The Schwenkfelders.
Among those who came to share the hospitalities of Count Zinzendorf
during the years immediately preceding the renewal of the Unitas
Fratrum, were a company of Schwenkfelders. Their sojourn on his estate
was comparatively brief, and their association with the Moravian Church
only temporary, but they are of interest because their necessities led
directly to the Moravian settlements in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The Schwenkfelders took their name from Casper Schwenkfeld, a Silesian
nobleman contemporary with Luther, who had in the main embraced the
Reformer’s doctrines, but formed some opinions of his own in regard
to the Lord’s Supper, and one or two other points. His followers were
persecuted in turn by Lutherans and Jesuits, and in 1725 a number of
them threw themselves on the mercy of Count Zinzendorf. He permitted
them to stay for a while at Herrnhut, where their views served to
increase the confusion which prevailed prior to the revival of 1727,
about which time he moved them to Ober-Berthelsdorf.
In 1732, Zinzendorf’s personal enemies accused him, before the Saxon
Court, of being a dangerous man, and the Austrian Government complained
that he was enticing its subjects to remove to his estates. The Count
asked for a judicial investigation, which was granted, the Prefect of
Goerlitz spending three days in a rigid examination of the affairs of
Herrnhut. The result was a most favorable report, showing the orthodoxy
of the settlers, and that instead of urging emigration from Bohemia and
Moravia, Zinzendorf had protested against it, receiving only those
who were true exiles for conscience’ sake. In spite of this the
Saxon Government, a few months later, forbade him to receive any more
refugees.
In April, 1733, a decree went forth that all Schwenkfelders were to
leave the Kingdom of Saxony. This, of course, affected those who were
living at Ober-Berthelsdorf, and a committee of four waited on Count
Zinzendorf, and requested him to secure a new home for them in the land
of Georgia in North America. Probably Zinzendorf, whose attention
had been caught by the attractive advertisements of the Trustees, had
unofficially suggested the idea to them.
Lest his opening negotiations with the English Company should foment the
trouble at home, he sent his first communication to them anonymously,
about the end of 1733.
“A nobleman, of the Protestant religion, connected with the most
influential families of Germany, has decided to live for a time in
America, without, however, renouncing his estates in Germany. But as
circumstances render it inadvisable for him to take such a step hastily,
he wishes to send in advance a number of families of his dependents,
composed of honest, sturdy, industrious, skillful, economical people,
well ordered in their domestic affairs, who, having no debts, will try
to sell such possessions as they cannot take with them in order to raise
the funds for establishing themselves in their new home.
“This nobleman, on his part, promises:
(1) To be governed by the King, and the English Nation, in all things,
matters of conscience alone excepted; that is, he will be true to the
Prince, the Protestant Succession, and Parliament in everything relating
to the estates he may receive in this country, and thereto will pledge
his life, and the property he may in future hold under the protection of
His Majesty of Great Britain.
(2) To be surety for the dependents that he sends over, and to assume
only such jurisdiction over them as is customary among English Lords on
their estates.
(3) To carefully repay the English Nation such sums as may be advanced
for his establishment in Georgia, and moreover, as soon as the property
is in good condition, to consider it only as rented until the obligation
is discharged.
(4) To assist the King and Nation, with all zeal and by all means in his
power, to carry out His Majesty’s designs for Georgia. He will bring to
that all the insight and knowledge of a man of affairs, who from youth
up has studied the most wholesome principles and laws for a State, and
has had personal experience in putting them into execution; but, on the
other hand, he has learned such self-control that he will meddle with
nothing in which his services are not desired.
“In consideration of these things the nobleman asks that--
(1) If more knowledge of his standing is desired he shall be expected to
give it to no one except a Committee of Parliament, composed of members
of both houses, appointed by his Britannic Majesty, or to a Committee of
the ‘Collegii directoriatis’ of America, who shall be empowered to grant
his requests; this in view of the fact that the petitioner is a German
Nobleman, whose family is well known, his father having been Ambassador
to England, and his kindred among the foremost statesmen of Europe.
(2) After the Committee has received sufficient and satisfactory
information it shall be silent in regard to the circumstances and
his personality, as he has weighty reasons for not wishing to subject
himself to criticism.
(3) He shall be given a written agreement, guaranteeing the following
things:
a. That he shall receive enough land for a household
of fifty to sixty persons, and for about a hundred other dependents,
most of whom have a trade or profession, and all able
to help build up the country.
b. That his dependents shall be given free transportation,
and supplies for the voyage.
c. That they shall be taken directly to the place mentioned
in the agreement.
d. That he and his agent shall have certain sums advanced to him
for the expenses of the removal to Georgia, the money to be given them
only when they are ready to embark in England,--payment to be made
several years later, a rate of interest having been mutually agreed on,
and the estate in Georgia being given for security if necessary.
e. All that is needed for the building of a village for himself and
his dependents shall be furnished them,--but as an interest bearing loan.
f. That he, and the colonists who will go with him, shall have
full religious liberty, they being neither papists nor visionaries.
g. That if any of his dependents should fall into error
no one should attempt to correct them, but leave him to handle the matter
according to his own judgment; on the other hand he will stand surety
for the conduct of his dependents as citizens.
h. That he and his descendents shall be taken under the protection
of the English Nation if they request it.
i. That he may be permitted to choose whether he will go himself to Georgia,
or send a representative to set his affairs in order, and if the latter,
then the representative shall receive the courteous treatment
that would have been accorded him.
j. That those among his colonists who wish to preach the gospel
to the heathen shall be allowed to do so; and their converts shall have
the same religious freedom as his colonists.
k. That he and his dependents in Georgia shall be given the privileges
in spiritual affairs which the independent Lords of Germany enjoy
in temporal affairs.
l. That all his property shall be at the service of the State
in time of need, but neither he nor his dependents shall be called on
for military duty, in lieu whereof he will, if necessary,
pay a double war tax.”
From this document it appears that even at this early stage of the
negotiations Zinzendorf’s plans for the settlement in Georgia were well
matured. A town was to be built by his colonists, where they should have
all privileges for the free exercise of their religion; they, as thrifty
citizens, were to assist in the upbuilding of Georgia; they were to
preach the gospel to the heathen; they were NOT to bear arms, but in
case of war to pay a double tax. His careful avoidance of the plea
of religious persecution was caused by the fact that his own King had
ordered the exile of the Schwenkfelders, for Zinzendorf all his life
sought to pay due respect to those in authority, and even when his
conscience forced him to differ with them it was done with perfect
courtesy, giving equal weight to all parts of the commandment “Honor all
men; love the brotherhood; fear God; honor the King.”
The proposals of the Count were forwarded through Herr von Pfeil, and
were presented to the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia by a Mr. Lorenz.
Who this gentleman was does not appear, but a man bearing that name was
one of the Germans, living in London, who in 1737 formed a society for
religious improvement under the influence of Count Zinzendorf.
Through the same channel the answer of the Trustees was returned:
“Mr. Lorenz,
The proposals sent by Baron Pfeil from Ratisbon (Regensberg) to the
Trustees of Georgia have been read at their meeting, but as they see
that the gentleman asks pecuniary assistance for the establishment he
contemplates, they answer that they have absolutely no fund from which
to defray such expenses, but that in case the gentleman who suggests it
wishes to undertake the enterprise at his own cost they will be able to
grant him land in Georgia on conditions to which no one could object,
and which he may learn as soon as the Trustees have been informed that
he has decided to go at his own expense. You will have the kindness to
forward this to Baron Pfeil, and oblige,
your most humble
servant J. Vernon.”
Whether this plea of “no fund” was prompted by indifference, or whether
they really considered the money appropriated by Parliament as intended
for the Salzburgers alone, is immaterial. Perhaps Zinzendorf’s very
proposals to consider any assistance as a loan made them think him able
to finance the scheme himself.
The Schwenkfelders, being under orders to expatriate themselves,
left Berthelsdorf on the 26th of May, 1734, under the leadership of
Christopher Wiegner (sometimes called George in Moravian MSS.) and at
their request George Boehnisch, one of the Herrnhut Moravians, went with
them. Their plan was to go through Holland to England, and thence to
Georgia, but in the former country they changed their minds and sailed
for Pennsylvania. In December of the same year Spangenberg was in
Rotterdam, where he lodged with a Dr. Koker, from whom he learned the
reason for their, until then, unexplained behavior. Dr. Koker belonged
to a Society calling themselves the “Collegiants”, the membership of
which was drawn from the Reformed, Lutheran, and various other churches.
Their cardinal principles were freedom of speech, freedom of belief, and
liberty to retain membership in their own denominations if they desired.
The Society was really an offshoot of the Baptist Church, differing,
however, in its non-insistance upon a particular form of baptism. Twice
a year the members met in the Lord’s Supper, to which all were welcomed
whose life was beyond reproach. In Holland they enjoyed the same
privileges as other sects, and had a following in Amsterdam, Haarlem,
Rotterdam, Leyden, etc.
It appeared that the Schwenkfelders had first addressed themselves to
these Collegiants, especially to Cornelius van Putten in Haarlem, and
Pieter Koker in Rotterdam, but when their need grew more pressing they
appealed to Count Zinzendorf. When he was not able to obtain for them
all they wanted, they turned again to the Collegiants, and were in
conference with them in Rotterdam. The Collegiants were very much
opposed to the Georgia Colony,--“the Dutch intensely disliked anything
that would connect them with England,”--and although Thomas Coram,
one of the Trustees, who happened to be in Rotterdam, promised the
Schwenkfelders free transportation (which had been refused Zinzendorf),
the Collegiants persuaded them not to go to Georgia. Their chief
argument was that the English Government sent its convicts to Georgia, a
proof that it was not a good land, and the Schwenkfelders were also told
that the English intended to use them as slaves.
Disturbed by this view of the case, the Schwenkfelders accepted an offer
of free transportation to Pennsylvania, where they arrived in safety on
the 22nd of September.
Spangenberg had wished to serve as their pastor in Georgia, thinking it
would give him opportunity to carry out his cherished wish to bear the
gospel message to the heathen, and he felt himself still in a measure
bound to them, despite their change of purpose, and at a somewhat later
time did visit them in their new home. There was some idea of then
taking them to Georgia, but it did not materialize, and they remained
permanently in Pennsylvania, settling in the counties of Montgomery,
Berks and Lehigh. Their descendents there preserve the customs of their
fathers, and are the only representatives of the Schwenkfelder form of
doctrine, the sect having become extinct in Europe.
Preliminary Steps.
While the exile of the Schwenkfelders was the immediate cause which
led Zinzendorf to open negotiations with the Trustees of the Colony
of Georgia, the impulse which prompted him involved far more than mere
assistance to them. Foreign Missions, in the modern sense of the word,
were almost unknown in Zinzendorf’s boyhood, yet from his earliest days
his thoughts turned often to those who lay beyond the reach of gospel
light. In 1730, while on a visit to Copenhagen, he heard that the
Lutheran Missionary Hans Egede, who for years had been laboring single
handed to convert the Eskimos of Greenland, was sorely in need of help;
and Anthony, the negro body-servant of a Count Laurwig, gave him a most
pathetic description of the condition of the negro slaves in the Danish
West Indies.
Filled with enthusiasm, Zinzendorf returned to Herrnhut, and poured the
two stories into willing ears, for ever since the great revival of 1727
the Moravian emigrants had been scanning the field, anxious to carry the
“good news” abroad, and held back only by the apparent impossibility of
going forward. Who were they, without influence, without means, without
a country even, that they should take such an office upon themselves?
But the desire remained, and at this summons they prepared to do the
impossible. In August, 1732, two men started for St. Thomas,--in April,
1733, three more sailed for Greenland, and in the face of hardships that
would have daunted men of less than heroic mold, successful missions
were established at both places.
But this was not enough. “My passionate desire,” wrote Zinzendorf from
Herrnhut in January, 1735, “my passionate desire to make Jesus known
among the heathen has found a satisfaction in the blessed Greenland, St.
Thomas and Lapp work, but without appeasing my hunger. I therefore look
into every opportunity which presents itself, seeking that the kingdom
of my Redeemer may be strengthened among men.”
Nor did he lack ready assistants, for the Moravians were as eager as he.
“When we in Herrnhut heard of Georgia, of which much was being published
in the newspapers, and when we realized the opportunity it would give
to carry the Truth to the heathen, several Brethren, who had the Lord’s
honor much at heart, were led, doubtless by His hand, to think that it
would be a good plan to send some Brethren thither, if it might please
the Lord to bless our work among the heathen, and so to bring those poor
souls, now far from Christ, nigh unto Him. We tried to learn about the
land, but could secure no accurate information, for some spoke from
hearsay, others with prejudice, and many more with too great partiality.
But we at last decided to venture, in the faith that the Lord would help
us through.”
The needs of the Schwenkfelders gave a new turn to their thoughts, and
suggested the advantages that might accrue from a settlement in America
to which they might all retreat if the persecution in Saxony waxed
violent; but early in the year 1734, the question “Shall we go to
Georgia only as Colonists, or also as Missionaries?” was submitted to
the lot, and the answer was “As Missionaries also.”
The defection of the Schwenkfelders, therefore, while a serious
interference with the Herrnhut plan, was not allowed to ruin the
project. Zinzendorf wrote again to the Trustees, and they repeated their
promise of land, provided his colonists would go at their own expense.
After much consultation the decision was reached that Zinzendorf should
ask for a tract of five hundred acres, and that ten men should be sent
over to begin a town, their families and additional settlers to follow
them in a few months.
The next step was to find a way to send these men across the Atlantic.
Baron George Philipp Frederick von Reck, a nephew of Herr von Pfeil,
who had led the first company of Salzburgers to Georgia, was planning to
take a second company in the course of the next months. He was young and
enthusiastic, met Zinzendorf’s overtures most kindly, and even visited
Herrnhut in the early part of October, 1734, when, as it happened,
nine of the prospective colonists were formally presented to the
Congregation. Baron Reck was very much impressed, promised to take with
him to Georgia any of the Moravians who wished to go, and even sent to
David Nitschmann, who was to conduct the party as far as London, full
authorization to bring as many as desired to come, promising each
man who went at his own expense a fifty-acre freehold in Georgia, and
offering others necessary assistance when they reached London. This
paper was signed at Bautzen, October 22nd, 1734.
But Reck had failed to realize the force of the Halle opposition to
Herrnhut, and soon weakened under the weight of persuasion and command
laid upon him by those whose opinion he felt obliged to respect. On the
4th of November he wrote from Windhausen to Graf Stolberg Wernigerode,
“I have hesitated and vexed myself in much uncertainty whether or not I
should go with the Herrnhuters to America. And now I know that God has
heard our prayer at Halle and Wernigerode, and your letters have decided
me to stay in Germany this winter, in the first place because my
going would be a grief to my dear Urlsperger, whom I love as a father,
secondly because the English will send over a third transport of
Salzburgers in the coming spring and wish me to take them, and thirdly
because I wish to obey worthy and chosen men of God.”
He wrote to the same effect to Zinzendorf, and the Count, though
doubtless annoyed, replied simply: “Your Highness’ resolution to
accommodate yourself to your superiors would be known by us all for
right. You will then not blame us if we go our way as it is pointed out
to us by the Lord.”
A few days later Reck received a sharp note from the Trustees of
Georgia, reproving him for his temerity in agreeing to take the
Moravians with him to Georgia without consulting them, and reiterating
the statement that the funds in their hands had been given for the use
of the Salzburgers, and could be used for them alone.
The young man must have winced not a little under all this censure,
but while he yielded his plan to the wishes of the Halle party, he
held firmly to the opinion he had formed of the Moravians. He wrote to
Urlsperger and others in their behalf, declaring that they were a godly
people, much misunderstood, that it was a shame to persecute them and
try to hinder their going to Georgia, and he felt sure that if their
opponents would once meet the Moravians and converse with them freely,
confidentially, and without prejudice, they would come to respect them
as he did. He also suggested that there were many protestants remaining
in Bohemia, who would gladly leave, and who might be secured for Georgia
on the terms offered to the Salzburgers. The next year in fact, an
effort was made to obtain permission from the Austrian Government for
the emigration of these people, and Reck was authorized by the Trustees
to take them to Georgia, but nothing came of it.
Nor did his championship of the Bohemians and Moravians already in
Saxony have any result. Urlsperger was offended that the negotiations
from Herrnhut with the Trustees were not being carried on through him,
“the only one in Germany to whom the Trustees had sent formal authority
to receive people persecuted on account of religion, or forced to
emigrate,” and the Halle party were unable or unwilling to meet the
leaders of the Moravians “without prejudice”. The company of Salzburgers
therefore sailed for Georgia in November without Baron von Reck, and
without the Moravians, Mr. Vat acting as Commissary.
The Moravians, meanwhile, were not waiting idly for matters to turn
their way, but even before Reck reached his decision Spangenberg had
started for England to arrange personally with the Georgia Trustees for
their emigration.
August Gottlieb Spangenberg was born July 15th, 1704, at Klettenberg,
Prussia. In the year 1727, while a student at Jena, he became acquainted
with the Moravians through a visit of two of their number, which won
them many friends at that institution. Later, when he was Assistant
Professor of Theology at Halle, he was required to sever his connection
with the Moravians, or leave the University, and choosing the latter
he came to Herrnhut in the spring of 1733. He was one of the strongest,
ablest, and wisest leaders that the Unitas Fratrum has ever had, and
eventually became a Bishop of the Unity, and a member of its governing
board. He was a writer of marked ability, and in his diaries was
accustomed to speak of himself as “Brother Joseph”, by which name he was
also widely known among the Moravians.
Spangenberg left Herrnhut in the late summer or early fall of 1734,
bearing with him Zinzendorf’s Power of Attorney to receive for him a
grant from the Georgia Trustees of five hundred acres of land, and
to transact all other necessary business. He stopped for some time in
Holland, where he made a number of acquaintances, some of whom gave him
letters of introduction to friends in England and in America, and
others contributed toward the necessary expenses of the emigrants. From
Rotterdam he wrote to Zinzendorf, saying that he heard no ship would
sail for America before February or March, and that he thought it would
be best for the colonists to wait until he wrote from London, and then
to come by way of Altona, as the Holland route was very expensive. These
suggestions, however, came too late, as the party had left Herrnhut
before the arrival of his letter.
Spangenberg had a stormy voyage to England, and on reaching London,
rented a room in “Mr. Barlow’s Coffee House,” in Wattling’s street, near
St. Anthelius Church.” He found the outlook rather discouraging, and a
long letter written on the 10th of January, gives a vivid picture of
the English mind regarding the “Herrnhuters”. Spangenberg had called on
several merchants to see if he could arrange a loan for the Moravians,
for Zinzendorf’s means were already strained to the utmost by what he
was doing for the Church, and he did not see how it was possible to
provide the money in any other way. But the merchants declined to make
the loan, saying: “We can not take the land (in Georgia) as surety,
for it is not yet settled, and no man would give us a doit for it; the
personal security (of the emigrants) is also not sufficient, for they
might all die on the sea or in Georgia,--there is danger of it, for the
land is warmer than Europeans can bear, and many who have moved thither
have died; if they settle on the land and then die the land reverts
to the Trustees, so we would lose all; and the six per cent interest
offered is not enough, for the money applied to business would yield
twenty per cent.
Others objected to having the Moravians go at all, especially Court
Preacher Ziegenhagen, who belonged to the Halle party, and who,
Spangenberg found, had much influence on account of his good judgment
and spotless character. They claimed: (1) That the Moravians were not
oppressed in Saxony, and had no good reason for wishing to leave; (2)
that to say they wished to be near the heathen was only an excuse, for
Georgia had nothing to do with the West Indies where they had a mission;
(3) the Moravians could not bear the expense, and neither the Trustees
nor the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge would help
them; (4) they could neither speak nor understand English, and would
therefore be unable to support themselves in an English colony; (5)
their going would create confusion, for Herr Bolzius, the pastor of
the Salzburgers at Ebenezer, had written to beg that they should not be
allowed to come; (6) if they went it would involve England in trouble
with Saxony, and the Georgia Colony was not meant to take other rulers’
subjects away from them, only to furnish an asylum for exiles, and poor
Englishmen; (7) the Moravians could not remain subject to Zinzendorf,
for they must all become naturalized Englishmen; (8) the suggestion that
Zinzendorf’s land could be cultivated by the heathen was absurd, for
slavery was not permitted in Georgia and the Moravians could not afford
to hire them; (9) ten or fifteen men, as were said to be on the way,
would never be able to make headway in settling the forest, a task which
had been almost too much for the large company of Salzburgers.
Some of these statements dealt with facts, about which the critics
might have acquired better information, had they so desired, others were
prophecies of which only the years to come could prove or disprove
the truth, others again touched difficulties which were even then
confronting Count Zinzendorf’s agent; but in the light of contemporary
writings and later developments, it is possible to glance at each point
and see in how far the Halle party were justified in their argument. (1)
The treatment in Saxony, while not as yet a persecution which threatened
them with torture and death, had many unpleasant features, and the
constant agitation against them might at any time crystalize into harsh
measures, for those members of the Herrnhut community who had left
friends and relatives in the homelands of Bohemia and Moravia were
already forbidden to invite them to follow, or even to receive them if
they came unasked seeking religious freedom. (2) There was no idea of
associating the missions in Georgia and the West Indies, for the heathen
whom they wished to reach by this new settlement were the Creek and
Cherokee Indians with whom Governor Oglethorpe had already established
pleasant relations, bringing several of their chiefs to England, and
sending them home filled with admiration for all they had seen, much
impressed by the kindness shown them, and willing to meet any efforts
that might be made to teach them. (3) The money question was a vital
one, and it was principally to solve that that Spangenberg had come to
England, where with Oglethorpe’s help he later succeeded in securing the
desired loan. (4) That they could speak little English was also a real
difficulty; Spangenberg used Latin in his conferences with the educated
men he met in London, but that medium was useless in Georgia, and while
the Moravians learned English as rapidly as they could, and proved
their capability for self-support, the failure to fully understand or
be understood by their neighbors was responsible for many of the trials
that were awaiting them in the New World. (5) The protest of Bolzius was
only a part of the general Salzburger opposition, and to avoid friction
in Georgia, Zinzendorf had particularly recommended that the Moravians
settle in a village apart by themselves, where they could “lead godly
lives, patterned after the writings and customs of the apostles,”
without giving offense to any; and he promised, for the same reason,
that as soon as they were established he would send them a regularly
ordained minister, although laymen were doing missionary work in other
fields. (6) In order to avoid any danger of creating trouble between
the Governments, the Moravian colonists carefully said nothing in London
regarding their difficulties in Saxony, or the persecutions in Bohemia
and Moravia, and instead of proclaiming themselves exiles for the Faith
as they might have done with perfect truth, they appeared simply as
Count Zinzendorf’s servants, sent by him to cultivate the five hundred
acres about to be given to him, and by his orders to preach to the
Indians. (7) A change of nationality would not affect the relation
between Zinzendorf and his colonists, for their position as his
dependents in Germany was purely voluntary, such service as they
rendered was freely given in exchange for his legal protection, and
his supremacy in Church affairs then and later was a recognition of
the personal character of the man, not a yielding of submission to the
Count. (8) That the Indians could not be employed on Zinzendorf’s estate
was quite true, not so much on account of the law against slavery, for
the Count intended nothing of that kind, but their character and wild
habits rendered them incapable of becoming good farmers, as the American
Nation has learned through many years of effort and failure. (9) Whether
the ten or fifteen men, reinforced by those who followed them, would
have been able to make a home in the heart of the forest, will never be
known, for from various reasons the town on the five hundred acre
tract was never begun. In short, while the Moravians were risking
much personal discomfort, there was nothing in their plan which could
possibly injure others, and the cavil and abuse of their opposers was as
uncalled for as is many a “private opinion publicly expressed” to-day.
Hearing of the many obstacles which were being thrown in their way, Mr.
Coram, who was a man of wide charities, and interested in other colonies
besides Georgia, suggested to Spangenberg that his company should go
to Nova Scotia, where the climate was milder, and offered them free
transportation and aid in settling there, but this proposal Spangenberg
at once rejected, and pinned his faith on the kindness of Gen.
Oglethorpe, whose return from Georgia the preceding July, explained the
more favorable tone of the Trustees’ letters after that date. Oglethorpe
asked him numberless questions about the doctrine and practice of the
Moravians, and their reasons for wishing to go to Georgia, and promised
to lay the matter before the Trustees, using all his influence to
further their designs.
The “First Company”.
On the 14th of January, 1735, the first company of Moravian colonists
arrived in London. At their head was David Nitschmann,--variously
called “the III”, “the weaver”, “the Syndic”, and Count Zinzendorf’s
“Hausmeister”, who was to stay with them until they left England,
and then return to Germany, resigning the leadership of the party to
Spangenberg, who was instructed to take them to Georgia and establish
them there, and then go to Pennsylvania to the Schwenkfelders. The other
nine were
John Toeltschig, Zinzendorf’s flower-gardener.
Peter Rose, a gamekeeper.
Gotthard Demuth, a joiner.
Gottfried Haberecht, weaver of woolen goods.
Anton Seifert, a linen weaver.
George Waschke, carpenter.
Michael Haberland, carpenter.
George Haberland, mason.
Friedrich Riedel, mason.
They were “good and true sons of God, and at the same time skillful
workmen,” with such a variety of handicrafts as to render them largely
independent of outside assistance in the settlement which they proposed
to make; and all but Haberecht were religious refugees from Moravia and
adjacent parts of Bohemia.
Nitschmann and Toeltschig were two of the five young men in Zauchenthal,
Moravia, who had set their hearts on the revival of the ancient Unitas
Fratrum. Toeltschig’s father, the village burgess, had summoned the
five comrades before him, and strictly forbidden their holding religious
services, warning them that any attempt at emigration would be severely
punished, and advising them to act as became their youth, frequent the
taverns and take part in dances and other amusements. They were sons of
well-to-do parents, and little more than boys in years, (Nitschmann
was only twenty), but their faith and purpose were dearer to them than
anything else on earth, so they had left all and come away, commending
their homes and kindred to the mercy of God, and singing the exile hymn
of the ancient Unitas Fratrum, sacred through its association with those
brave hearts who had known the bitterness and the joy of exile a hundred
years before.
“Blessed the day when I must go
My fatherland no more to know,
My lot the exile’s loneliness;
“For God will my protector be,
And angels ministrant for me
The path with joys divine will bless.
“And God to some small place will guide
Where I may well content abide
And where this soul of mine may rest.
“As thirsty harts for water burn,
For Thee, my Lord and God, I yearn,
If Thou are mine my life is blest.”
Though holding positions as Count Zinzendorf’s hausmeister and gardener,
both Nitschmann and Toeltschig were actively employed in the affairs of
the renewed Unitas Fratrum, and had been to England in 1728 to try to
establish relations with the Society for the Propagation of Christian
Knowledge, though without success. They were the better fitted,
therefore, to conduct the party to England, and to share in the
negotiations already begun by Spangenberg.
This “first company” left Herrnhut on the 21st of November, 1734,
traveling by Ebersdorf (where Henry XXIX, Count Reuss, Countess
Zinzendorf’s brother, gave them a letter of recommendation to any whom
they might meet on their way), to Holland, whence they had a stormy and
dangerous voyage to England.
The day after they reached London they called on Gen. Oglethorpe and
having gained admittance with some difficulty they were very well
received by him, carrying on a conversation in a mixture of English and
German, but understanding each other fairly well. Spangenberg coming
in most opportunely, the Moravian affairs were fully discussed, and the
new-comers learned that their arrival had been fortunately timed, for
the Georgia Trustees were to hold one of their semi-annual meetings two
days later, when Oglethorpe could press their matter, and a ship was to
sail for Georgia the latter part of the month. Oglethorpe was disturbed
to find that the colonists had failed to raise any money toward their
expenses, but promised to try and assist them in that also.
On the 18th the colonists were formally presented to the Trustees,
heard the lively argument for and against their cause, and had the
satisfaction of seeing the vote cast in their favor. It was contrary
to the custom of the Trustees to grant lands to any who did not come in
person to apply for them and declare their intention of going to
Georgia to settle, but Oglethorpe’s argument that the high rank of Count
Zinzendorf was entitled to consideration was accepted and five hundred
acres of land were granted to the Count and his male heirs.
The Indenture bore date of Jan. 10, 1734, Old Style, (Jan. 21, 1735,)*
and the five hundred acres were “to be set out limited and bounded in
Such Manner and in Such Part or Parts of the said Province as shall be
thought most convenient by such Person or Persons as shall by the said
Common Council be for that Purpose authorized and appointed,” there
being a verbal agreement that the tract should be in the hilly country
some distance from the coast, which, though less accessible and less
easily cultivated, lay near the territory occupied by the Indians. Five
pounds per annum was named as the quit rent, payment to begin eight
years later; and such part of the tract as was not cleared and improved
during the next eighteen years was to revert to the Trustees. The
Trustees also agreed that they would reserve two hundred acres near the
larger tract, and whenever formally requested by Count Zinzendorf,
would grant twenty acres each “to such able bodied Young Men Servants as
should arrive and settle with him in the said Province of Georgia.”
* This IS written correctly. See the author’s explanation
of the calendar in Chapter IV.--A. L., 1996.--
In addition to the five hundred acres granted to Zinzendorf, fifty acres
were given to Spangenberg, and fifty acres to Nitschmann, although as
the latter was not going to Georgia, and the former did not intend to
stay, this alone was a departure from the custom of the Trustees.
Each of the fifty acre grants was in three parts, a lot in the town
of Savannah, a five acre garden, and a forty-five acre farm, and while
their acquisition had not been a part of the Herrnhut plan the colonists
readily yielded to the advice of their English friends, who pointed out
the necessity of having a place to stay when they reached Savannah, and
land that they could at once begin to cultivate, without waiting for the
selection and survey of the larger tract. In fact, though they knew it
not, these two grants, which lay side by side, were destined to be the
scene of all their experiences in the Province of Georgia.
The Trustees seem to have been pleased with the appearance of their new
settlers, and approved of their taking passage in the ship that was to
sail the latter part of the month. Since the vessel had been chartered
by the Trustees, they promised to make no charge for such baggage as
the Moravians wished to take with them, arranged that they should have
a portion of the ship for themselves instead of being quartered with
the other passengers, and offered Spangenberg a berth in the Captain’s
cabin. This he declined, preferring to share equally with his Brethren
in the hardships of the voyage. Medicine was put into his hands to
be dispensed to those who might need it, and he was requested to take
charge of about forty Swiss emigrants who wished to go in the same
vessel on their way to Purisburg in South Carolina, where they sought
better material conditions than they had left at home.
Land having been secured, Gen. Oglethorpe arranged that the Trustees
should lend the “First Company” 60 Pounds, payable in five years, with
the understanding that if repaid within that time the interest should
be remitted, otherwise to be charged at ten per cent., the usual rate in
South Carolina. Of this 10 Pounds was spent in London for supplies,
and 50 Pounds paid their passage across the Atlantic. The ten men
(Spangenberg taking Nitschmann’s place) pledged themselves jointly and
severally to the payment of the debt, the bond being signed on Jan.
22nd, (Jan. 11th, O. S.) the day after the grant of the land.
In addition to this Oglethorpe collected 26 Pounds 5 Shillings, as a
gift for the Moravians, 10 Pounds being presented to them in cash in
London, and the rest forwarded to Savannah with instructions that
they should be supplied with cattle, hogs and poultry to that
amount. Oglethorpe further instructed Messrs. Toojesiys and Baker, of
Charlestown, to honor Spangenberg’s drafts on him to the amount of 20
Pounds, so securing the settlers against possible need in their new
home.
The next day Gen. Oglethorpe presented Spangenberg to the Bishop of
London, who received him very kindly. Oglethorpe’s idea was that the
Moravians might ally themselves closely with the Church of England, and
that the Bishop might, if they wished, ordain one of their members from
Herrnhut. Spangenberg and Nitschmann were not authorized to enter into
any such agreement, but both welcomed the opportunity to establish
pleasant relations with the English clergy, and several interviews were
had which served as a good opening for intercourse in later years.
Until their vessel sailed, the Moravians found plenty to interest
them in the “terribly great city”, where they were regarded with much
interest, and where they were greatly touched by the unexpected kindness
they received.
They had interviews with the Trustees, with Mr. Vernon, and with Gen.
Oglethorpe, who gave them much information as to what to expect in their
new home, and many suggestions as to the best way of beginning
their settlement. Spangenberg was presented to the “Society for the
Propagation of Christian Knowledge”, was courteously received, offered
more books than he was willing to accept, invited to correspond with the
Society, and urged to keep on friendly terms with the Salzburgers, which
he assured them he sincerely desired to do. Conversations with Court
Preacher Ziegenhagen were not so pleasant, for a letter had come from
Senior Urlsperger inveighing against the Moravians and Ziegenhagen put
forth every effort to reclaim Spangenberg from the supposed error of
his ways, and to persuade him to stop the company about to start for
Georgia, or at least to separate himself from them, and return to the
old friends at Halle. Oglethorpe smiled at the prejudice against the
Moravians, and told them frankly that efforts had been made to influence
him, but he had preferred to wait and judge for himself. “It has ever
been so,” he said, “from the time of the early Christians; it seems
to be the custom of theologians to call others heretics. They say, in
short, ‘you do not believe what I believe, a Mohammedan also does not
believe what I believe, therefore you are a Mohammedan;’ and again ‘you
explain this Bible passage so and so, the Socinian also explains it so
and so, therefore you are a Socinian.’” As for opposition, he, too, was
beginning to find it since the Georgia Colony was proving a success.
Meanwhile new friends were springing up on every side of the Moravians.
A doctor helped them lay in a store of medicine, another gave them
some balsam which was good for numberless external and internal uses. A
German merchant, who had become an English citizen, helped them purchase
such things as they would require in Georgia, and a cobbler assisted
Riedel in buying a shoemaker’s outfit. Weapons were offered to all the
members of the party, but declined, as they wished to give no excuse to
any one who might try to press them into military service. They yielded,
however, to the argument that they would need to protect themselves
against wolves and bears, and sent Peter Rose, the gamekeeper, with Mr.
Verelst, one of the secretaries of the Trustees, to purchase a fowling
piece and hunting knives.
Letters of introduction to various prominent men in America were given
to them; and, perhaps most important of all in its future bearing,
people discovered the peculiar charm of the Moravian services. Reference
is made in the diaries to one and another,--from English clergyman to
Germans resident in London,--who joined with them in their devotions,
and seemed much moved thereby. Neither was it a passing emotion, for the
seed a little later blossomed into the English Moravian Church.
And so the month passed swiftly by, and the ship was ready to commence
her long voyage.