{The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge} Story Time with Sarah: Dorothea Craemer Goes to America

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Dorothea and August Craemer
Image courtesy of Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis, Missouri.

Digging back into the early days of Lutheranism in the American Midwest, this “Story Time with Sarah” episode focuses on the life and times of Dorothea Craemer, one of the “founding mothers” of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Leaving Germany as an unwed mother 1845, Dorothea met her future husband on the ship to America and, after their marriage in New York, traveled with him to serve as missionaries to the Chippewa (Ojibwe) people near Saginaw, Michigan. The series of moves that came after that first call—to Fort Wayne, Ind., Saint Louis, Mo., and Springfield, Ill.—reveals the Craemers growing significance to the Synod they helped found.

Click to read more from the Concordia History Institute about the Craemer family and their mission to Michigan, to learn about the history of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church in Frankenmuth, Mich., to view an archival photo of the Craemers’ marriage certificate, or to order CPH’s biography Dorothea Craemer in the Hero of Faith series for young readers.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge). Follow us on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge, and also follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske).