Immanuel Lutheran Church (Gresham, Neb.) [RG3453.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3453.AM:  Immanuel Lutheran Church (Gresham, Neb.)

Records:  1873-1976

Gresham, York County, Neb.:  Lutheran church

Size:  2 reels of microfilm

BACKGROUND NOTE

The German Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Congregation, located seven miles southeast of Gresham and five miles north of Utica, in Seward County, Nebraska, was organized in 1873. The first church building, made of sod, was erected in the following year. At first Immanuel was only a preaching station. Then it joined more formally with the Zion Congregation at Marysville in Seward County, with which it shared a pastor.

A new frame church was built by the Immanuel Congregation in 1877. In 1881 it joined the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and in that same year obtained a resident pastor. In 1884 some families left to form St. Paul’s Congregation in Gresham, which joined the Wisconsin Synod. In 1887 the third and final church building was erected. Immanuel Congregation supported an elementary school beginning in 1876. At first the pastor served also as the teacher. After the 1890s, however, lay people from the parish generally conducted the school.

Records of the church were kept in the German language until the 1930s.

In 1957 the congregation adopted a new constitution with its name as Immanuel Lutheran Church. In 1960 the parish joined St. Paul’s of Utica in calling a common pastor. Because of declining membership, Immanuel Congregation voted to dissolve in 1976, and its property was sold.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The records of the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Gresham, Nebraska, on two reels of microfilm, are arranged in eight series: 1) Constitution and Articles of Incorporation; 2) Registers, 1874-1976; 3) Minute Books, 1875-1976; 4) Account books, 1876-1897; 5) Records of the Ladies’ Aid Society, 1942-1976; 6) Records of the Parent-Teacher League, 1963-1967; 7) Records of sale and dissolution, 1976; and 8) Miscellany.

This collection contains a virtually complete set of the records of the congregation from the first constitution in 1873 to papers regarding its dissolution in 1976. The Registers include names of members, communicants, baptisms, marriages, confirmations, and burials. Minute books include treasurers’ reports giving the financial status of the parish, as well as minutes of meetings. The minutes of the Ladies’ Aid Society begin with its origin in 1942 through 1976. The minutes of the Parent-Teacher League are complete for the duration of its existence. The most important items in the Miscellany are several historical sketches of the church, one in German and several printed on the occasion of congregational anniversaries.

INVENTORY

Series 1 – Constitution and Articles of Incorporation

Reel 1

Item

1. 1. Constitution, 1873 (three copies in German, two handwritten, and one printed)

1. 1. Articles of Incorporation, 1881

1. 1. Constitution, 1957

Series 2 – Registers, 1874-1976

Volume

1. 1. 1874-1891

1. 1. 1891-1976

Series 3 – Minute Books, 1875-1976

Volume

1. 1. 1875-1911

1. 1. 1912-1948

1. 1. 1949-1976

Series 4 – Account Books, 1876-1897

Volume

1. 1. 1876-1897

Series 5 – Records of the Ladies’ Aid Society, 1942-1976

Volume

1. 1. Minute Book, 1942-1960

Reel 2

2. 2. Minute Book, 1961-1970

2. 2. Minute Book, 1971-1973

2. 2. Minute Book, 1974-1976

Series 6 – Records of the Parent-Teacher League

Volume

1. 1. Minute Book, 1963-1967

Series 7 – Records of Sale and Dissolution, 1976

Folder

1. 1. Records relating to the sale of property and dissolution of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1976

Series 8 – Miscellany

Item

1. 1. Historical sketch in German, 1873-1898

1. 1. Seventy-fifth anniversary booklet, 1948

1. 1. Program of services for seventy-fifth anniversary, 1948

1. 1. Program of anniversary services, 1963

1. 1. Centennial anniversary booklet, 1973

1. 1. Certificate from Nebraska District of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 1973

1. 1. Joint resolution to combine St. Paul’s and Immanuel Christian Day Schools, n.d.

1. 1. Articles of Agreement for an interparish kindergarten, 1969

1. 1. Rules for Immanuel Lutheran Church scholarship

1. 1. Letter from Nebraska District of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod regarding procedures for dissolution, 1976

1. 1. Letter from Nebraska District expressing regret at dissolution, 1976

1. 1. Notes of auction of Immanuel Lutheran Church property, 1976

Subject headings:

Germans in Nebraska

Gresham (Neb.) — Churches

Immanuel Lutheran Church (Gresham, Neb.)

Lutheran Church in Nebraska

York County (Neb.) — Churches

APD/cat           12-15-1976

Revised TMM  10-28-2009