Today, you are going to read the story of an amazing woman who gave birth to 13 children. Yet she came short of outdoing her own mother, who had 15 children. That mother may have to be a story for another day, but today we will tell the tale of Julia Kasten who is also … More Mama Wunderlich
Otto Bodenschatz is our birthday boy today. He was born on February 10, 1887, the son of Frederick and Rosalie (Mueller) Bodenschatz. This Bodenschatz family originally lived in Altenburg but would later relocate in Shawnee Township in Cape Girardeau County. Otto was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Here is his baptism record. Otto’s … More Otto and Josephine
Leo Wunderlich was born on January 12, 1888, so he would have been 132 years old today. Leo was the son of Bernhard and Julia (Kasten) Wunderlich who lived in Shawnee Township of northern Cape Girardeau County when Leo was born. Leo was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, Missouri. Below is an … More The Hunt for Leo
I have a fascinating tale to tell today. Most of the story does not take place around here. It takes place in Nebraska. In several previous posts, I have written about several local characters who moved to an area of northeast Nebraska that included the several adjacent counties shown in the map below. I began … More Doughboys Find Splittgerbers in Nebraska
Johann Carl Wunderlich would have been 159 years old today. He was born on April 23, 1860 and his was one of the early baptisms recorded in the church books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, Missouri. Carl was the son of Johann Gottlieb and Maria (Bendel) Wunderlich. We have a photo of Carl’s … More Wayfaring Wunderlichs
Anna Josephine Wunderlich was born on December 12, 1876, so today would have been her 142nd birthday. She was the daughter of John and Josephine (Bendel) Wunderlich. Anna was the youngest child in the family. We have this photograph of Anna’s parents. Anna was baptized on Christmas Eve in 1876, which was a Sunday. This … More Rudy’s Grandma
Today, I might just ask more questions than I answer. I have found references to three different people with the surname Theilig in the early records of East Perry County. One of them happens to be my great great grandmother, so this name always gets my attention when I see it. The big question is … More Theilig Trio Teaser
The blog post today was written by Lynn Degenhardt. I am reluctant to call him a guest blogger, even if this is the first post that has been authored by him. Lynn is a resident of Altenburg and is one of the key members of our research team here at our museum. He is by … More The Trail of Christiane Theilig’s Out of Wedlock Child
Some folks live in one place all their lives, and others do not. One of today’s characters is one of the latter. In every census and even some other documents, I found him living in a different location. Today’s story starts with his wedding which took place on August 14, 1902. The bride was Magdalena … More Never Wun(derlich) to Settle in One Place
In a typical post written by me you would find a photo of a gravestone toward the end of the article. Today, will not be typical. I am going to start with such a photo. Here is the gravestone of Leroy and Eleonora Wunderlich which can be found in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg, … More Three Consecutive Celebrations
