John Peter was born 07 Mrz 1828 in Rossbach, Bavaria,
the second son of George and Barbara Eirich. He emigrated with his parents and
siblings to America in 1837, when he was nine years old (the information given
in the obituary below is wrong). He was raised in Union County, OH, and married
Mary Probst on 11 Jun 1857 in Pickaway, OH. John Peter and Mary had nine
children, of whom at least three died at a young age. He was widowed in 1879,
leaving him to raise all of his surviving children alone. John Peter Eirich
died 22 Jan 1908 in Cleveland, OH.
The following information
was taken from the obituary for John Peter Eirich received from Wartburg
Theological Seminary.
""The deceased was
the son of George Eirich and his wife Barbara. His parents
recognized it as their first and most sacred duty toward their child to place
it in the arms of the Redeemer through holy baptism. When 12 years old, he
emigrated with his parents to this country. Here his parents cared not only for
a general Christian training for their son; but, since he was specially gifted,
educated him for the holy ministry. He served with credit the congregations at
Marcy, Ohio; Lithopolis, Ohio; Zanesville, Ohio; Albany, New York and Hoboken,
New Jersey. He served each of these congregations from 10 to 15 years.
When he had already retired from active service in the
ministry, because of the
infirmities of his age, the Martin Luther congregation of Cleveland, Ohio, in
1904, being without a pastor, then, persuaded him to accept their call and be installed
as their pastor. However, his rheumatism, which had caused him a great deal of
suffering for some time, grew so much worse, that after only a few weeks after
his installation, he was compelled to resign his office. Three churches were
built under him, in Lithopolis, Zanesville, and Albany. In Albany, the
Catholics were so bitter against him, that they threatened him with death.
When the predestination controversy arose, he felt in
conscience bound to leave the
Missouri Synod and come over to us (us being what is now the American Lutheran
Church). He was a thorough and highly educated theologian, and has contributed
some valuable articles and treatises in various theological branches. In
addition to his many contributions for church papers and theological magazines,
he is also the author of a theological work, entitled,"Hexameron", a
volume highly commended, not only in this country, but also by some of the
leading theologians of Germany. (Just in case you are curious, as was the writer,
Hexameron, I'm guessing, was derived from hexamerous, meaning having six parts
in each whorl - a whorl being a small flywheel on a spindle.) He was appointed
by President Harrison, United States consul at St. John Antiqua, West Indies.
In 1892, he donated his entire library to the American Lutheran Church in
Columbus, Ohio.
The last years of his life, he made his home with his
daughter in Cleveland, Ohio. While his son and daughter were watching their
father's death-bed, a telegram conveyed to them the sorrowful news that their
brother, too, was dying in a hospital in Buffalo, New York. Three hours and
forty five minutes after the father had breathed his last, his son at Buffalo
also answered death's summons. That was a severe blow for those who were left to
mourn at the caskets of father and brother together. In the evening of January
24, 1908, the bereaved ones were comforted with a sermon based on Revelations
Chapter 14, Verse 13. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from
henceforth. Yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and
their works do follow after them." The text was chosen because the words
of comfort, directed to Rev. Eirich at the funeral of his dear wife, 29 years
ago, were based on the same words."
Mention is made of John Peter serving as pastor of
congregations in Marcy and
Lithopolis, Ohio, which was a combined congregation at the time. He was one of
the first pastors of those churches. The booklet prepared for their 125th
anniversary, states that he was the author of their first constitution dated
1855. He was licensed by the Western District of the Joint Synod of Ohio in
1853, which meant he could serve a congregation under the supervision of other
pastors in the district, and was ordained in 1856. The history of Darby
Township, Union County, Ohio in telling of the dedication of St. John's
Evangical Lutheran Church in 1860, states, "A service in English was
delivered in the afternoon of the same day by Rev. P. Eirich, of
Lithopolis."