Book Description

The story of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church is really the story of Lutherans in America. This incredible story unfolds within the History of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Oldwick, New Jersey Series. Beginning with that first service in the home of a freed slave on August 1, 1714, the American experience for Lutherans is reflected in the people and events that have shaped and molded Zion. Led by the first ordained Lutheran pastor in America, Rev. Justus Falckner, Zion has been writing a 300 year old narrative that continues today. The stories are rich and varied. Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the Patriarch of American Lutherans, served as one of Zion's pastors, along with his sons, Peter and Henry. Zion, like other Lutheran churches, would be shaped by the Revolutionary War and the mass immigration of the Palatine Germans to America. During the Civil War, Zion's Rev. Jacob Christian Duy, taking a strong stand for the Union, would allow arms to be kept in the parsonage. World War I would leave a deep impact not only on Zion, but on all Lutherans. For Zion, this impact would be reflected in the town changing its name from New Germantown to Oldwick. These are just of few of the stories. There are many more to be told. The three volumes of the History of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Oldwick, New Jersey Series capture these stories.The first volume, History of the Zion Lutheran Church at New Germantown, New Jersey, written by historian Dr. John C. Honeyman (1836-1916), provides a window into the life of Zion's congregation, both the triumphs and the struggles. This compelling narrative, complete with correspondence, diaries, and written records, is a comprehensive look at the pastors, people, and events of Zion Lutheran Church from the years 1715 through 1900. Dr. Honeyman completed this voluminous manuscript in 1903. Although excerpts were serially published in the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society (1924-1931) under the title "Zion, St. Paul and Other Lutheran Churches in Central New Jersey," the manuscript has never before been published in its entirety. Due to its length, we have divided the contents into two parts-part 1 covers the years 1715 through 1774; and part 2, 1775 through 1900. We have presented Dr. Honeyman's manuscript exactly as typed. All handwritten edits are assumed to have been made by Dr. Honeyman.