Four Mile Lutheran Church celebrates 175th anniversary

Athens Daily Review, Texas
·2 min read

May 18—Members and guests gathered Sunday, May 7, to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Four Mile Lutheran Church near Prairieville.

Honored during the day's festivities was Henrietta Christiane Marie Waldt Reierson who recognized as an Early Settler of the Free State of Van Zandt and Citizen of the Republic of Texas.

Henrietta was born in Denmark in 1818. She married Johan Reierson in 1836. Soon thereafter, the Reierson's purchased land in the Republic of Texas and immigrated here from Norway with their children, friends and relatives.

When the Reierson's reached Nacogdoches, they were greeted at the border by President Sam Houston and General Rusk in the Republic of Texas. To celebrate the arrival of the Norwegian contingency, a large barn party was hosted by Houston.

The Reierson's founded Prairieville in Four Mile Prairie in Van Zandt and Kaufman Counties. They chose the land for its agricultural potential and bounty. Their land was surveyed in 1846 by Texas Ranger and Veteran of the Republic of Texas Samuel Huffer.

Johan and Henrietta had five sons and two daughters. Henrietta passed away in 1851 after the premature birth of her youngest son. She has the first adult marked grave in Van Zandt County.

Henrietta's grave has been marked with medallions signifying her as a Citizen of the Republic Texas and Early Settler of the Free State of Van Zandt. The commemoration was attended by her descendant, Dana Crandall. Carrie Woolverton, President of the Van Zandt County Genealogical Society presented Certificate #0001 for the Early Settler of the Free State of Van Zandt to Bishop Erik Gronberg of the Four Mile Lutheran Church.

The chapters which sponsored the remembrance of Henrietta Reierson are: Martin's Hundred Chapter Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, Captain James Burleson Chapter US Daughters of 1812, James Pinckney Henderson Chapter Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Van Zandt County Genealogical Society.

If you are interested in honoring an ancestor as a Citizen, Veteran or Defendant or the Republic Texas or Early Settler of the Free State of Van Zandt, please contact Carrie Woolverton, honeycrek2@aol.com.