History of Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties

"History of Lincoln, Oneida, and Vilas Counties Wisconsin"

Compiled by George O.Jones, Norman S. McVean and Others. Printed in 1924 by H.C.Cooper. Jr. & Co., Minneapoli-Winona MN. ill. 787 pages. The first two hundred pages are history of the three counties, the remainder of the book is biographies.

CHAPTER XII: RURAL CHURCHES IN LINCOLN COUNTY

   Individual accounts of some of the various rural churches and missions in Lin-coln County, from whose pastor or responsible officials the necessary data has been received, will be given in this chapter.

   Trinity Lutheran Church, Town of Schley, located on County Trunk C, was organized May 28, 1898, with the following charter members: Carl Ahlert, Frank Hackbarth, Friedrich Trende, Carl Schuster, Herman Schmoldt, and August Baese. The denomination held its first services in this vicinity six years previous to the formal organization of the church, Rev. H. Daib preaching to a congregation in the old Gunderson school in what was then Pine River Township, June 19, 1892. The first church building was erected on the present site in 1906 and was dedicated Oct. 7th of that year; a parsonage was built in 1921. Rev. H. Daib served the congregation from 1892 to 1899, and again in 1918; Rev. E. Wiegmann was the pastor during 1900, and he was followed by Rev. W. Knuf, who served from 1900 to 1902; Rev. Th. Thormaehlen was in charge from 1902 to 1906, and was followed by Rev. J. Destinon, who remained from 1906 to 1909; Rev. Carl Hesse served from 1909 to 1911, Rev. P. Clausen from 1911 to 1917, and Rev. H. Blanke from 1918 to 1920; the present pastor, Rev. A. Marutz, came in 1920 and was the first resident pastor. The first baptism performed by the church was that of Hedwig Hackbarth on May 21, 1893; the first marriage was that of Fred Heller and Ida Simon on Oct. 2, 1892; the congregation's first loss by death occurred on May 23, 1897, when Maria Klein passed away.

   Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel Church of Doering was organized in 1907, there having been a preaching station here previous to that time; as nearly as can be determined from existing records, the first services were held in 1901 in Ft. Doering by Rev. W. Knuf. The charter members of the congregation as organized in 1907 were: August Fehlberg, John Schmidt, William Godemann, and John Godemann. The pastors who have served are as follows: Rev. W. Knuf, 1901--1902; Rev. Th. Thormaehlen, 1902-1906; Rev. J. Destinon, 1906-1908; Rev. C. Hesse, 1909-1911; Rev. O. F. Engelbrecht, 1911-1917; Rev. T. C. Appelt, 1917-1920; and Rev. A. Marutz, who came in 1920 and is the present pastor, serving this congregation in addition to Trinity Lutheran Church, Town of Schley, of which he is resident pastor. The church edifice of the Doering congregation was erected in 1913 on the present site and was dedicated Nov. 2nd of that year. The first baptism performed was that of William Fehlberg on March 25, 1901; the first marriage was that of Genrich and Wilhelmina Klein, Aug. 2, 1903; the first death was that of Albert Klein on Feb. 19, 1902.

   The cornerstone of the church edifice of St. Paul's Evangelical Church, Town Corning, was laid June 11, 1922, and the building was dedicated Oct. 8th of that year; it has a seating capacity of 200. The charter members of the congregation were: Karl Krause, Sr.; Fred Berndt; Ed Krause; Ernst Neubauer; John Engel; William Fredrich; and Herman Beyersdorf. The church is served by Rev. M. M. Schmidt of the Evangelical St. Stephan's Church at Merrill. Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul's Congregation of the Town of Pine River, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States and located eight miles southeast of Merrill, was formally organized Jan. 17,1892, with the following charter members: Carl Schumacher, Albert Uttech, Fred Hartwig, Fred Uttech, Carl Uttech, August Prott, and Otto Gruetzmacher. Ser-vices of this denomination had been held at a previous time in the Burt school house, where the Methodist Church is now located, a quarter of a mile east of the present church building of Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul's Congregation; these services were first held by Rev. Kascher, but no success in establishing a permanent con-gregation was had until Rev. H. Daib took up the work. Erection of the church building which is the home of the congregation was begun in August of 1892, and it was dedicated on Nov. 6th of that year; the site, one acre in extent, was purchased from Henry Steckling. A parsonage was erected during the summer of 1900. Rev. Fr. Wiegmann succeeded Rev. Daib as head of the congregation in the fall of 1899 and remained until December of 1900; on April 2, 1901, the Rev. W. Knuf was called, and he was succeeded by Rev. Th. Thormaehlen on Sept. 28, 1902; in the spring of 1911 Rev. A. Kirchkoefer took charge, and on July 31, 1921, the present incumbent, Rev. W. A. Schwermann, was installed. A list of a few of the prominent members of the church, past and present, includes: Carl Schu-macher, August Karan, Albert Uttech, Ernst Kufahl, Carl Wedepohl, Michael Krubsack, and Carl Rakow.

   Evangelical Lutheran St. Matthew Congregation is also served by Rev. Schwer-mann of the above congregation. First services of this congregation were held by Rev. W. Knuf in the Spring Brook school, and the congregation was officially organized May 19, 1907, with the following charter members: Fred Dettmering, Sr., Fred Raatz, Jacob Stromer, Jacob Helmstaedter, Carl Luedke, William Dett-mering, Gustaf Dettmering, and Fred Dettmering. The congregation has always been served from the Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul's Church; services are held in the school house 10 miles east of Merrill, on State Highway No. 64.

   The Scandinavian Mission Church, of the Swedish Evangelical Covenant of America, is located three miles west of Spirit Falls. This was one of the earliest, churches of the county. having been formally organized in 1879, and it was served for 39 years by the same pastor, J. P. Wolstrand, who remained from the time the church was first organized until 1918. Since 1918 it has been served by Rev. J. Albert Peterson of the Scandinavian Emanuel Congregational-Church of Merrill. A church edifice was erected in the same year that the congregation was organized. Among the prominent members of the past may be mentioned Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Jonson, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Anderson, and Mr. and Mrs. John Anderson. The present membership includes Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Johnson, Selma Johnson, William Johnson. Ellen Johnson, Agnes Johnson, Richard Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Gust Erickson, Ester Erickson, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Bergling, and Mr. and Mrs. Axel Anderson.

   St. Paul's Lutheran Church in the town of Scott, one mile south and three miles west of Merrill, is affiliated with the Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. First services there were held in a school house in the year 1896, and were presided over by the Rev. F. H. Siebrandt. In February of 1897 the congregation was organized by the following members: L. Kleinschmidt, A. W. Schulz, William Rueggebrecht, Albert Kleinschmidt, William Kleinschmidt, Fred Kleinschmidt, August Borchardt, August Puphal, W. Kienbaum, and F. Bartelt. These members erected the church, which was dedicated in the fall of 1897. The original building is still used for devotional purposes, but the congrega-tion has grown from the original 10 voting members to over 50 voting members. A beautiful parsonage was erected in 1920. The Rev. F. H. Siebrandt served the congregation until April of 1912, after which it was served for six years by Rev. J. G. Schliepsiek; since July of 1918 the present pastor, Rev. Henry Blanke, has been in charge. The first couple to be married in the church were Herman Prast and Bertha Krueger, who were untied on March 23, 1901. Immanuel's Church of town Corning is also affiliated with the Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. The new church is about eight miles west of Merrill. The congregation was organized in April of 1915 by the Rev. J. G. Schliepsiek, with the following five charter members: Albert Winter, Gust Vandre, Fred Winter, Henry Prochnow, and Otto Wendler. At first the services were conducted in a school house, but the congregation soon outgrew this building, and in 1920 a nice church building was erected, which was dedicated in the fall of that year. The Rev. J. G. Schliepsiek served the congregation until 1918, and the present pastor, Rev. Henry Blanke, has been in charge since that time. The con-gregation now has about 40 voting members, and has fine prospects for growth.

End of Chapter XII.

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