Martin Johann Heise is today’s birthday boy, and he would be celebrating one of those special birthdays if he was still alive. Martin was born on February 27, 1873, making today his 150th birthday. He was the son of Andreas and Anna (Keyl) Heise. Martin was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, where his … More Martin Heise – Illinois Coal Miner
In October of 2020, I wrote the story of Louis Kirmse in the post titled, First Marriage – Age 61. As the title states, Louis was unmarried for 61 years of his life. And when he got married at such a late time in his life, his bride was 22 years younger that he was. You … More The Other Reluctant Kirmse Groom
Today’s birthday girl begins her life in Germany, comes to America and settles for a while in Perry County, but ends up spending most of her life in Prairie City, Missouri. Before I get to the actual story, let me tell you that, if you want some great background information about how and why Perry … More One of the Bracher/Stueve Couples in Prairie City
After researching the characters in today’s story, I finally looked at the baptism record of the man who I identified as today’s birthday boy, only to realize that today likely was not his birthday. Our German Family Tree says that Friedrich Wilhelm Oehlert was born on November 7, 1864, the son of Gottlieb and Wilhelmine … More The William Oehlert Saga
Today would be August Johann Kutscher’s 125th birthday. He was born on March 24, 1897, the son of Martin and Diamanda (Leine) Kutscher. A previous post, Diamanda’s Dozen, told the story of August’s parents. August was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, but since I am away from Altenburg today, I am not … More Pocahontas Blacksmith
One of the first things you can see upon entering our museum in Altenburg is the piece of furniture pictured below. On the back, you would find the stamped words, “G.A.O. Altenburg MO”. This piece of furniture was either made or sold by Gustav Adolph Oehlert, who is today’s birthday boy. Gustav’s story was told … More Altenburg Furniture Store
I happen to know that my church, Trinity Lutheran in Altenburg, is presently examining ways to correct some problems we have in our cemetery. There are broken or fallen gravestones, grave markers that are leaning, plus there are quite a few empty spots for graves that were never marked with a gravestone. Today’s story will … More Unmarked Graves
You will read another one of those stories today about the parents of children who have been the subjects of previous posts on this blog. However, the story of the mother and father has yet to be told. Also, among the other names that I would call Seelitz names like Schlimpert, Kuehnert, and Degenhardt, you … More Seelitz Sweethearts
Richard is not a name that is found very often in our German Family Tree. My father was named Richard, and my middle name is Richard, but it is not considered a common name given to children of German descent. However, one of today’s main characters was given that name. We will begin with discussing … More Richard and His Two Wives
The surname highlighted in today’s post is another one that brings up the topic of pronunciation. How do you pronounce Krause. I have known folks with that surname over the years and have heard it pronounced two different ways. One is to make it rhyme with “house”. The other is to pronounce it as Krau-zee. … More The Krause’s – John Julius, Martha, and Emily
lutheranmuseum.com 