John Daniel Kurtz
John Daniel Kurtz [1]
a distinguished minister of the Lutheran Church, the son of the Rev. J. N. Kurtz, was born at Germantown, Penn., in 1763. Very early in life he had a strong desire to prepare for the ministry of reconciliation. After leaving school he pursued his studies under the direction of his father, and subsequently with Rev. Dr. H. E. Mithlenberg, of Lancaster. In 1784 he was licensed to preach by the Synod of Pennsylvania. He commenced his ministerial labors by assisting his father in preaching, catechising, and visiting the sick. Afterwards he took charge of congregations in the vicinity of York. He removed in 1786 to Baltimore, where he labored with great diligence and fidelity for nearly half a century. In 1832, in consequence of advancing physical infirmities, he resigned his position, although he occasionally preached, and endeavored to make himself useful whenever an opportunity offered. He died June 30,1856, in the 93d vear'of his age, loved and honored by all who knew him. During his ministry he baptized 5156 persons, buried 2521, and solemnized 2386 marriages. Being once told that the Methodists were gathering in German Lutheran emigrants and organizing churches among them, his reply was, " And is it not better that they should go to heaven as Methodists than be neglectee( and overlooked as Lutherans ?" He was one of the founders of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church, a director of the Theological Seminary, and closely identified with all the benevolent institutions of the Church. He aided in the formation of the Maryland Bible Society, and for many years was president of the trustees of the Female Orphan Asylum. (M. L. S.)
