Waking the Tree

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Memoir of Carl August Döhring

This pair of family memoirs, translated from German, documents the lived experience of 19th century Europe & the early Catholic Apostolic Church.

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About this Memoir

Carl August Döhring was born on October 15th, 1844 in Hütten, Neustettin, in the province of Pomerania, in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia. Today, it would be called Sitno, Szczecinek, Poland. As a young man, he hoped for an education and a job in the Prussian postal service. By the middle of his life, he was in the full-time service of the early Catholic Apostolic Church, eventually being called to serve as Archangel (1895-1927).

His wife, Friederike Ottilie Müller was born March 11th, 1855 in Remscheid, in the Prussian province of Rhine. They married in Cologne on November 22nd, 1878, one year after her father’s death. Together, their work and faith took them across shifting borders at a time of great religious fervor and widespread political change. Fortunately for us, they left memoirs documenting over 100 years of personal history, the expansion of their church, and the lived experience of the changing German state.

Carl August Döhring died on November 28th, 1927 in Neustettin, and Friederike Ottilie Müller followed him on February 9, 1934. My hope is that they would be happy to know their story lives on for their many, many descendants.

Their memoirs were found in the papers of Hedwig Maria Wagner Döhring, wife of Karl Siegfried Döhring, daughter-in-law of Carl & Ottilie Döhring. She came to the United States after the death of her husband and was cared for until her own death in 1981 by her niece, my mother-in-law, Louise Julie Döhring McClendon. 

Hedwig transcribed but did not translate the handwritten diaries. They were still in Ostpommersch German when I found them. With respect to my English translation: 

  • I have provided supplemental information to clarify obscure church terminology and geographic references that may be confusing. 
  • The text rarely breaks lines. For legibility, I have added paragraph breaks and section labels that are not part of the original text. Only the “Addendum” section label was original.
  • Where the document is smudged or missing letters, that is reflected in brackets [ ] in my transcription and translation. 
  • Additionally, many educational certifications, job titles and idioms have no modern equivalent and so they are translated verbatim, with bracketed [ ] explanations where possible. 
  • Parenthetic notations ( ) are part of the original text.

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Terminology Of The Catholic Apostolic Church

The Catholic Apostolic Church, sometimes referred to as the Irvingian Church, originated in England and Scotland in 1831. It evolved out of an 1820’s prayer movement, fueled by a desire to return to the “true” church in preparation for the second coming. The hope was to unify and purify the world for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. 

Twelve latter-day Apostles, or Archangels, were designated based on their claim to prophetic gifts and the church recorded instances of prophecy, speaking in tongues and faith healing. English Wikipedia contains a good article on the church and a more detailed explanation of origin and hierarchy can be found in German Wikipedia.

The church splintered after the death of 3 Apostles over whether or not new Apostles should be appointed, and the core church believed that Christ would return within the lifetime of the remaining Apostles. When the last Apostle died in 1901, no further priests or bishops could be ordained – it required apostolic consent – and so membership gradually declined. 

But other branches of the church emerged including the Old Apostolic Church, the New Apostolic Church, the Reformed Old Apostolic Church, and the United Apostolic Church. 

Carl’s memoir, in particular, takes for granted that the reader is also steeped in Catholic Apostolic Church doctrine. I am no expert and this is not an exhaustive list, but you may find it helpful to have a brief explanation of some basic terminology.

  • Apostle/Archangel. The church had 12 Apostles, also called Archangels. They were presumed to have the gift of prophecy, and were the authoritative interpreters of prophetic utterances and church doctrine. Their teachings were spread by ministers, pastors and coadjutors.
  • Angel. An Angel is a bishop in charge of only one congregation and all local ministers were subject to him. He was subject to the Apostles and the Coadjutors, though Coadjutors were also Angels. Each Angel was supposed to have at least 6 Priests to help with services, and Angels were ‘separated’,  meaning they did not have secular work to support themselves financially. They relied solely on the church.
  • Coadjutor. Every Apostle had a Coadjutor who traveled on the Apostle’s behalf through his designated territory, spreading his teachings and representing the Apostle at conferences.
  • Priest. Priests worked under an Angel and might be paid or unpaid and would be given charge over a portion of the congregation or a particular facet of the church’s work.
  • Deacon. Deacons looked after the monetary affairs of the church, worked to evangelize the church, and typically had employment outside the church as well.
  • Under Deacons. Under Deacons typically helped out during services by handing out liturgies or opening doors, for example. They were sometimes charged with recording words of prophecy, homilies and sermons as they were being given.
  • Growth by Four. If a town’s congregation grew too large, it could be subdivided but into no more than 4 districts.
  • Four-fold Ministry. In addition to the hierarchy of Angels, Priests and Deacons, there was also a typing of ministries – Elder, Prophet, Evangelist and Pastor. The “color” or “border” of ministry was determined by prophecy, was suppose to be related essentially to the personal qualities of the minister and so would never be changed once defined.The hierarchical roles could be paired with any ministerial role, e.g., Angel–prophet or Deacon-pastor. To run a full church service, a congregation needed an angel and 4 priests – one of every “border” or “color”.

Borders & Place Names

A brief but very simplified view of German history and geography may provide some context regarding the family’s movements over time.

After the fall of Napoleon, in 1815, kings and statesmen convened in Vienna to reorganize Europe. The resulting German Confederation was a loose and uneasy union of 39 states, with 35 princes and 4 free cities under Austrian leadership. 

In 1864, with the help of Austria, Prussia expanded its territory in the 2nd War of Schleswig, taking Jutland and the Duchy of Holstein from Denmark. In 1866, the management of these provinces led to the Seven Weeks War between Prussia and Austria. As a result, the German Confederation was dissolved and a North German Federation was created, excluding Austria and led by Prussia.

In 1871, German states were unified into the German Empire under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Following WWI, Germany was forced to cede Alsace-Lorraine and parts of Poland in the Treaty of Versailles.

Following WWII, Pomerania was ceded to Poland, and ethic Germans fled or were expelled from that territory. 

This includes many areas mentioned in these memoirs. For that reason, I have attempted to map historical place names to modern place names mentioned in the text. 

  • Bublitz – Bobolice
  • Bütow – Gmina Bytów
  • Eisenhammer – Rudniki
  • Federborn – Podgaje
  • Galow – Galowo
  • Gellin – Jelenino
  • Gross Kudde – Gwda Wielka
  • Hammerstein – Czarne
  • Hütten – Sitno, Szszecinek
  • Kahlberg – Krynica Morska
  • Königsberg – Kaliningrad
  • Köslin – Koszalin
  • Laurenburg – Lebork
  • Muddel – Modla
  • Neustettin – Szczecinek
  • Ossecken – Osieki Lęborskie
  • Peterswalde – Cierznie
  • Prutzenwalde – Prusinowo
  • Ratzebuhr – Okonek
  • Rügenwalde – Darlowo
  • Rummelsberg – Gmina Miastko
  • Schlawe – Slawno
  • Schlochau – Człuchów
  • Soltnitz – Żółtnica
  • Sparsee – Spore
  • Stettin – Szczecin
  • Streitzig – Trzesieka
  • Thurow – Turowo
  • Varzin – Warcino

Carl’s Memoir in English

My father, Carl Ferdinand Döhring, was born on May 8, 1816 in Soltnitz, the youngest of 11 siblings. His father had a small farm, and plied his trade as a pipemaker and woodturner. He died in 1820. His mother was the daughter of the tenant Schulz, under Count von Hatzberg-Trabeln at Soltnitz. My memory goes back as far as 1847, and my father’s mother and 6 siblings were still alive at that time.

  • Gottlieb, unmarried, ran his mother’s business, had second sight, died in 1847 or 1848.
  • Friedrich, master carpenter and farmer in Soltnitz; built the church in Soltniz. He overheated on a job site, drank cold water, caught pneumonia and died in 1849. Of his two sons, the eldest, Friedrich, served in the Black Hussars and later died in Belgrade as a bailiff. His second son, Carl, a farmer and a master tailor in Soltnitz, became a wealthy man. Because of his integrity and piety, he had the trust of the community and was well respected. He died a few years ago. Neither of the brothers had any sons. Carl had three daughters in Soltnitz.
  • Wilhelmine, married to the tailor Lücker in Soltnitz, died in the early 1850’s. Her only surviving daughter was married to the forester Drenkhorn. She was known to be a beautiful woman.
  • Charlotte stayed with her mother and worked as a seamstress and took care of the small farm after the death of her brother Gottlieb. She was a very good letter writer and often wrote letters for the villagers. She played a leading role in her region in the emerging pietistic movement within the national church and was known in wider circles. In any case, she was highly respected and trusted in her village and beyond until her death in 1890. She was 82 years old when she died. Her mother was 84 when she died, some 32 years earlier. Of the whole family, you can say she led a God-fearing, honorable life.

My mother, Johanna Henriette, was born April 27, 1821, the eldest daughter of Friedrich Kaun, an estate owner in Soltnitz. Their mother, née Stern, widowed Manske, had another daughter from her first marriage, who was married to the brewer Hoffmann in Hammerstein. She had 4 children from her second marriage to my grandfather Kaun.

  • My mother
  • Ferdinand became owner of the Lehnguthof in Soltnitz after his marriage to Pauline Badtke in 1856, then owner of the Hammerberg estate near Prützewalde and then, after handing this estate over to his third son Richard, owner of the mill at Gross Küdde, where he died of stomach cancer in 1903. His wife followed him after a long illness in 1905. It was a large family with seven sons and three daughters. The youngest, a twin son, died soon after birth. Children:
    • Theodor, took over the mill while his father was still alive, died in Kalden in 1921.
    • Robert, went to America where he lives a comfortable life.
    • Richard, first owned Hammerberg, now owns land in Kalden at Schlochau.
    • Gustav, first owned a farm in Flederborn, then became a landowner in Peterswalde.
    • Paul, worked in the judiciary, then lived as an accounting officer (retired) in Neuherzberg. Died in 1921.
    • Martha, widow of teacher Tetz.
    • Fransiska, married to the landowner Nitz in Gellian.
    • Max, master mason, now owner of Neu-Herzberg
    • Marie, unmarried, a helpful aunt to all her siblings.

      Uncle Theodor was the oldest of these and especially close to our family.
  • Emilie, married farm owner Mrs. Lemke. After selling that property, they lived with a very loving aunt in Neustettin. Children:
    • Hermann, landowner in Peterswalde. His wife was née Batke, the granddaughter of Aunt Hoffman in Hammerstein, whose eldest daughter was married to the landowner Bakte in Prützenwalde.
    • Marie, married to court official Paul Kaun, died of consumption.
    • Bertha, married to teacher Tetz in Neustettin.
    • Gottlieb, like his brother Ferdinand, was first employed on his father’s estate and was then a landowner. When he married the very young widow Nerrier in Messin, he took over her farm. His wife died after giving birth to 5 children. At the strong urging of his siblings, he remarried an older housekeeper who was not what he expected of her. He was a tall man of unusual physical strength but extremely good-natured and modest, and a very dear uncle to me. He died of stomach cancer. His first wife was 22 years old when she married him – her second marriage – and brought five or six children to the marriage. She was 15 and a half when she married for the first time. As an example of how strong Uncle Gottlieb was, there was a large stone on the road in Soltnitz and young men tried in vain to move it. One day, Uncle Gottlieb secretly lifted it into a waiting wagon, so that no one would know he had done it. Children:
      • Georg, teacher in Berlin.
      • Gustav, administrator of large estates.
      • Paul, took over his father’s estate but sold it and lived off property rental income in Berlin.
      • Two daughters, married to a man named Fritz in Hammerstein and to a man named Ziemer in Neustettin.

My grandmother’s first husband died in the war riots at the beginning of the last century. As a young widow and the owner of a larger estate, she stood alone, caught in the path of the French marching to Russia in 1812, and then retreating again with the Russians pursuing them. The constant war tithes, the seizure of horses and cattle, not least of all the theft committed by soldiers – especially the Russians who came as friends – often brought great distress and danger. 

On top of that, personal attacks were not uncommon and she had to defend herself against them. Despite her affectionate character and good nature, she proved to be courageous and brave during this time. Sometimes weapons were put point blank on her chest to force her to surrender supplies. She stayed resolute and fearless. 

Once when a Russian soldier forcibly seized her beds and bedding, she complained to the Colonel. After he mustered the whole regiment, he went with her along the line in order to find the thief. She recognized him and identified him very firmly as the robber. She got back her stolen items and the colonel ordered the thief to run the gauntlet, which was done in her presence.

During that time, my grandfather was on his father’s estate at Gross Küdde. When it was his turn to do ‘Vorspanndienst’ [a rotating community obligation to provide horses in times of fire or emergency], he always brought the horses himself, because it could be very dangerous and needed to be done in secret. He also frequently quartered the horses deep in the forest to prevent them from being stolen.

The country was completely impoverished by the many taxes and the quartering of soldiers. Land had hardly any value because it couldn’t be cultivated. There was a scarcity of horses, cows, sheep and sowing. The hardship was immense. It took a long time for farmers to recover.

A few years after the war, my grandfather took over my grandmother’s property as her second husband. They gradually made headway by thrift and great diligence and, in time, they prospered. Of course, all the children, including the daughters, had to work in the house, on the farm and in the fields.

That is how my mother grew up and that is why, even years later, she could never manage to sit down on weekdays without doing some kind of work. She also strictly insisted that we children were always active and never shied away from any kind of work.

My parents both attended the village school in Soltnitz which was run by teacher Gützkow. Even in their old age, they spoke with great love and respect about their teacher. My father was a gifted student and was soon asked to help out in the classroom. After his confirmation, the teacher took him into his household to prepare him for college. His job was to help out at school and to work on his teacher’s farm.

At that time, special religious revivals began to emerge in many parts of Germany driven by an impression that the Christian “end times” were near. The pious teacher Gützkow was inspired by this movement, and held bible study and prayer meetings in his home with a circle of like-minded people. They sought help from above to prepare for the horrors that were heralded by scripture. That’s how my father came into these serious circles at such an early age. Later, as a young girl, my mother also took part in these meetings.

My father was well-prepared when he went to the teacher’s training college in Köslin. At that time, such trips were made on foot. After 3 years of attending college, he was discharged with a brilliant leaving certificate. By chance, I saw this certificate once and he got “very good” in all subjects. He was quickly assigned a teaching position in Galowdamm, where his sister Charlotte ran the household for him.

At his request, she took on the role of mediator between him and my mother who, after some hesitation, agreed to become his wife. The deciding factor for her was my father’s serious, Christian way of life because, for her, it was the main thing in deciding such a question. Her parents’ initial resistance was overcome for the same reason, because they were also pious believers.

In the meantime, my father found a better job as a teacher and sexton in Hütten. My parent’s wedding took place on November 24, 1841. Teachers’ salaries were low in the countryside – 50 talers for Hütten –  but they received payment in kind from farmers in grain, wood, and so forth. They also generally had use of the school field. We could keep 4 cows.

My father took young people into his home to prepare them for college. The government recognized his work and he was given bonuses. I remember that he once received 50 talers, which was a very large sum at the time. In school, he used arithmetic books that he prepared himself. His relationship with the local clergyman and inspector, Pastor Droist, was good and untroubled, as it was with the residents of the village.

Besides me, 3 siblings were born in Hütten. My oldest brother Friedrich, born August 14th, 1842; then me, born Oct 15th, 1844; then my sister Maria, born Feb 2nd, 1847; and my sister Johanna, born May 18th, 1849.

I remember when our sister Johanna was born. We three children were brought next door to master carpenter Wohner’s house and then called back again to welcome a little sister – a miracle before our eyes. We were given some Zwieback [a crispy sweet bread] to celebrate the occasion so a love for her took root immediately in our hearts.

My earliest memory is of standing in the doorway to the courtyard and saying to my father, who was returning from the fields, “Lein Väterrke, bist Du all da?” My parents spoke the local dialect which was common at the time in the countryside and in small rural towns.

I also remember one time when my oldest brother was punished, he asked me to leave our parent’s house and go far away to another country with him. I might have been 3 years old at the time and I used to look up to my brother as an authority figure. So we left home and came to an overgrown hill called the Wall where a rabbit jumped out of a bush very near to us, and then suddenly ran off. I was very frightened by it and my brother must have been too because he said, “Let’s go home!” So we did, and in quite a hurry.

I also remember how in the revolutionary years of 1847 and 1848, people lived in constant fear of a Polish invasion, and buried or hid their possessions. On one occasion, a villager came running from the fields and called out in terror, “The Poles are coming. I’ve seen them.” Everyone became very agitated and afraid, but it turned out that he had seen field workers returning home with their tools on their shoulders.

The New Church

In 1848, a Christian publication from England issued a call to all Christians to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit over all flesh.

A few believers who lived in Thurow, near Neustettin, read this appeal. They were closely connected to my parents. They gathered at teacher Kleist’s home in Thurow every Monday morning from 6 to 7 o’clock for a prayer meeting, which made them feel closer to God and gave them confidence that God would hear their prayer and send them help.

Realizing more and more the shortcomings of the state church, they thought they might find what they were looking for among the Lutherans. When one of them, Carl Kuchenbäcker, had business in Stettin, they asked him to look into it there. In Stettin, Kuchenbäcker heard the first news of the apostolic work from a relative who was already a believer. When he returned in January 1849, he reported what he had learned. He brought back some material which was read in prayer, seeking out the Word of God. They realized that this must be the answer to their prayers and that this particular work from England and Scotland was from God, because they had never heard such sound and clear teachings anywhere else.

They then turned to Angel Pastor Rothe in Berlin and asked him to send someone who could instruct them. Then Deacon Evangelist Mr. von Pochhammer came to Neustettin, and soon after the Priest Evangelist Pastor Köppen. This became the first catholic apostolic congregation in East Pomerania in September 1849.

From the beginning, my father, the teacher Kleist from Thurow, and the teacher Kaske from Streitzig gave these events their full attention and, from the outset, their full faith. On February 8th, 1850, they were admitted to the church, and the next day they received the apostolic laying on of hands from the Apostle Thomas Carlyle.

Because of this, they were attacked by their superiors and congregations, suspended from sexton service on August 13th, and from teaching duties on September 3. They were dismissed the following year. The love and friendship of the people of Hütten turned to enmity and persecution. That was probably due to the carnal zeal of the local clergyman wanting to fight against allegedly false teachers. I remember one evening when we were sitting around the table and my father was reading from the Bible, fist-sized stones were thrown through the window and fell between us. Shots were fired at the front of the house.

The three teachers were charged with heresy and were summoned to appear in Köslin. To defend themselves, one took a Bible, one took a Lutheran catechism and one took a state church hymnal. They made their way on foot, singing Psalms and praising God along the way. In front of the assembled government council, they said that they believed nothing other than what was written in the books they had brought with them – so, they had not adopted a new faith. They were convicted.

On his return, my father took up spade and hoe to find employment as a laborer but the many attacks so affected him, he fell into a nervous fever. This was a difficult time for my mother but she was united with my father in faith. She followed faithfully and without complaint.

The relatives reproached my father for giving up such a good position. Nonetheless, they felt he must have found something special and they wanted to be blessed too. I look back now in gratitude for the courage of faith that sustained my parents in that difficult time.

Christmas was different for us that year. My father was not at home and my mother told us on Christmas Eve that the Christ Child would have nothing for us. [The Christ Child brings children gifts in German tradition, not Santa.] We children sat together and sang familiar Christmas carols, trying to move the heart of the Christ Child. In vain, it seemed, because nothing happened.

Then we noticed a light in the window of the Church tower opposite us and we were immediately convinced that the Christ Child was in there working. We sat together and sang new Christmas carols, expectantly looking at the windows to see if something was happening yet. We waited in vain. Finally, sadly, we went to bed.

However, the next morning we were extremely surprised. There was a plate for each child on the windowsill with a brightly painted gingerbread man, some apples and nuts. We were very happy, most especially because the Christ Child had not forgotten us. My father probably came home late that evening.

My father, Carl Kuchenbäcker, Kleist and Koske were called to the priesthood in Neustettin on March 8th, 1851. On March 10th, the Apostle ordained my father and Kuchenbäcker. A few days later, my father traveled to Bublitz where a number of converts had been gathered and assigned to the pastorate through the work of Evangelist Bohm. My father was assigned to the priestly care of this congregation. Our family, with our household and 1 cow, followed him to Bublitz on April 1st, where my parents lived until the end of their lives.

A few months after the move, the pastor of Hütten, my father’s former boss, showed up unexpectedly and asked to talk to my father alone. We then heard him in the anteroom sobbing and crying loudly. He said to my father, “You were always an honest man and I know that you acted out of the deepest conviction. I treated you unkindly and that gives me no peace. Forgive me for the wrong I have done to you.” Reconciled, they separated.

I must mention one other event. One Sunday morning, two strange gentlemen attended the church service and went to talk with my father afterwards. They were government assessors von Sanden and Baron von Honwald who had come especially from Köslin to speak with him. They said that when the three teachers were tried by the government, they had the impression that the accused men were righteous, and that they were unjust judges. This thought worried them more and more. They asked to put things right again and wanted to understand the matter better. They were taught about God’s work and came to believe.

Mr. von Sanden was a parishioner under my father in Köslin for a long time. He was unresolved and died a Privy Councilor. Baron von Honwald could not be admitted to church because he lived within forbidden degrees of marriage. He had married the sister of his first wife.

As head of the congregation in Bublitz, my father served in the priesthood under the Angel Pastor Köppen from Neustettin until 1854 and from then on, simultaneously, as an assistant in the Angel’s office in Neustettin. During apostolic visits, the servants of the general church, the Apostle and his associates usually stayed with my parents. We children would spend the night in the hayloft, or somewhere else. It was always a holiday for us.

I remember the Apostle Carlyle very well, as well as the Evangelist Apostle Böhm, and especially the Shepherd of Apostles Prof. Dr. Thiersch who worked a lot with us children; just as I remember the Prophet Geyer, who later, as God-appointed Coadjutor of the Apostle, would not submit to the decision of the Apostles, but rather called for the Apostles to independently appoint new Apostles, claiming there must always be 12. He was suspended and then excommunicated entirely. He then proceeded to form some congregations, which have spread far and wide under the name “New Apostolic Church”, causing confusion.

Childhood

Our family grew with the birth of a baby sister on February 11th, 1852 and a brother on June 14th, 1854; the former was named Emma and the brother was named Johannes. Two years later came twin brothers (prematurely born). They were quickly given an emergency baptism and were named Heinrich and Eduard. They died after only a few hours. On March 30th 1861, my brother Paul was born and on April 24th 1863, my youngest brother Ernest was born.

We were all taught by my father and never attended public school. In the first years at Bublitz, we suffered a lot of hostility from school children. They shouted at us everywhere and called us, “Pious Devils!”

I was taught at the same level as my brother Fritz who was 2 years older than me. In addition to the age difference, he was very gifted so I couldn’t measure up to his achievements – except in arithmetic. I made the assumption that I couldn’t achieve much and developed an aversion to learning, in general.

The Bible was one of our main subjects of study. We had to memorize the text of the Scriptures by heart. I read the Bible cover to cover many times as I grew older, which gave me a great knowledge of the Scriptures.

My father had a passion for botany. He often took us for walks in the fields and forests, and taught us about the plants we found there. He also loved music, especially singing, and this passion was cultivated lovingly in our home. We sang a number of good folk tunes in three part harmony, later in four part harmony. My father soon formed a church choir in which we boys sang alto. He was also responsible for singing instruction in other churches.

My brother Fritz and I were called on to do household chores. We had to feed the cow, chop wood, fetch water from a distant well, clean boots, teach the older siblings the basics, watch the younger siblings, rock the littlest one to sleep and keep him occupied, darn our own stockings, prepare my mother’s bobbins for when she was weaving, and so forth. My mother did her own spinning and also wove the fabric for our clothes.

We owned 2.5 morgens [a Prussian morgen=2,553 m²] of meadow and 3 morgens of fields, so there was plenty of work for us as well. Farming was a joy for me, especially when classes were canceled because of it. In all this work, the same was expected of me as was expected from my older brother. We took turns doing the bigger household chores, alternating weekly. There were times when we didn’t have a maid.

When my parents went to the morning service at 6 o’clock, it was a matter of honor for me to have everything ready on their return: the rooms swept, the little brothers and sisters dressed and coiffed, the beds made, the dusting done, and the coffee on the table. I once heard my mother say to a woman that she got more out of me than from a maid.

My father and Kleist, who now also lived in Bublitz, took my brother and me to Neustettin on foot. I was 8 years old at the time. Shortly before Neustettin, I collapsed with a heart attack. With difficulty, they got me to Neustettin where I was put to bed at teacher Buchholz’s house. The next day, I felt a little better.

We two boys went on to our Kaun grandparents at Soltnitz. Once there, I had to go straight back to bed. My grandmother, in her loving care, made me swallow a tablespoonful of pepper. Fortunately, I gave up this not particularly appropriate medication right away.

Staying with my grandparents was always a great pleasure for me, then and later. While my brother read all the books he could get his hands on, there and at Aunt Charlotte’s, I largely used of my freedom to wander around the spacious yard, stables, barn and fields; forming a close friendship with a sheep dog named Rollow, and watching a pair of storks in their nest from a roof ladder.

My uncle Gottlieb was more involved with me. He let me ride the horses and took me with him in the cart. This was all very important to me and gave me an early love of agriculture.

In 1855, Apostle Mr. Carlyle was the first apostle to pass away. It was not apostolic teaching but it was hoped that the Apostles would live to see the Second Coming. There was great sadness in the congregations but the Lord gave such comfort that none of the members became weak in their faith. In 1857, Angel Pastor Köppen passed away. My father was then put in charge and Bublitz stood out as a model congregation with its branches at Neustettin, Ratzebuhr, Muddel, Bütow, soon joined by Rummelsburg and Köslin.

On October 21st, 1861, my father was confirmed as an Angel, something which had previously only happened in Berlin and Königsberg. The congregation had grown considerably–enough to support the full Four-Fold Ministry. Apostle Woodhouse had been assigned to Southern Germany and Austria. After Apostle Carlyle died, he also took control of Northern Germany.

He and his co-workers, Böhm and Thiersch, usually came to Bublitz in the autumn for the ordination of priests, deacon benedictions, the apostolic laying on of hands for any who would need it, and for further conferences and teachings by ministers of the general church. There were always a lot of guests from the many branch congregations of the church. These were real feast days for all of them.

My father used to spend a month every quarter visiting the branch congregations which was always nice for me because lessons were canceled. I only had to do written exercises. Once, during his absence, he gave us the task of memorizing the 119th Psalm (176 verses). To this day, I still think of myself with deep pity.

Our family was large and the church stipend was modest, so this meant we had to economize. Some of the milk from our cow was sold. We children rarely had butter. In summer, we usually went barefoot. If grandfather gave us a taler, we had to give it back to the household. 

We didn’t have any money but we wanted to give our parents a birthday present. So we came up with our own savings plan. We had a small roll each for breakfast, 6 for a penny – so not that big. We had to fetch the bread every morning from the baker. Secretly, for a month, my brother and I got one less roll and saved 2 pennies. We then stealthily shared a roll and acted as if we’d eaten a whole one. When we got up to 60 pennies, we ordered a large pretzel to surprise mother and father for their birthday. We were then at an age when we could put away 3-6 of those rolls.

My father was very strict in bringing up us older children. Even in our most troublesome moments, it was enough for mother to say “I’ll tell your father” to make us turn submissive. The younger children didn’t experience them in the same way. Age made them milder.

Teacher Führmann, who came to Bublitz as a priest, took over our lessons for a while. He also gave us lessons in French.

When I was 13 years old, there was a question of who would look after the cows – ours and 2 others – over the summer. I volunteered. I was a herd boy from early May until November 3rd, by which time it was snowing extensively. The next year, I had the same job again.

At 4 o’clock in the morning, I woke up, got out of bed, went to my mother to wake her for milking, fetched 6 rolls from the bakery for a penny, ate 3 of them with a glass of milk, and took away 3 others for a second breakfast. Most days, they didn’t make it to the second breakfast. I could not resist their charms and they disappeared on the way to the pasture.

I drove the cows out promptly at 5 o’clock, which took a half an hour. By 12 o’clock, I was back home, by 9 o’clock on Sunday so as not to miss church services. I could tell time by the sun and if it wasn’t shining, by the smoke of a chimney I could see in the distance.

In the afternoon, I went out again at 3 o’clock and stayed out until sunset. I often took my New Testament, a gift from Professor Thiersch, and the Oehn French textbook. With the fresh air, I had become quite physically strong. I could carry a sack of potatoes weighing a good 2 zentner [zentner=50kg] up the stairs in our house.

For 2 summers, my father took us – my brother and me – to the beach town of Muddel for sea bathing. Each time, we swam diligently for a month. It was a wonderful time. Our bathing companions included Oblt. van der Brinken, Angel von Sanden, Carl and Siegfried Kuchenbäcker.

Postal Service

My father’s intention was to prepare and educate us for the priesthood, that was an oppressive thought for me because I considered myself incapable of public speaking. We continued with lessons until I was 16 and my brother was 18.

One day, quite unexpectedly, my father asked us what profession we wanted to pursue. He had been told by his superiors that we had to first be in a profession and then offer ourselves voluntarily [to the priesthood]. It was a difficult decision. Teaching was still closed to us as a profession and a civil service career required a high school education that we didn’t have. I decided on the postal service.

It was decided that we should educate ourselves through private instruction. Dr. Phil. von Stieler  lived in town and had retired from high school teaching because of extreme nervousness. We had an hour of instruction from him daily, alternating between Latin, French, German and Mathematics. We patiently endured his agitated manner. After a quarter of a year, we were already translating Caesar and Ovid. He was quite weak in mathematics himself and unable to help us there. We mainly taught ourselves.

After three quarters of a year, my brother got a job in Neustettin with the land surveyor Captain (retired) Höppner, who was looking for suitable young men to carry out a land survey that was taking place at that time. To be admitted to the field surveyor examination, you needed a Prima qualification [equivalent to the completion of 12th/13th year]. My brother wanted to get one and prepared for the exam, but never got around to it. In practice, he excelled and demonstrated such aptitude that he was asked to join the department as a trainee with a dispensation from the certificate and good prospects for later.

In summer, I became seriously ill with malaria. It was 4 months before I was able to resume my lessons. Throughout that time, I was working diligently. Before Easter, I told my teacher that I intended to be examined in Neustettin to find out where I was deficient in my studies. I said the same thing to my parents. Dr. von Stieler felt it was his duty to give me a Tertia qualification [equivalent to the completion of 8th/9th year].

I had a new winter overcoat of which I was not a little proud. In my inexperience, I took it with me without anything underneath it.

At that time, the postal service required a certificate of a half year’s attendance at a secondary school. I reported to the director, Dr. Lehman and said that I wanted to join the postal service and would like to have the necessary qualification. Of course, I didn’t show the certificate from Dr. von Stieler. I was told a commission of three teachers would be formed and the next morning I was to report to the director.

When I arrived at the appointed hour, the director asked me to take off my overcoat. Embarrassed, I looked at him and he repeated his request. I hesitantly began to take off the overcoat. He then recognized the cause of my embarrassment and said with a smile, “Oh, just keep it on!” That was the beginning of my exam. He tested me in History, Geography and Latin. At the end, he shook my hand kindly and said, “If you do this well with the other teachers, then you will have your certificate.”

In the afternoon, Professor Beyer wanted to test me in religion and mathematics. When he heard that I was part of the apostolic church, he said that he had no authority to examine me. I was saved in mathematics by the fact that I had learned from a textbook that he had written. The next day, Dr. Knick examined me in French and German. I got my Sekunda qualification [equivalent to the completion of 10th year].

Highly delighted, I walked home on Holy Thursday. My parents were pleasantly surprised, as was my teacher Dr. von Stieler who did not fail to widely publicize the success he had achieved in so short a period of time.

After obtaining the necessary certificates and other papers, I submitted my request to join the postal service. My certificate awarded me the qualification for secondary school, but a half year’s attendance was still required. So I was asked by the regional post office to take yet another exam. 

In the meantime, malaria set in again but it was not as severe as the first time. While ill, I traveled to Cologne and fulfilled the requirements of the exam.

[Note: In the Prussian postal service, a ‘postexpedition’ was a satellite postal branch.]

On July 18th, 1862, I was sworn in by post expeditor Schütz in Bublitz. I had become a well-known personality in Bublitz. In the new uniform, which was quite dressy at the time, I did not feel I was insignificant. In order to learn the job, I initially worked mostly in Bublitz. My official title was: post expeditor’s assistant.

Soon, I was given the order to go to Brückenkrug for 2 weeks to substitute for the then post expeditor. From Bublitz, I was sent to Danzig in the late autumn, the first station after Stolp on the big road from Köslin to Danzig. For this, I received 2 1/2 talers monthly, in addition to free housing.

The heads of the larger post expeditions received a lump sum for an assistant, up to a maximum of 15 talers per month. After half a year, I was transferred to Bublitz at the instigation of post expeditor Schütz. In addition to free housing, he gave me 5 talers a month. 

Mr. Schütz owned a large farm, had the finest horses in Bublitz, was head of the town council, and held various other honorary offices. His house was held in high esteem. The whole postal staff consisted of the post director, an assistant, a local letter carrier who was also the office boy, and four rural letter carriers. It was a matter of honor for me to carry out the work on my own, leaving Mr. Schütz almost entirely free for his other concerns.

I had a close friendship with the pharmacist’s assistant, Hans Hofman, and a lively correspondence with my brother Fritz. He was easily infatuated and that had already led him into some romantic intrigue in Bublitz. In Neustettin, that continued. He knew how to describe his experiences for me in vivid color. I would have liked to have had experiences like that too, but I was much too shy for that, and remained so for a long time.

I read our extensive service manual diligently and only then did I learn that you could become a postal candidate with a certificate showing the successful completion of one year’s attendance at a grammar school. The advantage was that you could register for the post expeditor’s exam after three years, instead of four. After a year and a day, you could then register for the clerk’s exam which could lead to a higher career in the postal service. I immediately decided, quite secretly, to prepare myself for the exams.

In addition to preparing for the post expeditor’s exam – which was feared in our postal district because it was extremely demanding – my work was quite exhausting. It lasted from 5:30am in the morning to 10pm in the evening with a break of 2 hours at noon and 1.5 hours in the evening.

During this time, I was assigned to substitute for the seriously ill post expeditions teacher Wiese in Sparsee. He died after only a few days. I was replaced by another official and returned to Bublitz.

In late summer of 1864, the regional post office in Oseken [Ossecken, perhaps], Kreis L___n [slightly illegible. Lauen, perhaps], Lauenburg, tasked me with setting up a new post expedition. The post expeditor was to be the owner of Osken, Mr. von Köller himself. The office was located in one wing of his castle where I also had my apartment.

Mr. von Köller was still unmarried at that time. I dined at his table but still received my entire salary, 8 talers a month. For that, I had to help Mr. von Köller with some other written work. My position was very pleasant. I was independent. The job was limited to a few hours in the morning. Only manor houses belonged to the postal district, and they picked up and delivered their own mail after the arrival of the mail courier.

I was quickly drawn into social circles that were otherwise closed to my peers. I often socialized: with Pastor Kuhlo, the local clergyman whose son was a student at home on vacation; with Mr. Böhm from Grosse Lüblow who liked to play chess with me; with Mr. Gebel, the leaseholder of the glassworks; in the extensive forests of Mr. von Köller, a quarter of an hour from the Baltic seashore; and most of all with old Mr. Frankenstein from Kerschkow. He took me completely into his heart. When I left Osken, he offered to let me stay with him, he wanted to build me a house and take care of me. He was known to be a rich gentleman.

There was a private tutor at the glassworks named Kanditat Walter, with whom I became friends. I played many a humorous prank on the young ladies of our acquaintance which brought some variety into the monotonous country lifestyle.

The oldest daughter of Mr. Böhm from Gross Lüblow – first in the circle of ladies there – gave me many a sign that she liked seeing me. I was not indifferent to her either but my shyness prevented me from telling her. Besides which, I was fully aware that I was still not able to marry and I did not want a mere love affair.

In the fall of 1865, I passed the exam for Obersekunda [equivalent to completion of 11th grade] at the Gymnasium in Neustadt, West Prussia. The principal said he would gladly admit me into the class. I was now a postal-candidate and I was able to pay the required deposit of 1,000 talers from my own savings.

My transfer to Köslin happened soon after that. Once there, I immediately registered for the first professional exam. Regular duty and night work at the post office was very strenuous, and [exam] preparation had to be done on the side. The exam took a whole week at the end of March. Of 5 candidates, only 2 passed – me and one man who was taking it for the second time. It could only be taken twice.

After a few days, I received my appointment as an Expeditionary Officer and a notification that I would get 25 talers a month. Vacation did not exist back then.

While substituting for a colleague, I was able to visit my parents for a day in the new uniform, wearing epaulets to boot. When I greeted my mother, she said, “Has your father already seen you?” When I greeted my father, his first words were, “Has your mother seen you yet?”

While I was gone, my parents bought a house with a beautiful garden, where I later spent pleasant days of vacation and recreation.

The consequence of the recent overexertion showed itself as a severe fatigue, with some bloody expectoration. The doctor diagnosed heart disease and firmly forbade me to drink coffee, tea, beer and all spirits. That’s when I became a hypochondriac. When war broke out that year, I was released from military service due to heart disease.

In the last few months, I was employed at the main post office. The persistent sedentary lifestyle did not suit me. In July, I was transferred to Rügenwalde.

Later that month, cholera broke out. It claimed many victims and all the sea bathers left immediately. It hit home when you heard in the morning that someone had died who seemed and sounded well the night before.

On ___ [illegible date], in Bublitz, I received the laying on of hands by the Apostle Coadjutor Böhm, but I was not as prepared as I should have been. I realized this later with shame. God had been merciful to me, had heard the prayers of my faithful parents for me, and brought me back from indifference and doubts the following year.

In Rügenwalde, I met Mr. Reinsberg from the foundry and got to know his daughter Olga, a 17-year-old girl of rare grace and beauty. She made a deep impression on me. I was then transferred to Schlawe in February.

After a year and a day, I was allowed to apply for the second exam. So after a year and a day exactly, I submitted my application. This request raised concern over whether or not it was too soon. After some time, however, I was told to report for the exam in June, in Köslin. I passed and became a Postal Assistant, a title that was later changed to Postal Trainee.

I soon got a transfer to Kiel on July 1st. I asked some colleagues from Schlawe to accompany me to Rügenwalde to spend a pleasant evening with my colleagues there.

Whether I saw Miss Riensberg again on this occasion, I no longer know, but in any case this was the actual purpose of my trip. Not long after that, I wrote to her father to ask for her parent’s blessing and also wrote to her to ask for her hand in marriage. In Kiel, I received her parent’s permission and a joyful “Yes!” from Olga.

Mr. Reinsberg had an accident that winter. He fell off an icy weir at his foundry and died. The engagement was to be kept secret. I kept up a lively correspondence with my bride. After about 2 years, her mother wrote to me unexpectedly to say that she was breaking off the engagement. She was probably under the impression that her daughter could make a better match, no doubt she was under the influence of her brother, a government councilor in Köslin, and a brother of her husband, who was a consul in Rügenwalde. The main reason was my affiliation with the Apostolic church.

In Schlawe, I received an early morning visit from Sr. Lieutenant von der Brincken. It was winter. I was still asleep. He woke me up and said that I should get up at once and give him my warm bed. I did. 

He stayed with me for lunch and asked if I was getting by on my [meager] diet. I replied, “I am putting away money for my deposit when I get a job. I don’t want my parents to have to come up with it.” “You save? Show me your savings.” I had about 50 talers at that time. I told him how much and he exclaimed, “What a blessing for a father to have such a son!” One of his sons was a legation secretary, the other an officer. He invited me to visit him in Varzin.

On May 25th, it snowed so heavily that the mail could not get through. When I went home about 6 o’clock from the early shift, the snow was up to my knees.

In Kiel, I was told that I should consider my transfer there an honor because the central post office had requested that the various postal directorates send capable, unmarried civil servants. For the first 3 months, I was employed at the newly created regional postal administration.

After the war in 1866, Prussia annexed the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, which had been administered by Prussia and intermittently Austria. We Prussians were hated by the population because they didn’t want to be Prussian, they wanted to be German under their own Duke of Augustenburg.

In October, I got the order to go to Rendsburg as an instructor. I stayed there for a year and a half, during which time I had to carry out the inspection of some post offices. My companions were the pioneer civil servants and a schoolteacher. The post director’s attempt to get me to join his Lodge was unsuccessful. In the spring of 1869, I was transferred to Gettorf, a village 2 miles north of Kiel.

Here, I had to take over the post expedition as chief. Social life in the town was very pleasant. There was a district court, 2 doctors, 2 clergymen and a pharmacist. In addition, there were a number of large estates in the postal district. Since I was able to speak Low German, which was used even in the first circles, I hardly had to suffer from the hostility of the inhabitants.

I was even elected director of the shooting and bowling club and, for the winter, as entertainment director, along with Mr. Danielsen from Augustenhof, the brother-in-law of the famous Kaulbach. The naval artillery officers at Friedrichsort were very grateful to me for an invitation to one of our balls. On one such occasion, a landowner made a speech to me, “If we are ever reconciled with Prussia, it will be thanks to its postmaster.” In any case, I was very spoiled socially there.

From April 1 to July 1, 1870, I had to substitute for the post director in Husum. There was a singing club led by Theodor Storm, whom we all loved and adored. I became a member of the club straight away.

In the meantime, the time had come when I had to be employed as a clerk. That’s why I was transferred to Cologne on the Rhine on July 1st.

I took a 14-day vacation to travel to Bublitz to see my parents. My parent’s household had gone through a difficult time. My brother Fritz had offered himself for the priesthood, was called and received ordination. At the same time, he gave up his earthly profession. He was also already engaged to Clara Gallwitz.

As a young priest, he had to work in Köslin from Bublitz. It turned out later that he used a bed in which a typhus patient had lain. After his return, he fell ill with typhus and died in the fall 1868. Immediately afterwards, my mother, my sisters Johanna and Emma, and my brother Johannes also fell ill with the same epidemic. The sick, especially my mother, recovered slowly. The death of my brother hit me hard. It made me acutely aware of how close we had been, and it seemed absurd to me to doubt there would be a reunion after death.

On July 17, the day war was declared, I arrived in Cologne. A very eventful time followed. The passage of many troops, then the thrill when news of victory arrived, the transports of the wounded and prisoners kept the population full of excitement and enthusiasm. In strict, ultramontane circles, people silently wished it was otherwise.

I paid a visit to the family of the regional post director to say hello from relatives in Husum. They received me very graciously. It was soon made clear to me that I was welcome as a son-in-law. But since I didn’t feel particularly well, I withdrew.

I was first employed in the main post office in Cologne and, after 2 months, as a substitute for the post director in Siegburg, who had been an officer and was then drafted. My appointment as post clerk was delayed by the war and did not take place until the summer of 1871, at the same time as that of my colleague Krätke, who later became postmaster general.

Once in Siegburg, I received a letter from the then district evangelist on the Rhine, Mr. von Pochhammer, who gave me the address of a church member in Cologne, Dr. Bourel. When I returned to Cologne in November of 1870, I sought her out and with her, soon joined the first, still-young congregation in the Rhineland, in Mönchengladbach.

At her invitation, I took up residence in the house she rented. Mr. von Pochhammer soon approached me and not long after asked me to help him in his evangelistic work. Startled, I replied that I wouldn’t know what to say to people. He persisted, however. In October 1871, I was appointed Underdeacon.

Head of the Congregation

Before my time there, several Evangelists had given public lectures in Cologne, the German Rome. As a result of that work, I found three church members – three women – who unfortunately did not bear good witness by their behavior towards each other.

Gaining entry into families is extraordinarily difficult in Cologne. Family life is very different there than in the North and East provinces. Socializing takes place in public, not in the home. Mr. von Pochhammer introduced me to an Englishman named Mr. Grey, Director of a Mining company. He also introduced me to a paralyzed widow. I visited her as often as I could.

I had the great joy of seeing Mr Grey, his wife and the widow receive the apostolic laying on of hands in Gladbach in 1874. At the request of the Evangelist with the Apostle, I was then ordained Deacon and assigned to Barmen on the 23rd of July. In the meantime, a second congregation was established in Dusseldorf, and a third in Barmen. The latter grew rapidly and became the mother church on the Rhine under the Angel Pastor Wigand.

In the following year, four people from Cologne received the Holy Sealing in Barmen including the teacher Knebel, who was later Angel of Frankfurt am Main. At the general conference, the Coadjutor asked me if I had any wishes for Cologne and what they might be. I replied that it seemed to me to be time to hold public lectures, so that we would at least have an opportunity to become acquainted with some people. He promised me this.

The young Underdeacon Maurer Fuchs worked for a while in Cologne to help me. I also had my brother Johannes, who had become a watchmaker, come to work with me in Cologne. We celebrated the litany in my house weekly. At the beginning of the winter of 1875, a series of public lectures were given by the Evangelist Baron Gotthard von Richthofen, which were at first well attended. 

I once heard someone in a restaurant ask another, “Have you heard Baron von Richthofen?” “Yes!” was the answer, “But I won’t go back again because I wouldn’t be able to celebrate carnival anymore.” This captures the essence of the Cologne man.

Our work was blessed. Some 20 people could be handed over to the pastoral office by the end of 1876. On the second day of Christmas, the Angel over Barmen celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the first time in the back room of a house on Gereonsmühlengasse adapted to serve as a church.

After the service, to my great surprise, he told me that I was to take over the parish as Deacon. That’s how I stepped out of evangelizing and into pastoral service. The postal service in Cologne was very strenuous at that time. The irregular night shift was making me nervous. Since I was appointed, I went to Bublitz almost every year on medical leave to recuperate. It was there that I first learned to really love and appreciate my parents house with its beautiful garden.

My parents and siblings always looked forward to my visit because I provided a nice distraction. My sister Maria was married to the Priest Otto Strelow in Köslin, my sister Emma to the Evangelist Priest Francis Framm in Bublitz. My brother Paul was apprenticed at a bookstore in Köslin but, suffering a severe bladder disease, came back to our parents house, where he stayed until he died. He died from diphtheria at the age of 24.

Because of his illness, he could no longer sit up. He said he saw it as the grace of God that he became ill. In Köslin, the temptation to become secular had been too great.

My brother Ernst, largely educated by self-instruction, earned a favorable Einjährigenzeugnis [a leaving certification]. He joined the judicial service. He died in Stolp at 22 years old, in the same year as Paul, also from diptheria. He had already been called to the priesthood and served faithfully as an acolyte. His way of life was exemplary.

My grandmother Döhring died at 84 years old, when I was about 12 years old. Two years later, at my father’s suggestion, after the death of my grandfather in 1871, the 4 Kaun siblings – that is, my mother and her three siblings – arranged to have an annual family reunion, rotating between their homes. While in Cologne, I was able to leave three times to participate, once in Hammerberg, once in Mossin, and once in Bublitz.

In Cologne, I devoted my free time completely to the service of the Lord, so I had to stop my preparation for the state exam.

I was aware of the hardships faced by married evangelists, due to their often prolonged absences from their families. That’s why I decided to stay unmarried. Moreover, I knew how priests without outside income had to economize for their lack of means. This, and my frequent physical weakness, were the concerns that had prevented me from offering myself to the ministry up to that time.

But then I came to the living faith and wanted to surrender myself unreservedly to my God, steadfast in the knowledge that if my creator had called me, he would also help me in all things. Never had I felt the direct presence of God, or my utter unworthiness, so much as I did in that moment. I was called to the priesthood through the Prophet Morsch from Leipzig on August  31st, 1876.

The calling came to me in these words, “You are given an open door in Cologne and no one can shut it!” The Underdeacon Fuchs, who was also called, told me afterwards, “Now, I’m not worried about anything!” That captures some of what you feel about it.

The preparation required for the priesthood was difficult for me because I had not received any instruction from the Angel, as the others had. On June 9th, 1877, I was ordained in Barmen by the Coadjutor von Pochhammer and assigned the priestly care of the congregation in Cologne.

I soon came to believe that the head of a congregation was better off married. In 1878, on the Day of Repentance and Prayer [a national holiday], I saw and spoke to Mama for the first time. I heard that she and her sister Aline had been expelled from her stepmother’s house in Darmstadt because of their faith. This immediately raised a special interest in me. Even at the first meeting, I felt an inner certainty that she was definitely sent by God for me. We got engaged on September 2nd, and on November 22nd, 1878 we were married in Barmen.

The wedding took place at the evangelical community center. On November 1st, both of my sisters came to Cologne to set up our home on Gereonsmühlengasse.

For a few years, I held the position of senior post office clerk in charge of the main receiving department. My promotion to senior postal clerk was imminent. Since I was about to be released as a priest –  that is, released from my earthly profession –  I applied for my retirement and retired on April 1, 1879.

My sister-in-law, Aline Müller, stayed with us. She was soon followed by the youngest of the three siblings, Fanny. Their father was no longer alive.

On August 14th, 1879, at our home on Gereonsmühlengasse, our oldest son Karl was born. On August 12th, 1881, Elizabeth was born in the presence of my mother-in-law from Darmstadt. I was with her in Remscheid for the funeral of [my wife’s] grandfather Gottlieb Müller. After three years, we moved into another house on Hildebaldplatz. Otto was born there on September 3rd, 1882.

I was offered to the priesthood in Berlin on March 9th, 1881, called by the Prophet Apostle von la Chevallerie on November 21st 1882, and ordained in Berlin by the Coadjutor of Apostles.

We met many senior ministers in Cologne who lodged with us on the trip to Albury and back. At that time, District Evangelist Baron von Richthofen was doing other public work in Cologne. We began a close friendship.

My first appointment was to Albury in June 1883 to serve in the Chapel of the Apostles. When I saw the place where such significant events had happened at the beginning of God’s work, and the chapel where the apostles had celebrated and were still celebrating services at the head of the church, I had to weep for joy. The 6 week stay in Albury offered me so many new and beautiful things, spiritually and physically, that it has always stayed in my grateful memory. English was not difficult for me.

I must mention one special experience I had. In the County of Surrey, in the Duke of Northumberland’s park, there was a party for the children of three villages owned by the Duke. Many adults were invited also, including me. The Duchess, a daughter of Apostle Drummond, now a dignified old lady who walked with difficulty on a cane, came to me to ask me if I would enjoy seeing her late father’s room. Of course, I was delighted to take her up this offer. She told me about her father, showed me his room in the Castle, which was still as it had been when her father used it.

Then she took me into another large room where, at the beginning of God’s work, the school of the prophets had gathered to study and pray over God’s word. She told me that of those involved there, only three were alive – Coadjutor Caird, Deacon Frosch and herself.

When the spiritual gifts appeared in Scotland – speaking in tongues, prophesying and healing the sick – Clergyman Irving was sent there, with some others from here, to examine whether these phenomena were the work of God’s Spirit.

On his return, she took him walking up and down this particular park path, which she showed me, to draw out his thoughts on the matter. Then he replied in all seriousness, “What we have seen and heard is from the Holy Spirit.”

At our house in Hildeboldplatz, there was a betrothal between Uncle Carl Arns and Miss Eugenie Feldhaus, a friend of Mama’s, who was with us for a visit. Having lived for three years at Hildeboldplatz, we moved to Ehrenfeld, a suburb of Cologne where we had rented a house with a garden.

Around this time, my brother-in-law Tramm was transferred to the Rhine to work here as an Angel, and later as a District Evangelist. We gave him and his family a home in Ehrenfeld. It was here, on September 9th, 1885, that Franz was born. The newborn weighed 11 lbs, an extraordinary weight. The birth was difficult and Mama’s life was in great danger. It grieved me so much that, for the first time, angina set in.

Around that time, my sister-in-law Fanny became engaged to Gustav Weber, a tenant farmer from Silesia. The wedding took place soon after at my mother-in-law’s home in Darmstadt. The marriage was an unhappy one. It was all the man’s fault. We only found out after the wedding that father-in-law Weber, owner of three manors, lived in completely shattered financial circumstances. He borrowed money from our relatives whenever he could get it. After only one year, Aunt Aline was bankrupt and lost her money. Gustav, the son, left his wife and, without her knowing, divorced her. Fanny, with her daughter Julia, was now destitute. She lives in Barmen now, where her daughter Julia is a teacher at a secondary school.

A few months after the birth of Franz, Mama was so badly ill that she received the Anointing of the Sick. God in his mercy, preserved her for us. All the children had whooping cough, it was a difficult time for us.

In May 1887, the great intercession was introduced in Cologne, which could only be offered by an Angel. From then on, I served as the “next commissioned” Angel under the Angel in Barmen. He, Pastor Wigand, visited us often and became a fatherly friend to me. The church had to be relocated and we found a suitable place in Rheingasse. Because of the distance, we moved our apartment into the same house, an old patrician house of the Overstolzen [family].

There we were given another little daughter, who was named Aline. We called her Ina for short. Aunt Aline always proved a faithful, loving helper in taking care of the children and the household. Several times, she went with the children to their grandmother’s in Darmstadt during vacations.

The children attended primary school, Karl secondary school, in Cologne.

Trusting too much, I invested almost all our money in the business of mechanical engineer Gilles (Deacon). He went bankrupt. We had shares in the stagnant Silberwiese mine, which put us in a tight spot..

In December, 1891, I was transferred to Neustettin. My family stayed in Cologne until April of the next year because we couldn’t find an apartment. My long-time yearning for Pomerania was then satisfied. The more vigorous climate appealed to me, so I felt reinvigorated. There was also a beautiful church relationship here, and in the 4 branch churches. I had one assistant and 11 priests as co-workers.

I rented a house in Königstrasse, which was formerly owned by the high school teacher Bochlin, with a large beautiful garden.

We could only get 1 room until July 1st, so on April 1 only Mama, Karl and Ina came, while Aunt Aline remained with the other 3 children at their Grandmother’s in Darmstadt until July 1st. When Karl was a year old, we visited my parents in Bublitz for the first time with the children and Mama’s 2 sisters. Now we could visit more often.

At that time, we spent 4 weeks in Strandhof near Gr. Möllen on the Baltic Sea. We liked it there so much that we decided to come back quite often. Nothing came of it. We fully enjoyed our freedom in the garden, on the lovely Streitzig lake, and in the Klösterwalde. At that time, there were a few privately owned old barges. The lifeguard Sonnenberg rented 2 barge-like boats, but these were not often used. We were probably the first to make extensive use of it. For 20 Pf, we got the boat for the whole morning.

On October 2, 1894 Erich was born. The beautiful christening party was very merry – 23 speeches were given.

Our Silberweise was unsellable, the income modest, I worried a lot about this. Then one day, as I was writing to the Apostolic Sheppard Dr. Arndt, our sunshine, little Ina, came to me and clapped her hands with joy, exclaiming, “We are so rich, we have so many children, and we have so many things!” I thought I heard a voice from heaven and was comforted. I shared this experience with Dr. Arndt.

After some time, he wrote to me that he had sent my letter to the coadjutor of the Apostles, Headmaster Diestel, who had answered him, “The lovely letter from D. was a great comfort to me when I was deeply worried about Russia.”

May 27, 1895, the first call to fill the Archangelic office took place. I was called and, with me, Pastor Wagener. Our blessing by Apostle Woodhouse took place on July 15th of that year.  I could only say, “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown to me” [Carl is paraphrasing Luther’s Bible, Genesis 32:11]

Immediately afterwards, I received an order from the Apostle to visit congregations in the province of Brandenburg and Silesia and the Kingdom of Saxony. As a delegate, accompanied by a second servant, I was to perform any necessary apostolic acts, i.e., offering candidates for higher office, the ordination of priests, the apostolic laying on of hands, the blessing of deacons – only the consecration of Angels was restricted to the Apostles themselves. The order was repeated the following year for the same and other communities, and again in the subsequent year for Russia.

In the summer of 1896, I was transferred to Königsberg in Prussia and my assistant Zentgraf was transferred to Bublitz where he married my sister Johanna. My mother-in-law from Darmstadt was visiting at the time and was there for the wedding. 

I taught Franz and Erich myself until they went to secondary school, Erich until sixth year. We had to send Karl back to Neustettin because of illness. In Königsberg, I found a lot of work. In summertime, we all visited the seaside resort of Kahlberg. When my family was away in the summer of 1899, I was home alone and had such a severe attack of heart failure that I struggled for hours with death.

The doctor was called immediately and gave me injections but he had little hope that I would pull through. He told me later, “If you did not have such a good constitution, you would not have escaped with your life.” I received the Anointing of the Sick – the effect of which I still feel after many years of severe suffering. Mama accompanied me to the Krkonoše Mountains for my recuperation, first to Brückenberg, then to the village of Hain where I had to lie weakly in bed for several weeks after a new attack. After another stay in Baron von Richthofen’s house in Grosse Rosen, we returned to Königsberg. In the meantime, my only solution was a local parish.

The winter was very difficult because of new seizures and everything that goes with them. I longed to return to Neustettin. An apartment was rented for us there in the Villa Riemer. 

Prior to our move, there was an invitation from Mr. Kuchenbäcker to his great estate. I had to lie in bed for weeks there too. I was terribly weak when I followed Mama and the children back to Neustettin.

At Pentecost that year, 1900, my father passed away at the age of 85 after a short illness. He had been active until just before his death. Back in Neustettin, my illness quickly recurred and so violently that I had to stay in bed for almost a year.

In February 1901, the last of the Apostles passed away at the ripe old age of 97, and we entered a period of silence. All apostolic acts ceased, including the celebration of the full service and the great intercession. The Pentecostal conference in Albury continued, chaired by the 2 surviving Coadjutors. We Archangels of the general church were allowed to participate. Slowly, I had recovered enough to make the long journey.

We Archangels were assigned the task of visiting metropolitan churches to instruct ministers in addressing their congregations. Then we had to visit the rural congregations and hold longer instruction for ministers of the larger districts. For this purpose, I stayed twice in Berlin, for 14 days each time, then in Frankfurt an der Oder, Vienna and Bublitz. I was also entrusted with the leadership of two congregations – St. Petersburg for 3 months, Bremen for 6 weeks, Forst for 3 months, Basel for 7 months, Munich for 8 months, Dresden for 3 months. Traveling was hard for me. I had several attacks of my old illness while traveling. That’s why the Coadjutor of the Apostle gave me the church in Neustettin after the death of the previous Angel Hermann Borchert. My heart is filled with gratitude for God’s goodness, that I may serve him even at my age.

My greatest wish is to see all my children and grandchildren in the kingdom of God.

Neustettin 18, April 1923

P.S. I leave it to the children to write down their own history.

Addendum

My mother passed away in 1914 at the ripe old age of 93. Her mind was sharp right up to the end. It can be said of her what is said of the prophetess Anna: She never left the temple and served God night and day with prayers. [He is quoting Luke 2:37]. Health permitting, she never missed a church service without an urgent reason. Later when she had to stay at home, she took spiritual part in everything that was going on in the church by faithfully following the Liturgy at home during the hour of the service.

Then my sister Emma, Frau Tramm, passed away after many nervous disorders. Her husband followed her in 1922. Their children are, 1) Karl, Land registry controller, now in Cologne 2) Helen, unfortunately, not quite normal, lives with her sister Mrs. Lohse in Cologne 3) Ernst, secondary school teacher in Essen 4) Gretchen, married to the merchant Lohse in Cologne.

Five years ago, my brother-in-law, August Zentgraf, died in Bublitz at the age of 81 years old – a faithful, loving minister. My sister Johanna lives as a widow with my sister Maria in Stolp. My brother-in-law, Otto Strelow, lived in Stolp for many years as the head of the congregation. Their children are: 1) Hana, chief surveyor for the railways, now with his family in Stolp, 2) Lisbeth, married to Schimansky in Hamburg, owner of a men’s clothing store, 3) Emmchen, leader of the kindergarten in Stolp.

My brother Johannes served first as a priest in Ratzebuhr, then as an Angel’s Assistant in Neustettin – but left shortly before my return to Neustettin to be head of the church in Danzig. His children: 1) John died of leukemia as a result of the war 2) Paul, chief clerk at the court 3) Ernst, also a clerk at the judiciary.

My mother-in-law Mrs. Fanny Müller-Arns was melancholy in her last years and was cared for by Aline until her death. Her own children are 1) Arthur, a dentist in Wiesbaden 2) Julie von Lüde, a widow 3) Paula, wife of Dr. Jacob, widow, lives today with her 2 children in Köslin.

Aunt Laura and Auguste Müller, parishioners, lived in Barmen. After the death of Aunt Auguste, Aunt Laura moved to Wiesbaden where she was also taken care of by Aunt Aline until she died.

Finally, some children’s anecdotes.

When Karl was about 4 years old, I brought a little stick home and said, “I’ll put this stick up here on the cabinet and when the children are naughty, it makes them good again”. After a while, he needed to be punished, so I got the stick from its place and put him over my knee and began the punishment. Great shouting and then sudden silence, he shouted, “Dad, you’ve got the wrong stick!”

The godfather, Pastor Wigand, brought Elizabeth a full bag of candy. She was about a year old. She sat on the floor on the carpet. Since the others were all gone, she opened the paper bag, put the pieces in a circle around her, clasped her hands and said, “Amen!”. Then she began to eat.

In Ehrenfeld, we could see a balloon that rose daily from the distant flora. One evening I was standing with Fränzchen in my arms at the window, the half moon was in the sky. Then he exclaimed, “Daddy, look!, the bad boys have ruined the balloon.”

At Rheingasse, we had 2 pigeons in a big cage in the room. Newspaper was laid in the cage when cleaning it. Franz asked me one day, “Papa, do they read newspapers in heaven?” “I don’t think so,” was my answer. “What’ll we do for the pigeons then?” he exclaimed.

In Ehrenfeld, we had a large hedgehog that set up his home under a stone step in the garden. Fränzchen was given a small bag of peppermint cookies from a lady of the house and he lost it in the garden. We looked for them but didn’t find them. I said, “The hedgehog must have eaten them.” Then he went to the opening of the hedgehog’s dwelling and shouted, “Hedgehog, hedgehog, toss out my cookies!”

Once I went for a walk with Erich, who was about 6 years old, and he asked, “Dad, do men also get to have little children?” I replied, “No, I’ve never heard of that.” Then he said, “Oh, what a pity. I thought Karl was going to have a baby soon, and then I would be an uncle.” 

From his mother, he inherited the joy of giving. This started early on, but then in a way where the giver was unknown. I remember birthday cake, Brehm’s Animal Life [Brehms Tierleben / Brehm’s Life of Animals  is a reference book by Alfred Edmund Brehm (1829–1884) first published in the 1860s]

I said in a speech at Otto’s wedding that I always wanted to own an estate. This desire for an estate was apparently passed on to my children. Three of them have taken possession of an inherited estate.