We know that the history of the German Lutheran immigration to this area did not just include tragedy, but also scandal. The story of Rev. Martin Stephan’s indiscretions is not one that we enjoy telling, but it happened, and it has to be told. We also know that the German Lutheran immigrants were able to … More It Begins with a Scandal
A few of today’s characters arrived in America about a year before the Stephanites arrived in 1839. Two of the family names that were part of what we call the “St. Louis Additions” were Holschen and Grother. The arrival of Johann Holschen and Margaretha Grother present us with a mystery right away in this post. … More Holschen-Grother-Beckmann-Luehrs
The story for today does not include an unusual surname. Instead, it includes a rather rare first name to show up in our German Family Tree. That name appears in today’s title, Hieronymus. I did a search through the German Family Tree and found just 5 men whose name included Hieronymus, and the majority of … More Hilda and Hieronymus
Yes, today is yet another story about a bride and a groom with roots on The Ridge. The Ridge is a hilly, rural neighborhood located north of Altenburg near the Mississippi River. Residents of The Ridge were predominantly members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The couple that will be discussed today is another story … More Return for Ridge Romance
It is a recurring theme. Neighbors on The Ridge end up getting married. Such stories have already appeared several times on this blog, and you are getting yet another one today. I discovered today’s story because of a birthday. Elizabeth Weber was born on September 29, 1862, the daughter of Charles and Emilie (Guebner) Weber. … More Ridge Romance Repeat
I am going to tell the story of Charles Leimbach today, but I know I will not have any Leimbach descendants from Charles who will read this post. Charles had two wives during his lifetime, but there were no children born to either of them. However, that does not mean they had no part in … More Childless Couple Adopts
Two surnames found in the area known as The Ridge north of Altenburg were Jungclaus and Weber. Today, you will read about a married couple that was made up of a Jungclaus and a Weber. I choose to begin the tale back in Lamstedt, Germany (mainly because I found some original baptism records there). First, … More Albert and Emma on The Ridge
Today’s birthday girl, Elizabeth Engert, led me on an interesting research trail today despite the fact that she only lived 44 years. Her story leads to several interesting questions. One has to do with her birth date. Another has to do with the time of service of some pastors. Another has to do with marriage … More Engert #21
We begin today with a birth that took place in Paitzdorf, Germany. Maria Hemmann, a member of what I call the Hemmann Herd, was born on July 26, 1829. She was the daughter of J.G. Hemmann and his first wife, Maria Bachmann, so I suppose she may have been named after her mother. We have … More Solving Mysteries with Death Records
August Arensburg is today’s birthday boy. He was born on March 26, 1843 in Kassel, Germany. His father’s name was Frederick, but his mother’s name is not in any records that we have. August had an older brother named Christoph, and his first two children died in 1857, and their death records can be found … More Barkeep’s Boy
