Today’s story has a few similarities to yesterday’s tale. First, you will be reading about another birthday boy by the name of Theobald. Also, much of today’s story takes place in the Fountain Bluff Township of Jackson County, Illinois, and centered around Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob. It has been a while since I have … More Another One in Anton’s Army
There are several reasons today’s post will be different than most. First of all, the main character of this story does not live long. In fact, he still hadn’t made it past his teenage years when he died, and that also means that he never married. Therefore, I do not have many documents to share … More Lightning Struck Suddenly
Paul Jacob Kuehnert is today’s birthday boy. He was born on October 21, 1893, so today, he would have been blowing out 128 candles on his birthday cake. Paul was the son of Julius and Emma (Schmidt) Kuehnert. The Kuehnert family grew up in the Seelitz area of East Perry County, and Paul was baptized … More Caring for Soles and Souls
About two weeks ago, Gerard Fiehler and I attended the Heins Family Reunion in Jacob, Illinois. Today, I will discuss the history of one of the children to come out of the family of Leo and Anna (Versemann) Heins. Sarah Johanna Heins was the 4th child born into this family and is today’s birthday girl. … More A Brunkhorst-Heins Couple
I have a story centered around a wedding anniversary to share today. I will begin with the groom. His name was Heinrich Ernst Engert, who was born on October 21, 1862. Henry was the son of Frederick, Jr. and Elizabeth (Seibel) Engert. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Below is an image … More Engert’s on the Move
A post that was published at the beginning of 2021 told the story of John Oetjen, Sr. That post was titled, Land for a Church. Today, you will be told the story of his oldest son, John Oetjen, Jr. John, Sr. married a woman named Mary. John Jr. married a woman named Martha. It sounds sorta … More John Jr. and Martha Oetjen
About a month ago, I wrote the post, The Arbeiters – Fred and Lena, which told of a Fred Arbeiter who was born in 1871. Today, you will read the story of a younger Fred Arbeiter, who would have called the other one his Uncle Fred. The younger one is today’s birthday boy. Friedrich Wilhelm Arbeiter … More The Other Fred Arbeiter – Fred and Sophia
Today, we will follow the story of an original immigrant who was part of the 1839 Gesellschaft, settled in Perry County, but apparently did not stay in this county for very long. His story takes us to several interesting places. We begin with a birthday that took place 189 years ago on this date. Gottfried … More The Slimpert’s of Perry County
I have a special birthday to highlight today. A baby boy by the name of Jakob Friedrich Arbeiter was born on August 19, 1871, making today his 150th birthday. This child would later go by the name of Fred or Frederick. He was born in Ittlingen, Germany. The map below illustrates how close that town … More The Arbeiters – Fred and Lena
We know that the history of the German Lutheran immigration to this area did not just include tragedy, but also scandal. The story of Rev. Martin Stephan’s indiscretions is not one that we enjoy telling, but it happened, and it has to be told. We also know that the German Lutheran immigrants were able to … More It Begins with a Scandal
