USA > Maryland > Frederick County > Graceham > The history of Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland > Part 9
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During the winter there were evening services, as usual, on Wednesday and Friday ; on Wednesday a Bible-lecture, and on Friday, a liturgy. Towards the close of the year the sextons and musicians had their annual lovefeast, to encourage them in the faithful performance of their duties. On Christmas Day the children recited a dialogue on the Birth of our Saviour. The usual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services were held. In the former 112 children received the lighted wax tapers. In the closing service of the year the congregation sang at 12 P.M. the
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hymn, "Now let us praise the Lord," etc., with trombone ac- companiment. At the close of this year the congregation num- bered 318 members, of whom 131 were communicants, 62 non- communicants, and 125 children.
1824 .- On April 3, and the following days the brethren en- larged the cemetery by one rod on each of three sides, and made a new fence around it.
April 18 (Easter Sunday). The Diary says : "The trombones awoke us at a very early hour for the joyous festival of the vic- torious resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. At 9 o'clock there were from 800 to 900 persons present at the Litany on the ceme- tery. At the preaching there were more than ever present. About 700 found seats, and many others stood." At that time the present lecture-room and vestibule were a part of the audi- torium.
May 9. A singing-school for the young people was com- menced, to teach them hymn-tunes and choir-singing, for which purpose they met on Sunday afternoons. The pastor's wife, who was an accomplished musician, undertook, with Bro. Kluge's help, and that of several sisters, to conduct the school, and the young people seemed to be much pleased.
June 7. The single brother, Ernst Julius Bachman, came from Lititz, to take charge of the day-school. The school was still under the supervision of the pastor, but he only gave the re- ligious instruction. In September, the members were all busy with drying peaches, of which there was an unusual abundance in this part of the country; but the weather was very unfavor- able, as it rained nearly every day.
1825 .- January 5. "In the evening," the Diary says, "we read from the History of the Ancient and Renewed Brethren's Church, and intend to continue every Wednesday evening this winter, as we notice with pleasure that it meets with approbation from young and old, and there is a good attendance. We hope that the young people especially, may learn to know more of the his- tory of the Church of which they are members than has been the case hitherto, which without doubt will be of use to them."
November 5. The Committee recommended to Congregation Council that, as the congregation has no more woodland and must
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therefore buy fuel for the church and parsonage, every member, young and old, should contribute 25 cents yearly for that pur- pose. Congregation Council accepted the recommendation, but it was modified later, as not being quite fair to all. The Com- mittee also resolved that by May 1, 1826, every member should pay the balance due on his subscription for the pastor's salary, and that then a new subscription should be started, in which every member should take part.
1826 .- February 4. The Committee resolved to have shutters made for the church windows, to protect them from hail and storms, and to keep out the heat in summer, as there were no curtains. (In former times the windows in Moravian churches were usually furnished with long white curtains.)
February 19 (Sunday). At 2 P.M., the singing-school met as usual, conducted by Sister Kluge. The singing of the choir and congregation had been greatly improved by it, as was noticed especially in the liturgical and song services, which was also the cause, in part at least, of a very good attendance.
February 25. Bro. Kluge received a visit from the Lutheran minister, Rev. Schmucker, of New Market, Va., who was on a journey to the New England States, to collect a subscription for the founding of a Theological Seminary, of which he had been appointed the first Professor. It afforded him special pleasure to become acquainted with Mrs. Kluge, who had been the teacher of his wife in the Boarding-School at Lititz (now Linden Hall). This gentleman was the afterwards eminent Lu- theran Professor and Chairman of the Faculty of the Theologi- cal Seminary at Gettysburg, from 1826-'64, the Rev. Samuel Si- mon Schmucker, D.D.
March 17. The school-children's examination was held, in two sessions. Their parents, among whom there were a number of Catholic friends who sent their children to our school, at- tended it with pleasure.
March 18. Congregation Council decided that a new fence should be made around the church lot and the garden, a paling fence in front and a post and rail fence on the sloping side. The subscription list for the pastor's salary was to be revised an- nually, so that whatever might have been lost by deaths or oth- erwise could be made up by other subscribers.
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April 13. At the express invitation of the Lutheran and Re- formed ministers Grub and Bosler, Bro. and Sr. Kluge went to Apple's church, where the corner-stone of a new Lutheran and Reformed church was to be laid. Many people had assembled, and at the request of the ministers, Bro. Kluge preached the opening sermon. It was a very cold day, and the whole service had to be held outside of the old, dilapidated church, which had stood for sixty-one years, having been built in 1765. The min- isters present were all very cordial in their intercourse with Bro. Kluge, and invited him to preach in their churches whenever he could conveniently do so.
April 18. A fire broke out in the woods on the mountains, started by a pile of coals. A very high wind was blowing, and the fire continued to rage on the two following days, although our brethren and all in the neighborhood hastened to the spot to check the conflagration, which could not be done until the greater part of the wood that had been cut and corded, about 3000 cords belonging to the Furnace, and many thousands of fence-rails and a lot of bark for the tanners, had been consumed, causing a loss of four or five thousand dollars.
July 4 (Tuesday). In the evening a solemn Jubilee service was held in commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Decla- ration of the Independence of the United States of America. After an anthem by the choir, and the hymns of praise and thanksgiv- ing by the congregation, an appropriate address was delivered, followed by a prayer. When the people came out of the church they found a pyramid erected on the lawn, on which there were fifty burning candles, and before it stood the trombonists, who played several tunes, after which Sister Kluge, with her choir- singers, sang a psalm of praise and some hymns on the church- steeple, all of which had a beautiful effect, and the most solemn stillness and order prevailed.
September 26-October 9. The congregation received an of- ficial visit from Bishop Charles G. Hueffel.
October 28. Having received a pressing request and invi- tation, Bro. and Sr. Kluge went with the trombonists and the other musicians to the dedication of a Lutheran and Reformed church "eighteen miles from here." (The location is not given.) Services were held on the two following days also. Two Lu-
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theran and two Reformed ministers were present. Bro. Kluge preached the first sermon. After the services were over, some of the people followed him to his lodging-place, three miles dis- tant, and begged him for another address.
November 12. The new Apple's church was dedicated. "All of us were invited," says the Diary. At the express wish of the minister and congregation, Bro. Kluge preached the German sermon. A large number of people attended the services. At the close of 1826 the Graceham congregation numbered 338 members, of which number 169 were children.
1827 .- February 19. The Committee resolved to have the church window-shutters painted green. Also that curtains might be bought for the school-room.
June 30. The Rev. Samuel Reinke and Mrs. Reinke, with their little son Amadeus, accompanied by Bro. Lichtenthaler, arrived from Lititz, and Bro. and Sr. Reinke had the pleasure of receiving their little Edwin from his foster-parents, Bro. and Sr. Kluge .*
July I (Sunday). Bro. Kluge preached his farewell sermon, and Bro. Reinke was introduced to the congregation as his suc- cessor in the pastorate.
July 3. Bro. and Sr. Kluge, with Bro. Lichtenthaler, set out for York, Pa. The Committee accepted the offer of the York Committee, to pay the freight on Bro. Kluge's goods to York if the Graceham Committee would pay the freight on Bro. Rein- ke's to Graceham.
*Both of these little boys, Amadeus A. and Edwin E. Reinke, lived to be- come ministers of our Church, as did a younger son, Clement L., the latter now residing, as a retired Bishop, at Gnadenhuetten, Ohio. Their father, the Rev. Samuel Reinke, was consecrated Bishop in 1858, thirty-one years after he became pastor of the Graceham congregation. The Rev. Ama- deus A. Reinke, who was the pastor of this congregation from September, 1849, to September, 1854, was consecrated Bishop in 1870, and the Rev. Clement L., who was born at Graceham during the pastorate of his father, was consecrated Bishop in 1888. The Rev. Edwin E. served as pastor in sevreal of our congregations, and then went as a missionary to the West Indies, and became Superintendent of the mission on the island of Ja- maica. Thus we have the unusual circumstance of a father and his three sons all in the ministry, and of the father and two of his sons becoming Bishops of our Church.
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September I. The brethren Benjamin Siess, Jacob Gernand, Christian Harbaugh, Jr., and Christian Eigenbrod were elected as a new Committee. As the spring at the church needed im- proving, the Committee resolved that Bro. Jacob Siess, if his circumstances permitted, should dig and wall a caldron-shaped basin for the water. A subscription for the salary of the new pastor was made, and also one for the purchase of a horse for his use, "as without one he cannot serve the neighborhood prop- erly."
October 8. The Committee resolved that the festivals of Au- gust 13 and 19, September 7 and October 8, should, in future, be held on the nearest Sunday. The single brethren and single sisters might have their festivals on the days appointed for them, if they chose. This resolution was carried out only in part dur- ing the following year. The choir-festivals were still held on whichever day of the week they occurred. The Committee al- so resolved that non-members should be allowed to bury their dead in our cemetery, "provided they pay in cash, before the grave is made, $2 for a child under twelve years of age, $3 for a person 12 to 18 years of age, $4 for a person 18 to 100 years."
November 18 (Sunday). In the afternoon a "free" Sunday School was commenced, with 13 teachers and 36 scholars. On the next Sunday there were 67 scholars. This school was prob- ably discontinued later, the Sunday School as now constituted having been commenced in 1839.
November 21. Bro. Daniel Weller sent a number of shade trees, which were planted before the church and parsonage by the brethren J. Gernand, Buchmeier and Christ. Probably these were the trees two stumps of which are still visible on the south side of the church.
December 29. Bro. Reinke rode to the mountain valley and lodged at the house of Capt. Smith, a Lutheran, and in the even- ing kept a meeting in his house. In this year preaching in the English language every other Sunday was begun at the Furnace, chiefly for the sake of the employees, the majority of whom were negroes who had no other opportunity to hear the gospel. At the close of this year there were 341 members of the Graceham congregation, 148 being children.
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1828 .- February 23. The Congregation Council resolved to build a new spring-house, of stone, 12 feet square and 7 feet high, and to defray the cost by a voluntary subscription. The twelve brethren present subscribed $21, and Bro. J. Gernand undertook to see those absent and solicit contributions. This spring-house, the one still standing, was built during the ensuing months, as on June I the brethren were to come the next Satur- day "to clear up the ground around the new spring-house."
April 21. Bro. Reinke went with Mr. Herman (or Harman) to keep, at his request, the funeral of a Mr. Brown, who had died suddenly at his tavern beyond Harman's Gap. On their way back to Graceham Mr. Herman dug up some young spruce trees, which were planted in the yard.
June I. A subscription was opened to pay for the church shutters. Those present in Congregation Council subscribed about $20.
October 26. In view of the expected visit of Bishop Anders Congregation Council resolved (I) That there should be a love- feast for the adult members; (2) That, as customary, the mem- bers would assist the pastor in boarding and lodging the visi- tors ; (3) To provide beforehand for their traveling-expenses, a subscription was opened and $3.75 paid in. At the close of 1828 there were 373 members, 162 being children.
1829 .- January I. Congregation Council resolved that at the close of the Sunday services a collection should be taken up, as customary in other churches, in order gradually to pay off the remaining debt on the church, including the cost of the shutters and the smaller expenses hitherto paid out of the treasury. To obtain this object more fully it was resolved to open a subscrip- tion at once among the eighteen brethren present, who would engage to pay quarterly for the above purpose as much as they had subscribed. The chairman would keep an account of the receipts and disbursements, and solicit contributions from those absent.
January 25. Congregation Council resolved that, "in accord- ance with the wish of several residents of the village, steps should be taken to secure a road, as straight as possible, and such as the law requires, from the beginning of the village as far as neighbor Head's." As he and neighbor Fahs were willing
THE OLD SPRING-HOUSE.
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to grant the right of way through their land, the congregation would do the same through one of its lots. This was the road that passes south of the church and parsonage, across the hol- low and up the opposite hill, as far as the farm-house now (1912) owned by Mr. Ulysses Smith, in 1829 by Capt. Head, and later by Mr. Joshua Martin. We know this to be the case, as this "neighbor Fahs' " land joined the church and parsonage lot. At Capt. Head's, this new road joined the public road running south of the Graceham lots on the south side of the street .* This public road on the south of the lots was given up before 1842, as in that year the Committee sold a part of it to Bro. Parmenio Harry, that part of the "county road" then, as before the road was made (in 1783) belonging to the congregation.
June 14. It was resolved by Congregation Council to divide the large field next to the cemetery, standing in clover, into lots, and to sell the clover to the highest bidder on Wednesday, the 17th.
August 29. The brethren Benjamin Siess, John Schmitt, Wil- liam Creager and J. Gernand were elected as a new Committee.
October 8. It was thought necessary to procure a new bier, and $3 were subscribed towards it. Mr. Brian, having requested that the preaching at the Furnace, which had been held on Sun- day afternoons, be held in the morning, and the service at Grace- ham in the afternoon, some were at first in favor of the change, but it was finally negatived.
1830 .- August 13. Congregation Council resolved to carry out the proposition of the Committee to lay off in lots the two large fields belonging to the congregation and to rent them to residents of the village for cultivation. The Committee was to come to an understanding with those who take the lots as to the size and rent, and to report to Congregation Council, whose ratification of the agreement would be necessary to make the contract binding.
September 7. The terms proposed by the Committee with reference to the lots in the two large fields were accepted by the Congregation Council, viz., "(I) Those who take the lots of
*Since that time the public road has passed through Graceham, as it now does.
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the upper field shall pay $1.50 per acre annual rent, and those who take the lower field, $2.00 per acre. (2) On these condi- tions they shall have the lots for five years, and if they cultivate the lots properly shall have the refusal of them for another term. (3) The congregation will provide the fence-rails, and the lot renters will repair the outside fences and bear all expense of the inside fences. (4) The first year of rent shall begin with October I of this year, and the congregation will, until then, care for the repairing of the outside fences." These fields, it seems, contained 14 acres, 81 perches, which were divided as follows :
Jacob Hammer's lot, 4 acres 2514 perches, @ $1.50 per acre, $6.941/2.
John Meffert's lot, 2 acres 131/2 perches, @ $1.50 per acre, $3.50.
Henry Buchmeyer's lot, 2 acres 33/4 perches, @ $1.50 per acre, $3.14.
John Schmitt's lot, 6 acres 381/2 perches, @ $2 per acre, $13.921/2.
1831 .- February 12. There was an almost total eclipse of the sun, which could only be observed for a short time, as clouds obscured the view.
March 26. The brethren repaired the path to the cemetery, and the graves in the cemetery, and planted fourteen trees in it.
August 29. The accounts were examined, and also the re- ceipts and disbursements for the recently-purchased lamps and the porch at the parsonage. The brethren Benjamin Siess, John Schmitt, Daniel Weller and Frederick Weller were elected as a new Committee. As usual, these brethren divided the duties of the Committee among themselves, Bro. Siess being Overseer of Buildings, Bro. Schmitt Collector or Steward, Bro. D. Weller Overseer of Fields and Bro. Frederick Weller Fuel Curator. The brethren Siess, Schmitt and Frederick Weller were also named as Trustees.
September 2. The Committee resolved that to protect the foundation-wall of the church from the rain that falls from the roof, the gutters that have been washed out shall be repaired and paved with flag-stones. Hauling to be paid for out of the church-treasury ; the rest of the work to be done by the brethren.
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Also that two new gates be made on the path to the cemetery.
1832 .- In July the church-steeple was given a new coat of paint.
August 29. The Committee resolved to make new frames for four windows in the parsonage, and to repair the others, and al- so the yard gates. The school-teacher was told that the key to the school-room must be left with the pastor when there is no school. There was an epidemic of cholera this year in Western Europe and also in this country, but only one person in this neighborhood was attacked by the disease, and he recovered.
November 4. It was proposed by the pastor and accepted by the Congregation Council that two afternoon preachings every month be held in the English language, partly to give our young people an opportunity to hear the Word of God, and partly to gratify the often-expressed wish of our English neigh- bors. As the pastor would be obliged to give up the preaching at Brian's Furnace, which generally brought him $30-$40 a year, Congregation Council resolved that as a reasonable indemnifica- tion the pastor should receive $30 a year in addition to the regu- lar salary; this amount to be taken from the collections in church, and if the amount collected was not sufficient, the church treasury should supply the balance. If there should be a sur- plus it would be put in the treasury. The German preaching in the morning would continue.
November 15. The Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer ap- pointed by the Governor was observed. The school-teacher, Bro. Parmenio Harry, was notified that, after the windows in the school-room had been thoroughly repaired, it would be his duty to see that those children who break them pay for the re- pairs.
November 18. Bro. Reinke preached for the last time at the Furnace. The attendance had been poor for some time. At the close of this year there were 380 members of this congregation- the highest number attained in its history-of whom 163 were children.
1833 .- On Sunday, February 10, Bro. Reinke preached in German at Sabillasville in the morning, and English in Eyler's school-house, three miles beyond Sabillasville in the afternoon.
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During the winter of 1832-'33 scarlet-fever prevailed among the children, proving fatal in many cases.
March 5. The funeral of Joseph Wilhide, son of Frederic and Catharine Wilhide, m. n. Peitzel, was held. The interment took place in the outside cemetery, near our church. (This cemetery was on the land bought by Adam Kamp, in 1771, from Henry Peitzel, one-half acre of which the latter bought back from Adam Kamp's son John, in 1784. (See May 17, 1786.)
April 5. Congregation Council resolved, in compliance with the wish of the trombonists, that those who wish to have the trombones used at funerals in their families, should notify the sacristans for the week, who should then provide wine and cake for at least twenty-five cents, at the cost of the family. As the wood-and-wagon shed at the parsonage was very dilapidated, Congregation Council resolved that a new one, 22XII feet, should be built, the Committee to employ a carpenter on the best terms possible, who should render to Congregation Coun- cil an account of the expenses, which would be paid by subscrip- tion. Bro. Parmenio Harry's offer to buy the large lot consist- ing of three building lots next to his tavern could not be ac- cepted, as they could only be granted to those who proposed to build on them.
August 28. Sr. Frederica Hueffel (a daughter of Bishop Hueffel) and the sisters Sarah and M. Sophia Lichtenthaler, teachers in the Young Ladies' Seminary at Lititz, who had been visiting Bro. Reinke's, returned to Lititz. (M. Sophia Lichten- thaeler was the writer's mother, married to Rev. L. F. Oerter in 1835.)
August 29. The brethren Benjamin Siess, Jacob Gernand, Christian Herbach and Elias Weller were elected a new Com- mittee, the first three being also the Trustees of the congrega- tion.
October 25. An Episcopal church, which received the name Harriet Chapel was dedicated at Brian's Iron Works (Furnace) by Bishop Stone. An Episcopal clergyman was to conduct ser- vices there every other Sunday. Bro. Reinke led the singing, and dined with the company at Mr. Brian's. He had preached there for about four years until November of last year.
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November 13. Bro. Reinke writes: "I was awakened very early by a messenger with the request that I would visit a young man, Jacob Zimmerman, who was sick unto death with scarlet fever, on Hunting Creek. Before I was ready to start we saw, as did many others in the neighborhood, an unusual and splen- did natural phenomenon. Many thousand fiery shooting-stars fell from the zenith towards the earth, just as when very large single snow-flakes fall, but with this difference that the most of them had brightly shining trails of light, which sometimes re- sembled distant lightning. At midnight, before the shooting- stars fell, the upper part of the firmament was said to have been like a fiery carpet. Some persons later saw a fiery serpent which finally changed into a large ball." This was one of the specially grand displays of shooting-stars or meteors, which occur as a rule every 3314 years. There had been one also, however, in 1832, and one 33 years before that, in 1799. The next one to that seen here in 1833 occurred in 1866, and was a very fine dis- play, seen in various parts of the world. The one recorded by Bro. Reinke is the only one mentioned in the Diary.
1834 .- August 3. Congregation Council decided that at fu- nerals only the liturgy should be prayed and one or more verses be sung at the grave, without waiting for the grave to be closed. At the close of this year there were 336 members, 144 being children.
1835 .- January I. The Reformed minister, Rev. John Wm. Hofmeier, preached the New Year sermon in our church, at- tended by many of his members at Apple's church. He also, with his wife, attended the lovefeast, in which, after a short ad- dress, the Memorabilia of the previous year were read, and then an earnest pastoral letter from the Provincial Helpers' Confer- ence to this congregation, after which there was a meeting of the Congregation Council.
January 7. The new Centre School-house, 11/2 miles from here, was dedicated. Pastor Hofmeier conducted the service in the English language and Bro. Reinke preached a German ser- mon. Preaching services and Bible lectures were held by the Graceham ministers in this school-house for a number of years.
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March 23. "As our grave-digger, Bro. Hummerich, is mov- ing away, the Committee decided to ask Bro. Meffert to accept this office again."
August 9. The new Lutheran and Reformed union church at Creagerstown was dedicated. Two Lutheran and two Reformed ministers were present. Bro. Reinke also took part in the ser- vices.
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