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In 1853 a group of German pioneers traveled from Saginaw, Michigan to Dubuque, Iowa. The groups leader, Pastor Grossman, rented a brick building on Garfield Avenue and founded what is now St. John's Lutheran Church in Dubuque. The building served as chapel, school, study and also the church's seminary. In 1857 the seminary (now called Wartburg) moved to St. Sebold Church in Strawberry Point. It would be almost 30 years before Wartburg Seminary would return to Dubuque. Wartburg Seminary was founded in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1852 and permanently located in Dubuque, Iowa in 1889.
Pastor Grossman not only organized congregations in Dubuque but also in the surrounding area. Thus it came about that Pastor Grossman organized St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Sherrill, Iowa on Easter Sunday in 1855. At this time the church was a member of the Iowa Synod.
While the church was established in 1855 it is not known where services were held. It is thought that perhaps they were held in the homes of the early church members. The property where the present church stands was purchased from Peter Fries in 1863 for forty five dollars and the first wooden church was built in 1864. Click on "A Place To Worship" to see a picture of the original church that stood where the present church stands today.
Trustees of the church in 1864 were, John Kress, Henry Vogel and John Sundermeyer. The first person laid to rest in the church cemetery was, Mary Weick Hirt, wife of John Hirt, in 1864. It wasn't until 1871 that Pastor Braeuer began keeping cemetery records. Although some of our early records are missing, the records we have are very good. Pastor Stuermer began recording baptisms in 1862.
In 1873 St. Matthew's became associated with The Lutheran Missouri Synod. In 1886 an additional one acre of land was purchased behind the cemetery and where the parsonage now stands. The trustees of the church at that time were, George Hammerand, Wm. Jordan and John Sporel. |