Spell Your Surname

I am still into the Robert Leutbecher's family research. Looking at the records, I have found out the spelling of the surname was twisted in the official documents in various ways. 

It all reminded me something from the past. Many people in Poland found the spelling of my surname problematic/difficult and they commonly mispronounced/misprinted it as well. From time to time, it caused some confusion - up to the point that once, I even learned a gossip about myself. According to that romour a student of the school where I worked at that time, a boy by the name Lauterbach, was my son. The thing was/is that my maiden name does not look like "Lauterbach" and does not even start with "L".

I just laughed at it all then. After all those years, the Lauterbach surname came back, in a slightly different version.
Weird or what?

Soon, I will post an entry dedicated to Robert's sister, Maria Leutbecher, and her immediate family.

 

Rev. David Albert Heidtke

David Albert Heidtke was born on October 5 in Jackson, Washington, Wisconsin, to Rudolf August Franz Heidtke (b. May 15, 1896) and Erma Bertha (Melita) Groth (b. October 31, 1894).

👉 Census April 29, 1830 - David lived with his parents and brothers (Frederick, age 8 and Robert, age 4) in Jackson, Wisconsin. Mr. Rudolf A Heidtke had a farm (1).

Young David received his primary education at St. John Lutheran Parish School in Jackson. Later, he attended Cedarburg High School.

👉 In 1949, 20-year-old David A Heidtke started his studies at the Wartburg College in Waverly.  
👉 In 1950, during the census he was recorded as a lodger in the North Hall Men's Dormitory, in Waverly, Bremer County, Iowa. At that time, David also worked at a restaurant, engaged in the past time food service. He graduated the Wartburg College with a B A degree (with a major in music).

Subsequently, the man continued his education at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He received a B. D. degree and was ordained on 🕇 June 6, 1954.
Rev. Heidtke's first call took him to Calvary Lutheran Church in San Angelo, Texas.

👉 In June 1957, the Pastor married Miss Mary Frances Wright.

 

Clipping source: The Cuero Record (Cuero, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 142, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 16, 1957, newspaper, June 16, 1957; Cuero, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth696129/: accessed August 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cuero Public Library.

⛪ On 1 September 1959, Rev. Heidtke, his wife and baby boy moved in to the parsonage/started his pastoral service at Zion Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

➜ December 1959 - Christmas Eve candlelight service was introduced,

➜ 1960 - total renovation of the church was completed - the dedication Service took place on October 16, 1963 - Zion received three new bells (sponsored by the Family of Robert Klingelhoefer, Mrs. Albert Sagebiel, Mrs. and Mr. Lon Simon, and Mrs. and Mr. Felix Saenger. The old bell was placed on display outside the church.
➜ 1963 - the youth choir received a processional cross donated by Mr. Werner Weber.

 

👉 Rev. David A. Heidtke worked at Zion Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, TX until October 1963. During his service at the church, the Parson officiated 41 baptisms, 37 confirmations, 14 weddings, and 31 funerals. 

Clipping source: Dietel, Norman J. The Harper Herald (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, November 20, 1959, newspaper, November 20, 1959; Harper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1062299/: accessed August 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Harper Library.

👉 Next, the Pastor received a call to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Taylor, Texas. He later continued his pastoral work at the following churches in Texas:
⛪ Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church n Amarillo,
⛪  Kinsman Lutheran Church in Houston, and
⛪  St. Paul Lutheran Church in Yorktown.
Rev. Heidtke retired  on December 1931, 1990. Later, he moved back to Fredericksburg and since December 19, 1995, served as a Visitation Pastor at Zion.
Rev. David Albert Heidtke was also a Supply Pastor at other Texas churches, including
⛪  Immanuel Lutheran Church in Comfort, St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Doss, and ⛪  Christ Lutheran Church in Cherry Spring.

Pastor Heidtke passed on ♦ March 23, 2006. His body was interred at the Greenwood Cemetery in Fredericksburg.

---

They Lived in Texas

Sources:
"150 Years of God's Grace 1852-2002", Zion Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, TX.

1. "United States Census, 1930", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X93C-Y6T : Fri Mar 08 03:40:15 UTC 2024), Entry for Rudolph A Heidtke and Melita Heidtke, 1930.
2. "United States Census, 1950", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FQZ-PDJD : Tue Mar 19 05:15:04 UTC 2024), Entry for Melvin L Kramer and Carl S Wengler, 4 May 1950.
3. https://swtsynod.pastperfectonline.com/byperson?keyword=Heidtke%2C%20David%20Albert

Robert Leutbacher

 

Thanks to the help of my Facebook page reader, I managed to decipher correctly the surname of Robert's (written on his tombstone). It made the further research possible, regarding the man.

⚘

Robert Leutbacher, born on 12 March 1857, emigrated to the United States with his 17-year-old* brother Wilhelm. They came to New Orleans, Louisiana on 12 October 1872. The two boys were born in Saxony, Prussia, and their parents names were Karl and Elizabeth.

Robert and Wilhelm traveled from Bremenhaven - sea port of Bremen. They were, among many others, the passengers of the 🚢 SS Hanover steerage deck-house (1).

The brothers, listed as farmers, did not give any specific place in the US as their destination. They must have come to Texas at least by ♦ 17 March 1876. Wilhelm got married in Gillespie County then. His bride was 9-year-younger Anna Eleonora Agathe Seiter (2). She was born on 11 May 1862 in Fredericksburg, TX, to Georg Seiter and Henrietta Kirchner.

👉 14/15 June 1880 - Robert (recorded as hired laborer) lived with the family of Henry Kordzik. At the same time, Wilhelm, his wife and two baby girls, Emma and Ida, lived in Justice Precinct #4, Gillespie, TX. Wilhelm rendered a farm (3).

Two weeks after the Census, on ♦ 29 June 1880, Robert passed.

 ⚘

* As given in the ship manifest. Wilhelm's date of birth given on findagrave was 27 November 1853.
 

Sources:

findagrave.com,

familysearch.org
1. "Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKNP-2BQC : Sat Mar 09 04:14:15 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert Leutbacher, 1872.
2. "Texas Marriages, 1837-1973", , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FX3B-Y5C : 22 January 2020), Achade Seither in entry for Wilhelm Leutbecher, 1876.
3. "United States Census, 1880", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFN8-Y5L : Fri Jul 12 18:30:15 UTC 2024), Entry for Wilhm Leudbecher and Achada Leudbecher, 1880.