When German names had been spelled with a “K” at the beginning, it often got changed to a “C”. For example, Karl would often get changed to Carl. I discovered that both surnames of today’s couple got spelled differently, sometimes with a “K” and sometimes with a “C”. It even has a surname that is … More William & Mary – Leemon Clementz Couple
Sometimes people refer to the youngest child born to parents as the “baby in the family”. I will tell the story of such a baby girl in the family of the pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg today. That baby is today’s birthday girl. Augusta Marie Guemmer (pronounced Gimmer around here) was born on … More Pastor Guemmer’s Baby Girl
A baby boy was born on today’s date in Frohna, and he will be the main character in today’s post. Julius Arnold Moeckel, because he was born on December 9, 1885, would be celebrating his 140th birthday today. Arnold was the son of Charles and Mathilde (Seberosky) Moeckel. A previous post was written about Arnold’s … More Arnold Moeckel – St. Louis Streetcar Worker
I will be telling the story of the original Springer’s to settle in Perry County today. I located this story because a man named Peter Springer was born on December 8th. As it turns out, Peter’s birth year is a matter of debate. I will show evidence that he was either born in 1808 or … More Pierre and Madelaine? Or Peter and Magdalena?
Today’s post begins with a baby girl being born and baptized in Friedheim. Louise Helena Engelmann was born on December 7, 1852, so today would be her 173rd birthday. She would be called Helen during her life, so I will use that name. Helen was the daughter of Edward and Adelheid (Weise) Engelmann. Before I … More William Willer – Cape Girardeau Justice of the Peace
Claus Steffens is a main character in today’s post. His is not the first Claus Steffens to have his story told on this blog. And he is certainly not the first man with roots in the Hanover region in Germany to carry the name, Claus. Claus Heinrich Steffens was born on December 6, 1890, so … More Claus and Frieda – Farrar Steffens’s from Cradle to Grave
Back in 2017, I wrote a post titled, Seelitz Soldiers. In that article, I mentioned several young men who served in the military during World War I who were from the local Seelitz community. I am going to go into more detail today about one of those young men, who happens to be today’s birthday … More Hugo – The Schlimpert Seelitz Soldier
The only way the title of this post can be understood is if someone had the surname, Born. And that is indeed the case today. That man named Born is today’s birthday boy. He has a baptism record in our German Family Tree, and that is why he qualifies to have his story told on … More Born Born in Perryville; Born Died in Chester
I could call today’s main character Kaspar or Kasper or Casper or Caspar. A variety of spellings show up for this man’s first name. I am going to use the one that is carved on his tombstone…Kasper. He is today’s main character because he is also today’s birthday boy. Kasper Ruppel was born on December … More Kasper and Margaretha – The Original Ruppel’s
Herman and Lydia were married on today’s date in 1875, so today would be a very special wedding anniversary for them. You will be reading their story today. I will begin with the groom. Herman Blanken was born on November 4, 1854, the son of Johann and Margaret (Reimann) Blanken. Herman was baptized at Concordia … More Herman and Lydia – Marble Hill Blanken’s
