Carl Fredrick, son of Carl R. Krieser and Esther Ruth
The embossed seal and signature on this certificate show that it was recorded by Rev. R. E. Ziesmer, pastor of Mt. Olive Ev. Lutheran Church of Appleton, Wisconsin. Rev. Ziesmer was a German Lutheran Pastor who displayed a zealous style in his preaching. He recorded the mother’s name on the certificate in the usual German style for married women: “Esther nee Ruth.” This simply meant that her birth surname was Ruth. Many of the family tombstones are also written up using this German expression, even when the rest of the epitaph is in English, just as this is.
The artwork on this birth and baptismal record is much more colorful than that on the cover (on the next page). A picture of the Savior with the children is shown and the color red is prominently used--perhaps as a reminder of the blood which he shed for us through his atoning sacrifice. The scripture is Mark 13:16: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Some other scriptures that are used in the booklet include Mark 10:14: “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the Kingdom of God.” Gal 3:25: “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Ezekiel 34:23: “He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd.” Eph. 5:25-26: “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.” A lovely little poem accompanied this last scripture: “That by the water and the Word we’re born again, we thank thee Lord. In life and death Thine let us be, and Thine in all eternity.”
