# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1878_S22
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 22 —

Resolved, that all important documents, especially those pertaining to
our educational institution buildings, be kept in the library room of
the seminary at St. Louis. To this end, the Synod's iron safe, which
has become unusable for depositing funds, shall be used to hold the
aforesaid synodical documents.

Concordia Seminary at Springfield, Ill.

In accordance with the resolution of the First Delegate Synod in
October 1874 (see report, p. 42), the practical seminary was relocated
to Springfield on September 1, 1875. Here too our faithful God let the
institution experience his care and blessing abundantly. In the first
school year there were 27 students in the pro-seminary and 86 in the
seminary proper, 113 in all. At the start of the present school year
the institution held 70 seminary students and 30 pro-seminary students.
Of these 100 students, one seminary student and one pro-seminary
student have since died. Otherwise the state of health was fairly
good. Since the institution's relocation, 30 young men have entered
the ministry; about 19 will take their examination by the end of this
school year.

As for the institution's building: at the time our Synod took it over,
there still rested on it and its grounds a mortgage of $2000.00. The
building's former owners had indeed obligated themselves to provide us
with clear title by October 1, 1876, by which date the $3000.00 still
owed out of the total purchase price ($6500.00) was to be withheld by
us. However, since in the meantime the holder of the mortgage had
died, and his heirs live scattered about Maryland and Virginia and are
in part unknown, the institution's former owners were unable to meet
their obligation, and advised us to summon the mortgage's heirs
through the courts to assert their claims, and to cover the costs
arising from this out of the $3000.00 withheld for that purpose. We
have issued this summons, but so far without the desired result. Since
the mortgage does not lapse by statute of limitations until 1883, the
heirs, for the sake of the interest it yields, are not inclined to
redeem it voluntarily. Three courses are now open to us for settling
this matter. First: we can simply wait until 1883, the year the
mortgage lapses, and then pay it off, together with the interest, out
of the $3000.00 we still have on hand; second: we can send a person
qualified for the purpose to the heirs in the East to negotiate with
them amicably; or third: we can bring a court action to compel the
creditors to redeem the mortgage.