page_title: Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39
section_title: Voyage to New Orleans and St. Louis
hierarchical_section_title: Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39 / History / Voyage to New Orleans and St. Louis
caption_attribution_description: English: Oil painting depicting the ship Olbers, built by Johann Lange in Bremen, that carried German immigrants to Brazil.
context_page_description: The Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39 was a migration of Confessional German Lutherans seeking religious freedom in the United States in the early 19th century. The migrants were among the original founders of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
context_section_description: By September 4, 1838, 707 people had enrolled their names to emigrate with the Auswanderungs Gesellschaft. They came from Dresden, Leipzig, Niederfrohna in the Mulde River valley, and from Kahla in the Duchy of Altenburg. A common treasury was established, a fund amounting to 125,000 Thalers. Martin Stephan was 61 years old at the time. Next to him in age were Pastors G. H. Loeber, 41, E. G. W. Keyl about 32, and Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther, 27. Five sailing vessels were chartered and sailed out of Bremen with the members of the group. These ships were named Copernicus, Johann Georg, Republik, Olbers, and Amalia, the last and smallest, which was lost at sea and never heard of again.
  The group on the remaining four ships, totaling 602 people, arrived in New Orleans in January 1839, and from there arranged for transport on steamboat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri. During that time, the members of the group were asked to sign a document of absolute submission to "our bishop Stephan".
caption: The Olbers
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