The Johann Gottfried Kramer family in Paitzdorf, Germany must have been going through preparations for a dramatic move from their homeland to America during that year of 1838. Johann Gottfried was a cartwright….a wagon maker…..and must have had to sell his business and many of his tools before their anticipated trip. They must have had … More Just One Kramer Left
Today’s article is the result of starting out looking for information on one story and ending up telling a different story. It all started with the birthday of Friedrich Ferdinand Grosse on May 27, 1811. Ferdinand was one of the original immigrants whose family decided to stay in St. Louis and not move to Perry … More A Census Hall of Fame
It was Palm Sunday in East Perry County, Missouri in 1840. One tradition that came to America with the German Lutheran immigrants was that of conducting the rite of confirmation on Palm Sunday. The first few years after the new settlers arrived were mostly dedicated to survival. They were very difficult years, and much death … More Confirmation Classes of 1840
Lately, my story ideas begin with a search for an event that took place on a certain day, and morph into a different story. Today will be another of those. We have a birthday boy by the name of Friedrich Wilhelm Schuricht, who was one of the original immigrants arriving in St. Louis in early … More Mama Lochner
In the winter of 1967, the Journal of the Illinois Historical Society published an article titled, The Artist Gustav Pfau. This article included several drawings which were made by Gustav Pfau, one of the original members of the Gesellschaft. You can find a way to access this article at this link: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40190168?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Today’s date, January … More Wow! It’s Pfau
The following passage is included in the book, Zion on the Mississippi. I find it very interesting. It tells of a seemingly insignificant event taking place during the trip up the Mississippi aboard the steamboat Knickerbocker. “The last day of the week, January 26, found the immigrants at New Madrid, Missouri, and one more day … More Intersecting Exoduses
A Schuricht family history book includes the following paragraph which includes an account of the death of Johann Gottlob Schuricht on January 8, 1839. Based on evidence that we have at our museum, here is what I think happened. Johann Gottlob Schuricht (who appears to already be a Junior in the Schuricht family history) brought … More Buried on the Bank
The Republik was getting very near to its destination. It was now in the Gulf of Mexico headed for the port city of New Orleans. The ship had already been at sea for a little over two months. Then, six days before the end of the voyage, the first and only death on the Republik … More Buried at Sea
November 12th was the day of departure from Bremerhaven, Germany of the Republik, a ship full of German Lutherans who were looking for a new start in America. Here are a few photos of the passenger lists as they were recorded when the ship arrived in New Orleans on January 12, 1839. The Gotthold Loeber … More The Republik Sails to the Republic
There must have been a great sense of joy around the Altenburg community in October of 1967. The air was still full of the glory of the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series in the 7th game of the Series on October 12th. The Cardinals had traveled to Fenway Park in Boston to play … More For All the Saints
