Cataloging a community

A new resource is available to people interested in local Lutheran history and to those interested in genealogy.

Ruth Kasten and Sandra Fluegge have compiled a comprehensive history of Trinity Lutheran Church of Egypt Mills. The book, with more than 300 pages and an index, is a meticulously recorded compilation of births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages and deaths from 1867 to 2007. Edgar Dreyer translated some of the earlier records from German to English.

The book is more than a list of names and dates; there's a connection to family roots that runs deep.

"My grandfather and great-grandfather are in the book," Fluegge said. "My mother and dad are in there; that's why I was so interested in doing this book. It had a lot of my family."

She and Kasten have an interest in history and a knack for compiling information. They put together a similar book about a year ago for Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, and are working now on a book of tax records from 1840 to 1842 from Cape Girardeau County.

Girada Vines, a lifelong member of Trinity in Egypt Mills, said she had long been interested in preserving church records and approached Kasten and Fluegge about making a book for the church.

"My family history on both sides of my father's family are in the book," Vines said. "My husband's mother's family are in this book also. My cousin in Austin, Texas, and I are in the process of our family genealogy book, so this book is the best resource ever."

The book also has a brief history of the area, originally known as Shepphard's Mill, that was settled in the 1850s by immigrants from the Hanover and Braunschweig area of Germany.

According to the book, "The organized church activities in Shepphard's Mill date back to the late 1850s when a 'preaching station' grew out of Hanover Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau. These activities continued during the Civil War, led primarily by the ladies of the community."

It was not until 1974 however that women were allowed to vote in church matters, according to research found in the book.

Worship and education were shared between Hanover and Trinity with pastors who also served as teachers in the school. Trinity separated from Hanover in 1892, and the Rev. P.G. Heckel was installed as its first resident pastor at a salary of $400 a year with parsonage, wood and feed for his livestock. He held services in English and German.

In addition to the statistical information are old photos, lists of historic cemeteries with directions on how to get to them and a list of old-fashioned medical terms to aid genealogists in determining ailments their ancestors may have had. There's also a list and photos of pastors and teachers at Trinity.

The book includes a story about how Shepphard's Mill became Egypt Mills. Some women who ran the Sunday school in 1865 invited a physician, Dr. James McGarvey, to speak. McGarvey had been a lieutenant in the Missouri infantry during the Civil War.

"While speaking to the Sunday school class, Dr. McGarvey mentioned far-off Egypt, and suddenly proposed that this place be called Egypt Mills," according to the book.

Compiling the history took about nine months, Kasten said. She and Fluegge divided the work between them with Kasten researching the deaths and marriages and Fluegge doing the baptisms and confirmations. Fluegge also compiled the index. Information came from church records, the recorder of deeds and other county offices.

"It's amazing how many families stated out there," Kasten said. "It's a rich history."

The two painstakingly recorded all vital information in the lives of the church's families, taking care to be as accurate as possible. Some records, Kasten said, are confusing in that there are different spellings of the same names, so many had to be cross-checked to be as precise as possible. Both women said they enjoy doing that type of research and the benefits that accompany it.

"It gives us time to have fellowship together, talk together and be together," Kasten said.

Kasten and Fluegge say they will continue researching local history as long as they can. It's a labor of love for them.

"We don't get paid," Kasten said. "The only thing we ask is they give us one book."

Anyone interested in buying a copy of the book may contact Trinity Lutheran Church in Egypt Mills or Girada Vines at 334-4063.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160