From 1881-1889, the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg was Rev. John Bucka. We find his name on this list of early pastors at Immanuel.

While he was a pastor in Altenburg, he and his wife had 3 children whose baptism records are found in that congregation’s books. One of them was born on August 31st and is today’s birthday boy. You will be reading his story.

Johannes Wilhelm Bernhardt Friedrich Bucka was born on August 31, 1886, so today would be his 140th birthday. William, as he would be called during his life, was the son of John and Caroline (Horn) Bucka. We can view his baptism record below.

I have been told that there is a tradition that some followed with regard to Lutheran baptisms and the naming of children. We sometimes see evidence that a baby boy is given names that include those of their male sponsors, and a baby girl is given names including the name of their female sponsors. That seems to be the case with William. He had 3 male sponsors, and they had the names, Johannes, Bernhardt, and Friedrich. Those 3 names are given to William, and then he goes on to be called by the one name that is not one of the sponsors names.

Since Pastor Bucka left Altenburg in 1889, we do not see William in a Perry County census. The 1890 census was destroyed in a fire, so it is not available to view. By the time of the 1900 census, the Bucka family was living in the Wilberton Township in Fayette County, Illinois. William was 13 years old, and his father was a clergyman.

Wilberton Township is located not far from Vandalia, Illinois. I found this mention of a St. Paul Lutheran Church in that township in an article printed in a Vandalia newspaper. That church is likely the one served by William’s father.

I am making a few guesses when I describe what may have happened with the Bucka family during the next decade. I think Pastor Bucka served Immanuel Lutheran Church, a congregation located south-west of the town of Fulda, Minnesota for a short time during the first decade of the 20th century. Then, by the time of the 1910 census, Pastor Bucka had taken a call to Strong City, Kansas, which is where we find this pastor and remaining family in 1910. However, I think William decided to remain in the Fulda, Minnesota area. The main reason for that is the fact that William got married there in 1910. That leads us to discuss the early life of William’s bride. Her name was Mary Emma Fillman. I failed to find an exact date of birth for Mary. The best I can do is say that Mary was born in February of 1887. She was the daughter of George and Mary Margaretha (Konrad) Fillman. She was born in Goodfarm, Illinois.

The name, Goodfarm, rang a bell in my head. I knew I had written a story about a Lutheran church in Goodfarm. The post, Another Initial Pastor, mentions the fact that Rev. C.W.R. Frederking was the pastor of that church in the 1880’s. This part of that church’s history gives evidence of this.

If Mary Fillman was baptized at this congregation, then she would have been baptized by Rev. Frederking, who had once served Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Too bad we do not have access to the Goodfarm congregation’s books.

The Fillman family made a move to the Seward Township in Nobles County, Minnesota. That is where Immanuel Lutheran Church near Fulda is located. Mary was 13 years old, and her father was a farmer. You can see in this entry that all the members of the Fillman family were born in Illinois.

William Bucka married Mary Fillman on January 6, 1910. A Minnesota marriage record below says these two were married in Murray County, Minnesota. That county is adjacent to Nobles County, and is also the county in which the town of Fulda is located. They were married by a minister. I think they were most likely married at Immanuel Lutheran near Fulda.

Below is a photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church near Fulda that is found on their Facebook page.

The Bucka pair got married prior to when the census takers arrived to compile their census in 1910. In the entry for William and Mary in that year’s census, we find just the two of them. William was a farmer in the Seward Township of Nobles County.

In 1917, William had his World War I draft registration completed. He is given a Fulda address, and it says that he had a wife and 2 children under 12.

It appears that the Bucka couple had 4 children that lived to adulthood. When the 1920 census was taken, there were 3 children in the Bucka family.

All 4 of the Bucka children are found in the 1930 census. In addition, Mary’s mother, Margaret Fillman, was living with them.

Mary Bucka died in 1939 at the age of 52. I did not discover a cause of her early death. William was a widower when the 1940 census was taken. He was living with his 4 children and his mother-in-law and still farming. His daughter, Priscilla, was a public school teacher. One of his sons was helping William on his farm. Another son was working with a carpenter.

William had his World War II draft card completed when America got involved in that war. He is given a rural Fulda address.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Just William and his single son, Clemens, were listed in this entry.

William Bucka died in 1961 at the age of 74. William and Mary are each buried in the Prairie Hill Cemetery in Fulda. They have a Bucka family stone along with individual ones for each of them.

Before I quit, I would like to mention 3 different times in my life when Fulda, Minnesota became connected with me. First of all, my wife’s aunt married a man named Busch who had a farm near Fulda. I remember attending some sort of family gathering at the Busch home in Fulda several years ago. Secondly, my friend who is a Lutheran pastor once had a call to serve at the LCMS Lutheran church in the town of Fulda. He chose to decline that call. And thirdly, when I was a teacher in Memphis, a new teacher from Concordia, Seward joined our staff at Christ the King Lutheran School. Her name was Brenda Gunderman, and her hometown was Fulda. While researching this story, I discovered that one of the Bucka daughters married a Gunderman from Fulda. I never expected to come across a baby born in Altenburg to lead me to Fulda. And what are the chances that a baby baptized at Immanuel, Altenburg would later end up as a member of Immanuel, Fulda.