USA > Ohio > History of the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and other states from the earliest beginnings to 1919 > Part 6
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Cand. William Schmidt, as an answer to prayer, came forward and offered to take charge of the Seminary with- out remuneration. His services were gratefully accepted and the brethren advised "to recommend to him those young men who wish to enter upon the ministry." And Resolved, "that this institution be entitled, The Theological Seminar'y of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio. (The present location of this institution is Canton, Stark Co., Ohio)." The child of faith was born. It still lives. It
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has grown up with the West. It has rendered the Church an almost unbroken service for eighty-eight years.
Before the Synod adjourned at Zanesville, Prof. Wil- liam Schmidt submitted a course of study to be followed in the new Seminary. We submit the somewhat elaborate course for those early days :
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THE CRADLE OF THE EV. LUTH. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, CANTON, O.
First Course:
I. Instruction in German Language.
2. Instruction in Latin Language.
3. Instruction in Greek Language.
4. Logic.
5. Theological Encyclopedia.
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Note-Whereas, it is impracticable to acquire during the term of three years, in connection with the above men- tioned sciences, a knowledge of the Hebrew language also, therefore only those who attend the institution for four years will receive instruction in the Hebrew and classic Greek languages.
Second Course:
I. Continuation of instruction in languages in general.
2. Introduction into the Old and New Testa- ments.
3 . Archaeology.
4. Explanation of New Testament in Greek.
5. Explanation of Old Testament in German language, with constant reference to the He- brew original text and the Septuagint.
Third Course:
I. Continuation of the explanation of the Bible in the Greek and German languages.
2. Dogmatics, connected with the history of Dogmas and Symbolics.
3 . Christian Ethics.
4 . Practical explanation of the Holy Scriptures, calculated for religious instruction.
5. Homiletics or Pulpit Eloquence.
6. Catechetics, or the art of imparting religious instruction by questions and answers.
7. Pastoral Theology and Liturgics.
Indeed a comprehensive curriculum and it shows that the man who outlined the same was no novice. It was in the main, however, too heavy, both for the students to carry and for the limited teaching force to find sufficient
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time to impart. Not until this generation has it been pos- sible to carry out the plan of the learned and indefatigable Schmidt. He began in Canton with two students.
The Committee on the Proposed Religious Periodical also reported at this meeting. It, too, came with a rather elaborate and comprehensive plan for those days. No doubt the venture would have been a success along the lines indicated had a sufficient number of subscribers been secured. Finally the committee proposed that the intended magazine "contain no more than a medium sheet, octavo form, printed in small pica, and that, if possible, the price be reduced to 75 cents." This report was accepted.
We certainly must admire the broad vision and ability as well as the alertness and zeal of our forefathers of that day. They were surely not asleep. Had they received the necessary financial support for their extensive projects they would soon have had the eyes of the entire West following them. In our weaker moments we wish some men of great wealth had come forward with large sums and supported these projects, but on second thought we remember that there is a "Divinity that shapes our ends." Perhaps the Lord did not want us to carry out great undertakings at that time, we might have become proud and haughty. We might have depended less on Truth and service and more on money. It was a fight of faith which the fathers had to wage. And woe be us if it becomes otherwise in our day.
A fitting obituary of Rev. John Michael Steck is ap- pended to the minutes of that year, which we insert in part here :
"This Senior of the Ev. Luth. Ministerium of Ohio and pastor of the Lutheran congregations in Greensburg and vicinity departed this life July 14, 1830, aged 73 years, 9 months and 8 days. He had been truly a faithful and
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useful laborer in the vineyard of the divine Savior; and in consequence of his departure the Church has sustained a very serious loss. Without the fear of man he unreserv- edly reproved vice; he devoted much time to the instruc- tion of the youth ; he was a loving companion, an affection- ate father and a friend to the poor and needy.
He beheld the dissolution of his mortal frame gradu- ally approaching, but he fully resigned himself to the will of God and with distinguished patience submitted to his last sufferings, the strongest evidence that he had, in truth, experienced the power and efficacy of that religion which he so cordially had proclaimed among his fellow-men."
Rev. N. P. Hacke delivered the funeral discourse from Heb. 13, 7: "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow considering the end of their conversa- tion," followed by remarks from the Rev. Jonas Mechling from the same passage. A sorrowing widow, thirteen chil- dren, one of whom followed his father into the ministry, and sixty-six grandchildren, together with the members of his congregations, were left to mourn his departure.
The Gospel was his joy and song, E'en to his latest breath ; The truth he had proclaimed so long Was his support in death.
The Fourteenth Session of the Synod convened at Canton on Trinity Sunday, 1831. Thirty-four members were present.
Rev. A. Henkel, President.
Rev. C. G. Schweitzerbarth, Secretary.
Rev. J. Wagenhals, Treasurer.
Congratulations came up from the Synod of Maryland and Virginia on the establishment of a Theological Semin-
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ary, also advice on the formation of educational societies in our district.
Origin of the Districts of Joint Synod.
A communication from the West Pennsylvania Synod giving it as their opinion that the state boundary between Pennsylvania and Ohio should be regarded as the boundary of the two Synods.
Synod rather regarded this "opinion" as an act of in- justice, since five of our brethren resided beyond the line of the State of Ohio and this arrangement would not be calculated "to promote the best interests of our Evangelical Zion in the West." The following resolution was there- fore sent to the West Pennsylvania Synod: "Resolved that according to our views of equity and justice, that boundary line be retained, which was determined upon by the Synod of Pennsylvania in 1814." Upon this terri- tory the West Pennsylvania Synod had already encroached (it was founded in 1825), and naturally the brethren of Ohio would be a little sore on this point. But evidently there was some restlessness among the Ohio brethren in West Pennsylvania, which no doubt the West Pennsylvania Synod learned of and wanted to help quiet. A conference of the Ohio men had been held at Greensburg just after Easter of the same year and prepared a memorial signed by ten ministers which they presented at Canton and "in which they pray the Synod of Ohio to approve of their plan of forming a new synod between the Allegheny Moun- tains and the line of the State of Ohio." The reasons given were the necessity of a treasury under their own control and the long journey to the Synod coupled with the heavy expense. After all there must have been a little fire under all that synodical smoke in Western Pennsyl- vania at that time. The West Pennsylvania Synod wanted
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to help smother it but Ohio finally succeeded in taking care of it.
And this is the way: Synod should be divided into two District Synods; "which, except when the General Synod sits, shall convene yearly in their respective districts, and have the power (a) to have their own treasury, with liberty to expend one-half of their funds in sending out missionaries within their districts, the other half to be
Deutiches
Semmarium
Gerichtet
unter der leitung Ser evangelisch lutherifchen Gynode von Shio an Jahr. 1832
TABLET ON FIRST SEMINARY BUILDING, SOUTH HIGH ST., COLUMBUS, O.
transferred to the treasury of the general body, (b) to license candidates and catechists.
But in order to preserve the bond of love and unity, to tie it, if possible, more tightly, and to exert ourselves with united strength in the welfare of the Church a general synod shall be held every third year, at which, as hereto- fore, all the members of both districts shall assemble, and at which alone, ordination shall take place." The follow- ing year the dividing line between the districts which were called the Eastern and the Western was to start at Cleve-
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land, follow the canal to New Philadelphia and from thence in a straight line to Marietta. And thus the Ohio Synod became a Joint Synod of districts which it has con- tinued to be until the present time; districts being added from time to time as the work and territory expanded, until now we have in all twelve districts. Later the Joint Synod convened every two years and the districts annually, and in 1896 the Joint Synod became a delegate body, the representation being on the basis of one clerical and one lay delegates for every ten congregations.
A committee appointed to have Luther's Catechism with the Augsburg Confession printed, reported that the same had been done; one thousand with and one thousand without the Augsburg Confession attached. Four deposi- tories of these catechisms were established, one at Greens- burg, the second at Canton, the third in New Lancaster and the fourth in Miamisburg.
The following Board of Directors was elected for the Seminary :
Ministers: A. Henkel, J. Leist, C. G. Schweizerbarth, J. Wagenhals.
Laymen: Hon. Gustavus Schwan, Christian Heyl, John Leist and F. A. Schneider.
These directors were authorized to make all necessary arrangements for the school and to receive donations.
They were also to meet on Sept. 1, 1831, at New Lan- caster, O., and decide finally upon a location for the Theo- logical school. They met on the above date and, after some deliberation, selected the town of Columbus, Ohio, as the place where the Seminary should be located.
The Seminary at Columbus.
Fourteen acres of ground situated on an eminence ad- joining the town were purchased. This was the South
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High St. site, on a part of which the Lutheran Hospice for Girls now stands. Four acres of this plot were sold to Prof. Schmidt for $400.00, which sum was to be de- ducted from his salary in four yearly installments of $100.00 each. However, at the time it appears that Prof. Schmidt was actually receiving no salary. He had offered to give instruction two years gratis .. But Synod "author- ized her treasurer in 1832 to pay $150.00 to Prof. Schmidt for the eight months he had been in Columbus, but that we don't wish it to be considered a commensurate salary, but, because of the present scantiness of the treasury, merely as a small acknowledgment of his services for and in the Church of Christ."
This indicates both on the part of Prof. Schmidt and the Board that the spirit of sacrifice and close economy were not forgotten virtues in those days.
The building of the Seminary was begun in the sum- mer of 1832. The structure, according to the resolution of the Board was "to be a two-story house, fifty by twenty- eight feet, with a two-story rear building twenty by eigh- teen feet, and should be erected as soon as possible on the land purchased for the Seminary. On the 15th of August of the same year the cornerstone was laid with suitable solemnity." Rev. J. Wagenhals, a member of the Synod, delivered a German sermon, likewise Rev. Weiss of the Re- formed Church. The English address of the occasion was delivered by Hon. Gustavus Swan. In January of 1833 enough of the building was completed to permit Prof. Schmidt to begin instruction within its walls. There was nothing elaborate about the structure or its furnishings. Everything was of the plainest. This may be inferred from the treasurer's report :
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Expense of land and building $4,264 44
Total receipts 3,096 82₺
Indebtedness $1,167 61}
Father C. Spielmann, one of the students of the new Seminary, has left us a very interesting description of student life and activities in those early days :
"A few days before New Year, in 1833, after we had cleaned the three small dwelling rooms of the professor and the school room of the modest building, Prof. Schmidt and his little family took possession. The students rented two log huts near the Seminary formerly occupied by negroes. Two of the students lived in one of these, con- sisting of only a single room, while the other six, together with the family of J. A. Roof, who before his entrance into the Seminary had already married and who boarded the students, occupied a somewhat larger hut. Here we six studied in a small room, sitting around a table, with a tallow candle standing in the centre. We rolled the beds in which we slept under the low roof of the hut. We now received our instructions in the school room of the Semin- ary, the teaching before this having been done in a small frame church in the city in which Prof. Schmidt preached on Sunday. This small church stood on Third street, where later the Universalist Church was built, and around it corn- fields were yet found as also a swamp covered with water. The upper story of the Seminary, which was intended to be the dwelling place of the students, was not completed until the year 1841.
The first student who in 1832 left the Seminary to enter the ministry was Abraham Weill, who, under the supervision of the professor, served the congregation at Delaware. The student roll in November, 1832, when the
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HISTORY OF THE EV. LUTH. JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO.
writer entered the Seminary, was the following: Roof, Schneider, Pence, Kuhn, Amos Bartholomew, and Schlos- ser. About this time Adolf Konrad, who had been a stu- dent of law in the University of Freiburg in Germany, came to Columbus and took lodgings at Roof's. A num-
REV. C. SPIELMANN AS A YOUNG MAN.
ber of pupils came from the city to study languages in the Seminary, and in order to be able to instruct these, too, Prof. Schmidt appointed Mr. Konrad as assistant and took him into his house. Konrad also gave the Seminary stu- dents instruction in the languages, secular history, logic, and rhetoric, and in connection with this studied theology.
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The first five mentioned, together with Mr. Konrad, or a total of six, were, at the first meeting of the Western Dis- trict held in Trinity week of 1834 in Miamisburg, Ohio, licensed as candidates. These first fruits of our poverty- stricken school of the Prophets were welcomed with thanks- giving and joy to God by the Synod and were at once sent out as workmen in the neglected vineyard of the Lord in the West.
Several new students entered about this time, and among them was the late Prof. Lehmann. As the majority were very poor and had no source of income, six of us undertook to board ourselves in the cellar of the Seminary building. In the beginning this cost each of us forty-nine cents a week. We all slept in the upper room. Prof. Lehmann and I, because we did not have a bed, slept in a straw tick on the floor. But God graciously gave us good health, as also a joyful and contented heart and diligence in our studies."
The matter of giving financial assistance to worthy young men desirous of studying for the ministry had been discussed at various times by Synod, and the matter had even been suggested by other synods who saw our pressing need for more men. Finally, the cause took form when the Eastern District, convening at New Lisbon, Ohio, 1835, appointed E. Greenwald as committee to bring the matter to the attention of Joint Synod. This was done in a mas- terly appeal. The result was the creation of the "Ohio Educational Society of the Evangelical Lutheran Church," the purpose of which was to be: "To educate pious, indi- gent young men for the Gospel ministry in the Theologi- cal Seminary at Columbus, Ohio." The following were some of the qualifications for receiving support from this society : "Except in rare cases no applicant shall receive assistance, even in the first stages of preparation, who shall
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HISTORY OF THE EV. LUTH. JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO.
not produce from reliable men, unequivocal testimony of promising piety, proof of good talents and real diligence ; nor shall anyone be continued whose instructors shall not show that in point of ability, diligence, literary progress, morals and piety, he is the proper person to receive such aid; in addition to which each beneficiary shall annually exhibit a written declaration that it continues to be his seri- ous purpose to devote his life to the Gospel ministry in the Ev. Lutheran Church."
Here, indeed, we have our present-day beneficiary system, if not in form, at least in principle. The need for extending financial aid to many desiring to enter the Chris- tian ministry has continued to the present and will likely continue no matter how prosperous and wealthy our coun- try may become. The ministry will never appeal strongly to most of those having wealth or desiring it; and condi- tions being thus we must financially assist in the recruiting of the ministry.
At first a Board of Education distributed the funds contributed in the Synod for the support of worthy stu- dents. For many years the faculty of Capital University constituted such a Board. Now each district in Synod has its own Beneficiary Board and its own treasury for this fund. Individuals have at various times placed funds at the disposal of our schools for this purpose, notably the Schenk Fund at Capital University.
Not only was the matter of providing funds for worthy students one of concern among the pioneers, but the school itself was seriously hampered at times because of a lack of funds. From 1833 to 1839 the spectre of debt was always hovering over the newly founded institution. The receipts were not sufficient to cover the professor's salary; a debt of $694.00 piled up; the Seminary building could not be completed, and, added to the already distressing situation,
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the health of Prof. Schmidt began to fail rapidly, largely from overwork. He was granted a leave of absence to recuperate in his old home in Germany. Rev. Wagenhals was called to temporarily take his place at the Seminary. Rev. Spielman was sent out to raise funds for the sinking institution. He was successful. The completion of the Seminary buildings was undertaken. Prof. Schmidt re- turned from Europe seemingly restored to health. He zealously took up his work again. But an attack of typhoid fever terminated fatally, thus ending the brief life's work of this able teacher Nov. 1, 1839. That was a sad day among the students, as well as in the congregation served by the deceased; yes, the whole Church of the West lost a valuable man in the demise of Prof. Schmidt.
The Joint Synod minutes of 1839 contain a fitting tribute to this worthy brother from which we quote a few lines : "Brief was the period allotted to him in this world, but that brief period was rich in results. The fruits of his labors as a pastor and particularly as professor in our Theological Seminary form an abiding monument to his memory. He possessed profound learning without at- tempting to shine, and genuine piety without pretension. With Christian humility he sought to know his own heart, discover its weaknesses, and by divine aid to grow in grace daily. Conscientiously fulfilling every duty and exhibiting the strictest integrity he was, in the noblest sense of the word, an honest man. As a natural consequence he was courteous to all, ready to assist by word and deed, and solicitous to secure the happiness of all."
He died in the 36th year of his age, leaving a wife and three children, together with a host of friends. His students erected a suitable monument over his grave in Green Lawn, bearing the inscription: "Wilhelm Schmidt-
7
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Our Teacher, Our Father, 1803-1839." That a young man of 36 years should have so endeared himself to his stu- dents as to be called "Father" speaks highly of the regard in which he was held.
"Thou art gone to the grave but thy work shall not perish, That work which the spirit of wisdom hath blest; His strength shall sustain it, His comforts shall cherish And make it to prosper, though thou art at rest."
The Language Difficulty.
Ever since the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel there seems to have been a language difficulty, and we of the Joint Synod have by no means been spared in this trouble. Almost from the beginning of our synodical history we have been compelled to try to steer between Scylla and Charybdis in this delicate question. We have not always succeeded but we have "blundered through somehow."
In this year of 1918 we have again arrived at a point where a discussion of the language question is somewhat embarrassing. On the one hand we have our German membership asking for the Gospel in the language which they best understand, on the other hand we have the popu- lar and (so-called) patriotic clamor of "all English." As this is not the place for a discussion of the merits of the question but for its place in our history, we will be content to trace it in the past.
After the death of Prof. Schmidt the Seminary Board called Dr. Demme of Philadelphia, but this call was de- clined, though Dr. Demme had a warm heart for the Sem- inary and its work. After casting about for some time the Board extended a call to Rev. Charles E. Schaeffer, pastor at Hagerstown, Md. The call was accepted. This was in 1840.
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Prof. Schaeffer was an American with a fine command of the English language; he, however, could and did use the German language fluently, but he preferred the Eng- lish.
The Seminary began to prosper; the Board reported that the new professor was working to the satisfaction of all and that the institution was progressing finely, so that
REV. W. F. LEHMANN AS A YOUNG MAN.
the room available for students was completely occupied. A Mr. Juksch was called as professor of languages and to assist in the sciences. A second building was erected on the Seminary grounds. A second professor of theology was called in the person of Rev. F. Winckler of Newark, N. J.
The call was accepted and Prof. Winckler's work was satisfactory, but he was a German and naturally showed a preference for his native tongue. This situation soon
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began to create difficulties at the Seminary, though those stirring the fires were by no means all living in and around the institution.
In the winter term of 1842 difficulties arose between the professors and the students. The directors tried to effect a peace, but were not able to accomplish their object. The Board held a number of extra meetings in order to bring about a reconciliation between the professors, but failing in this deemed it a duty to call for the resignation of both. Professor Schaeffer at once complied, his resigna- tion going into effect in June of 1843. Prof. Winckler refused, and, as the constitution gave him six months be- fore the resignation could be enforced, he continued his instructions with a few students .. The Board, which did not want to close the school forcibly, consented to this ar-
rangement. The Synod at an extra meeting in Zanesville, O., in 1844, in acting upon this report of the Board, and after declaring that in accordance with the constitution of the Seminary the German should be the only medium through which the theological instruction should be given, and in accordance with the same constitution, the English language should be taught theoretically and practically, de- cided that it would not regard the professorship at its Seminary as vacant and determined that Prof. Winckler continue his work there. These were the famous Zanes- ville resolutions which went directly against the past prac- tice of the school and the best interests of the institution and the Synod.
At the next meeting of the Synod, held in Lancaster, O., the Board had a discouraging report to present. The Zanesville resolutions had created general dissatisfaction. The congregations and pastors refused to contribute to the needs of the school. Many were offended because Prof. Winckler had been retained. The appointment of Rey.
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Pence as financial agent accomplished little good, as he everywhere met with discontent because of the Zanesville resolutions. All these things induced the Board to request Prof. Winckler's resignation in September of 1844, and with May of 1845 his work in the school came to an end. The Synod in acting upon this report practically revoked the Zanesville resolutions and decided, that, in view of the needs of the Church, all of the lectures in the Seminary should be held in both German and English, but that only German compendiums should be used as textbooks until English translations of doctrinally correct works could be supplied. As a result of a long discussion Synod finally and formally recalled the Zanesville resolutions of a year before and declared that the relation between the German and the English should continue on an equality, as had been the case in actual practice since the founding of the Seminary. With this the reorganization of the Seminary, after much debate, was effected by the Lancaster Synod in 1845, and the language question was settled definitely for the school. Against these resolutions a protest was handed in signed by twenty-four members, who declared that the equality assigned to the English as compared with the German was a violation of the constitution of the Sem- inary, and eight actually withdrew from Synod on this ac- count. But Synod declared that the language question was now finally settled and adopted another resolution, stating that "this present position is positive and is to remain such."
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