USA > Pennsylvania > History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of East Pennsylvania : with brief sketches of its congregations > Part 5
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In 1850 A. C. Wedekind made the first entry in a Record commenced by him. He made the last entry September 18th, 1853, presumably serving the congregation in connection with Lebanon (Zion) about three years. He was followed by J. M. Deitzler, about 1856, Christian A. Fetzer, 1860-1863, and George P. Weaver, 1863-1864.
Rev. J. M. Deitzler, who followed, made his first entry April 16, 1865, and continued to serve the congregation until the spring of 1890, his pastorate extending over twenty-five years.
On April 15, 1890, the present pastor, Rev. W. H. Lewars, en- tered the field.
The first pastor and his wife are buried in the "graveyard " ad- joining the church. The spot where their bodies repose is marked by two roughly hewn sandstones. The workmanship is crude ; but an attempt was made by loving hands to embellish them with art in the shape of a figure representing a cherub. With great labor and patience the following inscription was obtained-the peculiar use, as well as want, of capitals will be noticed by the reader, as well as discrepancies in orthography, etc.
Heir Ruhet in seinem erlöser entschlaffen Johan Casper Stöver erster Evangel Luthericher prediger in pensilvanien, ist geboren in Der under paflz * D. 21 Dec 1707 er zeigte mit seiner Ehe Frau
* Pfalz.
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Maria Catharine II kinder 4 sein in die ewigkeit voran gegangen, er starb D 13 May 1779 seines alters 71 y 4 mon 3 wo u 2 Tag.
The present building, which is the second, is of brick, and was erected in 1837.
A very quaint old Record, bound in rawhide, having entries of baptisms, deaths, etc., as early as 1734, is in the possession of the present pastor.
A German Bible printed at Halle in 1793, and bought by the congregation in 1798 for 16 shillings and 6 pence, is still in use in conducting the altar service.
A communion cup bearing date of 1745 is also in possession of the congregation.
There is an endowment of eleven hundred dollars upon this church for the benefit of the Lutheran congregation.
2. FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH, ANNVILLE.
In 1804 members of the Lutheran congregation worshiping in the Hill Church (Berg Kirche), who lived at and near Annville, concluded to organize a church at home, and, accordingly, in conjunction with members of the Reformed denomination, erected a fine stone church building upon a lot donated by Martin Ulrich and Adam Reugel.
The two congregations worshiped in this edifice until 1871, when for various reasons a separation was deemed advisable, whereupon the Reformed organization purchased the interest of the Lutherans in the property for three thousand dollars, and the latter erected a building, which is now occupied by the above- named congregation.
The corner-stone was laid in 1872. At the time when the sep- aration between the Lutherans and the Reformed took place, a division also occurred among the Lutherans, the difficulty having arisen from a difference of opinion in regard to what were then known as "new measures." That portion of the congregation antagonistic to what they regarded extreme practices withdrew, and organized St. Paul's church (General Council).
The names of the pastors who have served this congregation since 1804 are : Revs. George Lochman, 1804-1815 ; William G. Ernst, 1815-1849 ; G. F. Krotel, 1849-1853 ; H. S. Miller,
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1854-1859 (?) ; Wm. S. Porr, 1859-1860 ; C. A. Fetzer, 1860- 1863 ; Geo. P. Weaver, 1863-1864 ; J. M. Deitzler, 1865-1890; and W. H. Lewars, 1890 to the present.
The church edifice cost ten thousand dollars, and is built of limestone. The lot upon which it stands was donated to the congregation by John D. Biever, who paid about one-half the cost of the building. He also erected a two-story brick " sexton's house " on a lot adjoining the church, and bought a two-story
FIRST EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ANNVILLE, PA.
brick house about one-half square from the church and donated it as a parsonage. He subsequently determined to build a par- sonage on a lot adjoining the church, on the side opposite the " sexton's house," but died before this was accomplished. His widow, Mrs. Rebecca Biever, afterwards carried out his inten- tions, in the erection of a substantial and commodious brick parsonage.
He also placed an endowment upon the church to the amount of three thousand dollars. This amount was supplemented by his widow to the extent of two thousand one hundred dollars, she
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having made the church her residuary legatee. The total inter- est-bearing fund is $5,100. In addition to this, a permanent fund of one thousand dollars was placed upon the cemetery, the amount coming from the same estate.
It is but due to say, that the commendable generosity here recorded grew out of a life-long Christian character. The piety of Mr. Biever was acknowledged by all who knew him. He assumed a directing and sustaining influence in the church for half a century, and for forty-nine years was the Superintendent of the Sunday-school.
The congregation was served for almost a quarter of a century by Rev. J. M. Deitzler, during which time the church and other buildings were erected. The present pastor, Rev. W. H. Lewars, entered the field in April, 1890.
IV. SPRINGTOWN CHARGE, BUCKS CO .- SPRINGFIELD, DURHAM, SPRINGTOWN.
BY REV. O. H. MELCHOR.
The churches constituting the present "Springtown Charge " were for many years a part of the " Kintersville charge," in con- nection with the congregations of Nockamixon and Lower Tini- cum. The pastoral records of all these congregations indicate that from the dates of organization, respectively, they were all served, with rare exceptions, by the same pastors until the year 1879.
I. TRINITY, SPRINGFIELD.
The oldest of the five, Trinity congregation of Springfield, was organized about 1751, and for twelve years was served by sup- plies or missionaries.
In 1763 John Michael Enderlein became pastor. He was fol- lowed by Rev. Augustus Herman Schmidt. Rev. Peter Ahl be- came pastor in 1789, and served until 1797. Rev. John Conrad Jeager was pastor from 1797 to 1801 ; Rev. John Paul Ferdinand Kramer, from 1801 to 1803 ; Rev. John Nicholas Mensch, from
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1803 to 1823 ; Rev. Henry S. Miller, from 1823 to 1838 ; Rev. C. F. Welden, from 1838 to 1842 ; Rev. C. P. Miller, from October, 1842, to September, 1865 ; Rev. W. S. Emery, from December, 1865, to July, 1879, at which time the present pastor took charge.
Tradition claims that a log church was built about 1751, and that it was also used as a school-house. Be that as it may, be- yond the memory of the oldest inhabitant a school-house has stood under the shadow of the church. The first stone edifice was erected in 1763. This was replaced by another in 1816, and the present one was built in 1872.
2. DURHAM.
Prior to 1812 there were three church organizations in Durham township. The earliest account of any religious services is dated 1728, and these were held in a school-house connected with the Durham Iron Works. The first organization was an English Pres- byterian one in 1742, at the Iron Works. Later, there was an in- flux of Germans, and a German Presbyterian church (merged, finally, into the German Reformed ) was organized in 1790, which worshiped in a barn. At a still later period, services were held in another school-house by German Lutherans and German Re- formed.
There is no record of the organization of a German Lutheran congregation ; but on the 8th of August, 1812, these three bodies united and purchased an acre of ground, in the township of Dur- ham, near the Iron Works, and appointed trustees to erect a house for the worship of God, to be known as "Durham Union church," for the joint use of the English Presbyterians, the Ger- man Reformed and the Lutherans. In 1876 Presbyterian services were finally abandoned, and the church property now is owned jointly by the Reformed and Lutherans.
The church edifice of 1812 was replaced by a handsome stone building in 1857, which was remodeled in 1889, presenting a handsome interior, while without it is "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth."
From 1812 there are data for a history of the congregation. Rev. John Nicholas Mensch was at this time the pastor, serving from 1811 to 1823, preaching also at Springfield and Lower Tini- cum. He was succeeded by the following :
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Revs. Henry S. Miller, 1823-1838 ; C. F. Welden, 1838-1842 ; C. P. Miller, 1842-1865; W. S. Emery, 1865-1879 ; O. H. Melchor, July 1, 1879 to the present time.
The records show that down to 1879 all of these pastors also served the congregations of Tinicum and Springfield.
3. CHRIST'S, SPRINGTOWN.
This was a point for occasional preaching as early as 1860, but it did not become a regular station until 1871. It is in reality a child of the Springfield church. The corner-stone for a union church was laid on May 18, 1872. This church was for the joint use of the Lutherans, Reformed, Presbyterians and Mennonites, and is known as "Christ's Church, of Springtown." A Lutheran congregation was regularly organized on April 6, 1874, by Rev. W. S. Emery, pastor.
In the spring of 1879, the Kintnersville charge, by the recom- mendation of Conference, divided, Tinicum and Nockamixon forming one charge, and Durham, Springfield and Springtown the other. The latter at once extended a unanimous call to the present pastor, who accepted, and took charge July 1, 1879.
The pastor being a member of the East Pennsylvania Synod, and the congregations being a part of the Ministerium of Penn- sylvania, the congregations voted, with but three negative ballots at Durham and two at Springfield, to sever connection with the Ministerium and to unite with the East Pennsylvania Synod. This vote was taken at Durham in August, 1879, and at Spring- field the following year. Springtown unanimously followed Dur- ham and Springfield. From this time on, the history of these congregations is written in the reports of the East Pennsylvania Synod.
All the churches of this charge are still owned jointly by the Lutherans and Reformed, and services are held in both the Eng- lish and the German languages. The German is, however, rapidly dying out in the Durham congregation, and Springfield, during the present pastorate, has introduced English services at stated intervals. In this congregation Pennsylvania German is spoken exclusively. The church buildings are comparatively new and all are free of debt, Durham and Springfield having handsome pipe organs.
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V. KINTNERSVILLE CHARGE, BUCKS CO .- NOCKA- MIXON AND UPPER TINICUM.
BY REV. S. S. DIEHL.
I. NOCKAMIXON.
The Lutheran congregation of Nockamixon was organized about the year A. D. 1752. The first church was on the hill north of the village of Ferndale. In 1812 the Lutheran and Re- formed congregations united in fellowship. The corner-stone of the first Union church was laid on Easter Monday, April 19, 1813. The corner-stone of the present structure was laid July 3, 1875. The church seems to have been served for some years by supplies. The regular pastors were as follows :
Revs. John Michael Enderlein, 1766 ; Jacob S. Miller, 1773; Peter Ahl, 1789 ; Augustus Herman Schmidt, 1798 ; John Paul Ferdinand Kramer, 1801 ; John Nicholas Mensch, 1803; Henry S. Miller, 1823 ; C. F. Welden, 1838 ; C. P. Miller, 1842 ; W. S. Emery, 1865 ; O. H. Melchor, 1880 ; S. S. Diehl, 1892.
In February, 1880, the congregation decided by a vote of 69 to 25 to sever its connection with the Pennsylvania Synod of the General Council, and to connect with the East Pennsylvania Synod of the General Synod. Immediately after this decision, Rev. O. H. Melchor, a member of the congregation, was elected pastor. The congregation then joined the pastoral charge of Rev. Melchor, consisting of Durham, Springfield and Springtown. Of this charge the congregation was a part till January, 1892, when the charge of Rev. Melchor was divided and Nockamixon, of Rev. Melchor's charge, and Upper Tinicum, of Rev. Fleck's charge, formed a new charge, electing Rev. Samuel S. Diehl, of the Gettysburg Seminary, as the first pastor. Several of the members of this congregation are now pastors in Lutheran churches, namely, Rev. Wilson Selner, of Luthersburg, Clear- field Co., Rev. O. H. Melchor, of Springtown, Bucks Co., Rev. D. R. Becker, of Palmyra, Pa.
2. UPPER TINICUM.
The Upper Tinicum Lutheran congregation was organized by
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Rev. John R. Willox, Lutheran pastor at Riegelsville, who held occasional services in the school-houses of the vicinity. As a re- sult there was a general desire for a house of worship in the neighborhood. The corner-stone of the new church was laid on Whitsunday, 1851, and the dedication occurred in the autumn of the same year. This church was always served in connection with Rieglesville. The pastors serving the congregation were as follows :
Revs. J. R. Willox, 1851 ; C. L. Keedy, 1862 ; Nathan Jeager, 1863; Theophilus Heilig, 1864; D. T. Koser, 1877; C. L. Fleck, 1887 ; S. S. Diehl, 1892.
In January, 1892, the congregation decided to join with Nock- amixon church of Rev. Melchor's charge and thus form a new pastorate.
VI. WHITEMARSH CHARGE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY -WHITEMARSH AND UPPER DUBLIN.
BY REV. MATTHIAS SHEELEIGH, D. D.
I. WHITEMARSH.
This church is located thirteen miles north of the centre of Philadelphia, two miles above the corporate limits of the city. The North Pennsylvania Railroad runs one mile east of the church. The Barren Hill church is four miles to the west. In the county there are twenty-six Lutheran churches ; five being in connection with the East Pennsylvania Synod, and twenty-one with the Pennsylvania Synod.
The region is highly picturesque. From an eminence in the vicinity twenty-two places of worship are counted. The imagin- ary "marsh " is nowhere visible, either on lowland or highland. In this vicinity, Gen. Washington rested his army for seven weeks, in 1777, after the battle of Germantown, and before retiring to Valley Forge.
According to a declining custom, the church edifice and ceme- tery are owned conjointly and equally with a German Reformed congregation. "The Union Church" is the familiar designation
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in the community. June 14, 1817, is the date of the first formal meeting for organizing-now 75 years ago.
Those present were identified with congregations of the two de- nominations named, at Germantown, six to seven miles south- ward. Rev. Caspar Wack, Reformed, presided, and Jacob Gil- bert, Lutheran, served as secretary. At a later meeting, January 24, 1818, presided over by Rev. John C. Baker, Lutheran, it was reported that Philip Sellers had presented the lot on which the church now stands ; to which adjoining ground was directly pur- chased. The cost of the edifice and furnishing amounted to $3,409.20.
An Act of Incorporation was secured, approved by Governor Joseph Hiester on March 30, 1818. The corporate title reads, "The Trustees of the Union Church of Whitemarsh."
A meeting was held at the Union school-house of Whitemarsh, October 18, 1818, to elect officers for the respective congrega- tions. The names of those chosen at this first election are Jacob Gilbert, Christian Grafley, Henry Daub, William Egbert, Peter Shull, Daniel Gilbert and John Trexler, on the Lutheran side ; and Henry Scheetz, John Haney, John Miller, Jacob Kibler, William Bitting, Henry Scheetz, Jr., and Jacob Wentz, for the Reformed side.
In 1830, the names of officers were the following : Lutheran- Christopher Grafley, Daniel Nace, John Dutill, Jacob Ettinger, John Katz, Samuel Dewees, Samuel Felty, and John Dager ; Re- formed-Henry Scheetz, John Haney, Abraham Zimmerman, John Y. Henk, George Streevy, Henry Scheetz, Jr., John Kehr, and Francis Kehr.
Turning to the records of 1840, the following new names ap- pear among the Lutheran officers: Daniel Bickle, William Egbert, Henry Harner, Samuel Evans, John Dager, William Shugard, and Bernard Bisbing. In 1850, still other new names appear in the Council : Daniel Slifer, John Kuhler, Abraham Slifer, John Sorber and - Neiman.
The present Lutheran Council consists of the following : Trus- tees-Samuel Van Winkle, and Charles C. Slifer ; Elders-George D. Heist, Mahlon F. Scheetz and Samuel Yeakle ; Deacons- Belding B. Slifer, William S. Kerper, and Frank S. Harner.
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The church edifice is of stone. It was erected in 1818; was remodeled and extended in 1861; and again, in 1882, under- went a general renovation and improvement. Extensive shedding was built in 1848, at a cost of $347.83. In 1876, the cemetery was enlarged by the purchase of five acres of adjoining ground, for $2,000.00.
From the beginning to the present, the Lutheran pastors have been the following : Rev. John C. Baker, 1818 to 1828; Rev. Benjamin Keller, 1829 to 1835 ; Rev. C. W. Schaeffer, 1835 to 1841 ; Rev. Frederick R. Anspach, 1841 to 1850 ; Rev. William H. Smith, 1850 to 1852 ; Rev. Prof. Henry Haverstick and Rev. Luther E. Albert, supplied about three months in 1852; Rev. William M. Baum, 1852 to 1854; Rev. David Swope, 1855 to 1856. The last named was the first pastor settled in the place ; the church having previously been served, successively, by pas- tors of St. Michael's of Germantown, and St. Peter's of Barren Hill. This was also the beginning of the pastoral charge as now constituted, i. e., the Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin congrega- tions. Then followed Rev. Benjamin C. Suesserott, 1856 to 1857 ; Rev. Lewis Hippee, 1857 to 1859 ; Rev. Edward J. Koons, 1860 to 1862 ; Rev. George Sill, 1863 to 1869 ; and Rev. Matthias Sheeleigh, D. D., April 27th, 1869, to the present.
There now remain two hundred and twenty names of living members in the Lutheran church-book. This congregation has never owned the needful convenience of a parsonage. The present pastor and family now live in their own house in the vil- lage of Fort Washington, being about half way between the churches, which are four miles apart. Within the last ten years this congregation has realized at least five bequests of several hundred dollars each. The ladies have for years been active in a local Home Missionary Society, in which both money and labor have been cheerfully given to needy churches, missionaries and orphans.
Three ministers have gone out from the membership of the Union church : two Lutherans-Rev. William W. Bowers and Rev. William Tryday ; and one Reformed-Rev. William Sorber. These brethren have all been called hence, after doing good ser- vice for the Master. They died respectively in 1873, 1876 and
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1878, at the early ages of 48, 55 and 53 years. The body of the first named is buried here.
About sixty years ago the Sunday-school was begun. Among its earlier superintendents were William Tryday and William W. Bowers, named as having become ministers. The school has generally been well attended. More good might, however, be hoped for if a special room for the school were provided, separate from the audience chamber. There are now reported as being in the school 13 teachers and 130 scholars enrolled.
So far as the writer can learn, Lord's Day evening services were never regularly held before his own pastorship. The call, in an- swer to which he came to the pulpit, specifies only one service in two weeks for this congregation. Of his own free will he chose to afford evening preaching ; and now, after nearly a quarter of a century, it would not be willingly dispensed with in either of the "Union " congregations.
In early years some of the church services were conducted in the German language ; but probably no regular German service has been thought necessary during the last 45 or 50 years, inas- much as the German is now scarcely known as a living tongue within ten or twelve miles, looking northward.
We trust that spirituality is growing in the congregations of this charge. Within the last twenty years the grace of giving has also much increased. To the general call, beyond the local or home work, the response is returned with a noticeable readiness.
2. UPPER DUBLIN.
This church is about four miles north from that of Whitemarsh. It also bears the name of a township. The neighborhood desig- nation, not yet extinct, is "Puff's Church," after Valentine Puff, who was an adjoining land-holder, and a member of the original congregation. Unlike the other church, this is wholly Lutheran. Good roads, some of which are turnpikes, connect the two places and cross the parochial field in different directions.
The present congregation is of comparatively recent origin, although the inheritor of its site from a much earlier organization. That was purchased in the year 1753 by several Lutherans for a church, school-house and burial-ground. It lies a mile east of the
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new borough of Ambler, at the junction of the Butler turnpike and Susquehanna street. The latter highway runs southeast towards a point on the Delaware river above Philadelphia, pro- jected in colonial times, with a view of making direct communi- cation with the Susquehanna river, a hundred miles distant. But the road comes suddenly to an end a half mile north-west of the church.
Numerous Germans having early settled in the vicinity, Rev. John Frederick Handschuh, then pastor at Germantown, ten miles southward, organized a congregation in 1753 or 1754, and continued services there until 1757. It is possible that he preached at this point a year or two previous. A church and school-house were erected. The church was a log structure, and the school-house was referred to as being "roomy."
Dr. Henry M. Muhlenberg, then in Philadelphia, preached there several times, and in the Halle Reports refers to the con- gregation, under date of June 18, 1754. Dr. Mühlenberg, who had the general oversight for several years, sent his student, Wil- liam Kurtz, to serve this people for about a year, from 1757 to 1758. Rev. John Helfrich Schaum then supplied the place from New Hanover, 1758 to 1762; Rev. Henry M. Mühlenberg, then served as pastor, 1762 to June, 1763 ; Rev. Nicholas Kurtz, of Germantown, 1763 to 1764 ; Rev. John Ludwig Voigt, of Ger- mantown, 1764 to 1765 ; Rev. Jacob Van Buskerk, of North Wales, 1765 to 1769 ; Rev. John Frederick Schmidt, 1769 to 1785 ; Rev. Anthony Hecht, of Tohickon and North Wales, 1785 ; Rev. Jacob Van Buskerk again, 1785 to 1795; Rev. Henry A. Geissenhainer, 1797 to 1801; Rev. Frederick D. Schaeffer, of Germantown, 1801 to 1810. About 1810, or soon after, the gospel ministrations ceased, the people having become scattered to other points, and few being left who appreciated the German language. In process of time, the church edifice decayed and disappeared.
A generation later, steps were taken which resulted in the restoration of divine service and the organization of the present congregation. Chiefly through the efforts of the Hon. John B. Sterigere-then a prominent attorney at Norristown, and formerly a Congressman and a State Senator, whose kindred repose here-
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a charter was procured from the Legislature in 1852, making con- ditional provision for a Lutheran congregation at the old burial- ground, where his body also now rests. Previous to this, in 1835, a resident, Conrad Emig, had left by will six hundred and sixty- four dollars to secure protection to this cemetery.
Religious services were resumed in 1852, in the public school- house opposite, and conducted with some degree of regularity until a church was built. In this work of initiating service, Rev. Wm. M. Baum, of Barren Hill, took part. In 1855, when Rev. David Swope came to Whitemarsh, the pastoral duties de- volved on him, as the congregations were now united as one pastorate, a relation still existing.
The present comfortable house of worship, built of stone, with basement for Sunday-school, was begun in 1857. The corner- stone was laid October 15 of that year, and the dedicatory services were held July 18, 1858. The pastors, since the re- tirement of Rev. Mr. Swope in 1856, have been the same as at Whitemarsh.
Commodious shedding, 200 feet in length, was built in 1867. In 1885, a small farm of 16 acres, immediately adjoining the early church property, was purchased. Five acres have been converted into a cemetery, known as Rose Hill Cemetery, making one of the most beautiful burial places. Many are now procur- ing lots. Our people in the city find this a very desirable and accessible place for the laying of their departed to rest.
Later, the church edifice was neatly painted and otherwise renovated. 'At the same time, changes were made for removing the choir from the gallery to an angle near the pulpit, on the floor of the main audience room.
At this date of writing, ninety-six persons are counted on the church-book as members entitled to communion.
The church council is at present as follows :
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