NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG3990.AM: St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hooper, Neb.)
Records: 1873-1970
Hooper, Dodge County, Neb.: Evangelical Lutheran Church
Size: 4 volumes on 1 reel of microfilm
BACKGROUND NOTE
In 1860 Rev. W.H. Kuhns of Pennsylvania arrived in the Fontanelle area. He gathered the German-Lutheran people in the vicinity to worship and was successful in uniting this group into a congregation. In 1864 Rev. J.F. Kuhlman arrived and established another preaching station in the Logan Creek community. Arguments between the two groups led to a split and after failing to reunite them in 1869, Rev. Kuhlman resigned.
Soon after, the group at and around Logan Creek felt a need for a constitution and an organizational meeting was held in the Logan Creek School. On February 13, 1870 the constitution was accepted and the congregation was officially formed and named “Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul’s Congregation of Logan and Vicinity.” The first worship service had been held on January 30, 1870 at the Monnich Log School House, three miles north and two miles west of Hooper, Nebraska.
Debate arose as to where to build a permanent church, as one group wanted the church centered around the Logan school and the other group wanted it centered around the Monnich school. The two groups finally agreed to form two completely independent, but collaborating, congregations. Station #1, at the Logan school, was known as the “First Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Logan Creek and Vicinity,” Station #2, the Monnich Log school, was known as “St. Paul’s Lutheran Congregation.”
In 1879 work was begun on a new church building. It was destroyed in a storm in 1880 and was immediately and completely rebuilt. During 1879 the Sunday School was organized and the old church-parsonage was remodeled into the pastor’s house. In 1885 a schoolhouse was built, enabling the church to carry on a full program of Christian education.
The church was renamed in 1898 and was thereafter known as “St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hooper.” A new church was completed in 1902. Other church organizations founded within the church included the Ladies Aid Society (1905), the Luther League (1917), the Women’s Missionary Society (1929), the Alter Guild (1957), and a Young Couples Club (1959).
St. Paul’s began a slow transition from German to English services in 1917. The transition was complete when, in 1925, the church seal was changed from German to English. St. Paul’s celebrated its centennial in 1970 and continues to serve the Hooper area today.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of four volumes of manuscript material on 1 reel of microfilm, arranged in three series: 1) Church History, 1970; 2) Minutes, 1874-1914; and 3) Church Registers, 1873-1956. This material relates to the history and membership of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hooper, Nebraska.
The Church History of Series 1 consists of the centennial history of the St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, covering the first one hundred years, 1870-1970. This volume provides a general church history, as well as descriptions and historical notes about auxiliary organizations within the church. Pastors and prominent members are also noted. Series 2 is comprised of a single volume of Minutes, 1874-1913. Written in German, entries describe elections of officers and elders, salaries, repairs, changes, membership, and other church business.
The Church Registers, 1873-1956, of Series 3, provide information on the membership of and ceremonies conducted by the church. Records of membership, baptisms, burials, confirmations, communion, marriages, and deaths are shown. Relevant information for each type of record (e.g. name, birthdate, parents’ names, date of ceremony, text used, witnesses) is also included. Volume 1 contains entries written in German; Volume 2 has subject headings written in German but the entries are in English.
These records were loaned for microfilming by St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hooper, Nebraska, in March of 1980.
DESCRIPTION
Series 1 – Church History, 1970
Reel 1
Volume
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- Centennial Anniversary covering the one hundred year history of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hooper, Nebraska, 1870-1970
Series 2 – Minutes, 1874-1914
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- Minutes, 1874-1914, written in German
Series 3 – Church Records, 1873-1956
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- 1873-1913 (entries recorded in German)
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- 1913-1956 (subject headings in German)
ADDED ENTRIES:
Dodge County (Neb.) — Churches
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nebraska
Germans in Nebraska
Hooper (Neb.) — Churches
Lutheran Church in Nebraska
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hooper, Neb.)
Revised 09-17-2008 TMM
