she was born and raised.

Otto was no longer in the education business when the 1940 census was taken. Otto was a widower who had his niece, Agatha Wachholz, living with him. Agatha’s father, Theodore Wachholz, Otto’s brother, was a teacher in Dundee, Illinois at that time. Perhaps the family felt that Otto should not be living by himself, and his niece could be of service to him. Otto was called a salesman who was dealing in cosmetics and medicine.

Otto did not quite make it into the 1950 census. He died that year at the age of 76. He was buried in the same cemetery as his wife, the Dundee Township Cemetery East.

A former student of mine is now married to a Wachholz man, and I know that his father was a Lutheran school teacher in Minnesota. This story makes me wonder if that Lutheran teacher came from the Wachholz family highlighted in this post.