Ernst Gottfried Weber would be celebrating his 150th birthday today because he was born on October 11, 1869. As it turns out, Gottfried had quite the trip through life, spending time in several locations and experiencing some difficulties in the process. Gottfried (sometimes called Fred) was the son of Herman and Pauline (Braeutigam-Schroeder) Weber. Gottfried’s … More Gottfried’s Travels and Trials
You may want to read the post titled, Seelitz Sweethearts, before reading this one. That post told the story of Johann George Gotthold Darnstaedt, Sr. who was married twice. His first marriage was to a woman who was about 17 years older than him who had several children. After she died, he married a woman, … More Baby Darnstaedt and His Bride
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
I will be discussing a Miesner/Heins couple today. To begin with, let me say that these two names can easily cause research issues. There were Miesner’s and Heins’s who were found on both sides of the river, both here in Perry County, Missouri and across the river in Jackson County in Illinois. Just this morning, … More Getting Used to Girls
Before I begin today’s story, I’d like to discuss pronunciation. I have talked to several local folks about how to pronounce Guetersloh. Although there is some difference of opinion, the pronunciation that gets the most support is Gitter-slaw. In fact, the folks that use this pronunciation far outnumber any other pronunciation. At least among the … More Guetersloh-Rathjen
Henry is today’s birthday boy, but before I tell his story, let me explain that in the German language the word for bird is vogel. Yesterday’s post highlighted a Vogel, and another Vogel will show up today. As I have researched the Vogel name in this area, I have found that the first Vogel’s in … More Henry’s Love Bird **Updated
Today’s birthday girl can be described using so many names, as indicated in the title of this post. That list is not even complete, as you will later read. This girl’s family could trace their ancestry back to the Gesellschaft in 1839, but by the time of her birth, her parents were living across the … More Brewer’s Daughter; Coal Miner’s Wife; Baker; Laundress
Johann Friedrich Conrad Amschler was born on July 8, 1863. That would make today his 156th birthday. John’s story got a fairly good accounting in a previous post about one of his sons which was titled, Z to A. Even though that post included information about John, I decided to embellish his story in a … More Finding a Bride Across the River
Although today’s story begins in Perry County, it certainly does not end there. The story involves lumber, cabinet making, furniture, and casket making. What do all these activities have in common? Trees. Perry County certainly has plenty of trees, but the family involved in today’s episode later moved to another area known for its trees. … More The Miesner-Heeszel Partners
It may be Cinco de Mayo elsewhere in the world, but we Germans would say it is the fünfter Mai. And on the fifth of May in 1886, Clara Vogel was born in Jacob, Illinois. I knew that after looking in our German Family Tree, I was quite sure that I was not going to … More Clara Finds Justus in Jacob – Or Did Justus Find Clara?
