I will share a story today which I consider amazingly unique. It will tell the tale of a man whose occupations during his life took an amazing turn as he became older. Since it involves flowers, I find it to be an appropriate story to tell on this Mother’s Day. Add to that the fact … More A Flower Story for Mother’s Day
I will begin today with a family photo that has shown up on this blog in several earlier posts. It shows the Traugott Kaempfe family. Let me quickly summarize the history of this Kaempfe family and its connection to the Gesellschaft. Johann Samuel Gottfried Kaempfe came to America aboard the Johann Georg in 1839. Below … More Carl from Millstadt
One hundred thirty-three years ago, Bertha Vogel was born in New Wells, Missouri. Her birthday was May 6, 1886. She was the daughter of William and Emma Susanne (Hoehne) Vogel and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Below is her baptism record. On October 27, 1907, Bertha married Joseph Richter of Wittenberg, Missouri. … More Bertha’s Joe and Otto
It may be Cinco de Mayo elsewhere in the world, but we Germans would say it is the fünfter Mai. And on the fifth of May in 1886, Clara Vogel was born in Jacob, Illinois. I knew that after looking in our German Family Tree, I was quite sure that I was not going to … More Clara Finds Justus in Jacob – Or Did Justus Find Clara?
Paul Joseph Ahner was born on April 30, 1887, so today would be his 132nd birthday. Before I proceed any further, let me say that around here, the name Ahner is pronouced the same as the word “honor”. Paul was the son of August and Anna (Lungwitz) Ahner and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in … More Laura’s Man of Ahner
The story begins in Germany. August Dietrich Fick was born on April 18, 1877. His parents were Hans Peter and Engel (Versemann) Fick who likely lived and died in Germany. August came to America by himself in 1892 when he was just 15 years old. Family stories say that he came to Perry County, Missouri … More Hulda’s Boys & the Loss of Her Buddy
He may not have been an errands boy, but this Ahrens boy certainly was involved in several types of occupations during his lifetime. And although his life began in Perry County, Missouri, he lived in a few other locations over the years. I will tell his tale today. Otto Gottfried Heinrich Ahrens was born on … More Otto, An Ahrens Boy
Today’s continuation of yesterday’s post will tell the story of two sons of Ernst Moritz and Wilhelmina (Hahn) Grosse. These two boys followed very similar paths through their lives. The older of the two sons was Traugott Johannes (T.J.) Grosse, and the younger one was yesterday’s birthday boy, Frederick Grosse. Each of them was baptized … More Grosse Kirchen – Part 2
Sally Gustin sent me this post a few days ago. Most of the words in this story are not Sally’s. She shares with us her uncle’s first-hand account of the Tri-State Tornado which, as the name describes, caused death and destruction over three states…..Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. They are the memories of an eye witness … More Fatal Funnel in Fountain Bluff
Today I am going to revisit a story that was mentioned briefly in a previous post. I will add some more details to this story and look at it from a few other perspectives. The event that was mentioned in that previous post was the death of Linda Arbeiter, who died on February 27, 1911 … More An Interesting Pair o’ Docs
