CHURCH: Bleimeir’s Church, York County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Abby Bowman Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/york/ ________________________________________________ History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of West Pennsylvania of the United Lutheran Church in America, 1825-1925 Edited by Adam Stump, D.D. and Henry Anstadt, D.D. Published by the Action of the Synod in Celebration of Its Centennial, Printed For The Synod By J. R. Kerr & Bro., Chambersburg, Penna.,1925 _______________________________________________ Pg 441-442 BLEIMEIR'S CHURCH, YORK COUNTY, PA The history of Bleimeir's church, which is one of the oldest places of worship in York County, is indefinite, due to the loss of records, if such were kept in the early days of her history. Martin Bleimeir, who came to this country in 1749, settled in York Township, York County, and donated 40 acres of land for to found a school and sanctuary for the worship of God and the preaching of His Word. Just when St. John's Lutheran and Reformed congregations were organized is not definitely known. Prowell's history of York County says it took place in 1758. But the date is questionable, as there are no deeds or records obtainable. The joint congregation as now constituted made no charter before 1860. However, records obtainable do show that children were baptized by George Bager in 1767, March 19th. The record of this baptism states, that the boy was over a year old when baptized; and as the German custom was to have children baptized before they are a year old, Prof. Grim of Gettysburg College is of the opinion that there must not have been a pastor up until that date. The record book, with a hog-skin covering, was started by Rev. Bager, who was then pastor of Christ Church, York. But there was a school house in the glen a few hundred feet from where the present church now stands, and funerals must have been held here as early as 1755, according to tombstone records. The congregation may thus be older than the register book started by Bager. Dr. Adam Stump thinks that the latter is true. If this is true, the pastor must have been Rev. Lucas Raus, who was both a minister and a physician, living in York. Rev. Raus was pastor of the mother church in York in 1758, but left the mother church in 1763. Then he organized about half-a-dozen rural congregations, of which Bleimeir's must have been one, as his name appears in the baptismal records in 1769. But in July of the same year we find records showing that Rev. Bager also baptized some children in the territory. The first record we find in our Lutheran archives of Bleimeir's Church is in the minutes of the Ministerium, 1792, when Mr. Ritz was appointed to serve as a catechist under the supervision of the pastor living in Hanover. Records show that he served Shuster's, Sattler's, Bleimeir's and Frey's churches. In 1793 Stahley's or St. Luke's was added. Three churches have been erected on this sacred soil. The first was a log church, in all probability similar to the one erected at Frey's about twelve years later. The space between the logs was chucked and was not plastered on the outside. The gable ends and the windows were painted red; the main door and inside of the building, white. The building had no chimney, as fires were always built on the outside. The seats consisted of slabs and the floors were the tamped earth. About twenty years was the life of such buildings. The second church was built of boards. The third church was built of brick, which now stands as a monument to the loyalty and sacredness of the early Lutheran and Reformed settlers who came to York Township, York County. At present, preaching services are held by the Reformed congregation every two weeks, while the Lutheran congregation is supplied from time to time by visiting pastors. A very live and active Sunday School is maintained, having over a hundred on the roll; while the membership of each congregation is becoming smaller and smaller each year. The following Lutheran pastors served this church. The dates of the early pastorates are not obtainable. Rev. Lucas Raus; Rev. George Bager; Mr. Ritz (Catechist); Rev. John Reyman; Rev. Conrod Reyman; Rev. John Herbst, 1813-1819; Rev. George Stecher, 1820-1830; Rev. A. Geanal; Rev. J. Harman; Rev. Jacob Kaempfer; Rev. John Conway; Rev. Peter Warner, 1871-1882; Rev. E. Lenhart, 1883-1886; Rev. C. W. Baker, 1886-1892; Rev. A. M. Heilman, 1892-1894; Rev. I. B. Crist, 1895-1897; Rev. W. F. Bare, 1898- 1902; Rev. J. B. Lau, 1902-1904; Rev. Samuel Greenhoe, 1904-1912; Rev. C. N. Schindler, 1913-1915; Rev. S. L. Hench, 1915-1918.