All identified German-born converts in the Dublin branch came from the Kingdom of Württemberg, located in southern Germany. It has been claimed in the existing literature that a prominent driver of German emigration was due to the system of primogeniture in practice at the time.⁴⁸ Known as Ältestenrecht, the inheritance system resulted in the eldest son receiving the family’s property and business. In many situations there was no way to separate or divide the inheritance, an issue known as impartible inheritance. When this occurred, it meant that only one child could inherit from their parents, which did happen in farming communities.⁴⁹ As a result, many younger siblings were faced with a dilemma; they could both remain with their family in a subservient role to the older brother, or try their luck in another region or country.

Whilst economic considerations impacted the decisions of many to emigrate there were other factors. The eruption of violence in Europe during the 1848 Revolutions was particularly pronounced amongst the various German states, a result of longstanding opposition to the Confederacy in support of a unified Germany.⁵⁰ The failed revolution caused a small but prominent group of intellectuals and revolutionaries to flee from Germany in search of refuge.⁵¹ Known as the ‘Forty-Eighters’, these individuals, often well-educated, wealthy, and active in politics, emigrated to escape the post-revolution repression.⁵² Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the United States was the primary destination for Germans, although a sizeable element settled in the British Isles.⁵³ Panayi argues that some transmigrants en route to North America ended up in the UK unintentionally.⁵⁴ A significant portion of the German-born population of the British Isles had fled from military service, including many of the Speidel family.

A large portion of the German migrants arriving during the nineteenth century sought to improve their economic prospects. As previously mentioned, pork butchering was a prominent activity of the German migrant population and the primary form of employment amongst members of the Dublin branch. Previous scholarship on Germans in Britain has demonstrated the popularity of butchery amongst those from the Württemberg area.⁵⁵ The crowdsourced German Pork Butchers database further corroborates this point and reaffirms the relationship between certain regions of Germany and butchery.⁵⁶

To test the literature, the birthplaces of the German community were analysed to identify where migrants originated from and their proximity to one another. The data reveals that there was a correlation between German migrants occupied as pork butchers in the UK and the Hohenlohe region of Württemberg, in southern Germany. For the period 1901-1937, it has been possible to identify thirty-four German-born persons that were baptised as members of the Dublin branch, all of whom originated from the Württemberg area. The birthplaces for thirty-two of them have been identified from government census records and family histories on FamilySearch, and then correlated with baptismal records for the congregation. Nearly all birthplaces were within the Hohenlohekreis district of Württemberg, with a small scattering of individuals from the surrounding districts. The concentration of migrant birthplaces, therefore, is linked to the formation and development of family networks.

These findings correspond with those proposed by Margit Beerbühl, who argues that the transnational migrant networks resulted in additional arrivals stemming from specific communities in the Hohenlohe region of Germany.⁵⁷ The tendency to seek fellow Germans to work in the shops resulted in a form of chain migration, with family and friends being attracted to the area for employment opportunities. Another defining attribute of the Dublin branch was that its members were repeatedly described as being extremely generous and wealthy, with many of the heads of households owning one or more shops. When guests visited, large meals were prepared for them, and the members gathered to socialise.⁵⁸

The Latter-day Saint members and missionaries worked closely as they sought to grow their fledgeling congregation, gathering attention from the local population as they did.⁵⁹ In 1906, missionaries secured permission from the local authorities to hold open air meetings, with the promise of police protection. Although the missionaries faced opposition from local preachers, they avoided harm and recorded that the meetings were good and that they held attentive crowds.⁶⁰ Members assisted the missionaries in the delivery of the open air meetings.⁶¹ Cottage meetings in member’s homes were also held in an attempt to convert those taught by missionaries. Although efforts were made to proselyte the population of Dublin, the greatest success took place through the work of local members and the utilisation of familial and economic networks.

Many of the German families followed a stepwise migration pattern, moving initially from Germany to a town or city in England, and then on to Dublin at a later point. Frederick Dimler and Babette Hennerich separately emigrated from Württemberg in the 1880s, and arrived and secured employment in the meat trade. The couple met and were married in Hull, Yorkshire, England, before then moving to Ireland and establishing a home in Dublin. While living in Hull, the Dimlers became acquainted with the Steele family, another German family, through a relationship that blossomed between Elsie Dimler and Christian Steele. During the war, Christian emigrated to Dublin and joined the Church. A couple of years later, Christian married Elise, and she was subsequently baptised. Through the efforts of Christian and Elise, her family were converted and were baptised at midnight on 1 July 1926 at Cleethorpes-by-the-sea.⁶²

The Horlachers were a prominent family in the Dublin branch and formed a crucial component in the management of the congregation for many years.⁶³ Charles Horlacher had joined the Church in March 1902 and soon began serving as a leader in the branch.⁶⁴ In time, Charles invited his brother, Herman, to attend church meetings. Herman investigated the faith and was baptised on 11 June 1905 in Dublin. A short while later, Herman married a German-born woman who also joined the Church. Much of the Latter-day Saint growth came from religious exogamy, with members being driven to marry outside their faith due to limited potential spouses. Although missionaries had visited or been stationed in Dublin on and off since the closing years of the nineteenth century, they struggled in finding, teaching, or baptising new converts on their own efforts.⁶⁵ However, there were periods and individuals of exception. One missionary, Sidney Wyatt, reported considerable success when he served in Dublin during the Great War. Although most of his converts came from the Speidel extended family network, at a baptismal service on 24 July 1918, he claimed to have baptized about forty people.⁶⁶ Nonetheless, anxieties were excited by the success of missionaries. Wild claims of young girls being moved to Salt Lake City were exaggerated, further stoking resentment amongst the native populace.

The role of the kin and kith network in successful conversion activities is further borne out in the case of Henry and Mary Mogerley in 1907.⁶⁷ In August 1907, Henry arrived in Dublin, having relocated due to poor health and the inclement conditions of Manchester, where he and his newly married wife had been residing. Upon arrival in Dublin, Henry began working in a pork butcher’s shop, having come ahead of his wife a month earlier to prepare arrangements. In his first week working, a colleague invited him to attend Latter-day Saint meetings, which he did that Sunday. In Manchester, the couple had attended Methodist meetings, but in Germany, Henry had been a Lutheran. Prior to emigrating, the couple had lost a daughter, Greta, on 5 January 1906. The death of their first daughter might have been a contributory factor in their decision to migrate and in their decision to convert. Maureen Lynn, their daughter, noted the following about her mother’s arrival in Ireland a month after her father:

She used to tell us that he went down to the boar to meet her and instead of telling her things about the shop or the home or whatever that she wanted and expected to hear, he talked incessantly about the church he had gone to, and this book. She wasn’t particularly impressed with this, but she did go along to the church with him. For quite a while they used to go to the Mormon Church one Sunday and the Methodist the other. This persisted until May 1908.⁶⁸

Henry was immediately captivated by the Church and its teaching. However, Mary was conflicted for multiple reasons. Having been raised Methodist it was a challenge to transition from an established church setting to meeting in rented halls and member’s homes, as well as the fundamental doctrinal differences. After meeting with Christian Jordan, another German member of the branch, Mary relented and on 24 March 1908, the couple were baptised.⁶⁹ The fellowship offered by the members proved pivotal, as her daughter confirmed:

She just thought they were lovely people, and she really felt right at home with them right away. She didn’t think she would, but she did.⁷⁰

Henry and Mary became heavily involved in the branch and served in a variety of positions. In this case and others, kin and kith relationships proved crucial to the expansion of the congregation and acquisition of new members.

Due to the prevalence of Germans in the branch, Latter-day Saint missionaries required and requested tracts from the German mission organisation for use amongst their members and their acquaintances.⁷¹ Soon a large number of the German pork butchers of Dublin were Latter-day Saints and this permeated throughout the network. Events were held for the pork butchers and their friends and family, such as the Pork Butchers Association summer picnic in Glendalough in August 1919, where church members and members of the association met together. These interactions generated opportunities to discuss work and religion in the company of both members and non-members of the faith. As in the example of Henry Mogerley, the concentration of German Latter-day Saints in one select industry made it easier to invite and facilitate the conversion of others. Shared cultural, linguistic, and social ties enabled the acculturation of fellow German migrants into the faith easier.

Members of the branch persevered through a series of challenging situations during the first half of the twentieth century.⁷² Following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, much of the male German population of Dublin was interned in camps.⁷³ In England, claims were made that the nationalist disorder in Ireland was the result of German propaganda, thereby further creating problems for the community there.⁷⁴ As some of the male members had not been naturalised by that point the internment affected the branch leadership, and the congregation largely became composed of women and children.⁷⁵ In January 1916, John Leo Seely, an American Latter-day Saint missionary in Dublin, related his observations and experiences:

I have had the pleasure of teaching the little ones for the last six months. Our branch here is largely composed of children, and a brighter or more intelligent lot it would be difficult to find… During this European conflict our branch has suffered considerably. Most of our male members being of German nationality, they have been interned, and some of our sisters have been forced to leave us, but the faith and fortitude displayed by all have been good to sec. Though this branch is small, it is large in the spirit of the gospel.⁷⁶

Later in 1916, Englishman Benjamin Birchall, who had moved to Dublin prior to the war with his family, was made Branch President.⁷⁷ Through his leadership the branch was able to continue functioning, albeit in a limited form. Further difficulties arose on account of the Easter Rising. Meetings were cancelled during the week of the uprising. In the first meeting after the uprising, the Dublin Saints held a testimony meeting where they expressed their thoughts and beliefs to the audience. “All with one accord gave thanks and glory to God our Father for the preservation of our lives & property for there was not one of us that was hurt in any way,” the secretary recorded.⁷⁸

During the war a number of shops owned by Germans were damaged by angry crowds, with windows smashed and fittings destroyed.⁷⁹ As such, the war did not only affect the congregation’s ability to function fully, but the livelihoods of members.⁸⁰ With many of the men taken away, wives and other relatives became responsible for ensuring the continuation of the family business, despite the emergence of travel restrictions for German nationals.⁸¹ When Latter-day Saint John Retz was interned his neighbour recollected that his wife (Barbara) continued to run their family butcher’s shop.⁸² Although other cases persisted where Germans residing in the UK were accused of anti-British sympathies, the same could not be said of the Dublin Latter-day Saints.⁸³ In a report concerning the efforts of the Relief Society organisations, the Dublin branch was noted for its special circumstances:

It will be seen from these communications that the members of the Relief Societies have, through their patriotic efforts for the soldiers, come in contact with some of the foremost ladies in the land, and it is our fond hope that this has not been in vain. They have donated in all three hundred and fifty-one articles of various descriptions, and all the material of which these were made has been bought with money collected by special efforts, so that the regular funds of the Society have been used, as originally intended, only for the benefit of the poor.

Ultimately, the German members in Dublin escaped the wholesale repatriation practised elsewhere and were eventually able to return to their families.⁸⁵ However, one tragic story stands out from the unwarranted internment. Herman Horlacher returned home from the camp on The Isle of Man, arriving on 16 February 1919. Tragically he arrived thirty minutes after his son, also called Herman, passed away from spinal meningitis.⁸⁶ In the aftermath of the war and on account of the persecution they received, some members were eager to emigrate.

The membership of the Church in Dublin was remarkably resilient and highly active. However, conversions were not always spiritual in nature and members would on occasion leave the faith. On 5 February 1904, a letter was received from Bertha Bury stating that she had left the religion. As the corresponding missionary noted:

Her reasons for such action are not stated. She states specifically, however, that (1) she remained a member of the L.D.S, only to retain her position as employee of Bro. Baker and (2), that she, desires no more of our company.⁸⁷

The loss of members was rarely recorded, and despite some defections, it proved a remarkably active congregation, a consequence of the many familial connections. The example of Bertha Bury emphasises the interconnectivity of being a Latter-day Saint and working in the shops of German members. Of Bertha Bury, Wilhelmina Baker noted that ‘she has only joined the Church for Mr. Baker’s sake, that all her friends had turned away from her because of it.’⁸⁸

In almost every way the Dublin Latter-day Saint community was unique. The community was overwhelmingly composed of German-born persons, but they were generally of a much higher socio-economic class than most other British Latter-day Saints. Although German-born or of German heritage, the Dublin membership participated fully in the Church’s national activities.⁸⁹ All of these developments, however, can be traced back to the baptisms of Louie and Wilhelmina Speidel in Lancaster, which caused a chain reaction amongst members of her family. Ultimately, their decisions resulted in the baptism of dozens of converts and the formation of multi-generational Latter-day Saints. In 1905 Heber J. Grant, President of the British Mission, noted the composition of the Dublin branch following a surprise visit:⁹⁰

There is a thriving branch of the Church in Dublin, most of the members not being Irish but Germans. A number of enterprising German Saints, having found it profitable business to sell pork in all its varied forms and grindings to the inhabitants of Dublin, have invited others of their fellow countrymen to come over and partake of their good fortune and opportunities, and so there is quite a colony of German pork-butchers in the capital of the Emerald Isle.⁹¹

In 1939, towards the end of the German prominence in Dublin, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George Albert Smith, noted the value and strength of the German Latter-day Saints, who by that time had nearly entirely moved to North America, ‘Surely our Heavenly Father has blessed a little group of Germans who came here from Dublin, Ireland.’⁹² Many of the sons and daughters of the early converts served proselyting missions across the world, and relatives took on prominent leadership positions.⁹³ The first young men and women to serve as missionaries left Dublin left in the 1930s to preach and teach others in England, Scotland, and Wales.⁹⁴

The community began to transform during the 1940s after the baptism of William R. Lynn, the husband of Maureen née Mogerley.⁹⁵ While the lack of marriage partners forced local Latter-day Saints members to marry outside of their community resulted in mixed outcomes.⁹⁶ With time, German-born members began to die and emigrate resulting in an increasingly Ireland-born congregation.⁹⁷ The first wave of emigrations in 1922 drastically curtailed the membership. Nonetheless, conversions amongst the German population continued.⁹⁸ As generations progressed and as German migration diminished there was increased success amongst native Irish-born persons and the dominance of German-born persons gradually evaporated to the point where it has almost been forgotten.

Ultimately the origins of the Dublin branch are rooted in the stepwise migration of the German pork butchers. Various family and church records indicate that their interaction with the Latter-day Saint congregation in Lancaster, England, and subsequent movement to Dublin allowed a foothold for the Latter-day Saint Church there. Similarly, the evidence demonstrates that the growth of the community in Dublin in the first half of the twentieth century was dominated by the German-born pork butcher community. As such, the community was disproportionately wealthy and well-received amongst locals despite the opposite circumstances of their co-religionists elsewhere in the British Isles. The utilisation of familial and employment networks meant member missionary efforts were more likely to occur amongst their fellow German kith and kin, resulting in an unusual social, economic, and religious community that was imbalanced in the birthplaces and backgrounds of the branch membership. Crucially, the various surviving family and Church records demonstrate that for many decades the German community shaped and comprised the bulk of the Latter-day Saint membership in Dublin.