It is not often that I write the story of a person who is still alive and well, still wandering the face of the earth. However, that is the case today. I also get to write the story of a good friend. Today’s highlighted character is Lynn Degenhardt. I have mentioned Lynn on several occasions … More Grand Guru of the German Family Tree
Otto Michael Finger is today’s birthday boy. He was born on January 4, 1890, so today would be his 135th birthday. Otto was the son of Wilmar and Liberta (Telle) Finger. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here. I figure that this photo … More Finger Food
The birthday boy for today’s post was named Karl Immanuel Degenhardt on his baptism record. Early on, it appears that he was called Emanuel (with this spelling), but as time went by, his documents used the name Charles. Charles was born on October 29, 1874, so today would be his special 150th birthday. He was … More Charles Degenhardt – Detroit Typewriter Machinist
Arthur Martin Gerler would be celebrating a special birthday today if he was still alive. Because he was born on July 15, 1898, today would have been his 125th birthday. Arthur was the son of Christian John Friedrich and Susanna (Vogel) Gerler. He was the 3rd of 9 children born to that couple. The first … More Arthur and Eleanor – A Gerler-Zwosta Pair
On June 12, 1845, Carl Friedrich Gruenwald was born in Germany, so today would be his 178th birthday. We have evidence that his father was Friedrich George Gruenwald, but all we know about his mother is that she died in 1854 and has a grave marker in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna. She is … More Charles and Hanna – The Gruenwald’s
After researching the characters in today’s story, I finally looked at the baptism record of the man who I identified as today’s birthday boy, only to realize that today likely was not his birthday. Our German Family Tree says that Friedrich Wilhelm Oehlert was born on November 7, 1864, the son of Gottlieb and Wilhelmine … More The William Oehlert Saga
Have you ever heard of a Marmon automobile? I know that I did not until I was researching for this post. Getting to the Marmon automobiles begins with a special birthday for Olga Anna Zerbst, who was born on October 27, 1897. So, if Olga was still alive today, she would have to blow out … More Olga’s Marmon Auto Salesman
You will read another one of those stories today about the parents of children who have been the subjects of previous posts on this blog. However, the story of the mother and father has yet to be told. Also, among the other names that I would call Seelitz names like Schlimpert, Kuehnert, and Degenhardt, you … More Seelitz Sweethearts
Wilhelmina Marie Christine Hellwege was born 163 years ago. Her birthday was July 1, 1858. This girl would most often be called Mina or something similar on future documents. Mina’s parents were Heinrich and Friedericke (Winter) Hellwege. A previous post was written about Mina’s father and his four wives titled, The Fourth Marriage. Mina was … More Jake and Mina
On this date, May 7th, in 1893, Wilhelm Friedrich Bodenschatz, often called Fritz, was born. He was the son of Wilhelm F. and Maria (Degenhardt) Bodenschatz. I ran across a few places when Fritz was called Fred, Sr. which would be because he had a son by the name of Wilhelm Friedrich which would have … More Fritz and Lydia Bodenschatz
