Albina Seventh-day Adventist German Reformed Church
In early 1889, Friedrich Jörg (Frederick Jorg/Joerg/George), a native of Norka, Russia, established the Albina Seventh-day Adventist German Reformed Church. This church was the first established by a Volga German in Albina. A number of the early Volga German pioneers in Portland adopted the Seventh-day Adventist faith in Kansas and Nebraska, where they had first settled in the United States. The church in Albina sought to combine their newly found denomination with their previous Reformed faith experience in Russia. All of this was made accessible in their native German language.
Frederick became a member and missionary of the Seventh-day Adventist German Reformed Church in 1883 at the time when the German movement within the church was in its infancy. In April 1886, he was leading a congregation in Culbertson, Nebraska. Frederick visited the Portland area in 1887 and began to organize congregations in Albina and West Union, where some Volga German pioneers had already settled.. Jörg participated in the Nebraska Conference in September 1888 and is listed as minister in Sutton, Nebraska that year.
The entire Jörg family decided to move to Portland between September of 1888 and early 1889.
In May of 1889, Frederick wrote a short article that was published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald:
Frederick became a member and missionary of the Seventh-day Adventist German Reformed Church in 1883 at the time when the German movement within the church was in its infancy. In April 1886, he was leading a congregation in Culbertson, Nebraska. Frederick visited the Portland area in 1887 and began to organize congregations in Albina and West Union, where some Volga German pioneers had already settled.. Jörg participated in the Nebraska Conference in September 1888 and is listed as minister in Sutton, Nebraska that year.
The entire Jörg family decided to move to Portland between September of 1888 and early 1889.
In May of 1889, Frederick wrote a short article that was published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald:
I thought perhaps it would interest the brethren to hear something from this State. I have been here for some time, and tried to labor for the Lord. A short time ago I organized a German church in West Union. This little company consists now of ten persons. When I was here on a visit two years ago, some began to keep the Sabbath. As I could not stay then, I organized a Sabbath-school, and they kept it up till Bro. Sheiper came. I have also organized a Sabbath-school in Albina, with a membership of thirty-one, consisting mostly of brethren immigrating from Kansas and Nebraska. May the Lord bless the German work here.
- F. Joerg
In 1891, the Portland City Directory shows that Friedrich and his family, along with his father Johann Jörg, were living in Albina at 852 Vancouver Avenue (now 4004 N Vancouver Avenue). The church location was listed as the southeast corner of the intersection of Vancouver Avenue and Cedar (now Failing Street). The church was listed at the same location though the 1893 City Directory. In 1894, the church was located at 374 Russell (now near 329 NE Russell). By 1895, the church relocated again to 585 Union Avenue (now 2801 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) and continues there until 1902. The building on Union Avenue was designed by the German born architect, Henry C. Dittrich*. In 1902, the church moved to E. 11th on the southwest corner of E. Everett.
Ludwig Spady, another Volga German pioneer in Portland, served as an officer in this church. His wife, Anna Elisabeth, was the daughter of Friedrich Jörg.
It is likely that the George and Anna Betz family also attended this church. The Henry and Elizabeth Schreiber and the George and Elizabeth Schreiber families were also Seventh-day Adventists and may have been members of Pastor Jörg's congregations in West Union and later in Albina.
The church continued until at least 1911. Friedrich Jörg died on September 29, 1912. Elder H.W. Cottrell of the Western Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Churches spoke at his well attended funeral. Friedrich was buried at the Rose City Cemetery in Portland.
Ludwig Spady, another Volga German pioneer in Portland, served as an officer in this church. His wife, Anna Elisabeth, was the daughter of Friedrich Jörg.
It is likely that the George and Anna Betz family also attended this church. The Henry and Elizabeth Schreiber and the George and Elizabeth Schreiber families were also Seventh-day Adventists and may have been members of Pastor Jörg's congregations in West Union and later in Albina.
The church continued until at least 1911. Friedrich Jörg died on September 29, 1912. Elder H.W. Cottrell of the Western Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Churches spoke at his well attended funeral. Friedrich was buried at the Rose City Cemetery in Portland.
Sources
"Pacific Coast Camp Meetings." The Signs of the Times, 15.23 (1889): 360. Seventh-day Adventist Church Online Archives. Web. 7 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/ST/ST18890617-V15-23.pdf>.
"North Pacific Conference Proceedings." The Advent and Sabbath Review Herald 67.26 (1890): 413. Seventh-day Adventist Church Online Archives. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18900701-V67-26.pdf>.
Johnson, Doug. "German and Scandinavian Influences." North Pacific Union Conference Gleaner 86.13 (1991): 6. Seventh-day Adventist Online Archives. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/NPG/NPG19910715-V86-13.pdf>.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook 1889. Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1889. 6. Seventh-day Adventist Online Archives. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1889.pdf>.
1891 Albina City Directory - Ancestry.com
1892-1911 Portland City Directories - Ancestry.com
Jan Copple, Hastings, Nebraska Museum.
Walla Walla University Research Central
Center for Adventist Research
Pacific Union College Libraries Seventh-day Adventist Research Resources
Ritz, Richard Ellison. "Architects of Oregon". Lair Hill Publishing, Portland, OR. 2002. Page 104.
*Henry Christopher Dittrich (Dietrich) was born in Schoenstaett, Germany on November 23, 1852. He immigrated to the USA about 1881 and arrived in Portland by 1890. He resided in NE Portland for many years. His language skills were likely useful in obtaining work with local German congregations in need of a new churches. In addition to the Albina Seventh-Day Adventist Reformed Church, Dittrich designed the First German Evangelical Church that was built in 1905 at SW 10th and Clay St. That church was destroyed by fire in January 2023. He may have also designed the Zion German Congregational Church on NE 9th and Fremont which has a very similar design. Dittrich was the architect of the Ashley House on NW Westover (built in 1913) which is listed on the National Register of Historic Homes. Dittrich died on July 27, 1927. He and his wife, Wilhelmina, were buried at the Rose City Cemetery in Portland.
"North Pacific Conference Proceedings." The Advent and Sabbath Review Herald 67.26 (1890): 413. Seventh-day Adventist Church Online Archives. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH18900701-V67-26.pdf>.
Johnson, Doug. "German and Scandinavian Influences." North Pacific Union Conference Gleaner 86.13 (1991): 6. Seventh-day Adventist Online Archives. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/NPG/NPG19910715-V86-13.pdf>.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook 1889. Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1889. 6. Seventh-day Adventist Online Archives. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1889.pdf>.
1891 Albina City Directory - Ancestry.com
1892-1911 Portland City Directories - Ancestry.com
Jan Copple, Hastings, Nebraska Museum.
Walla Walla University Research Central
Center for Adventist Research
Pacific Union College Libraries Seventh-day Adventist Research Resources
Ritz, Richard Ellison. "Architects of Oregon". Lair Hill Publishing, Portland, OR. 2002. Page 104.
*Henry Christopher Dittrich (Dietrich) was born in Schoenstaett, Germany on November 23, 1852. He immigrated to the USA about 1881 and arrived in Portland by 1890. He resided in NE Portland for many years. His language skills were likely useful in obtaining work with local German congregations in need of a new churches. In addition to the Albina Seventh-Day Adventist Reformed Church, Dittrich designed the First German Evangelical Church that was built in 1905 at SW 10th and Clay St. That church was destroyed by fire in January 2023. He may have also designed the Zion German Congregational Church on NE 9th and Fremont which has a very similar design. Dittrich was the architect of the Ashley House on NW Westover (built in 1913) which is listed on the National Register of Historic Homes. Dittrich died on July 27, 1927. He and his wife, Wilhelmina, were buried at the Rose City Cemetery in Portland.
Last updated March 1, 2023