Obituary of Pastor Johann Jakob Riess 1855

Published in DER FRIEDENSBOTE, August 1, 1855

translated from the original German on March 28, 1997 by Eric Oppenheimer, St. Louis, MO

with footnotes added by Robert Buecher, St. Louis, MO [revised April 2009]

J. J. RIESS, Pastor at the Evangelical Johannes Congregation[1] at St. Louis was called to his Eternal Rest by our Lord on July 8th [1855] , at 12:30 just after the noon hour. An apoplectic stroke of the lungs brought an end to his active life, only three days after he contracted an illness, which at first did not appear threatening.

J. J. RIESS was not only one of the Founders of the Evangelical Association of the West, but of the current members was the first to enter America in order to preach the Gospel to the German Christians. Like so many other spiritual Pioneers of the West he endured much toil and trouble, persecution and struggle in his effort on behalf of Our Lord.

He was born on May 5, 1811 at Tuttlingen in Wuerttemberg. His first spiritual awakening occurred on June 28, 1828, when a lightning bolt fatally hit his grandmother, aged 71, her daughter and granddaughter and yet another girl [2] . The Lord used this means to illuminate his heart and for the rest of his life he dedicated himself to the Work of the Lord. On April 15, 1830 Brother RIESS entered the Mission House at Basel in order to prepare for a career as Missionary. With sincere ambition and obvious success he utilized the lecture sessions at the Mission House, as well as the Theological Discourses at the Basel University - at the time a requirement for the Mission Apprentices - to acquire a well-rounded education, a definite plus in his later assignments.

Subsequent to an Emergency Call [3] directed to the Basel Mission House, Br. RIESS was ordained by Deacon HITZIG on May 13, 1835 at Loerach, Baden, then dismissed from Basel, with instructions to report at Dutch Hill, St. Clair County, Illinois as preacher. He departed from Basel on June 24th, boarded ship in Bremerhaven on August 18th, arriving in New York City on October 1st [1835].[4]

On November 22d [1835] he delivered his first sermon at Dutch Hill [5]. He found a number of Christians seeking salvation, some of which were to meet with him at this year’s conference at Burlington, pleased to see him remain faithful yet to be among the seekers for Christ. At the same time he encountered such, who from the beginning declined to be chastised by the Word of God.

In January 1836 Br. RIESS added Turkey Hill and the Congregation at Centreville [later known as Millstadt], later to be called Zion’s Church, as well as the Community at Prairie du Long [6] to his charges. Whoever is familiar with these towns realizes how difficult it was to get about twenty years ago, can more fully appreciate the amount of effort and dangers Brother RIESS had to expose himself, in order to service such far flung communities with any degree of regularity. Frequently, he along with two colleagues - who shall remain nameless, as they are still among the living - and the late Father FREIVOGEL [7] of near Centreville [Millstadt], his loyal and indefatigable companion, who carried this loyal affection to Br. RIESS until the very end. One way to demonstrate the sad state of affairs in regard to the condition of Church affiliation was in that period can be ascertained by the fact - among many others - when in 1836 Br. RIESS confirmed 30 persons, quite a number were over 30 years of age, and already married, that he was physically threatened a number of times, once even with a drawn pistol.

Our Lord was watching over him at all times; no human hand ever harmed him physically. Even when Br. RIESS made an attempt in 1839 to bring the Word of God to Belleville [8], and a number of obstructionists appeared at the Divine Worship Service with knives in order to cause a disturbance and to prevent the Preaching of the Gospel, Our Savior would not permit this to happen. Brother RIESS preached with sincere fervor and those who came to create a disturbance kept their peace.

Regrettable, Brother RIESS was visited with illness quite frequently, and suffered considerable problems within his own family. In 1837 [9] he was married to the Maiden lady Charlotte Maria HENKLER [10] of Centreville [Millstadt], where the Zion’s Congregation became more and more the focus of his attention. In 1839 he gave up the other places where he had preached, bought a home here and settled here [Millstadt]. He suffered from several ailments before and after these events. Three children were born to the couple (still living) and sadly she took sick in January 1840, and after suffering for eight months of severe illness, she succumbed in the night of 9th to 10th September [1840] with these words on her lips: “Christ is my Life, Death is my Salvation”.

Of great comfort to him was the arrival in 1839 of his brother Conrad RIESS [11], at the time Pastor in Ft. Madison, Iowa. By coming to Centreville [Millstadt] he was able to be at his side at home and in his church functions. Furthermore, it enabled him to undertake a trip to Germany in 1841 [12] . One result of this journey was that he married the maiden Victoria PETIT [13] of Muehlhausen in Alsace,[14] who with her five children [15] now mourn the departure.

He had barely returned to Centreville when illness started anew, as well as some discomfiting occurrences within his office, which prompted him to make this entry in his Journal: “Through suffering and joy, through dire need and fear, through grief and sorrow, through disgrace and outrage throughout - yet there was much help and salvation, protection, blessing and grace to be experienced!”

In October 1846, Br. RIESS assumed his duties as Pastor in St. Louis [16], but became ill early in 1847, into the month of May. During this period Pastor J. RIEGER came to his brotherly assistance and effectively carried out his duties. After that Pastor A. BALZER was summoned to act as co-pastor to St. Louis. In 1848 the St. Louis Congregation underwent a peaceful split, with Br. RIESS assuming responsibility for the Congregation in Northern St. Louis [17]. The Congregation grew so rapidly that they were compelled to tear down the small church in 1850 and build a new larger one, which was dedicated in September 1850. In the Winter of 1851-52 a painful chest ailment befell Br. RIESS, compelling him in Summer of 1852 to take leave of his congregation and seek relief of his pain in retirement at Quincy in quietude.

Shortly after his retirement, a segment of the Northern Congregation separated itself in order to found a new Evangelical Congregation in extreme Northern St. Louis [18]. This new congregation built a parsonage on its premises on the lower level of the church building. They asked Br. RIESS to serve as their pastor. His chest affliction seemed to have abated and in the greatest of confidence in Our Lord he accepted this call - at the same time as the new building was dedicated on September 11, 1853. The Lord continued to be with him, the congregation prospered and grew, his physical condition improved and his family was spared serious illness. At the annual conference of the Association, at which Br. Riess was elected vice-president, all the Brothers were pleased with his robust appearance. At this very point, the number of his days on Earth were to end, and the Lord took him from his family at a time when they felt most assured, and from his congregation at the time they had firmed up their plans for an expanded sanctuary, which had already been begun.

On Monday, July 9th, the funeral took place. Pastor L. NOLLAU - in the church sanctuary, and Pastors G. W. WALL [19] and J. WILL - at the gravesite [20]- spoke with deep emotion of the unexpectedly fast and totally surprising passing of their co-worker of so many years. On the following Sunday, the Memorial Service was conducted at the Johannes Church [21] by Pastor G. W. WALL in a quite suitable manner.

The name and the many years of effective dedication on the part of Brother RIESS is so well known that any effort on our part to praise him here and now would be foolhardy. Hundreds were baptized by him and confirmed; hundreds were joined in matrimony by him; thousands were privileged to share the Word of God through him; Zion’s Congregation at Centreville [Millstadt], Salem Congregation [22] at Columbia were established through his efforts and the Johannes Congregation at St. Louis, will no doubt, think of him as co-founder. What he was to his friends the writer of these lines experienced first hand, at the time he was a new arrival in America, and was overwhelmed with hospitality for himself and family, until such a time as Our Lord saw fit to open a door for him.

May Our Lord, whose Glory was richly bestowed on our departed Brother in his lifetime, fulfill His Promise, so that the keepers of the Faith on Earth may be blessed, and those who mourn our departed Brother be granted ample peace at this time of trial and sorrow, and may his flock in his memory as their teacher who imparted God’s Word to them, so that they may bear Witness for him and themselves on Judgement Day ! Amen.

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[1] St. John United Church of Christ, St. Louis

[2] The names of the three were: grandmother Barbara Riess, nee Menger age 71; Rosina Hilzinger, nee Riess age 52, Maria Elizabeth Hilzinger, and Anna Magdalena Freundlich, age 8.

[3] the call was in the form of a letter presented by Peter Baumann (1795-1868) of Dutch Hill who had come back to his native Switzerland for a visit in the spring of 1835. He had settled in Dutch Hill in 1822. The letter pleaded with the college faculty at Basel to send his area a minister who could preach the gospel to them.

[4] he traveled on the Ship Isabella which landed in New York on Oct. 1, 1835; National Archives Microfilm Series No. M237; roll # 28; list # 751.

[5] in the home of Peter Baumann of Dutch Hill, Lenzburg Township.

[6] St. Marcus Church, Prairie du Long Township, Monroe County.

[7] Johannes Freivogel Sr.; born 5 April 1784 at Katzenbach, Rheinland Pfalz; emigrated to America March 19, 1833; settled August 1833 in St. Clair County, IL; he died 24 Sept. 1850; buried in Freivogel Cemetery [SOURCES: Zion Church FAMILY REGISTER, page 26; Zion Church Burials, 1850 # 9]

[8] Pastor Riess preached for the first time in Belleville on March 17, 1839 and this is considered the founding date of St. Paul United Church of Christ, Belleville.

[9] the actual date was August 18, 1836 by Pastor Kopf of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Church in St. Louis.

[10] Charlotte Margaretha Henckler was born Sept. 23, 1819 in Wiesbaden, daughter of George Henckler. She & her family landed at the port of Baltimore, MD on June 11, 1835 aboard the ship “Netherland”.

[11] Riess’ diary states that Conrad arrived in Millstadt on Oct. 9, 1839. Conrad Riess was born at Tuttlingen in 1809 and died in Wurtenburg in 1893. Conrad founded Zoar United Church of Christ at New Hanover & served as its first pastor from 1844 to 1848. He also founded Salem/Baum Congregation on 11 May 1845. It was located due west of Wartburg in Bluff Precinct in Section 8, Township 3 South, Range 10 West.

[12] According to his diary he left Millstadt/Centreville on February 26, 1841 and returned on July 23, 1842.

[13] Anna Victoria Petit was born 8 Dec. 1821 in Muelhausen, Oberrheinische, a daughter of Johann Michael Petit (1776-1822) & Anna Katharina, nee Wagner (1779-1845).

[14] his diary gives the date of “September 9, 1841” at Muelhausen by Pastor BRAUN. The couple had been married at ten o’clock that same morning in a civil ceremony at the town hall by Magistrate Andreas HOECHLIN.

[15] Pastor Riess was actually survived by seven children: Maria (born 1837), George (born 1838), Johann Jacob (born 1839), Victoria (born 1842); Bertha (born 1844), Alfred (born 1846), & Emily (born 1851).

[16] the congregation was known as the “Deutsch-Evangelischen Gemeinde” which was founded in July 1843 from a split with Holy Ghost Evangelical Church. The congregation had two churches served by 2 pastors: one in north St. Louis and one in South St. Louis. The northern church would later be named St. Peter’s Evangelical Church and the southern one would become St. Marcus United Church of Christ.

[17] this congregation became St. Peter’s Evangelical Church which was first located at 14th & Carr in north St. Louis.

[18] this congregation was later called St. John United Church of Christ & was first located at the southeast corner of Madison & 14th streets in north St. Louis.

[19] Pastor Georg Wendelin Wall served at St. Marcus Evangelical Church from 1850 until his death in 1867. This church was located at 3rd & Lafayette until 1915. A burial record for Pastor Riess is found on page 45 of St. Marcus burial records.

[20] he is buried in St. John’s Cemetery on St. Cyr Road in Bellefontaine Neighbors.

[21] St. John United Church of Christ, St. Louis

[22] according to Pastor Riess’s diary, Salem/Baltz church was dedicated on June 16, 1844 by Pastor Jacob Riess, Conrad Riess, & the newly arrived (from Germany) Pastor Jacob Knauss. The church was located near Columbia in Section 12 of Sugar Loaf Township. A cemetery [Baltz] was established next to the church.