Norenberg – Arndt Marriage

Tomorrow is the 111th anniversary of the marriage of Charlie Norenberg and Bertha Arndt. Let’s celebrate with a bit of genealogical research!

The marriage of Constantin Nurenberg and Bartha Arnt [probably spelled the way their names sounded, see this discussion] is recorded in Cass County, Minnesota Marriage Book C, page 378. Handed down through the generations, an original marriage certificate is also a family heirloom.

Civil Ceremony

The civil ceremony was performed on Saturday, February 25, 1911 at Cass Lake, Minnesota by Frank Ives. After his retirement as a judge in Polk County, Minnesota, Francis “Frank” Ives (1831-1918) served as Justice of the Peace as well as the editor/publisher of the Cass Lake Times newspaper. Despite Mr. Ives’ position as newspaper editor, there is no mention of the nuptials in the Times.

On the certificate, the two witnesses are:

• Carl Moritz – friend of the groom and cousin of the bride (son of Ernstina Kot and Christian Moritz)¹edited 2 April 2023 to indicate the correct relationship.
• Pauline Schönborn – friend of the bride (Pauline’s brother, Edward, was married to Bertha’s sister, Anna)

Bertha Arndt had only been in America for seven months when she became Mrs. Konstantin Norenberg.

Church Ceremony

Wait a minute! Charlie and Bertha were lifelong members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cass Lake. Several times Charlie was elected as an elder. Why didn’t they get married at the church?

The mystery is solved inside the pages of a church history booklet.²Immanuel Luther Church, “History Immanuel Lutheran Congregation 1899-1932,” Cass Lake MN: published by the congregation, 1932, page 6. Karrie Blees owns a photocopy, 27 October 2021.

In the summer of 1910, Carl A. Gieseler, a student-vicar, was assigned to Immanuel Lutheran Church for a one-year term. Writing to Pastor Schweikert in 1932, Pastor Gieseler recalled:

“Your letter was a pleasant surprise, for I was glad to hear from my first place, which is still my ‘first love’ in the ministry, although it was but a year’s vicarage. However, I was more of a full-fledged minister than many other student-vicars because of the distance of neighboring pastors. I performed all functions except marriage. One couple was married during my stay there by first going to the justice and then to the church for a service without the official pronouncement.”

Because Carl Gieseler was not ordained, the State of Minnesota did not authorize him to legally marry couples. There is no doubt that Pastor Gieseler is referring to the marriage of Charlie and Bertha in February of 1911 during which he conducted a service, but was unable to officially “pronounce” them man and wife.

SOURCES

• 1
  edited 2 April 2023 to indicate the correct relationship.
• 2
  Immanuel Luther Church, “History Immanuel Lutheran Congregation 1899-1932,” Cass Lake MN: published by the congregation, 1932, page 6. Karrie Blees owns a photocopy, 27 October 2021.