Dear Muench Family,
With the help of the software, Family Tree Maker, and its Internet companion, Ancestry.com, I have continued to add information to the Muench family tree. I can now report that the database hovers at 7000 persons with 550 personal photographs and extends back to my 23rd-great grandfather, von Marburg, and his son, Guntram von Grunberg (1170-1236). Of those 7000 persons, many are direct descendants of those or other specific ancestors and have their own descendants, continuing a line. Others are cousins of varying distances in parallel lines, and still others are related by marriage but not by DNA (or what we used to call "blood"). Many lives were distinguished and some were famous. Without doubt any one person among the 7000 would be astonished to recognize connections not previously known.
Access to this treasure of family information is available by subscription to Ancestry.com. Some might criticize this commercial aspect of genealogy, but without a computer and the Internet the collection of so extensive a database would be impossible. I hope this letter will stimulate others to respond, comment, or question and to add branches, leaves, or twigs to our tree.

Karl H. Muench, M.D.

1699 S. Bayshore Lane
Miami, FL 33133
karlmuench@gmail.com

From: Iris Roberts [mailto:ratramnus@mac.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2013 8:22 PM
To: James Muench
Subject: Re: "Muenchberg"

Jefferson City was our home for 40 years. My brother was the pastor of the UCC church, Central Church, in Old Muenchberg for about 30-plus of those years. 

Efforts are ongoing to revive the vitality of that neighborhood. The character of the church for most of the years we attended (until just recently since the Rev. Dr. Stephen Buchholz retired and we moved to Maine) was a "high church" with wonderful music, colorful banners and altar cloths and stoles, "klingaboodles" for offering collection, and a celebration of German food during the city's annual Octoberfest on the Southside. Christmases there were memorable with twin 20-foot trees, a bazaar, the works! 

The organ was maintained by the Quimby Company of Sedalia, MO, and is considered one of the finest pipe organs in the region. Instrumentalists from the area frequently accompanied this organ and the choirs. All were quality productions.

Both the Rev. Buchholz and myself are direct descendants of Friedrich Muench and Maryiane Borberg, FM's first wife.

Steve led the flock with love and informality within the pageantry and beauty of the 1850s building. That German part of the UCC has all but disappeared now, but it still remains in many of our hearts and minds.

Steve has much information about Central UCC of course that he would share for the web site. The people in Niedergemuenden would be interested in that connection to FM, I believe! 

Thanks Jim!

Iris (Buchholz) Roberts

Steve and Becky's contact information:

(573) 635-8774h.

beckybuchholz@gmail.com

For a long time, it has been rumored that the Muenches have a family connection through marriage to the Busches of St. Louis beer fame, perhaps through John B. Busch, the brother of Adolphus Busch, who began a brewery in Washington, Mo.

However, although he has conducted extensive research, Karl Muench has been unable to find a connection between the Muenches and the beer Busches.  There is a Gordian Ludwig Busch (1821-94), who married Pauline Muench (1827-91) and had 13 children with her in Washington, Mo., but so far, the connection between that Busch and the beer Busches has not been found.  Unfortunately, our knowledge of Busch ancestry is sketchy.  If you have any knowledge of a connection, please let us know. 

The association has been contacted by Muench relatives whose connection goes one generation back, to the father of Georg, the Elder (and the grandfather of Friedrich, Georg and Marie), whose name was Johann Rudolph Muench.  The question is:  Do we want to broaden the scope of our association to include this branch of the family (which starts with Johannes Lorenz Muench, who was the brother of Georg, the Elder)?  Johannes Lorenz sons, Ludwig and Martin, immigrated to Missouri in 1849.

I tend to think we ought to, but I would like your thoughts.

--James F. Muench

The Muench Family Association aims to hold a reunion in the summer of 2014.  What do you think of the idea?