Martin Stephan, Founder of the Missouri Synod, Took His Son and Mistress aboard the Ship Olbers. But He Left His Sick Wife and Children in Dresden. "We Didn't Know He Was an Adulterer!" Walther's Brother and the Two Lawyers on Board the Same Ship

Walther conceded that Stephan was a bit of a Pietist,
and blamed Stephan's marital problems on Stephan's long-suffering wife.
Jim Bob Walther is worshiped by Missourians today.

Bremen, Germany to New Orleans
21 January 1839

DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI - PORT OF NEW ORLEANS

I, H. W. Exter master of the Ship Olbers do solemnly sincerely & truly swear that the within list signed by me & now delivered to the Collector of this district contains the names of all the Passengers taken on board of the Said Ship at the Port of Bremen or at any time since and that all matters therein set forth are according to the best of my Knowledge & Belief just & true & I do further swear that Two of the Said Passengers died on the voyage.

Sworn before me this 21st Jany 1839 ~~ [signed] J. W. Exter-Master

List of Passengers on board of the bremer Ship Olbers H. W. Exter My bound from Bremen to New Orleans

Columns represent: Passenger number, Name, Relationship to the head of the family, Last dwelling place, Occupation, Age, Died on the voyage.

Cabin

  1  Martin Stephan                          Dresden         Preacher         61
  2  Martin Stephan                his son   Dresden                          16
  3  Theodore Julius Brohm                   Dresden         Candidate        30
  4  H. S. Fischer                           Dresden         Merchant         40
  5  Julie Fischer                 his wife  Dresden                          32
  6* Louise Gunther                          Dresden                          32

  7  Gustav Jaeckel                          Dresden         Cashier          32
  8  Francis Adolph Marbach                  Dresden         Attornay (sic)   40
  9  Louise Marbach                his wife  Dresden                          34
 10  Gustav Marbach                his child Dresden                          11
 11  Clara Marbach                 his child Dresden                           6
 12  Victor Marbach                his child Dresden                           5
 13* Martin Marbach                his child Dresden                           2
 14  Eduard Vehse                            Dresden         Recorder         35
 15* Mathilde Vehse                his child Dresden                           9
 16  Hermann Walther                         Dresden         Preacher         29
 17  M. Emil Julius Moritz Wege              Dresden         Candidate        38
 18  Sophie Schneiderin                      Dresden                          40
 19* Fred Loeschner                          *Konigsbruck    Painter          44







CFW Walther kidnapped his niece and nephew, but let his future mother-in-law go to jail for the crime. She was released later and helped in organizing the riot that deposed Bishop Stephan. The Stephanite sex cult brought other minor children over, and bragged about it. Theydid their best to break up marriages where one partner did not want to go to America.

The long trip on the ship with Stephan, his two lawyers, the older Walther, and the Stephan mistress makes it difficult to imagine that "no one knew" until the confession was blurted out after a choice law sermon by a CFW pal. Yes, even the Walther circle agreed that was not the case. The syphilis break-out among the young girls proved to be the precipitating opportunity to upend Bishop Stephan, steal 120 acres from him, take away a large bounty of gold, and grab  his large library of theology books.

The Walther circle manufactured a story
about suddenly realizing Stephan was an adulterer.
Walther organized a mob instead of speaking to his bishop.
See Walther's Pastoral Theology for advice on such matters.

The Stephanites were not searching for religious freedom, but following an extremely abusive guru, a 

Pietist who put his stamp on the Missouri Synod and the future Synodical Conference.

Stephan's rationalistic Pietism taught Walther the Halle dogma of Easter absolution, quoted below. According to their imagination, the entire unbelieving world was absolved from all sin the moment Christ rose from the dead.

From an abusive, poorly educated bishop and his adoring disciples came an abusive synod and synodical conference.

Universal absolution was Stephan's dogma, which Walther adopted
and F. Pieper canonized.
Universal absolution is liberal, mainline theology,
not Biblical, Lutheran, Reformation theology.