About two weeks ago, Gerard Fiehler and I attended the Heins Family Reunion in Jacob, Illinois. Today, I will discuss the history of one of the children to come out of the family of Leo and Anna (Versemann) Heins. Sarah Johanna Heins was the 4th child born into this family and is today’s birthday girl. … More A Brunkhorst-Heins Couple
A post that was published at the beginning of 2021 told the story of John Oetjen, Sr. That post was titled, Land for a Church. Today, you will be told the story of his oldest son, John Oetjen, Jr. John, Sr. married a woman named Mary. John Jr. married a woman named Martha. It sounds sorta … More John Jr. and Martha Oetjen
Martin and Dora Brunkhorst would be celebrating their 105th wedding anniversary today if they were still alive. I will be attempting to tell their story today. In the case of Dora, I have already attempted to tell part of her story in a previous post, Seelitz to Jacob. However, I may not have gotten her … More Martin and Dora
Fred Eggers is the author of today’s post. His offer to submit a post to our blog is perfectly timed because once again, I am not in Altenburg for a few days. It will be a little more difficult for me to write a post without causing family strife. Fred is an amazing researcher who … More The Johann Miesner Family in Scheeßel Church Records
The year, 1944, had barely begun. Just outside New York Harbor, the ship, USS Turner, had arrived late during the evening of January 2nd and anchored near the Ambrose Light. The next morning, explosions were heard from the ship, and it began to list. The aerial photo below must have been taken at about that … More Trains, Ships, and Tragedy
When I found a marriage that united a Brunkhorst with a Wichern on this date back in 1881, I immediately thought of two boat landings along the banks of the Mississippi River. These landings no longer exist, but they once were important places back when there were no bridges nearby to enable folks to cross … More Brunkhorst Weds Wichern in Jacob
Today’s story is packed full of names that had origins in Scheeβel, an area in Hanover in northern Germany. Many immigrants from Scheeβel arrived in Perry County, Missouri and Jackson County, Illinois in the mid-to-late 1800’s. The couple we will focus on today, for example, was made up of a Brunkhorst and a Mahnke. Other … More Several Scheeβel Surnames
A marriage took place on this day 151 years ago in Altenburg, but most of the rest of this story takes place across the river in Jackson County, Illinois. The bride and groom had been in America for just a year or two. I will start with the groom who arrived in 1866. Joachim (John) … More Joachim’s Scheeβel Spouses
The selection of this story began with me finding what would have been a 100th anniversary celebration today. I thought that should be worthy fodder for a story right there. However, when I looked into this situation, I discovered that it was the third marriage for Joseph Schuessler of Frohna. Therefore, you are going to … More Joe’s Wives
Our German Family Tree records that Flora Schoenborn (“schoen” means beautiful in German) was born on July 20, 1897, so today would have been her 121st birthday. However, there is no baptism record for Flora in any church records from Perry County. Yet we do know from all the census records that include her that … More Florida – Born Beautiful
