Hard Work and Family Ties: Growing Up Wunderlich in Early 1900s Minnesota
- Tanya Jensen
- Feb 26
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 27
As snow dusted the Minnesota prairie on Thanksgiving Day 1903, Martha Amanda Mahlman stood before her wedding guests in a dove-colored gown trimmed with white medallion lace and white satin. In the home of her parents in Richland Township, Rice County, she exchanged vows with Samuel Fred Wunderlich as more than a hundred guests gathered to celebrate. The local paper noted that the "presents were numerous and beautiful," but the greatest gift would be the legacy of family and community they would build together over the next four decades.
I never had the chance to meet Sam and Martha Wunderlich - they were my great-great-grandparents - but through family stories and historical records, I've come to know them and their remarkable journey. Their son Myron, my great-grandfather, grew up during a time when Minnesota's farming communities faced both hardships and opportunities, as they worked to build better lives for their families.
Roots in Rice County
The Wunderlich and Mahlman families were already well-established in Rice County when Sam and Martha married. Sam, born on September 20, 1875, in Holden Township, was one of twelve children born to Rev. John Martin Wunderlich and Wilhelmina Menge. His life began with an early shadow—he was born a twin, but his brother didn't survive infancy. By 1880, the family had moved to Richland Township, where Sam would spend most of his life. His 1917 draft registration provides a glimpse of his appearance: a man of medium height and build, with blue eyes and grey hair, who had lost one eye at some point in his life. Interestingly, surviving photographs show him appearing to have both eyes, raising the possibility that he either had lost only the sight in one eye or perhaps had a glass eye—another small mystery in our family's history.
Martha's story began just a few miles away. Born October 7, 1883, at her parents' farm home in Richland Township, she was the daughter of Frederick and Augusta (Jaroshefske) Mahlman. In an interesting parallel to her future husband, Martha also was a twin—her sister Mary survived, one of her six siblings. She attended the local rural schools, growing up in the rhythm of farm life that would shape her adult years.
Building a Life Together
The newlyweds began their marriage on the Herman Eighenbrodt farm in Richland Township, which Sam had rented. These early years brought both joy and heartbreak—their first child, a son, was stillborn in March 1905. In the years that followed, their farmhouse came alive with the sounds of their growing family, as they raised six children who would each forge their own unique paths in life.
The Wunderlichs carved out a modest living from their Richland Township soil. "Pretty skimpy living," was how daughter-in-law Edna Wunderlich later described it. Their small herd of cattle and focus on crop farming demanded constant work from the entire family. It appears that Sam was determined to modernize their operation when possible—local newspapers reported in 1901 that he and his neighbor Edward Hildebrandt had purchased new equipment, including a separator from the Lechelt Brothers in nearby Nerstrand.
Sam ran a tight ship on the farm, especially with his sons. While not cruel, he expected immediate obedience and hard work. The household could be lively—Martha and Sam were known for their boisterous arguments, which so startled their future daughter-in-law Edna that she once asked her husband-to-be Fritz if his father might become violent. Fritz assured her that the loud discussions were just their way of communicating. Jane Mahlman and Irene Mund recalled him as someone who enjoyed playing cards and drinking beer at family gatherings, typically spending his time with the other men. They described him as "a little ornery," remembering one particularly questionable incident when Sam and other adults amused themselves by giving children alcohol and then making them try to walk a straight line.
The Children's Paths
As the 20th century progressed, each of the Wunderlich children found their own way in a changing world, their diverse careers reflecting the expanding opportunities beyond the family farm:
Abner Sam (1906-1991)showed the family's adaptability to changing times. Starting as a farmer in Richland Township, he transitioned to trucking and crop spraying in Faribault before establishing Wunderlich Paint Service on Central Avenue, where he worked as a painter and decorator for twenty years until his retirement in 1973. He married twice: first to Ida Rose Vohs (1911-1944), with whom he had two children: Lavonne and Delores. After Ida's death, he married Ruth Louise Koberstein (1923-2006) in 1944, and they had three children: Sandra, Joel, and Wendy
Alice Clara (1908-1999) attended Prairieville Church in rural Kenyon as a child. On October 25, 1927, at age 19, she married Clarence John Fogelson (1905-1991). They raised six children: Verlaine, Marjean, Ronald, Ruth, Harold, and Leonard. Alice lived her entire life in the Kenyon area.
Myron Wilhelm Sr. (1910-1988) became a prominent Kenyon businessman, though his path there had some colorful turns. Family lore suggests he earned his start-up money running moonshine during the later years of Prohibition, outrunning police in what passed for a fast car in those days. In 1933, he married Helen Evalyn "Evie" Pofahl, and together they would raise two children: Mike Jr. and Marlene. After their marriage, Myron purchased his Uncle Pete's grocery store, renaming it Wunderlich's Jack Sprat Grocery Store. The business evolved through several incarnations—Jack Sprat, Mayfair Foods, and finally Wunderlich's Grocery. After a mysterious fire in 1949, Myron purchased a larger brick building across the street, which had previously served as both a furniture store and funeral parlor. He and Evie built an apartment above the store, where they lived and worked for decades. In the 1970s, they transformed the grocery business into Wunderlich's Home Center, a furniture store which they operated until Myron's retirement.
Harold Fred (1914-1993) worked initially as a laborer in Faribault. At about age 30, he left for Oregon where he worked in farming and as a carpenter. He later traveled to Alaska, continuing his carpentry work there. Harold returned to the Kenyon area approximately six years before his death, passing away at his sister Alice's home.
Fritz (Fred John, 1916-1993) pursued perhaps the most varied career path, working as a maintenance man and greenskeeper at Shattuck School, then as a psychiatric technician at the State School & Hospital, and finally as a counselor at the Braille & Sight Saving School. Despite Sam's skepticism about formal education, Fritz had shown remarkable academic aptitude in his youth, skipping two grades after excelling in all subjects. In 1941, he married Edna Annette Jensen, and together they faced both joy and heartbreak as they built their family. Their first child, Fred, passed away as an infant in 1942, but they went on to raise four more children: Theodore, Judith, Samuel, and Sharon.
Martha Wunderlich and her children - Standing: Fritz, Harold, Myron, Abner - Seated: Martha & Alice - circa 1962
Weathering Change and Challenge
In 1916, like many Midwestern farmers lured by the promise of fresh opportunities, the Wunderlichs reportedly "sold out" and moved to Montana, according to the Kenyon News. However, when they returned in February 1917, it appears they resumed farming their same land in Richland Township. Whether they had truly sold everything or had made some other arrangement remains unclear, but their Montana adventure proved short-lived—and their return to Minnesota fortuitous, given the devastating drought that would soon strike Montana's farming regions.
The family weathered the Great Depression on their Richland Township farm, maintaining their place in the community through those difficult years. Sam passed away in 1948 at age 72, and Martha moved to Faribault, where she became known for her domestic arts—especially her braided rag rugs, patchwork quilts, and legendary mock angel food cake and coconut cream pie. She spent her final years at Wood's Nursing Home in Faribault, passing away in 1963.
A Lasting Legacy
Looking back at Sam and Martha's lives, I see a family that rolled with the punches as the world changed around them. They worked their farm through good years and bad, kept their faith, stayed close to their neighbors, and somehow managed to adapt when they needed to. Their children's lives tell the story of their success—one son ran a grocery store in town, another painted houses, their daughter raised a family on her own farm, and the others found their own ways to make a living and build their futures. In their story, I see what so many German-American farming families were doing all across Minnesota: working hard, staying true to their roots, and making sure their children could build better lives for themselves.
Being their great-great-granddaughter, I've grown up hearing these family stories, and they mean more to me than just names and dates in our family tree. When I think about Sam and Martha working their farm, raising their kids, and making their way in the world, I understand a little better how families like mine helped build the Minnesota we know today. They taught their children—and through them, all of us who came after—that what matters most is working hard and taking care of each other, even if we sometimes do it in our own rough-around-the-edges way. Those lessons still ring true in our family today.
Sources
Faribault Daily News, January 20, 1948 - Samuel F. Wunderlich's obituary
Faribault Daily News, June 1993 - Harold F. Wunderlich's obituary
Faribault Daily News, May 23, 1963 - Martha Wunderlich's obituary
Heidi (Wunderlich) Eggert interview with Edna Wunderlich, January 2004
Kenyon Leader, August 1, 1901 - Note about Sam Wunderlich and Edward Hildebrandt's farm equipment purchase
Kenyon Leader, December 3, 1903 - Detailed wedding coverage titled "Thanksgiving Weddings"
Kenyon Leader, February 11, 1949 - "Wunderlich Buys Corner Lot" article about M.W. Wunderlich's store purchase
Kenyon Leader, March 16, 1905 - Death notice for infant son of Samuel and Martha Wunderlich
Kenyon News, February 1, 1917 - Article about the family's return from Montana
Memories from Jane Mahlman and Irene Mund about Sam Wunderlich
Memories recorded by Heidi (Wunderlich) Eggert
Minnesota County Marriage Records, 1860-1949
Minnesota State Census Records: 1885, 1895, 1905
Notes from Myron Wunderlich III, May 2020
The Faribault Journal, December 4, 1903 - Wedding announcement for Sam Wunderlich and Martha Mahlmann
United States Census Records: 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950
World War I and II Draft Registration Cards
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