John Stanger was born in Germany on June 10, 1765. A Lutheran minister, he founded the Zion Lutheran Church in Wythe County, Virginia in 1790. In 1809 he led the funeral service for Peter Kinder, and later attested to that fact in support of Margaret Kinder's application for a widow's pension. Stanger also served multiple terms in the Virginia House. He died in Wythe County on October 14, 1848.