I will begin with a discussion of German words today. The word, grosse, in German can be translated to the word large in English. I also found evidence that the German surname, Pfeiffer, can be translated as fifer, one who plays the fife. When I think of a fife, I think of a fife and … More Grosse Pfeiffer
Wilhelm Traugott Schirmer was born on November 28, 1860, so today he would have been 160 years old. Wilhelm was the son of Conrad and Hermine (Petzoldt) Schirmer. His baptism record can be found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Missouri. I am unable to display any church records today. Let me … More Maria’s Schirmer Men
I boldly enter the Hemmann Herd today. It will highlight the marriage between a Hemmann and a Stueve. This is not the first post telling the story of a Hemmann marrying a Stueve. In the post, Another Hanna Story, you can read about a Hemmann woman marrying a Stueve man. That marriage took place in … More Hugo the Builder and His Girls
I will drift away from my normal story strategy today. Instead of telling the tale of one family, I am going to give brief attention to three people that are not related to each other in any family way. What they do have in common is a connection to Reformation Day, October 31st. Two of … More Reformation Roundup
This will not be a post that follows the same blueprint that is used in most of the stories that I write. Instead of just taking you from cradle to grave of a featured character or couple, I will be leading you to a scenario that took place in a graveyard in Wittenberg in 1904. … More 3 Infants, 3 Graves, 10 Days
Rudolph Andreas Petzoldt was born on June 25, 1896, so he would have been celebrating his 124th birthday if he was still alive today. Rudolph was the last child born to Charles and Theresia (Leimer) Petzoldt. He was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, Missouri. Below is his baptism record. When Rudolph was just … More Rudy and Rosie
A birthday that took place 170 years ago attracted my attention for today’s story. Heinrich Gotthold Doering was born on June 2, 1850, the firstborn child of George and Theresa (Schlimpert) Doering. Before we discuss Heinrich’s life, let’s take a brief look at his parents. According to a Doering family book we have in our … More The Doering-Petzoldt Pair
Today is the 150th birthday of one of Friedrich Florian (“The Face”) Petzoldt’s grandsons. In this case, we find a branch of his family ending up in the northern part of Cape Girardeau County near the town of Pocahontas. The birthday boy is Herman Petzoldt, Jr. He was born on May 27, 1870, the son … More Some Pocahontas Petzoldts
When I first moved to Perry County about 10 years ago, I looked at the surname, Koeberl, and wondered how to pronounce it. I soon discovered that folks around here make it very simple. They pronounce this name the same as they pronounce “cable”. This is also one of those names that was once spelled … More Frank the Koeberl Guy
I decided to write a story today about a couple that got married on March 28th. I had gotten quite a way through researching this couple before I discovered that another couple not only got married on the same day, but at the same church. Then I took a look to see if I had … More Adolf’s Ladies
