Rev. Heinrich Hermann Fiegenbaum
1821-1905

Experience of H. Fiegenbaum

I was born on the 18th of October, in the year 1820, in Westphalia, kingdom of Prussia, Germany. In the year 1833 our family migrated to America, and about midsummer my parents with five children landed in New Orleans.¹ This was the year when the cholera raged with such violence, and scores fell victims to it every day. A gracious Providence preserved our lives, and we took steamboat for St. Louis, which we reached in nine days. We did not remain long in the city, but moved to the country, and settled seventy-five miles west of St. Louis, in St. Charles county, Missouri. Here we were in an entire wilderness, on which account no one grieved more than my mother, as she had been converted in Germany, and was now deprived of Church privileges and Christian associations.

Here we lived five years without a church or preacher.² "Alas, children," said mother frequently, "we will all be heathens yet." We children found a manner of life according to our wishes. Hunting, fishing, and roaming through the forests, was our employment whenever we found a leisure hour from our labors; but with all this our heavenly Father watched over us. We had a pious mother. The Sabbath day was not forgotten; for every Sunday we had to read our Bibles, and she made explanations to us of difficult passages.

I was sorry that we were deprived of schooling, but finally the time came when we were supplied with a preacher. He came from Germany as a missionary to North America. This man was an evangelical Lutheran, and in accordance with the wishes of my parents, I went to him for instruction in the doctrines of the Church, and was confirmed. During the time I was receiving instruction I was awakened, and a few weeks afterward was converted, and felt myself one of the happiest beings on earth. But being left to myself, and not properly understanding the nature of the blessing that I had experienced, nor knowing how to retain it, I fell into a state of indifference and hardness of heart, which continued for five years. Yet God restrained me from outbreaking sins; and as I had, in my confirmation, renewed my baptismal vows and was now recognized as a communicant, I was appointed to an office in the Church; and thus I lived and labored within her pale, a backslider and a benighted sinner, till I was finally waked up through the preaching of Father Swahlen, who was the first German Methodist preacher we had ever seen.³ He made application to preach in our church, and received permission to do so; but when we found that he was a Methodist the door of the church was closed against him by my colleagues, the trustees. But as he made an appointment and could not get into the church, he took his stand by an old tree in front of it, and preached to the people. His word was not lost upon us: he visited us in our houses, and had he not been a Methodist he would have been received as an angel of God.

I left this neighborhood and went to St. Louis, where I fell into bad company, and made rapid progress in a course of sin. Yet I still went to Church, sometimes to one and then another, till finally I was told that my sister, who also was now living in the city, had joined the Methodists. Through her I became acquainted with brother L. S. Jacoby,⁴ and brother Casper Jost, under whose preaching I was again awakened and converted.⁵

It was a hard matter to get my consent to be a Methodist, and still harder for me to go the altar of prayer. I was afraid that if I were converted among the Methodists at the altar of prayer I should have to shout; however, when the Lord granted me peace I forgot all this, and my Savior was my all, and in all.

In my early youth I frequently had strong desires to do something for the cause of God; especially at times when my mother talked to me about Jesus and heaven. But this missionary spirit died in me when I came to America. However, at my confirmation, this feeling - a desire to do something for the cause of God - was waked up anew in my heart, but I could see no way open for me to do any thing.

When I was converted in St. Louis, the impression again was strong on my mind that I ought to preach; and as I thought over this matter I became very much alarmed, for I now saw the responsibilities resting upon a minister of the Gospel, and the infinite value of an immortal soul. Although the impression was strong on my mind, I felt disposed to shrink from the task. After hesitating some time, and seriously reflecting on this subject, when the providence of God opened the way for me, I started in this great work.

In the fall of 1847 I was received into the Illinois conference, and from that day to this I have endeavored to publish the word of the Lord. I thank God that I ever found the Methodist Church, and that she received me. In this Church I hope to remain till the Lord shall call me home.

The German Methodist Church [of Muscatine, Muscatine County, Iowa] was organized by Revs. Henry Fiegenbaum and John Plank. During the years 1850, 1851 and 1852, the first house of worship was built, at the cost of $1,050. The first Sabbath school included two teachers and eight scholars. In 1871, the Church property was sold, and May 30, 1872, the corner-stone of the present church edifice was laid; the building was completed on the 25th of August, 1872, and dedicated to the service of the Trinity of Almighty God. The cost of this church ws $7,000. At first, Iowa City, Wapello, Wilton, and Illinois City were included in this mission, which places, however, all have regular independent organizations now. Connected with this Church is a Sunday school, with an average attendance of 145 scholars and 20 teachers. Rev. Phil. Kuhl is the present Presiding Elder, and Rev. Phil. Nauman, the Pastor.

A Family of Preachers

From The Kansas City (Mo.) Journal

The Rev. Henry Fiegenbaum of St. Joseph, who celebrated his eightieth birthday anniversary in appropriate manner recently, is a member of a somewhat remarkable family. There are four brothers and two sisters. The four men are German Methodist ministers, and the husbands of the two women are likewise engaged in pulpit work. The youngest, Rudolph, is sixty-eight years old, while the eldest is Henry, to whom allusion was made above. The latter is a veteran preacher. He expounded the Gospel in Minneapolis and St. Paul when the twin cities were only trading posts, and he "rode a circuit" in Wisconsin when there was not a mile of railroad in the State. Although now on the retired list, he is far from inactive, and not infrequently preaches a sermon or leads a meeting with much of his old-time vigor.

Heinrich Fiegenbaum, viele Jahre der Nestor der West Deutschen Konferenz, wurde am 16. October 1821 zu Ladbergen, Westfalen, geboren. Mit seinen Eltern kam er 1834 nach Ameika. Er arbeitete auf dem Lande und dann als Fuhrmann in St. Louis. Hier wurde er mit den Methodisten bekannt und kam 1845, nach heftigem Bußkampf, zum seligmachenden Glauben. Er schloß sich sofort der Kirche an. In 1847 trat er in den heiligen Ehestand mit Katharina Kastenbudt, die über 50 Jahre Freud' und Leid mit ihm teilte. In 1848 trat er als Probegleid in die Rock River Konferenz ein und kam 1864 in die Südwestliche Deutsche und 1879 zur West Deutschen Konferenz. Er stand 41 Jahre ununterbrochen in den aktiven Reihen und bediente folgende Gemeinden: Mascoutah, Ill., 1848 to 1850; Muscatine, Iowa, 1850-52; Galena, Ill., 1852-54; Iowa District 1854-1860; Burlingtion-Distrikt 1860-64; Pekin, Ill. 1864-67; Quincy, Ill., 1867-70; St. Joseph-Distrikt 1870 to 1872; Oregon, Mo., 1872-75; St. Joseph-Distrikt 1875-79; Missouri-District 1879-83; St. Joseph, Mo., 1883-86; Sedalia, Mo., 1886-89. In 1889 trat er in de superannuierte Stellung ein, predigte aber in den folgenden 15 Jahren wohl über 500 mal. Von den 41 Jahren seines aktiven Dienstes war er 20 Jahre lang ein Vorstehender Aeltester und war in diesem Amte, wie im Pastorat, sehr erfolgreich. Er war ein geborener Führer, ein volkstümlicher und gewaltiger Kanzelredner. Ohne das Vorrecht einer höheren Erziehung zu haben, hatte er es durch fleißiges Studium, gesunden Mutterwiß und eine seltene Beobachtungsgabe zu hoher Rednergabe gebracht. Bei Auflebungsversammlungen war er besonders in seinem Element. Das hohe Alter brachte ihm mancherlei Schwächen, aber er warf sein Bertrauen nicht weg. "Jesus allein" war das Motto seiner letzten Tage. So ist er am 13. Januar 1905 zu seiner wohlverdienten Ruhe eingegangen. Die Gattin war ihm um einige Jahre vorausgeeilt. Er hinterließ vier Töchter, die ihm im Glauben nachschauen.

Heinrich Fiegenbaum, many years the Nestor¹  of the West German Conference, was born on 16 October 1821 in Ladbergen, Westphalia. He came to America with his parents in 1834. He worked on the land and then as a carter in St. Louis. Here he became acquainted with Methodism and in 1845, after a vigorous struggle for repentance, he achieved sanctifying faith. He immediately joined the church. In 1847, he entered into holy matrimony with Katharina Kastenbudt, who over 50 years shared joy and sorrow with him. He joined the Rock River Conference as a probationary member in 1848; the Southwest German Conference in 1864; and the West German Conference in 1879. He stood for 41 uninterrupted years in the active ranks and served the following congregations: Mascoutah, Ill., 1848 to 1850; Muscatine, Iowa, 1850-52; Galena, Ill.,1852-54; Iowa District 1854-1860; Burlington District 1860-64; Pekin, Ill. 1864-1867; Quincy, Ill., 1867-70; St. Joseph District 1870 to 1872; Oregon, Mo., 1872-1875; St. Joseph District 1875-79; Missouri District 1879-83; St. Joseph, Mo., 1883-86; Sedalia, Mo., 1886-89. In 1889 he entered into retirement, but in the following 15 years he preached well over 500 times. For 20 of his 41 years of active service he was a presiding elder and was in this office, as in his pastorates, very successful. He was a born leader, a popular and forceful preacher. Without the privilege of a higher education, but through diligent study, robust common sense, and a rare power of observation, he cultivated an extraordinary oratorical gift. In a joyous assembly, he was in his element. His later years brought various infirmities, but he never lost his confidence. "With Jesus alone" was his motto in the last days. And thus on 13 January 1905 he entered into his well earned rest. His wife had preceded him by a few years. He was survived by four daughters who follow in his faith.

In 1845 Wilhelm Schreck developed a series of preaching posts in Galena, then the most important place in the Northwest, and the region around Dubuque and Sherrill. Little colonies of Germans were scattered over the territory where immigrants had been drawn to the wheat fields. Galena was a strategic post and became the first self-supporting post in Northwest. From Galena, as a kind of Methodist headquarters in the open country, work expanded westward. In 1848 Conrad Eisenmeyer arrived in Milwaukee as the first presiding elder to live in the Northwest. On horseback he rode the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, preaching, converting, and organizing the advance. Eisenmeyer was succeeded in 1850 by John Plank. On his faithful horse "Jo" he rode from Pekin, Illinois, to St. Paul, Minnesota, building a flourishing circuit. Plank was followed by a gifted preacher named Heinrich Fiegenbaum. He was a wise counselor, capable administrator, and constructive evangelist. The work in other sections of the new Conference was built by pioneers of the same type.

Upon the proposal of Heinrich Fiegenbaum at a meeting in Quincy, Illinois, on April 14, 1864, steps were taken to purchase for $15,000 a 940-acre farm located in Warrenton, Missouri. The program for the develpment of a children's home was a part of the plan for moving the German department of the school in Quincy to a location where an independent German educational program could be worked out. The college, while a part of the twofold progam, was actually secondary in the minds of those interested in the whole project. They wanted first of all an orphans' home. The legislature chartered the institution under the name of Western Orphan Asylum and Educational Institute. ... In 1869 the name of the project was changed by amendment of the charter to Central Wesleyan College and Orphan Asylum.

North German Conference

The process of the division of Conferences necessitated by the Westward expansion of the United States reached the Northwest German Conference nearly a decade later. Ther German immigrants since 1850 had settled to a large extent along the fertile plains of the Mississippi and the Minnesota Rivers. Societies were established by the circuit riders and from 1851 to 1861 all the German congregations in Minnesota were included on the St. Paul District. Heinrich Fiegenbaum had to travel as presiding elder 400 miles by steamboat from Galena, Illinois, to visit the churches in Minnesota. The area over which the churches were spread had become so vast that Methodism, still organizing its advances, saw the wisdom of establishing the North German Conference. Divided from the Northwest German Conference, it included the territory covered by the states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and the northern part of Wisconsin. The Conference organized itself at Minneapolis on October 12, 1887, with Bishop Fowler presiding.

Rev. Henry Fiegenbaum, for many years one of the leading and outstanding figures in the German work in the West, was born October 16, 1821, in Ladbergen, Westfalen, Germany. He came to America with his parents in 1834. In St. Louis he soon came in contact with the Methodists and under their preaching was converted and joined the church. He married a Miss Kastenbund and for fifty years they lived happily together. In 1845 he entered the ministry and was in active service for over forty-one years, twenty of which he was a presiding elder, preaching in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. He was a born leader, a powerful preacher in both English and German. He had but few school advantages, but was a wide reader and a good observer. Two brothers were also ministers. For fifteen years he was in the superannuated relation, yet in that time he preached over five hundred sermons. He died January 13, 1905, in St. Joseph, Missouri.