I am going to begin today’s post with a sort-of debate. Here is the question. When does an old century end and a new one begin? Technically, the answer is that a century ends when a year that ends with a double-zero, like 1900, reaches its last day on December 31st. And the new century … More End-of-Century Births – Early Deaths
Let me establish the setting for the beginning of today’s story. A bride from Feulersdorf, Germany marries a groom from Wiesentfels in a parish church in Krögelstein. The map shown below shows the relative proximity of these 3 German towns in Bavaria. They are each about 2-3 miles away from each other. I did a … More Krögelstein Kouple – Bicentennial Bride and Groom
I am at home today, but we have a houseful of family members, so I am publishing an old post written on this date in 2017. It tells the story of Wilhelm Wachter. Just a few days ago, I wrote the story of Wilhelm’s brother, Charles Wachter and his marriage to Catherine Dede, in the … More Wilhelm Wachter Wedding
Several posts have been written on this blog about the establishment that once existed in Altenburg called the Wagner Hotel. That building is pictured below. One of the previous posts about this hotel was titled, Just What Went on at the Wagner Hotel? That post posed several questions about events that took place there. Today, … More Just What Went on at the Wagner Hotel? Some Answers
Growing up, few things confused me more around the Christmas season than the words “Boxing Day” on the calendar on December 26th and the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas.” It wasn’t until fairly recently that I realized they are related. You have to throw in the Feast of St. Stephen to really get the connection. … More Museum Musings for Friday, December 27
After years of writing these blog posts, I have discovered an interesting fact. I have on occasion stated that Lutheran pastors would not perform weddings during the penitential seasons of Advent or Lent. I have told numerous stories about brides and grooms that got married as soon as possible after those church seasons came to … More One of Many December 26th Weddings
Not long ago, one of our museum’s friends, June Ernst, presented me with a story idea, along with a few documents to assist me. It is actually a kind of story that I shy away from because a standard rule that usually guides my decision on whether to do a story is that the beginning … More Christmas Baby Turns 100
I located a baby who was born on Christmas Eve for today’s post. Her name was Anna Amalia Sittner, who was born on December 24, 1864. That means today would be her 160th birthday. Amalia was the daughter of Charles August and Wilhelmine (Mehner) Sittner. She was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so … More Born on Christmas Eve, Died on Thanksgiving Eve
Today’s tale has what I would consider a rather unusual inspiration. If you are a regular reader, you know that I look in our German Family Tree to locate a person who might be celebrating a birthday or anniversary. I did indeed find a man who was born on December 23rd for this story, but … More John Monroe Cotner and His Two Brides
It has been explained in several previous posts that the German word for “dance” is danz, and there are plenty of folks in our German Family Tree with the surname, Danz. You will read another post that highlights a Danz today. In fact, we begin with a birthday Danz. Theodore Joseph Danz was born on … More A Story That Ends at the Danz-Hall
