Carl Traugott Hegwer, 1833-1893

Our trip to Missouri was wonderful!  There will be posts about it and all my new info for weeks and weeks to come!

Trinity Lutheran Church & Cemetery: Freistatt, Missouri

Here's how an unexpected conversation led to my standing at the grave of great-grand-uncle Carl Traugott HEGWER:  I was sitting with 3rd-Cousin Donald, filling in some missing Hegwer data for him, which was unexpected that he would even want it since the Hegwer's are NOT in his ancestry at all.  Donald's eyes widened in recognition as I told him that CT was probably buried somewhere in Freistatt, Missouri.  Imagine my surprise as Donald said that not only did he know where it was, but that I would be driving right by there on my way to see Cousin Kate!

I jumped to the computer to see if I could find a Lutheran cemetery there in Find A Grave.  Another surprise: not only did I find the cemetery, but also a photo of CT's headstone!  (That's another reminder to revisit websites such as findagrave on a regular basis!)

My photo above shows the back of CT's headstone and how close the site is to the current church building.  A plaque on the building says the church was founded in 1874 and this building erected in 1954.  I wonder if I can find a photo of the original building....

Here is one of my photos of the front of the headstone.  Given the scroll work on the other 3 sides, it appears that the original intent may have been to eventually carve more names but there are none.

There are not any more Hegwer's in this cemetery at findagrave nor did I see any others nearby.  Checking my database just now, I see that his wife did not die until 1924 and is buried in Joplin, Missouri.  Oh, dear me:  We drove the highway past Joplin on the way to Springfield and saw convoys of relief vehicles.  And, of course, the tornado was a frequent topic of conversation and media coverage during our entire trip.  I did not remember that I had a connection to Joplin. 

Here's a link to an earlier post including Carl Traugott Hegwer.

Conclusions

• Meeting face-to-face and spending a week with Donald & Linda was an incredible gift.  I do not have the words to express what a wonderful time we had. 
• I must remember to check websites such as Findagrave.com more regularly!
• I went to Missouri to work on RICHARDSON lines and had been reviewing them in my database and folders for months.  But, I should have also reviewed the Hegwer's, too.  I bet Joplin and Freistatt were not the only places I was close to.  Hmm, another reason for a return visit to Donald & Linda?!
• I should probably make it a goal to find the burial sites of all 10 of the children (and their spouses) of Carl Benjamin Hegwer and Maria Rosina Ilgner....

PS: The search for photos of an older church here has led me to:
Escape to the Silent Cities.  Nothing older there, but several lovely photos of the  cemetery.  I've left a comment hoping for help.
PPS: Hurray!  Tammi of Escape to the Silent Cities has already come to my aide!  Here's a link to the original church.  Thanks, Tammi!