Our first Lutheran minister wasn't here long-but the church he left behind has lasted centuries.

What sort of career would you expect of a clergyman who claimed he'd been "persuaded to marry while... under the influence," was described as "anything but exemplary" and who deserved "a fatherly chastening?" One such character was Daniel Schumacher, the first man to act as a Lutheran clergyman in Canada.

He arrived in Halifax from Germany on the Speedwell in 1751, listed as "T. Schömacher," age 22, from "Hambourg, a Candidate in Theoligie." His time in Nova Scotia was less than three years, long enough to add a few chapters to his varied life story. A man close to becoming ordained would seem destined to become a community leader, one of the few educated people in the original German community at Lunenburg, NS. Instead, his path followed a bizarre course.

German Lutherans would gather in a house in Halifax's old north suburb to hear Schumacher preach and, apparently, administer the Lord's Supper. After a two-month sojourn in Lunenburg he was back in Halifax where he married Catharina Hown in July 1753. Halifax was not to his liking; he turned up in Philadelphia-without Catharina-in March 1754. He approached Henry Muhlenberg, head of the Pennsylvania organization, or synod, and presented credentials from Hamburg. Schumacher was sent to Reading, Pennsylvania, where his conduct was reported as "anything but exemplary."

Pressed to explain himself, Schumacher excused his departure from Nova Scotia: "At that time Evangelical ministers and school teachers were opposed. There was nothing remaining there for my support, inasmuch as the people were poor and the rulers had no concern about advancing evangelical truth. I left in a miserable condition... Thence I went to New York and afterwards to Philadelphia where the providence of God pointed out my way to this town of Reading."

John Albert Weygand, a minister whom Schumacher had met in New York, wrote to the synod of Hamburg, asking for information about him. Weygand reported that Schumacher was destitute when he arrived in New York so he clothed him and sent him to Pennsylvania, where his services could be useful. He recommended giving the young man "a fatherly chastening" for having administered the Lord's Supper in Halifax for more than two years, while not yet ordained.

Then details of Schumacher's conduct in Halifax began to emerge. It seemed that he had "deserted his wife... He himself admitted this, and gave as his reason… that he was persuaded to marry her while he was under the influence of liquor… And it is sadder that he continues… when it comes to drunkenness."

The synod at Hamburg reported it did not know when or from whom Schumacher had received any testimonials, adding that "even if he had... he has since conducted himself in such a bad manner, and made himself unworthy..."

Schumacher was never ordained but remained in Pennsylvania. He continued to hold services and baptize people as an independent preacher, mainly in districts with no organized congregations and resident clergy. He became a talented speaker. He had a second and stable (though possibly bigamous) marriage with Maria Elisabetha Steigerwald, and had seven children, five of whom survived his death in May 1787. His later career in the Allemangel district in Pennsylvania was quiet enough, suggesting that after his second marriage he left his heavy drinking behind and behaved responsibly.

There is little on the Internet to suggest what a rough beginning this man had in Nova Scotia. Interestingly, he is remembered in Pennsylvania for his verses and Fraktur art-calligraphy and decorative elements-he employed in his baptism certificates. In that sense, our loss was Pennsylvania's gain.

In tracking down the stories of early settlers such as Daniel Schumacher, the biographical genealogist helps to discover the rich tapestry formed by the lives of those who have lived in Atlantic Canada, even those just passing through.

Dr. Terrence M. Punch is the resident genealogist on CBC Radio and editor of Genealogist's Handbook for Atlantic Canada Research.