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
I chose this story today because, like yesterday, it contains another example of a Schuessler marrying a Burkhardt. I found the story because one of the Schuessler sons was born on this day. Herman Schuessler is today’s birthday boy. He was born on September 7, 1862. We will get back to him later. First, let’s … More Herman’s Schuessler Dad and Burkhardt Step-Mom
One hundred sixty-four years ago, a wedding took place in Frohna, Missouri with Ernst Eduard Burkhardt as the groom and Johanna Schuessler as the bride. The wedding took place on September 6, 1855. Both the bride and the groom had come to America aboard the same ship in 1839, but they were both young children … More Ernst Eduard’s Women
I am a little frustrated this morning. My efforts to find a good story to write for this blog today were rather fruitless. Because I am not in Altenburg, I look for a type of story that does not rely heavily on documents that we have in our research library. Instead, I look for a … More A Very Short Note from the Teacher
