Henry Reck was born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 24 August 1829. He was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1852 and served two congregations and two orphanages until he was called to teach at Augustana College in Paxton, Illinois, in 1871. The Henry Reck notebook contains lecture notes dealing with apologetics, Bible study, and theology in general; these notes appear to be from his time at Gettysburg Seminary.