I will begin with a lonely baptism record found in our German Family Tree. It is the only record found in our GFT for today’s birthday boy. Joseph Rudolph Gerhardt was born on January 28, 1900, thus making today his 125th birthday. Joseph was the son of Julius and Anna (Heintz) Gerhardt. He was baptized … More Joe Gerhardt – Cape Girardeau Building Contractor
Today’s story was inspired by a baptism record for a girl who spent just a short time in Perry County. Like quite a few other posts that have been published on this blog, the move away from Perry County by this girl was made to St. Louis. It was there that most of this story … More Clara Ludwig – Brewer’s Daughter
There are so many stories about Perry County natives who went on to become pastors and teachers in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. I have written plenty such stories on this blog, but apparently I have not come to the end of the list of people who fit this category. I will share the story of … More Rev. W.T. Goehring – Midwest Minister from Frohna
Downtown Frohna might not be a term that folks would use these days. However, there was a time when a person traveling down Main Street through that town, probably using horse and buggy transportation, would have witnessed quite a beehive of activity. A bunch of factors have contributed to the fact that what I lovingly … More Single Life in Downtown Frohna
Karl Oswald Gerhardt was born on July 31, 1869, the final child of Julius and Amalie (Leine) Gerhardt. If he was still alive today, he would be celebrating his 153rd birthday. Oswald’s baptism record can be found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of that record is displayed below. Oswald … More White Pearl Maker
The Stueve family is another one of those surnames that presents all kinds of challenges for a researcher. Today, you will be told the story of a man by the name of Claus Johannes Stueve. I can tell you that there are numerous men in the Stueve family that carried the name Claus Stueve. I … More Stueve Leaves – Finds Bride in Kansas
Today’s tale with be the third out of the last four posts in which the main characters are buried in another state. This time the story begins in Perry County, Missouri and ends up in Lincoln County, Kansas. It all begins with the birthday of Edmer Hugo Gerhardt, who was born on October 17, 1891. … More Sylvan Grove Gerhardt’s
Johannes and Henrietta Kutscher would be celebrating their 160th anniversary today if they were still alive. I will attempt to tell you what I know about this couple today. This couple was married in Altenburg, but they spent most of their lives in the New Wells area. Let’s start by looking at the bride. Christiane … More The Kutscher-Krause Couple
I will begin today with an admission that there is some dispute about the birthdate of today’s main character. Our German Family Tree states that Herman Ludwig was born on January 22, 1859. However, his later death certificate not only states that his birthday took place on January 21st, but it also says he was … More Herman the Brewer
Today’s post once again sent me off on some more tangential research (down some extra rabbit holes). This time, I was off on a journey to learn the history of refrigeration and tractor trailers. I had actually done some of this research a while back on refrigeration when I was writing my Wittenberg ’03 book. … More George Gerhardt – From Blacksmith to Selling Refrigerators
