Hilger-Sandbrink 1884

This wedding photo is of Joseph & Margaret (Hilger) Sandbrink from 1884. Joseph was born in 1858 and came to this county at the age of 22 and first settled in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Margaret (Hilger) was born in Fussville Wisconsin in 1865. They were married on June 10, 1884 and after their marriage they moved to Spring Hill and settled on a farm there. After 10 years on the farm in Spring Hill they moved to Melrose where Mr. Sandbrink was engaged in the farm implement business until his retirement. Joseph passed away in 1933 at past 75 years of age and Margaret passed away in 1953 at the age of 87. Both were well known in the area and both were very active members of the community. At the time of Margaret’s death 7 of their 13 children were living (4 died in infancy), 30 grandchildren and 34 great grandchildren all had survived her.

Willenbring-Fuchs 1897

Here is a picture shared from Kathy Thielen. The picture is of Jacob "Jake" & Josephine (Willenbring) Fuchs. Kathy writes: This is their wedding picture from November 9, 1897, Stearns County. (this is my grandmother's brother).

Rose-Hoeschen Abt 1897

This wedding photo is of Xavier (1874 Germany) & Elizabeth(1876-78 MN) (Rose) Hoeschen. I had to do some digging to find out a bit more about this couple and this is what I found, Xavier was the son of Joseph & Gertrude Hoeschen of New Munich, Joseph was born in 1826 and died in 1902, Gertrude was born in 1834 and passed away in 1915. Elizabeth Rose was the daughter of John & Maria Antonette Rose of New Munich. John was born in 1828 and died in 1899 and Maria was born in 1838 and died in 1896. I do not have a date for Xavier and Elizabeth's wedding but I did find that in 1916 they were married and sold their farm, livestock and machinery etc. and moved to Bynum Montana where they purchased a farm there and the "family" moved. I see many occasions where they came back to the area to visit relatives but I do not see anywhere in the Melrose Beacon where they moved back to the area.  Note:  In Oak Twp 1895 MN Census with parents Joseph age 70 and Gertrude age 61.

 Renneker-Moening 1899

Wedding picture is of John & Agnes (Renneker) Moening. They were married in June 20, 1899. John was 62 when he passed suddenly on August 12, 1937 and Agnes lived to age 96. These are the parent of: George, Fred, Herman, Bernard, Ted and Tony Moening and daughters: Elizabeth Williams, Marie Welz. When Agnes passed away on February 2, 1972 she had 37 grandchildren, 3 step grandchildren, 58 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren.

Kuhlmann-Hinnenkamp 1901

Wedding picture is that of Theodore & Caroline (Kuhlmann) Hinnenkamp. They were married on April 30, 1901 or May 30, 1901 I have two dates noted. Theodore was born in Germany in 1875 and came to Melrose at age 12. They farmed north of town and later bought and moved to a farm south of town, they were in the milk business until Theodore's untimely death in 1935. Caroline was born in Germany in 1878, was a devoted wife and loving mother. Theodore & Caroline had 11 children; sons = Dillo, August, Arnold, Albert, Alphonse, Norbert, Benedict, daughters = Lydia, Ann, Loretta and Rose.

  Zimmermann-Rose 1903

Jean van Eps shared this photo with me and she would like confirmation that the picture is in fact her grandfather's brother Joseph Gerhard and Emma A. (Zimmermann) Rose who were married on January 8, 1903. Jean shared with me that if this is Joseph & Emma she would be the 2nd wife of Joseph as his first wife passed away. If this is in fact Joseph & Emma they are from (and buried) New Munich. Joseph was born in Oak Township on August 15, 1871. In 1897 he married Anna Roering who passed away in March of 1901, they had two children; Katherine who died at age 13 and Eleanor (who would later marry Ruppert Hoppel). Joseph and Emma had the following children: Annie, Clarence, John, Paul, Edmund and Marlin. Joseph Gerhard Rose started the hotel and saloon business at New Munich in 1900 and later also conducted a general store business. In the spring of 1917 he sold his business interests at New Munich and bought land at Pendroy Montana, near Bynum and had been farming there up until his death in 1926. Joseph was survived by his wife (Emma), all his children except for Katherine and the following brothers and sisters, Herman, Ben, Mrs. Xavier Hoeschen, Mrs. Katherine Hilt and Mrs. Henry Roering. I hope we can confirm this couple is Joseph & Emma (Zimmermann) Rose for Jean van Eps.

Acherman-Barchinger 1906

Wedding photo is of William Jacob “Bill” & Elizabeth Mary (Acherman) Barchinger. William was born in Lake Henry MN in 1880 and Elizabeth Mary “Lizzie” was born in Lake George MN in 1881. William and Elizabeth were married on May 22, 1906 in Sauk Centre MN, they had 10 children. William passed away in 1957 at the age of 77 in Fargo ND and Elizabeth passed in 1975 at the age of 93 also in Fargo ND.

  Henry and Anna Miller 1910

Wedding photo is of Henry C & Anna Miller. The year noted on this picture is 1910. Photo from the Stearns History Museum.

Maas-Trisko 1910

This wedding couple is Joseph & Josephine (Maas) Trisko, they were married on October 25, 1910. The October 28, 1910 noted the following: "The bride was accompanied by Miss Josephine Weisser and the groom was assisted by his brother, Frank Trisko. A wedding dinner was served at the home of the groom's sister, Mrs. Pat Geraghty, where in the circle of a few near relatives a few merry hours were spent. Shortly after dinner the newly wedded couple took the train for the Twin Cities. They will visit Duluth and other places before they return. Mr. Trisko is in the dry business here, a member of the firm of Treman & Trisko. " Joseph was born in Melrose in 1885 and lived here with his wife and family until his death at the age of 79 in 1964. Joseph gave much of his life in the interest of the community. His most cherished public jobs included, serving on the Melrose Fire Department and playing in the Melrose City Band (he enjoyed playing the clarinet and baritone). During his life Joseph worked for the John Hoeschen Milling Co, Henry Tieman's Dry Line, Melrose Telephone Company, operated a distribution center here for the Hamms Brewing Company, until prohibition, and for 31 years, until his retirement in 1961, served as a custodian at the Melrose Public School. One of the High School yearbooks/Talisman's was dedicated to him. In his younger days Joseph was an ardent hunter and used to tell of the good duck and prairie chicken hunting in the area. Josephine was born in 1886 at Loretto Tennessee. She passed away in 1965 at the age of 79. Josephine was an active member of the Christian Mothers, St. Elizabeth Society, Daughters of Isabella and the VFW Auxiliary. She enjoyed her 18 grandchildren and was very well liked in the community.

Von Wahlde-Hinnenkamp 1915

This wedding picture is of Bernard F "Ben" and Mary (Von Wahlde) Hinnenkamp. They were married on October 26, 1915. Wedding announcement from the October 28, 1915 Melrose Beacon read: Bernard Hinnenkamp and Miss Mary Von Wahlde, both of Melrose vicinity, were united in marriage Tuesday morning at St. Boniface Church. The bride was attended by Miss Elizabeth Hinnenkamp, as sister of the groom and Joe Von Wahlde, a brother of the bride, was bestman. The bride wore a white messaline gown trimmed with pearls and carried a bouquet of bridal roses. The bridesmaid wore a pretty white cre pe de chine gown. There was a mammoth celebration at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. & Mrs. Fred Von Wahlde, who live 4 miles north of town. The young couple will make their home here in Melrose where Mr. Hinnenkamp is employed in the granite yards. Ben and Mary made their home in Melrose and Ben worked for the Great Northern Railroad, he was an engineer. Ben passed away in 1971. Mary "Mayme" passed away in 1980, it was noted that they lived at North 5th Avenue for 65 years. L to R: Bernard "Ben" Hinnenkamp, Mary "Mayme" Hinnenkamp, Elizabeth Hinnenkamp and Joseph Hinnenkamp.

  Mueller-Budde 1915

Shown in this photo are Joseph Budde Sr. and his wife Mary (Mueller) Budde, the date is June 9, 1915 (Mary is Joseph’s 2nd wife). Joseph was born in 1866, his obituary stated he was born on October 27th and his gravestone shows his month of birth of December. Either way he was born in 1866 in Dinklage, Oldenburg, Germany. He married in Germany to Elizabeth Tappe in 1891. In 1891 they came to America and first settled in Hamilton Ohio and in 1911 they came to Melrose and lived on a farm 2 ½ miles northeast of the city. In 1914 upon giving birth to their 8th child Mrs. Budde (Elizabeth) died of heart failure, she had been in poor health since the birth of the child several days before and had never fully recovered, the young mother left a family of 8 children and her husband to mourn her death, she died on December 19, 1914. Joseph married Mary Mueller on June 9, 1915; from their union they had 2 children so in total Joseph Sr. was the father to 10 children. Here is what I found regarding the children, the oldest son was John, John was born December 23, 1892 and he died suddenly due to a car accident. John was 39 years old and living in St. Paul at the time of his death. John was born in Hamilton Ohio and lived in Melrose on the farm; John started to work for the Great Northern Railroad at the roundhouse and later took a position as a machinist in St. Paul. On April 26, 1918 John was drafted for service and sailed for France on June 10, 1918 and returned June 7, 1919 and military funeral was given in Melrose at St. Boniface Church and he is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery. The accident report stated the following: Budde left St. Paul at 10 o’clock Saturday night heading for Bemidji to meet a friend to go on a several day fishing trip, he passed through Melrose at 3 o’clock Sunday morning and stopped for gas. At Sauk Centre he visited with his brother Carl for a few minutes and according to a conversation he had with a nurse at the Park Rapids hospital he had fallen asleep at the wheel. The car turned off the road into a two foot drop, causing it to turn suddenly back towards the road and tipped over. The car was a Buick eight convertible coach. Budd’s chest was badly crushed from the accident. Other motorists took him to the hospital where he died shortly after 8 o’clock, two hours after the accident, he remained conscious to the end. John was survived by his father, stepmother and brothers and sisters. Joseph F. Jr. the 2nd son was born on September 12, 1894 he was living in New Vienna Iowa at the time of his death at age 65 on May 25, 1960. Joseph was married to Clara W. (Schuller, Schwers or Schroer), on July 30, 1935 in Dubuque Iowa their wedding announcement stated they would be moving to Melrose to live in the Peter Hinnenkamp residence across the river and Mr. Budde would be employed at the City Power House in Melrose. His obituary notes he had been employed at the Melrose Municipal Power plant for 39 years, I do not know when they moved to Iowa, he is buried in the Cemetery at New Vienna Iowa. The next child born to Joseph Sr. & Elisabeth is Bernard “Ben”, Ben was born on August 31, 1896 in Hamilton Ohio. He married Frances Moening and lived in Avon at the time of his death on December 20, 1954, he is buried at St. Benedicts Cemetery in Avon. Another son was born to Joseph & Elisabeth, his name was Edward “Ed”, Ed was born in Hamilton Ohio on November 12, 1898 and came to Melrose when he was 5 years old and remained here until his sudden and untimely death on December 7, 1965. Ed was married on Johanna Enneking on September 4, 1923 and upon his death at 67 they lived on the family farm where he grew up. The next child in line is Charles “Carl”, he was also born in Hamilton Ohio, his birth was on February 26, 1901. Carl married Clara Kemper on June 10, 1922 and they farmed east of Sauk Centre for 15 years, they left the farm because of Carl’s health and moved to St. Cloud. Carl passed away at the age of 44 on February 2, 1945. He is buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Joseph and Elisabeth still did not have a baby girl and the next up in the line is Raymond “Ray” Budde. Ray was born in Hamilton Ohio on November 16, 1903, he was a very small child when his parents moved to Melrose and when he reached a certain age he moved to Dubuque Iowa where he was employed for 47 years as a heating engineer. His first wife Mildred passed away in 1939 and in 1942 he remarried. Ray was 69 years old when he passed away on March 25, 1973. Moving to Melrose must have done the trick for Joseph & Elisabeth because they finally had their first daughter. Clara was born on June 19, 1911 in Melrose Township. Clara would become a lifelong resident of the Melrose area. On April 24, 1934 she married John Renneker, they farmed in Millwood Township. Clara was 67 years old when she passed away on September 14, 1978; she is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Another daughter was given to Joseph & Elisabeth; her name would be Elizabeth “Bette”. Elizabeth was born on December 11, 1914 in Melrose Township; he married Edward Schueller in December of 1942. They lived in Davenport Iowa and she passed away June 19, 1980, upon her death in 1980 she would be the last of the Budde children from Joseph Budde Sr. family line to pass away, she is buried in Dubuque Iowa. The next two children named here will be Norbert & Lawrence, they would be the sons of Joseph Sr. and Mary (Mueller) Budde. Norbert was born on July 30, 1916 in Melrose, he married Dorothy May in Dubuque on April 22, 1941. Norbert was employed at the A. Y. McDonald Mfg. Company in Dubuque Iowa and at the time of his death at age 50 on July 6, 1967 he had been living in Iowa for over 30 years. The 2nd child of Joseph Sr. & Mary was Lawrence, he was born on January 13, 1918 in Melrose and he married Helen Rose on May 10, 1938. Lawrence was employed by Loxtercamp Oil Company and was also a member of the Melrose City Council for past 10 years. His death came as a shock to everyone when after a short illness he died at age 39 at the Melrose Hospital on December 30, 1957. His obituary notes that he was loved by everyone in the community and was a very active member in community and church affairs. Lawrence was survived by his wife Helen, a daughter Patricia and two sons, Sheldon and Mark. This to the best of my research is the Joseph Sr., Elisabeth (Tappe) and Mary (Mueller) Budde family information. If there is a family member that see something I have stated incorrectly please let me know.

Herzog-Dickhaus 1919

L to R Back Row: Joseph Dickhaus & Mary Herzog, Front Row L to R: Fred Dickhaus & Bertha Herzog.(Estimate wedding in 1919 based on census data-KD)

  Pohlmann-Finder 1919

Wedding couple is William & Mary (Pohlmann) Finder. They were married on Wednesday, May 28, 1919 at 9 o'clock AM. St. Boniface church was solemnized the marriage of William Finder and Miss Mary Pohlmann. the bride was attended by Miss Katherine Hellermann and Ben Finder, a brother of the groom, was best-man. The event was celebrated in a befitting manner at the bride's home four miles north of this city. A big wedding dinner and supper was served to relatives and friends of the contracting parties. The groom is a highly respected young man and has many warm friends in this vicinity. The bride is a popular young lady and has the respect and friendship of a large circle of friends. After a brief honeymoon trip, Mr. & Mrs. Finder will make their home in this city where Mr. Finder is engaged in the carpenter trade with Fred Wessel crew. The Beacon joins the community in extending them congratulations and well wishes (May 29, 1919 Beacon issue). William and Mary made their home in Melrose until 1936 where they then moved to Missouri. William was born in Missouri in 1892 and came to Melrose when he was 20 years old. He was a carpenter by trade and also was employed at Unger Furniture Co. for a number of years. William passed away in 1946 at age 54. Mary continued to live in Missouri and she passed away in 1989 at age 92, she was the daughter of Bernard & Elizabeth (Oevermann) Pohlmann of Melrose.

Roering-Zitur 1921

I combined these two photos into one image for you. The couple is John & Mary (Roering) Zitur. On the left is their wedding picture taken September 22, 1921. I don't have a date on the photo on the right but would guess it was celebrating their anniversary. The couple farmed near Freeport from 1921 until 1960 when they retired. John passed away in 1984 at the age of 92 and Mary passed away in 1977 at the age of 91.

  Meyer-Gillitzer 1923

Wedding picture of Michael & Julia (Meyer) Gillitzer, married on January 30, 1923 Between 1934 and 1939 moved to Blackduck MN. Wedding announcement was in the February 1, 1923 Melrose Beacon and it read: "Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock at the St. Boniface church was solemnized the marriage of Julia Meyer, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Jake Meyer of this city, and Michael Gillitzer, son of Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Gillitzer of Collegeville. The bride was attended by her niece, Miss Alma Roelike, and groom by his brother, James Gillitzer. The bride wore a navy blue twill suit with hat to match and wore a bouquet of pink carnations. After the ceremony the wedding party repaired to the house of the bride's parents, where a wedding dinner was served to immediate relatives. The young couple left at noon for Collegeville, where the groom is engaged in farming." In my research I found that Michael’s father came to America from Bavaria (Bayern) Germany when he was 14 years old, (Joseph was born in 1860), he came with his uncle Fr. Anskar Frauendorfer, a Missionary. They went to Kansas with the intent for Joseph to join the priesthood but due to asthmatic conditions they came further north to St. John’s Collegeville in 1874. Joseph graduated from college in 1880 and he taught school in St. Martin. It was there that he met Michael’s mother (Caecelia Loosbroek), they were married and raised a family of 16. Joseph taught school for 47 years in Stearns County. Upon retirement in 1926 they moved to Melrose. Joseph died suddenly and without warning of heart failure. Michael’s mother passed away in 1930.

  Nathe-Tiemann 1926

Thanks to Quincy Stroeing I have this picture of the Joseph "Joe" and Eleanor (Nathe) Tiemann wedding party. They were married on May 18, 1926 in Meire Grove. The Melrose Beacon had this to say about the wedding: "A prominent nuptial event was held at the St. John's church at Meire Grove Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock when Miss Eleanora Nathe was united in marriage to Joseph Tieman, son of Mr. & Mrs. Frank Tieman of this city. Rev. Anselm, O.S.B., of Albany, an uncle of the bride, read the service and nuptial mass. The bride was gowned in white satin with shadow lace, an embroidered veil, and carried bridal roses and smilax. Miss Cecelia Nathe, as sister of the bride, was bridesmaid, and wore pea green georgette trimmed with fold lace, a chiffon head band, and carried a bouquet of carnations and sweet peas. Lorraine Reller, a niece of the bride, was the little flower girl. She was dressed in pink silk broadcloth and carried a basket of sweet peas and ferns. The groom was attended by his brother, Andrew Tieman." I want to add that the couple made their home on a farm 1 mile north of Melrose until they retired in 1959 and moved to town where they lived on Riverside Avenue. Joseph passed away in 1982 at the age of 81 and Eleanora passed away in 1974 at the age of 77. Of their marriage Joe & Eleanora no children were born to this couple. A hired man Lambert Stroeing, the nephew (son of Anna (Nathe) Stroeing, sister of Eleanora) lived with them and they are buried together at St. Mary’s cemetery. Lambert had passed away of pneumonia at the age of 25.

  Hinnenkamp-Blenker 1932

Wedding couple in this photo is Gerhard & Thekla (Hinnenkamp) Blenker. They were married on August 20, 1932. Shown in the picture L to R: Clarence Hinnenkamp, Rose Blenker, Gerhard Blenker (groom), Thekla Hinnenkamp Blenker (bride), Lidwina Hinnenkamp and Bernard Blenker. The September 29, 1932 Melrose Beacon wrote: At the St. Boniface church Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock, Miss Thekla Hinnenkamp, daughter of Mrs. & Mrs. Ben Hinnenkamp, became the bride of Gerhard Blenker, son of Mr. & Mrs. Ben Blenker. The bride was gowned in white bridal satin, ankle length, fashioned along fitted lines with flared skirt and a lace jacket trimmed with puffed bands of satin. Her long embroidered veil was fashioned cap effect and held in place by a band of orange blossoms. She carried a shower bouquet of roses and baby breath. She was attended by her sister, Miss Ludvina Hinnenkamp, and by Miss Rose Blenker a sister of the groom. They wore gowns of pink and powder blue chiffon, respectively, ankle length, with headbands of net to match, and carried bouquets of carnations and baby breath. Ben Blenker, brother of the groom, and Clarence Hinnenkamp, brother of the bride acted as bestmen. The flower girl was Bernadine Hinnenkamp, sister of the bride. She wore a ruffled frock of orchid crepe with a hairbow to match. Following the church service the bridal party motored to the home of the bride's parents, north of this city, where a reception for a large number of relatives and friends was held throughout the day. Mr. & Mrs. Blenker will make their home on the groom's farm, north of this city. Gerhard was born in 1902 in Stearns County and Thecla was born in 1910 in Stearns County. The couple farmed northeast of Melrose in Millwood Township upon their retirement in 1967. After retiring they moved to Melrose, for 30 years thereafter they lived 2 blocks from the Melrose Hospital. Gerhard passed away at age 96 in 1999 and Thecla passed in 2005 at the age of 94.

Wielenberg-Kemper 1935

This wedding photo is of Aloys & Agnes (Wielenberg) Kemper. They were married on September 25, 1935. The Melrose Beacon, September 26, 1935 issue reads as follows: The marriage of Miss Agnes Wielenberg, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Frank Wielenberg to Alois Kemper, son of Mrs. George Kemper was solemnized at the St. Rosa church Wednesday morning. The attendants were Miss Alvina Wielenberg and George Kemper. The bride wore white satin with lace jacket and veil in cap effect. She carried a bouquet of roses and baby breath. The bridesmaid wore blue crepe and carried a bouquet of asters and baby breath. A reception was held at the Wielenberg's home. The couple will reside on the groom's farm near St. Rosa. Names are listed from L to R: George Kemper, Alvina Wielenberg, Agnes & Aloys. Post note: Joseph Soenneker- Agnes was my aunt and Godmother. Al was first married to Anna Wielenberg,she died in January of 1935, in childbirth with their second child. Al and Agnes are buried at St Mary,s cemetary in Melrose.

Althaus-Wessel 1936

Miss Tresa Althaus, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Henry Althaus of Melrose, became the bride of Joseph Wessel of Melrose on Tuesday, June 16, at the St. Boniface church. Miss Loretta Hellermann, stepsister of the groom and Raymond Althaus, brother of the bride, attended the couple. The bride was attired in a floor length model of white satin with a cap effected trailing veil. Her flowers consisted of yellow roses, white sweet peas and ferns. The bridesmaid wore a gown of peach colored satin and carried bouquet of red roses, lavender sweet peas and ferns. A wedding breakfast was served for the bridal couple at the home of the bride's brother in law and sister, Mr. & Mrs. Ben Moening. The wedding reception was held at the bride's home, which was decorated in white and peach colors. A wedding dance was held at the Melrose city hall. The couple will make their home on a farm 4 miles north of Melrose - Melrose Beacon, June 25, 1936 issue. The couple was married on June 16, 1936.

Rose-Budde 1938

Wedding picture is of Lawrence & Helen (Rose) Budde. They were married on a Tuesday morning, it was May 19, 1938. Lawrence was the son of Joseph & Mary Budde of Melrose. Helen was the daughter of Herman and Theresia (Benolken) Rose. Lawrence was born in 1918 and he passed away after a short illness at age 39 in 1958, he had been employed at Loxtercamp Oil Company and was a City Council member for 10 years prior to his death. Helen was born in 1920 and after the sudden death of Lawrence she married Ervin Eichers in 1968. Helen passed away in 2000.

Ritter-Lahr 1940

This couple is Alphonse & Irene (Ritter) Lahr. Alphonse & Irene were married on June 26, 1940. Edna noted that they lived in Grey Eagle.  Wedding picture is from Edna (Ritter) Goebel.