Teacher Beyer may have had to take some time away from his students on this day 150 years ago when his wife was having a baby. Their 5th child, Lina Johanna Beyer, was born on March 10, 1875, so today would be a very special birthday for her. She was the daughter of George and Sarah (Kramer) Beyer. During her life, she was sometimes called Lina and sometimes Lena. I will use Lena from here on because that is her name on her gravestone. Lena’s father was a teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Altenburg. The story was told about Lena’s parents in the post, Sarah Kramer Marries the Teacher. Lena’s baptism record from the books of Trinity Lutheran Church is pictured here.

Lena is found in the 1880 census at the age of 5. Her father is called a school teacher in Altenburg. By this time, Lena’s older brother, John, was a student at Concordia College in Ft. Wayne, Indiana studying to become a Lutheran pastor.

Almost certainly, Lena would have been found living in Altenburg when the 1890 census was taken, but because that year’s census burned in a fire, we are not able to view it. Lena had been confirmed the year before that census in 1889 at Trinity, Altenburg. When the 1900 census was taken, Lena was no longer living with her parents. She is found living in Ft. Wayne, Indiana in the Peter Certia household. Peter was a saloon keeper, and Lena was a servant. By this time, Rev. John Beyer was a pastor in Milan Center, which is located just outside Ft. Wayne.

Lena met her future husband while in Ft. Wayne. His name was Herman Johann Karl Leitz, who was born on April 12, 1880. Herman was the son of Herman and Adelinda (Herr) Leitz. Herman was born in Farnham, New York, which is found near the city of Buffalo along to shore of Lake Erie. He is found in the 1880 census as a baby. His father was a merchant in Farnham.

At some point in time, the Leitz family moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. That is where we find Herman living in 1900. Heman’s father was a wholesale clerk, while Herman, Jr. was a 20 year-old florist.

Herman Leitz traveled to Altenburg to get married. On August 4, 1904, Herman Leitz married Lena Beyer at Trinity Lutheran Church. It is possible that Herman and Lena may have made the trip from Ft. Wayne all the way to Wittenberg aboard trains. The train began operating through Wittenberg in 1904. The church marriage record for this couple is displayed below. This document says that Herman was from Ft. Wayne. It also states that the pastor who conducted the marriage ceremony was Rev. Winkler.

We can also take a look at the Missouri marriage license for this pair.

Let me address the issue of Rev. Winkler doing this wedding. On this list of early pastors at Trinity, we find that there was a time of transition between Rev. Schormann and Rev. Schmidt. Also, you can see that a Student M. Winkler was at the church for a short time in 1902. We also know that Pastor Schormann was experiencing health problems during his time in Altenburg.

Martin Winkler was the son of Rev. Robert Winkler, who was the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells at that time. The initials given for the pastor in both of the above marriage records include an “R” and not an “M”, so I think it was Rev. Robert Winkler who officiated at this wedding, perhaps when Trinity was vacant. By the way, Rev. Martin Winkler would later become a missionary to New Zealand.

According to some family histories, Herman and Lena had 4 children, one who died as an infant. Herman took his new wife back to Ft. Wayne, and that is where we find the Leitz’s in the 1910 census. By then, their firstborn had died early and their son, Walter was in their household. Also living with them was Jane Beyer, Lena’s younger sister. Herman was called a salesman at a florist shop.

Herman had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It gives him a New Haven address and says he was a greenhouse manager for the New Haven Floral Company. New Haven is located right in the Ft. Wayne area.

In the 1920 census, there were 3 children in the Leitz household. Herman was called a greenhouse manager.

Walter Leitz got married in 1929, so Herman and Lena had just 2 children living with them when the 1930 census was taken. Herman was a florist.

An early photo of the Leitz family can be viewed below. It also includes some family information in the caption below the photo.

Next, we find the Leitz’s in the 1940 census. Their daughter, Helen, had married Harold Ramm, and their young family was living with Herman and Lena. Herman was the proprietor of a florist shop, and his son, Herman III, was also a florist. Harold Ramm was a service man in a radio shop.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. In that entry, we find the Leitz and Ramm’s still living together. The Ramm’s had added a few children during the previous decade. Herman and Harold had similar occupations as seen in the previous census entry.

Lena Leitz died in 1961 at the age of 86. Her Indiana death certificate is pictured here.

Herman Leitz died in 1971 at the age of 90. I can also display his Indiana death certificate.

I found an obituary for Herman. The headline for this obit is quite interesting. It mentions that Herman helped organize the Ft. Wayne Daisies, a local girls’ baseball team. It also says he earned the nickname, Mr. Daisy.

You can read about the history of the Ft. Wayne Daisies in the following Wikipedia link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wayne_Daisies

That article includes this photo of the 1953 Daisies team.

Herman and Lena Leintz are buried together in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Ft. Wayne.

Now you know the story of how a New York-born groom and a Missouri-born bride managed to find each other and spend almost all their lives in the city of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I happen to think that Lena may have received quite a few flowers from her husband over the years. And perhaps many of them were daisies.

Just a personal note: We have twin 7th grade granddaughters whose basketball team has qualified for the National Lutheran Schools Basketball Tournament. That tournament will be held in Ft. Wayne in a few weeks, and my wife and I plan to attend. So, I might just have the opportunity to tromp around that city for a few days and get a taste of what the city of Ft. Wayne is like. I know today’s tale is just one of many that have taken our blog readers to that city over the years. Now I get to go there.