Concordia College - Spire / Concordian Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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-QQL L E G E g g gg g iw l939 ,GT - fu ? ' TIT: E6 51 Ti If- : ::L :QE- f5'3E5i5?EH'EE ., .,,..... E E 'iiiaif- er ,,. - f 3 OTTOMAR FUERBRINGI-:R TH. JUL. BROHM JOH. FR. BUi:NGx-:R new pupils entered at about this time, They were Martha Loeber, aged 12. and Gotthilf Simeon Loe- ber, aged 7. During 1841 the college was the scene of the fa- mous Marbach debate, which the Rev. Georg Al- bert Schieferdecker later rated of equal importance to the Leipzig Disputation of 1519. On April 15 and 20 of this year Dr. Walther and Dr. Franz Adolf Marbach, a jurist, led the debate on the question, Are we still a Christian Congregation. Dr. Wal- ther was supported by Pastor Loeber, the Rev. Carl Friedrich Gruber Cfrom Paitzdorfi, and Pastor Keylg while Pastor Buerger, candidate Kluegel, Wege, and Sproede argued from Dr. Marbach's point of view. This debate. held just before Dr. Walther left for St. Louis, was the first occasion in which Dr. Walther looms forth as the real leader. Large numbers milled around outside the college building since the college was scarcely large enough to accommodate those taking part in the debate. The college building which was moved to Alten- burg still stands today on Wittenberg Street in the park of the congregation at Altenburg. A number of members of the Altenburg congregation and of neighboring congregations met on February 12, 1911, at the call of the Rev. Henry Schmidt and or- ganized the Perry County Historical Society for the purpose of preserving the building. It was moved to its present site with horses in 1912 and restored at a cost of 540000. Three years later, in 1915, a pa- vilion was built over it at a cost of 31,000.00 When the building was no longer used for school purposes. i. e., after 1849, it was still used as a residence. The last inhabitant was Gottlieb Funk, a bachelor, who died about 1896. The most critical mcment for the college was soon to ccme. Brohm accepted a call to Trinity of New York and left in May, 1843, marrying Mrs. von Wurmb and taking the von Wurmb children with them. Thus in one stroke the school lost its last teacher and its enrollment dropped to five. Pastor Loeber kept the school alive for six months. with some assistance rendered by Pastor Keyl from Frohna. This sacrifice on the part of Pastor Loeber looms larger when one considers that his health was poor, in fact so poor that he frequently imparted instruction on Mondays while lying on a couch. since his duties on Sundays had exhausted his strength. Loeber saved the school and remained its staunchest supporter till he was suddenly carried away by the cholera on August 19, 1849, at the age of 52 years, 7 months, and 14 days, Loeber's work in the interest of the college has been largely underes- timated, and he has almost become the forgotten man of Concordia's early history. When the life of the college lay in the balance. as it were, the Lord was nearest with His help. This precarious situation was just what was needed to arouse the concern of its friends. While Pastors Loeber, Gruber, Fuerbringer, and Schieferdecker were in St. Louis, they were invited to attend a meeting of Trinity congregation on June 22, 1843, to discuss the Hirtenbrief of Pastor J. A. A. Gra- bau and to present the cause of the college. The question of moving the school to St. Louis was dis- cussed, but the plan was not considered practical for the time being. Subsequent meetings were held. As a result, the first educational society was or- ganized to support the school. It was known as the Gesellschaft fuer das College. Trinity congrega- tion called candidate Johann Jakob Goenner from its midst as theological teacher at the school. He was the first teacher to receive a stipulated salary. The Perry County congregations supported the call by adding their signatures and offering a home for Prof. Goenner. In a meeting on March 18, 18-14, Trinity congregation in St. Louis went a step farther and resolved to assume responsibility for the school t Die Collegesache als Gemeindesache anzuse- hen D, and to support the school financially through voluntary contributions. Now the college took a new lease on life, since adequate financial support was assured. It should be noted that the Perry County congregations had always supported the Page 9

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52-assssfff-einifzi? 1839 , filr::::'-Eimiis i rrp DDT D , W ':::.4--5:51 's .5.: '-3.-QC' were engaged in erecting their own homes and clearing their farms, these men themselves under- took the task of building, and Buenger dug the well which supplied the water. This well was still in use in 1920, and may still be in use today. Buenger's sisters also assisted by carrying clay for filling the spaces between the logs. Finally everything was ready. The physical equipment consisted of a roughly hewn log cabin, approximately 16 by 21 f e e t , W i t h three windows a n d a d o o r . The one-room interior was graced by two long benches, which rested on a fioor of tamped clay. A ladder led to the low- ceilinged attic beneath the roof. The opening date had been set for October 1, but unex- pected delays necessitated a postponement of the date. I n s t r uction was begun on December 9, 1839. Pastor O. H. Walther wrote a poem for the dedication. Dr. Walther found this poem among the effects of his brother 19 years later. DR. C. F. W. WALTHER The enrollment for the first year reached a total of ten, seven boys and three girls. Seated on the first bench were: Franz Julius Biltz, aged l41!2, later pastor at Concordia, Mo., president of the Western District, and founder of St. Paul's College at Con- cordia, Johann Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm Mueller C Chester Muellerb, aged 14, later pastor at St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Chester, Ill., vice- president of the Illinois District, and secretary of the Missouri Synod, 1860-1866, Christoph Heinrich Loeber, aged 10, son of Pastor Loeber, later suc- cessor of Pastor Keyl at Frohna and president of Concordia College, Milwaukee, Herman Buenger, aged 14, brother of candidate Buenger, later drug- gist at St. Louis, Theodore Schubert, aged 10, nephew of Dr. Walther, who died during the first school year: and Columbus Price. The second bench was assigned to Sarah von Wurmb, aged 5, niece of Pastor Loeber, who attended this institution until May, 1843, when her widowed mother married can- didate Brohm and moved to New York City, where she later married the Rev. Henry Birknerg Liddy Page 8 CONCORDIA Buenger, aged 12, who left the school with her brother, Herman Buenger, in September, 1841, and later married the Rev. Friedrich Lochnerg Maria von Wurmb, aged 9, who remained in the institu- tion for three years and four months and later mar- ried Pastor Biltz, her schoolmate, on September 23, 1849, as a result of the first college romance, and Theobald von Wurmb, aged 7, who attended the school till the summer of 1843, and later became a druggist at St. Louis. From the composition of the first student body it is apparent that co-education and a general secular education were accepted principles of the new school. Co-education may have been incidental, yet the girls could have attended the regular parish schools. Furthermore, a girl was admitted at a later date, as we shall see. All early announcements as to purpose stress the fact that the school was found- ed to safeguard the youth against un-Christian edu- cation and to prepare them for university training. Columbus Price is an enigma. He is usually called Hein Amerikaner . Little is known of him. He was the son of William Price, who lived at or near the present village of Brazeau, about six miles west of Altenburg. All of his relatives moved away from Perry County, and he was not present at the col- lege in December, 1841. The college, of course, offered no dormitory fa- cilities. Candidate Buenger, his brother Herman, and his sister Liddy lived with their widowed mother. Biltz and Loeber lived with Pastor Loeber at Altenburg. Mueller roomed with Teacher Johann Friedrich Ferdinand Winter at Altenburg, and both took meals rotating among the parishioners of Al- tenburg. Price walked or rode home each day. Brohm and Fuerbringer had their meals at the home of Mrs. Johanna von Wurmb, whose house stood near the Dresden College building and whose husband had died as missionary among the Hot- tentots of Africa. Brohm and Fuerbringer had their sleeping quarters in the attic of the college. No college can thrive without an enrollment. Boys and girls were needed for work on the home- steads. So there were no new pupils in 1840 and in 1841. The teachers were serving without a salary. and so they accepted positions in the ministry as soon as opportunities presented themselves. The death of one pupil and the departure of three left only six pupils. Buenger, therefore, accepted a call in July, 1840, as teacher at Trinity in St. Louis, where Dr. Walther followed him in 1841. In 1844 Trinity called Buenger as assistant pastor to Dr. Walther. Fuerbringer accepted a call in August, 1840. Brohm was weakened by a lingering fever, and so Pastor Loeber took the college into his home. The second floor of the parsonage was used on Sundays for religious services and during the week days housed the college. Pastor Loeber then had the log cabin taken apart and moved to Altenburg on sleds some time before the close of 1841. Two

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1339 S I X CONCORDIA' J. W. MUELLER HERM. BUENGI-:R C. H. L01-:BI-:R LIDDY BUENGER MARIA v. WURMBSARAH v. WURMB school to the best of their ability. Thus, a page from an old record inscribed, Altenburg, July 31, 1842.7 lists contributions in cash in one column and in another column the days of services ren- dered by friends of the school. Prof. Goenner assumed his new duties in Sep- tember, 1843. Now the curriculum was arranged according to a definite program for the first time. The students were divided into two classes: Three in Class I indie Grossen J, ages 16 to 20, and five in Class II indie Kleinen J, ages 11 to 14. Goenner, Keyl, and Loeber taught the upper class. Goenner gave instruction in theological training, Bible, in the original Greek and Hebrewg Xenophon, Plu- tarch, and Homer in Greek: Caesar, Cicero. Virgil in Latin: and English. Pastor Keyl taught Church History and exegesis of Romans and 1 Peter in 1843-4, systematic theology and the works of Luther in 1844-5. Pastor Loeber had charge of dogmatics, exegesis of Psalms, harmony of the Gospels fthe second class attended these lessons alsol, German composition, catechetics, introduc- JACOB G01-:NNER Page 10 tion to psychology, logic, French, and mathematics. Goenner, Loeber, and Winter, teacher and cantor of the Altenburg parish school, taught the second class. Goenner took over Latin, Greek, and Eng- lish. Loeber instructed in Luther's catechism, German composition, declamation, geography, his- tory, arithmetic, geometry, and drawing. Mr. Win- ter, who was noted for his deep bass voice, con- ducted classes in singing and piano. Mr. Carl Julius Otto Nietzschke, who had conducted a country store at the Wittenberg landing, was engaged as teacher of English, arithmetic, and geography in 1847 and continued to teach till December, 1849. The enrollment in September, 1843, consisted of eight pupils: four, self-supporting, from the neigh- borhood, two from St. Louis, who lived with Prof. Goenner: and two others who were supported by the congregation at Altenburg. Three additional boys entered in 1844: Martin Guenther, later pro- fessor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis: E. Metz, and Koetz. The first graduate of Concordia College was Pastor Mueller, who had attended the school from its beginning. He passed his examination on Octo- ber 7, 1848, and was called as pastor to a congre- gation at Manchester, near St. Louis, which had been served by Pastor Buenger, Mueller's former teacher at the college. The congregation was the fruit of Buenger's missionary activity. Pastor Buenger and the Rev. Herman Fick officiated at the ordination. Biltz was ordained in 1848 and the young Loeber completed his course in the follow- ing year, being ordained in August, 1849. The other two graduates from Altenburg were Prof. Rudolf Lange, later professor at the college and Concor- dia Seminary, and the Rev. H. Wunder. The time had now come when the college was to be transferred a greater distance. Thus the col- lege was moved to St. Louis, where it remained until 1861. The matter of bringing the school to St. Louis had been discussed in 1843. In the first con- vention of the Missouri Synod at Chicago, in April, 1847, the convention expressed the desire that the college be placed into the service and care of the newly organized synod. By the time of the second convention of the Synod at St. Louis in June, 1848,