USA > Pennsylvania > Perry County > Churches between the mountains : a history of the Lutheran congregations in Perry County, Pennsylvania > Part 7
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In May, 1862, Mr. Sam. Dunkelberger, as delegate of the charge, attended Synod at Selinsgrove, Pa.
At different times since its organization the following persons have served as officers of the Lutheran congregation worshipping at Ludolph's Church :
Elders.
David Stambaugh, . from 1841 to 1853.
George Beistlein,
.
1841 to 1856.
John Loy,
1853 to 1860.
Danicl Wetzel,
1856 to 1860.
Henry Fleisher,
66
1856 to 1860.
Benjamin Rice,
1860 yet in office.
John Beistlein,
1860 66
Dr. Lewis Ellerman, .
66 1860
8*
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
Deacons.
John Shearer, Jr., . ·
from 1841 to 1853.
Daniel Rüpsomen, .
.
1841 to 1854.
John Burrel, .
.
1853 to 1856.
William Hassinger,
.
1854 to 1860.
Martin Stambaugh,
1858 to 1860.
John Rice,
1856 yet in office.
John Cless,
.
1860
James G. Messimer,
·
1860
Trustees.
John Shearer, Sen., ·
from 1841 to 1851.
Abraham Kistler, . ·
1851 to 1858.
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
BLOOMFIELD CHARGE.
THE Bloomfield charge formed originally a part of the Loysville pastorate. In 1844, when the English Lutheran congregation was organized at Bloomfield, it may be said the charge was first formed, though for some years after that Rev. Heim continued to preach for the German portion of the congregation at Bloomfield, and for some years various changes were made in the charge, as will appear more fully as we proceed in our narrative.
SECTION I.
CHRIST'S CHURCH AT BLOOMFIELD .*
After the Indian wars had closed and the Revolution had suc- cessfully ended, the settlers in this valley located permanently, and, from all we can learn, the Lutheran portion of the popula- tion was the first to enjoy the stated preaching of the Gospel. Of the original founders of the Lutheran congregation at Bloom- field, t we can give the names of only a few. The Comp family
* This is a discourse delivered by the writer, on the 4th of October, 1857, based on Ps. 143 : 5, "I remember the days of old." On that day, and for the last time, divine worship was celebrated in Christ's old Union Log Church. The discourse was prepared specially for the occasion, and hence the direct- ness of address and appeal. As a memento of the solemn occasion of leaving that old church edifice, by request, the discourse is given entire and un- changed.
+ Perry County was organized in 1820, and until 1825 the County Courts were held at Landisburg. In 1825 the site now occupied by Bloomfield was a clover-field, and selected as the location of the county town.
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
and Shover settled in this vicinity in about 1780; the Cless family in 1785; the Clark, Fritz, and Meyer families in about 1790; the Westfall family in 1791, and the Slouch in 1795; the Smith, Crist, and Sweger families in 1800, and the Roth family in 1803. Besides these, a number of others had settled in this part of the valley at the close of the last century, but the exact time of their arrival we cannot learn. These families were scattered over an extended territory, and at that time the population was com- paratively sparse. When visited by a minister of their Church, they came together the distance of six, eight, and even twelve miles, through dark, pathless forests, over hills and streams, to hear the glad tidings of peace and salvation by faith through Jesus Christ. Private dwellings, barns, school-houses, and the shaded woods served them as places for divine worship. It is highly probable that they were occasionally visited, from 1780 to 1788, by the Rev. John G. Butler of Carlisle. Immediately after this, the
Rev. John T. Kühl
commenced visiting and preaching for the Lutherans in Sherman's Valley, and in 1790 located near Loysville. From 1788 to 1795 he preached also for the scattered members of the Church in the vicinity of Bloomfield. Of his success here, and of the condition of the congregation at that time, we have no authentic informa- tion. Some time in 1795 or'96, Rev. Kühl left Sherman's Valley ; but where he located after he resigned here, we have no means of knowing. Soon after this, the members in Sherman's Valley secured the spiritual labors of the
Rev. John Herbst,
who located at Carlisle, Pa., in 1796, and took charge of the Lutheran congregation at Loysville, and preached also occasionally for the members here. We have been informed that he administered the sacraments among the members of the congregation, and it is probable that the congregation was regularly organized by him some time between 1797 and 1800. As the members were favored
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CHAPTER II.
with occasional preaching, they naturally felt the want of a suit- able house of worship, and such a house they now resolved to build.
·
THE OLD UNION LOG CHURCH.
This church was built jointly by the Lutherans and German Reformed on one acre and a half of land, which they bought of Jacob Lupfer for twelve dollars. This land was located by Mr. Lupfer in 1787 by order from the Land Office, surveyed for church purposes in 1802, and conveyed by deed to the two denomina- tions on the 14th of May, 1804, and is now embraced in the borough of Bloomfield. Those of the members who were able to do so, furnished, each, one round or more of logs. These logs were fine white pine, oak, and some poplar. After all the required timber had been brought together, the church edifice was raised on Saturday, the 19th of June, 1798. The building was thirty- six feet long by thirty feet wide. In erecting the edifice, heavy cross-beams were inserted for a gallery, which was however not constructed till about twenty-two years after. Soon after the building had been raised, Mr. Andrew Shuman covered it with a substantial roof; but, as we are informed, nothing more was done towards its completion till 1802. Thus for four years the edifice stood without doors, windows or floor. There was then no stove in the church (as it was called), and preaching only in summer. The congregation sat on slabs laid on blocks sawed from logs, and the minister, when preaching, stood behind a little, rough, wooden table. The earth served as floor, and the roof as the only cover- ing over head, whilst the naked walls, without doors and windows, surrounded the attentive congregation. In winter, the minister preached in private dwellings in the vicinity. At that time, during the cold seasons of the year, there was preaching here but seldom. The pastor resided at Carlisle, about eighteen miles off, and the roads in the depth of winter must have been almost im- passable across the North Mountain and through the dreary forests of Sherman's Valley.
In 1801, Rev. Herbst resigned at Carlisle, and consequently
.
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
ceased to visit the members here. In 1802, a floor was laid in the church, doors were put up, and windows round below; the spaces for windows round above were closed with boards; the seats remained as before, except that they were now raised on the floor, and the minister, as before, stood behind a small table when he preached. It is probable that about this time, or within a few years after, a stove was secured for the church.
As the draft of the church-land, made in 1802, clearly shows, the ground on which the church was located and the lands all around it were at that time well timbered with large forest trees. About one acre and a half, lying northwest of the church, had been cleared a long time before, but was now densly covered with young pine bushes and sumac, and part of it was afterwards in- cluded in the graveyard. A large pine tree stood in front of the church, facing what is now High Street. Near where the brick school-house now stands was a pond of water, in which at that time an abundance of frogs sported, and all the low ground from the pond down to Big Spring was overgrown with underbrush and greenbrier. The church was located on an eligible site. The place is considerably elevated on a dry gravel bank, which slopes away towards the north and rising sun ; northwest of it Limestone Ridge rises gradually in bold relief, and, on the southeast, it. overlooks Bloomfield and a small but beautiful valley, when, at a distance of about one mile and a half, the view is bounded by the gracefully rising Mahanoy Ridge. A short distance west of the church the road forked,-one road passed in front of the church and led to Carlisle; the other passed back of the church, over ground now embraced in the graveyard, and led to Juniata River at Newport. At the time when the church was erected, all the lands around it, and nearly all that are now embraced in the borough of Bloomfield, were covered by a dense forest of large timber and underwood. There was then not a house nearer than the old building on Mr. David Lupfer's farm and the dwelling of the late Mr. Barnett, each of them nearly a mile off. The church stood lonely in the woods to tell that God was worshipped there.
The graveyard was commenced soon after the erection of the
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CHAPTER IT.
church. Peter Moses was the first person buried here, and a Mr. Cless the second. The graveyard, back of the church, leans against Limestone Ridge, and from a gradual ascent looks down towards the southeast. The dead were buried here many years before their graves were inclosed by a fence. The graveyard is now quite large, and the many white marble slabs, dotting it all over, tell the sad story of man's mortality.
Of those who helped to build this house of worship, not one is left to tell us its early history in detail. They have all passed away with the rush of time, and many of them now repose here in "God's acre." And soon, too, this building, which our fore- fathers erected, in which they worshipped the God of their fathers in prayer and sweet hymns of praise, will be levelled with the ground, and all the hallowed recollections associated with it will perish from the memory of man. When the dark and unbroken forest shaded all around, our gray fathers met on this sacred spot, marked out a space in the fork of the road, and with holy reverence con- cluded to build a temple to the honor and glory of God. They did build such a temple. And here they listened with sweet delight to the story of the Cross, sang Zion's hymns, and their orisons paid. And here, hard by the temple of their God and of our God, many of them laid their bodies down in peace to rest till the resurrection day. No bell tolled their funeral dirge, and many have no stone set up to mark their resting-place. A forest of tall trees in the winds sighed plaintively over their graves and mantled the upturned earth with yellow leaves. How solemn the retrospect ! How all has changed ! and after us changes will still go on. It is well for us to "remember the days of old," and learn to live for another and better world.
"O may our feet pursue the way Our pious fathers led ; While love and holy zeal obey The counsels of the dead."
After Rev. Herbst ceased to preach in Sherman's Valley, the congregation at Bloomfield did not, for some time, enjoy regularly
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CHURCHIES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
the blessing of the preached word. We are informed, however, that the
Rev. Frederick Sanno,
who preached regularly at Loysville, preached also occasionally to the members here, and administered the sacraments among them. We have also been told by an aged member of the Lutheran Church, that the
Rev. Henry Ludolph Spark,
who taught school in Spring Township and donated the land on which Ludolph Church is erected, lectured or preached, from 1802 to 1806, for the members in this vicinity and baptized their children, though it does not appear that he officiated in the church. Mr. Spark was not a regular minister ; but as the members had no regularly ordained pastor, he, as a pious school-master, some- times preached and performed ministerial functions. Such was the state of things at that time. From 1806 to 1808, the
Rev. Frederick Oberhauser,*
who preached in Saville Township, in the neighborhood of Ickes- burg, and also of Blain, occasionally visited the members here and preached for them in their houses. The congregation did
* Mr. Oberhauser was from Holland, and is said to have been a man of considerable erudition. For a number of years he preached at different places in Saville and Toboyne Townships, and, in 1815, he confirmed a class of cate- chumens in the house now occupied by Mr. Andrew Shuman, near St. An- drew's or Shuman's Church. He also practised medicine. In Ilolland he may have been a regular minister, and for some time he preached in North- ampton County, Pa. ; but when he preached in Sherman's Valley, he did not stand in connection with any Synod. We have met with the following notice of his death : " Died, on Thursday last (the 12th of April, 1821), in Toboyne Township, Perry County, in the 75th year of his age, Dr. Frederick Ober- hauser. His remains were attended to the grave (at Blain?) by a large con- course of people."-The Perry Forester. After his death his large library was sold. Nearly all the books were in the Dutch language. Father Heim bought a large number of them, and some forty volumes of them are now in the writer's library.
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CHAPTER II.
not enjoy the regular services of a recognized pastor till 1809, when the
Rev. John Frederick Osterloh
took charge of nearly all the Lutheran congregations in Sherman's Valley. He preached here once every four weeks in the German language. It is said, that whilst he was pastor here, and for some time after, the congregation had in one corner of the church a barrel full of oats, and a trough fixed in the fork of a trce near the church, where the horse fed whilst the parson preached. At that time the people consulted convenience rather than taste, and adapted themselves to the circumstances by which they were surrounded. At present some people think it too hard to go a few miles to hear the Gospel preached. Then it was not so. Then people went over hills and passed streams, not on smooth and level roads, but by by-paths and without paths, not on horse- back and in carriages but on foot, from six to ten miles, without uttering a word of complaint. Then, as we are told, in summer they generally carried their shoes till within sight of the church, when they put them on instead of taking them off, as Moses was commanded to do, because the ground was holy. And then, during the warm season of the year, the men went to church without coat, having on a home-spun white linen shirt and jacket thrown over it, and the women had on a sun-bonnet as a covering for their heads, and garments spun, wove, and made by their own hands. Thus, in their dress they were plain, in their intercourse with each other unaffected, and in their worship without hypo- erisy, simple and devout.
The congregation was organized by Rev. Osterloh on a better and firmer basis than that on which it stood before. Mr. George Cless was elected to the office of Elder, and Mr. Mathias Meyer to that of Deacon. These fathers remained in office for many years. The congregation, now enjoying the stated ministry of a pastor, gathered strength and advanced prosperously. The scat- tered members were drawn together from great distances, and were glad to hear the word of God and engage in the solemn ex-
9
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
ercises of the sanctuary. The youth, who had grown up without church connection, were brought under the benign influence of the Gospel, and instructed by the pastor in the doctrines of our holy religion. Accessions were made to the membership of the congregation, and the hearts of those who mourned over the deso- lations of Zion and longed for, the bread and water of life, were made to rejoice in God their Savior.
As no church-record was kept by this congregation till 1855, we are wholly dependent on the memory of our informants for the names of persons who were confirmed here from time to time; nor is the time of confirmation and the number confirmed always certain. Under these circumstances, we are unable to give the names of more than about two-thirds of those who were admitted to full membership here.
As the church edifice was unfit for occupancy in winter, Rev. Osterloh met and catechized the youth in private dwellings. In the spring of 1810, the following persons-the first, so far as we can learn, that were ever confirmed here-were admitted to full communion :
Jacob Clouser,
Miss Mary Yeager,
Conrad Roth,
" Susan Roth,
Henry Roth,
" Sophia Shover,
Henry Lenig,
" Susan Richter,
John Cless,
" Catharine Westfall,
John Meyer,
" Margaret Westfall,
George Sunday,
Magdalene Smith,
George Yeager,
" Elizabeth Roth,
Andrew Shover,
" Elizabeth Slouch,
Martin Smith,
" Sarah Cless,
Miss Catharine Smith,
" Elizabeth Cless,
" Mary Ann Crist,
" Catharine Cless.
With but two or three exceptions, all the above persons have already gone to the eternal world. They have run their race, and now reap the fruit of their deeds while on earth. In 1811, another
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CHAPTER II.
class of catechumens was confirmed. Of this class the following are the only names we could learn :
Matthias Grove (baptized), Miss Mary Miller, " Catharine Burd.
Benjamin Smith, Miss Elizabeth Meyer,
We have not been able to find that any others were confirmed until 1814, when the following persons, and a number of others whose names are not recollected, were admitted to full communion :
Jacob Burd,
Jacob Lenig,
Mrs. Catharine Meyer,
" _ Doren,
Miss Catharine Meyer,
" Susan Meyer,
" Maria Smith,
" Elizabeth Smith.
This was the last class of catechumens Rev. Osterloh confirmed here. As he neglected the congregation somewhat, the members became dissatisfied with him, and petitioned Synod to permit them, in connection with other congregations, to give Rev. Heim a call. Synod granted this petition. Rev. Osterloh resigned, and in June, 1816, according to a resolution of Synod, the
Rev. John William Heim
became the regular pastor of this congregation, which, in connec- tion with the other Lutheran congregations in Sherman's Valley, he served till his death on the 27th of December, 1849. He was a faithful, laborious, and successful minister of the Gospel of Christ. Here he preached once every four weeks, exclusively in the German language. The heading of a subscription in our hands, for the year 1818, shows that the members were willing to support him. It reads thus: " May 3d, 1818. We subscribe our names towards having Mr. Heim preach in the church in Juniata Township, Cumberland County, at Christ's Church. He is to preach every four weeks." Forty-two dollars and ninety-four cents were subscribed. As the congregation was yet compara- tively small, and the members generally poor and scattered over a large extent of territory, we are agreeably surprised that they con-
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
tributed so liberally towards the support of the Gospel. Having instructed a class of catechumens faithfully, some time in 1818, Rev. Heim confirmed the following persons, with some others, whose names cannot now be recollected :
Daniel Swartz,
Miss Rebecca Meyer,
Jacob Swartz,
Margaret Meyer,
John Smith,
" Eve Lesch,
Daniel Cless,
" Catharine Clark,
John Lenig,
" Martha Smith,
Philip Gensler,
" Catharine Smith,
Adam Cless,
" Eve Smith,
Mrs. Julia Shatto,
" Catharine Smith,
" Susan Foose,
" Catharine Lenig,
" Esther Doren (baptized),
" Catharine Miller.
Miss Sophia Meyer,
The members of the congregation were much encouraged by the pastoral labors of Rev. Heim, and great success crowned his unwearied efforts to save immortal souls.
Perry County, which had been a part of Cumberland, was organized by an act of Legislature, passed May 22d, 1820. The courts were held at Landisburg till 1825. Bloomfield, so called , from the name given to the tract in the patent, is of recent origin, its site having been a clover-field no longer ago than 1825. In that year it was selected as the site for the county town.
After the church had stood about twenty-two years, it was com- pleted on the 19th of June, 1820. Seats were now constructed, and a pulpit, wine-glass shaped, and supported by a high post, was built against the northwest wall; a round, isolated altar was placed in front of the pulpit; windows were inserted round above; the roof inside received an arched board ceiling; the gallery, on three sides of the house, was erected and ceiled with boards below, and was supported by thick posts under strong cross-beams. All the wood-work was painted white, and the other part of the inside of the church received a coat of plaster. Mr. Michael Clouser superintended the carpenter work. After the church had in this
CHAPTER II.
101
way been completed, it was consecrated some time in July, 1820, and received the distinctive name, Christ's Church. The minis- ters present at the consecration, were Rev. J. W. Heim of the Lutheran Church, Rev. Jacob Shull of the German Reformed Church, and Rev. Joseph Brady of the Presbyterian Church. Several sermons were preached in the German language, and Rev. Brady preached a sermon in the English language. The concourse of people, assembled on this joyful occasion, is said to have been very great.
As Rev. Heim resided near Mifflintown, Juniata County, about thirty miles off, till the spring of 1828, he catechized here once every three or four years. We have not been able to learn that any were confirmed at Bloomfield between 1818 and '25, though it is probable that one class at least was during that time admitted to full communion. During the summer of 1825, Rev. Heim met and instructed a class here, and in the fall of the same year between thirty-five and forty were confirmed, of whom the follow- ing persons were the most :
Michael Clark,
Miss Elizabeth Crist,
Samuel Comp,
Catharine Swartz,
John Anders,
" Margaret Smith,
George Anders,
" Sarah Smith,
John Shuman,
" Lydia Smith,
William Delancy,
" Elizabeth Shuman,
Henry L. Smith,
Mary Ann Lenig,
Henry Swartz,
" Barbara Clark,
Jacob Clouser,
" Catharine Lyons,
Jacob Roth,
" Elizabeth Attig,
Daniel Pickard,
Mary Fusselman,
Jonas Lesch,
Rebecca Eisenhauer,
Samuel Beistlein,
Catharine Beistlein,
Mrs. Hannah Heckendorn,
Rebecca Bausum,
" Elizabeth Shuman,
Rebecca Otto,
" Elizabeth Lyons,
Elizabeth Leppert,
Miss Elizabeth Miller,
Hannah Gressley.
9*
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
Some of the above persons are at present among our most useful aged members of the church; but many of them have passed away into the eternal world. Rev. Heim labored in season and out of season, and, having so many and remote congregations to serve, he could not catechize at each preaching-place as often as we now do. But when he did lecture on the Catechism, the young people came the distance of six to ten miles. It was then deemed not only a duty, but a most delightful and glorious privi- lege, to attend a course of lectures on the fundamental doctrines of our holy religion. So religious instruction ought to be yet re- garded, and so it is yet regarded by all who have correct views of the design and advantage of such a course of lectures. Early and thorough instruction, imparted in the spirit of the Master, in the truths of our religion, cannot be over estimated. Ignorance in regard to the doctrines of Christianity is not only the mother of vice, but also very often of infidelity ; and the neglect of indoc- trinating the youthful mind invariably results in a sickly, fitful, and erratic sort of religion, if religion it may be called. Re- ligion is a subject for both head and heart. We must think aright before we will feel aright; we must know aright before we can act aright; we must have our heads set aright by the word of truth before our hearts can be set aright by the spirit of truth. Catechization, like preaching, may be abused by men without grace; but catechization, like preaching, under God's blessing, is the means of good to souls-good that could not be accomplished by any other means ; and generally, if attended to in the right way, such seasons of instruction result in the awakening and con- version of souls-in a revival of genuine religion.
In the spring of 1828, Rev. Heim moved to Loysville, and after that usually catechized here once every three years. Having in- structed a class, in June, 1830, he confirmed the following persons, and a number of others whose names cannot now be re- membered :
John Miller, John Ludman,
Miss Margaret Burrel,
" Elizabeth Powell,
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CHAPTER II.
Henry D. Smith,
Miss Lydia Powel,
John K. Smith,
" Martha Powel,
William Smith,
" Elizabeth Smith,
Andrew Comp,
" Catharine Smith,
Jacob Shearer,
" Sarah Meyer,
Mrs. Margaret Smith,
Catharine Reisdorff,
Miss Elizabeth Smith,
Sweger,
" Catharine Smith,
66
- Sweger.
Catharine Frey,
May those of this class, still in the church militant, be prepared to join the church triumphant !
"Faith sees the bright, eternal doors Unfold to make his children way ; They shall be cloth'd with endless life, And shine in everlasting day."
In May, 1833, with a number of others, whose names cannot be aseertained, the following persons were confirmed here :
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