Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Church History | Order of Microfilming

 Introduction

The records of St. John Lutheran Church, Stryker, Ohio were transferred for microfilming to the Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio with the cooperation of Pastor Dale Kern and the assistance of Dorothy Hurst and the German Lutheran Heritage Society. While the church mailing address is in Stryker, Williams County, Ohio, the actual location of the church is in Ridgeville Township, Henry County, Ohio.

The Center for Archival Collections is the publisher of this microfilm edition. The camera negative is the property of the Center for Archival Collections. For restrictions on the duplication of this collection please see the accompanying Note to Researchers.

This collection consists of one record book containing the constitution and by-laws as well as a church history; three record books containing communicants, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths; and two binders with transcripts of the record books. The collection spans from 1861 - 2007.

This introduction was prepared by Kathy Gardner in December 2007.

 Church History

St. John Lutheran Church, Stryker, Ohio's earliest history can be traced back to 1859, when an initial meeting took place in Ridgeville Corners at the home of a Justice of the Peace by the name of Higby. It was here that the church was first organized. A frame structure was built in 1861 to house the members and a parsonage was added in 1894. In 1898, a new church was built to replace the old one but the original church was still maintained and utilized by the congregation. This new church survived a fire in 1932 and then had to be physically moved 30 feet north to make room for a highway widening of US Route 6 in 1958 before being replaced by a third church built in 2007. All three churches still exist on the property owned by the church at the corner of State Route 66 and U.S. Route 6 in Ridgeville Township, Henry County.

The above history was compiled based on information obtained from the church history found in the first record book of this collection and information provided by St. John's Lutheran Church, Stryker and the German Lutheran Heritage Society.

 Order of Microfilming

Reel 1

1. Constitution & By Laws, 1930 - 1934
   • Constitution & By Laws
   • Voting Members
   • Church History
2. Church Record Book, 1861 - 1908
   • Constitution
   • Baptisms
   • Confirmations
   • Marriages
   • Deaths
   • Communicants
3. Church Record Book, 1909 - 1937
   • Baptisms
   • Confirmations
   • Communicants
   • Marriages
   • Deaths
4. Church Record Book, 1937 - 2007
   • Baptisms
   • Confirmations
   • Marriages
   • Deaths
   • Communicants
5. Transcripts, 1861 - 1937
   • Baptisms
   • Confirmations
   • Marriages
   • Deaths
6. Transcripts, 1937 - 2007
   • Baptisms
   • Confirmations
   • Marriages

Lutheran Churches | Williams County Churches
Manuscripts by Subject | Churches by Denomination | Churches by Location