Wisconsin Historical Society Finding Aids

   simple search  | boolean search  | help  | home  
  keywords in context | outline view | full document text | return to search results

Ezekiel Lutheran Church (River Falls, Wis.) Records, 1890-1997



Summary Information

Title: Ezekiel Lutheran Church (River Falls, Wis.) Records,
Inclusive Dates: 1890-1997
Creator: Ezekiel Lutheran Church (River Falls, Wis.)
Call No.: River Falls Mss Y
Extent: 7.6 c.f. (14 archives boxes, 18 volumes)

Repository:
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / River Falls Area Research Center
Contact Information
See the catalog entry for information on possible additional materials and shelf locations.

Abstract:
Records of a church founded in 1890. The records consist of papers of the Women's Missionary Federation, Hudson Circuit; and congregation records including correspondence and business papers, minutes, financial records, bulletins, sermons, records of marriages, baptisms, and confirmations, 1901-1930, and records of several church-sponsored. There are also histories of some of these groups as well as photographs of church buildings, pastors, and older members of the congregation. Also included are pictorial church directories from 1993 and 1997. The records concerned with the Women's Missionary Federation, Hudson Circuit, include correspondence and business papers, minutes of the board, minutes of the annual conventions, and folders relating to church and ladies aid history for thirty of the churches in the Hudson Circuit. Records also document committee work that went into planning and implementing centennial celebrations in 1990.

Biography/History

As Norwegian Lutheran settlers began to populate the rural districts surrounding River Falls, Wisconsin, the Lutheran Church continued to send circuit riders, such as Claus Lauritz Clausen and Marcus Thorson, into the area. Reverend Thorson was instrumental in organizing the Lutheran Ladies Aid in 1881, a society which preceded the organizing of the Ezekiel Lutheran Church by nine years.

In 1890, the Ezekiel Lutheran Church was organized and the Reverend P. K. Mellang was called as the first regular pastor, a post he held for two years. He was succeeded by the Reverend N. L. Blomholm, who served the congregation from 1892 through 1923. In 1895, the Ezekiel Lutheran Church purchased the old River Falls Catholic church property, renovated the building, and moved it to a new location. A new church building was consecrated in November, 1926, just after English services were started under the pastor, the Reverend Arthur L. Rustad.

Collection Scope and Content Note

The Ezekiel Lutheran Church Records consist of records of the congregation; and records of the Women's Missionary Federation, Hudson Circuit, which was organized in April, 1925, for the purpose of carrying on general missionary work in foreign countries, as well as supporting foreign seminary students studying in the United States.

The congregation records include correspondence and business papers, minutes of the board of trustees, membership lists, sermons, bulletins, financial records, records of marriages, baptisms, and confirmations, and minutes and financial accounts for such church-sponsored groups as the Luther League, Lutheran Mission Circle, Ezekiel Lutheran Church Ladies Aid, the Kinnickinnic Lutheran Ladies Aid, Lutheran Daughters of the Reformation, and numerous other groups, many no longer in existence. There are also histories of some of these groups as well as numerous photographs of church buildings, pastors, and members of the congregation. Box 14 contains records related to the church's centennial in 1990 when numerous special worship and music events were organized in celebration.

The records concerned with the Women's Missionary Federation, Hudson Circuit, include correspondence and business papers, 1925-1953; minutes of the board of the Hudson Circuit, 1955-1960; minutes of the annual conventions, 1957-1960; and numerous folders relating to church and ladies aid history for most of the churches in the Hudson Circuit. These individual church histories are arranged alphabetically by the name of the church.


Administrative/Restriction Information

Acquisition Information:

Presented by the Church, 1964, 1991, by Alise Jensen, 1980-1987, the Reverend Jule F. Berndt, 1991, Cheryl Hoffman, 1997, and Kay Montgomery, 1997. Accession Number: M64-226, M80-492, M80-510, M80-513, M81-542, M81-543, M82-139, M87-233

Processing Information:

Processed by Jack T. Ericson, May 5, 1965; additions processed by Tom Conrad and Sue Steinwall, 1987, and by Stephanie Zeman, 1991 and 1997.

Contents List

  Container   Title
 
Series: Congregation Records
 
Subseries: Correspondence and Business Papers
Box 1 Folder 1
General, 1935-1963
Box 13 Folder 1
Annual Reports, 1975-1979
Box 10 Folder 1-12
Bulletins, 1926-27, 1945-46, 1948-1954, 1956-1960, 1980-81
Box 1 Folder 2
Constitution of the Ezekiel Lutheran Church
 
Histories, etc.
Box 11 Folder 2
Heritage Night: "90 Years of Faith" Program, 1980
Box 11 Folder 3
Correspondence re Ezekiel Lutheran History, 1980
Box 11 Folder 4
"History of Ezekiel Lutheran Church, 1890-1980"
Box 11 Volume 50
Historical album, compiled in 1985
 
Membership lists
Box 7 Volume 23
Unidentified membership list
Box 10 Folder 14
Lists, 1947, 1950
Box 1 Folder 9
Lists, 1947 and 1953
Box 10 Folder 14
Lists, 1947, 1950
Box 11 Volume 51-52
Mother-Daughter Banquets and Teas: Programs, 1934-35, 1949-1960, 1969-1973, 1981
Box 13 Folder 4
"Parish News," 1966-1972
Box 11 Folder 1
Programs, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950
Box 10 Folder 17
Sermons, 1940-1990, undated
 
Subseries: Minutes of the Board of Trustees
Box 5 Volume 1
1939-1949
Box 5 Volume 2
1949-1955
 
Subseries: Financial Records
Box 1 Folder 3
Financial statements, 1924-1956
 
Treasurer's Records
  Volume 25
1922-1930
  Volume 26
1929-1930
Box 8 Volume 27
1929-1933
Box 8 Volume 28
1930-1931
Box 8 Volume 29
1931-1932
Box 8 Volume 30
1932-1933
Box 8 Volume 31
1933-1934
Box 8 Volume 32
1935-1936
  Volume 33
1936-1937
  Volume 34
1937-1938
  Volume 35
1938-1939
  Volume 36
1939-1940
  Volume 37
1940-1941
  Volume 38
1941-1942
Box 8 Volume 39
1941-1942
  Volume 40
1942-1943
  Volume 41
1943-1944
  Volume 42
1944-1945
  Volume 43
1945-1946
  Volume 44
1946-1947
  Volume 45
1947-1948
  Volume 46
1948-1949
  Volume 47
1955-1956
  Volume 48
1957
Box 9 Volume 49
1962-1963
 
Subseries: Records related to Sacraments
  Volume 24
Minister's record of marriages, baptisms, and confirmations, 1901-1930
Box 10 Folder 13
Confirmation class rosters, 1902-1980
Box 1 Folder 13
Obituaries of church members
 
Subseries: Church Groups
Box 5 Volume 6
American Lutheran Church Women: Minutes, 1960-1961

Note: Volume also contains minutes of the Ladies Aid, 1952-1959; listed below.

Box 6 Volume 9
Circle 7: Minutes, membership list, and financial records, 1957-1962
 
Circle 8
Box 6 Volume 10
Minutes and membership list, 1949-1957
Box 6 Volume 11
Treasurer's accounts, 1949-1957
Box 6 Volume 13
Dorcas Society: Treasurer's accounts, 1911-1916
 
Ezekiel Lutheran Brotherhood
Box 10 Folder 15
Minute book, 1946-1952
Box 10 Folder 16
Certificate of membership, 1959 ; Correspondence, 1948-1951 ; membership lists, undated
 
Junior Mission Circle
Box 1 Folder 6
History
Box 6 Volume 14
History
Box 7 Volume 15
Treasurer's accounts, 1937-1949
Box 1 Folder 7
Kinnickinnic Ladies Aid: History
 
Ladies Aid
Box 1 Folder 8
History
Box 12 Folder 1
Constitution/Treasurer's Book, 1890-1905 (Volume 53)
Box 5 Volume 3
Minutes, 1890-1927
Box 5 Volume 4
Minutes, 1928-1937
Box 5 Volume 5
Minutes, 1938-1952
Box 5 Volume 6
Minutes, 1952-1959

Note: Volume also contains minutes of the American Lutheran Church Women, 1960-1961; listed above

Box 6 Volume 7
Treasurer's accounts, 1906-1935
Box 6 Volume 8
Treasurer's accounts and membership lists, 1936-1952
 
Luther League
Box 7 Volume 18
Minutes, 1946-1949
Box 7 Volume 19
Minutes, 1950-1952
Box 7 Volume 20
Minutes and membership list, 1956-1958
 
Lutheran Daughters of the Reformation
Box 12 Folder 2
1929-1937
Box 12 Folder 3
1946-1948; undated
 
Lutheran Mission Circle
Box 7 Volume 16
Minutes and membership lists, 1947-1949
Box 1 Folder 4
History of the Ezekiel Lutheran Church Mission Circle
Box 1 Folder 5
History of the First Lutheran Missionary Circle, River Falls
Box 1 Folder 10
Lutheran Student Pastors Association: Minutes, 1926-1935
Box 7 Volume 22
Lutheran Student's Association: Minutes and history, 1938-1949
Box 7 Volume 17
Young Peoples Lutheran League: Minutes, 1921-1926
Box 7 Volume 21
Young Peoples Society: Minutes and membership list, 1915-1919
 
Subseries: Photographs
Box 2 Folder 1
Photographs and clippings re Ezekiel Lutheran Church
Box 2 Folder 2
Photographs re Ladies Aid of the Ezekiel Lutheran Church
Box 13 Folder 2
Confirmation Class Photographs, 1966-1968, 1971
Box 13 Folder 3
Confirmation Class Photographs, 1972-73, 1975, undated
Box 13 Folder 5
Pictorial church directories, 1993 and 1997
 
Subseries: Miscellany
Box 1 Folder 11
Miscellaneous printed matter
Box 1 Folder 12
Miscellaneous unsorted clippings
 
Subseries: Centennial Related Papers, 1990
Box 14 Folder 1
Centennial Committee, 1987-1990
Box 14 Folder 2
Joan Hyland's Master File, 1987-1990
Box 14 Folder 3
Centennial Worship and Music Committee, 1989-1990
 
Centennial Service
Box 14 Folder 4
Festival Worship, 1990 January 7
Box 14 Folder 5
Kathryn Moen Recital, 1990 February 18
Box 14 Folder 6
Trudy Finden, Harpist, and Bell Choir, 1990 April 8
Box 14 Folder 7
Margaret L. Hammer, 1990 May 13
Box 14 Folder 8
Choir Ring and Sing/Choir Reunion, 1990 May 20
Box 14 Folder 9
Worship in the Park (Historical), 1990 July 17
Box 14 Folder 10
Confirmation Reunion, 1990 July 22
Box 14 Folder 11
Ray Christenson, 1990 August 19
Box 14 Folder 12
Thanksgiving and Cornerstone Ceremony, 1990 December 30
Box 14 Folder 13
Church Directory, 1989
Box 14 Folder 14
Church History, 1890-1980
 
Series: Women's Missionary Federation, Hudson Circuit
 
Subseries: Records of the Hudson Circuit
 
Convention Records
Box 3 Folder 1
Convention programs, 1926-1960
Box 3 Folder 3
Minutes of the annual conventions, 1957-1960
Box 2 Folder 3
Correspondence and business papers, 1925-1953
 
Histories
Box 3 Folder 6
History and photographs of the Hudson Circuit
Box 3 Folder 7
Historian's reports, 1943-1960
Box 3 Folder 8
History project information
Box 3 Folder 2
Minutes of the Board, 1955-1960
Box 3 Folder 5
Minutes of the Worker's Conference, 1950-1959
Box 6 Volume 12
Treasurer's accounts of the Mission Box secretary of the Women's Missionary Federation, 1925-1958
 
Subseries: Individual Church Histories
Box 3 Folder 9
Baldwin Lutheran Church, Baldwin, Wis.
Box 3 Folder 10
Bethany Lutheran Church and the West Immanuel Lutheran Church, Star Prairie, Wis.
Box 3 Folder 11
Bethany Lutheran Church, Grantsburg, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 1
Bethel Lutheran Church, Hudson, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 2
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Ellsworth, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 3
Deronda Lutheran Church, Deronda, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 4
East Immanuel Lutheran Church, Deer Park, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 5
Eidsvold Lutheran Church, Esdaile, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 6
English Lutheran Church, Ellsworth, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 7
Ezekiel Lutheran Church, River Falls, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 8
First Lutheran Church, New Richmond, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 9
Gilman Lutheran Church, Spring Valley, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 10
Laketown Lutheran Church, Cushing, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 11
Little Falls, Lutheran Church, Little Falls, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 12
Mann Valley Lutheran Church, Hudson, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 13
North Rush River Lutheran Church, Baldwin, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 14
North Valley Lutheran Church, Centuria, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 15
Our Savior's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Baldwin, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 16
Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Beldenville, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 17
Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Glenwood City, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 18
Rush River Lutheran Church, River Falls, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 19
Saint John's Lutheran Church, Spring Valley, Wis.
Box 4 Folder 20
Saint Peter's Lutheran Church, Dresser, Wis.
Box 5 Folder 1
South Rush River Lutheran Church, Beldenville, Wis.
Box 5 Folder 2
Spring Lake Lutheran Church, Spring Valley, Wis.
Box 5 Folder 3
Trinity Lutheran Church, Boyceville, Wis.
Box 5 Folder 4
Wilson Evangelical Lutheran Church, Wilson, Wis.
Box 5 Folder 5
Zion Lutheran Church, Woodville, Wis.
Box 5 Folder 6
Zion Lutheran Church of Bone Lake, Clam Falls, Wis.

top of page For technical assistance, please contact:
General Library System / Library Technology Group