USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > Bethlehem > A history of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741-1892, with some account of its founders and their early activity in America > Part 74
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86
The Board of Elders met, April 23, and organized with the Rev. Charles F. Seidel as "Senior Minister," in priority of service, ex officio President, in accordance with the charter, and his colleague since September, 1849, Bishop William Henry Van Vleck, Secretary, until December, when, as was had in view in his call to Bethlehem, he became senior minister and President, Seidel retiring. The Board of Trustees organized, April 29, with Ernst F. Bleck as President and Charles F. Beckel as Secretary. Matthew Krause became the first Treasurer of the Board. The School Board organized, May I, with the Rev. C. F. Seidel, President of the Board of Elders, as President ex officio, Simon Rau as Secretary and Charles D. Bishop as Treasurer.
In May, the Liquidation Committee, appointed to take the prop- erty in hand and complete the sales, divisions and settlements, was
I On the names United Brethren, Brethren's Church, Brethren's Unity and Moravian Church see Chapter II, note I.
2 An amendment to the act, December 2, 1889, by decree of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, increased the number of Trustees to nine, the number of Elders from two to six and the elected members of the School Board from three to six, with the pastors, but no longer the other members of the Board of Elders, members ex officio.
688
A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
formed. It was composed of C. A. Luckenbach, Jacob Rice and W. T. Roepper named respectively by the Trustees of the Congregation, the Proprietor and the Provincial Board. They finished their work and made a final report in May, 1852.
As soon as the Act of Incorporation went into effect in the election of the first officers under the charter, the former financial system known as the Congregation Diacony was brought to an end and the wardenship ceased. The last Warden was the Rev. John C. Brick- enstein. The old Supervising Board, the Aufseher Collegium, also came to an end, its successors being the Borough Council and the Trustees of the Moravian Congregation in the now separate domains of town and church business. The members of that former board had, for some years, been elected in sets for one year and two years annually in December. The final incumbents, with Administrator Goepp as President, Warden Brickenstein ex officio a member and W. T. Roepper as Secretary, were the following : elected, December, 1849; Matthew Brown, Charles Knauss, John Krause, John C. Weber, with James Leibert, Henry B. Luckenbach and John M. Miksch holding over from the previous year; and then their suc- cessors elected, December, 1850, for the remaining term; Charles A. Luckenbach, William Luckenbach and David Weinland. One office that had always existed under varying organization was con- tinued-that of Almoners who subsequently were incorporated as the "Trustees of the Bethlehem Poor Fund," in order to legally hold and administer a small capital which, in the final settlement of affairs, was set apart to serve, in addition to the voluntary charity of the membership, for the relief of the needy. Another that ceased was that of Curator of the Sisters' House and the Widows' House; the diaconies of these establishments having come to an end-that of the Widows' House not until 1848. The names continued to cling to the buildings and they continued to be occupied as before, but with- out organized management and financial system. They became simply dwellings in which each occupant had her own private house- keeping. One of the last who exercised such supervision of affairs as curator was the Rev. William Eberman, who removed to Beth- lehem from Hope, Indiana, in 1841, to assume the office, while at the same time actively engaged in a variety of other duties until he went to Nazareth in 1851, to take charge of the wardenship. The Sisters' House and the Widows' House, together with the Old Chapel and other portions of the old historic mass of buildings, became a part of the portion of the Sustentation Diacony in 1851,
FS192
BETHLEHEM, 1852
FROM THE HILLS, S. W.
FROM THE RIVER
1846-1876. 689
when the settlement of property was completed, and remained in its possession for some years, the Sisters' House even to 1893; the Beth- lehem Congregation having, in the division, made over to that treasury almost half of its estate after the large land-sale of 1847. As regards the Administration at Bethlehem and its remaining property which was now distinctly the property of the Church in Germany, the Rev. Philip H. Goepp continued in charge as Proprietor and Administrator until 1856, when he deeded the estate yet left to the Rev. Eugene A. Frueauff, with W. T. Roepper in charge as cashier until 1869, when the remainder was so disposed of by him that the business could be closed out, and the Administration came to an end.
In this connection, before other matters are turned to, a few notes on the course of things with the Moravian Congregation during the years immediately following its incorporation may be added. Its entire membership at the close of that important year, 1851, num- bered 1007 souls, an increase of 199 since 1845, when the Borough was organized.3
After the incorporation of the Congregation it became necessary to revise its rules and regulations in various particulars. The new rules adopted finally, August 28, 1851, and distributed in print, remained in force unaltered until 1890. The changes in the pastorate were the following: The Rev. C. F. Seidel retiring in December, 1851, Bishop William Henry Van Vleck took his place as Senior Pastor with the Rev. Lewis F. Kampmann as Junior Pastor; his place, until his arrival in May, 1852, being taken by the Rev. H. A. Shultz, a former pastor, then resting. Bishop Van Vleck died sud- denly on January 18, 1853, and the veteran pastor, Seidel, then in retirement, took the position once more for an interval until the arrival of the new pastor, the Rev. Samuel Reinke, who, from 1844
3 The population of the Borough had increased from about 1100 in 1845, to 1500 by exact census at the end of 1850. An interesting count of the population by streets, December 29, 1847, is on record. It is as follows :
Broad Street
334
Water Street, including Old Alley .
74
South Bethlehem (Old South Bethlehem along the canal) 62
Cedar Alley. 29
Main Street, including Boarding School. 436
Market Street 124
New Street 118
Church Street I35
Total. 1312
45
690
A HISTORY OF. BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
to 1847, had served as head pastor under the old organization. This his second term extended only from May, 1853, to November, 1854; Junior Pastor Kampmann remaining until September, 1855. After a temporary supply of the pastorate the Rev. H. A. Shultz and the Rev. David Bigler, who became bishops in 1864, took pastoral charge before the end of 1855, the first as "German preacher" and the second as "English preacher ;" experiments to meet difficulties resulting from the rapid ascendency of English having commenced. The first- named remained pastor until June, 1865, the last-named until October, 1864.
Some changes made in the places of worship may also be noted. From 1816, when the exterior form of the church was greatly altered by running the gable roof out to both ends, no radical changes were made in the building until 1851. In 1824, the clock-works had been taken out of the little bell-turret on the old school building on Church Street and transferred to the church, and in July, 1838, the spire on the belfry was shortened somewhat. In 1833, plans for improving the exterior casings of the windows were adopted and, in accordance with those plans, the present plaster block-work was then put in place. In 1838, improved lighting facilities were introduced in the shape of thirty-eight oil lamps of the most satisfactory pattern to be found. They did duty until the introduction of gas, January 8, 1854. The Congregation Council, on February 6, 1850, adopted plans for a new pulpit and enlarged organ gallery, presented by a com- mittee composed of the Rev. C. F. Seidel; E. F. Bleck, the organist ; Reuben O. Luckenbach and William Luckenbach. The new pulpit was designed by Bishop Van Vleck, who, on September 28, 1851, preached the last sermon in the old one, perched high against the wall, which was then taken down and eventually conveyed to its resting-place in the garret where it may yet be seen. The alterations were finished in less than two months and on November 28, the Bishop preached for the first time in the new one which remained in use until 1867. It is now, as previously stated, doing duty in the South Bethlehem Moravian Church, to which building it was trans- ferred when his son, the present Bishop H. J. Van Vleck, ministered as pastor in that new sanctuary. In June, 1857, the old stone wall which surrounded the church-yard was removed to be replaced by the present iron fence. In the spring of 1860, plans for collecting and properly arranging the library and archives in the up-stairs, east-end room of the church were officially discussed. In accordance with a resolution of the Provincial Synod in 1861, the general archives
691
1846-1876.
of the Church were consolidated with those of the Bethlehem Con- gregation and were given a permanent home in that room, the Trustees of the Congregation defraying all the expenses connected with their preservation and increase up to the present time. In 1867, the most extensive alterations that have thus far taken place were made in the interior of the church. The little corner galleries at the east end were removed, the alcove and present pulpit were con- structed, the stairway at the south-east corner was taken away, the present gallery at the west end was built and the present pews were substituted for the loose benches then yet in use. The walls were frescoed, the present ground glass was put into the windows, heavy gas chandeliers, some of which are now doing service in the West Bethlehem Chapel, were hung and for the first time the floors were carpeted. It was re-opened with elaborate services on June 30, 1867, when the anniversary of the Congregation was celebrated. The inter- ior of the church remained in the shape into which it was then put until 1888, when another renovation of the frescoing and painting took place. The replacing of the original organ by the present one in 1873, has been referred to in a previous chapter. The present bell was hung in the steeple, October 23, 1868. The old one is now in use in the steeple of the West Bethlehem Chapel. The fiftieth anni- versary of the consecration of the church was specially celebrated on June 22, 1856. The Rev. C. F. Seidel, who participated, referred to his having preached in it directly after his arrival in America, six months after its consecration. The venerable Bishop Andrew Benade, who preached the first English sermon in the church on the day of its consecration, was yet living at this time, but was too feeble to attend the services. At the beginning of 1856, the Old Chapel, in which, during that year, some interior alterations were made, again became a regular place of worship. The organ at present in use in that chapel was built in 1859, and used the first time on June 28, of that year. Early in 1865, the interior of the building was entirely reconstructed, the present north facade was built, and its re-opening for worship took place, April 2, of that year. It remained unaltered until 1897. These notes complete all reference to these buildings that needs to be made.
Yet another prominent enterprise of the Moravian Congregation that lies within the period of this chapter and has given to Bethlehem one of its notable features, was the opening of the Nisky Hill Cem- etery. The first section of that tract, so finely located and well adapted for the purpose, was staked off to be reserved as a cemetery
692
A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
in August, 1849. The plan from the beginning was to use a portion of it for interments in the manner followed in the old cemetery, and to lay out the rest to be sold in lots in the customary way. With the exception of that part of Nisky Hill which was sold to the Lutheran and Reformed Congregations as a Union Cemetery in 1850, with an addition in 1860-the first interment in which was made July 7, 1851-no actual use of any ground was made there in pursuance of this project until more than a decade later, when the rapid filling up of the old cemetery and the expressed desire of many residents for a general cemetery led to the execution of the plan. The first inter- ment was made on May 1, 1864, and the first adult member of the Moravian Church there laid to rest was the Treasurer of the Congre- gation, Matthew Krause, November 20, 1865; the man who was the original projector of the enterprise, its chief advocate and most energetic promoter. Many years of careful effort, with progressing improvements and repeated extensions made by the Trustees of the Congregation, have resulted in one of the most attractive cemeteries in the Lehigh Valley. Both the natural agreeableness of the locality and the care bestowed upon every part of it, soften to a degree not common in places of burial, the marks of contrast between the rich and the poor there met together ; a contrast which is entirely invisible in the historic old cemetery of Bethlehem, where row had been added to row of green mounds, all alike, for it was a "God's Acre," nearly a full century and a quarter before the new one was opened.
The period during which the complete re-organization of the Mora- vian Congregation was in progress constituted an ecclesiastical epoch in Bethlehem also in the fact that the beginnings of other denomin- ational religious work in the town lie in those years. These begin- nings can suitably be introduced at this point. It was natural that the variegated accretions of population added to the original Church of the town a variety of denominational types in a few years. Before the time to which this chapter runs had been reached, congregations representing nearly all of these variations had been organized in Bethlehem. It was also natural, in view of traditional associations and the principal denominational surroundings, that the Lutheran and Reformed Churches should be the first to organize among the new residents of Bethlehem; and that the first church built in the place that was not a Moravian church should be one of the union churches of these two bodies, which had become so numerous about the country. Therefore the first modern church edifice in Bethlehem was Salem Church on High Street, which was built by these two
1846-1876. 693
denominations, was used by them jointly until 1869, and stood until the present structure, on its site, took its place in 1886. The Rev. Joshua Jaeger introduced stated Lutheran preaching at Bethlehem in October, 1849, in the "Armory," now the Market House, on Broad Street. On December 9, he preached in the Moravian church, on invitation of its clergy. The Lutheran pastor, Wenzel, of Heck- town, also officiated in the Armory on December 2. Services by pastors of Reformed churches of the neighborhood began on Decem- ber 23, 1849, when the Rev. J. C. Becker, D. D., officiated in the Armory. On January 13, 1850, the Rev. J. S. Dubbs, D. D., preached in the Moravian church. On December 26, 1849, the Rev. J. W. Richards, D. D., Lutheran, the Rev. Dr. Becker, Reformed, in con- sultation with the Rev. H. A. Shultz, of the Moravian Church, drafted a constitution for the proposed "Union Church," which contained a clause giving Moravian ministers also the privilege of preaching in it. Sundry members of the several denominations living in Beth- lehem were present on that occasion. They met in the Moravian school-house on Cedar Street. That constitution was adopted, August 24, 1850. Previously, on November 6, 1849, two building lots had been granted on ground-rent to the appointed applicants, John Berger and John K. Dech, together with Josiah George, who had joined the Moravian Church. The purchase of the site was made by Joseph Hess and John Nace, Trustees, on June 18, 1850, for $133.34, and an annual ground rent of $8, which latter was remitted in 1853. The corner-stone of the church was laid on Sunday, September 1, 1850. The forenoon service in the Moravian church was held earlier than usual to enable all to attend the cere- mony who wished to do so, for it was a notable event. There were services in the forenoon and in the afternoon, the former seriously interfered with by rain but the latter attended by a great throng of people. Of Lutheran ministers, Pastors Jaeger, Richards and Stern ; of Reformed ministers, Pastor Becker and Candidate Santee; of Moravian ministers, Bishop Jacobson and the Rev. Messrs. Goepp, Shultz and Seidel participated in the services, and the Moravian church choir rendered an anthem and led the congregational singing. In the stone were deposited, besides the customary kind of a docu- ment, a Bible, the constitution and hymnal of the Union Church, the symbolical books of the two denominations and, at the suggestion of the Lutheran and Reformed ministers, a Moravian hymnal and catechism. That occasion which marked the beginning of denom- inational diversity at Bethlehem, was indicative of the position taken
-
694
A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
by the best spirit of Protestantism in the matter of relations; that of concord without interference with distinctive standards. It was a reminder of historic efforts to realize this position as far back as the Consensus of Sendomir, in 1570. That corner-stone of Salem Church was a witness to something which deserves to be remem- bered.
Easter Day, April 20, 1851, was settled upon by the church officers for the consecration of the church. The pastors of the neighborhood could not absent themselves from their churches on that day and therefore, by special arrangement, the dedicatory services were taken charge of by the Moravian ministers Seidel and Shultz. At the afternoon service Pastor Becker and Candidate Santee were present and the Lutheran clergy were represented by the Rev. S. K. Brobst, D. D., of Allentown. The musicians of the Moravian Church again rendered service. The festivities were continued on Easter Monday, when, besides the ministers just named, the Rev. Dr. Dubbs and Bishop Van Vleck participated. The first Lutheran pastor in Bethlehem was the late Rev. C. F. Welden, D. D., who preached his introductory sermon on November 16, 1851. He served in this pastorate until 1865, when he was succeeded by the Rev. J. B. Rath. The first Reformed pastor was the Rev. J. C. Becker, D. D., who preached his introductory sermon on July 20, 1851, and his final sermòn, October 21, 1855. His successor, after an interval of tem- porary supply, was the Rev. D. Y. Heisler and he was followed by the late Rev. I. K. Loos, D. D., who began his labors in December, 1866, and with pastor Rath, was serving in 1868, when the two congregations decided to separate, the Lutherans acquiring sole possession of the church by purchase. Then the Reformed congre- gation erected Christ Church on Center Street. The corner-stone was laid, on June 6, 1869. The basement was opened for worship, January 15, 1870, and the edifice was consecrated, December 22, 1872. Dr. Loos remained pastor until 1888, when, with a colony of the membership, he organized St. Paul's Church on December 4. Their place of worship at the corner of High and North Streets was com- menced in December, 1889, the corner-stone being laid on the 15th of that month. The church was consecrated, February 15, 1891.
A further important evolution from Salem Church was the for- mation, in 1872-when the Lutheran congregation had quite out- grown the capacity of the church-of a separate English congre- gation, and the erection, on Broad Street, of the second Lutheran church in Bethlehem, which was given the name Grace Church.
WILLIAM CORNELIUS REICHEL CHRISTIAN FREDERICK WELDEN AMBROSE RONDTHALER
ISAAC KALBACH LOOS
MICHAEL ANDREW DAY
695
1846-1876.
Preparatory work for the foundations of this new house of worship was commenced in July, 1872, the corner-stone was laid on August 25, the organization of the congregation took place on the anniver- sary of the Reformation, October 31, the basement of the edifice was dedicated January 5, 1873, remaining the place of worship until the final completion of the main body of the church and its conse- cration on January 4, 1874. The Rev. J. B. Rath cast in his lot with this new congregation and remained its pastor until his death in 1885; being succeeded in the pastorate of Salem Church by the late Rev. F. W. Weiskotten. These two Lutheran congregations and the Reformed congregation, which emanated from that beginning of 1851, have become, next to the Moravian congregation, the strongest in Bethlehem.
At the same period in which services were commenced in Beth- lehem by Lutheran and Reformed pastors, a quite different type of church activity appeared, which also represented historic relations to the Moravian Church, recalling the association of John Wesley and Peter Boehler more than a century before, as well as the sojourn in Bethlehem in the days of the Revolution, of the English soldier- preacher, Captain Webb, who went into the pulpit in military uniform instead of ecclesiastical vestments-the first Wesleyan organizer in America of a great host of aggressive gospel champions. It was in 1848, when occasional prayer-meetings were first held at a private house in Bethlehem by preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, serving the Allentown and Quakertown circuits; up to 1853, the Rev. Joshua H. Turner, the Rev. David R. Thomas, the Rev. M. A. Day and the Rev. W. H. Brisbane. Mr. Thomas commenced stated preaching in 1849, in the Odd Fellows' Hall4 in the building on New Street long occupied in subsequent years by George Wahl and now known as "The Brighton."
The first of these men who preached in the Moravian church was the Rev. W. H. Brisbane, on March 7, 1852, but several of them occasionally delivered addresses at temperance meetings in the Old Chapel-then yet called the concert-hall-and on these occasions
4 The first in Bethlehem of the so-called secret societies-an unfortunate term indiscrimi- nately applied to widely diverse organizations, from Anarchists to the most commendable beneficial orders-were the Independent Order of Odd Fellows who, on November 24, 1842, instituted Keystone Lodge, No. 78. They encountered ecclesiastical objection at first, not because of anything known to the discredit of the order but because of objection, on general principles, to " secret societies." The aforesaid hall on New Street was dedicated by the Lodge, November 7, 1846.
696
A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
they and the Moravian pastors of that time, who supported the much needed efforts of the temperance organization,5 were brought into association together as early as 1849.
The Rev. Samuel Irwin, who began to preach in Bethlehem in 1853, brought about the establishment of a congregation of the Methodist Church, and the erection of a place of worship on Center Street. The corner-stone was laid on July 13, 1854. The church was dedicated, January 7, 1855, and received the name Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. The first public collection towards building the second church which now occupies the site was taken in the Moravian church, when Bishop Simpson preached there on March 12, 1865. The corner-stone was laid, September II, 1869, and in November, the building was under roof. The basement story was formally opened for Divine service, January 30, 1870. The upper story was finally completed and consecrated, July 11, 1875.
About three years after the incorporation of the Borough, min- isters of the Evangelical Association also found a nucleus among German-speaking people who desired their services, and a regular preaching-place was established at Bethlehem in 1848, by the Con- ference of that denomination within the territory of which the place lay. Their principal preacher of that time who visited Bethlehem was the Rev. J. Kramer. He also was invited to preach in the Moravian church. Their services were held for some time in Odd Fellows' Hall, alternating with those of the Methodist ministers. On November 17, 1853-the Rev. F. Krecker filled the Bethlehem appointment that year-a Board of Trustees was elected and incor- poration was secured later under the title of "The St. John's Church of the Evangelical Association." They laid the corner-stone of their first church at the corner of New and North Streets on June 5. 1854. Its dedication took place at Christmas of that year. Bishop Jacobson, of the Moravian Church, preached one of the sermons. The church which now stands near that site was built in 1880, being consecrated December 19 of that year. From the work there
5 Penn Division of the Sons of Temperance was organized at Bethlehem in 1843 and se- cured official permission to have temperance meetings in the Old Chapel. As early as March, 1845, the records refer to negotiations on their part for a lot on Broad Street for a hall. Some years later Temperance Hall is often alluded to. "Penn Section No. 3, Cadets of Temperence" was organized among the boys about 1863. While objection was expressed by some both clergy and laity, to the intemperate and unreasonable utterances of some extremists, the beneficial results of this movement at that period in many quarters were recognized by right-minded people at Bethlehem.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.