When our third pastor, Rev. Val Ziemer, resigned in September of 1877, the congregation decided to ask the district president to fill the vacancy by appointment, stating that they would "be satisfied with whatever man the president sends us."

Francis Bernard Cunz arrived from Holland, New York on Dec. 1, 1878.  At the January 1879 Congregational Meeting, Pastor Cunz was elected president of the congregation, but soon the Council was highly dissatisfied with him.  Charges were made against Rev. Cunz of improper conduct and he was asked to leave immediately; to vacate the parsonage by March 1, 1879 on threat of legal action if he failed to comply.

Indeed, he left, but not before writing his own defense.  He wrote in Zion's minutes book, "Because of a mean slander by one man, diligently spread, in order to weaken the Word of God and to stain the good name of the pastor with insults, without following the constitution and without allowing the pastor to save his reputation and hearing his explanation, and having slamelessly wronged the pastor, robbed him of his means of subsistence by a so-called congregational meeting for a strange cause - Driven out because of Genesis 3:3, Quinquaquesima Sunday, 1879.  'He who does not take up his cross and follow me, he is not worthy of me.'  Matthew 10:38.  Bernard Cunz"

Genesis 3:3 states "God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."

What all of the above means, I can only imagine.  Was it really one man's slander?  Were the charges false?  According to one story, four council members overhead a pastoral slip of the tongue; an unacceptable word.  Was it rumor or perhaps a conspiracy?

Another source said that four Council members heard him use expressions that a pastor should never say to a girl, namely, that she should undress before him.  In this matter, I am at the mercy of those that translated our oldest records from German into English.

Whether true or false, the Congregation decided the following:  1) Pastor Cunz could not preach anymore.  2) He was to give back the property.  3) The Council secretary was told to give a full account to the district President.  4) Pastor Cunz had to vacate the parsonage by March 1.

As the following information shows, Rev. Cunz was married and had at least two children.  However, it is not clear whether his wife and children has actually made the move to Owensboro.  After all, he was here for only three months.

I believe that his family was listed in Millersburg, Ohio in the 1880 Census.  Our information says he came from New York and George, the oldest son in this listing was born in New York.

1880 Census; Millersburg, Holmes Co., Ohio
Frank B. Cunz, age 33, minister; born in Prussis   George H. Cunz, son, age 5, born in New York
Catherine Cunz, wife, age 28, born in Prussis      Edward Cunz, son, age 2, born in CT

Sometime after 1880 Rev. Cunz moved his family to Johnstown, Pennsylvania where they were swept up in the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889.  This was included in his obituary.  As of this writing, I have not been able to locate him in the 1900 Census.  However, I believe that he was the F. B. Cunz listed as a lodger in the DeKalb Co., Illinois household of an Anna Gramham in the 1910 Census.  He was listed as a German-born minister, age 60.

His obituary was published in Der Friedenshote on May 19, 1912.  It tells a tragic story.  According to he, he was born on April 18, 1847 in Sachsen, Germany and came to America in 1872 as a Lutheran pastor after completing his theological education in Germany.  He served several Evangelical churches, but never joined the Evangelical Synod.  He had been married and had several children, but as he reported, "his wife and all children with teh exception of one son, who is in an insane asylum, lost their lives in the flood -catastrophe in Johnstown."  Francis Bernard Cunz died on april 20, 1912, of a heart ailment in Lawrence, Kansas.  He was described as "a talented man in his earlier years could have enjoyed his many blessings.  In his last years, due to a heart and nerve ailment and a weak mind, to perform his duties for the blessing of the congregation was often hard on him."

The provider of the information for the obituary was in error concerning the year of his arrival in America.  A search on the Internet turned up a naturalization record for a Bernard F. Cunz, who was naturalized in 1868 at age 21.  The record reported that he was born in Prussia and arrived in America in 1868.  The record was found in Marshall Co., Indiana.  I found an 1870 Census record for a minister named Bernard Counz who was single and living in a hotel.  he was recorded in Monticello, Iowa in Jones County.  His age was given as 23 and his birthplace as Prussia.  An Internet search led me to a site for St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sand Hill/ Monticello, Iowa.  Their history stated that Franz B. Cunz became pastor of their church on July 25, 1869 and resigned during the summer of 1870.  He had "been called to other fields of labor."

One thing for sure, Francis Bernard Cunz didn't stay in one place for long.  We have placed him in Marshall Co, Indiana in 1868; in Monticello, Iowa in 1869-1870; in New York around 1874; in Connecticut about 1877; in Holland, New York in 1878; in Owensboro in 1879; in Millersburg, Ohio in 1880; in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889; in DeKalb Co., Illinois in 1910 and in Lawrence, Kansas in 1912.  How many other stops are left for us to discover?  I must also wonder if he had problems at these other locations like the ones he had in Owensboro!

Internet sites with information about victims and survivors of the Johnstown Flood show that the family of Bernard Cunz resided at 44 Napoleon St. in 1889.  There were seven members in the household, he and his wife, and five children.  Of these, only Rev. Cunz and the oldest son survived.  Listed as victims were Mrs. Catherine Cunz, age 37, Edward Cunz, age 12, Lydia Cunz, age 6, Gussie Cunz, age 3, and Robert Cunz, age 4 months; all listed as having lived on Napoleon St.  The bodies of his wife, son Edward, and daughter Gussie were never found.  The bodies of daughter Lydia and son Robert were found but never recovered by family or friends, and they were buried at Grandview Cemetery in a public plot.

In the 1889 Johnstown, Pa City Directory, Francis B. Cunz was listed as a teacher of German in the public schools; not as a minister.

The lone surviving child was George H. Cunz, who was shown above in the 1880 Census; he would have been about 14 at the time of the flood.  he was listed as a 44 year old inmate of the State Hospital for Mental Diseases in Providence, Rhod Island in the 1920 Census.

On another matter, I recently received a letter from Mary Louise Baker.  She is still in Ames, Iowa and stated that she wished she could return here to see all of her friends.  Next time, I'll take a break from the history of our ministers and include some information that she shared with me about the 1940's and Zion.  After the tragic story of Bernard Cunz, we would probably enjoy something different!