Chicago IL

Emilie Kirsch Travels to Faith Healer in 1903

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Perusing old (digitized) newspapers can be really fun. About the cancel my Newspaper.com subscription, I decided to do a quick search for any mention of “Kirsch” in 1900s Winnipeg newspapers. I came across an article in The Winnipeg Tribune, as well as published responses, about my great-grandmother’s sister-in-law, Emilie. As usual, my guide to Kirsch family history research is located here. You can read about Christian and Emilie (Reichert) Kirsch right here. As well, I updated the Direct Ancestors page to correct an error. I accidentally skipped a whole generation in the Kirsch section.

John Alexander Dowie, early 1900s, photo courtesy of State Library of South Australia

In the summer of 1903, Christian Kirsch’s second wife, Emilie, traveled to Zion City, Illinois, to ask the minister and faith healer, John Alexander Dowie, to cure her deafness. Three months after her return, The Winnipeg Tribune printed an interview with Emilie about her visit. In the interview, Emilie doubts Dowie’s purported healing abilities and accuses the minister, who had founded Zion City, an exclusively Christian community, in 1901, of exploiting the disabled and sick for their money.

Excerpt from The Winnipeg Tribune, 24 Oct 1903, accessed 07 Sep 2022 through Newspapers.com

Winnipeg Lady Goes to See Dowie (24 Oct 1903)

Has Not Retained Her Previous Faith in the So-called Restored Healer

He Wants Money Which She Was Not Able to Give –There Are Others

Mrs. Kirsch, of 541 Alexander Avenue, is one of the few Winnipeg women who have paid a visit to John Alexander Dowie, the modern Elijah, and since her trip to Zion City she does not hold the same opinion of him that she did before the journey to the Illinois town.

She is deaf in both ears, and a Mr. Smith, who lives on Bannatyne Avenue, heard of this, and had such faith in the “Restorer” that he kindly offered to pay Mrs. Kirsch’s expenses to Chicago in order that she might be cured. She also had great faith in the healing powers of Mr. Dowie, so she gladly accepted the offer. All this happened some three months ago, but she is not back in Winnipeg paying compliments to the “Restorer” in a way which would hurt the feelings of “Elijah III” if he could but hear them.

The tale as told by her trough an interpreter to a reporter for The Tribune was as follows:

HEARD HIM PREACH.

“I got to Chicago on a Sunday morning, but found that could not see Mr. Dowie until the day following, so that evening I went to hear him preach at the Auditorium Recital Hall. Now, it is a fact that Dowie does preach a lot of truth; he could not command the following that he does unless he did. But Balaam did as much. Balaam the First rode an ass, but the present Balaam is a much heavier weight, and consequently requires many more asses to bear the burden, and they bend their backs under the load with much docility.

“The next morning this man was kind enough to grant me an audience. The first question that he asked me was how much money I had. I told him that I had none at all and explained how it was that I managed to come to Chicago. He told me that he could cure me if I would go and live in Zion City and bring my family there. I decided not to do this as I could not get the money.

QUEER DOINGS.

“However, I went to Zion City just to see the place. It was certainly curious. Every store in the place has Dowie’s name on it. You see such things as: ‘John Alexander Dowie –Shoemaker,’ John Alexander Dowie –Grocer” […] and many other trades all owned by Dowie. They once belonged to the storekeepers who have joined the faith and given all they had to the ‘Restorer’ and then moved to Zion City where they have been permitted to carry on the business under Dowie’s name. None of the money taken in belongs to them, but they receive a salary for the work they do.

“The town is fenced in a guards interrogate all strangers both coming and going. None of Dowie’s followers are allowed to use tobacco or drink any intoxicants.

“While in Chicago I heard that there was a Baptist minister living in a country town on a salary of $600 a year, who had an epileptic son. The wife went to Chicago and explained the matter to Dowie. He promptly asked how much money she had, and she said they would raise all they could.

“The woman returned home, and they sold their cow, finally raised $60 and again went to Chicago.

“Dowie did not ask her for any money, but when she said she had a sister living near Zion, with whom she and her son would stop, he declared that would never do. Oh, no: they must be within the charmed circle of Zion, or else the prayers for healing would never work.

“So they went to Dowie’s hotel and paid at a high rate. They quickly used up the $60, but by great sacrifice the minister raised $40 more. Dowie scooped that in, too, and then they had to get out, with the boy as epileptic as ever, of course.

“Not, that is just one case out of multitudes that I have known. It is by such means that the money is got upon which this Caesar has grown so great.”[1]

Mr. Alexander, the person who had financed Emilie’s trip, submitted a response to the article. He claimed that the newspaper had fabricated the interview and that the true story was that “Mrs. Kirsch made acquaintance with some German people while in Zion City and they advised her to bring her family to Zion City, which was but natural. Mrs. Kirsch stated that she was very much disappointed that she had not been healed, as she saw and knew several who had been healed while she was there.”[2] The newspaper responded by claiming they had sent a reporter to speak to Christian Kirsch to confirm the authenticity of the interview. According to the newspaper, Christian “received the reporter very courteously” and confirmed that the interview was “mostly true,” but “did not wish to have the matter discussed any further as his wife’s trip to Chicago to see Dowie had already caused him considerable annoyance.”[3]

DOES DOWIE HEAL? (29 Oct 1903)

To the Editor of the Tribute

Sir –In your issue of Saturday last there is a long statement with the heading, “Winnipeg lady goes to see Dowie,” purporting to have been made by Mrs. Kirsch, 541 Alexander Avenue of this city. As my name appears in that matter and as I know the circumstances under which Mrs. Kirsch visited Zion City, I would ask you to permit me to reply.

In the first place allow me to say, that the whole of the statements said to have been made by Mrs. Kirsch, with one exception, are untrue. I know Mrs. Kirsch to be a good Christian woman and incapable of making the statements attributed to her in the report referred to. The one statement of fact is where I paid Mrs. Kirsch’s expenses to Zion City. The reasons which induced me to do so do not reflect favorably upon her own people or the minister of the German Baptist Church, which advised them in the matter. When Mrs. Kirsch returned from Zion City she called to see us and spoke in the highest terms of praise as to her reception and treatment there. She stated that her faith in Dr. Dowie’s teaching had not in any respect wavered. It is unfortunate that she is very deaf, she could not hear Dr. Dowie preach, as is stated in your report. It is not true Mr. Dowie asked Mrs. Kirsch how much money she had or advised her to bring her family to Zion City. The correct statement would be that Mrs. Kirsch made acquaintance with some German people while in Zion City and they advised her to bring her family to Zion City, which was but natural. Mrs. Kirsch stated that she was very much disappointed that she had not been healed, as she saw and knew several who had been healed while she was there.

[…] It appears that the churches have banded themselves together to preserve, as it were, their existence, they are afraid of Dowie.

The letter also accuses The Winnipeg Tribune of plagiarizing parts of Emilie’s statement from The New York Daily Tribune. In his final response to the newspaper, Mr. Alexander claims that the original heading of his response had been unjustly altered.[4]

Whether or not Emilie’s statements were true is perhaps irrelevant. Both sides portray Emilie as a pious woman hopeful to hear again despite what appears to be tension between her Baptist church (and perhaps her family) and John Alexander Dowie, allegedly the first to profit significantly from faith healing in the United States.[5] In spite of this, Dowie’s utopia, Zion City (now the secularized Chicago suburb, Zion), was continually in debt and, in 1905, Dowie was accused of fraud and deposed.

[1] The Winnipeg Tribune, 24 Oct 1903, accessed 07 Sep 2022 through Newspapers.com

[2] The Winnipeg Tribune, 29 Oct 1903, accessed 07 Sep 2022 through Newspapers.com

[3] Ibid.

[4] The Winnipeg Tribune, 02 Nov 1903, accessed 07 Sep 2022 through Newspapers.com

[5] Matthew Algeo, “The Sketchy Faith Healer Who Tried to Save New York From Vice,” 18 Apr 2017 [published], Atlas Obscura, accessed 14 Sep 2022 from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/john-alexander-dowie-zion

Ida Kelm (Part 1)

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One of the most rewarding things about writing this blog is getting in touch with cousins I have never met. I am very grateful to Barbara, descendant of Ida Kelm, for recounting family stories and sharing photos and records. Julius and Ida reunited in the late 1930s or 1940s in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Enjoy Part 1 of this short biography.

Please send corrections, additions, or comments to sarika.l.kelm@gmail.com.

Ida Kelm (Part 1)

Gleske family passport photograph, 1920; Erna (Edna), Ida, Emma, Olga. Scan courtesy of B. Langshaw

Ida Kelm was the half-sister of my great-grandfather, Julius Kelm. She was born to Ludwig Kelm and his third wife, Mathilde Witzke (whom Ludwig married on January 2, 1883, in Zhitomir, Zhitomir, Volhynia, Russia),[1] on June 29, 1886, in Nowagrad, or Novograd Volynsk. Ida was their third known daughter; her twin sisters, Luise and Pauline Wilhelmine, were born on June 15, 1885, in Slabotka (also Slobodka; now Serbo-Slobidka, Zhytomyrs’ka, Ukraine), Zhitomir.[2] Julius was eight years old when Ida was born. Their known older siblings, from Ludwig’s first marriage to Wilhelmine Langner, were Emilie Kelm (born 1864 in Pomarzany Fabryczne, Kolo, Wielkopolskie, Poland), Karoline Kelm (born 1868 in Zawadka Nowa Stara, Kolo, Wielkopolskie, Poland),[3] and Regina Kelm (born 1872 in Antinuwka, Zhitomir[4]).

Ida was twenty years old when she married Emil Gleske on July 19, 1906, in Novograd Volynsk.[5] Ida and Emil appeared to have settled in Sergejewka, Zhitomir (near Slabotka), as their first child, a son named Samuel, was born in Sergejewka on June 23, 1907.[6] He died at the age of one and a half from convulsions, on January 26, 1909, in Sergejewka.[7]

Ida’s and Emil’s second child, Erna Gleske, was born November 30, 1909, also in Sergejewka.[8] Her date of birth would be formally recorded as December 13.[9] According to family history, Erna was called “Annie” by her father and “Edna” by a neighborhood boy who could not pronounce the r in “Erna” and decided to called her “Edna” instead.[10] Her Americanized name would be Edna Anne (Anna) Gleske.

A second daughter, Emma Gleske, was born September 2, 1911, likely in Sergejewka like all her siblings [Note: Volhynia Archives Birth Indexes, 1900-1918 missing 1911 records for Novograd Volynsk]. The youngest daughter, Olga Gleske, was born October 15, 1913, in Sergejewka.[11]

“Emil Gleske” from U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Ancestry [Update: According to B. Langshaw, Ernest (Ernst) Gleske, who is listed as a contact, is Emil’s brother]

In 1913, Emil Gleske left Volhynia for the United States with the intention of sending for his wife and daughters when he was able to procure a home for them. Emil arrived in the United States on May 12, taking up residence in Chicago, Illinois, and finding work as a wood worker in a wagon factory.[12] He boarded in various buildings along Archer Avenue in Chicago for several years, the tumult of World War One in Europe delaying his reunion with his family.

“The family was kicked out of their Ukrainian home [Note: Volhynia belonged to Russia at this time; Ukraine became an independent country in 1991] because they were German. Emil was already in the United States preparing a place for his family. Ida, her three daughters, one of their fathers and Emil’s sister wandered through the Ukraine. They were not allowed back into Germany because they had been living in the Ukraine for so long. If a Ukrainian took them in, that person would be accused of treason. The story continues, that my grandmother (Erna) was taken in by a family to do chores and work in the home for room and board. The rest of the family moved on. I’m not sure how they were reunited. Somehow Ida and her daughters rode a train boxcar full of carrots into Germany and ate only carrots during the trip. I’m not sure how long it took or what they had to do, but they finally were able to leave Germany for the United States.”[13]

While contempt against Germans living in Volhynia had been brewing during the latter half of the nineteenth century, causing many Germans to emigrate to Canada and the United States, it wasn’t until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 that the Russian Empire finally decided to act upon its paranoia and deport Germans from Volhynia to regions further east, namely Siberia.[14] These deportations began in February of 1915 and, by the following year, around 200,000 Germans from Volhynia, Poland, and Bessarabia were rounded up and moved east (the highest estimate of deaths due to starvation and cold being 100,000).[15] Many Germans in the Zhitomir region, where the Kelm and Gleske families lived, were exiled in July of 1915, their land (if they owned any) and possessions seized.[16] Half of Volhynian Germans did not return to what for most had been their families’ home for nearly half a century.[17]

Timeline of deportations from Volhynia following the Liquidation Laws of February 2, 1914, and December 13, 1915:[18]

February 2, 1915: Approximately 50,000 Germans from the 150-kilometer-wide border strip deported

Early summer 1915: 70,000 Germans deported

July to August 1915: Approximately 60 percent of Germans deported

December 1915 to February 1916: Remaining Germans deported to Central Asia and Siberia

Ida and her daughters survived exile, their exact whereabouts during the First World War unknown. According to family history, Ida, her daughters, and her sister-in-law wandered Ukraine, eventually traveling to Germany by train in November of 1918, the end of the First World War. In June of 1920, Ida submitted her intent to immigrate to the United States to the American Commission in Berlin. According to this document, Ida had lived in Ukraine from 1914 to 1918.[19] In 1920, her residence was Ober Briesnitz, Sagan, Germany (now Poland). Ida, Erna, Emma, and Olga left Europe from Rotterdam, Netherlands, later that year.

“Declaration of Alien About to Depart for the United States, 1920.” Scanned document emailed 02 Feb 2021. by B. Langshaw

[1] [“Ludwig Kelm and Mathilde Witzke marriage record, 1883”] from VKP Marriage Records, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[2] [“Luise Kelm birth record, 1885”] and [“Pauline Wilhelmine Kelm birth record, 1885”] from VKP Birth and Confirmation Records, accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe; “Slobodka” from “Google Maps of Ancestral German Colonies (1700-1939),” accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Germans from Russia Settlement Locations

[3] [“Emilia Kelm birth record, 1864”] and [“Karoline Kelm birth record, 1868”] from Master Pedigree Database, accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[4] [“Regina Kelm birth record, 1872”] from VKP Birth and Confirmation Records, accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[5]  [“Ida Kelm and Emil Gleske marriage record, 1906”] from Volhynian Archives Indexes – 1900-1918, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[6] [“Samuel Gleske birth record, 1907”] from Volhynia Archives Birth Indexes, 1900-1918, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe [Note: the database says “1902,” but the source is a 1907 [Novograd-Volynsk] church book]

[7] [“Samuel Gleske death record, 1909”] from Volhynia Archives Death Indexes, 1900-1918, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[8] [“Erna Gleske birth record, 1909”] from Volhynia Archives Birth Indexes, 1900-1918, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[9] “Edna A. Ring” from U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Ancestry

[10] Email correspondence with B. Langshaw, 20 Apr 2020

[11] [“Emma Gleske birth record, 1913”] from Volhynia Archives Birth Indexes, 1900-1918, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[12] “Emil Gleske” in U.S., Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project), accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Ancestry; “Emil Gleski” from 1920 United States Federal Census, accessed 03 Feb 2021 through Ancestry

[13] Email correspondence with B. Langshaw, 03 Feb 2020

[14] J. Otto Pohl, “The Deportation and Destruction of the German Minority in the USSR,” JOP, 2001. Accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Norka, https://www.norkarussia.info

[15] J. Otto Pohl, “The Deportation and Destruction of the German Minority in the USSR,” JOP, 2001. Accessed 07 Mar 2021 through Norka, https://www.norkarussia.info

[16] “Expropriation lists 1915” from Volhynia, https://www.volhynia.com/res-villages.html?fbclid=IwAR0hcu55E8p_2TmuJ1znGIZutJ0YnvPtvU_AEuLCQPYByCVlRcQ0yp25I3s

[17] Ulrich Mertens, German-Russian Handbook: A Reference Book for Russian German and German Russian History and Culture, 2010, https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/sites/default/files/image-directory/German-RussianHandbook.pdf

[18] Ulrich Mertens, German-Russian Handbook: A Reference Book for Russian German and German Russian History and Culture, 2010, https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/sites/default/files/image-directory/German-RussianHandbook.pdf

[19] “Declaration of Alien About to Depart for the United States, 1920.” Scanned document emailed 02 Feb 2021. by B. Langshaw.