Church: History: St. John's Church: Jonestown, Lebanon Co, PA

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Centennial History of Lebanon Classes of the Reformed Church in the U.S.,
 1820 - 1920, Compiled by Prof. Thos. S. Stein, Lebanon PA: Sowers Printing Company.

Excerpts from Chapter VI: "Sketches of Congregations"

St. John's, Jonestown, Swatara Charge.
Rev. David SCHEIRER, Pastor.

	The history of St. John's Church, Jonestown, is a very interesting one. It
 is a direct descendant of the old log Swatara Church which was located two
 miles northeast of Jonestown, on the road to Fredericksburg, not far from
 the abandoned South Mountain Railroad. The first reference to it is found
 in the 1739 report of Rev. John Philip BOEHM to the Amsterdam Classis and
 the Synods of Holland. Therein occurs the following: "Tulpehocken, where
 probably a place [for the residence of a minister] could be found in the
 center, which would be most convenient for all. The neighboring places here
 are Quittapahilla and Swatara, both, as I hear, seven or eight miles or
 more above. They are reported to be pretty strong congregations, but mostly
 of poor people, who cannot help themselves at all."

	By Quittapahilla is meant the Hill Church, on the ridge known as the Gravel
 Hill, about halfway between Lebanon and Annville. Quittapahilla was the
 earliest name of this church.

	Nothing is known of the beginning of the Swatara Church. The first entry in
 the "Schwatara Kirchenbuch" is the baptism of John Henry CAPLER. It is
 dated October 1, 1740. Among the family names on record are there: SCHNEBLE
 (Snavely), BORN, MATTERN, SHUGAR, SCHUY (Shuey), MOYER, MILLER, LONG,
 BINDNAGEL, NOLL, WINKELBLECH, EULER, BUCHER, SHOLL, BACHMAN, WAGNER, KLEIN,
 KRALL, DIETZLER, BOLLMAN, SCHAEFFER.

	The first pastor of the Swatara Church was Mr. Conrad TEMPELMAN, a pious
 layman, who, because of the scarcity of ordained ministers in those early
 years, served as their spiritual father. When Rev. Michael SCHLATTER
 visited the congregations in Pennsylvania in 1746, he found TEMPELMAN
 serving six congregations, Muddy Creek, Cocalico (Bethany, near Ephrata),
 Whiteoak and Donegal in Lancaster County, and Quittapahilla (Hill) and
 Swatara in Lebanon County.

	TEMPELMAN was subsequently ordained in Lancaster by Rev. SCHLATTER. Now he
 could administer the communion. It gave him great satisfaction, for in his
 entry of this event is found the pious outburst of his soul, "Glory to God
 alone" (Gott allein die Ehre - Deo Soli Gloria.) The following is his first
 class of catechumens - confirmed by him: "Niklaus BOTZ, Peter GUTMANN,
 Maria Magtalena MATER, Frana (Veronica) SNC4BELI, Sussana WEISS, Sussana
 SNEBELI, Anna Barbra SNEBLE. (The original spelling is retained.) These
 children were admitted for the first time to the Lord's Supper on March 3,
 1754, by their pastor ("Herr Pfarrer") TEMBEL MANN."

	Ere we proceed to trace the further development of this Church into the
 Jonestown congregation, we think the following will be of interest. It is
 taken from BOEHM's letter of 1740:
	"The Reformed congregation at Schwatare (Swatara) promises to contribute
 annually to a minister's fixed salary: Five pounds of this country's
 currency and ten bushels of oats, which we, the elders and members of the
 congregation at the present time, attest with its approval. Martin KAPP,
 deacon; George MEYER, member; John Philip HAUTZ, member; Daniel SCHUE,
 member. Schwatare, February 14, 1740."

	For further information on the Swatara Church we refer the reader to "Two
 Dead and Lost Churches on the Swatara," by Dr. E. Grumbine. (Paper read
 before the Lebanon County Historical Society, Vol. I, No. 14.)

	The church at Jonestown was situated on South Broad Street. It was a log
 structure. The founder of Jonestown (names Williamsburg at first), William
 JONES, gave lots 73 and 74 to the two congregations (Lutheran and
 Reformed.) From a Declaration of Trust in possession of the writer, we
 learn that the trustees on the part of the Lutherans were Charles SHADE and
 Wendel HOYLE, and John TIBBIN and Conrad WEISS on the part of the Reformed.
 The lots extended from Broad Street to Strawberry Alley. The Declaration is
 dated September 20, 1765. Of the character of this house of God we are not
 informed but, no doubt, it was a log building. In 1791 the Lutherans
 withdrew and built a church for themselves a little east of their present
 house of worship.

	In 1810 a new brick church was built by the Reformed people on the
 northeast corner of the present Reformed burial ground. Here they worshiped
 until 1857, when the present brick edifice was erected on Market Street.
 Thus the congregation has its fourth church, reckoning the Swatara Church
 as the first. This one stood from ca. 1739 to 1765; the second one (on
 Broad Street) from 1765 to 1810; the third, on the northeast corner of the
 cemetery, from 1810 to 1857; the fourth, the present structure, from 1857
 to - . On the 24th of October, 1915, the Jonestown (St. John's)
 congregation celebrated its 175th anniversary, when the pastor, Rev. David
 SCHEIRER gave a historical address, reviewing the history of the
 congregation from its beginning to the present. By his permission we have
 made free use of the information contained therein. The following is the
 list of pastors:
		Rev. Conrad TEMPELMAN, 1740 - 1759.
		Rev. John WALDSCHMIDT, 1759 -  .
		Rev. Frederick Casimir MILLER, 1762 - 1766.
		Rev. John Conrad BUCHER, 1768 - 1780.
		Rev. John Wm. RUNKEL, 1780 - 1784.
		Rev. Andrew LORETZ, 178 - 1798.
		Rev. Ludwig LUPP, 1786 - 1798.
		Rev. William HIESTER, 1800 - 1828.
		Rev. Henry KROH, 1828 - 1835.
		Rev. Henry WAGNER, 1835 - 1845.
		Rev. Joel L. REBER, 1845 - 1851.
		Rev. Abraham ROMICH, 1851 - 1862.
		Rev. U. Henry HEILMAN, 1863 - 1868.
		Rev. Wm. M. REILY, 1869 - 1871.
		Rev. C.H. MUTCHLER, 1871 - 1878.
		Rev. A.R. BARTHOLOMEW, 1878 - 1882.
		Rev. Tobias KESSLER, 1882 - 1888.
		Rev. Jairus A. WICKERT, 1889 - 1895.
		Rev. Wilson D. DONAT, 1895 - 1907.
		Rev. H.J. LEINBACH, 1907 - 1913.
		Rev. David SCHEIRER, 1913 -  .
	Twenty-one pastors! Surely the congregation must have attained the age of
 maturity. What trials, what struggles, what conflicts! What longings, what
 aspirations, what prayers! What victories, what blessings, what joys! No
 one knows the full extent of these experiences. But there is One who has
 been with these people in their onward march and will continue to guide them.

	St. John's was for many years united with Tabor, (Lebanon) and the Hill
 Church in one charge. From 1845 on to the present time the charge,
 including Jonestown, was variously constituted from time to time, including
 Shellsville, Fredericksburg, Walmer's, and Zion's. At present St. John's,
 Jonestown, Salem (Walmer's), and Zion's (East Hanover Township) from the
 Swatara Charge.

	In such a career there is history enough to fill a large volume. But here
 we can give a mere outline. Here is a field for some future historian to
 earn an olive chaplet, for a crown of gold is out of the question in such
 work, deserving as it may be.

	The present (1920) consistory of St. John's is as follows:
		Elders - Peter R. BOLTZ, John H. BOLTZ, Harvey W. SHUEY, A.J. McGILL.
		Deacons - Walter KREIDER, Clayton BOLTZ, David ISELE, Leon WOLF.
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