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From Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio (1905), Memorial record of Butler County, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of representative citizens of the county together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States (1894)
REV. CHARLES ADOLPH HERMANN. The profession which this gentleman follows is the noblest to which a man can devote his life, and in the capacity of pastor of St. John’s German Evangelical Church he has a fruitful field in which to sow the seed of Christianity. His work has required patience, persistence and grace, but he possesses all these commendable qualities, and during the long period that he has been a resident of Hamilton his work has been truly noble, and he has laid the foundation carefully and well. He is a pleasing pulpit orator, his sermons showing painstaking thought, as well as broad information.
Coming to Hamilton in 1866, Rev. Mr. Hermann has since held the pastorate of St. John’s Church, and so successful have his labors been that his congregation is now one of the largest in Ohio. There is a communicant membership of sixteen hundred, with a Sunday-school of six hundred scholars and thirty-four teachers. In addition to this work, lie has established mission churches at Trenton, Middletown and East Hamilton, all of which have their own pastors, excepting that of East Hamilton, which is still in his charge. It was established by him, carried on with his means, and now has a Sunday-school of seventy scholars, with eight teachers.
Some facts regarding the lineage and life of Rev. Mr. Hermann will be of interest to our readers. He was born in Reutlingen, Germany, May 21, 1835, a son of Gottlieb and Nane (Zenneck) Hermann, natives of Germany and descendants of an old French-Huguenot family. The father was a soldier in the regular army, serving the required period. For some years he was a Judge of the court in Reutlingen, and there his death occurred in 1876, at the age of seventy years. His wife, who still survives, is now eighty years old (1894).
Of a large family seven children are now living, viz.: Charles A.; Theodore, of Chicago; Gustav, an artist in Germany; Mrs. Louisa Haimann; Paulina, wife of Philip Kline, of Germany; Catharina, Mrs. August Oetterer, of Hamilton; and Olga, wife of Rev. F. H. Voelker, of Batesville, Ind. The paternal grandfather, Gottlieb Hermann, was a minister in the German Evangelical Church, and died in the land of his birth at the age of about seventy. The maternal grandfather, Christian Zenneck, was a German Evangelical minister, as were a son and son-in-law; he lived to an advanced age, and was active to the last, preaching only a few weeks before his demise.
At the age of eighteen years our subject came to America, at the same time that the illustrious Carl Scliurz crossed the ocean, and in 1860 the two made political speeches in New York State. When an infant, our subject’s parents had dedicated him to the work of the ministry, and prior to coming to the United States he was graduated from the Theological School in Tuebingen. Arriving in this country, he secured a position in a brickyard on Long Island, after which he was employed by an old Dutch farmer. While at the latter place, he played on a piano one evening at a party, and his skill as a pianist led the family to interrogate him regarding himself. His superior ability was soon manifest, and, an opportunity7 opening, he began to preach soon afterward, his first regular charge being in Pittsburg, Pa.
When President Lincoln called for the first seventy-five thousand volunteers, Rev. Mr. Hermann, fired with patriotic loyalty and devotion to his adopted country, at once responded, enlisting as a member of the Eighth New York Infantry for three months. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he was honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky., and remaining in that city he took charge of a congregation. As above stated, he came to Hamilton in 1866, and has here gained a position among the most influential ministers of the community. For many years he has served as President of the City Board of Examiners for teachers’ certificates, and for a long period has been President of the conference of the Cincinnati District of the Protestant Evangelical Church.
Hermann Lodge No. 21, A. P. A., of Hamilton, Ohio, was organized by our subject in 1867, and is composed of members of his congregation. In that order he has been prominent, having filled some of its highest offices and represented Ohio in the R. W. G. Lodge. For thirty years he has been a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders. For two terms he served as Grand Master of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and he has also been chosen Supreme Master of the American Protestant Association. While it has never been his aim to accumulate wealth, he has been prosperous in financial n matters, and owns his residence property, and several other houses in Hamilton.
In July, 1861, Rev. Mr. Hermann was united in marriage with Miss Ann Bowers, of Catskill, N. Y., a daughter of Christian and Christina (Hempftling) Bowers. Six sons and five daughters were born of their union, and seven of the family are now living. The record of the children is as follows: Carl, deceased; Gustav A., assistant cashier of the West End Bank of Pittsburg; Theodore, a druggist of Pittsburg; John and August, deceased-
Adolph, who is clerk in a dry-goods store in Hamilton; and Louisa, Caroline, Anna, Catharina, and one that died in infancy. Gustav married Miss Thena Vierheller and they have one child, Gretschen. Louisa is the wife of Richard Mierzwa, a druggist of Pittsburg, and they are the parents of one daughter, named Rhomilda.
As printed in Memorial record of Butler County, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of representative citizens of the county together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States (1894). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
REV. CHARLES A. HERMANN.
Not to a work of this nature is the privilege of entering more than incidental record concerning the great and all-pervading influence which the preachers of the gospel of Christ have exerted in connection with the history of Butler county and yet from no compilation which touches the generic history of this section of the American Union can there be eliminated frequent and appreciative references to those noble emissaries of the Divine Master who have here lived and labored for the salvation of souls and the furtherance of the Master’s cause; who have lived lives of high consecration and utmost usefulness, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality,” and with the utmost self-abnegation giving themselves and their lives to the work which stands for the only ultimate good in human life and human accomplishment.
Charles Adolph Hermann was a native of the fatherland, having been born in Reutlingen, Germany, on the 21st of May, 1835, the son of Gottlieb and Nane (Zenneck) Hermann, natives of Germany and descendants of an old French-Huguenot family. The father was a soldier in the regular army, serving the required period, and later in life acquired considerable prominence, having served for some years as judge of a court at Reutlingen. His death occurred at the latter place in 1876, at the age of seventy years. His wife long survived liitn. The subject’s paternal grandfather, Gottlieb Hermann, was a minister in the German Evangelical church, and never left the fatherland, dying there at the age of about seventy years. The subject’s maternal grandfather, Christian Zenneck, was also a minister of the German Evangelical church, as were a son and son-in-law; he lived to an advanced age and was active to the last, preaching a few weeks prior to his demise.
The subject of this sketch was educated primarily in the public schools of his native land, and made marked progress therein. His parents had long desired that he should devote his life to the work of the ministry, to which wish he was not indifferent; consequently, he attended the theological school at Tuebingen, with the definite purpose in view of preparing himself for the ministry, the wisdom of his decision having been abundantly approved in his later experience. Realizing that in America lay wider opportunities and enlarged possibilities, he, in 1853, emigrated to this country, one of his fellow travelers on that voyage having been the afterwards noted statesman, Carl Schurz. One of the marked characteristics of the Teutonic race is energy, and this was exemplified in a marked degree by the subject, who upon landing in this country at once sought employment, being first engaged in work in a brickyard on Long Island, New York. Subsequently he was employed by a Dutch farmer, with whom he remained for some time. While at the latter place, he played on a piano one evening at a party and evinced such skill as to arouse curiosity, which led the family to inquire of him regarding himself. His superior ability was soon manifest and, as opportunity offered, he began preaching soon afte/ward, his first regular charge being in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
The somber clouds of civil war were hovering over the country and in April, 1861, when President Lincoln issued his call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to aid in suppressing the rebellion, Mr. Hermann at once responded, enlisting in the Eighth Regiment, New York Infantry, his term of enlistment being for three months. Upon the completion of his term of enlistment Mr. Hermann received an honorable discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, and at once accepted a call to the pastorate of a church m that city, having previously resigned his pastorate in Pittsburg. He remained in charge of the church in Louisville until 1866, when he came to Hamilton and assumed the pastorate of St. John’s church, which position he filled until 1876, when he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, thence to Steubenville, Ohio, thence to Pittsburg, returning to Hamilton and St. John’s in the spring of 1889, and continued as pastor of that church until his death, on Thursday, September 10, 1903. The following resume of his subsequent career and achievements is from the pen of one who knew him well and is thus well qualified to speak:
“Not only was the Rev. Hermann honored by the upbuilding of the great church with which his name was so long connected, but the denomination of which St. John’s is a member has seen fit to honor the beloved pastor. He held many offices in the denominational affairs of the church, being for a great length of time president of the Cincinnati district of the German Protestant Evangelical church and the work he performed in that capacity earned him recognition over a wide extent of territory.
“The Rev. Hermann was a man of marked educational attainments and that fact was recognized by his serving for many years as a member of the city board of school examiners. He became genuinely and thoroughly identified as a member of that body in connection with the schools and ever took a deep interest and pride in the condition and the welfare of the schools.
“As a member of fraternal organize tions Rev. Hermann was widely known and frequently honored. For ovrf thirty-nme years he 'was a member of the Masonic order and of the Odd Fellows and for many years was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and had served on four or five occasions as a representative to the grand lodge of that order. He had served as supreme master of the American Protestant Association and was a warm and progressive advocate of the principles of recognized fraternalism.
“In Tulv. 1 86 1. Rev. Hermann was united in marriage with Miss Ann Rowers, of Catskill. New York, a daughter of Christian and Christina (Hempftling) Bowers. To this union were born six sons and five daughters, as follows: Carl. Gustav A..
Theodore. John. August, Adolph. Louisa. Caroline. Anna. Catharina and one that died in infancy.
“The mental attainments of the kev. Hermann were of the highest type and of the most substantial character. He was an eloquent public speaker. His utterances were filled at will with the most extensive classical references and he spoke with that force which could he expected of a man of his marked strength of character combined with the qualifications of the man of letters. No man in the history of any church in southern Ohio ever gained the love and esteem of his congregation as the Re\. C. A. Hermann possessed that of his flock. At the age of sixty-eight years he bore the appearance of a man of twenty years less than that term of life. He was all that the world could ask in a man— kindly, charitable in spirit and deed, a strong man. and in a word a man whom the world could look upon with love and confidence. His last words. ‘I have done my work: my church is finished: I can die in peace,’ exemplify the spirit which animated him even unto death. The church over which he presided for so many years was almost the dearest thing on earth to him, and to it he gave the best of his thought, strength and endeavor.’
As printed in Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio (1905). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1905. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.