A lonely confirmation record listed in our German Family Tree leads me to tell the story of yet another Lutheran pastor who spent some of his early years in Perry County. This man was also one of those Lutheran pastors who followed in his father’s footsteps. His father was the pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar for quite a few years. There is a slight problem with this man’s record in the German Family Tree, however. The GFT says this man was born in 1886, which would make today his 140th birthday, but that is not the case. I think the GFT is mistaken.
Walter Christopher Krueger was born on January 31, 1888, so today would be his 138th birthday. He was born in Petersburg, Michigan, the son of John and Ella (Plass) Krueger. Even before finding Walter in a census entry, the photo below was taken of Walter and two of his siblings when they were very young. From left to right, we see Anna, John, and Walter Krueger. This photo has been colorized.
When the 1900 census was taken, Walter was 12 years old, and his father was a minister in Petersburg.
Later during 1900, Walter’s father took a call to become the pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. A list of early pastors shown here indicates that Rev. John Krueger served Salem from 1900-1924.
Walter Krueger was part of his father’s first confirmation class after he arrived in Farrar. Walter was confirmed in the spring of 1901. We can view his confirmation record below. His name is spelled as Walther in this image, but the remainder of his life, he was called Walter…