NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG3068.AM: Salem United Church of Christ (Steinauer, Neb.)
Records: 1878-1967
Steinauer, Pawnee County, Neb.: Evangelical and Reformed church
Size: 1 reel of microfilm
HISTORICAL NOTE
The Evangelical Salem’s church of Steinauer, Nebraska, was formally organized and constitution adopted on January 1, 1879. The roots of the congregation date back to 1871 when a representative of the Iowa Synod of the Lutheran Church established a church in the community. Discord between the pastor and the congregation forced the dissolution of the church, which remained without regular services until 1877, when the pastor of the South Fork congregation began to perform semi-weekly services. He was called to another pastorate after a short while, and the congregation applied for another pastor. Late in 1878 Rev. John C. Peters arrived, and reorganized the congregation. The church building was purchased from the school district, and although Rev. Peters remained only a few months, the congregation became established and another pastor was soon found. The members built a parsonage in 1880, but were able to offer so small a salary that they had difficulty in retaining their ministers. A measure of stability was reached in 1886 when the old church was torn down and a new one raised in its place. The use of the German language continued through the years of World War I, and it was not until 1925 that English was adopted on even a limited basis to serve the special needs of the younger generation who spoke mostly English. Through the 1930s the pastors gradually increased the use of the English language in the services, until such a time as it could be implemented to the exclusion of German.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one reel of microfilm of three volumes bearing the official records of the church, as well as a booklet commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the church, in which pictures and text give an account of the history and activities of the church.
Note: Volume 1 was rebound and some of the pages were out of sequence. The original page numbers were retained.
DESCRIPTION
Reel 1
Volume
-
- Church Records, 1878-1948 including:
Constitution and By-Laws, pp. 1-6
Register of Members Names, 1878-1948, pp. 7-12, 16, 129-132
List of persons who contributed toward the purchase of the cemetery land, 1881, p. 15
Register of births and baptisms, 1878-1894, pp. 17-32
Register of confirmations, 1879-1880, pp. 41-44
Register of marriages, 1879-1894, pp. 75-78
Register of deaths and burials, 1879-1894, pp. 113-118
Register of collections, 1890-1894, p. 140
Register of numbers of people taking communion, 1880-1894, p. 146
- Church Records, 1878-1948 including:
-
- Church Records, 1878-1967 including:
Register of members, 1878-1965, pp. 1-12
Register of Collections, 1895-1936, pp. 26-30
Register of births and baptisms, 1895-1965, pp. 33-97
Register of confirmations, 1895-1965, pp. 209-252
Register of numbers of persons taking communion, 1895-1955, pp.269-285
Register of marriages, 1895-1966, pp. 309-330
Register of deaths and burials, 1895-1967, pp. 341-369
Chronicle of the church, 1871-1962, pp. 389-396
- Church Records, 1878-1967 including:
-
- 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book, containing:
Early Beginnings – 1886 manuscript removed from original cornerstone in 1950, pp. 3-5
Charter members, p. 5
Photo of the church “at the turn of the century,” p. 6
Our Pastors, 1878-1954, pp. 7-21
Statistics – “firsts” in the church, p. 36
Honor roll of parish servicemen from WWI to 1954, p. 37
List of member families, pp. 40-44
Constitution and By-Laws, pp.45-50
Cemetery History and Rules, pp. 51-52
- 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book, containing:
ADDED ENTRIES:
Evangelical and Reformed Church in Nebraska
Germans in Nebraska
Pawnee County (Neb.) — Churches
Salem United Church of Christ (Steinauer, Neb.)
Steinauer (Neb.) — Churches
United Church of Christ in Nebraska
Revised 06-12-2009 TMM