Evangelical Reformed Church (Frederick, MD)

Collection

Identifier: Church RG 427

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the original church records of the Evangelical Reformed Church from 1746-1951. Also included are cemetery records, published histories, newsletters, and biographical information of some clergy.

Dates

Creation: 1763 - 1995

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

The main congregation, Evangelical and Reformed Church, transitioned form the German language to English in 1820's when Pastor Jonathan Helfenstein brought his nephew Samuel Helfenstein as an associate pastor to preach in English. This seems to have provided for a graceful transition from German to English in the worship and teaching of the church which had been German -speaking since its founding in 1745.

However, after a while, the old Germans could not abide the absence of the German Language any more and they longed for their "Mother Tongue”. So a group of die-hard German speaking members prevailed upon their beloved pastor, Dr. Daniel Zacharias, and he continued to minister to them separately. Before long St. John's was established as a separate congregation around 1844. the purpose of the new German church was to retain the German language in worship after Evangelical Reformed Church, the parent church, had moved gradually to all English language services.

Extent

1 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Accruals

On June 28, 2019, 6 books were removed from the MD State Archives in Annapolis MD, where they had resided since the 1950's and on July 29, 2016, were transferred to the archives of the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society. They continue to bear the MSA's ID numbers.

Related Materials

For: Pictures of Church Pewter SEE ALSO: ML51 P384a v.29. For: History & Biographical Record of Frederick County, MD SEE ALSO: ML54 w727 v.1 p. 406. For: Church Records, 1746-1835 SEE ALSO: MKZZ ZM R102 or Microfilm #94 & #94a. For: Tombstone Inscriptions of Doubs graveyard by George Merle de Fere Zacharias SEE ALSO: Ms. Coll. 137. For: "Quaint old Frederick Town..." by George Merle de Fere Zacharias SEE ALSO: Ms. Coll. 137. SEE ALSO: Church Model 023.