June of 1849 was a tragic month in the life of Jacob Kalbfleisch, who lived in St. Louis and was a member of Rev. C.F.W. Walther’s congregation. This is how this tragedy is described from a family tree on Ancestry.com. “Tragically, very shortly after their arrival in St. Louis the cholera epidemic swept through St. … More Maria Boettcher – An Answer to Jacob’s Prayers
My search for a story started this morning by noticing that Johann Christian Poppitz died on this day, May 12, in 1855. One of the places this led me was to the first page of the passenger list of the Copernicus that landed in New Orleans on December 31, 1838. Once I discovered this page, … More A Page Full of Stories
In my opinion, Christiane Buenger was an amazing mother. She was a widow who brought eight of her children to America in the 1838-1839 immigration. All of her children were single when they arrived in America. The stories of the lives of Christiane and her children are quite amazing. Once I discovered these stories, I … More A Mother’s Day Tribute to Mama Buenger
May 5, 1858 was the birthday of Martha Mathilda Buenger in Altenburg, Missouri. Her parents were Dr. Ernst Eduard Buenger and Amalie (Weber) Buenger. Because Rev. C.F.W. Walther’s wife was Ernst’s sister, this makes Mathilda his niece. In 1879, Mathilda married Joseph Samuel Mueller, also from Altenburg. However, their marriage took place in Ft. Wayne, … More Yet Another Mueller Question
Today’s story begins in the church records of Historic Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis. On May 3, 1849, we find that there was a marriage performed. Herman Brandes was the groom, and Wilhelmina Giesselmann was the bride. This brings to mind how busy the Lutheran pastors must have been in St. Louis during that … More 1849 – A Busy Year for Pastors in St. Louis
We had a school group at our museum today from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri. Accompanying them was their pastor, Rev. Jeremy Schultz. We just had to do a little research into that church. St. John’s Lutheran Church was started in 1848 when a group of men met with Rev. C.F.W. Walther, President … More From Johannes to Schultz
April 20, 1841 was the second day of the Altenburg Debate. The two debaters, Adolph Marbach and Rev. C.F.W. Walther, decided on April 15th that there was the need for another day in order to debate further issues, so they set April 20th for their second day. They once again met at the Log Cabin … More The Altenburg Debate – Day 2
Just a matter of days before the Altenburg Debate in 1841, John Tyler became the tenth President of the United States. He ascended from his position as Vice President after President William Henry Harrison died after serving only 32 days in office. The story goes that President Harrison got sick after speaking for nearly two … More A President and a President-to-Be
Two weeks from today, we will celebrate the 175th anniversary of the beginning of what came to be known as the Altenburg Debate. This debate is now recognized in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as a very significant event in its history. In the present climate where we are in the midst of a Presidential campaign, … More The Dresden Debate
After the death of Otto Herman Walther in January of 1841, Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis called Otto’s brother, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther, to be their next pastor on February 8th. Rev. C.F.W. Walther was serving two congregations in and around Perry County, Missouri at the time. The congregation chose a shoemaker named Martin … More A Call is Delivered
