Although there is some disagreement about her date of birth, I will be writing a story that begins with a bride who will marry a Perry County boy. Wilhelmine Marie Wenninger was either born on November 13th or November 14th in 1884. Marie was born in Germany, the daughter of Gottlieb and Wilhlemine (Mauser) Wenninger. … More Alvin in Alva
Otto Jacob Koch was born on July 5, 1893, so today would be his 130th birthday. Otto was the son of Jacob and Wilhelmine (Hellwege) Koch. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Because I am not in Altenburg, I cannot get an image of his baptism record. Otto appears in his … More Otto, the Dutchtown Auto Mechanic
I know it’s Mother’s Day, but the German Family Tree led me to a story about fathers. However, the birthday girl becomes an important mother in this tale, so I suppose we could say both “Happy Birthday” and “Happy Mother’s Day” to her. Emilie Mehner was born on May 14, 1883, so today would be … More A Mehner Mother Amongst a Passel of Pastors
I will be encouraging folks to wish a “Happy 150th Birthday” to George Harmening today. This tale has certain similarities to yesterday’s story about a Lutheran church worker and a person who spent just a short time in Perry County. That is the case again with the tale of George Harmening’s life. There is also … More George and Gesine – The Harmening’s in Lidderdale
The post for today begins with the birthday girl, Martha Lydia Thauwald. Lydia was born on April 10, 1891, the daughter of Karl and Caroline (Schneider) Thauwald. She was the 5th of 7 children in her Thauwald household. Lydia was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. An image of her baptism record from that … More Hausmann’s in Boyden, Iowa
Not long ago, some visitors entered our museum from Bremer County, Iowa. I had to ask, “Do you know any Thurm’s?” Their eyebrows shot up and the man said, “One of my neighbors is a Thurm.” I was not surprised, but he was surprised by my mention of a Thurm. In a previous post on … More Paul, A Member of the Thurm Throng in Bremer County, Iowa
A tenth and last child was born to Johann and Maria (Stueve) Schlichting on this day 125 years ago. That baby was named George Theodor Schlichting. If you’ve done the math, you know that George was born on September 20, 1897. He was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, Missouri. We can take a … More Teacher Schlichting
I had no idea that there was a Lutheran church named St. Sebald. I had also never heard of a place named Strawberry Point, Iowa. Now I do. It even turns out that this Lutheran church has important historical significance. Just like East Perry County is an important place in the early history of the … More Baptized at St. Sebald Lutheran, Strawberry Point, IA
A baby boy was born in Austria 150 years ago on this date, and it is his story you will read today. His story will take us to several states in this country. More than once during his life, he served the congregation of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kornthal, Illinois. Franz (Frank) Engelhart was … More Kornthal’s Teacher and Reverend Engelhart
A while back, I published a post about a rather large family named Hunt. It was titled, The Hunts and Their Herd. In that post was this family photograph that almost certainly contains today’s main character. Johann Joseph Hunt was born on February 21, 1899, so today would be his 123rd birthday. He was the 5th … More A Hunt in Iowa
