Today’s post was written by our great friend, Fred Eggers. I know he has been working on this research for a long time, and I’m excited to see his results. ================================ Joseph Immanuel Gruber, the youngest of Pastor Carl Friedrich Theodore Gruber’s eight children, was born on November 19, 1838, but until I started searching … More In Search of the Lost Gruber
Amalia Maria Augusta Boehme, if still alive, would be celebrating her 200th birthday today. She was born in Dresden, Germany on November 13, 1820. In case you’re interested, it was a Monday in 1820, so she was not born on Friday the 13th. Amalia was the daughter of Carl Gottlieb and Johanna Christina (Pistorius) Boehme. … More Happy Bicentennial Birthday, Mrs. Grosse
What are the chances? After yesterday’s story about a Hoffmann, I found another Hoffmann story for today. Not only that, but both yesterday’s and today’s posts include a Hoffmann who had a name that included Carl. And, if that is not enough, both stories include women who took on the name, Wilhelmine Hoffmann. If you … More A Hoffmann from Frankenberg
Our German Family Tree says that Johann Birner was born on this day back in 1815. There are problems in definitively stating that today would have been his birthday. First of all, John was born in the Bavarian region of Germany, so we do not have a baptism record for him that would have given … More Birner Beginnings
Two passengers aboard ships that traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1838-1839 as part of the Gesellschaft were born on the Fourth of July. The first birthday they would celebrate in Perry County in 1839 would also be the 63rd birthday of America. It wouldn’t be until 1870 that the Fourth of July became an … More Born on the Fourth of July
People who have become familiar with the story of the German Lutheran immigration to America in 1838-1839, which was led by Rev. Martin Stephan, are probably familiar with the name of Louise Guenther. Rev. Stephan was exiled from the Perry County colony in May of 1839, partly as a result of sexual impropriety. The main … More The Miscreant Maid Marries
Today is not just Groundhog Day. Today is not just Super Bowl Sunday. You can also point out that today’s date when written as 02/02/2020 is a palindrome…it can be read the same backwards and forwards. However, today also happens to be the 180th anniversary of the establishment of the Lutheran church in Paitzdorf, Missouri. … More Grace, Uniontown Turns a 180
The original Kaempfe family arrived aboard the Johann Georg as part of the Gesellschaft in 1839. I wrote a post about the early years in Perry County for the Kaempfe’s that was titled, Prof. Godfather. These Kaempfe’s eventually had a farm in Millstadt, Illinois, and one of their sons, Traugott, moved back to Perry County, … More Kaempfe’s Carriage
A Christmas song asks the question, Mary, Did You Know? I have to ask the following similar questions of Mary Bretscher. Mary, did you know whether you were born on December 31st or January 1st? Mary, did you know whether you were born in 1844 or 1845? I have to ask these questions because we … More Mary, Did You Know….Your Birthday?
We will be celebrating a 168th wedding anniversary today. I think the couple getting married on this day 168 years ago is a pretty unusual duo. First of all, both the bride and the groom were each the firstborn child in their respective families. Add to that the fact that the groom was the first … More 1st of Many Marries 1st of Even More
