Great Grandma Wilhelmina

My great grandmother was Friedricke Wilhelmina Justine (Seibel) Schmidt.  She was born on October 8, 1846 and died on February 6, 1905.  She married Gottwerth on May 25, 1865.  They had six children:  Anna Caroline, Maria Freidricke, Ernst Friedrich, Emmanuel Gotthold (my grandfather), Louisa Wilhelmina, and Clara Christiana (the only one who was alive during my lifetime, and I was able to meet). 

Great Grandpa Gottwerth

My great-grandpa was Gottwerth Schmidt.  He came to America with Joachim as a 4-year old.  The following information is included in Mary Dillan's Altenburg book:
     According to Goodspeed's History of Southeast Missouri, G.F. Schmidt received a limited education in the German congregational schools and the night schools at Altenburgh.  He farmed until 1862 when he became a clerk in a store.  He and Dr. Ernst Buenger purchased a store and became partners in the spring of 1863 and managed until 1867 when they dissolved their partnership and Gottwerth went into the general store business alone.  He ran a lucrative business which served the surrounding county.
    Gottwerth immigrated in 1839 with his parents and Naturalized in 1856.  He was Justice of the Peace for 10 years and Notary Public for 8 years.

Great-Great Grandpa Joachim

The following information about my great-great grandfather can be found in Mary Dillon's book, "Altenburg Missouri." 
Joachim Schmidt was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, in 1795, and was a locksmith who came to America in January of 1839.  The family came to Perry County where he farmed until his death in 1870.  His wife, Maria Charlotte Sybille Saalfeld died in St. Louis on April 15, 1891.  Joachim and his wife had three children:  Gottwerth Friedrich born September 7, 1834 in Duchy Saxe-Altenburg Germany (Kahla), Eva Magdalena born November 13, 1838 and died March 31, 1839 in St. Louis and Maria Magdalena born February 11, 1843 in Germany and died on December 3, 1936.

Just a few notes:
*Gottwerth was my great grandfather.
*I do not understand how Maria Magdalena was born in Germany.  I really think that is a mistake.
*Maria must have been a popular name in my family.  There are two mentioned above, and Gottwerth also named one of his daughters Maria.

C.F.W. Walther - 200th Birthday

The LCMS community will be celebrating the 200th birthday of C.F.W. Walther on October 25.  C.F.W. was instrumental to the Lutheran settlement here in Perry County, MO and is also given credit for the establishment of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  I am sure that special events will be scheduled in many Lutheran churches, but especially here in Perry County and in St. Louis, where Walther served as pastor.

Robberies

On December 12, 2010, the Bank of Altenburg was robbed.  As of this writing, the criminals have not been found.  This episode is a reminder of another robbery in this area in days gone by.  On November 3, 1922, there was a train robbery in Wittenberg.  The criminals in that case are known - Jack Kennedy and Harvey Logan.  They were both shot and killed by postal inspectors and railroad special agents shortly after the robbery took place.  These agents had been tipped off and were waiting in the Wittenberg area where they knew the robbers were heading to their getaway car after the robbery.  They had $240,000 with them in a mail pouch.  This is believed to be the last train robbery in the state of Missouri. 
I would love to be able to share the details of the capture of the criminals involved in the latest robbery.  Maybe someday, I will.  So despite the relative calm which is usually the case around here, there have been some events which have destroyed that sense of peace and quiet.

New Altenburg Book

Mary Dillon has recently published a new book entitled, "Altenburg Beginnings".  I have spent numerous hours looking through this book and reading it.  It is a book which records the history of my new town of Altenburg, as well as other towns nearby.  I think this book would be fascinating for anyone who has their roots in this area.  It is packed with photographs from days gone by.  It also contains great historical information about many of the prominent families from this area.  In addition, many anecdotal stories are included which have been gleaned from the memories of several old-timers from around here.  This book is for sale at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum. 

The City of Altenburg

The way that Altenburg is situated is rather interesting.  It is a city built on a ridge.  When you drive down Main Street, the land slopes down on both sides of the road.  This geography is the reason that most of the homes in Altenburg are located on Main St.  There are very few side streets, and those only go for a block or two.  At the recent immigration conference here, we were told that this type of village arrangement is one that is fairly common in Germany.  On a more humorous note, it is very difficult to enter or leave this city without someone knowing about it.