Rev. August Henry Gassner was the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim from 1897-1911. You will be reading his story today. You will discover that Pastor Gassner spent his entire career in the state of Missouri, but in four different locations.

August Henry Gassner was born on August 31, 1866, the son of John Henry and Elizabeth (Burg) Gassner. Below are drawings of August’s parents.

August was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was baptized at St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Orleans. I am able to display his baptism record below.

I was not successful at locating the Gassner family in the 1870 census, although I have every reason to believe that they were living in New Orleans at that time. In the 1880 census, we find August at the age of 14. His father was a tailor in New Orleans.

During the later 1880’s, August attended the Lutheran College in Fort Wayne, Indiana and then Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, studying to become a Lutheran pastor. He became a pastor in 1890.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Marie Odendahl, who was born on June 25, 1867. Marie was born in Indiana, 14 miles from Fort Wayne. Her parents were Christian and Kunigunde (Strobel) Odendahl. The Odendahl’s moved to St. Louis prior to the 1870 census. That is where we find Marie living when that year’s census was taken. Her father was a clerk, and Marie was 3 years old.

Another move was made during the next decade. By the time of the 1880 census, we find the Odendahl’s living in New Orleans. Marie was 13 years old at that time. The head of the household was Marie’s older brother, Fred. Her mother and father were also part of this household. Fred was a flour merchant, and her father was a retired merchant.

August Gassner married Marie Odendahl on November 13, 1890, so today would be this couple’s 135th wedding anniversary. These two were married in New Orleans, and I thought they might have been married at St. Paul Lutheran Church, but I did not find their marriage record in that congregation’s books. About all I can display is this Louisiana marriage record for this pair.

Even though this couple’s wedding may not have taken place in St. Paul Lutheran Church, I cannot help but display this illustration of that church in a book that was published in 1890.

I think it is possible that the newly ordained pastor went to New Orleans to get married and immediately left with his bride to his first call. Rev. A.H. Gassner became the pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lohmann, Missouri. That location was also known as Stringtown. According to this list of early pastors at that congregation, August served that church from 1890-1893.

This Gassner couple had 8 children. I located a few baptism records in the Stringtown books. Then, in 1893, Rev. Gassner took a call to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Jackson, Missouri. The list of early pastors in that congregation shown below says he served that church from 1893-1897.

Because of the years that Rev. Gassner served at Stringtown and Jackson, we never see the Gassner family in any census entries while they were in those 2 locations. Then, in 1897, Rev. Gassner took a call to Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. As mentioned earlier, he served that congregation until 1911.

We find the Gassner family in the 1900 census living in the Apple Creek Township. August is called a preacher. There were 5 children in the Gassner household. You can see that August was born in Louisiana, Marie in Indiana, and all the children in Missouri.

The Gassner’s were still in Friedheim when the 1910 census was taken. All 8 of their children were included in this entry. Several baptism and confirmation records for the Gassner children are found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim.

In 1911, Pastor Gassner took a call to Immanuel Lutheran Church in Washington, Missouri. He would serve that congregation during the rest of his ministry. The list of early pastors at that church below says he was the pastor of that congregation until 1934.

In the 1920 census, we find the Gassner household living in Washington with 7 children.

Next, we find the Gassner’s in the 1930 census. Just one son was still living with his parents in Washington.

The photo of the Gassner family below was taken in Washington, Missouri in 1933. I think you can figure out where August and Marie are found in the photo.

Rev. August Gassner died in 1934 at the age of 64. According to his death certificate below, he died of bladder cancer at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis.

A lengthy obituary for Pastor Gassner was published in the Washington Citizen. I have to display it in 4 images that are clickable.

Marie is found as a widow in the 1940 census. She was living in the household of her son, Theodore, who was a Lutheran school principal in St. Louis.

Marie Gassner died in 1946 at the age of 79. She died in Kansas, so she must have gone there to live with another of her children. Both August and Marie Gassner are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Washington, Missouri.

On Family Search, you can find this letter that Marie wrote to her son, John, to describe her life.

A lot of full-time church workers were part of this Gassner family. Two sons became pastors. Two daughters married pastors. And another son became a Lutheran educator and principal.