USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Germantown > History of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Germantown, Ohio : and biographies of its pastors and founders > Part 2
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In his last will and testament Mr. Gunckel inserts the following article : "I desire that my executor dispose of my interest (being the undivided one half) in St. Johns (German Reformed) Church of Germantown, Ohio. One half of said church be-
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longs to the German Reformed congregation. I made a conditional sale of my half to the Lutheran congregation (the agreement of said sale being in the hands of Charles O. Wolpers), made a deed for the same, and placed it in the hands of John McClure, Esq., who I directed should not give up or deliver said deed until the payment mentioned in said agreement were first fully complied with, which was not done. Said deed is null and void, as I made no delivery of the same."
Several facts now become clear : First. The Lu- theran congregation lost the five hundred and twen- ty-five dollars which they paid to Philip Gunckel as a part of the purchase money of the one half of the church at the west end of Market Street, known as the Reformed church. Second. The Lutheran con- gregation never held a deed for the one half of said property, and are consequently cut off from all own- ership in the same. Third. The Reformed congre- gation did not receive any of the money (five hun- dred and twenty-five dollars) paid by the Lutheran congregation to Philip Gunckel, and hence are under no pecuniary obligation to the said Lutheran congre- gation. Fourth. The Reformed congregation does not yet own the part once sold by Philip Gunckel to the Lutheran congregation. Said one half is at present the property of the Gunckel heirs. Fifth. The Reformed congregation, by their own deed, are . required to permit the Lutheran congregation to worship in their (the Reformed) church.
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Now it is true that the present house of worship occupied by the Reformed congregation is not the 3 same which is referred to in Mr. Gunckel's will - the old house having been taken down and a new one erected in its stead-but it is also true that this new house stands in part on the lot the one half of which was once sold to the Lutheran congregation, and at this time belongs to the Gunckel heirs. What change the rebuilding of said church, or the article of Mr. Gunckel's will above cited, make in that pro- vision of the Reformed congregation's deed, requir- ing them to " suffer, allow, and permit the Lutheran .. congregation to use the Reformed church as a place of worship," the writer is not prepared to say. That probably would; even for an expert jurist, be a diffi- cult question to decide. Thus, then, the case stood . in the year 1879 when thorough inquiry was made into it. Fortunately an agreement was arrived at in the spring of this year. The Lutheran congregation agreed to pay to the Reformed congregation the sum of one hundred dollars for their one half of the grave-yard and to give them, in addition, a quit-claim of any right or privilege which they might have in the Reformed church property.
This act constituted the final dissolution of all union and partnership between the German Reformed and the Lutheran congregations of Germantown.
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The Lutheran Congregation.
In our account of the relation between the Re- formed and the Lutheran congregations we have come down to the year 1879. In taking up the separate history of the Lutheran Church it will be necessary to go back again to the time of its organi- zation.
This congregation dates its origin to the year 1809. It is one of the oldest Lutheran congrega- tions in the State of Ohio. Its founders and fathers were, with probably one or two exceptions, natives of Pennsylvania, mostly from the county of Berks, and the township of Tolpehocken. They came from a portion of country where had labored the early fathers, Muhlenberg and his cotemporaries and associates. They therefore brought with them some- thing of the spirit of these noble men. They cher- ished a profound regard for religion, and were ex- tremely desirous to plant the church of their fathers in their new home. The first of them arrived here
in the year 1804. As is the case in all new coun- tries, a few years had to be spent by them in severe pioneer labor-the clearing of the soil and the erection of dwellings. During the first few years of their sojourn here they were, `therefore, unable to give church and school much thought and attention. But busy as they were, they did not suffer their work and secular business to make them forget the cause
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of religion and education. Of these they always felt their want, and just as soon as circumstances permitted they made every effort to secure their benefit. They were early visited by traveling mis- sionaries-perhaps during the second or third year of their settlement. From among the names of this class of men who are said to have been here are preserved those of Paul Henkel, Markert, Forster, Mau, and Simon. They remained here a shorter or longer time-some of them a few weeks or months, others but a few days, and the last two settled here permanently.
Paul Henkel was the father of Andrew Henkel, and lived and labored mainly in Virginia. He very early penetrated the western wilderness-of which Ohio formed then a part-to visit distant settlements ; but the year in which he visited for the first time the Miami and Twin valleys the writer has not been able to learn. Of Markert nothing is known but3 the name. When he was here, or how long he remained among this people, has not been ascer- tained. As the same name appears in the early annals of the Lutheran Church in Indiana, it is likely that he went from here to that state, and lived, labored, and died there. George Forster was one of the first missionaries in Ohio. Rev. Spielman, in his history of the Ohio Synod, speaks of him as being in Fairfield County in 1805. It is probable that he was the first Lutheran minister who visited the Lutherans in the Miami and Twin valleys. Rev.
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Spielman relates of him the following incident : " For a time this robust and energetic father trav- eled and preached in the extensive field, embracing Perry, Fairfield, Pickaway, and other counties. When a later missionary visited and preached on the same territory, Forster lodged complaint against him before a special conference, accusing him of inter- ference in his pastorate. The conference dissented from him, and desired to know what constituted his pastoral district. Upon this the tall and still vigorous man arose, and extending his arms, exclaimed, 'The whole north-west is my mission-field, and no one else shall be permitted to enter and interfere in it.' The conference, of course, was of a different opinion, and endeavored to bring the good man over to their own view." He died a few years after this, and is said to have been buried about six miles north of S omerset, near Zion Church, which he had been instrumental in organizing. S. Mau was a native Penns ylvanian, and came here at a very early period. He had been a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and was a somewhat eccentric character. Several ti mes he changed his church relations, but confessed himself a Lutheran before his death. After his a rrival here he supported himself by teaching school. He is said to have been the first school-teacher in the Twin Valley. His education was limited, and his preaching abilities were very deficient. When, in 1 818, the Ohio Synod was organized, in Somerset, Ohio, Rev. Mau was present, and took an activ e
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part in the organization. He lived to a high old age, and died about the year 1830, Rev. Andrew Henkel officiating at his funeral. Andrew Simon is the last of all the forenamed. He officiated as pastor to the congregations in German and Miami townships for a number of years-probably up to about the year 1812. He, too, was present at the organization of the Ohio Synod in 1818, and became one of its founders. Greatly lacking the gift of language, and scarcely able to give expression to his own thoughts, he was not very popular, nor very successful as a preacher, and very wisely abandoned the ministry, and turned his attention to the practice of medicine. He went from here to the State of Indiana, where he closed his life, in what year is not known.
After Simon gave up his labors in the Germantown congregation there was a vacancy here of several years' duration, during which the people were entirely destitute of the means of grace. They had grown tired of the sort of men who had been serving them as supplies. In Pennsylvania they had enjoyed the ministrations of learned and pious pastors, and such a one they desired also here for themselves. They wanted a man regularly and well trained for his calling, and ordained by an orthodox Lutheran synod. Such a man was at that time not easily to be had in this then far-off western country. There were then not a dozen Lutheran ministers in the whole State of Ohio. But they at last found the
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man they wanted in the person of the Rev. John Caspar Dill.
Rev. John Caspar Dill
May be said to have been the first pastor of the Lutheran congregation of Germantown. There were those who preceded him here, but they were mere supplies. He was a native German, born in Wertheim, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, on the second day of February, 1758. His parents were honest. God-fearing people, and were both members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. His father was a tawer by occupation, preparing buckskin for wearing apparel. In his day buckskin pants, vests, and gloves were worn, and the trade of a tawer was quite respectable and remunerative. Rev. Dill's father was a successful business man, well to do in the affairs of this world, and highly esteemed by his fellow-townsmen. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and was frequently called to municipal offices, to fill positions of trust and responsibility.
John Caspar was early sent to school, and here, as well as at the home of his parents, he was instructed in the doctrines and precepts of the Christian religion, and in the rudiments of a common-school education. From the common school he was pro- moted to the high school, or academy, of his native 10wn. After completing thus his elementary educa-
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tion, he was sent to the university, there to enter upon a thorough course of scientific study. The university of which he made choice was that of Giessen, in Hesse, at that time one of the best of Germany's institutions, and attracting students from all parts of Europe. At this ancient and renowned seat of learning John Caspar came in contact with men of world-wide fame -men who were eminent in learning and in piety. There is in possession of one of his descendants an autograph album, having belonged to Pastor Dill, in which are found the names of quite a number of his fellow-students, some of whom, later, attained to great celebrity for their learning and scientific attainments. This album also shows that the University of Giessen was then visited and patronized by students from far and near. Here, then, the subject of this biography enjoyed every advantage of the highest intellectual, moral, and social culture, which he seems to have well improved.
Having passed through the usual university curriculum -which seems to have been about the year 1786- he concluded to emigrate to America. He returned to his home in Wertheim, there to complete the necessary arrangements, and from thence to enter upon his voyage to the new world. An elder brother had preceded him to the United States, and it was in consequence of this brother's influence and persuasion that Rev. Dill decided to take this step. He embarked in Amsterdam, in
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Holland, which was at that time the chief seaport of Europe. After a lengthy voyage he landed in Baltimore, Md., on the 4th of September, 1792. Here he remained a few weeks, and then proceeded to Philadelphia, where his brother was engaged in mercantile pursuits. In this city he tarried for some time, probably intending to make it his home, and enter into partnership with his brother. But if this was his plan it was soon thwarted. It was in the year 1792 that the yellow fever raged furiously in the city of Philadelphia, and carried off a large portion of its population. Among the victims of this scourge were Rev. Dill's brother and his wife. This loss, and the fearful ravages made by the pesti- lence, had so depressing and discouraging an effect on Mr. Dill that he determined to return again to his native country. But he found kind friends who interested themselves in his behalf, and through their persuasions he was influenced to remain and make this western world his permanent home.
From this time until the year 1802-a period of about ten years- Mr. Dill's occupation and place of residence are not well known. But as in this year he was ordained to the gospel ministry in the Evan- gelical Lutheran Church, it may be rightly inferred that a part of this time was spent by him in preparing for the pastoral work. It may also be that he had been in the ministry some years before his ordination. For at that time the license system prevailed in the Lutheran Church, and not unfrequently men remained
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licentiates for a period of from five to ten years. Thus these ten years may be nearly, if not entirely, accounted for.
Pastor Dill was ordained to the Christian ministry by the Synod of Pennsylvania-which was then con- vened in Reading, Pa .- on the 16th of June, 1802. In his ordination certificate mention is made of the fact that he was, at the time of his ordination, incumbent of the pastoral charge consisting of the congregations on the Jordan, Union, Egypt, and Trexlers, all of which were in Lehigh County, Pa. The officers of the synod, by whom his ordination papers are signed, are Frederick Schmidt and Frederick Schæffer, the former being the president and the latter the secretary of the synod. These, and other congregations in the same locality. Pastor Dill served until he removed from the State of Pennsylvania to the State of Ohio, including a period of at least about thirteen years During this time - at what precise date is not known-he was joined in marriage to Miss Ann Maria Seiberling, a family name which is still familiar to the Lutheran Church in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Seiberlings to whom Mrs. Dill belonged were then living in Wiesenberg Township, Northampton County.
The removal of Mr. Dill to Ohio was brought about in the following manner : In the year 1814 the Rev. William Dechant, a minister of the Reformed Church, in Pennsylvania, came to Ohio, and visited Germantown and Miamisburg, and was very favorably
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impressed with the country in the Miami Valley. The Lutherans of Germantown made inquiry of him as to their chances of securing a pastor for their congregation from Pennsylvania. He informed them that he thought he could aid them in the matter, and recommended to them Rev. Dill as a suitable man. Thereupon they addressed a letter to Mr. Dill, inviting him to become their pastor. Rev. Dechant, also, on his return to Pennsylvania, encouraged Mr. Dill to move to Ohio. In reply to the letter addressed to him, and as a result of the representations of Rev. Dechant, Mr Dill sent a communication to the Lutherans of Germantown, and this in turn was answered by a formal call. Pastor Dill arrived in Germantown in the fall of the year 1815, and imme- diately took charge here, in connection with a number of other points, where, later, congregations were organized.
Pastor Dill's field of labor was very extensive, embracing several counties. He occupied, in his day, the frontier position among Lutheran pastors. All the territory west of him was unexplored mission ground. He therefore not only attended to the wants of his own large field, but made frequent visits to Indiana, to look after the interests of the church in that state. The labor which he performed was attended by peculiar hardships. During a great part of the year the roads were bad; the streams were many and deep, and being without bridges, they were dangerous to ford. The settlers lived
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great distances apart, and when reached, the accommodations which they had to offer were of the simplest and plainest kind. Their log cabins gen- erally contained but one room, answering the purpose of kitchen, parlor, and bed-room. The table-fare consisted principally of bread and bacon. Coffee and tea were luxuries in which few of them had the means to indulge. Mr. Dill's traveling was all done on horseback. A great portion of his time was spent in the saddle, hunting up the scattered members of his church, baptizing their children, and preaching whenever and wherever an opportunity offered itself. From these facts we may form some idea of the situation in which he was placed. Had he kept an accurate written account of his trials and adventures, his long and fatiguing journeys, his poor fare and poorer lodgings, his preaching in all sorts of places, the heat and cold which he endured, and the many incidents which occurred around the fireside by the big log chimney-such an account would at this time prove most intensely interesting, and constitute a most entertaining chapter of history. But it would also reveal a life of labor, privation, and suffering such as we of the present day can not easily form any conception of. The work of pastor and missionary, as performed by Rev. Dill, was no play; nor was there much pleasure in it except such as arose from the consciousness of doing good.
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Mr. Dill preached at from probably six to ten places; but his main and strongest congregations were in Germantown and Miamisburg. He may with propriety be called the father of Lutheranism in and around these two places. The church in Germantown in which Mr. Dill preached was the log structure erected in the year 1810. Here his. associate on the Reformed side was the Rev. Thomas Winters. The two got along with one another pretty peaceably - much more so than one would look for from so close a relationship as they held. Yet there was an occasional crossing of lances, and the hum of war and clash of arms was heard between the two ecclesiastics. But to the honor of both be it said, scenes of contention between them were very rare.
Pastor Dill was a thoroughly orthodox man, affected neither by rationalism on the one hand, nor by fanaticism on the other. He was firmly persuaded of the truth and the divine inspiration of the Scriptures and of their sufficiency as a rule of faith and practice. He was also a true Lutheran, firmly attached to, and vigorously advocating the doctrines of his church as set forth in her variou s confessional writings. A number of his sermon s have been placed in the writer's hands for examin a- tion. They are sound and thorough expositions of the divine word, and exhibit a spirit of true an d devout piety on the part of. their author. Their style is terse and concise, and their language dignified and elevated, showing the accomplished scholar and
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perfect master of his native tongue. He was also a man of attractive social qualities, gifted with a large share of wit and humor. At synod he would draw around him a crowd, and entertain his audience by anecdote and the recital of adventure. Synodical meetings in his day partook more largely of the nature of social gatherings than they now do. Pastors then were so isolated from one another that they rarely saw or heard of each other. When then they met at synod, there were true and heartfelt greetings and pleasure, and the spirit of cheer and joyousness was kept up during their convention. In their social circles Pastor Dill was always the central figure, as youthful and as happy as during his student life at the university. He was, moreover, a man of varied acquirements, well read in the ancient and the modern classics, a close and logical thinker, and a refined and chaste writer. As a speaker he was clear, practical, and impressive. Located as he was in a new country, with a superabundance of pastoral labor on his hands, there was neither incentive in his surroundings, nor time at his disposal to attempt authorship or to distinguish himself by literary per- formance. But had he lived at another time, and been placed amidst more favorable circumstances, he would doubtlessly have attained to some fame as a scholar and an author. He certainly possessed the natural talents, and the culture by education, for literary work. He was, besides, something of an artist, quite an adept in drawing, in painting, and
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in carving, and a skillful performer on a number of musical instruments. During the latter part of his life, when waning physical strength confined him more closely to his home, he spent much time in these diversions.
He was connected with the synod of Pennsylvania until the year 1818, though unable to meet with it during his residence in Ohio. In this year was organized the synod of Ohio. Pastor Dill was pres- ent on the occasion and joined the organization, and thus became one of the founders of the first synod in Ohio. Subsequently he held different official positions in this body.
Rev. Dill lived and died a poor man. He owned a little home, consisting of an humble dwelling with a few acres of ground around it, but that was all he ever possessed, and did not exceed a few hundred dollars in value. His parishoners were mostly farmers, who were new beginners, and were struggling hard for the necessaries of life. They had no good market for their produce, and were sadly in want of money. Such a people are not able to pay their pastor a large salary. Hence Father Dill accumulated nothing in the way of worldly possessions, and when he died, he left his family little else than God's blessing, and his own worldly poverty. He departed this life in August, 1824, at the age of sixty-six years and five months. His wife, who was his junior in age, survived him by many years. The remains of both rest side by side in the Germantown cemetery.
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After the death of Father Dill the congregation experienced some difficulty in securing another pastor. Lutheran ministers were at that time still scarce in Ohio. Their number did not exceed from twelve to fifteen in the whole state. Further east the church was somewhat better supplied with pastors, but those who lived there, when they desired to make a change, were reluctant to come to Ohio, which state was then regarded as "the far West." And in reality to remove from Pennsylvania or Maryland to Ohio was, at that time, a great undertaking. It occupied as much time, and was attended by as many hardships as does now a trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Nor were congregations in Ohio able to hold out pecuniary. or other flattering inducements. They had nothing to offer but hard work, privation, and small pay. Hence it happened that after Father Dill's decease the Lutheran congregation in Germantown was without a pastor for a period of two years. In the year 1826 they succeeded in securing the services of the Rev. Andrew Henkel, of Somerset, Perry County, Ohio, whose biography we shall now proceed to give.
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Rev. Andrew Henkel
Came of a distinguished ancestry, and was descended of a long line of Lutheran ministers. The founder of the family in this country was the Rev. Gerhart Henkle, who immigrated hither at a very early period. In the Fatherland he had occupied the position of court chaplain, but the earnestness with which he presented the truth, and especially in one of his sermons, greatly offended his sovereign, and to save himself all the trouble which this occurrence threat- ened to occasion him, he decided immediately to resign and emigrate to America. He arrived in Philadelphia in the year 1840, and located in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Here he assisted in the erection of a Lutheran church, but did not live to see it completed, being called away by death soon after his arrival. The son and grandson of Rev. Gerhart Henkel, from whom in direct line Andrew Henkle derives his descent, were Justus and Jacob Henkel. The latter was the father of the Rev. Paul Henkel, and he the father of Andrew Henkel.
Paul Henkle, born on the 15th day of December, 1754, and departing this life on the 17th day of November, 1825, occupies a prominent place in the early history of the Lutheran Church in this country. After preparing himself for the pastoral work under the instructions of the Rev. Krug, of Frederick,
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Maryland, he entered the ministry at an advanced period in life, being ordained by the Ministerium of Pennsylvania in the year 1792. - Animated by a truly apostolic spirit, he threw himself into his work with a zeal, self denial, and perseverance equaled by but few men since the days of the apostles. Amidst dangers, and the severest hardships, he made exten- sive mission tours, penetrating into the wilderness of the south and the west to its furthest limits, hunting up the scattered members of the Lutheran Church, baptizing their children, supplying them with books of devotion, organizing the people into congregations, and exhorting them to fidelity to their Maker and their church. He traveled in his own wagon, his wife, animated by the same missionary zeal, accom- panying him, and both all the while defraying their own expenses. The means required came from the proceeds of a farm, which was cultivated by his sons. He was instrumental in organizing the synods of North Carolina and of Ohio. Of his six sons he trained five for the gospel ministry. . Yet, amidst .so busy a life he managed to perform some literary labor. He published a collection of his own poems, a work on baptism, translated Luther's Smaller Catechism into the English language, and issued two Lutheran hymn-books- one in the German and the other in the English language. How this man, who had in . his youth received but a common-school education, and who entered the ministry at the advanced age of thirty-eight years, was able to do
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