South Waterloo Church

(1856-)

Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa (28 Sep 1907)

BEGINNINGS OF THE BRETHREN CHURCH IN BLACK HAWK

  Mrs. W. O. Tannereuther of Orange township recently read a paper, 

hastily prepared, at one of the evening meetings at the South 

Waterloo Brethren church. It is historical and of such a nature as to 

interest all former residents of the county, and it is printed herewith:

   The doctrines of the Brethren church are in the main those which 

are held in common by the Protestant churches, but there are some 

tenets which distinguish it from others. Baptism is performed by 

trine immersion. It is this feature which gave to the sect the name 

Dunkards, or Tunkers, the word coming from a German verb, "to dip." 

This church has never recognized this titie and prefers to be known 

as the name, Brethren, but like the names, Quaker and Methodist, 

which were first applied to the people who wear them, in a derisive 

spirit, but which are now worn by them as  honorable titles, so the 

name, Dunkard, has becoe one of honor by reason of the character of 

the people who were so-called.

   The Brethren church had its beginning in Germany in 1708.  The 

first organization was formed at Schwerzeman, Province of 

Wittgenstein, in Hesse-Cassell, and was composed of eight members.  

They were Alexander Mack, Anna Margaretta Mack, Joanna Notinger, 

Alexander Bony, George Greby, Like Vetter, John Kipping and Joanna 

Kipping.  All these had been members of Protestant churches, and 

Alexander Mack was chosen as their leader.  They grew in numbers 

rapidly and in 1719 a number of faith came to America and settled in 

Pennsylvania.  The first church of the Brethren in America was 

organized at Germantown, Pa., in 1723.  In 1729 fifty-nine families 

came from Germany and landed in Philadelphia on Sept. 15. 

Persecutions in the Fatherland drove most of those who held to the 

doctrines of the church, to seek refuge in Pennsylvania, where 

greater freedom of religious belief was permitted.  Thus the church 

became practically an American institution, and few of its adherents 

were left in the old country. As time passed many migrated farther 

west in Pennsylvania and not a few settled in Somerset county, from 

which place came most of those who settled in Black Hawk county, Ia.

   Probably the first member of the Brethren church to set foot on 

the soil of Black Hawk county was Elder Ellas Buechley, who came here 

in 1854 to spy out the land.  He did not make a settlement here at 

that time and many others of the Brethren made their homes in this 

locality before he finally moved here. Elder Buechley, on his first 

trip west, stopped at the Sherman House, then a one-story log 

building standing where the Germania now stands, on Commercial 

street.  The first floor of the building was kitchen, dining room, 

office and parlor, all in one apartment.  In the garret above this 

and under the roof, which came so low that one could not stand erect, 

even under the very ridge pole, beds were made on a rough floor, upon 

which the guests of the hotel slept at night, all in one large room.

   The earliest actual settler of the Brethren to come here was 

Brother Martin Buechley, who moved to Waterloo in 1855.  It is now a 

little more than a year since his decease.

   In the spring of 1856 Matthias Miller and a few others from 

Somerset county came here with their families, and the same year 

Brother John Speicker, who was also originally from Somerset county 

but who had lived two years in Allamakee county, moved to Waterloo 

that year also.

   The first Brethren church in Black Hawk county was organized at 

the home of Martin Buechley in Waterloo. The charter members were 

Martin Buechley, John Dull, Joseph Forney, Joseph Ogg, D. Meyers and 

Mathias Miller, with their wives.  Meetings were first held in 

private houses and later in Capwell’s hall, at the corner of West 

Fifth and Commercial streets, or in Weaver’s hall, on Commercial 

street, near West Eighth.  The preachers in those early days were 

John Speicher, Joseph Ogg and Jesse Meyers.

   In 1861 Elder E. K. Buechley, with his family, moved west and 

settled in Orange township, on the farm which is now owned and 

occupied by W. H. Maust. At that time there were four school houses 

in the township, and these were used alternately as the places of 

meeting until 1868, when the church which we now occupy was erected. 

The cost of the building was about $7,000, all building materials 

being very expensive at the time of its erection.

   In 1870 the general conference was held here in the county house.  

Delegates and visitors were conveyed by th local members to and from 

the city in farm wagons and such conveyances as they possessed at 

that time. It was a busy time for all who lived here, as all visitors 

were lodged by them, and meals were prepared and served free in the 

church. The main part of the basement and audience room both were 

used as dining rooms. The small room a the west end of the basement 

was used as a baggage room.  The conference was held in a tent of 

canvas sewed on a chain stitch machine owned by Benjamin Joder.

   The presiding [sic] elder at that time was Jacob Hauger, the same 

position being later held by E. K. Buechley, S. H. Miller and by the 

present time by A. P. Blough.

   The church continued to grow in numbers, both through accessions 

by immigration and by conversations. In 1873 another church was built 

in Black Hawk township, northwest of Hudson, there being at that time 

about three hundred members in the county, with quite a number in the 

vicinity of Hudson.  This church, at the time of the division in 

1881, when the progressive element withdrew, was taken by them as 

their share of the buildings. It was afterward moved into the village 

of Hudson and has sine been replaced by a new and more modern 

building.  Of the number who remained with the Brethren at that time, 

Brother Watters is the only one still living in that locality.

   The first Brethren church in Waterloo was erected in 1880, and was 

located at the corner of West Seventh and South streets, where the 

present church stands.  It was a frame building without basement 

about 30X50 feet in size, and continued to be used for relious 

services until the building which was to replace it was completed and 

dedicated on the same spot Nov. 23, 1902, Brother D. L. Miller 

preaching the dedicatory sermon.

   As land became dearer in Black Hawk county and as the sons and 

daughters of the pioneer families came to maturity, new colonies were 

sent out from the Brethrens’ colony in this locality to fields 

farther west.,  One of the first of these left this county for South 

Dakota in the early ‘80’s, among those who went being Jacob Murry, 

Cornelius Miller, Isaac Nedrow and families and several of the 

children of William Miller.  In the year 1897, there was still 

another swarm went out from the Black Hawk county hive, settling in 

North Dakota.  Twenty-six went there at the time and took 

homesteads.  About the same time, S. H. Miller, who was then elder of 

the church, moved with his family to Sunnyside, Wash., and was joined 

by a number of others from this locality.  Chris Fike and family 

headed the migration to Nez Perces, Idaho.  Others have gone to Brown 

Co., Kan.; Thayer Co., Neb.; Plymouth Co., Ia.; and at present we are 

well represented on the Pacific coast.  In spite of these removals, 

the church has held her own and now numbers something like 400.

   The different institutions of the church are the Sunday school, 

Christian Workers’ meeting and the Aid society.  From the first the 

missionary spirit has been at work among us.  At different times, 

meetings were held at outposts, at one time near Dunkerton, north of 

Waterloo, at the George Strayer school house, and at Finnell chapel 

in Black Hawk township, in the United Brethren church at Eagle 

Center, the Sand Hill school house in Cedar township, in Spring Creek 

township, in our own house of worship until it was destroyed by fire 

and late in a school house and at La Porte City.  The only 

appointment now being filled, other than that at the Waterloo church 

and at South Waterloo, is the one at La Porte.

   The cause of missions has been remembered by those who lived and 

toiled among us and who were blessed with this world’s goods until at 

the present time something like $20,000 or $25,000 has been set apart 

for worldwide missions.  Since the organization of the Mt. Morris 

College Missionary society quite a number have obligated themselves 

to help the support of missionaries in foreign fields.  At present 

sister Sadie Miller is being thus supported.  The endowment that the 

district board has solicited from this congregation is no mall sum.  

About ten years ago the church felt the need of a city worker. The 

work was first supported by the local church and Sunday school, but 

at present the district bears part of the expense.  The first workers 

thus authorized were Sisters Lydia Taylor and Della Myers Peiffer; 

then Eliza Miller, who is about to visit us from her return from 

seven years of labor in India, Alma Crouse, who is at present engaged 

in like work in Springfield, Ill.; while at present Sister Eva Lichty 

is the efficient and much-beloved city missionary.

   In the beginning of this paper, it was our intention to bring 

before our minds the Sunday school as a prominent factor in our 

progress and our advancement, but as our paper is too long already, 

we will leave that until some future time as a history of her 

struggle and her ultimate success would make a story, worth listening 

to. That we are making progress we all know; that we are not doing 

what we might, we know too. May we be aroused to a sense of our duty 

and help to place more laborers in the field. If we were but willing 

to work with the determination and sacrificing spirit that our 

fathers did here our work would spread out farther and more would be 

constrained to follow the King of Kings.