I think the story of Friedrich Bodenschaz contains two fairly distinct chapters. One chapter includes his life from birth to the year 1890, and the second chapter takes his life from that point until his death in 1929. You may understand that distinction by the time I get to the end of his story. Ernst … More Friedrich Bodenschatz’s Two Lives
The birthday of a girl in St. Louis is the starting point for today’s tale. Emilie Christiane Happel was born on July 30, 1858, the 8th child of William and Christiane (Kuehn) Happel. Her parents were both original members of the Gesellschaft in 1839. The marriage of Emilie’s parents took place on the day when … More Theodore and His Two St. Louis Wives
I guess it makes sense. A blacksmith was a person who worked with metal. He often worked on pieces of equipment that were involved in transportation, such as wagons. He worked with his hands. So, when there was a transformation from horse and buggy days to automobiles and the internal combustion engines, workers were needed … More Blacksmith to Mechanic
I ran across a marriage that took place on this day back in 1901 that involved two characters that show up occasionally in my Wittenberg ’03 book, so I decided to tell the story of that couple in today’s post. The marriage was between Theodore Militzer and Theodora Lueders. I am still away from Altenburg … More Theodore and Theodora
Friedrich Carl Gottwerth Seibel was born on June 22, 1869, making today his 151st birthday. He was the oldest child in his parents’ family, and he went on to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a blacksmith. In a previous post that I wrote about Frederick’s parents, Emanuel Seibel’s Grass Roots, it was stated … More Marie and the Frohna Blacksmith
I will eventually get around to pointing out a bicentennial birthday for today, but not right away. I will begin instead with the husband of the bicentennial birthday girl. In his case, his name is even a matter of debate. Even though our German Family Tree spells the surname as Buettner, I am going to … More A Boettner Blacksmith
Warren Schmidt’s blogs are a treasure for all of us. One of the many positive ripples from his writings are the relationships that sprout from the seeds he plants. I have had the honor of meeting-via telephone conversations-Lester & Annemarie Brockmann. Lester found us via the blogs, and reached out after Warren’s blog on Adolf … More A Love Note to Lester & Annemarie in Palmetto Bay
There was a time around here when the name, Adolf, was pretty common. Not anymore. World War II and Adolf Hitler put an end to that name in America. However, today’s main character was born before that time, and he is today’s birthday boy. His name was Adolf Meyr. Adolf Meyr was the son of … More Adolf the Blacksmith
Today’s post once again sent me off on some more tangential research (down some extra rabbit holes). This time, I was off on a journey to learn the history of refrigeration and tractor trailers. I had actually done some of this research a while back on refrigeration when I was writing my Wittenberg ’03 book. … More George Gerhardt – From Blacksmith to Selling Refrigerators
John Hooss and Mary Magdalena Kiesler were married in Perryville 150 years ago. I will attempt to tell the tale of a prominent family in Perryville history. I will begin with documenting the early years of John Hooss. John Hooss was born on February 1, 1848, the son of Henry and Barbara (Fath) Hooss. His … More Hooss Celebrating Their 150th Anniversary?
lutheranmuseum.com 