Today is once again one of those days when I will not have much time for research and writing, so I am going to share with you a document that I received in an e-mail about a week ago. The e-mail came to me from a relatively new German friend of our museum, Hartmut Mensendiek. … More A Supplement from Germany
I am going to be a little selfish today. I am doing some research for a book I am writing. The book includes some romance, believe it or not, and one of those romances involves Otto Lueders and Lydia Weinhold of Wittenberg. I am wondering especially about engagement and wedding traditions with regard to jewelry. … More German Wedding Tradition
August Emanuel Bachmann was born on October 22, 1864. His baptism record is part of the Salem Lutheran Church books in Farrar, Missouri. Here is that record. Emanuel was the son of Heinrich and Ernstine (Koenig) Bachmann. If you look at the children of these Bachmanns, you will find that their first child, who died … More The Bachmanns: A German-English Pair
For old Math teachers like me, March 14 (3.14) is Pi Day or π Day. So I was hoping to find some sort of evidence of Pi in the German Family Tree. I think I have found the ingredients for baking up the almost perfect Pi, except for the fact that I had to cross … More Baking Up a Good German Lutheran Pi
The first ship that was part of the Gesellschaft, the Copernicus, arrived in New Orleans on December 31, 1838. What they would experience there would both amaze them and disgust them. Arriving on New Year’s Eve would add to that experience. As a result of the Louisiana Purchase, the American flag would first be flown … More New Year’s Eve in New Orleans
I was in the process today of looking for a story for this blog, and I discovered yet another fact about my great grandfather, Gottwerth Schmidt. In 1880, he was a census taker. I did not know that. I was looking for information about Albert Fischer, whose birthday happens to be December 29, 1826. I … More My Great Grandpa, the Census Taker
Yesterday’s blog post brought about some lively discussion, especially with regard to this black and white photograph which supposedly showed Santa. So today, after becoming much more informed regarding the character shown in this photo, we will discuss this matter more thoroughly. Yesterday afternoon, we received a phone call from Rev. Roger Moldenhauer, a dear … More Nick or Knecht?
The 4th biennial immigration history conference is now a piece of our history. It was a wonderful three days of reunions with research patrons, a celebration of art and music, as well as an opportunity for our Historical Society to bring the leadership of the LCMS to the Altenburg region. The Lutheran Heritage Center team … More 2016 Conference
I don’t have much time to research for a post today with grandchildren in town, but here is a short article. Maybe you have noticed a lot of names which are mentioned in this blog that have the letters GOTT in them. Gott is the German word for God. Our German ancestors’ faith is evident … More God in a Name
April 6 was the birthday of Kunigunda Wirth in 1849. Her name can be found in both the Friedenberg and Longtown, Missouri church records. After seeing this name, we became curious about the name Kunigunda’s origin. The name appears to have roots in Germanic tribes in Europe, and the name means “brave warrior”. This also … More Brave Warrior?
