I have pinned the name, Mama Buenger, on Christiane Buenger, the widow who brought 8 of her children to America as part of the 1839 immigration. My book, Mama Buenger: Mother of a Synod, is a fictional account of her 10 years in the United States. So many people from her family, along with men … More Mama Buenger’s Great Granddaughter
Today’s tale is inspired by a marriage record that says a couple was married on June 5, 1859. I am missing several documents that I normally find for such a pair. Add to that the fact that this couple did not have any children. However, I have a somewhat selfish reason for telling this story. … More The Zech’s from My Neighborhood
Yesterday’s post told the story of a grandson of Charles Weber, who had been a probate judge of Perry County. Charles was also once the mayor of Perryville, and before that, was a captain in the Union Army during the Civil War. He is pictured as a soldier below. Today, you will read a story … More Doc’s Wife – Captain’s Sister
A birthday took place on this day 175 years ago that I consider very special. Perhaps it is because there is a chapter in my book Mama Buenger: Mother of a Synod that tells the tale of this child’s baptism. Perhaps it is because this child was likely named after one of the Buenger children … More Liddy’s Namesake
You will discover today that the life of Elizabeth Amalie Burroughs was a struggle from the beginning to the end. During her life, she could have been called an orphan (or an abandoned child), a foster child, a divorcee, a mother of two sets of twins, and a widow. There is also some indication that … More Lisette’s Labored Life
I certainly had some struggles with today’s post. Even when I’m finished with this story, there will be unanswered questions. However, the story has some interesting characteristics, including the fact that there is a chance today’s main character spent time living on the property that I now own. So, here we go. Emilie Wilhelmine Neumueller … More Emilie and the Unattached
Local residents sometimes refer to Friedrich Florian Petzoldt as “The Face” That is because when Friedrich Florian was buried in the cemetery of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, his tombstone bears the image of his face. That Friedrich Florian Petzoldt was born in Germany in 1812 and died here in Perry County in 1884. Here … More Grandson of “The Face”
One of the characters in my book, Mama Buenger: Mother of a Synod is Clementine Buenger. She is today’s birthday girl. She was born on June 15, 1823 in Etzdorf, Germany. She was the daughter of Rev. Jakob and Christiane (Reiz) Buenger. Her father died in 1836, so her widowed mother decided to become a … More My Darling, Clementine
I had today’s story all situated in my mind, with only one detail to figure out, when I decided to go down one last rabbit hole to look for that one detail. In this case, I didn’t find the desired rabbit, I found a snake. Suddenly the story looked a little more sinister, and I … More The Burroughs Famil-EEEEEHE
John Preusser was born on December 22, 1883 in Altenburg, Missouri. Although being born and raised in a small town, he spent most of his life in the big city of St. Louis. Today, I will attempt to tell you what I have found out about his life. John’s parents were August and Friedrike (Winter) … More Watch Your Step
