Stirewalt Family

After his ordination, Jacob Stirewalt served pastorates in Shenandoah, Page, and Rockingham Counties in Virginia. He was an active member of the Tennessee Synod, often speaking at conventions held in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. He fathered four sons, two of whom became Lutheran ministers, and six daughters.

Jerome Paul Stirewalt, one of Jacob Stirewalt's four sons, studied theology under pastors of the Tennessee Synod. During his career as a pastor, which spanned from 1874 to 1920, he served fourteen different churches in pastorates in Virginia. Jerome Paul Stirewalt was very active in the leadership of the Tennessee Synod, serving as secretary for six terms, and four terms each as treasurer and president. He was a frequent contributor to Lutheran and secular periodicals and contributed an article on the history of the Tennessee Synod for "The Lutherans in America," edited by E.J. Wolf.

Martin Luther Stirewalt, the only son of Jerome Paul Stirewalt, served as an instructor at the Weidner Institue, a Lutheran School in a suburb of Chicago, from 1906-1909. He was active in the leadership of the North Carolina Synod, serving as vice-president from 1917-1922 and from 1919-1922 was the secretary of the joint commission overseeing the merger of the Tennessee Synod with the North Carolina Synod. He also served on the board of Lenoir Rhyne College from 1921-1922 and again from 1935-1960.

Catherine A. Stirewalt is the daughter of Martin Luther Stirewalt. Prior to pursuing her missionary activities, she worked as a high school teacher.