Theodore Wachter was born on September 27, 1886 so today would have been his 133rd birthday. He was the son of Wilhelm and Ernestine (Bodenschatz) Wachter and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Here is his baptism record. When Theodore was rather young, he was included in a Wachter family photo taken in front … More Ted and Thekla at Two Trinity’s
For one season, he was my coach. I was a scrawny little guy who loved to play soccer, and I thought that I could be a kicker for the Concordia Teachers College football team. I did just that. The football program listed me as being 125 pounds, tied for one of the lightest players on … More Congratulations, Coach Meyer
In a recent post, Mary and Joseph of the Oehlert Clan, we learned that Mary Gruenwald married Joseph Oehlert. One of today’s characters will be Mary’s sister, Mathilda Gruenwald. We tell her story today because she married today’s birthday boy, Henry Degenhardt. Mary (Gruenwald) Oehlert was married in 1894. It would be 11 years later … More Henry and Mary’s Sister, Tillie
I know this is going to be quite a literary stretch, but I am always on the lookout for a play on words, and I could not resist sharing this one on this Easter Sunday. A marriage took place on April 21, 1892, and one of the participants was a Bodenschatz. Google Translate tells me … More Easter Hill
Many folks from East Perry County remember Dixie Degenhardt cruising the roads of Altenburg in his pick-up truck. Dixie lived to almost 100 years old and died a few years back. Today would have been the 104th wedding anniversary of Dixie’s Uncle Paul and Aunt Sophia Degenhardt. We will start with Paul. He was the … More Dixie’s Uncle Paul & Aunt Sophia
It is a week of getting interesting visitors here at our museum. Yesterday’s post referred to our friends, the Wittenberg Cousins. Today, we have two ladies in our midst who I refer to as rock stars of Perry County family research. Their names are Lori Adams and Diane Anderson. If any of you spend any … More Research Rock Stars
One hundred twenty-nine years ago today, Sarah Mathilda Poppitz, known as Tillie, was born. She was baptized eleven days later on Reformation Day in 1888. Tillie’s parents were Carl Ferdinand and Ernstine (Oehlert) Poppitz. She was the fourth child born into this family. Unfortunately, two of those children died at very young ages. Amazingly, one … More Gust and Tillie
June 3, 1895 was a wonderful day for Carolina Weis. It was her wedding day. She married Friedrich Zerbst in Jacob, Illinois. It was a day to celebrate. However, Carolina’s life would be one which was visited by tragedy on several occasions. Carolina was the daughter of Gustav and Anna (Weseloh) Weis. August was a … More Such a Tragic Story
While walls were rising on a new building at Trinity Lutheran Church, just down the road at Immanuel Lutheran Church, a marriage was taking place on this day, January 29, 1867. Eighteen year old Bertha Engert, whose parents had arrived in 1839 with the Gruber group, was united in marriage with August Degenhardt, a thirty … More The Original Degenhardt Duo
Earlier this week, a discovery was made in Altenburg which our director, Carla Jordan, has described as finding the Holy Grail. The items discovered are a set of hand-drawn maps which show locations of some of the important historical sites in the Altenburg area. The photo below shows a small portion of one of the … More Altenburg’s Holy Grail
