Sunday Special: EA Brueggeman's First Church: Brandywine, WV

After graduating from Concordia Seminary, EA Brueggeman's first call was in Brandywine, West Virginia at  Propst Lutheran Church.  The building was constructed around 1887 and was in fairly regular use until its abandonment in 1920.  It was the first Lutheran Church in West Virginia and the oldest church  in Pendleton County, WV.  It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Here are details from the application:

The congregation that was t o be known as the Propst Lutheran Church was in

existence by 1760. Although this congregation held church services at this time,

it is not known if a church building actually existed or when the firs t one was

constructed. It i s known that the first building was located a bit to the southeast of

the present church on the perpetually deeded 34 acre lot . Constructed

of round logs with clay chinking, it had a wooden chimney with a clay lining to

prevent the logs from catching fire .

The second church building was of hewn-log construction . This church was

located in what is today a corner of the old cemetery. This building served

the community as a place of worship until about 1885, when it was dismantled,

transported and reassembled on a new site and used as a dwelling for many years

before being converted to a barn.

The third ( present) building was constructed around 1887 and was in fairly

regular use until its abandonment in 1920. The church stood vacant and deteriorated 

greatly until 1968 when restoration work was begun. By 1974 the church and

adjoining land (the 3% acres of the original grant)  had been improved, and the

site was once again of service t o the community as a park or community center .

As with the exterior, the interior of the church i s very pla i n and simple.

A raised , goblet-shaped pulpit is attached to the  front wall, access to which is

by way of five steps leading up it side. A small, plain  stands takes  the place

of an altar and is located in front of the pulpit . The pews are original and

were handmade. In one corner near the pulpit is located the first organ used in

the church.

EAB must have arrived as the new church building was completed.  My records show he was installed on September 4, 1887.  Notice the two doors in the picture, one for men and one for women, how times have changed.  We have letters from EAB to his bride-to-be while he was in West Virginia.  I'll be sharing these on the blog soon.

Sunday Special: Revs

I received a CD this week from David Reinhardt that is chock full of info.  It is a PDF so I can search through it.
I search "Rev" and look how many names came up, all Revs.


Ernst August Brueggeman
Martin Brueggeman
Anna Louise Brueggeman married August Huesemann, son of a Lutheran Pastor
Sophie Brueggeman married Rev John Reinhardt


Harry Reinhardt, son of Sophie and John Reinhardt
Victor Brugge, son of Martin Brueggeman
Anna Benhoff (daughter of Louise Marie Brueggemann) married Rev. William Meyer
Emma Huesemann (daughter of Anna Brueggemann) married Rev. Herman Reinhardt
Clara Huesemann (daughter of Anna Brueggemann) married Rev. Walter Lussky (son of a pastor)
Elsie Huesemann (daughter of Anna Brueggemann) married Rev. Frederick Schumacher (son of a pastor)


RAY'S GENERATION
Frederick Schumacher, son of Elsie Huesemann
Paul Schumacher, son of Elsie Huesemann
Eugene Brueggeman, son of Rudolf Brueggeman
Clifford Brueggeman, son of Rudolf Brueggeman
David Riley, son of Selma Brueggeman
Harold Reinhardt, son of Harry Reinhardt
William Reinhardt, son of Harry Reinhardt
Robert Reinhardt, son of Harry Reinhardt
Ronald Reinhardt, son of Alexander Reinhardt
Cornelia Keske (daughter of Louise Barlag, grand daughter of Anna Marie Brueggemann) married  Rev. Fred Rockett
Elsa Schumacher (daughter of Elsie Hueseman) married Rev. Martin Marty
Rita Zehnder ( daughter of Cornelia Brueggeman, granddaughter of Louis Brueggemann) married Rev. William Naatz
Barbara Reinhardt (daughter of Alexander Reinhardt, granddaughter of Sophie Brueggemann) married Rev. Bernhard Kurzweg)
Ellen Brugge (daughter of Victor Brugge, granddaughter of Martin Brueggemann) married Rev. Walter Harms




MY GENERATION
George Zehnder ( son of Louise Keske,  grandson of Louise Barlag, great grandson of Anna Marie Brueggemann)
Peter Marty (son of Elsa Schumacher, grandson of Elsie Huesman)
David Glawe (son of Marie Krausman, grandson of Louise Brueggeman)
Frederick Reinhardt (son of David Reinhardt, grandson Alexander Reinhardt,  great grandson of Sophie Brueggemann)


Isn't interesting, kind of like a family business.

Sunday Special: Another Lutheran Pastor

Rev. Eugene Brueggeman is the son of Rudolph  and grandson of Louis.  Ray remembers him when he was working with Kent State students.  Rev. Eugene currently lives in Colorado and is with Trinity Lutheran in Boulder. He is the Visitation Pastor


From their web site:


Pastor Gene's calling is to serve Trinity in its program of senior ministries, with special 
emphasis on visitation of those who are unable to worship regularly with the 
congregation. Pastor Gene began this ministry in January, 2006 on a part-time basis, 
having retired from full-time pastoral ministry in 1991. He graduated from Concordia 
Seminary, St. Louis, in 1950, and served as both parish pastor and campus pastor until 
retirement, when he served part-time at a congregation in Fort Collins. Pastor Gene 
has a Masters in Divinity degree in a combined program from Northwestern University 
and Garrett Seminary.

Lorraine and Pastor Gene were married in 1951 and have five children, three in 
California, one in Forest Park, Ill., and one in Trinity (Priscilla Murphy), and two Murphy 
grandchildren.

1958

1958-1964
Kent, Ohi0

Sunday Special: Rev. Martin J. Brueggeman

You may have noticed, on Sundays, I am trying to feature our strong Lutheran heritage.  Today's feature is Rev. Johann Martin Brueggeman or how he was known, Martin J. Brueggeman.  He followed his older brother, Ernst August into the Ministry.

I haven't researched much on his early career but his first churches were in Iowa.  His final call was at Trinity Lutheran Church (a Missouri Synod Church) in Memphis, TN.  The Church's website is FANTASTIC.  Below  is the information from their history section:

The rapid changes that Memphis and the rest of the Nation witnessed during America's Gilded Age continued unabated. The cotton industry in Memphis prospered, as did the sale and distribution of hardwood lumber. Memphis' strategic location continued to make it a major center for both railroad and river transportation. The city population continued to swell and municipal limits moved outward. As Memphis grew, so did the church, both in membership and in resources. As Trinity settled into the twentieth century, it called as its eleventh pastor, Martin J. Brueggemann from Fort Dodge, Iowa. Most of Trinity's pastors had been born in Germany and had emigrated to the United States. Pastor Brueggemann would be the last of Trinity's pastors to have this distinction. However, Pastor Brueggemann felt strongly in America as the Great Melting Pot, and felt that Trinity's ridged grasp on its German heritage and "the old ways," would serve as a detriment to Trinity's young people and a hindrance to the spreading of the gospel. It was under Pastor Brueggemann that Trinity made the switch to English. As soon as they became of age, Pastor Brueggemann's three sons changed their last name to Brugge.

The sancuary shortly after the installation of electricity

In the twenty years that Pastor Brueggemann served, a great many other changes took place. An electric trolley appeared on Washington Ave replacing the railroad. Gas lights gave way to electric ones. Trinity purchased an electric organ pump (much to the delight of the young boys of the congregation who previously were expected to crank the hand pump for each service.) A modern, central coal furnace replaced smaller wood stoves. In 1920, the ladies bought a gas oven for the busy kitchen and a Ford automobile was provided for the pastor (cost $866). In 1921, the parsonage was converted to a parish house to accommodate a growing Sunday School and a new parsonage was purchased on North Avalon St., several miles from the church. In 1924, Trinity’s magnificent Moeller pipe organ was installed.

World War I hastened the integration of German-speaking people into American society and Trinity lost much of its ethnic profile. In doing so, it began to experience growth from within the community. A bible class, started by Pastor Brueggemann in 1913, grew remarkably in the twenties. In 1909, with the city expanding, need for a local Lutheran church had arisen in South Memphis. Trinity’s first daughter congregation, The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer,was organized that year by families living in the Third Street and McLemore Avenue area. Some of Trinity’s most active members formed the nucleus of this group. Money was contributed by Trinity (initially and annually) for its support. Another daughter congregation, Immanuel, was formed in 1924 in the Highland Heights area. Again, some of Trinity’s ablest members were involved, and the mother church was supportive in the efforts to establish both a church and a Christian day school—this time, with lessons taught in English.

During the twenties, a rather close association developed among the Lutheran churches in the Mid-South region. Congregations from Little Rock and Memphis often joined in celebrating Mission Festivals, reserving several railway coaches for the group trip either to Little Rock of to Memphis. Pastor Brueggemann led his flock through much change and expansion, and no doubt he rejoiced at the generous blessings of God. He succumbed to a heart attack the day after Easter in 1927.

There is a mis-statement in the narrative.  It states that he was the last German born Pastor,  In fact, he was born in Cleveland to Clamor & Marie in 1870.  It sure sounds like he ushered the Church into the 20th Century, 

Rev. Ernst August Brueggemann

Rev. Ernst A. Brueggemann had his thesis published in 1904.   Academic standards sure have changed since then as there are no footnotes or references,  We have always wondered about about the size of the press run for this book as we have found or know of many copies.  

The book in its entirety is available on Google Books if you would like to see it.  It's amazing to me that a book published in 1904 by one of our relatives was scanned is now available to anyone who wants it.