St. Peter's German Evangelical Lutheran

There is conflicting information about this specific church.  One source (church index at the Maryland Archives) lists the church location at 402 S. Bond Street near Eastern Avenue.    It notes that it was an active church from 1869-1893 with no previous address and no later address.  The denomination was Lutheran and the congregation was German.  

Other information we have found points to an earlier founding date, prior to the Civil War.  It also notes that it was called St. Petri's (German) Church.   The first pastor Herzberg, who was succeeded by Rev. Brown, Rev. Schwartz and then Rev. Charles A.  Schloegel in 1862 [2].  Around 1892 (the death of Schloegel), it has been documented that the church disbanded due to difficult financial circumstances.  It was accepted into Synod membership in 1862.

According to a book called Baltimore, seine Vergangenheit und Gegenwart:  mit besonderer Beruecksichtigung des deutschen Elements, page 257, St. Peter's was founded in 1861.  The first pastor's name was Herzberg and he was succeeded by Pastor K. Schloegel.  However, no pastor by this name is listed in the History of the Maryland Synod published in 1920.  The only church pastor found in the City directories around this time of the late 1850 (Matchetts 1855-1856) with a similar name is the Rev. Frederick Herzberger (116 N. Paca Street in 1855-56 and in the rear of the Fifth German Reformed church in 1857.  The Fifth German Reformed was listed at the corner of Lombard.

The church on Bond Street had been owned by the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church in East Baltimore station which they sold to William Binyon and his wife and Oliver Audoun and his wife on February 27, 1860.  They in turn agreed to sell the property to the Trustees of the German United Evangelical St. Peter's congregation on March 15, 1864.  The congregation however, did not pay the agreed amounts. On June 8, 1867, it was sold to their pastor, Charles A. Schloegel.  The property passed to his wife upon his death in 1892.   It was sold to the First Gallician Congregation Magen Abraham B'nai Frankel Ansche Litowsk of Baltimore City on June 27, 1902.  We could find NO records of the St. Peter's Cemetery being sold.

St. Peter’s became the German Evangelical Church of Peace, led by a Rev. Albrecht (2-5-1892). Under the direction of Rev. George Albrecht and with about 30 families from St. Peter's they organized the 'Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peace'.

Information from a Civil War Pension file in the National Archives indicate that the Rev. C.A. Schloegle resided at 169 S. Bond Street.  Another Civil War pension record for a William Keiner (3rd MD Infantry) contained a statement indicating that William and Annie Keiner were married at the German Evangelical Lutheran Church on South Bond Street on April 18, 1864.   The statement was dated October 13, 1886, which does confirm the information found regarding the church being active until 1892 and until the death of Rev. Schloegel. 

See profiles for information about Pastor Schloegel.

[1] Sunpaper Article 9-9-1879 (article about a roofer that falls to his death between house of C.A. Schloegel and St. Peter’s German Lutheran Church.

[2] Baltimore Past & Present, 1871, Elliott, page 242

If you have any information that would clarify, please drop us an email at germanmarylanders@gmail.com.  

Even more confusing is information about a cemetery, St. Peter's Cemetery, also called Schloegel's Cemetery and Schlögels Friedhof .  Information is available, but the cemetery if present, is so overrun with weeds, trees, etc.  See Cemeteries and please respond if you have information or ancestor's buried at this site.