USA > Ohio > Stark County > Canton > History of the First Reformed Church, Canton, Ohio > Part 5
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It was not until 1829 that the first coal-stoves replaced the open fire-places and the homemade contrivances in use. Coal was brought from Pike Township to the south of Canton. Cus- toms and fashions were still very simple and democratic. Cal- ico was the prevailing material for ladies' fine dresses to be worn for calls, parties and religious services ; while home-spun was generally worn about the house. Milliners had not yet invaded the village; their work as well as that of the dress- makers was performed by the women who happened to be handiest with the needle. Walking and horse-back riding was the general mode of conveyance. Women as well as men became expert in handling horses. The people in Canton, as well as in the country congregations were poor, or just emerg- ing from poverty. One-room log cabins constituted the ordin-
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ary farmhouse; a two-room cabin gave indications of increas- ing wealth ; a three-room house was luxury.
Such were some of the village conditions that confronted young Herbruck at the death of his preceptor. Having become inured to hardships, however, these gave him no concern; but the situation in the charge itself was both difficult and discour- aging. Rev. Faust had been favorably known throughout the county and had been exceptionally able as a pastor and preach- er; while Herbruck was a stranger not yet twenty years old. Furthermore his entire education and experience for the work of the ministry had consisted in reading a few theological books under the direction of Rev. Faust for about three months ; supplemented by writing about a half dozen sermons and preaching perhaps a dozen times. He was further handi- capped by being able to speak only the German language, and being unfamiliar with American ways and customs. Besides this, as he confesses in his "Reminiscences," he was exceed- ingly timid and desperately poor. Under the most favorable circumstances he could not hope to be ordained to the ministry before he was of age and that date was still fifteen months off.
The congregations of the charge at once began the search for a new pastor. Until this search should be crowned with success, Mr. Herbruck was invited by the various congrega- tions to continue the regular preaching services and to instruct the youth in the catechism. For the special ministerial acts such as administering the sacraments and confirming the young people, Rev. J. W. Hamm was called upon. Rev. Hamm was pastor of the Manchester charge near Canal Fulton and was not only the nearest neighboring pastor, but also supervised the theological studies which young Herbruck was diligently continuing.
The hardships of that first winter were such that they would have driven him from the work in utter discouragement had he not been so certain of his divine call to the ministry. He gives us a glimpse of some of his experiences in the fol- lowing words :
"I made nearly all my trips on foot, because I was too
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poor to buy a horse. Neither did I possess an overcoat or mantle. During the winter I walked eight, ten, fifteen and even twenty-four miles, on foot, through deep snows. Often I slept under a so-called clapboard roof, and in the morning could easily write my name in the snow on my bed covers. In addition to the Canton congregation, I served for two years two congregations in Carroll County. The one in the town of Carrollton about twenty-four miles from Canton and the other known as the Hursh Church five miles north of Carrollton. I preached every four weeks in each congregation, at the one in the morning, and in the afternoon at the other. Generally I would return home after the close of the afternoon service; reaching Canton at eleven or twelve o'clock and even later, according to the condition of the roads. In another congrega- tion I also preached for nine months. During these nine months, I made the trip ten times, travelling nine miles there and nine miles back. For preaching ten times and traveling 180 miles on foot I received the handsome sum of $1.50, that is fifteen cents a sermon plus a trip of eighteen miles. In my time I preached to twenty-one different congregations, but this one was the stingiest of them all."
During these months the charge was diligently seeking for a permanent pastor. The Uniontown congregation elected Rev. J. W. Hamm and thus separated from the Canton charge to become a part of the Manchester charge. The remaining congregations of the charge decided to extend a call to Rev. David Winters, who was then serving the Dayton charge; or, if he would not accept the call, it was to go to Rev. David Long, then serving the four or five congregations of the Somerset charge in Perry County. As both these men preached accept- ably in both German and English they were eminently fitted for the work of the Canton charge. A request was therefore sent to the Ohio Synod which met in the spring of 1833 to con- firm this action and arrange for the installation of the one or the other of these ministers. In case neither of them would accept the offered call, a further request was sent asking that Peter Herbruck should be licensed and ordained so that he
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might become the pastor of the Canton charge. The consis- tories furnished him with the necessary recommendations and petitions and sent him to the meeting of the Synod of Xenia.
High hopes filled young Herbruck's heart as he prepared to go to Synod. Had he not for a space of six months faith- fully preached the Gospel to the people? Had he not zealously conducted the catechetical classes? Had he not diligently con- tinued his theological studies, and had not the consistories giv- en him splendid testimonials? Possibly it hardly occurred to him that his youth and insufficient preparation might make it necessary for Synod to postpone both his licensure and ordina- tion. Of the journey Mr. Herbruck says :
"A week before the convening of the Synod I started out carrying with me good recommendations and a request from the consistory of the Canton charge. On foot I went to Mas- sillon, from there on a canal boat to Columbus, and then again on foot to Xenia. The road between Columbus and Xenia was so miserable that I could hardly get on; and was obliged to rest at a farmhouse along the road for an entire day. At last I reached the goal of my journey. The Synod was already in session. I presented my documents and a committee was appointed to examine me."
The committee appointed to conduct the examination reported to the Synod that they had examined the candidate in church history and theology, and found that he was not yet ready for licensure. The Synod thereupon appointed a com- mittee of which Rev. J. W. Hamm was chairman which should supervise Mr. Herbruck's further studies, and, if in their opin- ion, the candidate, before the next meeting of Synod was suf- ficiently prepared, the committee was authorized to issue a ministerial license to him.
This action of the Synod was a grievous disappointment to the young candidate for licensure; especially because Rev. Winters declined the call issued to him, and Rev. Long was uncertain whether he would ultimately accept or not. The Synod requested Rev. Long to visit the congregations in and around Canton during the summer as a sort of official supply-
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pastor until the matter was definitely settled. Before this plan could be carried out, the cholera scourge which swept over Ohio that year, claimed him also as a victim less than a month after the meeting of Synod.
Rev. Herbruck believed to the end of his days that the action of the Synod in refusing to license him in 1833 was caused not so much by his youth, or his lack of preparation, as by the determination to withhold the license so that one of the older and experienced pastors might secure the desirable charge.
In describing his experiences at the Synod and afterwards, he says: "Even before the examination I heard remarks here and there to the effect that the young man would not do for the Canton charge, and that someone else must be stationed there. The examination was held. I do not know what the committee reported, as I was not permitted to be present dur- ing the hearing and discussion of the report. After the adop- tion of the report I was called in and informed that the Synod had decided that I should study a while longer under the care of Rev. Hamm, who would examine me again when he thought proper. The entire matter looked somewhat queer to me, but I was unable to alter it. Rev. Hamm not being present, the resolution of the synod was sent to him. I talked the matter over with a minister of the Synod and he quieted me by say- ing: Be perfectly contented. When Rev. Hamm calls the committee together in a few weeks, everything will be all right. I perceived that there was something back of it all, but what it was, I could not tell. At the close of the Synod I started out (per pedes apostolorum) on foot for Columbus. After hav- ing walked some distance one of the brethren of Synod caught up with me riding in a double rig, and also on his way to Columbus. I expected an invitation to ride along with him as far as Columbus. But instead of that he called out, goodbye, and hurried past. Reaching Columbus, I again went aboard a canal boat and rode to Massillon, and from there went on foot to Canton. Hardly had I reached Canton when I was informed by a member of the consistory that a minister, whom
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I had met at the Synod, was coming to preach a trial sermon and become a candidate for the Canton charge. Now I saw clearly why I was still to study for a while under Rev. Hamm. The minister came, preached to several of the congregations of the charge, and demanded that an election should be held. So the congregations voted between him and me with the result that I was elected by a large majority."
Some months later in the fall of 1833, Rev. Hamm called his committee together at Manchester, and the coveted license was granted at last.
It may have been partly from sheer gladness that he was finally in possession of his ministerial license that Mr. Her- bruck decided to get married. For some months before the death of Rev. Faust, he had become a member of the Faust household, giving his time to study and assisting in the work of the parish. After Rev. Faust's death he remained with the Faust family. About a mile or so further east on the George- town road was the farm of Jonathan Holwick. In the Hol- wick home there was a daughter named Sarah, then about six- teen years old. Peter and Sarah soon became interested in one another. Interest quickly ripened into love, and love led to a happy marriage on November 21, 1832. The ceremony was performed by Rev. J. W. Hamm. The groom was three months less than twenty-one years of age, and the bride was just sixteen and one-half. During the first year of their mar- ried life, the young couple made their home with the bride's parents. Over the spring which supplied the household, a lit- tle house had been built. The upper part of this spring-house had a room which had been used for various purposes. This room was now fixed up and became the study where the young preacher worked over his books and sermons, and grappled with vexing pastoral problems. And these came thick and fast.
On the day following the wedding an event occurred which made a profound impression upon the entire community and especially upon the youthful candidate for the ministry. Chris- tian Bechtel, a German, who may possibly have been a member or at least an adherent of one of the congregations served by
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Rev. Herbruck, had come home drunk some months before, and in this senseless condition had killed his wife while she was sleeping. After an attempt to escape he gave himself up, and was condemned to death. Under a deep sense of his duty towards the wretched man, Mr. Herbruck says :
"I often visited him in prison, and admonished him to repentance and conversion, and also prayed with him. His sin was a heavy burden upon his heart, and he fervently besought the Lord for pardon. According to his own testimony, he also received mercy and forgiveness."
The conversion of the criminal and the remarkable con- fession which he drew up stirred the entire county to the very depths. The confession closed with these words, "Standing as I do on the confines of two worlds, I would fain raise my voice in the language of warning and exhortation, to all who may hear the tale of my guilt and its consequences. Let them shun the rock on which I split, avoid the intoxicating cup as you would the enemy of your souls. To that I can safely trace my present condition."
The execution was to take place on November 22, 1833. On the evening before, a minister who had but recently come from Germany visited Mr. Herbruck. "This minister directly denied the divinity of Christ. The next morning we went together to the prison. Seven or eight ministers were gathered there. The condemned man begged us to pray with him again. After the prayer, he himself also began to pray. His prayer was so earnest and fervent, that the bystanders were moved to tears. I noticed that during this prayer, my guest who denied the divinity of Christ, dropped his hat, and repeatedly smote his breast."
At eleven o'clock, the condemned man was led out to exe- cution. Rev. J. P. Mahnenschmidt and Peter Herbruck walked by his side. The gallows had been erected on the com- mons just east of Walnut Street, between Fourth and Sixth Streets, N. E. A multitude estimated to have numbered at least twenty thousand, coming from far and near, had assem- bled. After an English sermon had been preached, Rev. Mah- 4
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nenschmidt preached in German and "closed the service with prayer." During this time, Mr. Herbruck and his guest had stood side by side. The criminal's last words were, "May the blood of Jesus Christ the son of God cleanse me from all sin." This scene quite vanquished the visitor's unbelief. With the tears streaming from his eyes, he exclaimed: "You are right, would to God, I had your faith."
During that winter Mr. Herbruck performed all the usual pastoral duties of the charge. By his discreet conduct and the faithful performance of his work he so won the hearts of the people that when the Ohio Synod met in Canton, May 17-21, 1834, seven of the congregations, namely, Peter's, Zion's, Paris, Bethlehem, Martin's, Carrollton and Hursh* submitted a call to Peter Herbruck, asking that the call might be confirmed and he be ordained and installed as their pastor. The remaining congregations of the charge, that is, Canton, Osnaburg, Warst- lers (or Heinrichs) and Sherman's had been supplied for some time by Rev. John Pence, and having given him a call desired that he might be installed as their pastor. The Synod granted this petition provided that Rev. Pence would accept the call.
During this meeting of the Synod Peter Herbruck, who had now become of age, was finally licensed and ordained to the ministry, and with him also two other candidates, G. H. Zumpf and Geo. Schlosser. The ordination of three candi- dates for the ministry at one service was so extraordinary an event that a congregation that crowded the church had assem- bled (May 21). Rev. T. Winters delivered a short but inter- esting and touching address on the words found in John 21: 16, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep." After the ordination had taken place, "the
* In the statistical report of 1834, Baiden's schoolhouse is also named as a congregation belonging to the Canton charge. At that time however, this was simply an occasional preaching point, the organization of the congregation taking place at a later date. The correct spelling of the name is "Bethunds." The location was four miles north of North Georgetown, in Columbiana County.
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congregation united in a song of praise, while the clerical brethren came forward, and, amidst praise and joy, gave these newly initiated brethren into the ministry the right hand of fel- lowship, and with hearts full of joy, and amidst sighs, tears, and praises of God, offered them pastoral advice and congrat- ulations." The entire service was then closed by a prayer of which a few sentences ought to be preserved here, "Almighty and eternal God,-O, thou great Head and Bishop of thy Church, Jesus Christ, bless what we have done in accordance with thy holiness, that it may redound to thy glory, and the building up of that part of thy Zion which we represent. Give to each one of thy spirit and grace, that we, patiently and faithfully, may do the work of evangelists, and make full proof of our ministry .- Bless them (the newly ordained candidates). and us with the greatest and richest of thy blessings in time, and when our pilgrimage shall end, receive us to thee and the church of the first-born in heaven; for the Redeemer's sake."*
With this service of ordination, the ministry of Rev. Peter Herbruck, which was to extend to more than a half century, really began.
* The report of the ordination service is taken from the Minutes of the Ohio Synod. The quotations in Rev. Herbruck's words are taken verbatim from his "Reminiscences."
CHAPTER IX GETTING SETTLED IN THE CHARGE 1834-1837
O NE of the first acts of the new minister was to hurry to the courthouse and secure his license permitting and empowering him to perform marriage ceremonies. The license issued by the Court of Common Pleas stated, "You are hereby licensed to solemnize marriages within the state of Ohio and so long as you shall continue a regular minister of the German Reformed Church." For this license a fee of one dollar had to be paid.
A second very important matter that had to be attended to was the drawing up of a brief contract between the minister and each congregation. Sometimes this contract consisted simply in a verbal understanding of the obligations resting upon either party ; more often it was drawn up in a dignified legal fashion. The following agreement made between the Osnaburg congregation and its minister will serve as an exam- ple of the manner in which these were worded.
"We, the undersigned, members of the German Evangeli- cal Reformed Church of Osnaburg, Stark County, Ohio, obli- gate ourselves to pay to the Rev'd Peter Herbruck the amount opposite to our name, either in person or through the consis- tory for the year extending from to
"On his part the Rev'd Peter Herbruck obligates himself to preach every - - weeks in German unless prevented by sickness, or other extraordinary occurrences, such as funerals, attendance on Synod, etc., and to baptize the children, confirm the youth, administer the Lord's supper, and look after the spiritual welfare of the congregation."
It will be remembered from the last chapter that the Can- ton, Osnaburg, Warstler, and Sherman's congregations of the
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GETTING SETTLED IN THE CHARGE
Canton charge had extended a call to Rev. John Pence. When he finally declined the call and these congregations were shep- herdless the consistories of Canton, Osnaburg, and Warstlers arranged with Rev. Herbruck to supply their pulpits until defi- nite arrangements were agreed upon. The Sherman's congre- gation, however, chose the Rev. Geo. Schlosser.
During the fall of this year, Rev. Herbruck moved to town into the new home which had been built at the corner of Tusca- rawas and Herbruck Streets, N. E. This house which is now number 1003 Tuscarawas Street, East, stands today as it was originally built with the exception of the kitchen addition in the rear and the one-story addition on the east side. It served as the family home until death called the aged couple home; a period of sixty-three years.
About this time also, Rev. Herbruck secured a horse to carry him to his various pastoral appointments. This part of the story, however, he can tell us in his own words :
"In the fall of 1834, I finally got a horse and also an over- coat. The horse was only three years old, and not properly broken, while I was no rider. On account of my awkwardness in handling the animal the little beast acquired the habit of going backwards, whenever it was frightened. On one occa- sion while going home the young animal became scared and began going backwards. I tried with the whip to drive it for- wards; but the more I whipped it, the faster it went back- wards. A farmer working in the field along the road cried out to me: Say, preacher, turn around and point the rear end of your horse towards Canton, and you will get there faster. Falling off of the horse became so much of a daily habit with me, that when I rode away in the morning and returned in the evening, with only one or two tumbles to my credit, I counted it a lucky day.
"One experience, however, I shall never forget. I had a funeral twelve miles from Canton, and was returning home about eleven or twelve o'clock at night. I had to go through a dense woods through which there was only a very narrow
-
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footpath. It was so dark that I could scarcely distinguish my horse's head. Some animal, probably a cow, was lying in the path, and jumped up suddenly. My horse became frightened and galloped away through the woods with me. I expected nothing else but to be killed. I tried to stop the horse and pulled with all my strength on the reins. Suddenly these broke, and I tumbled head over heels, backwards from the horse. Crawling around on hands and knees, I finally found my saddle bags, and then worked my way out of the woods. At the nearest farmhouse, I awoke the people, and asked for a lantern. The request was freely granted, but as I was about to leave, the farmer said: Hold on, possibly your horse is standing down by my barn. Sure enough, so it was. So we fixed up the bridle, and I reached home without further mis- haps.
"Conditions in my congregations at that time seemed very satisfactory. The number of members was on the increase, and there were but few annoyances from without. But things were not to remain so very long."
In order to clearly set forth the conditions in the congre- gations of the charge and especially to show the independent ยท manner in which the individual congregations frequently acted without consulting the others, a few of the "annoyances" that came must be described.
After Rev. John Pence had refused the call extended to him, the four congregations arranged for themselves for the supply of their pulpits as already described. The Osnaburg congregation divided into two factions. Some of the people wanted Rev. Herbruck, the others invited Rev. Geo. Schlosser to preach for them. The Bethlehem congregation in Navarre and the Sherman's congregations also invited Rev. Schlosser. The question arose: Who is the legal pastor? The matter was referred to the Synod in 1835. The answer of the Synod was in the form of a compromise. Rev. Schlosser was to serve Osnaburg until the end of the year, after which time Rev. Herbruck was to have the congregation. As a compen- sation for giving up Osnaburg, Rev. Schlosser was to keep the
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GETTING SETTLED IN THE CHARGE
Bethlehem and Sherman's congregations. The congregations of the Canton charge at the end of 1835 were Canton, Osna- burg, Zion's, Paris, Martin's, Warstlers (or Heinrichs), Car- rollton and Hursh, with Sherman's wavering between Her- bruck and Schlosser. Besides these congregations already or- ganized there were also several additional preaching places where occasional services were held.
The Synod met in Osnaburg in 1837. In the absence of Rev. Herbruck, who was called away to conduct a funeral service in one of the distant congregations, a petition signed by only eleven members was presented requesting the Synod to declare the Canton congregation vacant because Rev. Her- bruck had never been elected by the congregation, the consis- tory only having chosen him.
The Synod immediately, without waiting until Rev. Her- bruck was present, referred the matter to a committee. The elder from Canton was appointed on this committee. It may be that the ministerial delegates had been more verbose than usual; it may be that the dinner had been too sumptuous; at any rate, the Canton elder was just taking a quiet nap. Sud- denly someone poked him in the ribs and whispered: You are on the committee in the Canton matter. Immediately he jumped to his feet exclaiming, "Mr. President, I can't go to Canton; my horse is a couple of miles from here in a pasture." The president explained that the committee was not to go to Canton, but do its work in Osnaburg. So the elder declared, "Well, then I will serve."
The committee having investigated the matter reported : "We cannot consider Bro. Herbruck as legally called pastor of said congregation because he has received his call from the con- sistory only, and not by a majority of the congregation; but if the congregation chooses to retain him as their minister, or to call any other, let them declare it by a majority of the votes of the whole congregation."
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