Spangenberg’s Visit.
After Spangenberg had decided not to comply with the request contained
in the letter from Savannah, but to stay and prosecute the work among
the Schwenkfelders, where a door seemed to be opening, he became
conscious of a feeling of uneasiness, an impression that he was needed
in Georgia. This was increased by news of the expected Spanish outbreak,
for so general was the alarm that all the war-ships in the northern
harbors were ordered to Carolina, and the selling of supplies to the
Spaniards was absolutely prohibited.
At this point George Neisser and Benjamin Ingham came, bringing word of
the pressure on the Moravians, their decision to leave Georgia as soon
as it could be arranged, and their request that Spangenberg should go
to England with Ingham to see the Trustees, and secure their consent. Of
this plan Spangenberg did not approve, for he thought the war would ruin
everything, or else the danger would be over, before he could make the
long journey to England, and return. Ingham professed himself ready
to carry letters to the Trustees, and do his best to influence them
to grant the Moravian requests, so Spangenberg decided to entrust that
errand to him, and himself go at once to Georgia, to see whether he
could not help matters there.
John Eckstein, a resident of Germantown, a middle-aged man who was
in entire sympathy with Spangenberg’s plans for religious work in
Pennsylvania, resolved to accompany him on his trip to Georgia. They
sailed from Philadelphia on the 22nd of May, 1737, and had a long and
very trying voyage. The Captain and crew were evil men, given to cursing
and swearing, and more than once they threatened to murder the two
passengers, whom they called sorcerers, and accused of bringing the
continuous head winds and frequent storms upon them. Seventy-seven long
days the voyage lasted; twice they sailed southward past Cape Hatteras,
and twice were they driven back to north and east, taking weeks to
recover the distance lost; and the Captain finally discovered that not
only were the elements against him, but his helmsman was slyly hindering
their progress all he could, for some malicious purpose of his own.
To the mental strain of the long journey was added physical discomfort,
for firewood gave out, so that no cooking could be done, and for a month
the crew lived on hard tack, dried cherries soaked in water, and raw
fish,--dolphins caught as need required. Spangenberg and his companion
had brought provisions to supplement the ship’s fare, but long before
the voyage was ended their store of butter and sugar was exhausted.
Dried ham and tongue had a tendency to increase their thirst, but by
soaking tea in cold water they made a beverage which bore at least a
fancied resemblance to that brewed on shore. Then the supply of water
ran low, each man’s allowance was reduced to a pint a day, and even this
small amount would have failed had they not been able occasionally to
catch rainwater to replenish their casks. The Captain at last opened
a keg of beer found in his cargo, and sold his passengers enough to
relieve their thirst, for which they were very grateful.
But unkind words, delay, uncooked food, thirst, were not all that
Spangenberg and his companion had to bear, for actual danger was added
to their experience from time to time. High waves broke over the
ship, winds tore away the sails, and a water-spout threatened total
destruction. So late was the ship in reaching port that she was given
up for lost, and word was sent to Pennsylvania which caused much
grief,--needless grief, for Spangenberg’s days of service were not to be
ended thus. It sounds almost trivial to say that in the midst of trials
of body, mind and soul Spangenberg occupied himself with making buttons,
but no doubt the homely, useful labor did its part toward rendering
endurable the seemingly endless days.
At last, on the 7th of August, the ship ran on a sandbank near Tybee,
and the Moravians, hearing that Spangenberg was on board, took a boat
and brought him to Savannah. They had asked him to go to England, he had
disregarded their request and come to Georgia, but he was dear to them
through many months of united service and mutual help, and they gave him
a hearty welcome, ignoring all cause for complaint, and taking him at
once into their full confidence. He and Toeltschig sat up all of the
first night carefully discussing the condition of affairs and what could
be done to remedy them. Their views were very different, for Spangenberg
thought they had been too hasty in deciding to leave Georgia, while
Toeltschig felt that it was a reflection on the lot to try and hold them
in Savannah, when the lot had said “go”. But Toeltschig possessed the
rare art of seeing a disputed question through the eyes of those who did
not agree with him, as well as from his own standpoint, and now, with
no petty self-assertion, he quietly awaited developments, and told
Spangenberg all that had happened since Neisser’s departure.
As the alarm concerning an immediate invasion by the Spanish had died
away, the inhabitants of Savannah had regained their composure, and the
wild outcry against the Moravians gradually ceased. The wagon and oxen
which had been taken for work on the fort had been returned to their
owners, after seven or eight weeks of hard usage, and the hope that
starvation would shake the resolution of the non-combatants had signally
failed of fulfillment. The ship which was to bring the town supplies had
been twelve weeks late in coming, and the stock in the store-house
was almost exhausted. The authorities therefore had announced that
provisions would be sold only to those who were helping build the fort.
This entirely excluded the Moravians, but instead of suffering from
hunger they had been able to share with some of their neighbors. The
prices charged at the store in Savannah were always high, so, as he was
passing through New York on his return from St. Thomas, Spangenberg had
asked a friend to send the Moravians two thousand pounds of flour and
salt-meat, for which they were to pay. The merchant at that time knew
of no ship sailing for Savannah, so in Philadelphia, Spangenberg had
arranged that two thousand pounds of meat should be sent from there
at once on a year’s credit. Meanwhile the New York merchant found an
opportunity to send what was ordered from him, so the Moravians had been
surprised by a double quantity, which proved to be just what they needed
during the general scarcity. When the friends in Pennsylvania heard that
provisions had been sent, but not enough to last until the next harvest,
they gave thirty-six hundred pounds of flour to Spangenberg to be taken,
as a present, to the Georgia Moravians, and when word was received that
Spangenberg’s ship was lost, they sent an additional eighteen hundred
pounds, so the “Society” was well supplied with this necessary article
of food for some time to come.
In their household affairs the Moravians had had various experiences.
Hermsdorf had been so thoroughly frightened by the demonstrations
against the Moravians that on the 16th of May he had sailed for Germany,
regardless of Toeltschig’s efforts to persuade him to wait, as his wife
might even then be on her way to join him. Not only did he fear the
townspeople so greatly that day and night he stayed in his room “as in
a prison”, but he was still more afraid to face Gen. Oglethorpe, who, it
was said, would soon return. Only once had he joined in the devotional
exercises of the household after his return from Frederica, and it was
rather a relief when he left for home, having first repaid the amount
of his passage to Georgia. He seems to have retained his connection with
the Moravian Church, for he was in Herrnhut when Wesley visited there,
and showed him many courtesies; and he is mentioned in 1742, as bearing
letters to the “Sea Congregation”, then about to sail for Pennsylvania.
On the 6th of June a four-year-old English boy had been taken into their
household. He was an orphan, and they meant to bring him up, but the
little fellow died on the 23rd of July.
On the 10th of June the matrimonial troubles of George Waschke and
Juliana Jaeschke had been happily terminated by their marriage. Waschke
had been one of the discontents ever since the arrival of the second
company, but when his marriage was finally arranged he professed himself
contrite, and promised all obedience to the rules of the “Society”, so
long as he stayed in Savannah, though he retained his desire to leave
as soon as possible. Juliana also had greatly improved in her behaviour
before the wedding.
This marriage was the cause of a very interesting discussion among the
Moravians, as to who should perform the ceremony. “In the afternoon
the Brethren met to decide who should be appointed to marry Waschke
and Juliana. Properly Br. Peter (Rose) should have been ordained by Br.
Anton (Seifert) to the office of a “Diener” in the Congregation, that he
might marry and baptize, but the Brethren did not think it necessary to
ordain him on Waschke’s account, and voted that Toeltschig should marry
them. He objected, but they said Toeltschig had been made a ‘Diener’ of
the Congregation at Herrnhut. He protested that he had not been sent
to Georgia to marry and baptize, and did not wish to do it. The others
insisted, and asked that the lot be tried; Toeltschig agreed to submit
to their wish, and the lot drawn read ‘he shall marry these two’,” which
he did the next day.
Parallel with this is the baptism of Rose’s twin daughters, Anna
Catherina and Maria Magdalena, who were born on the 16th of September,
1737,--Anna Catherina dying later in the same year. Of this Toeltschig
wrote: “I, at the request of the Brethren, baptized them in the name of
the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, after Br. Anton (Seifert)
had ordained me a “Diener” in the Congregation.”
It frequently happens that a puzzling action becomes clear when it is
considered from the standpoint of the man who has done it, but when
the motive can not be fathomed many things are hard to understand. That
Seifert had been empowered to delegate to another member a duty usually
reserved for the clergy, was reasonable, though unusual, for his serious
illness or death would have left the Congregation without ministration
until word could be sent to Germany, and some one else could come to
take his place,--a matter of months,--but, when the “Aeltester” was
present, in full health, in entire accord with his Congregation, and
when he in person confirmed candidates for Church membership, why did
he not marry and baptize directly, instead of ordaining a “Diener”
especially for those two offices? There must have been some regulation
in the Congregation at Herrnhut which led to it, for the idea that
Seifert himself should marry Waschke and Juliana, and baptize the Rose
children, evidently did not occur to them, but the rule can not now be
found, and there is no clue to the strange proceeding.
Soon after the Waschke affair had been settled to the satisfaction of
all parties, serious trouble had arisen with Jag and Haberecht. It was
reported to the Moravians that Jag had engaged himself to a Swiss woman
living in Savannah, and when questioned he admitted that it was true.
They argued with him, and pled with him, but to no avail, and finally
told him plainly that they would not allow him to bring the woman to
their house, and more than that, if he persisted in his determination
he would have to leave them; and angry and defiant he did take his
departure the next day, July the 10th.
That “troubles never come singly” was exemplified, for the very day that
Jag left, Haberecht went to Toeltschig, and asked if some way could not
be found so that HE could marry that same Swiss woman! Toeltschig was
almost stunned by this second blow, and gave a stern answer, whereupon
Haberecht applied to Seifert, the Aeltester, who was equally as
unyielding in his condemnation of the acquaintance already made, and his
refusal to countenance further steps. Poor Haberecht, less resolute than
Jag in his rebellion, drank deeply of the waters of Marah during the
next weeks; promising to give up the woman, who was really unworthy of
his regard, and then trying to draw Toeltschig into a discussion of his
possible marriage; despairingly making his way to the garden to hide
himself among the swine, feeling he was fit for no better company,
and then going to the woman and asking her to marry him, to which she
consented, having already thrown Jag over; again bitter repentance,
confession, and a plea that his associates would forgive him. Either he
was really in earnest this time, or Spangenberg’s arrival had a salutary
effect, for after that the Swiss woman disappears from the story, and
two months later Jag returned, promised good behaviour, and humbly asked
for readmittance to the household which was at once accorded him.
The first days of his visit to Savannah, Spangenberg spent in
acquainting himself with the condition of affairs, and in interviews
with the members singly and collectively, trying to persuade them to
content themselves in Georgia. The “bands” were reorganized, but he was
unable to re-establish a feeling of unity among them, and even those
who were willing to stay, and work, and try whether their plan might not
still be carried out, felt that it would be unwise to hold the rest, for
as Toeltschig wrote, almost with a groan, “it is a blessed thing to live
with a little company of brethren, who are of one heart and one soul,
where heart and mind are dedicated to Jesus, but so to live, when many
have weak wills and principles, and there must be a community of goods,
is rather difficult, especially when many seek their own ends, not the
things of Christ.”
Spangenberg was forced to see that his arguments were futile, and wisely
yielded to the inevitable. At a general conference each man was called
upon to state his wishes. Several desired to leave at the earliest
possible moment, others as soon as the debt was fully paid; two or three
wanted to return to Europe, others preferred to go to Pennsylvania to
Spangenberg; some longed to live among the Indians as missionaries,
while quite a number were content to stay in Savannah, unless absolutely
forced to leave, or definitely called to labor elsewhere. However, no
immediate steps were taken toward breaking up the settlement.
On the 12th of August, Spangenberg and Wesley visited the Salzburgers
at Ebenezer, by the invitation of Bolzius, the senior pastor. They, too,
had had their troubles without and within, and Gronau had mourned over
the fact to the Moravians, who deeply sympathized with him. At this time
Gronau and Bolzius differed greatly in their feeling for the Moravians.
Gronau was openly and honestly on the best of terms with them, but
Bolzius, while occasionally accepting their hospitality in Savannah,
sent complaints to the Trustees, in keeping with his original protest
against their coming to Georgia. The English friends of the Moravians
heard of these letters, and were much puzzled, as the reports from
the Savannah Congregation spoke only of pleasant relations with the
Salzburgers, and requests for union of the two forces. Probably Bolzius
was fretted by their refusal to join him, even as the leaders at Halle
resented the independence of Herrnhut, and after Gronau’s death, in
1745, the pastors of Ebenezer steadily opposed the efforts of the
Moravians to recommence a mission work in Georgia.
Apart from the friction with their fellow townsmen and the lack of
united purpose among their own number, Spangenberg found the Moravian
colony in good condition. Their devotional hours were steadily observed,
the Lord’s Supper was celebrated regularly, and a weekly conference kept
the many interests of the “Society” running smoothly.
By the aid of the second company, various improvements had been made, so
that their lots and garden presented a prosperous appearance. “They have
a house in town (on Spangenberg’s lot) with a supply of wood for the
kitchen. Behind the house is a well, with a pump, on which almost
the whole town depends, for it not only never goes dry, as do all the
others, but it has the best water to be found in the town. From early
morning to late at night the people come with barrels, pails and
pitchers, to take the water to their homes. Once some one suggested
that strangers should be charged so much a pail for the benefit of the
orphans, but Frank said ‘they have so far received spiritual water from
us without price, let them also have this freely.’ Between the well and
the house is a cow shed. They have a cow, which is pastured out during
the day, but comes back in the evening, and they use the milk and butter
for the sick. Near the shed is a kitchen and bake-oven, and on the other
side a hut for their provisions. Behind the well, on Nitschmann’s lot,
stands on one side Tanneberger’s and on the other Rose’s cabin, with
a roof between, under which the leather is stored, which is to be made
into shoes.
“Two English miles from the town they have cleared ten acres, (the
garden) and planted corn and rice, which is growing nicely. They have
set out mulberry, peach, and apple trees, which are doing well; in the
middle of the garden, which is enclosed with a fence and ditch, they
have built a corn-house, a cabin in which to live, and a stable.”
Another cabin, the first erected in the garden, had been burned in
January, at which time Mrs. Waschke was living in it, though she was
away when it caught fire, and returned too late to give an alarm and
save it. The farm four miles from town was proving unsatisfactory,
requiring much labor and yielding little return, and they had about
decided to stop cultivating it, and give all their effort to the garden,
which was paying well.
From the 14th to the 17th of August, Spangenberg busied himself with the
account between the Moravians and the Trustees. In addition to the bonds
signed by the first and second companies for their passage to Georgia,
and provisions to be delivered on arrival, it had been necessary to get
a great deal at the store on credit. On the other hand the men had done
a considerable amount of carpenter work and hauling for the Trustees and
for others. The account on the books at the Trustees’ store was all
in confusion, and as everybody at the store claimed to be too busy to
unravel it, Spangenberg obtained permission to do it himself, and found
that in addition to the bonds, (60 Pounds and 226 Pounds 13 Shillings 9
Pence,) the Moravians had taken supplies to an amount which gave them
a total debt of some 500 Pounds ($2,400.00). Against this they had
a credit which entirely paid their current account at the store, and
reduced their debt to the Trustees to 121 Pounds 2 Shillings 9 Pence,
($580.80).
On the 19th, a Lovefeast was held in honor of Spangenberg and Eckstein,
and on the 21st of August the two visitors sailed for Pennsylvania,
landing there safely in due time.
A Closing Door.
With the month of September letters began to come from England and
Germany in response to Dober’s report, and the communications sent by
Ingham, who presented the Moravian request to the Trustees, (receiving
“a sour answer”,) and also sent a full account of their circumstances
to Count Zinzendorf. The Count had already written to his distressed
brethren, giving his advice on various points, and this letter, which
was the first to arrive, gave them little comfort. They had once hoped
for reinforcements, earnest men and women who would strengthen their
hands for the work among the Indians, and even now it was disappointing
to hear that Zinzendorf had decided not to send any more colonists to
Georgia. He argued that it would take very few men to supply teachers
for Tomochichi’s little village, and that as the Trustees would only
permit four missionaries among the more distant tribes, that number
could easily be spared from the company already in Savannah.
Regarding military service he repeated his former definite instructions,
“you will not bear arms either defensive or offensive.” He said that he
had tried to secure from the Trustees a formal “dispensation”, either
verbal or written, exempting the Moravians entirely from military duty,
but they refused to give it, insisting that the Moravians must at least
employ two men to represent the two town lots in defense of the country.
Zinzendorf had agreed to this, so far as the night watch was concerned,
since such a watch was necessary for civic peace and well-being, and
the Moravians were authorized to pay the necessary sums therefor, but he
considered it inconsistent to refuse to fight as a matter of conscience
and then hire others to do it, and so, as he said, “there is nothing to
do but to say NO, and wait.”
Although Spangenberg had hoped it would not be necessary for the
Moravians to leave Georgia, he had sent the Trustees their request
for permission to go, adding, “Nor indeed is there any reason why they
should be detained, since it is their full intention and design to pay
every farthing of their debt before they stir a foot; and they have
never yet sold their liberty to any man, neither are they bound to any
man by any writing or agreement whatsoever. I doubt not therefore but
ye will readily shew the same clemency towards innocent and inoffensive
men, which any one may expect from your Honors, whose business is not to
destroy but to save and benefit mankind. May it please you therefore
to send orders to the Magistrate of Savannah that these people may
have leave to depart that Province. I do assure your Honors they always
thought it a great favor that ye were pleased to send them thither; but
now they will think it a greater to be dismissed.”
In reply the Trustees wrote to Mr. Causton, forbidding the introduction
of martial law without their express order, and reproving him for having
required more than two men from the Moravians, but in that very reproof
practically insisting that two must serve. The Moravians thought they
had defined their position clearly at the outset, and believed they had
the Trustees’ promise that all should be as they desired, and if the
Trustees realized the construction placed upon their words they had
taken a most unfair advantage of the Moravians by offering them the two
town lots as a special favor, and then using the ownership of those lots
as a lever to force unwelcome service. On the other hand the Trustees
claimed that Zinzendorf had tacitly agreed to furnish two fighting men
when he allowed Spangenberg and Nitschmann to take the two freeholds,
and one can hardly imagine that the gentlemen who served as Trustees of
Georgia would stoop to a subterfuge to gain two soldiers. Probably it
was an honest misunderstanding for which neither side was to blame,
and of which neither could give a satisfactory explanation, each party
having had a clear idea of his own position, and having failed to
realize that in the confusion of tongues the other never did grasp the
main point clearly.
Regarding the Moravian request for permission to leave, the Trustees
declined to give instructions until after an exchange of letters with
Zinzendorf; but in a second letter to his Congregation, the Count wrote,
“If some do not wish to remain, let them go,” and “if the authorities
will not do what you demand it is certain that you must break up and go
further; but whether to Pennsylvania, or New York or Carolina, the
Lord will show you.” Carolina would be no better than Georgia for
their purpose, for the military conditions were identical, and Bishop
Nitschmann’s advice that they go to Pennsylvania, together with
Spangenberg’s residence there, decided them in favor of that location.
Zinzendorf’s permission having cleared the way for departure, they
resolved to wait no longer on the Trustees, and a general conference was
held on September 18th, in which definite arrangements were made for
the assumption of the debt by those who were willing as yet to remain
in Georgia, freeing the four who were to go first. A recent letter had
informed Tanneberger of the death of his wife and children in Herrnhut,
and the news shattered his already weak allegiance. Without them he
cared little where he went, or what became of him, if only he could get
away, and Haberecht was more than ready to join him. His young son went
as a matter of course, and Meyer, another member who had been lazy and
unsatisfactory, completed the party, which sailed for Pennsylvania on
the 16th of October. Jag also intended to go, but for some reason waited
for the next company.
Haberecht settled at Ephrata, and the two Tannebergers at Germantown. In
1741, Haberecht joined the Moravians who were building in “the forks
of the Delaware”, and became one of the first members of the Bethlehem
Congregation. In 1745, David Tanneberger married Regina Demuth, who
had lost her husband the previous year, and they ultimately moved to
Bethlehem also. Meyer never renewed his association with the Moravians.
Before the four started to Pennsylvania, another member had taken the
longer journey, and had been laid beside his brethren in the Savannah
cemetery. This was George Haberland, who died September 30th, from flux,
a prevalent disease, from which almost all of the colonists suffered at
one time or another. He had learned much during his life in Georgia,
had been confirmed in June with his brother Michael, and had afterward
served acceptably as a “Diener” of the Congregation.
On the 7th of October, Seifert and Boehner moved to Tomochichi’s village
to perfect themselves in the language, and begin their missionary work.
As some of the congregation had already left Savannah, and others were
soon to follow, Seifert thought that he could be spared even though he
was “Aeltester”, especially as at first he returned to Savannah every
Saturday to hold the Sunday services. In November he and Boehner spent
several weeks in town helping the carpenters raise the frame of a large
house they were building, and when they returned to the Indians in
January, 1738, Peter Rose, his wife, and surviving daughter went with
them.
Friday, December 13th, John Wesley left Savannah, to return to England.
His popularity had long since waned, in the face of his rigid insistance
on ecclesiastical rules, and it was said “the Brethren alone can
understand him, and remain in love with him.” He was unfortunate enough
to provoke a spiteful woman, a niece of Mr. Causton, the Magistrate, and
so greatly did the persecution rage under her influence, that Wesley’s
chance of doing further good was ruined, and nothing was left but
for him to withdraw. The Magistrates forbade him to leave, (secretly
rejoicing that they had driven him away,) but he boldly took his
departure, without molestation, making his way to Beaufort, where
Charles Delamotte joined him. Together they went to Charlestown, where
he parted from Delamotte, and on the 2nd of January, 1738, sailed from
the continent that had witnessed the shattering of so many fond hopes
and ambitions.
Forty-seven years later Brierly Allen settled in Savannah, the first
minister there to represent the great denomination which grew from
Wesley’s later work in England, and the first Methodist Society in that
city of his humiliation was organized in 1806.
During the preceding summer Zinzendorf had written to the Trustees,
asking once more for (1) entire exemption from military service for the
Georgia Moravians, for (2) permission for them to leave Georgia if this
could not be granted, and (3) that at least four might remain among the
Indians as missionaries.
In answer the Trustees (1) repeated their former decision regarding
freehold representation, (2) gave consent for the Moravians to leave
if they would not comply with this, and (3) refused to let them stay
as missionaries. “The privilege of going among the Indians was given
to your people out of consideration for Your Excellency, and also on
account of their good conduct, they being citizens of this colony; but
if they cease to reside there, this privilege will not be continued
to any of them. To employ them as missionaries to instruct the Indians
would be a reflection on our country, as if it could not furnish a
sufficient number of pious men to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore your people may continue among the Indians, only so long as
they are citizens of the colony.”
This was the death-blow to the Moravian settlement in Georgia. Had
the Trustees exemplified their much-vaunted religious toleration by
respecting the conscientious scruples of the Moravians, there were
enough members of the Savannah Congregation who wanted to stay in
Georgia to form the nucleus of the larger colony which would surely have
followed them, for while they were willing to give up everything except
religious liberty, they were human enough to regret having to abandon
the improvements which they had made at the cost of so much labor and
self-denial. The Church at large shared this feeling, and for many years
watched and waited for an opportunity to re-open the work in Savannah,
but without result. If the Trustees had even permitted the Moravians to
stay as missionaries it might have saved the settlement to Georgia,
for within a decade the English Parliament passed an Act granting the
Moravians the very exemption for which they now asked in vain, and
had there been a promising work begun among the Indians during the
intervening years it would inevitably have drawn more laborers, as it
did in Pennsylvania. But the Trustees shut the door in their faces,
other promising and more hospitable fields opened, and the Moravian
efforts were thereafter given to the upbuilding of other commonwealths.
In the latter part of January, 1738, eight more of the Moravian
colonists left Savannah,--Gotthard Demuth and his wife, George Waschke,
his wife and mother, Augustin Neisser, Gottlieb Demuth, and David Jag,
those who remained giving them money and provisions for their journey
to Pennsylvania. Gotthard Demuth and wife settled in Germantown,
later moving to Bethlehem and joining in the organization of that
Congregation. In 1743 they were again living at Germantown, where
Gotthard died the following year. Regina subsequently married David
Tanneberger and moved once more to Bethlehem. Gottlieb Demuth lived
at several places, but finally married, and settled in the Moravian
Congregation at Schoeneck. Jag, who located at Goshenhopper, and the
Waschkes and Augustin Neisser who went to Germantown, never rejoined the
Church.
On the 28th of January, the Moravians in Savannah received an
unlooked-for addition to their number. Toeltschig wrote to Spangenberg,
“Yesterday two boys, who belong to Herrnhut, came unexpectedly to our
house. They ran away from the Brethren in Ysselstein and went to Mr.
Oglethorpe in London, begging him to send them to the Brethren in
Georgia. He did so, but we will have to pay their transportation. One is
Zeisberger’s son David, about 17 years old, and the other John Michael
Schober, about 15 years old. Both are bad boys.” It appears that when
Zeisberger’s parents went to Georgia he was left in Herrnhut to finish
his education. From there Count Zinzendorf took him to a Moravian
settlement near Utrecht, Holland, where he was employed as errand boy
in a shop. He was treated with well-meant but ill-judged severity, and
finally after a particularly trying and undeserved piece of harshness in
October, 1737, he and his friend Schober decided to try and make their
way to his parents in Georgia. In this they succeeded, and though their
story was received with disapprobation, they soon made a place for
themselves. Schober did not live very long, but Zeisberger, from the
“bad boy” of Toeltschig’s letter, became the assistant of Peter Boehler
in South Carolina, and later the great “apostle to the Indians”.
During this Spring the Moravians strained every nerve to do an amount
of work sufficient to balance their account with the Trustees. It took
a little longer than they expected, but at last Toeltschig was ready for
his journey to England, the lot having previously decided that he should
go as soon as financial affairs made it proper. His wife remained in
Savannah, it being uncertain whether he would stay in Germany or return
to America. John Regnier took his place as financial agent of the
Moravians.
On March 12th, Toeltschig went aboard a ship, bound for Charlestown,
sailing from Tybee two days later. On the 18th, he reached Charlestown,
whence he sailed April 1st, bearing with him the record of their account
with the Trustees, and commissioned to tell the authorities at Herrnhut
all about the Georgia colony. On the 30th of May, the vessel touched at
Cowes, where Toeltschig landed, making his way overland to London which
he reached on the 2nd of June.
On the 11th of June, Toeltschig, accompanied by Richter, went to present
the account to the Trustees. They asked him many questions concerning
Georgia, all of which he answered frankly, receiving most courteous
attention. Three days later a settlement was reached. The written
accounts showed that the Moravians were short 3 Pounds 5 Shillings 5
Pence, which Toeltschig offered to pay in cash, but the Trustees said
they realized that the supplies provided for in the second bond had
been rated at a higher price in Georgia than in England, and they
were content to consider the obligations as fully discharged, interest
included. Toeltschig answered “I am VERY glad,” a short sentence which
spoke volumes!
Wesley, Ingham and Toeltschig.
During the days which elapsed between his arrival in London and the
meeting of the Trustees, Toeltschig had many interviews with those who
had been “awakened” by the two companies of Moravian colonists, by Count
Zinzendorf, and by Peter Boehler and George Schulius. The last two
were even then at Portsmouth, on their way to America, and the interest
caused by their visit was very manifest.
John and Charles Wesley had been particularly attracted to Boehler,
the former especially finding great relief in laying his many spiritual
perplexities before him. Wesley complained that when he conversed
with Spangenberg in Georgia, and they could not agree on any point,
Spangenberg would drop the subject and refuse to discuss it further,
but in Boehler he found a clearness of argument, and power of persuasion
which convinced without irritating him.
Having passed through many stages with the guidance, sympathy, and
encouragement of Boehler, Wesley at last found the assurance of
salvation he had sought for so many years, and three weeks after Boehler
left London, he records that at a meeting of their society “I felt I did
trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given
me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law
of sin and death.” A few days previously his brother Charles had made
the same happy experience, and this gave to their religious life the
warmth and fervor which, added to the zeal, industry and enthusiasm that
had always characterized them, made their labors of so much value to
England, and founded the denomination which has grown so rapidly in
America, still bearing the name once given in derision to the little
group of Oxford “Methodists”.
But Wesley’s mind was not one of those which can rest contentedly upon
one vital truth, he must needs run the whole gamut of emotion, and
resolve every point raised by himself or others into a definite negative
or affirmative in his own life. Once settled in a position to his entire
satisfaction, he was as immovable as a mountain, and this was at once
the source of his power and his weakness, for thousands gladly followed
the resolute man, and found their own salvation therein, while on the
other hand the will which would never bend clashed hopelessly with those
who wished sometimes to take their turn in leading. So he became an
outcast from the Church of England, alienated from Ingham, Whitefield,
and other friends of his youth, estranged from the Moravians, even while
he was one of the greatest religious leaders England has ever produced.
At the time of Toeltschig’s sojourn in London, however, he was in
the early, troubled stage of his experience, rejoicing in what he had
attained through Boehler’s influence, but beset with doubts and fears.
And so, as he records in his Journal, he determined “to retire for a
short time into Germany, where he hoped the conversing with those holy
men who were themselves living witnesses of the full power of faith, and
yet able to bear with those that are weak, would be a means, under God,
of so establishing his soul, that he might go on from faith to faith,
and from strength to strength.”
Ingham, meanwhile, informed of Toeltschig’s arrival in London, had
hastened “over one hundred and forty miles” to see his friend, a fact
that seems to have touched Toeltschig deeply, and arranged to go with
him to Herrnhut, as they had often planned while still in Georgia. John
Wesley joined them, and the three young men sailed on June 24th,
landing at Rotterdam two days later. Wesley’s Journal does not mention
Toeltschig by name, but on leaving Rotterdam he says, “we were eight
in all, five English and three Germans,” and there is no doubt that
Toeltschig went with them to Marienborn to report to Count Zinzendorf,
who was living there during his temporary exile from Herrnhut.
In Rotterdam, Dr. Koker showed the party much kindness, while at Baron
von Watteville’s in Ysselstein, they were received “as at home”. At
Amsterdam, they joined in the meeting of the “societies” established
under Moravian influences, and from there proceeded to Cologne, and
up the Rhine to Frankfort. Having neglected to supply themselves with
passports, they experienced much difficulty whenever they reached a
walled city, sometimes being refused admittance altogether, and at other
times being allowed to enter only after much delay, which caused Wesley
to “greatly wonder that common sense and common humanity do not put an
end to this senseless, inhuman usage of strangers.” When any of their
number had an acquaintance in the city to which they had come they
sent in a note to him, and he would arrange for their entrance, and at
Frankfort they applied to Peter Boehler’s father, who entertained them
“in the most friendly manner.”
On Tuesday, July 15th, they reached Marienborn, where Wesley remained
for fifteen days, and Ingham for about seven weeks.
From Marienborn, Wesley went to Herrnhut, stopping at Erfurt, Weimar,
Jena, Halle, Leipsig and Dresden on the way. He remained at Herrnhut
twelve days, and then returned by the same route to Marienborn, and to
England.
This trip to Germany has been given as the beginning of the breach
between Wesley and the Moravians, but it is doubtful whether such was
really the case. In the “Memoirs of James Hutton” it is stated that
Wesley was offended because Ingham was admitted to the Communion at
Marienborn, while permission was refused him, and that he secretly
brooded over the injury, but Wesley himself does not mention the
occurrence, and refers to Marienborn as a place where he met what he
“sought for, viz.: living proofs of the power of faith,” and where he
stayed twelve days longer than he at first intended. The tone of his
account of Herrnhut is also distinctly friendly, though he did not
unreservedly accept two or three theological statements made to him, but
the long conversations he records prove his joy at finding sympathy, and
confirmation of what he wanted to believe concerning justification by
faith, and the fact that a weak faith was still a real faith, and as
such should be cherished and strengthened, not despised. He could not
have been greatly influenced against the Moravians by his visit to
Halle, for each time he stayed but one night, and on the first occasion
Professor Francke was not at home, nor were their arguments new to him,
that they should have impressed him deeply.
It frequently happens that when a controversy has arisen between
friends, both parties look backward and read into former words and
deeds a meaning they did not have at the time they transpired, and most
probably this is what has happened in regard to the trip to Germany and
its effect on Wesley.
Immediately on his return to England, Wesley began an active religious
campaign, drawing such crowds of all kinds of people that the various
churches in turn closed their doors upon him, and eight months later he
followed Whitefield into open air preaching, after consultation with
the Fetter Lane Society. This Society had been organized at the time of
Boehler’s visit to London, and was composed of members of the earlier
Methodist societies, Germans residing in London, and English who had
been interested in salvation by Zinzendorf and the Moravian companies
bound for Georgia. It had met in the home of James Hutton until it
outgrew the rooms, and was then transferred to the Chapel at 32 Fetter
Lane. It was an independent Society, with no organic connection with
the Moravian Church, and the religious work was carried on under the
leadership of John Wesley, and, in his frequent absences, by James
Hutton and others who leaned strongly toward the Moravians, some of
whose customs had been adopted by the Society. The Hutton “Memoirs”
state that Wesley made an effort to break off intercourse between
the Society and the Moravians soon after his return from Germany, but
failed, and matters continued to move smoothly until about the time that
Wesley began his field preaching. During the subsequent months disputes
arose among the members, largely on account of views introduced by
Philip Henry Molther, who at that time had a tendency toward “Quietism”.
Molther was detained for some time in England, waiting for a ship to
take him to Pennsylvania, he having received a call to labor in the
Moravian Churches there, and being a fluent speaker he learned English
rapidly and made a deep impression on many hearers.
Wesley was much hurt by the dissensions in his Society, and entirely
opposed to Molther’s views, and after several efforts to bring all
the members back to his own position, he, on Sunday, July 31st, 1740,
solemnly and definitely condemned the “errors” and withdrew from the
Fetter Lane Society, adding “You that are of the same judgment, follow
me.” About twenty-five of the men and “seven or eight and forty likewise
of the fifty women that were in the band” accepted his invitation, and
with them he organized the “Foundry Society”. Into the Foundry Society
and the many others organized among his converts, Wesley introduced
lovefeasts and “bands” (or “classes”,) both familiar to him from the
Fetter Lane Society, which had copied them from the Moravians. When his
societies grew so numerous that he could not personally serve them all
he selected lay assistants, and then “became convinced that presbyter
and bishop are of the same order, and that he had as good a right to
ordain as to administer the Sacraments.” He, therefore, ordained bishops
for America, and Scotland, and registered his chapels in order to
protect them, according to the Act of Toleration. This gave the
Methodist body a separate legal status, but Wesley always claimed that
he was still a member of the Church of England, and would not allow the
preachers of his English societies to administer the Sacraments, a right
which was finally granted them by the Methodist Conference after his
death.
When Benjamin Ingham returned from Georgia he commenced to preach the
Gospel in Yorkshire, his native place, and at the time of his journey
to Germany a promising work was begun there. From Herrnhut he wrote to
Count Zinzendorf asking that Toeltschig be permitted to visit him in
England, and the request was granted a few months later. Meanwhile
Ingham’s work prospered mightily, so that in June, 1739, he was
forbidden the use of the churches, and forced to imitate Wesley and
preach in the open air. Some forty societies were formed, and in
November, Toeltschig went to him, making many friends among the people,
repeating his visit at intervals during the following months.
The intimacy between Ingham and the Moravians became closer and closer,
and in July, 1742, he formally handed over the care of his societies in
Yorkshire and Lascashire to the Moravian Church, himself going into new
fields, and then giving new societies into their keeping. It has often
been stated that Ingham was a Moravian, but this is a mistake. During
these years he worked with them shoulder to shoulder, but there is no
record of his having been received into their Church as a member, nor
did they reordain him into their ministry. The situation would be
more strange to-day than it was then, for there was apparent chaos in
England, the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters before
“light shone, and order from disorder sprung,” and the Moravians did
not care to emphasize their independence of the Anglican Church lest
it injure their usefulness. In 1744, when England was threatened with a
French invasion, a number of loyal addresses were presented to the King,
and among them one from the “United Brethren in England, in union
with the ancient Protestant Episcopal Bohemian and Moravian church,” a
designation selected after long and careful discussion as to a true term
which would avoid placing them among the Dissenters from the Church of
England.
When the Moravians took over the Yorkshire Societies in 1742 they
established headquarters at Smith House, near Halifax, but this not
proving permanently available, Ingham, in 1744, bought an estate near
Pudsey, where the Moravians planted a settlement which they called
“Lamb’s Hill”, later “Fulneck”. In 1746 and 1749 Ingham presented to the
Moravians the ground on which the Chapel and two other houses stood, but
for the rest they paid him an annual rent. The property is now held of
Ingham’s descendents on a lease for five hundred years.
In 1753 Ingham withdrew from his close association with the Moravians,
and established a new circle of societies, himself ordaining the
ministers who served them. These societies flourished for a while,
but about 1759 Ingham became imbued with the doctrines of a certain
Sandeman, and the result was the almost total wrecking of his societies.
This broke Ingham’s heart, and affected his mind, so that his last
days were very sad. He passed away in 1772, and his societies gradually
merged themselves into other churches.
John Toeltschig, Ingham’s friend in Georgia and his co-laborer in
Yorkshire, came to England in November, 1739, in company with Hutton,
who had been to Germany to form a closer acquaintance with the
Moravians. After the debt to the Trustees was paid, Toeltschig had
eagerly planned new things for Georgia,--extension of work among the
Indians, a settlement further up the Savannah River, the strengthening
of the Savannah Congregation, from which missionaries could be drawn
and by which they should be supported while laboring among the heathen
tribes. He offered to return to America at once, ready for any duty, but
requesting that he might not be sole financial manager again, as he had
found it most difficult to attend to those duties, and at the same time
share in the spiritual work.
The elders of the Church, after carefully weighing all the
circumstances, decided not to send him back to Georgia, but that he
should go to England, to labor in the Fetter Lane Society, and among its
friends.
The first step was a visit to Ingham in Yorkshire, and the reception
given him was so cordial and the field so promising that he went again,
and yet again. Boehler and Spangenberg returned to England and traveled
hither and thither in response to the calls that came from every
side, other members aided as they could, and the societies under
their direction grew apace. Fetter Lane Society was organized into a
congregation in November, 1742, and the others followed in due time. The
Moravian Church was introduced into Ireland, and took a firm hold there.
In England its successes were paralleled with much opposition, and
in 1749, after several years of preparation, an appeal was made to
Parliament for recognition as a Protestant Episcopal Church, with full
liberty of conscience and worship throughout Great Britain and her
colonies. General Oglethorpe warmly championed their cause, and after
a thorough investigation of Moravian history and doctrine, the bill was
passed, May 12th, 1749, and the Moravian right to liberty of worship,
freedom from military service, and exemption from oath-taking was
unreservedly granted.
While not involved in these Parliamentary proceedings, Toeltschig played
an important part in the development of the Moravian Church in England
and Ireland. Although he had great success as a preacher, his especial
talents were as an organizer, and as leader of the “bands”, as might
be expected of a man with a judicial mind, executive ability, and great
tact. He was Elder of the “Pilgrim Congregation” formed at Fetter Lane
in May, 1742, a congregation composed exclusively of “laborers” in the
Lord’s vineyard, and he was also one of the committee charged with the
oversight of the general work.
In February, 1748, he went to Ireland, as superintendent of the
societies there, some of which had been organized by Wesley, but now
wished to unite with the Moravians. In 1752 he conducted a company of
colonists to Pennsylvania, but the next year went back to Ireland, where
certain troubles had arisen which he could quiet better than any one
else.
After Zinzendorf’s death in 1760, Toeltschig was one of that company of
leading men who met in Herrnhut to provide for the immediate needs of
the Moravian Church, whose enemies prophesied disintegration upon the
death of the man who had been at its head for more than thirty years.
These predictions failed of fulfillment, and “it was demonstrated that
the Lord had further employment for the Unitas Fratrum.”
Less renowned than many of his confreres, Toeltschig was a type of that
class of Moravians who carried their Church through slight and
blight into the respect and good-will of the world. Industrious and
scrupulously exact in business affairs, courteous and considerate in his
dealings with others, firm and fearless in matters of conscience,
bold to declare his faith, and witness for his Master, energetic and
“conservatively progressive” in promoting the growth of his church, he
took little part in the controversies of his day, but devoted himself
unreservedly to preaching the Gospel as it was read by John Hus, by the
founders of the ancient Unitas Fratrum, by the renewers of that Church
in Herrnhut, “Salvation by faith in Christ and real Christian living
according to the precepts of the Bible.”
The Negro Mission.
John Toeltschig had been the diarist of the Moravian Congregation in
Savannah, as well as their treasurer and most able member, and after he
left very little record was kept of the daily occurrences. A few stray
letters have been preserved, but little of interest appears therein,
beyond the facts that the summer of 1738 was hot and dry, and that
the Moravians were not molested, although always conscious of the
under-current of antagonism.
Some time during these months Matthias Seybold left for Pennsylvania,
where he married, and was one of the company that established the
settlement at Bethlehem. He returned to Europe in 1742, and died at
Herrnhut in 1787.
In May, the Rev. George Whitefield reached Georgia, “authorized to
perform all religious offices as Deacon of the Church of England, in
Savannah and Frederica,” in the place of John Wesley. The poverty of the
people touched him deeply, he distributed to the most needy such sums as
he had brought for their relief, and with James Habersham, who had come
over at the same time, he agreed upon the erection of an Orphan House.
Whitefield visited Ebenezer, and acquainted himself with conditions
there and elsewhere, and then returned to England, in August, to raise
funds for his Orphan House, Habersham meanwhile beginning to collect and
instruct the most neglected children.
During his stay in Georgia, Whitefield lodged with Charles Delamotte,
who was still carrying on the little school. During the winter Delamotte
had boarded for a while with the Moravians, and when he returned to
England in the autumn, he at once associated himself with the English
members. Tyerman in his “Life and Times of John Wesley”, says, “On
his return to England, Charles Delamotte became a Moravian, settled at
Barrow-upon-Humber, where he spent a long life of piety and peace, and
died in 1790.”
On the 16th of October, Peter Boehler and George Schulius arrived in
Savannah, accompanied by the lad, Simon Peter Harper. They came
as missionaries to the negroes of Carolina, the hearts of various
philanthropic Englishmen having been touched by reports of the condition
of these half wild savages recently imported from the shores of Africa
to till the fields of the New World.
The plan originated during Count Zinzendorf’s visit to London, in
February, 1737, when it was suggested to him that such a mission should
be begun by two Moravian men, under the auspices of “the associates of
the late Dr. Bray”.
Thomas Bray, an English divine, was born in 1656, made several
missionary trips to America, and in 1697 organized a society for the
propagation of the Gospel in the English Colonies. He died in 1730,
but the work was continued by his “associates”, many of whom were also
interested in the Georgia Colony.
As this mission was to be under their direction, “the associates of the
late Dr. Bray” wished to be very sure that the doctrine and rules of the
Unitas Fratrum did not conflict with the Church of England, but being
assured by the Archbishop of Canterbury that he considered them
as agreeing in all essential points, they closed an agreement with
Zinzendorf whereby the Count received 30 Pounds with which to prepare
“two Brethren to reside for the instruction of the Negroes at such place
in Carolina as the said associates shall direct.” The missionaries,
when they had entered upon their work, were to receive a salary, “not
exceeding thirty pounds a year,” from the “associates”.
For this missionary enterprise, so much to his liking, Zinzendorf
appointed “one of my chaplains, master Boehler,” and “Schulius, a
Moravian brother,” who with Richter and Wenzel Neisser arrived in
London, February 18th, 1738. At the house of their friend Wynantz,
the Dutch merchant, they met John Wesley, who offered to secure them a
pleasant, inexpensive lodging near James Hutton’s, where he was staying.
Peter Boehler had been a student at Jena when Spangenberg was lecturing
there, and was himself a professor at that seat of learning when he
decided to accept Zinzendorf’s call to mission work, and join the
Moravians, with whom he had been for a long time in sympathy. Like
Spangenberg he was a highly educated man, and an able leader, fitted to
play an important part in the Church of his adoption. In December, 1737,
he was ordained at Herrnhut by the bishops, David Nitschmann and Count
Zinzendorf, and in later years he, too, became a bishop of the Unity.
On the 22nd of February, Boehler and his companions called on Gen.
Oglethorpe, who at first supposed they were simply going over to join
the Savannah congregation. Boehler explained that Richter, who spoke
French as well as German, had come as the Agent of the Moravians, in
accordance with the suggestion made by the Trustees to Bishop Nitschmann
in 1736; that Wenzel Neisser was going on an official visitation to
America, especially to the West Indies; and that he and Schulius were
the missionaries promised by Count Zinzendorf for work among the negroes
in Carolina. The General courteously invited them to confer with him
further, either by letter or in person, and offered to take them with
him, as he expected shortly to sail for Georgia with his regiment.
Later, when they wished to come to a definite agreement with Oglethorpe,
who represented the “associates of Dr. Bray”, they experienced some
difficulty, owing to the fact that a letter of introduction Oglethorpe
expected to receive from Count Zinzendorf had failed to arrive, but the
exhibition of their passports, and Richter’s explanation that Zinzendorf
thought (from newspaper notices) that Oglethorpe had already left
England, enabled Boehler and Schulius to establish their identity. So
soon as Zinzendorf heard that his word was needed, he sent them a formal
letter of introduction to Oglethorpe, which was gladly received as
corroboration of their statements. The Moravians were at their own
expense while waiting in London, but Oglethorpe promised that they
should be provided with Bibles, grammars, and other things they might
need for the negro school.
Being detained in London for three months, instead of three weeks as
they expected, Boehler and his friend had ample opportunity to make
acquaintances in the metropolis. They sent word of their arrival
to those Germans who had learned to know Zinzendorf and the earlier
Moravian emigrants to Georgia, and on the first Sunday “the brethren”,
(as they affectionately called all who, like themselves, were interested
in living a Christian life,) came to them, and a series of meetings
for prayer, conference, and instruction was begun. Boehler was a man of
attractive personality, and convincing earnestness, and in spite of his
slight knowledge of their language many English also became interested
and formed a society similar to that begun by Zinzendorf, the two soon
uniting in the Fetter Lane Society.
Ten days after Boehler reached London he accepted an invitation from
the two Wesleys, and went with them to Oxford. There he was most kindly
received, preached in Latin once or twice each day, and had many private
conversations with inquirers. Among those with whom he became acquainted
was the Rev. John Gambold, who later became a bishop in the Moravian
Church, and many others were mightily stirred to seek the salvation of
their souls.
Noting how little English Boehler and Schulius knew, Gen. Oglethorpe
offered them a boy who was bright and intelligent, could speak both
English and German, and understood some French, and they found him so
serviceable that they asked and obtained permission to take him with
them to Carolina.
Through Wesley, Boehler heard that Gen. Oglethorpe was much surprised at
the speed with which he acquired English, and that he had asked whether
Boehler would consent to serve as Minister of the Church of England
in Savannah, if that Congregation remained without a pastor. Boehler
expressed his willingness to preach at any time, but declined to
administer the Sacraments for any denomination except his own, so the
appointment was not made.
On the 28th of April, the baggage of the Missionaries was put aboard the
‘Union Galley’, Capt. Moberley, with instructions that Boehler and his
companions should join her at Portsmouth. Neisser was to go with them
to Georgia, and from there, as opportunity offered, to St. Thomas, but
while the ship lay at Portsmouth other instructions reached him, and
Oglethorpe kindly made no objection to his withdrawing his box and
staying behind, though he did not quite understand it.
On the 15th of May, Peter Boehler, George Schulius, and the lad Simon
Peter Harper, left London, but finding the ship not yet ready to sail,
they, by Oglethorpe’s instructions, went to Southampton where some of
the vessels were lying.
Returning to Portsmouth they embarked on May 22nd, and soon found they
were “to dwell in Sodom and Gomorrah” during their voyage. On the 30th
the fleet sailed to Southampton for the soldiers, and when they came
aboard four days later “Sodom and Gomorrah were fully reproduced.” As
the ships lay off Spithead a conspiracy was discovered,--the soldiers
on one vessel had planned to kill their officers, take what money they
could find, and escape to France. During the voyage there were several
fights among the soldiers, or between them and the sailors, and in one
drunken riot a soldier cut off a young girl’s hand. “The Lord was our
defense and shield, and we were among them like Daniel in the midst of
the lions,” wrote Boehler, for the quiet, Bible-reading Moravians found
little to like in their rough associates, who cared for them just as
little, and wished they could be thrown overboard.
The ships put to sea July 16th and reached the Madeiras on the 29th,
where they were detained until the 8th of August. Boehler and Schulius
went on shore a number of times, were courteously treated by the most
prominent Catholic priest there, climbed a mountain for the exercise,
and particularly enjoyed their escape from turmoil and confusion. The
captain, who had taken a dislike to them, tried to prevent their leaving
the ship, but Oglethorpe stood their friend, and ordered that they
should have entire liberty. For Boehler, as for many who had preceded
him, Georgia and Carolina were to be a school where great life lessons
would be learned. Fresh from the University halls of Jena, he had met
the students of Oxford on equal footing, quickly winning their respect
and admiration, but these soldiers and sailors, restless, eager for
excitement, rude and unlettered, were a new thing to him, a book written
in a language to which he had no key. Later he would learn to find some
point of contact with the unlearned as well as the learned, with
the negro slave and the Yorkshire collier as well as the student of
theology, but just now his impulse was to hold himself aloof and let
their wild spirits dash against him like waves about the base of a
lighthouse which sends a clear, strong beam across the deep, but has few
rays for the tossing billows just beneath.
On the 18th of September land was sighted, and on the 29th the fleet
anchored in the harbor of St. Simon’s Island, and with grateful hearts
the Moravians watched the landing of the soldiers. On the 4th of October
they transferred their baggage to a sloop bound for Savannah, which
sailed the 6th, but on account of head winds did not reach Savannah
until the 16th. The Moravians still at Savannah came in a boat to
welcome them, and take them to their house, but Boehler was anxious to
see the scene of his future labors, and stayed in town only a few days,
leaving on the 21st for a tour through Carolina. Schulius accompanied
him all the way, and several others as far as the Indian town where
Rose was living with his wife and child. Here they talked of many things
regarding the Savannah Congregation, but on the following afternoon
the missionaries went on their way, Zeisberger, Haberland, Boehner and
Regnier accompanying them to Purisburg.
There Boehler and Schulius lodged with one of the Swiss who had come to
Georgia with Spangenberg and the first company. His wife expressed the
wish that the Moravians in Savannah would take her thirteen-year-old
daughter the following winter, and give her instruction, for which she
would gladly pay. Boehler took occasion to speak to the couple about
salvation and the Saviour, and they appeared to be moved. Indeed this
was the main theme of all his conversations. To the owners of the
plantations visited, he spoke of their personal needs, and their
responsibility for the souls of their slaves; while to the slaves he
told the love of God, filling them with wonder, for most of them
were newly imported from the wilds of Africa, and suspicious even of
kindness. Many knew little of the English tongue, and the few who could
understand his words had not yet learned that there was a God who cared
how they lived or what became of them. Their masters, as a rule, thought
the missionaries were attempting an almost hopeless task in trying to
lift these negroes above the brute creation, but were quite willing
to give permission and an opportunity to reach them, and on this tour
Boehler found only one land-owner who refused his consent.
Purisburg had been named as the location of the negro school, but
Boehler found there were very few negroes in the town, which had been
largely settled by Swiss, who had not prospered greatly and had bought
few slaves. The nearest plantation employing negroes was five miles
distant, and only seven lived there, so the outlook was far from
encouraging at that point.
Boehler and Schulius then made their way from one plantation to another,
until they reached Charlestown. The Rev. Mr. Garden, to whom they had
a letter of introduction, advised that the school should be begun
in Charlestown, where there was a large negro population, perhaps
a thousand souls. This was more than could be found on any single
plantation in Carolina, and as the slaves were strictly forbidden to
go from one plantation to another it would hardly be possible to find
another place where so many could be reached at the same time. Boehler
and Schulius were much impressed with the advantages offered, especially
as Mr. Garden promised all the assistance he could give, and they
debated whether Schulius should not stay and begin at once, while
Boehler returned to report to Oglethorpe. The lot was finally tried, and
the direction received that they should carefully study the situation
but wait until later to commence work. Therefore on the 1st of November
the two companions set out for Savannah, which they reached in eight
days.
The following weeks were a sore trial for the missionaries. With a
promising field in sight, and eager to commence work in it, they were
obliged to wait for Oglethorpe’s permission, and Oglethorpe was very
busy on the frontier establishing the outposts for which his regiment
had been brought over. When he did return to Savannah, it was only for
a few hours, and he was in no frame of mind for a long argument of pros
and cons. He told Boehler rather testily that they should not go to
Charlestown with his consent; that if they were not willing to follow
the plan for Purisburg he would have nothing more to do with them; and
that if they wanted to talk further they must wait till he came again.
Boehler and Schulius wished themselves free to proceed without his
consent, wished they had not entered into an agreement with “the
associates of the late Dr. Bray”, but under the circumstances felt
themselves bound to give the work at Purisburg a fair trial. In
December, Schulius went to Purisburg to look over the field, and make
acquaintance with the people, while Boehler waited at Savannah for
Oglethorpe, and finally, when his patience was quite exhausted, followed
the General to St. Simons. Oglethorpe persisted in his intention to have
the school at Purisburg, and when he learned that his wishes would be
obeyed he gave instructions for the renting of a large house and two
acres of ground, and for supplies to be furnished from the store at
Savannah.
In February, 1739, therefore, Boehler and Schulius settled in Purisburg.
Young Harper seems to have been with them in Purisburg on some of their
earlier visits, but was sent temporarily to Savannah, and as he does
not reappear in the records, he probably went back to his English home.
David Zeisberger, Jr., joined Boehler and was his willing helper in many
ways.
At first the outlook was rather more promising than they expected. There
were very few colored children for the school, but “daily more were
bought and born,” there was some interest aroused among the older
negroes, and the owners were disposed to be friendly, and allow the
missionaries free access to their slaves. The German and Swiss settlers
were unaffectedly glad to have the Moravians in their midst, and begged
for religious services, and instruction for their children, so Boehler
and Schulius agreed on a division of labor, the latter to devote himself
to the white residents and their little ones, while Boehler spent most
of his time visiting adjoining plantations.
But when the warm weather came Boehler was taken with fever, and from
June to October he suffered severely. From time to time he was able to
be up, and even to visit Savannah, but he was so weak and his feet
were so badly swollen that walking was very difficult, and of course
missionary tours were impossible.
On the 4th of August, George Schulius died, after an illness of eighteen
days’ duration. Boehler was in Savannah when he was taken sick, but
returned in time to nurse him, to soothe him in delirium, and to lay him
to rest amid the lamentations of the Purisburg residents. At his death
the school for white children was given up, for Boehler was too weak to
shoulder the additional load, and felt that his first duty was to
the negroes. In September, Oglethorpe was in Savannah, and after much
difficulty Boehler obtained speech with him, and succeeded in convincing
him that a negro school at Purisburg was hopeless. He approved of
Boehler’s plan to itinerate among the plantations and promised that
both his own and Schulius’ salaries should be paid him, that he might
be supplied for traveling expenses. In November, when his health was
restored, Boehler wished to make his first journey, but the storekeeper
declined to pay him any money until the expiration of the quarter year.
When he went again at the appointed time the storekeeper refused to pay
anything without a new order from Oglethorpe, except the remainder of
the first year’s salary, now long overdue. Boehler concluded that the
man had received private instructions from Oglethorpe, and that
his services were no longer desired by the representative of “the
associates”, so in January, 1740, he gave up further thought of
obligation to them, and prepared to go on his own account. He planned
to go by boat to Purisburg and from there on foot through Carolina
to Charlestown, but on the way up the Savannah River the canoe was
overtaken by a severe thunderstorm, and forced to land. Knowing that a
sloop would sail in two days he returned to Savannah, meaning to go to
Charlestown on her, but on trying the lot he received direction to wait
for the present in Savannah.
While Boehler was making his attempt among the negroes, some changes
were taking place in the Savannah Congregation. He had been very much
distressed by the condition he found when he arrived, for owing partly
to their many difficulties and partly to Seifert’s absence among the
Indians, no Communion had been celebrated for a year, and the “bands”
had been dropped. The Bible and prayer gatherings were steadily
observed, but it seemed to him there was a lack of harmony among the
members, and they were by no means ready to take him at once into their
confidence. Seifert, too, was not well, and had been obliged to leave
the Indians, and return to Savannah.
The Indian work was most discouraging, for the men were careless and
drunken, and in January, 1739, even Rose gave up, and moved back to
Savannah with his family. In October, Tomochichi died, and was buried
with great pomp in Percival Square in Savannah. The Moravians were asked
to furnish music at the funeral, but declined, and it was hardly missed
amid the firing of minute guns, and three volleys over his grave. After
his death his little village was abandoned, and the question of further
missionary efforts there settled itself.
During the winter John Regnier became deeply incensed at some plain
speaking from Schulius, and decided to leave at once for Europe, the
Congregation paying his way. He probably went to Herrnhut, as that had
been his intention some months previously, and later he served as a
missionary in Surinam. In after years he returned to Pennsylvania, where
he joined those who were inimical to the Moravians.
Peter Rose, his wife and daughter left for Pennsylvania soon after their
withdrawal from Irene. They settled in Germantown, and there Peter died
March 12th, 1740. Catherine married John Michael Huber in 1742, who died
five years later on a voyage to the West Indies. Being for the third
time a widow, she became one of the first occupants of the Widows’ House
in Bethlehem, and served as a Deaconess for many years, dying in 1798.
Mary Magdalena became the wife of Rev. Paul Peter Bader in 1763.
On August 10th, 1739, John Michael Schober died after a brief illness,
the ninth of the Moravian colonists to find their final resting place
beside the Savannah River.
In September, General Oglethorpe received instructions to make reprisals
on the Spanish for their depredations on the southern borders of the
Georgia Province. He rightly judged this to be the precursor of open
hostilities, and hastened his preparations to put Carolina and Georgia
in a state of defense. In October the British Government declared war on
Spain, and November witnessed the beginning of fighting in the Colonies.
Of course this meant a re-opening of the old discussion as to the
Moravians’ liability for service, a repetition of the old arguments, and
a renewal of the popular indignation. Oglethorpe was fairly considerate
of them, thought Zinzendorf ought to have provided for two men,
but added that he did not want the Moravians driven away. Still
the situation was uncomfortable, and the Moravians began to make
arrangements for their final departure.
By this time Boehler had won his way into the confidence of the Savannah
congregation, and had learned that he was not the only one who had the
Lord’s interests at heart. With Seifert again in charge of affairs,
the religious services had taken on new life, and on October 18th, John
Martin Mack was confirmed. Judith Toeltschig, however, gave them great
concern, and her brother Michael Haberland sided with her, so that the
company gladly saw them sail for Germany in the latter part of January,
1740. There Michael married, and returned to America in May, 1749, as
one of the large company which came to settle in Bethlehem, where he
died in 1783. Judith joined her husband in England, and in 1742 was
serving as “sick-waiter” of the Pilgrim Congregation in London.
This left only six Moravians in Savannah, for John Boehner had already
started for Pennsylvania on January 20th. He had a very sore arm which
they hoped would be benefited by the change, and he was commissioned to
try and gather together the members who had preceded him, and to make
arrangements for the reception of the remnant which was soon to follow.
He aided faithfully during the early days of the settlement at Nazareth
and Bethlehem, and in 1742 went as a missionary to the island of St.
Thomas, where he labored earnestly and successfully for the rest of his
life, and died in 1787.
Nothing now remained for the members still in Savannah, but to so
arrange matters that they might leave on the first opportunity.
Oglethorpe had already bought their trumpets and French horns at a good
price, but they needed to sell their rice and household furniture to
provide sufficient funds for their journey. This was happily arranged
on the 2nd of February, when George Whitefield, who had reached Savannah
for the second time a few days before, came to see them, promised to buy
all they cared to sell, and offered them free passage to Pennsylvania.
This offer they gratefully accepted, receiving 37 Pounds for their
household goods, and on April 13th, 1740, they sailed with Whitefield
on his sloop the ‘Savannah’, Captain Thomas Gladman. Their land and
improvements were left in the hands of an Agent, and the town house was
rented to some of Whitefield’s followers for a hospital.
With the Moravians went the two boys, Benjamin Somers and James ----, who
had been given into their hands by the Savannah magistrates in 1735, and
a young woman, Johanna Hummel, of Purisburg. The two lads gave them much
trouble in Pennsylvania, and Benjamin was finally bound out in 1748,
while James ran away. Johanna married John Boehner, and sailed with him
to the West Indies in 1742, but died at sea before reaching there.
Boehler and his company expected to find Spangenberg and Bishop
Nitschmann in Pennsylvania, and were much disappointed to learn that
both were absent. They scarcely knew what to do, but Boehler held them
together, and when Whitefield decided to buy a large tract of land and
build thereon a Negro school, and a town for his English friends of
philanthropic mind, and when the Moravians were offered the task of
erecting the first house there, Boehler and his companions gladly
accepted the work. Bethlehem followed in due time, and all were among
those who organized that congregation. David Zeisberger, Sr., died there
in 1744, his wife in 1746. Anton Seifert was appointed Elder, or Pastor
of the Bethlehem Congregation, married, and took an active part in the
Church and School work there and at Nazareth, the latter tract having
been purchased from Whitefield in 1741. April 8th, 1745, he sailed for
Europe, laboring in England, Ireland and Holland, and dying at Zeist in
1785.
John Martin Mack became one of the leaders of the Moravian Church in its
Mission work among the Indians in New York, Connecticut and Ohio until
1760, when he was sent to the negro slaves on St. Thomas, preaching also
on St. Croix and St. Jan, and the English West Indies. He was ordained
to the ministry November 13th, 1742, and was consecrated bishop October
18th, 1770, during a visit to Pennsylvania, this being the first
Episcopal consecration in the American Province of the Moravian Church.
He was married four times, his last wife passing away two years before
his departure. He died June 9th, 1784, and was buried in the presence
of a great concourse of people,--negro converts, planters, government
officers and the Governor-General.
David Zeisberger, Jr., lived a life so abundant in labors, so
picturesque in experiences that a brief outline utterly fails to give
any conception of it. “The apostle of the Western Indians traversed
Massachusetts and Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, entered
Michigan and Canada, preaching to many nations in many tongues. He
brought the Gospel to the Mohicans and Wampanoags, to the Nanticokes
and Shawanese, to the Chippewas, Ottowas and Wyandots, to the Unamis,
Unalachtgos and Monseys of the Delaware race, to the Onondagas, Cayugas
and Senecas of the Six Nations. Speaking the Delaware language fluently,
as well as the Mohawk and Onondaga dialects of the Iroquois; familiar
with the Cayuga and other tongues; an adopted sachem of the Six Nations;
naturalized among the Monseys by a formal act of the tribe; swaying for
a number of years the Grand Council of the Delawares; at one time Keeper
of the Archives of the Iroquois Confederacy; versed in the customs of
the aborigines; adapting himself to their mode of thought, and, by long
habit, a native in many of his ways;--no Protestant missionary and few
men of any other calling, ever exercised more real influence and
was more sincerely honored among the Indians; and no one, except the
Catholic evangelists, with whom the form of baptism was the end of
their work, exceeded him in the frequency and hardships of his journeys
through the wilderness, the numbers whom he received into the Church
of Christ, and brought to a consistent practice of Christianity, and
conversion of characters most depraved, ferocious and desperate.” “Nor
must we look upon Zeisberger as a missionary only; he was one of the
most notable pioneers of civilization our country has ever known. * * *
Thirteen villages sprang up at his bidding, where native agents prepared
the way for the husbandman and the mechanic of the coming race.” “He was
not only bold in God, fearless and full of courage, but also lowly of
heart, meek of spirit, never thinking highly of himself. Selfishness was
unknown to him. His heart poured out a stream of love to his fellowmen.
In a word, his character was upright, honest, loving and noble, as free
from faults as can be expected of any man this side of the grave.” *
* “Life and Times of David Zeisberger”, by Rt. Rev. Edmund
de Schweinitz.--
He died at Goshen, Ohio, Nov. 17th, 1808, having labored among the
Indians for sixty years.
Like Spangenberg, Peter Boehler’s story belongs to the whole Moravian
Church, rather than to the Georgia colony. His time was divided
between England and America, in both of which spheres he labored most
successfully. Jan. 10th, 1748, he was consecrated bishop at Marienborn,
Germany. After Zinzendorf’s death he helped frame the new Church
constitution, and in 1769 was elected to the governing board of the
entire Unitas Fratrum. He died in London, April 20th, 1774, having been
there for a year on a visitation to the English congregations of the
Moravian Church.