Junk

011) Paul Hinderer - Group This is a picture of Paul Hinderer with his confirmation class at Grace Lutheran Church, Goodhue, MN. Emanuel (age 13) and Clara Hinderer (age 12) were confirmed in same class in 1900.

I am guessing that Emanuel and Clara are in this picture. Who do you think looks like they are 12 or 13?

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“Oral history informs us that when the sickness had finally run its course, the neighbors burnt down the log cabin home to try and kill the diphtheria germs. The father remarried, and our present member, Ed Scheele, is one of the living descendents of this second family.” This same incident is referred to, although not by name, in another secular book I am reading.

I wonder if the above incident had anything to do with bodies of the deceased not being allowed in the church at funerals. The congregation didn’t allow this until 45 years later in 1929.

The name Ed Scheele is mentioned. Ed is the grandfather of Lois Scheele Hartman. He would purchase a drugstore in Hutchinson, MN. My grandma Clara Hinderer Baur would become good friends with his wife, Lois’s Grandma Lydia Jaus Scheele (Tanta Lydia).

Both women became young widows. Lydia and her sons (including Lois’s dad, “Putz” Roland), moved back to the family Jaus Farm where Mom grew up. Mom spent a lot of time with Tanta Lydia after her mom (Hannah Lieske Jaus) died. Dad and Grandma would visit Lydia on the Jaus farm….  :-)

The connections and ties to Hutchinson are numerous. We will find common ties with the Scheele, Harms, Jaus, Hinderer, Baur, and Naegle family names. What a tangled web!

I was trying to figure out what church the Jaus family attended when first coming to America. The family history says Immanuel Lutheran Church. In reality, the church is Emanuel Lutheran Church. Do you know how many ways I have found to spell Immanuel? Lots! I discovered a spreadsheet for their cemetery. It indicates Johann Jaus is buried there. There are also Harms, Bentz, and Gruenhagen family members. Reading through the records gives some insights I'll share. - During the dreaded flu epidemic of 1918, 20 members died of the Grippe (Influenza). - There are 64 grave sites of children that don't have markers and 90 grave sites for children with markers for a total of 154 children's' graves. Wow! Death was an ever present specter in the lives of our ancestors. I have attached the file for those of you who may wish to further study it.

Thanks for the spreadsheet, I like to say that Emanuel is their first church in the United States, because they spent several years in Delphi, Ontario, Canada before moving to Minnesota. Their church in Delphi was St. Peter's Lutheran Church. I see I have neglected to include the church name anywhere on my website. I will need to correct that. I have several transcriptions of their church records in Delphi. They are spotty, but provide some insight into the family history there

School

The first years were filled with hardships, but when the virgin timber was cleared and the stumps were removed, the land was very productive. The settlers pooled their labor and helped one another. Father Jaus even cleared a neighbor’s tract of land by mistake.

Lois L Bode wrote me: "In Nov and Dec of 1884 Heinrich Friedrich (Fritz) Scheele (3rd great uncle of Lois Scheele) lost his wife and 6 children to Diphtheria, all buried at Emanuel Cemetery, Hamburg MN. He married again and had 6 more children! Lots of children died those years."

I wasn't sure what Diphtheria is so did a quick Google search. According to the Mayo Clinic:

"Diphtheria (dif-THEER-e-uh) is a serious bacterial infection usually affecting the mucous membranes of your nose and throat. Diphtheria typically causes a sore throat, fever, swollen glands and weakness. But the hallmark sign is a sheet of thick, gray material covering the back of your throat, which can block your airway, causing you to struggle for breath.

Diphtheria is extremely rare in the United States and other developed countries, thanks to widespread vaccination against the disease.

Medications are available to treat diphtheria. However, in advanced stages, diphtheria can damage your heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly — up to 3 percent of people who get diphtheria die of it. The rate is higher for children under 15."

The following statistics are for the years 1875-1884. They aren't MN specific, but does demonstrate how deadly Diphtheria was.

From Lois L Bode: Emanuel's church records begin in 1858. My great grandparents Christian Buerkle and Christina Kappis were married 6 Dec 1857 in Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota by Pastor Kahmeyer. (Certificate of marriage) Pastor Kahmeyer was at both Emanuel at Hamburg and Zion at Cologne in Benton T. Obit of Christian says "They were married in a log cabin at Hamburg after walking six miles through a severe snowstorm and were the first people married under the German Lutheran denomination at Hamburg." Neither Zion or Emanuel have any records from 1857!