You will read the story today of a man who certainly did not have an easy life. This man would also be celebrating his birthday today if he was still alive. Theodore Friedrich Blanken was born 149 years ago on January 4, 1874. Theodore was the son of Herman and Emilie (Pfau) Blanken. He was … More One-Armed Saw Miller
Oscar Christian Kassel was born on this day 125 years ago. It is his story that I will attempt to tell today. Oscar was the son of Christian and Sulamith (Hopfer) Kassel, born on October 13, 1897. That already puts him a rather large group. Our German Family Tree lists 15 children born to Christian … More Frohna Machine Shop – Perryville Parts Guy
As near as I can tell, there were two Ochs brothers who arrived in America in 1839 and settled in Perry County. One was Johann Michael Ochs, and the other was Johann Conrad Ochs. Today’s story will center around Johann Conrad Ochs, but the one I will write about is not Johann Michael’s brother. It … More An Ochs Tree
Yesterday, I wrote the story of Emma Moldenhauer. As promised, today you will be told the story of her twin brother, Henry. Heinrich Christian Moldenhauer, also born on December 26, 1884, is listed on a Perry County birth record as being the 8th child in his family. Our German Family Tree lists him and his … More Menfro Moldenhauer Twins – The Second One
Albert Fritz Moldenhauer arrived in America in 1871 according to a couple of census records. He then married the widow, Margaret (Linz) Hoehn in 1879. The story of Fritz and Margaret was told in the post, Menfro Moldenhauer’s. We have these photos of Fritz and Margaret. That previous post mentioned that this couple had two … More A Set of Moldenhauer Twins
In my upcoming book, Wittenberg ’04, two weddings that occurred in July of 1904 will be highlighted. Another 1904 marriage will be the centerpiece of today’s blog post. That wedding took place in August. In fact, it took place on this day in August making today this couple’s 116th anniversary. Today’s groom was a member … More Clara and Paul
I get to tell the tale involving a brand new surname for this blog today. That name is Gerstacker. Today’s birthday girl is Emma Gerstacker, the daughter of Johann George and Eva (Bergmann) Gerstacker. She was born on June 29, 1882 and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville, Missouri. On Ancestry.com, many of the … More Menfro Moldenhauer’s
As I have studied East Perry County surnames, I have noticed that most folks with the surname, Schade, were found living in Altenburg and were members of Immanuel Lutheran Church. However, there is a branch of the Schade family tree that resided near Frohna and were members of Concordia Lutheran Church. I will tell the … More The Frohna Schade’s
We will celebrate a wedding anniversary today. Charles Fiehler and Clothilde “Tillie” Boehme were married at Trinity Lutheran Church on October 17, 1897. Thus, today would have been their 121st anniversary. Clothilde was the daughter of two original immigrants that were part of the Gesellschaft. Both of her parents arrived here as relatively young children. … More Charles and Tillie
I have seen the term “engineer” given in the occupation column of several censuses from Perry County from back in the 1880’s and early 1900’s. That term does not have the implication that one would have for the word “engineer” nowadays. This definition can be found in a modern dictionary. “A person who designs, builds, … More Old-Time Engineer
lutheranmuseum.com 