Annie Henrichs b. 1869

/ Kirstin Miller

Annie Antje Henrichs, my 2nd great grandmother, on RootsMagic tree

Henrichs, Annie, Ebenezer ChurchAnnie saved her church. Pastor Siegfried Siefkes came from Germany to Butler Center, Iowa a historical town no longer around. He worked to organize a new congregation, The Kirchenbuch der Evangelisch Lutherisch Eben-Ezer Gemeinde or Ebenezer Church. The pastor wrote a letter to the actual German Kaiser asking for help, that wasn’t successful so he started asking the local German community to contribute and successfully all but $100 which was borrowed from the bank. The pastor and congregation understood they had a year to pay back this loan but within a month the bank and contractor came for payment. The pastor begged for a week to raise the $100 and it was granted. At Sunday’s service the pastor and congregation met and talked about ways to raise $100 in a week. A farmer offered to sell seed oats, but that wasn’t enough.

Frerichs, Enno with Mary and Annie

Enno Frerichs, Mary Frerichs Roose and Annie Henrichs Frerichs on their porch.  

“Another young lady who was the daughter of one of the members came forward. She had been working for some time as a hired girl and had managed to save nearly all of her wages. She even had the amount with her in her hand bag. The amount was $80 which she offered to loan to the congregation. Seeing this as a voice from heaven, the remaining $20 was raised in short order.”

The whole story in the Greene (Iowa) Recorder via the Greene Public Library.
2003 Feb 5 Greene Recorder page 5, column 5 top

Annie, birth name Antje, Henrichs was born on January 14, 1869 in Osteel, Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany. When she was 14 years old she and her mom & dad and 8 siblings sailed from Bremen, Germany to Baltimore, Maryland in March 1885. Annie and her family lived in Iowa where they farmed.

Annie married Enno Frerichs on May 26, 1890. They stayed in Butler County Iowa and had 10 kids. On May 30, 1940 Annie age 71 and Enno age 75 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends “During the day seventy eight relatives and friends called to offer congratulations.”

Annie was a widow in 1944 and she died in 1956. Both she and John died at heir farm, both are buried in Butler Center Cemetery, near the where the Ebenezer Church once was.

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