November 10th was always the day.
The one day a year my great-grandparents, Mimka and Tjode (Goldenstein) Habben were the same age. Otherwise Mimka was one year older than Tjode.
Mimka was born 11 November 1881 in Prairie Township, Hancock County, Illinois. Tjode was born on 10 November 1882 in Dawson County, Nebraska. The couple married in the parsonage of the Zion Lutheran Church in Carthage, Illinois, on Christmas Eve in 1907. How they met is something of a mystery, but it is known that Mimka’s family, who lived a few miles west of Carthage, had attended the Zion church for some time–the pastor of the same church had married Mimka’s parents as well.
After leaving Nebraska and returning to Illinois, Tjode’s parents lived near Basco, Hancock County, Illinois, and attended the Immanuel Lutheran Church near Basco. Tjode worked for a time in Carthage as a hired girl for the Mack family and it’s possible she attended the Zion church during this time.
It’s not every couple who shares an age for one day a year.
Nancy says:
That’s such a beautiful photograph of a very good-looking couple. You’re lucky to have it. It’s an interesting thing that they were born one day apart in separate years.