NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES: Rev. Rudolph Duenger PART IV Copyright (c) 1999 by John Paul Deeben. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. jdeeben@aol.com USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. LATER MINISTERIAL CAREER, 1855-1891 BY 1855 RUDOLPH DUENGER had determined, for reasons which will most likely remain uncertain, to resign from the Lower Mahanoy Reformed Charge. Some sources suggest he was moved by a need to serve the more destitute coal regions of northern Schuylkill County, while others imply Duenger chose that area as a suitable location for retirement or that he was specifically called there to do mission work.[1] Whatever the reason, Duenger's removal from Lower Mahanoy took place gradually. In 1849 he turned over the pulpit of St. David's Union Church to Rev. J. A. Leiss. Three years later he resigned from the Himmel's Church. A surviving transcript of that congregation's letter accepting Duenger's resignation, dated December 26, 1851, was found among the parish records: Mr. R. Duenger, By an election which was held on 26 December in the year A.D. 1851, in the School-house in the Himmel's Church in Upper Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, in accord with our Church rights and rules, it was decided by a majority of the true congregation members of the said congregation, Against you the decision was, no longer to preach here in the Himmel's Church, until spring, as your time is up. William Sherry December 26th 1851 Johannes Keister Johannes Rebock In 1853-54, finally, Duenger's services to the Howerter Church, Frieden's, St. John's at Leck Kill, and St. Peter's at Red Cross ended as well. By this time most likely a widower, Rudolph removed his family to the small mining community of Fountain Springs, near Ashland in Butler Township, Schuylkill County, just across the Northumberland border. At some point he also purchased a house and lot in Ashland, which was located between 13th and 14th streets. Soon after his relocation, between 1856 and 1858, Duenger married for the second time. His new wife was Barbara Bressler, a native of Hegins Township, Schuylkill County. Barbara was born May 5, 1834, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Kehres) Bressler. She helped Rudolph raise his children (six were still living at home according to the 1860 U.S. Census: John Harvey [age 23], Amelia [age 19], Catherine [age 18], Rudolph [age 15], Christiana [age 10], and Malinda [age 8].) The couple also began a family of their own. Three more children were added to the Duenger household, two of whom lived to adulthood: Emma Louisa, Laura Adaline (September 2, 1863-July 16, 1865), and Cora Charlotte Elizabeth (August 22, 1866-January 11, 1935.) Barbara Duenger died February 20, 1923 at the family home in Ashland, attended by daughter Cora. Emma Louis Duenger, the first child of Rudolph and second wife Barbara Bressler, was born July 21, 1858 in Butler Township, Schuylkill County. Although raised near Ashland, Emma eventually met and married a prominent Shamokin businessman, Frank E. Ammerman. The son of Joseph and Esther (Taylor) Ammerman, Frank was born April 7, 1857, near Woodhull, Henry County, Illinois. Both parents were natives of Pennsylvania and in 1864 returned to Huntingdon County where the elder Ammerman established a school. In 1873 Frank entered Lewisburg Academy at Lewisburg where he completed a college course and in 1877 was elected a school teacher in the Shamokin Borough schools. He continued as an instructor there for five years until his marriage on April 11, 1882, to Emma. Immediately following, Ammerman became associated with his father in a general grocery and notion enterprise (according to census records, Ammerman was an undergarment manufacturer) at Second and Arch Streets. With the growth of the business it was transferred to Independence and Liberty Streets, present site of the American Legion Memorial, where for many years he continued ownership following his father's death of what was known as the Cash Bazaar.[2] A member of the Baptist faith by birth and baptism, Ammerman transferred his membership to St. John's Reformed Church. Three years after uniting with that church Ammerman was named a church deacon and for 57 years had been a deacon, a post he held to the time of his death. In addition to his service as an officer of the church, Ammerman was a teacher in the Reformed Sunday School for 35 years and frequently conducted religious services in county churches and Sabbath Schools. He also served as assistant to the pastor of the church in administering communion to members in their homes, was chairman of laymen's activities, a church delegate to many classical and synodical meetings and served over a long period of years as president of the Northumberland County Christian Endeavor Society.[3] Emma served as secretary of the Ladies Aid Society, and both were also superintendents of the Sunday School Primary department. Frank Ammerman died on September 2, 1939. Emma Duenger Ammerman passed away on February 18, 1924 and was buried in the Shamokin City Cemetery. Estate records show that the Ammermans were substantial citizens for the standards of the day. At the time of her death, Emma Ammerman's personal property was valued at $3,600.[4] During their life, Emma and Frank Ammerman had five children: Helen Barbara (October 30, 1884-?), Joseph Rudolph (June 21, 1887-August 14, 1951), Howard Elwood (February 26, 1889-?), Walter Duenger (November 29, 1893-December 15, 1916), and Grande Earl (August 12, 1896-November 20, 1896.) OWING TO HIS REPUTATION and elevated stature within the German Reformed clergy by this time, it did not take very long for Rudolph Duenger to be called upon again to serve the church. In 1856 the Reformed faithful of the Ashland area, with synodical approval, approached Duenger to organize and lead a congregation. The following year the Reformed Church officially sanctioned the appointment, as recorded in the Proceedings of Classis for 1857: A communication from some persons near Ashland asking the advice of Classis with reference to the formation of a charge. Resolved: that Rev. R. Duenger be permitted to form a charge in that region and supply them until the next meeting of Classis. [5] In this manner Rudolph Duenger founded the Zion German Reformed Church with an initial congregation of fifteen families. Duenger was elected pastor in 1856 and held the first worship services shortly before Easter in the old stone schoolhouse in Ashland, at the corner of 10th and Walnut streets. The constitution of the new congregation was formally adopted at the schoolhouse on November 28, 1856. The cornerstone of the first church building was laid in July 1857, and the final edifice, a frame structure thirty by forty feet with a stone basement, was completed and dedicated in September 1858. It cost the membership between $2,000 and $3,000 to complete. The first Sunday School for the Zion Church was opened the following year in 1859.[6] Rudolph Duenger served as pastor of the Zion German Reformed Church for an incredible period of thirty-five years, from 1856 to 1891, when the natural effects of advanced years finally forced his retirement at age eighty-two. During his noteworthy tenure the congregation thrived. By 1880 it boasted 280 members and 150 Sunday School pupils. Duenger baptized approximately 2,992 infants, confirmed 1,425 members, married 850 couples, and performed 916 funerals. At the onset of his pastorate, congregations in nearby Donaldson and Tremont also found themselves without a minister, and called upon Duenger for help as well. The Donaldson congregation had been organized in 1848 and joined with the Lutheran denomination to build a union church, which was completed between 1850-51. However, Rudolph was the first pastor called to attend the German Reformed members. These churches he also served, preaching on alternate Sundays until 1860, when the needs of the Zion congregation finally required his full-time attention. (For an undetermined number of years he also ministered twice a month to a joint Lutheran and Reformed congregation in Girardville. The joint services were held in the auditorium of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while Sunday School was conducted in the basement.) During this time, Duenger found other ways to serve the community as well. For many years he was a director for the Butler Township public school system.[7] Zion's congregation thrived so well during Rudolph's pastorate, that a resolution was passed on April 17, 1882 to erect a new church building. The cornerstone of the second edifice was laid on August 6, 1882. The contents of the cornerstone included such significant artifacts as the Bible which had been enclosed in the original cornerstone for twenty- five years, a copy of the Heidelberg Catechism, some bread and wine, old newspapers including the Ashland Record, and a copy of the church constitution with names of the consistory, trustees of the building committee, and the presiding minister. A liberal offering of $145.00 was collected during the cornerstone ceremony. Rudolph penned an account of the proceedings, concluding his narrative with his signature and the phrase "So schlose sach diesen wichtige und schone Tag."[8] As mentioned before, Rudolph Duenger served the Zion German Reformed Church in Ashland for more than thirty-five years, amounting to what today would be considered a second career. The limitations of old age, however, finally forced Rudolph to relinquish the pulpit, and so on January 1, 1891 he submitted the following letter of resignation to the consistory of Zion Reformed Church: Dear Brethren: As owing to age and failing health I am obliged to retire from the active ministry--reluctantly as I do so--I hereby tender you my resignation as pastor of your congregation, to go into effect on the last Sunday in January in 1891. After accepting it you will unite with me in requesting the East Susquehanna Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States to dissolve the pastoral relation between the Rev. R. Duenger and the Ashland Charge. With the assurance of my kindest feelings towards you and the Congregation, I remain Yours in the bonds of the Gospel, R. Duenger [9] At first, the consistory laid Rudolph's resignation aside for future consideration, effectively refusing to accept it. By this time, they had become so thoroughly devoted to their pastor that any thought of losing him proved to be unbearable. Instead, a special committee was formed to confer with Duenger on the matter of securing pastoral assistance. Rudolph, however, refused to be deterred, and submitted a second resignation with a strong insistence that it be accepted. At a special meeting held April 2, 1891 the consistory finally, and with great regret, accepted Rudolph's retirement. As a gesture of their devotion and respect for his many years of service, the congregation granted Rudolph an annual pension of $200. The pension took affect on December 31, 1892, and continued until the end of Rudolph's life.[10] Even though Rudolph Duenger's venerable ministerial career came to a close in 1891, he managed to stay somewhat active in clerical matters while living quietly in retirement in Fountain Springs. Affectionately known by this time as Father Duenger, Rudolph remained Pastor Emeritus of the Zion German Reformed Church, even after he turned the pulpit over to his successor, Rev. Isaac M. Schaeffer. He performed the marriage of at least one of his grandchildren, William Albert Duenger, on December 6, 1892 in Shamokin. In 1894 he also officiated the marriage of daughter Christiana and Christian H. Mutschler, with the assistance of Pastor Schaeffer and Revs. Thomas J. Hacker and Charles B. Schneder. Duenger also continued to baptize his own grandchildren, a fact that is evident in the entries of the Duenger family Bible. Other family matters remained central to his life as well. Each year Rudolph's birthday was celebrated with a large family reunion, an event Duenger always participated in with enthusiasm.[11] The enfeebling effects of old age, however, finally confined Duenger to bed for the last few years of his life, even though his mental faculties remained sharp until the end. In this condition, Rudolph Duenger suffered a paralytic stroke on the morning of March 16, 1902 at the family home on West Center Street in Ashland. He never rallied from the affects and died at eight o'clock that evening at the venerable age of ninety-four. THE LEGACY OF A CHURCH FATHER RUDOLPH DUENGER LEFT BEHIND a considerable legacy from his service to the German Reformed Church. He had been an ordained minister for sixty-eight years at the time of his death and was therefore considered to be one of the patriarchs of the Church as well as the longest-serving clergyman. As such, he left a very lasting and heartfelt impression on the lives of those he touched. The Ashland Evening Telegram eulogized Duenger as "one of our venerated and most esteemed old citizens" who commanded the love and respect of all and whose salutary influence would linger for many years to come: There were few who did not know Father Duenger, and none knew him but to love him. He was ever the upright Christian, the wise counsellor, and the faithful friend. Now that he has gone from earth forever his memory will remain with us ever fragrant with the sweet incense of a life well spent in holy Christian work, and in whose life was exemplified in the fullest sense the spirit of doing unto others as ye would that they should do unto you. [12] The historians of St. John's congregation in Shamokin likewise noted Duenger's steadfast spirituality at the end of his life: "[H]e retained, without abatement to the end, a profound faith in the Holy Spirit, a firm hope in Jesus Christ, and a deep love for God and humanity."[13] Rudolph Duenger was laid to rest in Christ Church Cemetery at Fountain Springs on March 20, 1902. Following a brief service at the Ashland home in the morning, which consisted of a few scripture readings and an invocation by Rev. Albert Gonser of Mt. Carmel, an elaborate afternoon memorial service took place at the Zion Church. It was a stately affair "performed . . . amid a solemnity and pathos which were touching in the extreme," and was so well attended-there were more than eighteen Reformed clergy present from as far away as Wilkes-Barre and Allentown-that the church was "taxed to its utmost capacity, and many failed to gain entrance."[14] Following the reading of the Ninetieth Psalm by Rev. Robert O'Boyle of Sunbury, President of the East Susquehanna Classis, a prayer by Rev. J. B. Kershner of Freeland, and several hymns including a version of "Jesus, I Live to Thee" which had been translated into German by Duenger, English and German sermons were delivered by Revs. Charles B. Schneder of Shamokin and Thomas J. Hacker of Allentown respectively. Rev. Hacker spoke from the text of Revelations 21:4-"And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more"-and developed an eloquent discourse on the meaning of death which "was full of inspiration; it breathed forth a solacing benediction upon the bereaved hearts, and begat in one's soul a spirit akin to impatience to be absent from the body and present with the Lord."[15] Rev. Schneder centered his remarks on Romans 14:8 and the theme of Rudolph Duenger's triumphant life. "[S]o impressively did the speaker portray Father Duenger's character," the Evening Telegram reported, "that time and again did the unbidden tear start."[16] At the close of the sermons, Rev. O'Boyle conveyed the condolences of the East Susquehanna Classis, Rev. Isaac M. Schaeffer read the obituary, and Rev. Dr. Weber of Sunbury offered the closing prayer. At the end of the memorial service the funeral procession moved to the cemetery where the last rites were performed. Revs. Schneder, O'Boyle, Gonser, Hacker, Z. A. Yearick of Shenandoah, and B. L. Whitmore of Pottsville served as pall bearers. Honorary pall bearers from the Zion Reformed consistory included elders A. M. Keim, G. H. Hron, J. William Retz and H. C. Schmidt, deacons August Scheonenberger, C. H. Weller, Dr. G. W. Ressler, and Augnst Henke, and trustees George F. Rentz, John Geating, Joseph Mervine, and George W. Steinhilber. Pastor Schaeffer read the committal, and all present joined in the responsive service as well as the singing of "Rock of Ages."[17] Thus ended the reverent observance of the life and passing of Rudolph Duenger. In a final tribute, the consistory of the Zion German Reformed Church adopted the following resolutions, which they presented to the Duenger family and published in the local papers as well as the Reformed Church Messenger: WHEREAS, the Great Head of the church manifested his mercy unto us as a congregation, in setting over us as our spiritual father, the Rev. R. Duenger, D. D., one so ripe in experience, so self sacrificing in his labors, whole-souled and sympathetic in his pastoral oversight; one so apostolic in his preaching and so saintly in character, WHEREAS, a faithful ministry of thirty-five years, and a loving Interest of an additional decade, have united this father in the faith and his spiritual offspring with tenderest ties of mutual affection; WHEREAS, God has greatly honored our congregation with the care of His aged servant, the patriarch of our Zion, and in his feeble old age, gave us an angel's charge to bear him up in our hands, and about the time that the apostolic benediction was pronounced upon God's people at the evening service, be it therefore, RESOLVED, that we, the officers of Zion's Reformed Church, recognize the providence of God in the past history of our congregational career, and that we render our heartiest thanks to the giver of all good for the abundant harvest which He has privileged us to reap through the sacrifices of our venerable pastor, RESOLVED, That we cherish these sacred ties in grateful remembrance, and that we endeavor to emulate his noble example by living for the glory of the church, RESOLVED, That we assure the bereaved household of our sincerest sympathy in their great sorrow, and pledge ourselves to a continued interest in their behalf, and, RESOLVED, that a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family of the deceased, and that they be inserted in The Evening Telegram and the Reformed Church Messenger. Isaac M. Schaeffer, President G. W. Ressler, Secretary [18] Those families who are fortunate enough to find a gem among their roots, who can establish their lines on the foundations of a noteworthy individual, may indeed consider themselves blessed. So may the family and descendants of the Rev. Rudolph Duenger. Discarding the elements of a privileged life, Duenger followed a spiritual one in the New World. In doing so he provided a shining example of the pioneer stock which molded the foundation of the American nation, all the while disseminating a spiritual and personal influence in his chosen profession which has been felt and remembered to the present day. He earned a rightful place in the annals of local history, and for this the families who bear his name and lineage may indeed be proud. ____________________ [1] Evening Telegram, March 17, 1902; Snyder, "Beginnings of Reformed Church," p. 120. [2] Frank E. Ammerman's Obituary, Shamokin Dispatch, September 3, 1939. [3] Ibid. [4] Last Will & Testament of Emma L. Ammerman, September 17, 1921, probated March 10, 1924, File A320, Register and Recorder's Office, Northumberland County Court House, Sunbury, Pennsylvania; History of St. John's Reformed Church, pp. 66, 74- 75. [5] Proceedings of Classis (1857), as quoted in Snyder, "Beginnings of Reformed Church," p. 120. [6] W. W. Munsell, History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania (New York: W.W. Munsell Co., 1881), p. 188. Additional information on Duenger's career at Zion's German Reformed Church was gratefully supplied from the original German records of the parish, written in Rudolph's own hand, by office secretary Janelle Ramsdale of Ashland. [7] Ibid.; Evening Telegram, March 17, 1902; Zerbey, History of Pottsville, pp. 606, 646, 1282; Munsell, History of Schuylkill County, p. 219. [8] Janelle Ramsdale to John Deeben, June 29, 1999. From accounts in the original German records of Zion's Reformed Church. [9] Ibid. [10] Ibid. [11] Evening Telegram, March 17, 1902. [12] Ibid. [13] History of St. John's Reformed Church, p. 11. [14] Ashland Telegram, March 20, 1902. [15] Ibid. [16] Ibid. [17] Ibid. [18] Ibid.