Marshall County Churches
The following church histories are from the 1907 book, "A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kansas Synod":
WATERVILLE, EV. LUTHERAN.
The pioneer work in the establishment of the Lutheran church
of the General Synod in Marshall and Washington counties was
done by Rev. F. R. Scherer who emigrated from Illinois and Iowa
to Waterville in 1868 and who combined preaching and farming
in his efforts to secure a livelihood. The Central Branch of the
Union Pacific railroad had just been completed to this village which
was destined for a while to be the terminus of the road. This
opened the beautiful valley of the Blue for settlement. Among the
thrifty immigrants were German and Swedish Lutherans from the
Fatherland as well as quite a colony of Danes who settled to the
north of the village. Among these good people Father Scherer began to preach, in the spring of 1869, and after rather loosely organizing sixteen of them into a congregation on Saturday, April
12th, he began to agitate the erection of a building. But they were
all very poor, lumber was scarce and railroad rates were almost
prohibitive. They decided to do the work themselves. Tuesday,
May 11th, 1869, was appointed as the day to begin. The pastor
set a good example by laying hold with his own hands. They hewed
logs for the sills as well as for the frame-work. The sides were
covered with rough un-planed cottonwood boards, up and down and without battens. Loose boards were laid for a floor and temporary seats were constructed out of the same material. By Saturday night of the same week the structure, rough and rugged and
furnitureless, was completed, and on the following day it was dedicated, Rev. M. G. Boyer of Atchison assisting the pastor in the
consecration. The church was 20 by 30 feet, and cost $350, of
which $110 remained a debt to be carried for a while. The summer sun soon played havoc with the green cottonwood siding, which
curled and warped leaving great open cracks in the walls which unfitted it for use during the following winter. After this services
were held in the school houses, private homes, and now and then
in a passenger coach should any happen to be in the village over
Sunday. Having no home this congregation soon disintegrated.
The present Waterville church dates from Jan. 21st, 1871, when
the church was re-organized in the new frame school building, a
constitution adopted, and the following charter members enrolled:
Christian Shirck, Mrs. Mary Shirck, J. H. Reitzell, Mrs. Emma
Reitzell, Geo. M. Kindel, Mrs. Eliza Kindel, Isaak H. Flook, Mrs.
Ruth, F. B. Flook, Aug. Frahm, Mrs. Sophia Frahm, Daniel Reitzell,
Mrs. Melvina Reitzell, Jacob Baker, Mrs. Magdalena Baker, James
Smith, Mrs. Maria Winklepeck, Mary E. Winklepeck, Saml. L.
Shirck, and Mrs. Mary E. Shirck. Mr. C. Shirck and Mr. J. R
Reitzell were elected elders; Jacob Baker and Aug. Frahm, deacons; and Geo. Kindahl, Dan'l Reitzell and Samuel Shirck, trustees.
On February 12th, 1871, Rev. D. Harbaugh was elected pastor.
At the same time steps were taken to secure a lot for the location
of a church. The railroad contributed one on the condition that
it be properly fenced, which was duly complied with. A month
later it was decided to "arise and build" and a committee was appointed to proceed, but the
coming of the great swarms
of grasshoppers that year
made this step impossible.
From November, 1872 to
November, 1873 the Home
Mission So. aided to the extent of $200. As the Kenyon school house 3 miles
westward was located near
a large Lutheran settlement, the services were
transferred there. After
seven years of faithful service Rev. Harbaugh was
succeeded on the 28th of
September, 1878, by Rev.
Jacob Schauer. In this
church the first Woman's
Home and Foreign Mission Society in Kansas was
organized on the 7th of
September, 1879, and by Mrs. J. Schauer, while the congregation
worshipped in the Kenyon school house three miles out of Waterville. This society is still in existence. Mrs. Schauer also organized a Missionary Society at Hebron.
Rev. J. A. Lowe became pastor in September, 1883. He at once
inaugurated a movement which transplanted the congregation from
the country to the town. The Baptist church was rented and here
services were held until the new church was built. In the fall of
1884 a building committee composed of Rev. Lowe, J. B. Livers,
M. L. Reitzel, Henry Brammer and J. H. Reitzell, was appointed.
Plans were adopted for a frame structure 28 by 44 feet with a
tower 8 by 8 feet. The corner stone was laid on the 23d of November, 1884, Rev. W. C. Seidel assisting the pastor. The church
was dedicated on the 26th of July, 1885, Rev. J. M. Cromer preaching the sermon. There were present, also, Rev. I. J. Delo, of Lawrence, Dr. Charles Martin of St. Joseph, and the local ministers
who assisted the pastor in the consecration. The building had cost
$2,525 of which $700 remained unprovided for on the day of dedication. This was all raised, the Board of Church Extension donating $200. The church was furnished with ash pews trimmed in
walnut and walnut pulpit furniture. On the same day Rev. Lowe
closed his ministry, December 15, 1888, he was succeeded by Rev.
J. F. Sponseller who remained on the field till December 15, 1891,
doing good work. Rev. I. B. Heisey was called June 5, 1892, and
is the present pastor. The following year a movement was inaugurated for the erection of a parsonage. The initial steps were taken
by the missionary society which secured a site 88 by 150 feet. The
stone for the foundation was quarried under the supervision of the
pastor, the stone and hauling being donated, as was also the excavating for the cellar and walls and the laying of the foundation.
The house in which the congregation originally had been organized
was purchased and moved upon this foundation. After some repairing and overhauling it resolved itself into a very comfortable
parsonage. The money cost to the congregation was $800, and
the property today is valued at $2,000. The pastor being a carpenter made this possible by toiling with his own hands. The
church reports 121 members and property valued at $4,000 with
no indebtedness. The church is connected with the Hebron and the
Walnut Township churches in a pastoral charge.
WATERVILLE, HEBRON.
The initiatory work in the establishment of the Hebron Ev. Lutheran church was done by Rev. David Harbaugh while he was serving the Waterville church. To this end he labored in season and
out of season, never seeming to measure his services by the pay
he received. At a point five miles south and two miles east of
Waterville is Pleasant Hill school house and around it quite a Lutheran community. Here Rev. Harbaugh began his work at first
teaching the catechism to the children and later holding a series
of gospel meetings which resulted in a marked religious awakening.
Here on the 8th of June, 1878, he organized the Hebron church
with the following nineteen charter members: Margaret Harbaugh,
F. J. Falkner, Sallie C. Falkner, Charles F. Dietelback, Wm. Kistler,
T. K. Kistler, Sarah A. Dietelback, Saddy A. Dietelback, Arabella
A. Kistler, Mrs. Ellen Webber, William A. Kistler, Margaret MacDonald, Angeline O. Harbaugh, George W. Harbaugh, William M.
Harbaugh, Charles A. Harbaugh, Michael Vernson, Sarah J. Kistler
and Helen Vernson. A constitution was adopted and the following
officers elected: Elders, C. F. Dietelback and W. K. Smith; Deacons, F. J. Falkner and L. K. Kistler; Trustees C. F. Dietelback,
F. J. Falkner and L. K. Kistler. Rev. Harbaugh was called as pastor remaining until he was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Lowe. The
latter began to hold services at the Keystone school house in the
Kistler neighborhood, where he preached alternating with the Pleasant Hill school house. During the pastorate of Rev. J. F. Sponseller steps were taken to unite the two points and erect a church
building. This movement while agreed to in the main caused some
estrangement on the part of a few. However the Swedish church
in that neighborhood was rented for a time. In 1891 a building
lot was secured at Cottage Hill and the work started. The plans
called for a frame chapel 28 by 36 feet, with an addition 16 by 24
feet, and a tower eight feet square. While the church was begun
under Rev. Sponseller it was completed under Rev. Heisey. Much
of the work was donated, the outlay in money amounting to $2,400.
Of this sum the Board of Church Extension donated $100, and all
the balance was raised on the day of Dedication, September 11,
1892. Revs. J. A. Clutz, D.D., J. F. Sponseller and J. A. Lowe
assisted the pastor in the consecration services. Hard times following the building of the church some shrinkage took place in
the subscriptions given, and the church found itself $300 in debt
a year after the dedication. The Church Extension Board made
them a loan of $250 to be paid back in $50 installments. All this
loan has been repaid. Rev. Sponseller was succeeded by Rev. I.
B. Heisey the present pastor. The church has been greatly weakened by recent removals. It has 22 communicant members and
property valued at $2,500. It is a part of the Waterville charge.
WATERVILLE, WALNUT TP., EV. LUTHERAN.
The community in which this church is located is eight miles
north and one mile east of Waterville. Here a frame church 24
by 36 feet had been erected by the Scandinavian Ev. Lutheran
church. A well kept cemetery is located by the side of the church.
Rev. Heisey was called as early as 1893 to conduct a funeral and
the place had been visited by other pastors previously, but the field
did not seem ripe for our work until later. In 1894 Rev. Heisey
began holding services in a school house three and a half miles
northeast of Waterville where a Sunday school was organized.
This work was successfully carried on until it was greatly hindered
by the moving to other parts of the young people. In 1895 another
point was opened four miles farther north at a place known as
Blanchville. Here a catechetical class was conducted for a season
and Sunday evening services held. These services were largely
attended by both young and old from a Danish settlement. It was
not long until the desire was expressed that the pastor preach in
the Danish Lutheran church four and a half miles northwest. This
request was complied with and in the fall of 1897 a catechetical
class was conducted, and on the 1st of January, 1898, the English
Ev. Lutheran church of Walnut Township was organized, with the
following charter members: George Eddy, Susan Eddy, Peter Larson, Albert Larson, Albert Peterson, Laura Peterson, Martin Scott,
Mrs. Martin Scott, Peter Anderson, Adolph Giffert, Minnie Johnson, Gertrude Behm, Delia Behm, Nora Livene, Emma Livene,
Marie Lavine, Hans Hanson, Henry Hanson, Peter Peterson, Anna
Peterson, Lena Blasser, Clara Blasser, Lucy Scott, Clara Scott,
John Blasser, Andrew Peterson, Otto Giffert, Louis Nelson and
Marie Nelson. A constitution was adopted, and two young men
were elected Deacons, J. P. Larson and George Eddy. In the winter of 1903-4 the old Danish organization was consolidated with
the new one and the church is now known as the English Ev. Lutheran church of Walnut Township. The present membership is 60
and the officers are as follows: Elders, Paul Peterson, and Martin
Scott; Deacons, James Nielson, and Albert Peterson; Trustees,
Peter Christianson, Hans Hanson and Albert Peterson. The church
has a property valued at $2,500 and no indebtedness. It is a part
of the Waterville pastorate.
HOME, KANSAS, FRIEDENS.
Among the churches to the credit of Rev. J. G. Groenmiller as
organizer, is that of the Friedens Ev. Lutheran church of Home,
Kansas, which was organized in August, 1885, with 25 charter members. Rev. Groenmiller was followed in 1886 by Rev. Chr. Thornsen (1886-1889) and during the latter's pastorate a frame church
was erected 28 by 45 at a cost of $2,500. A small loan was made
them by the Board of Church Extension. The church is free from
debt. Later a neat frame parsonage 20 by 28 feet was erected and
paid for. The church is German. It has a parochial school in
which the teaching of the German language is made a prominent
feature in its catechetical instruction. The congregation has been
served by Revs. J. G. Groenmiller, Chr. Thomsen, Fr. W. Kitzki,
J. Guteleben, F. W. Steffens, H. W. Fricke, and Rev. J. A. Hansen.
The last named is the present pastor. The charge is served in connection with another congregation as a pastoral charge. The church
reports 45 members, and the charge property valued at $5,000 with
no indebtedness.
HOME, KANSAS, ST. JOHN'S.
To the north of Home City, Marshall county, in Balderson township, late in the sixties a number of German families settled.
Among these were the families of Mr. P. W. C. Hahn, D. Brumsback, W. Brumsback, and P. Merklinghaus, who were impressed
with the need of a church in which the Gospel would be preached
in their native tongue. Here Rev. Bathe began to hold services resulting in the organization of St. Johannes church in 1869 with
eight families. For a number of years they worshipped in a school
house. In 1883 during the pastorate of Rev. Barkmann they erected a frame church 24 by 36 feet, with a tower 10 by 10 feet, cost-
ing $1,200. The dedication sermon was preached by the pastor and
all indebtedness was raised on the day of dedication. Later a
steeple was placed upon the tower. The church for some years
was independent and was served by independent pastors. Under
the pastorate of Rev. Fr. W. Kitzke, about 1892-3, it became a part
of the German Synod of Nebraska. It has been served by Revs.
Barkmann, Guteleben, Fr. W. Kitzke, F. W. Steffen 1893-1903, H.
W. Fricke, 1903-7, and J. A. Hansen the present pastor who took
charge in 1907. The church is connected with Freidens church at
Home City, as a pastoral charge. In 1869 the church laid out its
own cemetery which it sustains to this day.
Return to Marshall Co. KHHP
|
This website created July 4, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011 Kansas History and Heritage Project
|