A new surname had to be added to our digital images collection for today’s post. That name is Holcumbrink. This is the first time that name has shown up on this blog after almost 8 years of posts. This surname is spelled in a variety of ways on Ancestry.com, but I am settling on the spelling to be … More Laborer’s Son Marries Worker’s Daughter
St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ruma, Illinois is celebrating their 175th anniversary this year. It is not often that a story on this blog takes us to that little church in Randolph County, Illinois. Today will be one of those posts. The baptism record for today’s birthday girl is likely to be found in the … More A Rathjen-Rowold Romance
The birthday girl for today’s post is Wilhelmine Magdalena Arbeiter, who was born on October 10, 1896. Almost all of her life, she went by the name of Minnie, and even has that name engraved on her tombstone. Minnie was the daughter of Henry and Caroline (Rowold) Arbeiter. She was born in the Fountain Bluff … More Clarence and Minnie – The Goldstein’s
The birthday girl for today is one of those persons who hops back and forth across the Mississippi on several occasions during her life. As I write this post, the Mississippi River is so low that people are able to walk out to Tower Rock, and it’s drawing quite a crowd to this area. However, … More Hopping Across the Mississippi River
Today’s birthday boy, Herman Johann Arbeiter, was born on June 8, 1894, so, if he was alive today, he would be turning 128 years old. You will be reading another story in which the husband spent his whole life in Jackson County, Illinois, but his wife had her beginnings in Perry County, Missouri. Herman was … More Herman the German Slugger
Today’s tale begins in Perry County, but the setting changes rather quickly. Most of today’s setting is the Fountain Bluff Township of Jackson County, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River. The birthday girl is Frieda Emma Darnstaedt, who was born on March 5, 1898. Frieda’s parents were Martin and Bertha (Haacke) Darnstaedt. Frieda was one … More Zerbst – Darnstaedt – Rowold
I think most of you would recognize from the title that today’s tale will take place in Illinois. The story begins with the birth of a baby girl in Jacob, Illinois 130 years ago. Sophia Maria Johanna Arbeiter was born on February 7, 1892, the daughter of Henry and Caroline (Rowold) Arbeiter. Several other previous … More From Jacob to Prairie du Rocher to Red Bud
About a month ago, I wrote the post, The Arbeiters – Fred and Lena, which told of a Fred Arbeiter who was born in 1871. Today, you will read the story of a younger Fred Arbeiter, who would have called the other one his Uncle Fred. The younger one is today’s birthday boy. Friedrich Wilhelm Arbeiter … More The Other Fred Arbeiter – Fred and Sophia
You are about to take a trip back in time, starting in St. Louis, and proceeding to New Wells, Frohna, and Seelitz in Missouri and Horse Prairie in Illinois. The Missouri and Illinois settings have the common thread of Rev. Martin Stephan. All of those places are connected to Diane Guelzow, whose husband’s family roots … More Acts of God – Part 3
The post, The Estels Go East, was published back in 2017. It told the tale of Paul and Mathilda (Schneier) Estel. Today, I will tell the story of their eldest son, Arthur Estel. In a photo taken when Paul and Mathilda celebrated their 50th anniversary, we see Arthur standing in the back row on the … More Arthur and Caroline from Jacob
