Let me set the scene for today’s post. I began my search with a different approach. I knew that I would likely not be able to make the trip to the museum after our recent snowstorm. So, I looked for a story that would not require any records from our research library. I admit that I looked at plenty of other people to write about with connections to January 27th, but I skipped over them to look for a person that fit my “stay at home” requirement. I did not plan on it, but I ended up telling the story of another Lutheran pastor today. This will make 4 consecutive days in which, if you are a regular reader, you will be reading the story of a Lutheran pastor. However, this tale begins with the woman who became the pastor’s wife because she is today’s birthday girl.

Christine Magdalene Roschke was born on January 27, 1853, so today would be her 173rd birthday. Magdalene was the daughter of Edward and Justine (Jahn) Roschke. Before I move on, let me point out that Magdalene’s mother was the sister of the wife of Rev. John Rennicke, who was the main character of the post, Rev. John Rennicke Finds Altenburg Bride, that was published this past Saturday and the first of the 4 consecutive stories about pastors. I will also say that both of Magdalene’s parents came to this country as part of the Stephanite immigration that arrived in 1839. Magdalene was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis. We have that congregation’s records in an Excel file, and because they are digital, I have them loaded on my laptop. Below is the entry for Magdalene’s baptism record in that document. In a previous post about Magdalene’s father, Tailor to Teacher, it was reported that Carl was the first full-time teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in St. Louis.

Magdalene is found in the 1860 census at the age of 7. Her father was a school teacher.

Next, we find Magdalene in the 1870 census as a teenager. This would be the last census entry in which we find Magdalene prior to her marriage.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Magdalene’s husband. His name was Karl August Bretscher, who was born on May 14, 1855. Karl, later spelled Carl, was the son of Jacob and Henrietta (Fritzsche) Bretscher. His father arrived in this country in 1837 and made his way to St. Louis. His mother was another member of the Stephanite immigration that arrived in 1839. His parents were married in 1842 at a German Lutheran church in St. Louis, but it was not Trinity. However, when this couple began having children, they were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis. Karl’s baptism record is displayed below.

Carl was not even 3 years old when his father died in 1858. So, when the 1860 census was taken, the head of the Bretscher household was the widow, Henrietta. Carl was 5 years old at the time.

Carl’s mother married Conrad Giesel in 1862, so when the 1870 census was taken, Carl Bretscher was part of a Giesel household. Both Conrad Giesel and Carl Bretscher were working in an iron foundry. Carl was called 16 years old, but I think he was only 15.

Carl probably spent some time during the 1870’s attending Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. At some point prior to his marriage, he graduated from the Seminary and became a pastor in Buena Vista, Iowa. Then, on May 4, 1879, Rev. Carl Bretscher married Magdalene Roschke in St. Louis. They were married at Trinity Lutheran Church. The church record for this wedding shown below says that the pastor doing the wedding was Pastor T. Roschke. I think this was Rev. John Roschke, who was a Lutheran pastor, but not serving Trinity. John was Magdalene’s brother.

We can also view a St. Louis marriage record for this couple. This form says the wedding was performed by J. Roschke. Like the church record above, this says that Carl was from Buena Vista in Clinton County, Iowa.

In the 1880 census, we find this young couple living in the Olive Township of Clinton County, Iowa. They had a very young baby in their household, and Carl was called a clergyman.

Rev. Bretscher apparently took a call to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Charter Oak, Iowa prior to 1883. Here is an Iowa birth record for a son, Carl Edward Bretscher, that gives evidence of this move. That child died later that same year.

More evidence is given that a Bretscher child was born in Wisconsin in 1888. Rev. Bretscher must have taken a call to Wausau at about that time. This photo of Magdalene Bretscher was taken at a studio in Wausau.

Then, in 1890, Magdalene Bretscher died at the age of 37. Then, on June 2, 1891, Carl married Emma Wieschmann. A Wisconsin marriage record for this event can be viewed below.

More children were born to this pair. In the 1900 census, we find this entry for the Bretscher’s. There were 5 children in their household, and Carl was called a minister.

This photo was taken of Carl and Emma.

Emma Bretscher died in 1904 at the age of 40. Then, Pastor Bretscher married again in 1906. He married another Emma. This time, her name was Emma Kuechle. We can view this pair’s Wisconsin marriage record here. They were married in Milwaukee.

This marriage did not last long. The second Emma died in 1907. In the 1910 census, we find Carl as a widower and his family still living in Wausau. Carl was still a pastor.

Carl got married a fourth time in 1912. He married Martha Grothe on October 12, 1912 in Dodge, Wisconsin.

In the 1920 census, we find just Carl and Martha living in Lebanon, Wisconsin, and Carl was still a minister of the Gospel.

The 1930 census is the last one in which we find Pastor Bretscher. There were several boarders living with the Bretscher’s in Milwaukee. The Grothe’s in the list were likely related to Martha. Carl is called a retired minister.

Later in his life, Pastor Carl Bretscher had this photo taken.

Rev. Carl Bretscher died in 1938 at the age of 82. Carl’s first two wives, Magdalene and the first Emma, are buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery in Wausau. His third wife is buried in the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Milwaukee. Carl and Martha are buried together in the Valhalla Memorial Park in Milwaukee.

Before I bring this post to a close, I feel compelled to tell you one more thing about Pastor Bretscher. Carl was the brother of Maria (or Mary) Bretscher. Mary became a rather well-known resident of Wittenberg, Missouri after she married Joseph Weinhold. Mary and Joseph are main characters in my Wittenberg ’03 and Wittenberg ’04 books. The Weinhold’s from Wittenberg also had 8 daughters, many of which married men who were full-time church workers, Lutheran pastors and teachers.