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Portrait
and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and Richland Counties Illinois,Containing Biographical Sketches of
Prominent and Representative Citizens, Governors of the State, and the Presidents of the United States.
(Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887), p. 195.
Transcribed by Judy Rosella Edwards.
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REV. LOUIS
J. SCHWARTZ, the pastor of the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Altamont, is a native of Chicago. His early life was passed in that city
and he attended its public and parochial schools until about thirteen years of age, when he entered Concordia
College, where he pursued a six-years course of
study. It was in 1879 that he entered Concordia Seminary, of St. Louis,
Mo. In that institution he pursued a three-years
course in theology, completing his studies in 1882. On the 3d of July of that year, the Rev. Mr. Schwartz, was
ordained. His first charge was in Mt.
Carroll, Ill., where he remained until he assumed the
duties of his present pastorate, which was in 1887.
While residing in Mt. Carroll, the Rev. Mr. Schwartz was united in marriage
with Miss Anna Umbach, of St.
Louis.
The union of this worthy couple has been blessed with one child, a son, Theodore. The parents are numbered among
the highly respected citizens of Altamont, where their upright lives add greatly
to the efficiency of the husband's teachings.
The church of which Mr. Schwartz is now pastor was organized on the 7th of February, 1874, by the Rev. G. Wangerin,
who was at that time pastor of the church in Bethlehem, Effingham
County. The society at Altamont
was organized with only a few families, and services were held in the schoolhouse every alternate Sabbath until
1879, when the first resident pastor was placed in charge. This was the Rev. John George Goesswein, who remained
until 1885. In the meantime a church building was erected, and dedicated on the 22d of June, 1884. The next pastor
was the Rev. G. J. Wegener, who remained in charge until 1887, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Schwartz,
who has since been pastor. The church building is a commodious and substantial structure which was erected at a
cost of $2,200. Its seating capacity is about six hundred. The present membership consists of fifty-five families,
all but eleven of whom are residents of the village of Altamont. A parochial school is also sustained and
has an average attendance of about sixty pupils. This school is under the immediate charge of the Rev. Mr. Schwartz,
and in consequence adds much to his labors, for he devotes much of his time to the instruction of the pupils. His
church is in a flourishing condition and is doing a good work.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and
Richland Counties Illinois, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Governors
of the State, and the Presidents of the United States. (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887), p. 205. Transcribed by
Judy Rosella Edwards.
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