Reverend Caius Frederic Sophus Waage
Caius Frederic Sophus Waage (aka Frederick) was born 17 Aug 1797 in Schleswig, Holstein, Denmark.1 He was the son of Claus Heinrich Waage and Catharina Dorothea Hoffmeister.2 He was baptized 20 Aug 1797 and sponsored by General and Baron Cay von Ahlefeldt, Ernestine von Brokdorf, wife of the Private Counsellor, and the nobel lady Anna Sophia von Ranzau auf Güldenstein.3 On 7 April 1813, he was confirmed in the Lutheran faith at the Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church) in Flensburg in Schleswig.
He studied at the University of Kiel in Germany for six years, starting at age 16, and came to the United States in 1819.4
Once in the United States, Frederick became a minister, becoming a licentiate on 27 Aug 1822 and ordained on 10 Jun 1828.5 He served congregations in Bucks, Northumberland, Columbia and Lycoming counties before finally receiving charge of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church outside Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania as well as five other local churches—including New Goshenhoppen Lutheran Church outside East Greenville—on 12 May 1829. He served there until 1870 when he was succeeded by his son Rev. Oswin Frederick Waage.
Frederick was a pioneer practitioner of homeopathy in northern Montgomery County. Although he was not formerly educated in the practice, he studied the literature and obtained the remedies to attend to the welfare of his family. When his parishoners heard, they appealed to him “to give them the benefit of his skill.”6
Frederick Waage married about 1823 Angelina Garber. She was born about 1806 at Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Reiner) Garber.7
Rev. Frederick Waage died on 23 Aug 1884, at the age of eighty-seven years. He was buried on 27 Aug 1884 in the cemetery at St. Paul’s in Pennsburg with many honors. Angelina (Garber) Waage died in 1897 and was buried with her husband.
Frederick and Angelina (Garber) Waage had children:
- Johanna “Hannah” Waage was born ca 1825 and died bef 1890.
- Dr. Charles Theodore Waage was born 22 Oct 1827 in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and died 6 Mar 1921 in Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He married twice, first to Mary Ann Heisler. The couple had four children: Ida (1854-bef 1890), Emma Josephine (1856-1869), Eugene H. (1860-aft 1930), and Charles Frederick (1862-1863). He married second Lydia S. Eshbach, daughter of Henry M. and Catherine Lydia (Bobb) Eshbach. The couple had one child: Mary Catharine (1877-1970), my great grandmother.
- Angeline Waage married about 1850 Dr. Edwin Beiber. They had at least one child: Emma (c1854-?).
- Emma Waage was born ca 1833 in Pennsylvania and died bef 1867, most likely in Minnesota. She married Charles Duncan Gilfillan.
- Anndora S. Waage was born ca 1836 in Pennsylvania. She married 28 Nov 1865 in St. Paul, Minnesota, William K. Gaston. The couple had at least three children: Frederick Waage (1869-?), Martha (1870-bef 1880), and Hugh P. (1872-1964).
- Theodora Rosalie Waage was born in Nov 1839. She married Isaac Yeakel Krauss on 8 Oct 1861. The couple had children: Nevin (ca1862-?), Elmer Frederick (1862-aft 1904), Florence Sarah (1864-Jan 1917), Edgar Anthony (1867-?), Charles Oswin (1869-?), and Isaac Walter (1878-1933).
- Franciska S. Waage was born ca 1842/4. She married Charles Duncan Gilfillan after her older sister, Emma’s death. The couple had children: Emma K. (ca1868-?), Fannie S. (ca1871-1938), Charles O. (1872-1962), and Fred James (1874-?).
- Oswin Frederick Waage was born 4 Feb 1845 and died 7 Aug 1919 in Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He married 22 Jun 1869 Hannah Young Schelly, daughter of Dr. Joel Y. and Hannah (Young) Schelly. The couple had a son Frederick Oswin Waage on 26 Oct 1877. A doctor, he died at Fort Bliss, Texas during the influenza epidemic in 1918.
- Atha “Addie” Waage was born 26 Apr 1847 and died 5 Oct 1928 in Pennsylvania. She was a teacher.
- Edwin Eugene Waage was born 13 Sep 1849 and died 23 Sep 1854 in Pennsylvania.
Footnotes
- Henry Wilson Ruoff Phd., Editor, Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Montgomery County Pennsylvania, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with an Introductory Historical Sketch (Philadelphia: Biographical Publishing Company, 1895), pages 132-133. ↩
- Rev. O. F. Waage, “Rev. Frederick Waage,” The Penn Germania (Lititz, Pennsylvania : H.W. Kriebel, 1912), Volume 1, Number 8 (Aug 1912), page 612. ↩
- Ernestine von Brokdorf was possibly Anna Ernestine de Brockdorff, daughter of the Baron de Brockdorff of Klein Nordsee, and widow of Cay von Rantzan of Güldstein and Gaarg. ↩
- “The Name of Waage is Replete with Honors from Pennsburg to Cornell, Norristown Writer Notes,” newspaper unrecorded, date unrecorded, Montgomery county, collection of Kristen Hocker. ↩
- Susan Walters, “History of Montgomery County,” transcription, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives (http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/montgomery/beantoc.htm : accessed 6 Dec 2012); citing Theodore W. Bean, editor, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884), Chapter LXXVI, page 1114. ↩
- “Pennsburg Pastor First Homeopathic Physician,” newspaper unrecorded, date unrecorded, Montgomery County, Collection of Kris Hocker. ↩
- This information is from FamilySearch ancestral files. I have no other sources, so I consider it unproven at this time. ↩
Cite This Page:
Kris Hocker, "Reverend Caius Frederic Sophus Waage," A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy, the genealogy & family research site of Kris Hocker, modified 8 Jan 2017 (https://www.krishocker.com/biographies/reverend-caius-frederic-sophus-waage/ : accessed 23 Nov 2024).
Content copyright © 2017 Kris Hocker. Please do not copy without prior permission, attribution, and link back to this page.
Thanks to Rev. Waage’s record keeping and the contemporary organizers and their translations of his records, I just had the pleasure of following some lost ancestors (Peter, Jonas, Henry J Miller and their families through the period of his long pastorate to St Paul’s Red Hill and associated parishes. This was an exciting discovery for me!
David, thanks for stopping by and commenting! That’s a wonderful piece of information to add to my knowledge of my 3x great grandfather. I’m so glad his records were able to help you trace your family.