Rev. G. W. M. Schultze
Gustavus Wilhelm Maximilian Schultze was born in Breslau, Germany on the 21st of September 1824. At the time, Breslau was a part of Germany, but today is known as Wroclaw and resides inside the political boundaries of Poland. His father operated a small soap factory in this northeastern German town. As a young man, Gustavus came to America and received an education at Mercersburg and Boalsburg, becoming a Reformed Church minister. He traveled on horseback between the three churches that he preached at, St. John's Ridge Church, the Beaver Springs Church, and the Reformed Church in Beavertown, delivering sermons in both English and German. Gustavus married Mary Ann Steininger, and together they had three children, Oscar, Martha, and Mary.
Early in 1863 a friend of his, Reverend Yeagel of Fort Wayne Indiana, made a call to him to take over the charge at Newville, Indiana. He knew Rev. Yeagel, as Mrs. Yeagel was raised by his parents in Germany. Reverend Schultze accepted this call after conclusion of a trail sermon, and made his way to Indiana on his "high spirited dapple grey horse". Sadly, his daughter Martha died of dysentery while he was on this trail sermon.
On Thursday, July 23, 1863 the Yeagels paid a visit to the Schultze family in Newville. At the end of the day Reverend Schultze hitched up his Amish style buggy to the dapple and drove them home to Fort Wayne, a 25 mile trip. On his way back to Newville he met with disaster. The bridges in this area were made of saplings laid side by side in lieu of wooden planks. As he crossed one such bridge, his horse saw a flock of ducks under the bridge through the gaps in the saplings. This startled the horse and coaxed him to a full-out run. Gustavus could not control the crazed horse, and one side of his buggy missed the entrance to the next bridge, the horse came loose from the carriage, and the Reverend became tangled in the lines. He was dragged for a long distance by the out of control horse, suffering extensive injuries. He was taken to the nearest home and his wife was called to come see him. Gustavus died five hours after the incident, at the age of 38. Mary had him put into a walnut casket, sealed, and transported back to Pennsylvania. One of the church members, Mr. Shelley, escorted Mary and the casket. They traveled by train, eventually arriving in Pittsburgh. There they had to change trains in the midst of a downpour. The baggage man tried to convince them to bury the Reverend in Pittsburgh, as he did not want to transfer the casket in this rain. Mr. Shelley would not allow it, and the casket was transferred to a train bound for Lewistown. From Lewistown, they brought the casket to St. John's Ridge Church by spring wagon, and placed it inside for the night. Mr Shelley returned to Newville, had a fund raising sale, and sent the money back to Mary. The Reverend Gustavus Maximilian Schultze is buried in the St. John's Ridge Church cemetery about 30 feet from the church. The text of Matthew 14-27 was read at his funeral. His grave is marked by a stone of white marble, and can be seen to this day. Mary Eliza Schultze, his youngest daughter, was born 7 months after his death.