Rev. Georg Schieferdecker was one of the early pastors to serve in Altenburg, Missouri. He was the 2nd pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. He was part of the Gesellschaft in 1839, but soon after getting here, he was involved in forming a few new congregations in St. Clair County in Illinois. He returned to Perry County to marry Maria Pauline Gruber, the first pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Then after Rev. Gotthold Heinrich Loeber, first pastor of Trinity, died in 1849, Pastor Schieferdecker was called to serve that congregation. He then became embroiled in a theological controversy that led to the formation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg in 1857. Today, one of the main characters in this post will be one of Pastor Schieferdecker’s daughters.

Minna Pauline Schieferdecker was born on October 10, 1854, thus making today her 170th birthday. Since she was born prior to the split between Trinity and Immanuel Lutheran churches in 1857, Minna was baptized at Trinity. We can take a look at her baptism record below. I have learned that Pastor Schieferdecker had a distinctive style to his baptism records. You should notice that he used a different type of handwriting for the name at the top of the record and repeated that style for the underlined surname found later in the document.

Minna is found in the 1860 census at the age of 6. Her father is called a Lutheran minister, but by this time, he was the pastor at Immanuel. Please note also that the oldest 2 children in this entry were born in Illinois. Minna is the first one listed that was born in Missouri. She had an older sister who was also born in Missouri, but died in 1854 of cholera not long before Minna was born.

Next, we find Minna in the 1870 census at the age of 16. The Schieferdecker’s were living in Clarion, Illinois. There is evidence that there was a Lutheran church in that area back then. Now, there is an ELCA congregation, Zion Lutheran Church, located in Clarion. I am not sure whether Zion was already in existence in 1870. Minna’s father was called a clergyman. Minna’s Grandmother Gruber was included in this household.

I was not able to locate Minna in the 1880 census, but I do know that Rev. Schieferdecker had by then become the pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hamel, Illinois. I believe by that time, he had relented from his previous beliefs and once again become a pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It was also in 1880 that Minna got married, so I will turn our attention to discuss the man who would become her husband.

Joachim Heinrich Gose was born on January 29, 1852, the son of J.J. and Dorothea (Beyer) Gose. Henry was born in Ohrdorf, Germany. He came to America in 1874 and attended Concordia Seminary in Springfield, Illinois. He graduated from that seminary in 1877 and became a missionary in Sturgis, Michigan. We find him living in Sturgis in the 1880 census and called a Lutheran preacher.

Hamel is not that far from Springfield in Illinois. Perhaps during his time at the seminary, Henry had the opportunity to become acquainted with Minna. These two were married at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hamel on September 23, 1880. We are able to view an Illinois marriage record for this couple.

In 1886, Rev. Gose took a call to Grant Park, Illinois, which is located not far from Kankankee. This paragraph from the history of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Grant Park tells a bit about Rev. Gose’s service at that congregation. That church is now a Wisconsin Synod church.

The Gose’s had 5 children. When the 1900 census was taken, we find the Gose’s with all 5 of those children. They were living in Grant Park. Henry was called a preacher.

Henry Gose died in 1905 at the age of 53. I am able to display this obituary for him. I have to display 2 images which might have to be clicked to enlarge them.

Minna Gose is found as a widow living in Chicago when the 1910 census was taken. All 5 of her children were in her household. Four of her children were part of the work force. One daughter and one son were teachers.

The 1920 census shows Minna with 4 remaining children. They were still living in Chicago.

Minna was still alive in 1930, but I was unable to locate her in that year’s census. Minna died in 1931 at the age of 76. An Illinois death record for her is shown here.

Both Henry and Minna Gose are buried in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Grant Park, Illinois. However, neither of them have gravestone photos on Findagrave.com. I did find this photo of that church and its nearby graveyard on the Findagrave.com site.

I guess you now know that I did not misspell the word, “goes”, in the title for this post. That just Gose to prove that you are very insightful readers.