Valentine “Val” Ziemer, Zion’s third pastor, was called from Parker Settlement in Posey County, Indiana. Rev. Ziemer preached his trial sermon at Zion on July 11, 1877; after which he was unanimously elected. The Congregation pledged to him an annual salary of $350, to be paid quarterly. His pastorate began in August, 1877 and ended September, 1878.

During his short tenure as our minister, a person was hired to serve as both a song leader and organist at an annual salary of sixty dollars. The name is not decipherable in our records, but several months later a Mr. Hill took over the position for half that amount.

According to Zion’s baptism records, a son, Heinrich Jacob Ziemer, was born to the Ziemer family on Dec. 14, 1877 and was baptized Jan. 24, 1878. The record identified the father as Val Ziemer, and the mother as Margaretha Anna geb. Schroeder.

In 1878, during Rev. Ziemer’s pastorate, there was a plan for Zion to share its pastor with St. John’s Evangelical Church in Rockport. According to the plan, Rev. Ziemer would preach in Rockport every two weeks, and that church would pay him $200 per year plus travel expenses beginning March 1. At the same time, Zion would reduce its salary payment to $250 per year, a savings of $100. For the Sundays at Zion when Rev. Ziemer was preaching in Rockport, consideration was given to the plan to have someone read a sermon in the pastor’s absence. That idea was abandoned and instead it was decided to omit services on those Sundays, but to have both morning and evening services on the Sundays when Rev. Ziemer preached at Zion. Zion also planned to work with the church in Rockport to have a combined Children’s Festival scheduled for June with the offering to be used to pay the debt in the Pastor’s Fund.

Whether or not the two churches ever actually put these plans into action is not clear to me, but here is what I have learned. St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rockport was organized March 20, 1870, by the Rev. P.M. Reidenbach. In 1872 the members began building a sanctuary which was finished in 1874. An 1885 publication, History of Warrick, Spencer and Perry Counties Indiana, described it as “a neat brick structure, with steeple and bell.” According to this publication, “Rev. Valentine Ziemer became pastor for one year.” This year of service to St. John’s may have been in co-operation with Zion, or it may have been after Rev. Ziemer left Zion; I simply do not know yet.

St. John’s continued to exist at least into the late 1890’s, but lost many members in 1896 due to a dispute over the use of German in its services. It eventually failed and the building was later used for a time as a Negro school. The building was once used as Rockport’s City Hall, at least as late as 1968. The building does not exist today.

Rev. Ziemer resigned as Zion’s pastor in August of 1878. A notation written on the title page of the minute book suggests that Rev. Ziemer along with the next two pastors was asked to leave, but the Council minutes for August 28, 1878 contradict this note by stating that “the council wanted to reject but finally accepted” his resignation.

Rev. Ziemer reportedly left to serve a church in Indiana. According to the 1880 Census, he went to Dubois County, Indiana, near Huntingburg. Valentine Ziemer, age 31 and born in Bavaria, was listed as a Lutheran minister. His wife, age 34 and born in Prussia, was recorded as “Mary”. They had a son, Henry, age 2 and born in Indiana according to the census. Henry was the “Heinrich Jacob Ziemer” that had been baptized in Owensboro. There was also Otto, another son, age 8 months and born in Indiana.

The church he served in Dubois County must have been Augustana Church in Holland, for their records indicate that Val Ziemer, their first pastor, was there from 1881 to 1897. For most of that time he also served another nearby church, St. Paul’s just outside Holland, Indiana. The records of St. Paul’s UCC indicate that Rev. Val Ziemer was there from 1881 to 1889. These two churches have often shared a minister. In fact, I believe these two churches are currently sharing a minister. A couple of years ago, Gay and I visited Augustana because her great-grandfather, Rev. Philip Frohne, was minister there from 1908 to 1924; and we have reports that he served two churches for at least some of that period.

It appears that Rev. Ziemer preached in Monroe Co., Illinois next.

In the 1900 Census, Valentine Ziemer was shown there as a 52 year old minister who had been born in Germany in December of 1848. His wife, age 53, was recorded as Anna M. Ziemer; born in Germany in April of 1847. The census reported that four children had been born to her. Otto, a son, was shown as age 20 having been born in October of 1879. There was also a daughter, Lena, age 18 having been born in Indiana in 1881, and a younger son, Armine, age 13 having been born in Indiana in December of 1887.

The 1910 Census shows that the family had moved to Plum Hill Township in Washington Co., Illinois. Valentine Ziemer, age 61, was listed as a German born clergyman. His wife, Anna, was shown as age 64 having also been born in Germany. They had been married for 34 years and though it recorded that of her five children, four were living, none were still in their household.

It appears that Valentine Ziemer died between 1910 and 1920 since I have found his wife listed as a widow in the 1920 Census. Anna M. Ziemer, age 73, born in Germany, was living in the household of her son, Armin H. Ziemer, who had followed his father’s footsteps into the ministry. He was shown as a 32 year old minister born in Indiana. His wife, Myrna B., age 32, and a son, Arthur F., age 9, filled out the household.

Next time, we’ll tell the tragic story of an early minister that was fired by our Board!

One of our former pastors, Rev. John Schroeder, sent follow-up data on the story of Rev. Schoettle, our second minister. Records at Zion UCC in Evansville contain the following entry:

“Theodor Christian Schoettle was born on the day his sister Elise was taken to the cemetery. He was baptized by the substitute Pastor Zimmerman. He died Friday, July 14, 1871 and was buried at the cemetery in Newburgh. Parents: Johann George Schoettle, Pastor, and Julia nee Lautenschlager.”

Rev. Christian Schrenk, the pastor at Zion in Evansville in 1871, had apparently conducted Theodor’s funeral in Newburgh and recorded it upon his return to Evansville. Not only did the Schoettles lose two children to death while in Owensboro, but they also lost at least two children while he was a minister in Newburgh. Times were difficult in the 1870’s.