Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). The Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, who were teaching in Moorhead in 1883, are identified as follows (left to right): Sisters Paula Bechtold, Alphonsa O'Donnell, Euphrasia Hirtenberger (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early years in St. Cloud (1857-1863). In 1863 when the number of sisters in St. Cloud had increased to fourteen, they began to look for a more congenial environment. Seven of the sisters responded to an invitation to establish a Benedictine convent in Atchison, KS. Five of these founders of the Atchison group are identified on the photograph, taken in 1888, as follows: (seated:) Sisters Gertrude Kapser, Evangelista Kremeter, Gregoria Moser; (Standing:) Sisters Armanda Meier, Boniface Bantle;.The remaining sisters in St. Cloud chose to move to nearby Clinton (St. Joseph), a flourishing German community, where three of the sisters had already established a mission and two were teaching in the district school there. The main reasons for seeking a more congenial environment was the controversy of public versus parochial schools. The sisters were caught between the American bishops'/pastors' ideal of establishing a parochial school system and the parishioners' resistance to supporting two school systems. The parishioners also resisted the loss of the kind of control over their parishes and schools that they were accustomed to having in Germany. Besides the school controversy, there was the undeniable fact that the sisters needed time to adjust to their new environment. They had not yet mastered the English language or the school discipline needed in America so different from that of their girls' boarding school in Bavaria. Also some citizens viewed the sisters' appearance in religious dress and teaching religion in the district school as violations of the American ideal of separation of church and state (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 53-55; Terry Jaakkola and Julia Lambert Frericks, Shadows Illuminated, pages75-79).
This is a photograph of Dr. John Sander, a Gustavus Adolphus College professor who helped found the First English Lutheran Church in St. Peter in 1892. The church is now known as Trinity Lutheran Church.
This is a photograph of Rev. J. G. Lagerstrom, who served as a minister to Swedish Lutheran congregations at Mooers Prairie in Wright County and at Norseland in Nicollet County.
Studio portrait of Reverend Magnus Koefod. He was born in Norway on March 9, 1848. He was pastor of Indherred Lutheran Church in Starbuck, Minnesota from 1875 until 1892.
This is a photograph of Mrs. Moses N. Adams, the wife of Rev. Adams. The couple served as missionaries at Traverse des Sioux from 1848 until Rev. Adams became Agent at the Sisseton Agency in 1871.
This is a photograph of Dr. John Sander, who was the head of the German department at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter until his resignation in 1903. Dr. Sander was also a co-founder of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, also known as Trinity Lutheran Church, in 1892. He served as pastor until 1902.
This is a photograph of Rev. Moses Newton Adams, a Presbyterian minister and missionary at Traverse des Sioux. Adams became the Indian Agent at the Sisseton Agency in 1871.
This is a photograph of Rev. and Mrs. Michael Sandell. Rev. Sandell was the minister at the First Lutheran Church in St. Peter from 1871 to 1874 and from 1892 until 1902.
Studio portrait of Reverend Peter S. Reque (July 15, 1842-October 4, 1879). Reque served in the Civil War. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri in 1869. He was called to "Vor Frelsers Menighet" and was the first resident Lutheran pastor in Pope and Stevens counties.
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). Soon after Mother Antonia (Margarethe) Hermann was born in Baden, Germany, her family immigrated to America. In 1857, Margarethe joined the Benedictine Convent in Erie, Pennsylvania. Four years later, 1861, she was sent to found a new convent in Chicago and was appointed prioress there in 1862. In 1868 Abbot Rupert Seidenbusch, without consulting the sisters in St. Joseph, brought Mother Antonia to St. Benedict's Convent and appointed her as prioress of that community. However, after the completion of her first term as prioress, she was elected by the community in St. Joseph for a second term. Mother Antonia, an able leader, helped the community face the challenges of the early years in St. Joseph. She introduced record and bookkeeping practices which are included in the community's archival collection. Mother Antonia lost the favor of Abbot Alexius Edelbrock when she negotiated to have the sisters discontinue doing the laundry and sewing for the monks at St. John's Abbey. She chose to resign as prioress and returned to her former community in Chicago. Later, she transferred to the Benedictine community in Yankton, SD, where she volunteered her services in the Dakota missions (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 65-73).