We have a birthday girl for today’s post by the name of Ida Lena Holschen, who was born on September 10, 1891. That makes today her 135th birthday. Ida was the daughter of Herman and Augusta (Leimbach) Holschen. She was the firstborn child in her family. Ida was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. … More Not a Home Wrecker – A Recker Home
I just could not ignore the special birthday of a character that has shown up on this blog on several occasions and is also a character who shows up in my Wittenberg books. Not only that, if she was alive today and living where she once did, she would also be my neighbor. I have … More Happy 175th Birthday, Magadalena Mueller Midwife!
Otto Frederick Ruesler is today’s birthday boy. He was born on September 8, 1892, so today would be his 134th birthday. Otto was the son of Herman and Ida (Moeller) Ruesler. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can take a look at Otto’s baptism record below. Otto is found in the … More Otto and Emma – Friedheim Ruesler’s with Plenty of Daughters
I figure that when I find a story with a man who was the father of 13 children and also a stonemason who helped build local churches, I have to tell his story. Heinrich Friedrich Richter was born on October 24, 1822 in Nordenbeck, Germany. Henry was the son of Johann Heinrich and Maria Elisabeth … More Henry Richter – Building Churches and a Big Family
The main character in today’s story is Johannes Traugott Kluegel, who was born on October 30, 1848. He was alternately called Johannes or John in some documents and Traugott in others. His gravestone calls him T.J. I am going to use the name, Traugott, mainly because that name means “trust God” in German, and I … More Traugott Kluegel – St. Louis Carriage Maker
Anton Albert Steffens is today’s birthday boy. He was born on September 5, 1896, so today would be his 130th birthday. Anton was the son of Claus and Bertha (Thurm) Steffens. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can view his baptism record below in 2 images. Anton was 3 years old … More Anton and Hilda – Potter, Nebraska Pair
Ludwig Heinrich Johann Koch was born on September 4, 1896. That means today would be his 130th birthday. He was called Louie during his life, so I will use that name. He was the son of Friedrich William and Annie (Bretzel) Koch. Louie’s baptism record is found in the books of Eisleben Lutheran Church in … More Louie and Bertha – Koch’s in Jacob, IL
The birthday boy for today is George Friedrich Doering, who was born on September 3, 1889. That makes today his 137th birthday. George was the son of Henry and Emilie (Petzoldt) Doering. Before I move on, as far as I can tell, George’s mother was not related to the Petzoldt’s that are normally highlighted on … More Pastor Lehr’s Daughter Marries Altenberg Doering
Gladys Engert was one of our museum’s beloved docents who served us for a lot of years. It is hard to believe that she died almost 5 years ago. Today, you will read this post about her parents. This story begins with our birthday girl, who Gladys would have called “Mom”. Here is a picture … More Gladys Engert’s Mom and Dad
We find a birthday girl who has her baptism record in the early pages in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. That baptism record is the only one in which this girl is found locally before she and her family moved elsewhere. She ends up taking us on an interesting trip and to … More Louise and Her Soda-Making Man in Nashville, IL
