A baby girl was born 175 years ago on today’s date in Scheeβel, Germany. You will be reading her story today. That baby was named Anna Weseloh. Her baptism record from the congregation in Scheeβel says she was born on February 8, 1848 and baptized 5 days later on February 13th. Anna was the daughter … More Happy 175th Birthday, Anna Weseloh
Today, you will be reading another one of those stories in which the two people getting married come from opposite sides of the Mississippi River. The two surnames that are united in this marriage are ones that over the years had been found both in Altenburg, Missouri and Jacob, Illinois. The starting point for this … More Granite City Steel Worker
Back in my teaching days, I had a student whose parents had chosen a different name for their baby girl, but because she was born on Christmas Day, she was named Holly instead. Although I cannot say for sure, I think today’s birthday boy was named because of the day of his birth. Today’s tale … More And They Shall Call His Name Emanuel
The story you will read today was inspired by a marriage that took place on December 1st back in the 1880’s. It may be an exception to a tradition of weddings not taking place during the seasons of Lent and Advent in German Lutheran churches. I think the marriage highlighted in this story did take … More Joachim from Jacob and His Uniontown Bride
We have another special birthday to acknowledge today. Joseph Gerhard Popp was born on November 10, 1872, making today his 150th birthday. Joseph was the son of Wilhelm and Caroline (Hoffstetter) Popp. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at his baptism record from that congregation’s books. For … More Joe and Molly – The Popp’s
Have you ever heard of a Marmon automobile? I know that I did not until I was researching for this post. Getting to the Marmon automobiles begins with a special birthday for Olga Anna Zerbst, who was born on October 27, 1897. So, if Olga was still alive today, she would have to blow out … More Olga’s Marmon Auto Salesman
Johann Heinrich Ehlers was born on October 10, 1873, so today would have been his 149th birthday. Every census record in which we find John says that he was born in Illinois. However, his baptism record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Missouri. That record is pictured below. There is … More John Ehlers – Broom Maker with Boehme Bride
Back in 2019, I wrote a post titled, Gottfried’s Angels. The story was told about the 3 daughters of Gottfried and Amalie Darnstaedt. Gottfried and Amalie had 6 children who lived to adulthood. The oldest 3 were boys, and the youngest 3 were girls. Gottfried and Amalia’s family is shown in the photo below which … More Gottfried’s Single Trio
Julius Arno Koenig was born on September 27, 1897, thus making today his 125th birthday. You will be reading his story today. This tale will take us to several local congregations before ending up in St. Louis. Several Ancestry.com family histories call him Arnold, and even his gravestone uses this name, but his baptism record … More Arno and Agnes – The Koenig’s
I have discovered that several natives of this area migrated to settle in the vicinity of Coffeyville, Kansas, which is right on the border between Kansas and Oklahoma. Many of those folks had connections to Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. I will be writing another one of those stories today. We begin with a … More Brunkhorst and Dietrich in Coffeyville
