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A pastor who served all of the German Reformed churches in North Carolina during his lifetime, Andrew Loretz was born in Switzerland in 1761 and educated in Germany. He came to America in 1784, ministering to congregations in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and moved to North Carolina two years later. Although Loretz served as pastor or visiting pastor to all of the German Reformed Churches along the frontier, he is particularly associated with Daniels Church in Lincoln County. He served that church from its founding in 1786 until his death in 1812; he is buried in the cemetery at Daniels Church.
Loretz traveled a circuit that spanned 250 miles, from the Haw River area to the Saluda region in South Carolina. He made the trips on horseback, and is said to have taken two black saddle horses with him for the long journeys. While living in Maryland, Andrew Loretz married a Mrs. Shaeffer of Baltimore. The couple had seven children. They settled on a large tract of land northwest of Lincolnton, in sight of Daniel’s Church. Their home, completed in 1793, still stands with Andrew Loretz’s initials and several other patterns in the chimney brickwork.
References:
Jacob L. Morgan, and others, eds., History of the Lutheran Church in North Carolina (1953)
William L. Sherrill, Annals of Lincoln County, North Carolina (1967)
J. C. Clapp, Historic Sketch of the Reformed Church in North Carolina (1908)
Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina (2003)
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