A small church in Kriegsfeld, a town of a little more than 1,100 people today. It was probably not much bigger in Michael Müller's time.
Louis (Ludwig) Müller, 1870s in Charleston, South Carolina.
Flowers, palm leaves, and an affectionate banner from his grandchildren: a photo of Ludwig Müller's grave, Charleston, April 1898. Click to enlarge.
Louis' daughter Helena Müller Melchers, wife of Theodore Melchers, and their
daughter Julia, 1880s.
Theodore Melchers was a grocer in Charleston, like his brother Alexander
Melchers. Another brother, Franz Melchers, ran the local German newspaper "Deutsche Zeitung".
Sisters Jenny and Agnes married prominent merchants in Charleston, Henry Bischoff and
Richard Issertel, respectively.
The earliest Müller whom we've documented is Johannes Michael Müller, born in the 1720s or 1730s in the area of Oberflörsheim, Pfalz. We don't know his parents' names but his brother Heinrich Jacob was a godparent to one of Michael's sons.
Michael Müller was a professional hunter; "venator" was the Latin term for it. His first marriage was to Juliana Margaretha Schmitt of nearby Wendelsheim.
The marriage was recorded in the Kriegsfeld Catholic church records where it was duly noted that Juliana Margaretha was Lutheran. Perhaps this was the reason that their son Friedrich, born in 1775, was himself associated with the Lutheran church. It should also be noted that this region of Rheinland, Pfalz was home to several Christian sects, among them Catholics, Lutherans, and Anabaptists, which included Mennonites. They were not all tolerant of each other. The fact that Michael Müller married a non-Catholic should be regarded as an unusual circumstance.
The couple had six children. Juliana Margaretha died sometime between the birth of their last son, Heinrich Jacob, in 1781 and the remarriage of widower Michael to Sophia Lenz of Oberwiesen in 1784 (church records are missing some pages from this period, alas). Michael and Sophia had two sons together.
Michael's and Juliana's son Friedrich, a guard of the royal forest of Hessen-Nassau, was married twice, first to Susanna Catharina Werner in 1805 with whom he had five children, and then after her death to Jacobina Elisabethe Lommel in 1812 with whom he had three sons.
Their son Louis, also known as Ludwig, was born in 1819 in Hochspeyer and had a childhood predilection for religion. He received his doctor of divinity degree at the University of Utrecht in 1839 and emigrated to New York in July 1842 with his bride, the former Caroline Laurent of Zweibrücken.
After a six-year appointment at the St. John's Lutheran Church at Court and Schermerhorn Streets in Brooklyn NY, the Rev. Müller and his family relocated to Charleston, South Carolina in 1848.
Louis was a pastor at St. Matthews German Evangelical Church, where services were conducted entirely in German for the local German-speaking populace. He was to remain at its helm for fifty years.
Louis and Caroline Müller's children included Helena, Frederick, Louis, Charles, Margaret, William, Jennie, Adelina, Philip, and Mamie. William (known a W.A.C. Mueller, or "Wac") became a clergyman himself.
By all accounts Louis was not only pious but warm and generous, fond of children, and a much admired leader of the congregation. He was also instrumental in helping to establish the German-speaking community of Walhalla, 250 miles west of Charleston, where he also helped build a new congregation.
In perusing the church records at St. Matthew's it becomes clear that Rev. Müller was supportive of his own congregation as well as others in need. In one entry Rev. Müller records the baptism of a one-day-old baby whose parents were Greek. They were not members of St. Matthew's but clearly Rev. Müller was determined to extend his blessing to the child, perhaps in her final moments of life.
Louis was an active leader of St. Matthews and his handwriting is a regular part of the church records until shortly before his death on April 10, 1898. In an obituary published on April 16, the Charleston News and Courier noted that among his many accomplishments, on one single day during an epidemic of 1858 Rev. Müller "attended nine funerals, made twenty-four visitations to the sick, and administered the Holy Communion five times".
Louis was buried at Bethany Cemetery in Charleston, his grave site resplendent with flowers. One modest display was wrapped with a ribbon reading "For Grandpa".
His widow, Caroline, outlived Louis by twelve years and remained in Charleston with her older daughter Helene Melchers. Son W.A.C. Mueller (as he spelled it) succeeded his father as head of St. Matthew's Church.
The St. Matthews Archives of Charleston maintains church records for the period covering Louis' and his son William's ministry there, and volunteers are happy to help those doing research on the life and times of Louis Müller.
Many thanks to Nancy Kruger and Mary Ivester for their help in locating relevant material. Thanks also to Phillip F. Thomas of Cartersville, Virginia for shairing his valuable collection of Müller documents and photos.