Running along the western border of the nation’s
first 13 states was a formidable mountain barrier of might and height. Low moving
clouds, crowned its tree-dense towering range. In early mornings dense gray
fog could shroud the mountain’s spine in a heavy, cool mist of ominous mystery.
But what was hidden beyond the hills was a mystery to be solved, a challenge
to be overcome. Over the rugged Wilderness road, traveling the arduous, tiring
journey through the Cumberland Gap were military campaigners, hardy adventurers,
and settlers who felt the need for more space. They all pushed into the interior
and sent back wondrous reports of the land beyond the mountains — game in unbelievable
numbers, an unending supply of timber, bountiful crops from fertile soil, and
lands cut by rivers which could power mills and carry goods by boats.
The settlers came. They came in spite of the
hardships of travel — the dry, searing heat of summer; the cold wind, the snow,
the ice of winter; the drenching rains of spring turning trails and primitive
roads into slippy, muddy quagmires. The promise of a bright tomorrow and the
opportunities in being part of the development of new states (Ohio gained statehood
in 1803; Indiana, 1816) was the pull for thousands in “emigrating to the Great
West”.
Some of the settlers came on the waterways —
the Ohio river and its tributaries. But most made the migration overland by
foot, horse back, or wagons pulled by oxen or horses.
It was the construction of the Cumberland Road (also to be known by the great
expansionist title of the National Road) which in actuality opened the gates
for migration west. The construction of this road was sometimes called a “minor
national epic.” ..its direct route over the mountains and across the plains
giving access to once lonely and isolated cabins...” The National road, the
first federal highway, was authorized by Congress in 1806 and was started in
1811 in Cumberland, Md., and reached Wheeling, W. Va. In 1818. The road was
pushed slowly, but determinedly across Ohio through Cambridge, Zanesville, Columbus,
and reached Springfield, Ohio by 1838.
It was probably over this national road that settlers described in our earlier
church histories as “a small group of people following the Lutheran faith” came
to Bath Township from Maryland. So many questions regarding this emigration
remain. What caused them to leave their homes in the East? Was Southwestern
Ohio their planned destination or was it a site chosen in a change from the
planned journey?
What is known about these Lutherans is that they
had a strong faith and determination to pass that faith on to their children.
What is also known is that southwestern Ohio was regarded as a desirable location
in which to settle. In A History of Ohio (Rosebloom and Hardman, 1934)
the Miami Valley was described as having “numerous orchards and where one traveler
of a century ago found cultivation more highly developed than in any other part
of the country he had visited.” In the northern part of the district was Dayton,
in 1830 a town of twenty-nine hundred inhabitants with several saw mills, grist
mills, and cotton factories, and a northern terminus of the Miami Canal. Within
its northwest corner was Bath Township and the village of Fairfield. It was
here that the Lutherans settled.
In 1799 the first log house was build in what
was to become the village of Fairfield. In 1801 land sold for $2.25 an acre;
soon after the village was platted, the 151 lots were each selling for $75 (Dayton
Daily News Camerica, Dec. 18, 1949). In the 1820s the village was a busy
stop in the “broad pike” between Dayton and Springfield.
The Lutheran settlers, firm in their convictions,
eager to foster the Lutheran teachings among the adults and children, set up
their first organization in Byron though little is known of its history.
The Lutheran held worship services for several
years in the old Fairfield Methodist Church located at what is now 620 Middle
St. Then on Dec. 14, 1848, 20 men and women met in the Methodist Church to unite
their efforts and to adopt a constitution for the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Fairfield, Ohio.
(The records read that the meeting was held on Saturday, Dec. 20, 1848. That
must be taken as a mistake. The perpetual calendar shows Dec. 20 in 1848 fell
on a Wednesday. The date could be wrong, but it is more likely the incorrect
day has been passed down through the years. We are using Wednesday, Dec. 20,
1848, as the day and date of organization.)
The preamble to that constitution states:
“The
undersigned desiring to promote the glory of God and the Salvation of Man and
believing that the bible is the inspired word of God and only rule, infallible
of Faith and Practice, and also believing that the doctrine of God’s word are
purely taught and its Ordinances properly administered in the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in these United States as represented in ourselves into a Lutheran Congregation
and adopt the following constitution for our government.”
The Rev. Jeremiah Geiger, who had been leading
the worship services for some time, assisted in the organization. The Rev. S.
Ritz of Xenia, and M. Deihl, a professor at Wittenberg College in nearby Springfield,
met with the fledgling congregation and brought them a constitution for adoption. (This meeting was one of many other
times when the staff of Wittenberg, and Hamma Divinity School, located on the
Wittenberg campus, would have active roles in the life of the Lutheran Church
in Fairfield and Osborn.)
The Charter members signing the constitution were: John Stine, Reuben Miller,
David Miller, Peter Keplinger, Samuel Staugh, John Hower, Nicholas Fatzinger,
Peter Mitman, John Mitman, Hester Miller, Mary Ann Keplinger, Hannah Fatzinger,
Anne Mitman, Elizabeth Mitman, Lidia Miller, Catherine Bressler, Elizabeth Hower,
Sarah Stine, Eliza Miller, Malinda Wilson. There were 9 men and 11 women.
Reuben and Hester Miller’s descendants form a continuous line of membership
in this congregation through its 150 years. Reuben’s son, John A. Miller, was
the father of J. Clifford Miller, who was the father of Gertrude Miller Paul.
Gertrude’s daughter, Mary Paul Johnston, and her husband, Lee, and their son,
Marc, are members in 1998. The family expects Marc’s daughter, Moriah Johnston,
to be baptized into church membership before the end of the year.
Another member with very long historical roots in this congregation is Vivian
Senseman. Her great-grandfather’s name, Jacob Beyl, is found in church records
in the early 1850's. Mrs. Senseman is now 95 years of age and lives in Tennessee
near her son, Fred.
Both men and women were permitted to vote in selecting a pastor and members
of the church council. On all other affairs of the church only the men were
allowed to vote.
The Rev. Geiger was elected first pastor of the congregation. The first council
consisted of Reuben Miller and Peter Keplinger, elders; and Peter Mitman and
John Stine, deacons. Prof. Diehl preached the first sermon. His text was John
12;26: “If any man will serve me, him will my father honor.”
For the Lutherans who had left their homes in Maryland and made the long journey
into Ohio for a new beginning, Dec. 20, 1848 was a great day. Lutherans had
left their homes in Maryland and made the long journey into Ohio for a new beginning.
True to their faith, they formed a church and advanced the work of the Lord.
They were only 20 strong, but their numbers were to grown many fold.
