4
EARLY RELIGIOUS
I Ft 111 IS
Paper on Zion Church
by Prof. Wert Has
Bearing as Historical
Document
IS OF GENERAL
LOCAL INTEREST
Harrisburg Historian Tells of Condi
tions in State and City Which In
fluenced Particularly the Lutheran
and Reformed Sects
A paper on '"The Founding and Eariy
History of Zion Lutheran Church - ' was
lead last night at a meeting of the
-Men of Zion by Prof. J. Howard Wert,
is of considerable local interest, review
ing as it does the early religious his
tory of Pennsylvania and more partic
ularly of Harrisburg. With the de
scription of the growth of Zion Luther
an church is woven an account of con
temporary events, which gives the pa
per an important bearing as a histor
ical document. The text, complete, is
as follows:
From very soon after the settling of
Pennsylvania down to the present time
the German element has been the most
potent factor in the upbuilding of our
SState. To it we owe much of the solid
ity of growth prosperity and develop
ment. first of the colony and then of
the Commonwealth.
In 1677 William Penn visited Ger
many. He saw the poverty and misery
left by the Thirty Years' war, and his
great heart comiserated. Pour years la
ter he received his grant of Pennsyl
vania from the English King. He im
mediately -wrote to German)*, recom
mending hos new colony as an asylum
for oppressed sects and a home for those
who desired to better hard conditions.
Emigration societies were formed.
The first company, led by Francis Dan
iel Pastorius. sailed in the Concord, a
name which should rank with the May
flower, and reached Philadelphia Octo
ber 6. 1683, settling in Germantown.
These people signed the first anti-slav
ery petition in America.
The German Population in Penna.
From that time on the German emi
gration to Pennsylvania continued in a
steady flow that made our Com
monwealth, more than any other State
t/f the Union, a German one.
The greatest number came from the
Palatinate on the Rhine. Many of
them came as "'redemptioners;" that is,
through poverty, they were obliged to
sell their services for a term of vears
to secure a passage to the new'land
of promise. Some of the ablest and
most distinguished men of our State,
from the time#of the Revolution down
to the present, have been the descend
ants of these poverty-stricken, but
hardy, industrious and"religious "re
demptioners."
The cold winter of 1708-9, which de
stroyed the vines and fruit trees over
large areas of Germany, drove 15,000
to England. Rome thousands colonized
in Ireland; 5,000 came on to the land
of Penn. From 1719 to 1729 the
Thinkers and other Baptist sects of
Germany came to Pennsylvania in large
numbers, founding Ephrata and other
towns. In 1733 one of these German
denominations settled along the Perki
omen. In 1741 Count Zinzendorf es
tablished the Moravian settlements in
Pennsylvania, which developed into the
towns of Bethlehem, Xazareth and oth
ers.
But the great stream of German emi
gration of those connected with the
Lutheran aud German Reformed
Churches far surpassed that of all ofW
sects. The history of these two denom
inations is closely intertwined in the
first century of our State's existence.
How the Lutherar and German Re
formed Churches Were Linked Together
Xot only were these two churches
of cognate German origin, but, in all
essentials of Christian faith, the fol
lowers of 'Martin Luther and T"1 tie
Zwingli held the same points of doc
trine. Theirs had been common suffer
ings and persecutions. The two
.:(lurches mentioned ran along lines so
identical and were so interlinked by
many ties of consanguinity that they
readily and naturally coalesced in
church matters. Ulence the great ma
jority of the originally constructed
church edifices were union buildings, in
which each of these denominations had
au interest.
This union of effort in church-build
ing was a result of primitive condi
tions. To our forefathers of a ccntury
und a half, or even a century ago, even
at the best, life was a long, hard strug
gle for existence. For many years
»tfter the Revolution money was scaree,
and it roquired here-lean and persist
ant efl'orUt to obtain the means of erect
'ig places of worship.
Ajvational life developed into more
♦ii Wit circumstances each denomina
tion was able to establish itself on more
independent lines of action. Yet, as a
general rule, so harmonious were the
relations of the joint owners of the
German churches that, jn many cases,
the union arrangement was continued
long after the financial necessity for it
had .leased to exist.
The Intense Religious Life of the Early
German Population
Let it be remarked in passing, that,
above everything else the German ele
ment that settled in Pennsylvania was
an intensely religious people. Agnostics,
infidels, freethinkers were so completely
unknown to them that there was no
word in their original vernacular to ex
press persons of that class.
In every German family, at a stated
time, morn and eve, all work was
cropped and children, guests, hired la
borers —all within the household were
assembled around the head of the
iin'ise. who took down the ponderous
family Bible which was a.n essential in
every home read from it, with
reverent awe, as a preliminary to fam
ily ; rayer in which God 's guidance was
sought anil Ilis 'blessing invoked.
Baptism, confirmation, first eom
muuion, marriage were joyous, yet sol
emn milestones in life, blended with
touching religious ceremonies and elab
orately recorded in quaint certificates
which adorned the walls of bumble,
yet, happy homes.
The faflh of those olden time Ger
man folk who. in work and prayer,
laid dee.i and broad the foundations of
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A food for every day.
Crisp, delicious and
strengthening. Fresh
baked and fresh de
livered. 10 cents.
SNAPAROOMS
A delightful nfew bis
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fresh, xo cents.
Buy biscuit baked by
NATIONAL BISCUIT
COMPANY
Always look for that Name
\
our great Keystone, was a happy faith,
an absolute faith, a faith undimtned •by
a dou'bt, —a faith all too rare, I fear,
in our bustling, materialistic age.
Harrisburg's First Church
The first church building in our city
lias a date coeval with the founding of
the town—it was built on lot 187 of
the original plot, which was the loca
tion at Third ami Chestnut streets, do
nated bv John Harris, the founder, for
vhurch purposes. It was a log structure
occupying but a small portion of the
lot, and was erected by subscriptions
from citizens of the town without re
gard to denominational lines.
Various sects held services there
from time to time, hut as a vast ma
jority of the citizens were connected
with the Lutheran or German Reformed
churches, the ownership was vested in
those denominations, and they were the
only ones to have regular pastors.
From 1787 to 1795, these two bodies
worshiped together, substantially as one
congregation, although there were sep
arate ministers. The first Lutheran min
ister at Chestnut street was the Rev.
F. D. Sehaeffer. residing in the much
older town of Carlisle. The first Lu
theran officials of whom I have been
able to find a record were elected Sep
tember 12, 1790. They were:
Trustees, John Deutzel and George Ret
tig: elders, Christian Kunkel and Jchn
(Hotfker; < deacons, M'iichael von Keneu
and John E'bert.
In 1795, there was a more marked
division in the congregations, although
both continued to ©cctfpy harmoniously
the same edifice. The articles drawn
up in that year for the systematizing
and consolidating of the Lutheran con
gregation have twentynfive names ap
pended to them, all males, thus indi
cating that it is not by any means a
full roll of the church membership. At
the same time the Lutherans secured
their first resident pastor, tile Rev.
Henry iMoeller.
Founding of Zion Church
In 1813 the Lutherans bought
ground on Fourth street, and January
26, 1814, the following com
mittee was appointed: Christian ICun
kel, George Yotise, George Zigler. John
Shock and Christian Stahl. The build
er of the church was a famous architect
of those days, Stephen Hills, the same
man who, in the same decade, built the
old Capitol of classic proportions.
At that time there was no sharply
drawn line between the professions of
architect and builder.
The cornerstone of the Fourth Street
church was laid June 22, ISI4, the
ministers officiating iu the ceremonies
•being the Revs. George Schraucker, of
York tow 11. as York was then called;
George Lochman, of Lebanon; Heidricli
Uanhoff, of Jonestown; \V. G. Ernst, of
Marietta, aud J. P. Heeht, of Carlisle.
The church was dedicated October
1, 1815. The forenoon sermon was de
livered in German "by the Rev. George
ycbmiK'ker; the afternoon discourse, in
English. by the Rev. Mr. Armstrong;
while there was an evening sermon,
again in German, by the Rev. Mr.
Hindel, of the German Reformed
church.
The exercises were continued on the j
following day, Monday, by a forenoon j
sermon, in German, by the Rev. Mr.'
Yanhoff, and one in the evening, in j
English, by the Rev. J. P. Heeht.
This was a memorable and joyous
occasion. Lutherans from settlements j
many miles distant came pouring into
the little village of Harrisburg. All 1
pioneer peoples are noted for their
hospitality, and none were more so than •
the early Germans of our own State. (
All these visitors were greeted with
brotherly affection and most cordially'
HARRISBURG STAR-INDEPENDKKT, TUESDAY EVENING. NOVEMBER 24. 1914.
entertained in the homes|of the Harris
burg Membership.
How Our Forefathers Went to Church
In those early days, when the sparse
population was widely . scattered and
churches were far aparl, Sunday was a
red-letter (lay of the calendar to the
toiling yeoman. Then the hard toils of
the week were thrown aside for a day
of rest, and humble folk, in their bo<t
homespun jtarb, wended their way, past
farm aud clearing and through mighty
forests, for many weary miles, to reach
the nearest house of worship. The well
to-do farmer and his family went
horseback or in some rude conveyance
of the farm, for carriages were then an
unknown luxury. But the great mass
were obliged to travel on foot, often
a distance of ten miles or more, to the
nearest tabernacle of God.
But no one, no matter how poor or!
how lowly, ever came to these rural j
churches of the olden time that he did !
not receive a royal welcome from the j
brethren living near the edifice wlni j
vied with each other to see who could j
obtain the greatest liumber of the |
brethren from a distance to accompany |
him home for dinner.
Meantime, at homes near by, one ori
moro females of the family, in each, j
were preparing a banquet fit for a!
King. 'Tis said that the custom in the,
old German churches, which is still
maintained. I think, in St. Michaels
church, on State street, of ringing the
bell about the conclusion of the ser
mon, had its origin, principally, in the
desire to notify the folks at home that
their guests of the day would soon ar
rive. It is quite likely that such is the
case for this was an era when time
pieces like many other conveniences of
our modern life, were not a very plen
tiful article.
How the Visiting Brethren Were En
tertained:
Well, did the Brethren from a dis
tance who were urged and importuned
"to go along for dinner" get anything
to eat? Did people live in those days!
I rather gaess. True, the folks of a hun
dred years ago were a trille short on
fii>hion, but they made it up in grub.
The Susquehanua and every tributary
stream abounded in fish, or you could'
drive down to Havre de Grace and buy j
a two-horse wagon load of the finest
shad for what you now pay in our mar
kets for one disreputable, slab-sided
specimen.
The hogs ran wild in the woods in
droves and fed on acorns. And that
pork they produced was fit for an cm
peroc. None of your flably, insipid Chi
cago stuff from diseased swine bloated
upon rotten refuse brewery mash. Oh!
the hams, the sausages, the puddings of
that period as they came on every farm
and village table! You juniors that nev-1
er tasted them don't know what living i
is. Kach farmer and well-to-do deni- j
zen of the olden time towns killed one
or more beeves annually. Those ani
mals were from the fresh meadows, now ]
hauled two thousand miles packed in
cars, like sardines in a box, till crazed
from thirst and brutal proddiug.
And game! Don't talk! There were
deer and rabbits; pheasants and par
tridges; 'possums and 'coons; squir
rels and wild pigeons, wild turkeys,
wild geese, and what not! And not a
game law or a game warden iu all the
broad State.
Yes the streams were alive with fish,
the wide forests alive with game,
whilst beaver and otter basked iu the
sunlight amid the mild of Paxton creek
and every other little confluent of the
Susquehanna.
Did the rural dames of that period
and their buxom daughters know how
to prepare these and a hundred other
things from farm and forest? Goldeu
apples and golden pumpkins alike fur
nished luscious pies. Aud the cakes,
the tarts, the jams, the jellies, the pre
serves! The midsummer berries that
grew luxuriantly in the fields and
thickets, the nuts of autumn'gathereif
by the farmer boys by the bushel, —all
were called on to add sweet viands to
loaded tables. But I've written my
self hungry, aud I'll stop. I'd like
you all to see one of those country
dinner tables of a hundred years ago.
I would like to sit down to one myself
right now.
The Church Bells of Long Ago
And one other thought of the olden
time church going. 1 have spoken j>f
the scarcity of time pieces. And that,
perchance, is the reason why every old
en time church had ,a bell to summon
the worshippers.
A hundred veers ago they would as
soon have thought of havifig a church
without a preacher as without a bell.
Perhaps the day of their utility is gone
but oh! I miss them, tbose deep-toned,
sweet-voiced, solemn bells of my boy
hood, echoing for miles over woodland
and hillside on a stiil. sunny Sabbath
morning. Pardon these digressions
from the thread of my historical story.
The Founding of a School and the
Burning of the Original Buildlugs
In the manner which has been nar
rated briefly the l»utlierau ehureh in
HarriMjurg was fairly launched into
existence dissociated from the German
Reformed congregation, aud the fair
Zion was born that has now lived and
flourished for one hundred years, and
yet, with all that age upon it,
shows marks of neither doercDitude
or senility. The Lutherans endeavored
to persuade the sister denomination to
purchase an interest in the new build
ing, but tha!t did not meet the appro
bation of a majority of the latter's
membership, aud, after considerable
negotiation, the Lutheran body accept
ed, in 1816, the sum of SI,OOO for
their interest iu the property at Third
and Chestnut streets.
At that time common schools were
unknown and provisions for education
were largely in the hands of the sev
eral churches. In 1822, the Fourth
street congregation erected a large
two-story brick schooi house adjoining
the church. In 1829, a steeple was
placed upon their place of worship.
October 21, 1838, both church and
school house were entirely destroyed in
one of the most spectacular fires that
the borough of Harrisburg had wit
nessed up to that time.
How the New Church Ko&e From the
Ashes of the Old
The next day Zion's membership
met amid the charred ruins and yet
smoldering aalics and, undaunted by
disaster, resolved to rebuild. The first
assemblage iu the new building was
the Whig convention that nominated
General William Henry Harrison, the
hero of Tippecanoe, for the presidency,
tbe building not having been conse
crated as yet. This wiis the first fully
representative National convention
ever held in the United States. For
reasons of political expediency, the re
lation of which would not be germane
to this -paper, the leaders of the new
Whig party deemed it policy to hold
their convention in Pennsylvania's
Capital, and the spacious new church
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i Room size Rugs and all
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Oilcloth, Linoleum and Draperies. Prepare' the Home
Some Suggestions That Make Very Appropriate Xmas Gifts and That Won't be Here Long
This Store has -Porhai> would
i • 1 like the gift to be a gen-
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Sem , . ' too. Diamond Rings Burely l(>ase -
V 1 Compare values. f rora $9.98 to the best. $5.75 to sls
£ A Wonderful Toy—Gravity Jim
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price No springs, no clockworks. The little man walks
j I I down the platform and does not fall off ou reaching the end.
I/ 1 I Nothing to get out of order.
| \r 19 cents
Specials in Overcoats, Men's, Wom
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| rUHHlOntlfo 29-31-33-35 SOUTH SECOND STREET CLOTHIERS
g ""■►Our Location Means a Great Saving To You BaaBB " HaHB 4H[
was the largest available room in the
borough.
Of the various alterations and im
provements which have been made in
the building during the seventy-five
years which have elapsed since its erec
tion this paper will not attempt to
treat.
An Honored 801 l of Pastors
The resident pastors during the time
that all the Lutherans of the borough
were united in one congregation were:
The Hov. Henry Moeller, 1795-
1803.
The Rev. J. L). Peterson. 1803 1812.
The Rev. 1\ C. Schaeffer, 181.2-
181 5.
r The Rev. .folia George
D., whose mortal remains rest within
the shadow of these walls, 1815-1820.
The Rev. Augustus H. Lochman,
1827-1836.
The Rev. Samuel 6jpre..liel, IS3G
-1840.
The Rev. Charles W. Sbaeffer, IS4I
-
All of these men were earnest, able
and conscientious heralds of the cross
of Christ and the way of man's re
demption; and several of them stood
high in their .State and national repu
tation ,as pillars of the greatest ability
in the championship of l.utlieranisni
and evangelical Christianity.
The Progeny of Old "Zion"
from the grand old Ziou church has
arisen a numerous progeny, the first of
which was the St. Michael's congrega
tion organized in 1843. I have given
but the briefest epitome of the rise of
Lutheranism in Harrisburg and eannot
follow at all, in tliis paper, the various
offsprings or the subsequent history
of the Zion church.
The first division was largely on
the lines of the use of the German and
English languages in church services.
All the pastors in the list just given
preae.hed alternately in German and
English, except the first two who used
the German only.
And now, aa a younger generation
had grown up who used the English
language almost exclusively, an agita
tion began such as had occurred in a
hundred other similar eases. There was!
a constantly growing element that de-i
sired to have a greater proportion ot'j
the services i/i the tongue in most com
mon use in our land.
But, on the other hand, these were;
many, particularly among the elder,
who clung tenaciously to the language|
of the fatherland. In some cases their j
knowledge of English was not sufficient]
to receive the full benefit of a dis-l
course delivered in that tongue. But,j
beyond this, there were, in many cases.'
sentimental associations which had j
been woven into the warp and woof ot'i
life. The German language was asso-j
ciated with tender incidents of their |
childhood or that of their ancestors, j
in far off homes along the Rhine, the
Weser and the Ekbe. It 'was in the i
German language that vows ha I been j
made for them by sponsors in baptism J
In German, they had themselves as-i
sumed those vows in the holy cere
monies of church confirmation. In j
German, husband and wife had plight
ed troth at the altar, and in German,
dear ones, wearied with the march of 1
life, had been laid to rest,
Beneath the low green tent
Whose curtains never outwhrd swing, i
The Early Membership of "Zion" 1
One word aboui the early member-!
ship of Zion—-the men whose names 1 j
•have given in this paper as early of
ficials of the church, much more than 1
a century ago and their brethren who
were associated with them in the work
of the church—the men, aye, and the
women too, who stood amid the smold
ering ashes of Zion church and with
undaunted hearts, resolved that a yet
fairer structure for the worship ot
God should rise—and rise promptl/
from its ruins.
Some of them bore names that, with
the mutations of time, have entirely j
disappeared from the rolls of Harris-1
burg's citizenship. Others were the an-l
cestors of those who to-day are pillars!
in our congregation and are before me
to-night. It is impossible to go into 1
speciific illustrations, but let me say, m !
a general way, that records are extant|
which show unmistakably that the mcu
and women of '/Aon from 1787 to
1843, the period imperfectly covered
in this paper, were upright, God-fear
ing citizens, of the 'bone and sinew ol'
the borough of Harrisburg.
Items appearing from time to time
in the "Oracle of Dauphin," Harris
burg's earliest newspaper, and in its
immediate successors in the journal
istic field, as well as information
gleaned from other sources, indicate
that the early membership of Zion
were prominent and industrious work
ers in the various avocations of life,
of the very best element of that primi
tive population that laid the founda
tion stones for the glorious develop
ment of our city, of our State, of our
mightv nation.
Diligent iu business, they were also
fervent in spirit, serving the fiord, not
as a matter of ostentation, but as one
of right and duty.
''oulfi a wireless from the relms of
the spirit land Come from those
worthies long laid in sleep, to us of the
present, might it not be couched in
words like these:
Brother, never rest a moment,
With useless, folded hands.
Unmindful of the barren spots.
And wastes of deser! lands- -
Up rouse thee from thy stupor,
And gird thy armor on;
When once a llvm resolve Is made,
Full half the battle's won.
What right hast thou to squander
The talents God hath sent."
What right In rust to bury
The powers that lie has lent?
They're yours to battle nobly
In strong defense of right;
They're yours, to carve your shilling
way
Up to the hills of light.
Up from all dull supineness!
Up with a righteous trust:
An Idle life surely conducts
To shame and carnal lust.
Work, while the day endureth!
Work, till the evening come!
At/evening when the shadows fall,
God calls Hia workmen home.
Senator's Son Bnrned
Pottsville, Nov. 24.—Drose Snyder,
the 14-ycar-old son of Senator Charles
A. Sn.vder, was Heriouslv burned about
(■lie lace yesterday when he lit a niutth
j to look into a gasoline tank on an auto,
i The tank exploded with terrific force.
FIREMEN'S DELAY COST LIFE
Back for Ladders, Too Late- to Savs
Woman in Peril
Wilkes-Barrc, Pa., Nov. 2 4. —Delay
[ encountered by city firemen in reaching
j a blaze that destroyed the Presto diu
ling parlors in this city, early yes tenia v
I morning, caused the death* of Mary
| Polocar, 2 9 years old, of No. 25 Am-
I ber lane.
The first trucks to arrive at the tire
; had no ladders to reach a third-storv
■ window, where the woman appeared a
1 minute after hot grease took fire in the
j kitchen, and by the time the extension
j ladders were summoned the poor wom
an had become frantic. She attempted'
I to regain the first floor, and was caught
j by the sweeping flames.
The Presto rooms were destroyed, at
I a loss of about SIO,OOO.
MADE PASSENGER AGENT
George W. Hay Succeeds fcharles E Lee
in Lehigh Valley Office
South Bethlehem, Pa., -Nov. 24.
General Baggage and District Passenger
Agent George W. Hay, of the
| V alley railroad, was last evening noti
: Sod of his appointment to the position
i of general passenger agent of the com
| panv, to succeed Charles E. Lee, of
j New York.
I Mr. Hay assumed his new duties at
| New York to-day.
Man Blown to Atoms
Titusville, Pa., Nov. 24. Ralph
j Pu'bbs, 38 years' old, was blown to
i atoms near here. Ho was loading a
! wagon with nitroglycerin when it ex
ploded. The detonation waa felt for
i miles.
Boy Eighth Auto Victim
Shaniokin, Pa., Nov, 24.—Struck by
: an automobile at Kulpmont yesterday,
Prank Jason, a boy, was fatally injured.
| He was th<i eighth victim of automobiles
at that place the past season.