EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY
EVANGELICAL
LUTHERAN CHURCH
of the HOLY TRINITY
The top two pictures are of the church with its majestic spire. The
bottom is
the parish house on the ground originally occupied by the cemetery. I
will try
to add a picture of the wall later.
The following information is contained in the church brochure.
"The
church was formally organized in 1730 and is the oldest church in
Lancaster, PA
and one of the oldest in PA> Initially, the congregation
worshipped in a
small stone church for thrity years. Construction of the present brick
building
was begun in 1761 and dedicated in 1766 with Henry Melchior Muhlenberg,
the
patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America, officiating. The church is
located
at 31 South Duke St.
From
my own experience, it is easy to get on the wrong section of Duke
St. The easiest way, I think is
to get on North
Duke and travel Southward and the church sits on the left. The initial
organ
was designed by David Tannenberg and installed in 1774. It has been
enlarged
and altered through the years and is a beautiful instrument. In 1785,
work
began on the magnificent tower and steeple. It is a masterpiece that
reaches to
a height of 195 feet. Among the features of the tower are the statues
of the
four evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John standing at the four
corners.
The original statues were removed in 1948 and place in the entranceway
of the
church for preservation and replaced with replicas. A chime of eight
bells was
acquired in 1853. The beautiful stained glass windows were installed in
the
first half of the 20th century. The cemetery originally occupied a
small area
South of the church but all remains were exhumed and a new building
(Fisher
Parish House) for Sunday School, etc. was built. On the East side of
the
church, a memorial wall and garden were constructed and the remains
from the
old graveyard are located there. Thirty-six of the stone, inscribed in
German
with decorative carvings, were affixed to the wall. If you ever visit Lancaster,
you will want to be sure to visit this beautiful facility. Guided tours
are
available all year after Sunday morning services which end about 9:45
a.m. and
12:15 p.m. also, on Saturdays May-September between 10:00 a.m. and
12:00 noon.
Special group tours may be arranged in advance. Our ancestor Frederick
Deeg (Dague)
was married and worshipped in this church along with his family. His
first wife
Sophia Shmitt died at a young age, leaving him with small children to
raise and
he married Anna Maria Geysler on August 29, 1760.
At least four of their children as well as Sophia's were
baptised and worshipped in this church. Sophia is reportedly buried
there, but
I did not find a stone, but it is possible that she had no stone, or
that it
gave way to time.
If you wish to visit the church web
page Click Here
COPYRIGHT: Information
on these pages is available
for non-commercial use only and may not be reproduced in any format for
profit.
Walter R. Peterman
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Last
updated 22:15 PM
02/04/2011