The Pfarr-Amts Journals recorded the activities of Lutheran pastor and church leader Heinrich von Rahr as he conducted his daily business. Strictly speaking, these journals probably cannot be considered to be either official church records or personal diaries but fall somewhere in between. On one hand, researchers will find references to official ministerial acts, especially confirmations, and official parish business, but the records also include personal observations, notes on preaching texts, and summaries of pastoral conversations. These journals are written in ledger books in old German script and are difficult to read in -- places the writing is almost impossible to decipher. All of the records are in very good condition with all pages intact. The leather bindings, however, are very fragile. The Pfarr-Amts Journals consist of two ledger books with entries following from one to the other in sequence. Dates range as follows: Pfarr-Amts Journal (Pastor's Journal), April 10, 1849 B January 5, 1852, Pfarr-Amts Journal f¹r die Gemeinde zu Neu Bergholtz (Pastor's Journal for the Congregation at New Bergholtz), January 5, 1852 B June 29, 1866. Although none of these records includes the creator's name, it is assumed that the author is Pastor Heinrich von Rohr. The journals cover the dates that von Rohr served as pastor for the New Bergholtz, New Wallmow and Martinsville congregations. Not only does the second volume's handwritten title state that it is the pastor's journal for the congregation at New Bergholtz, but entries refer to activities in all three parishes. The journals follow from one to the other in course and the writing in both appears to be by the same hand. In addition, a letter addressed to Pastor v. Rohr from S. Cooke, dated July 18, 1858 was found lying loose in the second volume. Journal entries range from short notations on the days activities to extended summaries of conversations with parishioners, church elders (Vorsteher) and colleagues. An example of the former is written for March 24, 1850: Palm Sonntag in Bergholtz ¹ber der Ev. gepr. Nachmittag ¹ber Maria Verkundigung Ev. gepredigt, (Palm Sunday, preached on the Gospel in Bergholtz. In the afternoon, preached on the Gospel for the Annunciation.). An example of the latter appears on April 11, 1849, in which the pastor summarizes a conversation with a parishioner, Brother Fischer, apparently about the need to confess his sin against the eighth commandment concerning bearing false witness. The researcher will also find lists of children confirmed, sometimes with notes describing the progress of certain students. Journal entries include references to many parishioner names, including Behm, Bischoff, Burow, Camann, Damerow, Ehrke, Fischer, Handke, Heuer, Kant, Koehn, Mohl, Rehwald, Steinke, Voelker, Wittkopp and others. The researcher will note that the second volume correlates with the time when charges of heresy were brought against Grabau. Some entries note meetings or conversations with pastors Maschop and Hoschstetter, who along with von Rohr were key players in the controversy.
