The German United Evangelical Zion Church (Deutsche Vereinigten Evangelisches Zions Kirche) congregation was organized on August 31, 1859 as a daughter congregation of St. Johns Lutheran Church of Eagle Lake, Illinois. Their first church, measuring 40 x 30 feet, and which included living quarters for the pastor, was built at the site of the present church on 113th Avenue, about a half mile east of the Indiana-Illinois State Line.

Farmer Otto Buehre donated a five acre corner of his farm for the church property. The families who founded the church lived both in Crete Township, Will County, Illinois and in Hanover Township, Lake County, Indiana. The signatures of the original signers of the church constitution on August 31, 1859 are in many cases faded and difficult to read. However, lists of the contributors from among the members of the congregation to the building and maintence of the church building are given for 1860 to 1863 in the church book and are quite legible.

The names given on these early lists, in alphabetical order, are: Heinrich Bahlmann, Johann Bahlmann, Friedrich Battermann, Heinrich Battermann, Heinrich Behrens, Friedrich Braemer, Heinrich Braemer, Christian Brenker, Friedrich Brenker, Heinrich Buehre, Otto Buehre, Gottlieb Buerkle, Heinrich Claus, Johann Elting, Rosine Glade, Wilhelm Grages, Dietrich Haake, Friedrich Hasselbrink, Heinrich Hecht, Heinrich Heisterberg, Karl Hitzemann, Wilhelm Holton, Friedrich Hue, Katharina Jung, Friedrich Kahle, Father Klemme, Christian Klemme, Friedrich Klemme, Heinrich Klemme, Georg Lesemann, Wilhelm Mussmann, Wilhelm Noehren, Friedrich Oehlerking, Christoph Piepho, Friedrich Ringgenberg, Christoph Ruessel, Heinrich Schoenbeck, Christoph Seegers, Conrad Seegers, Heinrich Seehausen, Karl Tegtmeier, Heinrich Thuennemann, Friedrich Wehrmann, Friedrich Wille, Christoph Zieseniss, Philipp Zimmermann. Note that womens' names were not included unless they were widows.

The lists which follow were photocopied from the original church records by Judy Claus Segal of Wheaton, Illinois (Gr. Gr. Grandaughter of Heinrich and Wilhelmina (Battermann) Claus) or by Christian Orlov ( born James Ballard, and Gr. Gr. Grandson of Christoph and Wilhelmine (Seegers) Ohlendorf and Christian and Sophia (Grages) Klemme) of New York, New York. They, as well as the present writers who have translated and tabulated the records (Edwin Friedrich is the Gr. Gr. Grandson of Friedrich and Maria [Knief] Wille and Friedrich and Dorothea [Ostermeier] Battermann are descended from early members of the Congregation.

All of the entries from 1859 to 1900 in Book One of the church records were written in German. Before 1876 the Old Style German Script was mainly used except for names. After 1876 the script is generally the English style. Fortunately, the handwriting is quite legible throughout the early records of Book One.

It is of interest to note that a recent pastor of the Zion church, Reverend David McDonald, has recently published a compilation of the church records entitled: "So Great a Cloud of Witnesses: The People of Zion Church, Hanover Township, Lake County, Indiana", Muttonburger Press, Kreitzburg, Indiana, 1996. This compilation covers the baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial records of the church from the beginning to the present, and also includes baptism sponsers and some family trees of early church members.

Information about ordering a copy of this book, as well as another book by Rev. McDonald containing the records of Saint John's United Church of Christ of Beecher, Will County, Illinois, a daughter church of Zion, may be obtained by writing to: Rev. David McDonald, 6778 Windsor Street, Windsor, WI 53598.