The Legacy of the Boettners began when Jacob and Anna Elizabeth Boettner arrive from Germany in 1854. After settling down they had a son named William. Later in life, William married Vinn South in 1896. They in turn bore a son, Loraine Boettner.
Loraine was born March 7th 1901 in Linden Missouri. He lived with his family; his Father being a Christian school superintendent and his mother just a housewife. Loraine attended his father’s church until he was 18. Then he joined his mother’s church–the Centennial Methodist Church; his mother was of a different denominational background than his father.
In 1917 Lorraine decided to begin his college career. He took up studies in Agriculture at the University of Missouri. He later finished his degree after transferring a year later to Tarkio Presbyterian College. He graduated there cum laud‘ with a B.S. degree. At Tarkio he was greatly influenced by professor J.B. Work, who was a staunch Calvinist. Although Work was of the Reformed position and influenced Loraine greatly, Loraine did not hold to the Reformed Doctrine of Predestination; this did not sit well with him. How ironic it is that later he wrote his Master’s thesis on this subject.
