Today’s birthday boy began his life in Altenburg, but almost his entire life was spent across the Mississippi River in Illinois. While there, he married two women, one of whose parents were from Altenburg. He also became a local storekeeper in Jacob, Illinois. So, let’s get started. Bernard Heinrich Arthur Dietrich was born on July … More The Dietrich Store – Jacob, Illinois
There are so many stories about Perry County natives who went on to become pastors and teachers in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. I have written plenty such stories on this blog, but apparently I have not come to the end of the list of people who fit this category. I will share the story of … More Rev. W.T. Goehring – Midwest Minister from Frohna
Justine Amalia Markworth was born on August 24, 1848, so today would be her special 175th birthday. Amalia was the daughter of Gottfried and Fredericke (Mueller) Markworth. Amalia’s mother was the sister of J.A.F.W. Mueller, the first graduate of Concordia Seminary, Altenburg. So, I guess you could say that Amalia could have called him Uncle … More Miss Markworth Marries Schumm from Schumm
The post for today begins with the birthday girl, Martha Lydia Thauwald. Lydia was born on April 10, 1891, the daughter of Karl and Caroline (Schneider) Thauwald. She was the 5th of 7 children in her Thauwald household. Lydia was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. An image of her baptism record from that … More Hausmann’s in Boyden, Iowa
You will be reading quite a different type of story today. Yes, it does have a birthday girl. However, neither of the characters that make up today’s married couple were Perry County, Missouri natives, nor could you track back into their family histories to find ties to Perry County names. Also, neither the husband or … More Pastor Schoech and the Brewmaster’s Daughter
The Lutheran church that began in St. Louis when the Gesellschaft arrived would eventually be known as Trinity Lutheran Church and have Rev. Otto Herman Walther as their first pastor. It would have its first church building dedicated in 1842, and by then, Rev. Walther died and his brother, Rev. C.F.W. Walther took his place. … More Old Trinity’s Inaugural Double Wedding
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
Today’s continuation of yesterday’s post will tell the story of two sons of Ernst Moritz and Wilhelmina (Hahn) Grosse. These two boys followed very similar paths through their lives. The older of the two sons was Traugott Johannes (T.J.) Grosse, and the younger one was yesterday’s birthday boy, Frederick Grosse. Each of them was baptized … More Grosse Kirchen – Part 2
Today’s story centers around Ruben Engert who would have been 100 years old today. He was born in Altenburg on November 5, 1917 and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Ruben’s parents were Theodore and Anna (Schroeder) Engert who lived in Friedland, or The Ridge. Ruben’s mother, Anna, was the sister of the Molly Schroeder that … More From the Hills of Perry County to the Fields of Tripoli
July 9th was not only the birthday of Mathilde Gerler, it was her anniversary. She was born on July 9, 1882. Her birth record in the Immanuel Lutheran, Altenburg church records say that she was born in Friedland, which is another term for The Ridge. She was the daughter of Louis and Emma (Thurm) Gerler. … More Art and Tillie
