USA > Ohio > Stark County > Canton > History of the First Reformed Church, Canton, Ohio > Part 11
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During the period from 1862-75, it is plain that strenuous efforts were put forth to raise the standards for membership. In 1869 it was made a rule that, "No member who has ceased
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attending the public worship and the Lord's Supper without cause shall be permitted to vote at elections that pertain to any spiritual matters." In 1870, all delinquent members were ad- monished that they must either do their Christian duty or else they "would have their names stricken from the church regis- ter." In 1871, the treasurer was instructed not to receive any money from those whose names still appeared on the roll "who - do not lead a religious life that conforms to the requirements of our constitution or the tenets of our church." During this year the custom was also introduced of receiving members on six months' probation to determine whether they would prove desirable acquisitions or not. The practice was continued for a number of years. Finally in 1874, the consistory unanimous- ly declared that, "We would hail with delight the upbuilding of a young men's Temperance Society in our midst" and steps were taken to organize such a society. Though but little prac- tical benefit came from the attempt, the fact that the consis- tory took such action gave notice that a new era was inevitably dawning. At the same time the consistory also declared that, "We have watched with painful feelings, the gross immorality and careless demeanor of many who claim to be members of our church, and who also refuse in anywise to support the church, therefore, all such members who continue in their sins and refusal to do their Christian and church duties shall have their names stricken from the roll."
The reason for this better attention to church discipline must be found in the fact that Rev. Herbruck had gradually given up all the congregations outside of Canton, and hence could exercise more careful pastoral oversight in his one re- maining congregation.
In 1862 when the Canton church was dedicated there were still six congregations in the charge. During the next years St. Martin's, St. Peter's, and St. Jacob's were dropped, Paris in 1871 and Osnaburg in 1872.
Soon after the dedication of the new church, a parochial schoolhouse was also erected, and a school was maintained for many years. Such information as is still available concerning
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this interesting phase of congregational activity will be present- ed in a later chapter.
The cemetery that occupied most of the church plot except where the church stood was gradually abandoned. After the West Lawn Cemetery was opened many of the bodies were removed from the church's burying ground; but occasional interments still took place until 1874 when the congregation by a vote of thirty-one to ten forbade any further burials. Three soldiers of the Civil War are still buried there. Their names have been forgotten, the site of the graves must be guessed at, but each year on Memorial Day three G. A. R. flags are placed on the probable site of the graves. There they wave until wind and weather have torn them to shreds, as mute reminders to the passer-by, that the ground had once been hallowed to the departed by the tears and sorrows of the living.
The first year that the Canton congregation alone was served by Rev. Herbruck, he reported to the Classis that there were 494 members in the church, and 200 enrolled in the Sun- day school. Thirty-six had been confirmed, and 89 baptized, and $293 were given for benevolence.
In 1875 Heidelberg College recognized the long and influ- ential career of Rev. Herbruck by granting to him the honor- ary title of Doctor of Divinity.
REV. PETER HERBRUCK, D.D. At the time of his fiftieth anniversary, 1881
CHAPTER XVI
CLOSING YEARS OF REV. HERBRUCK'S LIFE
T HE last ten years of Rev. Peter Herbruck's pastorate were unmarked by any special event in the development of the congregation. The number of additions from year to year made up for the losses, and also showed a slight increase. The physical vigor of the pastor under the strenuous activities of half a century had been depleted. Though he still forced himself to meet all his appointments,* his hold was gradually slipping. Frequently, especially during the last five years, he would have to stop after speaking for a few minutes and say with a sigh, "I am too weak to preach any longer, we will have to close for to-day."
The natural result was a gradual scattering of the congre- gational forces. The congregation still loath to lose their aged pastor made various efforts, from 1880 on, to secure his son, the Rev. Emil Herbruck of Akron, Ohio, as assistant pastor. Fail- ing in this effort, several other ministers were invited to preach trial sermons with the view of becoming assistant pastor, but no suitable assistant could be secured. Rev. Herbruck there- fore continued his labors until January, 1886.
One event of these years, however, stood out and is still frequently spoken of by the older members of the church, and that was the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Rev. Herbruck's landing upon American soil, and the forty-ninth anniversary of his permanent connection with the Canton con- gregation as pastor. The joyous event occurred on Sunday, December 4, 1881.
The church was festooned with evergreens. The pulpit was decked with flowers, on the north wall of the church was a
* At the fiftieth anniversary service, Rev. Herbruck stated that only six times during all the years of his pastoral labors had sickness pre- vented him from meeting an appointment.
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large inscription in evergreens reading, 1831-1881, and every- where banners were on display. At the morning service Rev. H. J. Ruetenik, D.D., of Cleveland, Ohio, a lifelong friend of the pastor, preached in German on the parable of the ten vir- gins. "It was an able sermon full of good thoughts and valua- ble suggestions, the principal lesson drawn from the text being the necessity of, at all times, being ready to avail ourselves of the various opportunities for advancement that are given us throughout our life."
Rev. Herbruck then gave a sketch of his life with many an anecdote both droll and serious.
In honor of the occasion the Ladies' Aid Society presented the pastor's wife with a silver tea set, and the congregation gave the pastor a gold medal. On one side, "In raised work of yellow gold was a Bible with a crown resting upon it, both encircled with a laurel wreath." On the reverse side was a suitable, honorary inscription. At the afternoon service var- ious ministers of the town gave brief congratulatory addresses. In the evening Rev. Joseph Keller, D.D., Randolph, Ohio, preached.
Rev. Peter Herbruck continued his labors until January, 1886, after which he lived in quiet retirement at the old home- stead, corner of Tuscarawas Street, East, and Herbruck Court, until his death. After his retirement he still worshiped fre- quently with his former flock and performed many ministerial acts, such as baptisms, funerals, and marriages. The total number of these ministerial functions performed during his long career as pastor has been given as follows : baptisms 5938, confirmations 2717, marriages 2611, funerals 2560 .*
During the closing years of his life, Rev. Herbruck was very feeble. For several days before his death, the end was hourly expected. Finally on Sunday, September 22, 1895, he breathed his last.
* These figures were published at the time of Rev. Herbruck's death. The author has no means of testing their accuracy. There is considerable discrepancy in the figures as published at various times.
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The funeral services were held on the following Tuesday. Rev. F. Strassner, D.D., and Rev. S. C. Goss, D.D., conducted the services at the home. The pallbearers were all ministers of the Reformed Church, namely John H. Beck, Alf. G. Ber- key, N. A. Ernst, S. G. Goss, D.D., J. J. Lebermann, D.D., and J. P. Stahl. From the house the funeral cortege proceeded to the Trinity Reformed Church. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Joseph Keller, D.D., president of St. John's Classis, Rev. E. R. Williard, who spoke for Ohio Synod and Tuscarawas Classis, and a representative of the Canton Ministerial Federa- tion. The "Canton Repository" closed its account of the fune- ral services with the appropriate and sympathetic words, "As a preacher he had few equals, as a pastor he was beloved, and as a father he was kind and reserved."
A little more than two years later, on November 24, 1897, Mrs. Herbruck also was called to her reward.
The faithful couple who had lived happily together for a period of sixty-three years, fifty-three of which were spent as pastor and pastor's wife of the First Reformed Church, now lie buried side by side in West Lawn Cemetery.
During this period from 1831-1895 that Rev. Herbruck was pastor in Canton he saw the backwoods village of less than 2000 population, without any means of communication with the outside world except poorly-kept dirt roads, evolve into a thriving, up-to-date, industrial center of 28,000 souls, with three railroad systems giving perfect transportation facilities. The few shops, stores and mills of the early days, securing their supplies by wagon from Pittsburgh or the Ohio River, and serving only the immediate community, had been transformed into a receiving and distributing center, sending the diversified products of more than two hundred manufacturing plants into all parts of the world. The feeble congregations worshiping in humble, poorly equipped buildings had grown to great num- bers assembling in spacious, comfortable and imposing edifices. But few men are permitted to thus grow up with a community and witness its progressive evolution.
CHAPTER XVII
EARLY LIFE AND LABORS OF REV. JOHN B. RUST
R EV. John B. Rust at the special request of the author, kindly consented to write the history of his own pastorate in Canton. The narrative is given as prepared by him. In addition to the story of his work in Canton, he has also woven in many valuable historical incidents from the field which he previously served. As this field once also formed a part of the vast parish served by the Rev. Peter Herbruck, this addi- tional historical material, most of which is not given elsewhere in this book, is included.
Rev. J. B. Rust was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 5, 1856. His father, Rev. Herman Rust, was pastor of the First Reformed Church of Cincinnati for twelve years. Later he was called to the "German Professorship" in Heidelberg Theo- logical Seminary, and the "Professorship of the German Lan- guage and Literature" in Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio. Young Rust attended the public schools in Cincinnati and Tif- fin, and then took the full classical course in the college and seminary, graduating in the spring of 1879. During the fol- lowing winter he began his work as pastor of the Waynesburg charge.
The narrative that follows is given as prepared by Rev. Rust.
"In the winter of 1879 and 1880 Rev .. J. B. Rust entered upon the pastorate of the Waynesburg Charge, Stark County, Ohio, about twelve miles south of Canton. This was his first field of labor. Rev. F. Strassner, pastor of Christ Reformed Church, in Orrville, Ohio, thought at one time that he would assume the care of the Waynesburg charge himself, but after- wards changed his mind and used his influence to find a suit- able incumbent instead, for that charge, which consisted of three congregations, St. Paul's Reformed Church in Waynes- burg, St. Paul's Reformed Church in Mineral City, and the
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EARLY LIFE AND LABORS OF REV. JOHN B. RUST 125
Salem's Church, Osnaburg Township. The latter congrega- tion was organized by a group of seceders from St. Martin's Reformed Church, because they were not permitted to hold weekly prayermeetings in their house of worship and in their homes, and aspired after a warmer and more lively expression and method of religious life. The mother-church refused to befriend them and condemned their "Schwaermerei." In the hope that they might unite again at some future day with the St. Martin's congregation, they secured a piece of ground large enough for a small church, and a burying ground adjoining, and just as large as the property of the St. Martin's congrega- tion. On that spot they built a white frame church large enough to accommodate their membership, but for constitution- al reasons they organized as an Evangelical Church in the near- by hamlet of Mapleton, and when their house of worship was completed, Rev. Peter Herbruck conducted the dedicatory services, having been invited to do so because he had offered his assistance for a merely nominal gift, in order, if possible, to guide the faithful flock back again into the Reformed Church. Finding themselves unable to support a pastor independently, they united with the Reformed congregation in Alliance, and were served by the Rev. August C. F. Schade, Ph.D., a gifted and brilliant German pulpit orator, who, during that time, resided in Malvern, a village almost midway between the Salem's church and Mt. Union. Through the efforts and direct instrumentality of the Rev. Mr. Schade, the Salem's con- gregation, on the plea that they were an Evangelical church knocking at the door of the Reformed Church for admittance, were received into the fellowship with the Central Synod. At one time during the pastorate of Rev. J. B. Rust; the two con- gregations, largely under the mild guidance of Mr. Paul Gei- ger, entered into a compact of union, but through uncalled-for, unwise, unjustifiable remarks made by a few shortsighted per- sons, the noble plan was defeated. The two churches never united again. They did not even become reconciled, despite the fact that intermarriages among the members of those organizations frequently occurred. St. Martin's Church was
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finally taken down and rebuilt in the village of Malvern, where the congregation abandoned the use of the German language entirely, and changed its character and temperament through- out, until it was finally dissolved, because of removals and loss of support, as a part of the Robertsville Charge, which at that time consisted of the Malvern, Robertsville, and Paris church- es. Rev. Dr. J. J. Leberman organized the Robertsville con- gregation, and served Paris, Robertsville, and Osnaburg, in connection with the Louisville church, for many years.
"Rev. J. H. Klahr, residing in or near Navarre, for quite a number of years preached in Mineral City and Waynesburg. In Waynesburg, the Lutheran and Reformed people worshipped in the same church, and during the pastorates of Rev. Klahr, and Rev. Cronenwirth, the latter a narrow and bigoted Luth- eran, a conflict arose concerning the hours of worship. The Lutherans were the aggressors, it seems, by reason of the fact that they periodically, without consulting the Reformed pastor or his consistory, appropriated the Reformed day of service. As a result the ministers met at one of these services and engaged in a hand to hand tussel for supremacy. It was the Reformed hour of worship. Rev. Klahr had already entered the pulpit, an old-fashioned elevated enclosure, and the gate in the chancel-rail was closed behind him. When the Rev. Mr. Cronenwirth approached, he was beaten back and vanquished by a liberal and forcible application of the Bible as a weapon of defense in the hands of the Rev. Mr. Klahr. The excite- ment was intense and the scene a memorable one. The bad odor of the affair continued to cling to the church for a long time. The incident led to the withdrawal of both pastors and the separation of the congregations. The case was taken to court. Attorney C. M. Bousch, of Meadville, Pa., represented the Reformed congregation, and Mr. Peter Sherer furnished the principal part of the money. Mrs. Reinhardt, a leading member, the mother of the late Rev. James Reinhart, was also very helpful. After the Lutherans failed in their effort to oust the remnant of Reformed people in and around Waynes- burg from their rightful interest in the joint property, they
EARLY LIFE AND LABORS OF REV. JOHN B. RUST 127
disposed of their undivided half ownership in the church and grounds and erected a new Lutheran church on the eastern border of the village. Rev. Klahr continued to preach in Min- eral Point for a little while longer. At this juncture Rev. F. Strassner seized the reins of influence in behalf of the charge, as already stated, and planned to secure a pastor to succeed Rev. Klahr. Ever since the incumbency of Rev. J. B. Rust as pastor of the Waynesburg Charge, that field of labor has never been vacant very long at any time. During the six happy and prosperous years that Rev. Rust spent in the charge, he fre- quently visited in the home of Rev. Peter Herbruck in Canton. He stood upon terms of close friendship with all the immediate members of the Herbruck family. When "Father" Herbruck, who had devoted the greater part of his life to his Canton pas- torate, began to feel the infirmity of age, he besought his son, Rev. Dr. Emil P. Herbruck, then in Akron, to assume the direc- tion of Jerusalem's Reformed congregation, and the people without a dissenting voice, seconded the earnest wishes of their aged pastor by twice extending an urgent call to his gifted son in Akron. During one of those visits he urged Rev. J. B. Rust to indicate his willingness to consider an invitation in case he should be unable to respond to his father's desire. But, even after he had expressed his readiness from the pulpit to become his father's assistant, and then his successor, he finally declined the call which had been given him by the congregation. Some time later on, Father Herbruck was overcome with weakness one Sunday morning in the pulpit, and had to be removed to his home. His long and faithful public service thus came to an end, and as a result, Rev. J. B. Rust, pastor of the Waynes- burg charge, was invited to preach a trial sermon. Believing and hoping that Father Herbruck would recover his strength again, he offered to act as his substitute for several Sundays during the aged pastor's illness. An appointment was made, and after the service the consistory gathered around the visit- ing minister, in the church, and earnestly expressed to him their desire that he should become the successor of Father Herbruck. They asked him if he would give favorable con-
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sideration to a call. He answered in the affirmative, on the one condition that he be permitted also to preach in the Eng- lish language in the church. The members of the consistory, among them the lamented Elder Frederic Hipp, at once, with- out hesitation and most enthusiastically, confessed to him the absolute need of both German and English preaching in their church. Nevertheless he returned to Waynesburg with the solemn conviction that that large, conservative German con- gregation would never consent to introduce even the limited use of the English language at that juncture in their history. A few weeks later the call was actually received, and the young minister found himself at the parting of the ways. The call came during a canvass of the Waynesburg charge by Henry Leonard, "The Fisherman," in the interest of Heidelberg Col- lege, and that good brother, for a number of cogent reasons named by him, pleaded with the Waynesburg pastor not to ac- cept the call, but to remain unquestioningly in the quiet, unos- tentatious, more peaceful and less hazardous country parish. "The Fisherman's" advice was listened to with respectful atten- tion and the Canton call accepted. Rev. J. B. Rust moved to Canton by wagon overland in December 1885, and located in rooms in the home of Mrs. Susan Deuble, a widowed sister of Rev. Peter Herbruck, who lived at No. 92 North Market Street. The late Rev. Jacob Dahlmann, D.D., of Akron, Ohio, preached the installation sermon, and Rev. Frederick Strasser, D.D., of Orrville, Ohio, conducted the installation, on Tuesday even- ing, January 19, 1886.
"When Father Herbruck came to Stark County, Canton was a mere village. One day during a visit in the Herbruck home, while he was still pastor of the church, Father Herbruck took Rev. Rust with him in his buggy, to make a series of pas- toral calls in the western part of the city, and pointed out the spot to him, along West Tuscarawas Street, just opposite the Dueber-Hampden buildings, where he, as a stripling of seven- teen years, fresh from Germany, and unable to find employ- ment in Canton, sat down under a tree, homeless and alone, apparently forsaken by everyone, and wept in sorrow and
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hopelessness. A farmer, on his return from the village, found him there, sitting under the tree, took him home, and gave him food and shelter. Not long after this event he became ac- quainted with the Rev. Benjamin Faust, who induced him to enter upon the work of parochial school teaching in Canton, and to prepare himself for the Gospel ministry.
"Rev. Mahnenschmidt and Rev. Sonnendecker occasionally preached for the Reformed people, but Rev. Benjamin Faust was the first Reformed pastor who resided in Canton. The first resident Lutheran minister is said to have been Rev. An- thony Weyer. Rev. Faust became associated with the church in 1818. The Lutheran and Reformed people worshipped in the same church, the old frame building in West Tuscarawas Street, until 1823, and in the new brick church until 1862. Rev. Faust became seriously afflicted with bronchial trouble, and was compelled to retire from the active ministry. He died in 1832 and his body was laid to rest in the God's Acre imme- diately back of the present Reformed church edifice. When Rev. Faust could not longer minister to the congregation, Rev. Peter Herbruck, not yet twenty years old, was instructed to take full charge of the church. For a long time, as necessity demanded, in view of the condition of the period, Lutheran and Reformed pastors served the adherents of both confes- sions interchangeably, in neighborhoods in which it was im- possible at that early day, to gather sufficient support for sep- arate pastoral service. A little later on in the history of the country, union churches were erected conjointly by the Luth- eran and Reformed people in country districts and village cen- ters. Father Herbruck therefore in a number of instances gave catechetical instruction to Lutheran and Reformed chil- dren, and organized his classes accordingly. He used both Luther's smaller catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism, in response to the demands of the time, and the request of the parents. Finally the increase of population, the growth of denominational strength and needs, the language problem and other causes, called in a new era, in which the so-called union church was gradually abandoned, and the distinctively denom-
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inational churches began to be built, to escape all the evils and to avoid all the half-hearted compromises associated with the union church. This occurred also in Canton. In 1860 the Reformed congregation withdrew from the union and erected their own church on the west corner of the block of lots in East Tuscarawas Street, where the two churches still stand. Mr. Conrad Schweitzer, Sr., liberally supported this enterprise. Rev. John Baptist Uhlmann, rector of St. Peter's Roman Cath- olic Church, manifested warm interest in the erection of the Reformed church, and gave valuable suggestions on the subject of church architecture to Rev. Peter Herbruck. Born in Con- stance, Baden, February 19, 1804, and ordained by Archbishop Bernard Boll, September 17, 1828, he came to America from the Diocese of Freiburg to escape the disturbances of the Revo- lution of 1848, and by Bishop Rappe was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Tiffin, Ohio. In May 1856 he was transferred to St. Peter's Church, Canton, Ohio. In June 1864 he was sent to St. Mary's Church, Sandusky, where he remained until July 1865, when he left the Cleveland dio- cese to return to his native land. He died at Bonndorf, Baden, February 18, 1882. Father Uhlmann was a man of deep and varied learning and an eloquent pulpit orator. When he left Canton, he presented Father Herbruck with a complete set of the sermons of the great German Evangelical preacher, Franz Volkmar Reinhard. Father Herbruck often spoke kindly of Father Uhlmann to the writer of this sketch. He revered the memory of the man to the end of his life.
"At an earlier day Father Herbruck periodically held serv- ices at a great many outlying points, ministering to the spiritual needs of the scattered and primitive communities of that day. He preached in Paris, Osnaburg, New Berlin, Bethlehem, Georgetown, Cairo, Uniontown, Carrollton, and other points. Many of his journeys were made on foot. He walked all the way from Canton to Carrollton every four or six weeks, on Saturday, a distance of twenty-four miles, preached on Sunday, and on the following Monday walked back to Canton. The people paid $15 annually toward his support. They were poor,
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