August Johann Berens

Berens, August. (Hamburg, Germany, October 30, 1843--January 12, 1908, Niles Center, Illinois). He attended the Missionhaus at Barmen, Germany, ca. 1859-1862, and then did post-graduate study at Tübingen, ca. 1862-1863. Coming to the United States, he was a missionary pastor for the Evangelical Synod of North America on the western frontier, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was pastor in Washington, Missouri, 1878-1887, and of St. Peter's Church, Elmhurst, Illinois, 1887-1906. He was the author of Frülingsboten: Gedichte (St. Charles, Illinois, 1889) and Frisch und fromm: Ein Kinderbüchlein mit Gedichten, Liedern, und Sprüchen (St. Louis, n.d.). He became a U.S. citizen in June, 1892.

Berens married a school teacher, Clara Rieger, in 1878, and had three children. She was the author of Frau Nicholas Magd: eine Erzählung (St. Louis, 1894), and Aus vergangen Tagen (St. Louis, 1906).

--Paul Westermeyer, DNAH Archives