An Altenburg couple would be celebrating a special anniversary today, and you will be reading their story. I choose to begin with the groom.

Gottlieb Buck was born on May 14, 1854, the 7th and last child of William and Justine (Schmidt) Buck. Gottlieb was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Gottlieb is found in the 1860 census at the age of 6. About 5 months after Gottlieb was born, his father died in 1854. So, in this entry, his mother was the head of the household, and she was called a farmer. An older brother of Gottlieb was called a farm laborer. A man named John Heimbecher was also living with them.

I failed ot find Gottlieb in the 1870 census. Then, Gottlieb got married during the 1870’s, so we will switch our attention to the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Pauline Concordia Oehlert, who was born on March 14, 1858. Pauline was the daughter of John and Wilhelmina (Krause) Oehlert. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. That congregation had been established in 1857, so Pauline’s baptism record was one of the first in the books of that church. If you look at the baptism records of Gottlieb and Pauline, you would notice certain similarities. Rev. George Schieferdecker was the pastor at Trinity when Gottlieb was baptized, and after that pastor was excommunicated from that church, her started Immanuel. So, Pastor Schieferdecker baptized both the bride and groom in this story, but he baptized them at different churches across town.

Pauline is found in the 1860 census at the age of 2. Her father was a carpenter in Altenburg.

Next, we find Pauline in the 1870 census at the the age of 12. This time, her father was called a farmer.

A year after the above census was taken, Pauline was confirmed at Immanuel, Altenburg in 1871. Then on September 24, 1876, Gottlieb Buck married Pauline Oehlert at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. That means today is this couple’s special 150th wedding anniversary. The church record for that wedding is displayed below. Someone helped me out by translating the names from German to English.

I will also show 2 civil marriage records for this pair.

Our German Family Tree lists 8 children born to this Buck couple. Not all of them lived to adulthood. All of them were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. In the 1880 census, we find 2 children in their family. Also included in their household was a young woman who was called a housemaid and Pauline’s younger brother, Joseph Oehlert. Joseph was helping Gottlieb on his farm in Altenburg.

By the time of the 1900 census, the Buck’s had completed their family. There were 6 children in their household. Two of Gottlieb’s sons were helping him with the farming.

In the 1910 census, the Buck’s had three remaining children in their household.

In the 1915 atlas of plat maps, we find the Buck’s living on the east side of Altenburg. You can see that their land was adjacent to the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery. It was also adjacent to the land owned by my great grandfather, G.F. Schmidt. And, if that is not enough, the parcel of land under that of Anton Mueller that is to the right of the Buck’s land happens to be the land that I now own. It has no name attached to it.

On another page in that atlas, we can see the Buck’s land. Once again, the land that I own to the right of the Buck’s land is not identified. I looked at the title search for my property, and it said the owner of my land, William Wachter, died in 1915. That may explain why it is not identified.

Gottlieb Buck died in 1919 at the age of 64. His death certificate identifies diabetes as his cause of death.

An obituary for Gottlieb from the Perry County Republican can be read below.

Pauline is found as a widow in the 1920 census. She was living with her son, Arthur, who had married Eda Kaufmann in 1915. You can see Eda’s father’s property next to the Buck’s in the map shown above. Arthur was farming in the Brazeau Township.

The last census in which we find Pauline is the one taken in 1930. She was still living with Arthur’s family.

Pauline Buck died in 1933 at the age of 74. We can view her death certificate below.

An obituary for Pauline Buck was also published in the Perry County Republican.

Gottfried and Pauline Buck are each buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg. They were buried within sight of the land on which they had raised their family.

If I have things figured correctly, the farmer that rents my pasture to graze his cattle lives on land that was once owned by the Buck’s. And since I can see the Trinity’s cemetery from my house, I figure I will be buried someday within sight of my land, just like the Buck’s.

I did manage to locate one photograph that shows a few characters in this story. It is one of those 4 generations photos. The oldest woman in the photo is Justine (Schmidt) Buck. Right behind her is Pauline Buck. To the right of Pauline is her daughter, Lucy, who had married Henry Arbeiter. And the youngest girl in the photo is Lucy’s daughter, Hilda Arbeiter, who would later marry John Amschler.

I will add this. We have no death record for Justine Buck, but this photo gives evidence that she lived several years after 1904, which is when Hilda was born.