In a recent article published in the Washington Post, the following quote was made: “By official estimates, upward of 2 million tourists will descend on Wittenberg this year — and that could pose a problem.” Residents of East Perry County should relax after reading this after they realize that the Wittenberg mentioned here is not … More Our Wittenberg
The author of today’s post is once again Fred Eggers. He is an outstanding researcher and has written this story with connections to his own family. It is a fascinating tale of a man’s survival during the calamity of a steamboat burning on the Mississippi River. This account also contains information that is important in … More The Perilous Journey of Some Early Lamstedt Immigrants
The Louisiana Purchase had just been made by the United States in 1803-1804. It did not take long for a Revolutionary War veteran by the name of John Manning to acquire a piece of this new American land in what later became Perry County, Missouri. He acquired a piece of property along the banks of … More The First Manning of Wittenberg
A fascinating story took place on April 9th in East Perry County, and the characters in the story had absolutely nothing to do with the Lutheran immigration. However, its timing came awfully close to corresponding with the arrival of the German Lutherans into Perry County. It took place in 1839. According to Zion on the … More Mississippi Marriage Misfortune: Tragedy at Tower Rock
April 6th was the birthday of Carl Heinrich Wichern in 1892. His parents were Daniel and Maria (Leimbach) Wichern. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Here are photos of the parents. Daniel Wichern had purchased some property along the Mississippi River in the 1880’s. The area where he purchased this land was … More Holschen’s Landing
Once in a while, I discover that two familiar events happened on the same day. I have to tell the story of two of those today. One event was the landing of a boat; the other a landing of a ship. One event took place fairly close by in St. Louis; the other took place … More Dual Landings
Today, I will use the fact that the steamboat, Knickerbocker, arrived in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 30, 1839, carrying a load of Saxon immigrants who were part of the Gesellschaft, as a springboard for another story. On the PBS website, there is a page which includes a timeline corresponding to one of their productions … More Mud Clerk on the Knickerbocker
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
There seems to be some dispute about when the steamboat Clyde arrived in St. Louis with the immigrants that had voyaged across the Atlantic aboard the Johann Georg. However, an article in a St. Louis newspaper said that the Clyde had arrived on January 24, 1839, so that is the date that is agreeable to … More And Then There Were Two
Seventy-eight days after departing Bremerhaven, Germany, the first members of the Gesellschaft arrived by steamboat in St. Louis, Missouri. They had voyaged across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Copernicus to New Orleans, Louisiana, and then had traveled up the Mississippi aboard the steamboat, Rienzi. Now, on January 19, 1839, they had finally arrived at that … More The First Stephanites Arrive in St. Louis
