Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 26

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149

USA > Ohio > Butler County > Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio > Part 26

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The following compose the Butler county bar at present : Allen Andrews. John Andrews. Benjamin Baker. E. A. Belden, Ben A. Bickley. U. F. Bickley. Theodore Bock. Walton Bowers. M. O. Burns. J. F. Brate. William O. Campbell. P. C. Conklin. John B. Connaugh- ton. Stephen Crane. Clayton R. Dietz, C. C. Donley. Sam D. Fitton. S. Z. Gard. Warren Gard. William S. Giffen. Charles S. Haines. H. H. Haines. R. P. Hargitt. Ben Harwitz. William H. Harr. Walter Harlin. Clarence R. Hartkopf, P. B. Holly. Isaac Huffman, Alex. F. Hume, Ed. H. Jones, H. L. Krauth, S. C. Landis. S. W. Margarum. J. J. McMaken. John W.

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Meckley. Brandon R. Millikin, R. P. Mon- fort, Gouverneur Morey, J. E. Morey, Clar- ence Murphy, Adena Myers, James E. Neal. John F. Neilan, John F. Neilan, Jr., David Pierce, Frank P. Richter, W. K. Rhonemus, Stanley Shaffer, Horace Shank, Robert

Shank, W. C. Shephard, Robert N. Shotts, John C. Slayback, C. J. Smith, Hinckley Smith. James B. Smith, S. F. Thomas, Benj. F. Thomas, W. H. Todhunter, Aaron Wesco, Nelson Williams, Robert S. Wood- ruff and E. E. Williams.

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OF BUTLER COUNTY.

THE GERMAN PROTESTANT CHURCHES. BY FREDERICK SCHNEIDER.

ST. JOHN'S EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT CHURCH.

The St. John's Evangelical Protestant Church, of Hamilton, was organized in the year 1837. It is the oldest of the German Protestant churches in the city, and, as far as records show, in Butler county. At the same time it is the largest in numbers and has the largest church edifice, with a capac- ity of seating one thousand two hundred people. The first pastor of this congrega- tion, who had success in gathering a large number of members, was Rev. Mr. Heinisch, who served in this church from December, 1859, to July, 1864, a period of five years. He was a learned man and was, as stated, a very successful worker. His successor lost almost all that was gained by Mr. Hein- isch, and after a pastorate of two years re- signed, leaving a membership of only forty people. Probably the most successful pastor the church had during its entire existence was Rev. C. A. Hermann, who served from December, 1866, until August. 1875, a pe- riod of nine years, and a second pastorate from 1883 until September, 1903, when he died of pneumonia. During the first term of his service he tore down the quaint old

church occupied by the society and built the handsome structure on the corner of Syca- more and Front streets, costing nearly twen- ty-nine thousand dollars, and during his sec- ond pastorate he had the church remodeled and provided it with very handsome art glass windows.

He was greatly beloved by his members. To write the history of this congregation is to write the history of the German Prot- estant population of the city of Hamilton, as at about the time this society was started, emigration from Germany to this country and also to this city was very strong, and the emigrants were principally adherents to the faith of the Lutheran church. From the St. John's church the other churches were more or less early seceders for various rea- sons. The membership of St. John's fre- quently fill the edifice to overflowing, es- pecially on special occasions. The young people are a strong factor in this church and the Christian Endeavor Society is the largest in the city. The ladies' society is also very strong, and their work is in evidence on all hands in and out of the church. The Be- nevolent Society connected with this church has done a great deal of good and been of assistance to needy members and especially in cases of sickness and death.

The Sunday school, which meets every

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Sunday morning, is the largest German school in the city. The school has an ex- cellent German and English library con- nected with it.

The committees who built the new church in 1867-1868 were as follows: To collect the moneys necessary to build, Wolf- gang Morner, John Reiff, Jacob Schlarb, George Bisdorf, Philip Oetterer and John Deinzer; on cost of church, Michael Eisel. Conrad Bender, Michael Wuechner, Jacob Haid and John Stillwaugh; building com- mittee, Henry Dilg, John Stillwaugh, Mi- chael Eisel, Casper Schorr, Conrad Bender. George Bisdorf, and Adam Hochheimer. The church edifice is fifty-three by ninety feet. The corner-stone was laid with im- pressive ceremonies, July 10, 1867, and the church itself was dedicated on the 29th day of May, 1868. When the old court house was torn down to make place for the new building, the clock was donated to the con- gregation and now is located in the tower of the church, where there are also three hand- some chimes of bells to call the members to the services of God. The names of the va- rious pastors who have served this church since its organization and the length of their terms are as follows : Rev. Weis, one year ; Rosenfeld, three years; Hardorf, two years; Clement, six months; Meminger, one year; Gebel, one year; Fischer, two years; Thomsen, six months; Richter, one year; Auker, four years; Grunm, seven months; Wetterstroem, fifteen months; Gerwig, two years; Paster, three months ; Pfaefflin, seven months; Heinisch, five years; Faehring, two years; Hermann, nine years; Stempel, eight years ; Hermann, twenty years. At the death of Rev. C. A. Hermann the present very efficient and able pastor, Rev. H. 'A. Dick-

mann, was chosen and he was installed with impressive ceremonies on Sunday, Novem- ber 29, 1903. Since his entering into the work in this church, the membership and everything connected with it has received an impetus for good that has been of great ben- efit to the growth of the church. He preaches in both German and English, and thus is able to hold more of the younger element which was gradually drifting from the church of their fathers on account of their inferior knowledge of the German lan- guage. There is one thing that should be mentioned in this history and that is that the original church of this congregation, standing where their handsome edifice now is, was purchased from the Presbyterian congregation. The money to pay for it was collected by Messrs. Christian Rothenbush. Josiah Breitenbach and Daniel Beaver, three old pioneer Germans of this city.

ZION'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

Zion's Evangelical Lutheran church is located at the corner of Front and Ludlow streets, Hamilton, Ohio. This congrega- tion was organized on August 12, 1843. The first trustees were Christian Morgen- thaler and Matthaeus Brueck; the first elders, Joh. Rosse and Conrad Schmidt; the first deacons, Joh. Klein and John P. Brueck. Besides these the early records contain names as follows : Fr. Blumenstiel, Johann Bayer, Heinrich Baecker, Martin G. Rosse, Heinrich Erb, Fr. Reif, Gut- mann, Peter Euler, Peter Schlosser, Adam Wacker, Leonhard Raschbacher, Adam Liebreich, Christian Wolf, Heinrich Heck- mann, Johann Bachmann, Fr. Rust, Johann Schmidt and others. Some of these are still represented in the Zion's congregation

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through their descendants; others soon repudiated the confessions, upon which they were received as members; others died or moved away ; of course, many others came to this vicinity in the course of years and proved themselves stanch defenders and sup- porters of the church.

Through all these years the Zion's church has occupied a place among the con- servative Lutherans. She has never been ready to yield to laxity either in doctrine or life. Some of the members at various times have inclined one way or the other. but they were admonished and instructed in a broth- erly way, with the result that many re- formed, while some severed their connec- tion. The two fundamental principles have been carefully guarded, namely, that the Holy Scriptures are the only rule and norm of doctrine and life, and that salvation is only given us in Christ Jesus through faith. For this reason the public preaching of the word and the administration of the sacra- ments constitute the center around which the Zion's church gathers. A natural con- sequence has always been that the children were cared for in tenderest infancy. In- fant baptism has been uniformly practiced, about three thousand having been baptized during these sixty years. For the Christian training under Lutheran instructors pro- vision was made from the very beginning. As early as 1843 the parochial school is mentioned, and through the years 1880 to 1896 the attendance fluctuated almost con- stantly around the one hundred mark. For many years the congregation supported two teachers, at times paying as high as one thousand two hundred to one thousand four hundred dollars to their support. The mat-

ter was frequently discussed and parents were earnestly plead with to secure for their children the best training, namely, a Chris- tian, Lutheran training. Not that the edu- cation offered in the secular school was un- derestimated. On the contrary, for the higher schooling many later on sent these children to the public schools. But for their children they sought first "the kingdom of God and His righteousness." At the same time they obtained a good secular education, too.

Zion's day school was conducted for many years by the pastors. In 1860 Mr. Brandstettner was called to take charge of it; after that are recorded the names of A. Brandan, Bersch, Sebald Ebert, C. Aamann, C. F. Theiss, Miss Dietrich, Miss Schmidt, Miss Doepke, Aug. Krueger, Miss Heyler, H. Bammann, Arnold Gohdes, Otto Patz- wald, C. M. Brandt, Roemer, Student R. Schujahn, Carl Buchholz, W. Trapp and H. E. Pilgrim. A number of ladies served as assistants, but their names are not on the records. From 1866 to 1895 the school was almost always provided with two teachers.

But Zion's church has been faithful to the children in other ways, for as early as May 5. 1851, a resolution was passed to hold "kinderlehre." which is an instruction of the young also after confirmation in the truths of the gospel. Six years later a Sunday school was instituted with the fol- lowing teachers: John P. Brueck. Jacob Brueck. Ad. Gutmann, H. Waltner. Joh. Klein. Fr. Grau, P. Euler. Dietrich Raab. William Huber. Peter Rupp. John Bernhard, Fr. Goller and Fr. Haertel. Later on it was made the duty of the church council to as- sist in conducting the Sunday school.

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In writing this history it is scarcely organ was bought in 1868 and remodeled in necessary to mention the usual catechetical 1899. instructions, terminating in confirmation. No less than one thousand two hundred per- sons have been added to the church in this way. While Zion's church is a German church she has for years received persons who were confirmed in English. But no provision was made to meet the wants of these communicants until December, 1903, when it was resolved to conduct the evening services in English.

As early as 1860 provision was made for the destitute and needy. An aid society was organized, but later on disbanded. The balance in the treasury was turned over to the congregation and a fund for the poor was established. On the records are entered numerous instances in which aid was given. So far as the records go no destitute person deserving aid has knocked in vain. Hence Zion's position on secret societies is not what many would make it, for Zion's church will take care of her poor members.

During these sixty years Zion's congre- gation has entertained many conventions of synod and conference. Many pastors of the joint synod of Ohio are counted among the personal acquaintances of the members. Again, there have been special occasions of joy and thanksgiving aside from the usual church festivals. On August 12, 1893, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of Zion's church was celebrated in a most ap- propriate and festive manner. The audi- torium had been enlarged and renovated and by the kindness of the Misses Benninghofen it was furnished with new pews and cush- ions and an elegant art glass window repre- senting Christ's glorious resurrection. Rev. G. Trebel read a brief sketch, from which many of the data above are gleaned. An- other jubilee equally as brilliant was cele- brated April 24, 1898. Rev. G. H. Trebel had served as pastor twenty-five years. and the Ladies' Society had been in existence forty-two years. Presents and congratula- tions were received in large number.

The first church was built in 1844-5, the corner-stone being laid July 1. 1844, and the dedication taking place June 21, 1845. The pastors who served Zion's church are: Hordorf. 1843-4; Konradi, 1844-7; Leonhard, 1847-8; Grau, 1848-52; Groth, 1852-61 ; Herbst, 1861-73; G. H. Trebel, 1873-1904; the present pastor, Rev. C. F. W. Allwardt, began his labors July 10, 1904. The following are members of the church council : Elders, D. Raab and John Nieder- mann; deacons, J. Schreiner, M. Kaefer, Jac. Bollinger and Andrew Proeschel; trus- tees, R. Nagel, Samuel Niedermann, Fred. Schubert, Jacob Reister, William Bauer. The officers of this board are: Rev. C. F. W. Allwardt, chairman; M. Kaefer, secre- This edifice was built on the southwest cor- ner of Front and Ludlow. On March 26, 1865, the erection of the present church, located on the northeast corner of Front and Ludlow streets, was resolved. The building committee were L. Sohngen, H. Waltner, P. Heck, Carl Ruder and John Heuser. In the spring of 1867 this church was dedi- cated. The church cost twenty-seven thou- sand dollars. The tower was built in 1872 at an expense of two thousand dollars. It contains a handsome chime of three large bells. In 1884 three thousand dollars were expended in renovating the church. An tary; Fr. Schubert, treasurer; William

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Bauer, financial secretary. The church property now is valued at about forty thou- sand dollars.

GERMAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The First German Methodist Episcopal church of Hamilton was organized in 1853. when the following members formed the first society : Frank Keller, Mary Keller, Bartholomew Irion, Catharine Irion, Con- rad Steinbrecher and George Schlenker, all of whom are dead.

This small congregation was served by pastors who resided in Mt. Pleasant (now Mt. Healthy). The first German Metho- dist preacher to work in this section was Dr. William Nast, who had this city as part of his large circuit and traveled through here on horseback as early as 1838. In 1851 to 1853 Rev. Frederick Kapphahn and Gustave Reiche are mentioned as the preachers in charge of the Mt. Pleasant cir- cuit, of which Hamilton was a part at that time, but it is not certain whether either one preached here, although the supposition is that the former did. In 1854-5 Rev. William Floerke served the two congrega- tions. Hamilton and Mt. Pleasant. The present church edifice on C street, near Main, was purchased in 1859 from an Eng- lish Lutheran society, who built the building in 1851. Rev. Jacob Gabler, who is still living at Marion, Ohio, was pastor of the church at this time. The first trustees were Frank Keller and Conrad Steinbrecher, of the German church, and S. M. Morris, Philip Berry, Joseph Lashhorn and Isaac K. Davis, of the English church. Rev. Charles Kessinger followed Mr. Gabler as pastor. He was probably the most success- ful worker the church has had. His services

were largely attended, oftentimes the church would not hold the crowds who wanted to hear him. He died, after a two years' stay, of typhoid fever. His successor was Rev. Paul Brodbeck, a very old man who re- mained one year and was followed by Rev. C. G. Fritsche, during whose term the con- gregation was considerably weakened owing to quite a number of the members enlisting in the army to serve their country in the Civil war. The following pastors served in the order named, following Mr. Fritsche : J. H. A. Fusz, R. A. W. Bruehl (a Cincin- nati local preacher), F. W. Reinhardt, Wil- liam Borcherding, George A. Breunig, S. WV. Freyhofer, Daniel Volz, Gustav Bert- ram, Charles Helwig, John Phetzing, John Bier. John Oetjen, E. W. Pfaffenberger, William Borcherding ( for the second time), F. J. Kapsch, Charles Bozenhart, John Claus and H. E. Wulzen, the present (1904) pastor. During the pastorates of Revs. Reinhardt and Phetzing the church enjoyed quite a revival and received a large number of accessions. During the time of Revs. Helwig and Claus' administrations the church was renovated and improved in appearance. From about 1859 to 1867 Hamilton was a mission station. From 1867 to 1869 it was connected with Mt. Healthy as a circuit. In 1869 and to 1872 it was again made a station. The latter part of 1872 and up to 1875 it was made a part of a circuit and served in connection with Richmond, Indiana. The next thirteen years it was again united to Mt. Healthy. Since 1888 it has been a station and served by its own pastor. The Sunday school, al- though not very large, has been a very im- portant part of the work almost ever since the first organization of the church. The

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Epworth League and Ladies' Society are strong factors and have done a great deal towards building up this congregation, both spiritually and financially. In 1881 the con- gregation purchased a valuable property on the east side of the Miami. intending to erect a church edifice in a more central por- tion of the city, but so far have not suc- ceeded in doing anything farther than dis- posing of the property and purchasing an- other large lot which has also been sold, and the congregation has so far been undecided as to building in the future.

ST. PAUL'S GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH.

This church, whose pastor is Rev. F. L. Dorn, Ph. D., was founded in the year 1892, the 23d of October, by the present pastor. Rev. F. L. Dorn was sent here by the Board of Home Missions of the German Evangel- ical Synod of North America upon the urgent call of some evangelical people who wished to have an Evangelical church in this town. The beginning was very small. For two years the congregation worshiped in the Davidson Memorial chapel on the corner of Heaton and Seventh streets, and when this chapel became too small for the grow- ing congregation, they built the present fine church on Campbell avenue at a cost of twenty-six thousand dollars. The church was dedicated November 25, 1894. The congregation numbers one hundred and forty families and fifty single members. The GERMAN UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH OF HAMILTON. enrollment of the Sunday school is two hun- dred pupils and fifteen teachers. The The German United Brethren in Christ Church of Hamilton was organized in 1868 by Rev. John Sick, of Georgetown, Hamilton county, who formed the first class, consisting of the following members: Mr. Ladies' Society numbers ninety members; the Christian Endeavor Society. sixty-two members; the Men's Benevolent Associ- ation, forty-four members. The first trus- tees were John Bender, F. W. Bender, W. and Mrs. Brehm, Mr. and Mrs. John

Eckhardt, Jacob Lorenz, George Kaefer. The present church council consists of the following members: Rev. F. L. Dorn, H. Nordholt. John Kaefer, Michael Raqnet, G. Kaefer, Louis Held, G. Bast, H. Schellhorn. St. Paul's church, being a member of the German Evangelical Synod of North America. represents the German state church in this country and is as such the only legitimate daughter of the Evangelical church of Germany. The church represents and is a union of Lutheran and Reformed churches and was organized in northern Germany in 1818 and in southern Germany in 1821. The German Evangelical Synod of North America, as a part of the Evangeli- cal church, defines the Evangelical church to be that church organization which ac- knowledges the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as the Word of God, and the only and infallible guide of faith and life. The Evangelical Synod accepts the exposition of Holy Scriptures as found in the symbolical books of Lutheran and Re- formed churches, which are mainly the Augsburg Confession, Luther's catechism and the Heidelberg catechism in all con- fluent points : in all points of difference, however, the Evangelical Synod of North America refers alone to the Holy Scriptures and avails itself of that liberty of conscience prevalent in the Evangelical church.

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Waigle and Mr. and Mrs. Gottlieb Kuentzle. This class met occasionally in the homes of the members and were served whenever the pastor could find time from his, at that time, large circuit. About 1882 the small con- gregation under the pastorate of the Rev. John Kopitke, and with the following trus- tees, M. Betcher, G. Kuentzle and F. Muel- ler, purchased the little church on Canal and Eighth streets from the Baptists for six hundred and sixty-eight dollars and con- tinued to hold services in this building until 1892, when they sold it to the Panhandle Railroad Company for two thousand five hundred dollars and, under the pastorate of Rev. John G. Luechauer, built the handsome structure on the corner of Ninth and Syca- more streets, which, with the parsonage ad- joining, is now worth about twelve thousand dollars. At this time the congregation num- bered forty members. Mr. Luechauer was the first preacher who served this congrega- tion exclusively. Before his time it was part of a circuit. Since then the charge has been served by Revs. F. Oehlschlager, E. Wegner, G. Fritz and Rev. Dinyweiler, the present pastor. The Sunday school was or- ganized about the time of the occupancy of the first church building. F. Duli was the first superintendent. Other first officials were G. Gimpel, class leader, and F. Muel- ler. steward.

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN IMMANUEL CHURCHI, HAMILTON.

The Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel church, having its place of worship on North Front street, between Dayton and Buckeye streets, Hamilton, is one of the congregations forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and

other states, commonly known as the Mis- souri Synod, comprising, according to sta- tistics of 1903, 1,889 pastors, 2,299 congre- gations, the total number of souls being 770,695 ; 1,888 parochial schools, supported by free-will contributions only of the mem- bers, in which 1,033 teachers and 1,061 pas- tors instruct more than 96,000 children.

The exhibit of regular class work from these schools at the World's Fair at St. Louis was awarded the gold medal, which is proof that these schools are up to the standard, not in religious instruction only, for which purpose these schools are prin- cipally kept up, but also in the elementary branches.

Immanuel congregation was organized in the summer of 1896. On the 9th of August about thirty men, heads of families, met in the assembly room of the court house for the purpose of organizing a church, in connection with Missouri Synod, where a temporary organization was effected and steps taken to gain the services of Rev. A. Von Schlichten, Sr., of Cincinnati, to con- duct religious worship for them and advise in their efforts to establish a Lutheran church. Thus in the afternoon of August 16, 1896, at three o'clock, the first services were held in the assembly room of the court house, Rev. A. Von Schlichten, Sr., preach- ing. Also on the following Sunday at the same time and place, by the Rev. P. Just, a student of theology then at Cincinnati; after which a meeting was convened, in which several matters concerning the worship were transacted, the name of Immanuel church decided upon, the Messrs. John Schmitt, Sr., Simon Bender and Erhard Schmucker elected temporarily as president, secretary and treasurer, respectively, and the Misses

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Joe Heiser and Emma Troutman appointed many families, affixing their signatures and as organists. At this point the progress of thus making the organization permanent. the church experienced a brief interruption The first vestry elected under this order were the Messrs. John Schmitt, Sr., Charles F. Schmitt, Sr., elders; John C. Engel, Erhard Schmucker, Aug. Bender, deacons; and Simon Bender and J. B. Troutman, trustees. In this meeting also a call for a pastor was extended, but without success. After two futile efforts, Rev. P. Eickstaedt, then assistant pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran church, of Indianapolis, Ind., was finally se- cured. Rev. P. Eickstaedt and family ar- rived at Hamilton on the 18th of February, 1897, to take up his duties as pastor of Im- manuel church. The introductory services were held the following Sunday, October 2Ist, at 2:30 P. M., in the First Presby- terian church, opposite the court house on Front street, the use of which for this oc- casion had been kindly granted, and were conducted by the Rev. A. Von Schlichten, Sr., and Rev. Stoeppelwerth, in the presence of a large gathering, the Lutherans of Cin- cinnati participating in numbers. Rev. P. Eickstaedt made his residence at 313 South Front street until the completion of a par- sonage some years later. caused by some matters coming up, the origin of which lay sometime beyond the time of this new organization and outside its membership (mention of which need therefore not be made in this history ), neces- sitating a thorough investigation, however. On account of the absence abroad of the Rev. J. Nieman, of Cleveland, Ohio, the president of the middle district of Missouri Synod, comprising Ohio and Indiana, the vice-president, Rev. G. Schumm, of Lafayette, Indiana, in company with the Rev. A. Von Schlichten, Sr., and P. Stoep- pelwerth, of Cincinnati, on invitation, met with the congregation and conferred with them on matters above indicated, and some points pertaining to their proper organiza- tion as a Lutheran church in affiliation with the synod mentioned, and reported finding to Rev. J. Nieman, upon his return, who again requested a meeting with the congre- gation, which was cheerfully arranged and the above matters gone over again, finding the approval of the president and encourage- ment, and gaining the promise of all neces- sary support.

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 26

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1149

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149