Who's Who at Great Adventure Church, IA

Great Adventure Church, Dubuque, IA (OB) 2001-current

Notable Families

Leverentz family

It is worth noting that Philip's birthplace is relatively near Yakima and Walla Walla in the southeast of Washington state where many assemblies strive and thrive.

Lucille's father, better known as "O.E." or "Pat" Magee, was a well-known itinerant preacher among the open brethren in the U.S.. 96 recordings of Pat's sermons may be found on Voices for Christ (VFC) ranging from 1958-1976. He was raised at Dunkerton Gospel Hall, founded in 1891 by his wife Lucille's parents, Thomas R. Dunkerton (b. 1856 North Bloomfield, Trumbull, OH - d. 1924 Dunkerton, Black Hawk, IA) and his wife Lucy Agnes McIntosh Dunkerton (b. 1857 Cedar Falls, Black Hawk, IA - d. 1908 Dunkerton, IA) as one of the earliest open brethren assemblies in Iowa.

Thomas Dunkerton's father, James O. Dunkerton (b. 1827 West Pennard, Somerset, England - d. 1911 Waterloo, Black Hawk, IA) arrived from Freeport, Illinois by covered wagon to Black Hawk County along with his brother John Dunkerton, in 1853 to stake out a claim of land in Lester Twp., which had been founded three years prior by Eli Owen. It was reported in James' obit that when the family passed thru Waterloo, there "were but two log cabins on the site... one on either side of the river".

In 1854-8-22, John died and was the first to be buried in the township cemetery, as per the Dunkerton wiki. On Christmas Day of 1854, James married Christiana Hodges (b. 1826 Keinton, Somerset, Eng.; m. 1854-12-25; d. 1903 Dunkerton, IA), possibly the first wedding in the township.

As per the wiki, the Chicago Great Western Railway was being built in 1886 between Oelwein and Waterloo, Iowa, and a railway station was needed in Lester Twp. Gracious hospitality the family showed towards railway surveyors boarding at the Dunkerton farm resulted in an offer made for the railway to cross it, in exchange for a right of way, and a subsequent railway station named after them, which influenced the naming of the town as such. James' father, Richard Dunkerton (b. 1796 Pilton, Somerset, Eng. - d. 1878 North Bloomfield, OH) emigrated to the U.S. in 1834, settling by 1940 in Trumbull Co., in a Mesopotamia Twp., which is part of the fourth largest Amish settlement in the U.S., and the second largest in Ohio.

Somersetshire where the Dunkertons & Hodges were born and raised, is the home county of Bath, where the open brethren missionary-supporting agency Echoes of Service is based. It is also adjacent to Devonshire which is the location of the city of Plymouth, of which the "Plymouth Brethren" received its namesake.

Prior to retiring to Dubuque to live with one of their sons, Philip served as an elder at Longfellow Gospel Chapel (+1911-2015?) in Minneapolis, which met first to break bread in Sept. 1911 with nine by Philip's father, Carl F. Leverentz and Henry Gilkerson, among others. Aforementioned Pat Magee was active in the early years as well in this assembly. It was known for a decade or more as Minneapolis Gospel Tabernacle, and likely a differentiation and hive from the older Minneapolis Gospel Hall (+1904-1922+), founded by William Amos Upton (1860-1949) who was saved in 1886 under the visiting evangelistic ministry of Reuben Torrey, then superintendent of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

VFC has a sermon of Philip's entitled "Devotion to Christ" that he gave in 1988 at a brethren workers conference. Lucille served many years as a secretary for the Children's Home Society's Minneapolis branch, and was "a loving and caring person who loved to entertain. Over the years she entertained hundreds of people in her home".

• Philip Nathaniel Leverentz +2005-2013 (b. 1914 Klickitat, WA - d. 2013 Dubuque, IA), son of Carl Ferdinand Leverentz (b. 1874 Skåne-Tranås, Kristianstad, Sweden; emig. 1890; d. 1969 Minneapolis, MN) & Johanna Mathilda Johnson Leverentz (b. 1872 Sjösås, Kronoberg, Sweden - d. 1934 Minneapolis, MN). In 1920, Carl was employed as a buyer for a paper factory.
• Lucille Irene Magee Leverentz +2005 (b. 1915 Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN - d. 2005 Dbq, IA), daughter of Oscar Edward "O.E." / "Pat" Magee (b. 1892 Dunkerton, IA - d. 1980 Minneapolis, MN) & Alice Lucille Magee Dunkerton (b. 1891 Dunkerton, IA - d. 1964 Minneapolis, MN).

Sources

• Ancestry.com