http://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/a55ed2b3e1b2958cf7f95e7de40100d2.pdf 8bf840a00c021d2ef83f35233390894c PDF Text Text _.,,,. ... 1 first United Church, Sherkston The First United Church at She.rkaton was built ·in 1663 by the Wesleyan Methodist a. It was commonly known as "The Chapel". The lev. C.E. Price was one of the men sent from the United States to ?Hagar~ in the period 1653 to 1855. While here, he formed United Brethren c! l~~ea at Black Creek, Stevensville and several other places. The first qua terly conference was held in Wainfleet in 1857. In 1861, there were 7 member& consisting of .33 classes with 50 preaching places. Services were[held in barns. houses and school houses. The United Brethren peopte were humble and zealous. The men and women sat apart at s.ervices. There were no choirs, no organs, etc. As yet the ministers did no.t read heir sermons. The first quarterly meeting was held at Sherk's Cross ng (as Sherkston was called} in 1864. Sherk's Crossing is mentioned aga n in reference to the salary of the minister. They were asked t.o pay 37. 50 but there is no record of this being paid. The quarterly con erence was to have been in Stevensville in 1866, but on account of th ~enion Raid July 7, 1666, it was postponed and held later at Sherk's Cr asing. In 1870, it was decided that Sherk'• Crossing pay $90.00 toward the minister's salary~(which was $550.00). The minister at that time as the Rev. D.B •. Sherk. He only received $4SO.OO a1 1ome of the classe failed in their cOtm1it~nt1. 1 There ar some names here that may sound familiar - Peter Learn, Benj. Troup, eter Sherk, Andrew Sherk, Henry Zavitz and Aaron Sherk. In 1873, Sher '• Crossing became Sherkston. I This class in Sherkston was made up of Wesleyan Methodists and United Brethren. They held their meetings at different times and it was a bit confusing, 10 the United Brethren bought the Wesleyan Methodi1t1 i out for $150.00 and Mr. Hugh Sherk (who had given the land for the · building} gave them a deed. Later the We1leyan Methodists started holding services in Kennedy'• Hall. The Niagara Mission consisted of Sherkston, Garrison Road, Stevens· ville and Black Creek. Now we have some more familiar names - Chas. Sherk, Benj. Sherk, Emanuel Zavitz, Jacob Zavitz, David Sherk and Dr.N. Brewster. In 1889, there was a division in the Sherkston class due to "secret socities" .' One body was called Radicals and the other Liberals. Again they were 1holding their services at different times. This became difficult so. . ·the Rad,icals held their meetings in Sider'& Mennon,te Church and later built their own church which waa finished in 1697. Tis is the Grace United Br~thren. 1 The '~Liberah" vent on alone now until 1906 when \they joined with the Congregat~onalist1. ln 1921, Bethel, Sherkston and Stevensville became a pastoral charge. In June 192S, these churchee united with the Presbyterians and the Methodi•tt apd are now a part of the United Church of Canada. K.ennedy'• a.au at.so came with ua at this time. 78 �' The manse was built around 1906. In 1952, Stevensville left this charge. This left only two preaching places, until 1964 when Cook's Mills w•s added. In 1952, work began on the basement. from the highway. The church was moved back The church was re-dedicated in 1959. In 1963 (May 5th.) the Hundredth Anniversary was observed. During that week they had services for five nights. Ministers from the Grace United Brethren, Brethren in Christ and the Community Church participated. Rev. Paul Packrnan, who is the minister now, came to Sherkston in July, 1965. He, his wife and two lovely children live in the manse. If the surveyor's yellow stake remains in the same location to mark the northern edge of proposed four lane highway, much of lawn will be taken from the front of the manse - a long way from the little mud road when ''The Chapel" was first built. 18671 79 �St. John's Lutheran Church, Gas Line At a special service held on Sunday, November 7th. 1965, the members of St. John's Lutheran Church joyfully celebrated the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the church located at the corner of No. 3 Highway and Silver Bay Road, Gas Line, R.R. 1, Port Colborne. In the year 1840, a group of devout christians who had made their homes in the Humberstone area, many of them having lived in Pennsylvania, and most of them of German ancestry, welcomed to their midst Dr. J.A.A. Grabau, a Lutheran Minister from Buffalo, who organized the congregation of St. John's, Gas Line, in the fall of that year. From 1840 to 1845, services were held in a chu r ch of log construction at the north-east corner of Lot 11, Con. l. In the year 1845, a substantial frame church, ~ith hand hewn timbers was erected. Attached to the church was a smaller brick building, used as a parochial school for many years, with a teacher in charge; and as l~te as 1905 the pastors conducted the school without the services of a full time teacher. Just prior to 1869, partly due to a controversr between Dr. Grabau of the Buffalo Synod and Dr. Walther of Missouri Synod on the doctrine of "The Church and the Ministry", St. John's congregation severed its connection with the Buffalo Synod and app i ied for a pastor from the Missouri Synod, to which synod the congregation is still affiliated. In the early history of the church, the services were held in the German language until 1905, when services in German were conducted one Sunday each month and later discontinued as with few exceptions that language was no longer used by the members. The frame church of 1845, after having served the congregation for more than a century, was repl~ced by the present beautiful brick ediface, which was dedicated to the service of the Triune God and the proclamation of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ, on July 23rd. 1950. Upon the completion of the new church, the old church was sold to . Bethel United Church congregation where it serves as an efficient Parish Hall and Sunday School. • I In 1961, a modern brick parsonage was completed on Silver [ Bay Road, adjacent to the church, replacing the century old parsonage. ' 71 �St. John's Lutheran Pinecrest Road Margaret, vif of John Wiedman, d. Sept. 8, 1842, age 59 yrs. Catharine, da ghter of John & Margaret Wiedman, b. 1833, d. Sept. 18, 1847, ag 14 yrs. 3 mos. 6 dys. David Johanne Wiedman, d. Nov. l --- • age 33 yrs. 21 dys. Suunna, daug ter of Charles & Rebecca White, b. Apr. 15, 1844, d. ,_ ; ,-~ -Ap . 11, 1849 k~ . . Elizabeth Ste neman, wife of Johannes Nier, :-..·-.:--:-:--·b. Apr. 10, 1795, d. June 20, 1854 Children of C*rles and Rebecca White Twins J. Wm. ite, b. Mar. 3, 1851, d. Sept. 19, 1854 J. Thorns White, b. Mar. 3, 1851, d. Oct. 6, 1854 E. Christian ~hite, d. Sept. 22, 1854, age i2 · yrs. 5 mos. 12 dys. J. Charles Wh ~ te, d. Oct. 3, 1854, age ----yrs. 5 mos. John Henry Ne4r, son of Daniel & Elizabeth Near, d. IMar. 19, 1856 • age 36 dys .· Elizabeth Cronmiller, lst wife of Daniel Near, d. ,June 19 ~ 1856, age 22 yrs. 5 mos. 15 dys. Dorothea B. Lenz, wife of Johann Michael Kronmiller, d. Aug. 11, 1862, age , 67 yrs. 7 mos. 2 dys. Mary Malze, daughter of Karl & Maria Malze, b. Oct. 10, 1842, d. Sept. 23, 1862 90 �The following paatore have served the congregation:Dr. J.A.A. Grabau llev. Henry Von llhor llev. Henry Miller Rev. Dr. J.A.A. Grabau llev. H. Lange Visiting Pastora llev. P. Schroer R.ev. C. ~uehn Rev. F .ll. Epp ling Jtev. H. ~och (Missouri Synod) ) llev. J.C. Hianler ) Rev. M. Michael ) Chriatian Hochstetter Rev. Rev. Frederick Bente Rev. HJ orrn Rev. Geo. I. Schroeder Rev. A•: Oirzen I Rev. H ~W ,'i Sander l.ev. L~F. Higenell Rev. W~I. Biesenthal l.ev. a.1. l.uhl l.ev. Lavr nee lifei-t 1840 1844 1846 1847 1850 1852 1853 1855 1862 1869 - 1843 1846 1847 1850 1851 1853 1855 1862 1868 1874 1875 - 1880 1881 1894 1905 1910 1915 1924 1946 1958 1966 72 - 1894 1905 1910 1915 1924 1946 1957 1965 �The Grabau Lutheran Church, Ga1 Line I 1, After the St.John'• congregation severed its connection with the Buffalo Synod, a ~roup of member a wishing to remain with. that i Synod•· under the guidanc of Dr. J.A.A. Grabau, erected a small chap~l at the south-east co ner of Lot 14, Concession 2, on the north side of the now No. 3 Highway at Gas Line. · This church was completed about the year 1869. The congregation continued to hold regular services under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Grabau and for the most part conducted by the ministers of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Sherkston. The last of the pastors serving this congregation were the Rev. J. Badke and the Rev. A. Gruhn. About the year 1908, eervices were discontinued and in 1910 the church iv•• eold and removed from the property. ----------------' Firet Log Church built in 1840 and 1econd Church &l1~ brick School erected in 1845; St. John'• Lutheran, corner No. ' highvaT abd S11Yer Bay Road. 75 �In the l•t• 1870'$, the flr1t school in the Welland Junction area built •nd a• lt va• the only public building there at that time, at lntervsls over the years church •ervices and Sunday school meeting• were held here by various denominations. WAI After the Dain Manufacturing Co. (now the John Deere Co.) located at Well.and J1raction in 1909, the population increased and a ne1;.1 four room school was built. This later was enlarged and became the Bridge View School. The one room school was nOVJ purchased by :a group of Anglicans and moved to • generous plot of land donated by Hr. A.G. Scilly. The Rev. J.F. Carson, Rector of Christ Church, W&inflc~t, began regular scrvice5 vith Hra. R. McClelland as organiat. A• the congreg•tlon increased the need of • church building was felt. Ac thi• time there was at Wellandport an Anglican Church no longer in uaa. ·Thi• building was the origin•l Holy Trinity Church. Welland, on Smith Street, where the Anglican Cemetery is still located, When the Holy Trinity Church on Divi1lon Street was built, the old church was moved on the ice of Chippawa C:reek to Wel landport • where church services were held for some years, but finally discontinued. Permission was given and this church was moved to Welland Junction to fill the need there. In 1909, the chun:::h w~s moved and placed on the lot by the old school where the Anglican ~ervices were held. The latter building now became the Cuild Hall, where meetinga and Sunday school could be held. The Anglican& soon began ta hold church serviceit in their. new church and continued until 1962. The first mention in Synod Journal& of All Saints' Parish, Welland Junction, was in 1912. when the Rev. J .F. Carson was Rector of Christ Churc.:h, Marshville, now Wainfleet, and of All Saints' Welland Junction. The first warden& ~f All Saints• Church were Mr. A.G. Scilly and Mr. John Skelton. · On July 19, 1959, parishioners of HolyTrinity Church, Welland and members uf Sc. David's and All Saints' marked the One Hundredth Anniversary of the first parish church when the services had been held in thh. building. At this Anniversary Service the Rev. Bruce Parry, Rector of All Saints' presided. The sermon was given by the Rev. Canon H.R. Bagnell, the eleventh Rector of Holy Trinity. Boys and girls and senior choirs of the three churches participated in the music. After the service a picnic was held on the grounds of All Saints'. As All Saints' parish grew it was decided that a new and larger church was advisable. The site was donated by the Misses V. and M. McClelland on land held by their ancestor$ from a Crown Deed over one hundred and fifty years ago. 76 �church built in Humberstone waa erected by the ~arly The church •.nu ofi log construction loceted at the •outh-east corner of Lot 30, Conces~ion ;2. Thia church waa replac~d by the present brick church erected immed~ately south the log church in 1872. at its preHnt location. cc.n:ner of 'Knoll and Ki Ualy St•. It servf!s a congregation ot some 40 member a. The fir~t Me~nite tthra in the year 1825. of Msny ~f th• Unit«!d Empire LoyaH~ts who came from Pennsyhtllini& to settle in C4nada in the 1780'• at th~ clo~e of th~ American Revolution were M~nnonites. lt wa& only natur~l that the area•s first church $hould be of this faith and the early congregation included such well known and respected n&m¢S as Stoner. Neff, Minor, Sherk, Knisley, Weaver, Anthes, B.abion. Barrick. The Reformed Mennonites are a small group of people who adhere to the doctrine and principah of love ai.i taught in the Ne'W Testament rmd practiced by tn..1e christians in all age&, since the Church was established on the day of Pentecost. "Ihe Reformed Mennonite& believe the church is the effect of the power of tbe Holy Spirit, that there would be no true christian organization vithout it, and that the continuity and succession of the church is dependent on the presence and guidance of God•s Holy Spirit. Without love and unity in the church, the Reformed Mennonites feel it would be impossible to keep the commandments and observe the ordinances given by Christ. The labour of love •nd the daily need of forgiveness by the Lord is exemplified for them in the ordinance of feet washing~ which is participated in by all members of the church. The Reformed Mennonites are entirely non-resistant and do not sue at law. They ask to be excused from military service; for this reason they do not vote nor hold any office in government. They try to live in simplicity, abhor strife, contention and worldliness. They feel they cannot consistently and conscientiously participate in worship with those who do not live in harmony with the doctrine of Christ, for in doing so they would be bidding them Godspeed as taught in 2nd John 10-11. pay. Their Ministers are selected frOl'l.'I the congregation and serve without They have a threefold ministry of bishops, ministers and deacons. FrO!l.i 1825 to 1850, John Herr who helped to organize the church in Lancaster, Pa. made three trips to this con:munity, two on horse back, the las~ by train. He took sick bn this trip and died at Gas Line. From 1841. Jonathan Kinsey served in the ministry till his death in 1867. George Augustine $erved from 1864 till hia death in 1894. Jonas Anthes was the ordained minister from 1893 and died in 1935. Wilmer Steele ordained minister 1901, confirmed bishop 1917, died 1945. Arthur Cusler ordained minister 1931. Lloyd Weaver ordained minister 1944 and confirmed bishop 1958. Paul Fehrman placed minister on probation in 1964. 70 �1,· !nlanuel Lutheran Church, Sherkston ji I I Lutheranism in the area dates back to the year 1827, whe~ Rev. Philip Mayerhoffer served the people with word and aacramenta1 He was followed by the Rfv. John Keller, who served here from 1835 tb about 1845. From that ~ime, it seems, no pastor had regular charge ;of this field, but preach rs came from Fort Erie and Buffalo to conduf t services in the homes of t e people. The first services were held in the German language. It was not until the year 1862 that steps were taken to have regular services conducted again, and to secure a regular pastor for this field. In that year Rev. C.W.F. Rechenberg, at that time President of the German Lutheran Canada Synod, came to Humberstone to settle some difficulties in St.Paul's Church. During his stay in Humberstone he visited the people of Sherkston and conducted a service in the home of John Near. Upon the advise of Rev. Rechenberg, this parish became a part of St.Paul's parish, Humberstone. When the first regular pastor was called for the parish,, the Sherkston , people requested that one be sent to them who could preach in the English language, as most of them had almost forgotten the German. I I I i:r·11':· .,, Mr. A.C. Kuhs, a senior at Gettysburg, Pa. Seminary w s called as pastor and took charge of this field on the 16th. of June, 1863. Services were held regularly now in the homes of William Michael Sr., Joseph Near and John Near. John Beach's home was used for catechetical instruction and practicing of singing . ''I I I ;t '. •'.! .' Christmas Day, December 25th. 1863 is likewise the bi thday of Emanuel Lutheran congregation. On this day, the first class of candidates were confirmed, the Lord's Supper was celebrated and the c ngregation organized. The name they chose "Emanuel", which means "C with us". ' At this meeting the ~irst church-council was elected consisting of John Near, William Michael and John Michael as trustees and Joh Beach •• elder. On January 31st. 1864, the congregation decided to er ct a chur ch and a subscription list was started. In April 1865, Mr. John each gave one acre of land,pt. Lot 4, Con. 1, for the church site. Work on the nt!V church was started in the spring of 1867, and dedication services were held on Pentecost Sunday, 1867. I f~ rst In the year 1879, Rev. J.H. Freemyer who became the resi dent pastor took chSTge of the flock. During his ministry the ~arsonage, a barn and church shed were built. He retired from the ministry on the last Sunday of 1887. No spectacular changes are recorded in the interim period until on July 27th. 1902, Rev. A. Gruhn was installed as pastor. He served this congregation faithfully for seven years to July 11th. 1909. During his pastorage the congregation grew in numbers, a complete liturgy was introduced, a Sunday School was organized, a prosperous Ladies' Aid Society was started in January 1906, a new organ was purchased for the church, the parsonage was re-painted and the roof re-shingled, a large addition vas 1 73 �chur~h built to th•'•h•d• to occ"""'°dato the number of hor•• drlwn vehicle• on Sundoy a...j new fence• vere built in front of th• and parsonage and around tbe congregational cemetery. The greatest event in the history of thia para0nage was the erection of a new church building in 1909. which waa dedicate4 July 4th.1909. Paator Gruhn waa aasiated at the dedication service by Rev. John N. Grabau of Buffalo and llev. Theo. Berner of Martinsville, N.Y. A week later Rev. GfUhn preached hi• farewell sermon. ltev. H. I Beutler took charge on January ht. 1910, and for thirteen and one-half I years held the longest pastorate in the history of the congregation, during which time the congregation made steady·growth, and progress. The following pa a tors served Emanuel Lutheran Church: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6; 7. 8. 9. 10., 11. 12. 13. llev. llev. llev. llev. llev. ttev. l.ev. l.ev. llev. llev. llev. llev. llev. A.C. Kuhs H.C. JCaehler F. Ehinger J.R. Freemyer Thomas SnydeT J. Badlte A. Gruhn Henry Beutler C. Duwe R.R. Hoeuel E.W. Sattler P.P. Wih Bernard Walck ' With the construction of paved roads and the elimination of the horse and carriage, the mode:of transportation and the ease of travel has perhaps had some effect on chutch attendance trenda • . On January 5th. 1951, Emanuel congregation merged with St. Luke'• congregation of Ridgewty. The following year the Sherkston Church building was sold to a group of area christians and named "Gospel Raven" with opening services held Apri 13th. 1952. . ' At the time of this writing the church has been re-named "The Sherkston C0111DUnity Church" with; the congregation classed as inter-denominational. I I 11+ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Louis McDermott Collection Subject The topic of the resource Local history, Fort Erie and surrounding area. Description An account of the resource A collection of historical documents, photos, news clippings, letters, and writings, assembled by local historian, Louis McDermott, and donated to the Fort Erie Public Library. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Louis McDermott Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived FEPL-LH -Louis McDermott Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Included in this collection are writings, historical documents, news clippings, images, maps, and more. They were written and compiled by Louis McDermott into a series of binders. The digital collection has been scanned from these physical copies. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fort Erie Public Library and Louis McDermott Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource List of Local Church Institutions Description An account of the resource Listed here is a document that lists six local church institutions; First United Church, St. John's Lutheran Church, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, the Reformed Mennonite Church, All Saints' Church, & Grabau Lutheran Church. Histories and records pertinent to each institution are also included. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Louis McDermott Collection churches Fort Erie Louis Mcdermott Collection sherkston