USA > Delaware > Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 > Part 32
USA > New Jersey > Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 > Part 32
USA > Pennsylvania > Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
1 English miles probably. ' Cf. Description, chap. Ix., ante, p. 382.
411
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
1683]
a superstition, that as many Indians must die each year, as the number of Europeans that newly arrive.
Thus much I have to inform you, in order to comply with my bounden duty, as one who has the greatest anxiety to be found faithful, whereunto as well William Penn and other reasonable people as my own conscience, which I value more than thousands, can give an irreproachable witness. That it falls quite hard upon me in this expensive and unprotected land to care for so many men-servants and married couples, you can easily judge. But trust in our heavenly Father over- comes all. Give all other acquaintances hearty greetings from me.
I remain ever your true and devoted servant,
N. N.1
Francis Daniel Pastorius takes Leave of his Father and Friends.
From Deal, June 7, 1683.
After examining to my satisfaction the European provinces and countries, and the impending motus belli,' and after taking apprehensively to heart the vicissitudes and troubles of my native country arising therefrom, I have suffered myself to be moved by the special direction of the Most High to journey over to Pennsylvania, living in the hope that this my design will work out to my own good and that of my dear brothers and sisters, but most of all to the advancement of the glory of God (which is my aim above all else), especially as the au- dacity and sin of the European world are accumulating more and more from day to day, and therefore the just judgment of God cannot be long withheld.
I had in all my acts taken this frivolity and wickedness greatly to heart, and pondered upon the final outcome thereof with profound meditation, namely, how life, worldly posses- sions, honor, and lust will all once be subjected to death and decay. But let the soul be once lost, and it is lost forever. Semel periisse aeternum est.'
In order therefore to escape evil both here and hereafter, I have entered so much the more willingly upon this journey
1End of the Sichere Nachricht. ' Movements of warfare.
""To have perished once is to have perished forever."
412
NARRATIVES OF EARLY PENNSYLVANIA
[1685
and passage across the mighty ocean, under the holy guidance of God; and, together with nine others of my people, sailed from Deal on June 7, 1683,1 in the company of various respect- able families, with the hope that the Lord, Who up to this hour had so richly blessed me, and commanded His angels to keep watch over me, would so govern my incomings and outgoings that His most holy Name would thereby be praised on the further side of the sea, in unknown places.
I therefore commit my honored father and all my dear ones to the protection of the Almighty, and as soon as the Lord helps me over to Pennsylvania, I shall give a more detailed account of everything. Should it however be His holy will to call me to Himself while on the way, I am ready with all my heart, and therefore I take leave of my honored father as becomes a child, with reiterated dutiful thanks for all the love and fidelity shown me in such abundance. May God reward him for it in time and in eternity!
I remember that while on my travels I read an epitaph which ran as follows:
I, who the lines on many a foreign grave have read And in this book writ down those records of the dead, Now know not where, how, when, I go from mortal sight, And so, vain world, I say, a thousand times good-night.
If therefore we see one another no more on this side of the grave, we shall meet in Heaven. But if we fulfil the will of God here upon earth, which I desire from the depths of my soul, I remain until death
My honored father's Truly obedient son,
F. D. P.
A Letter from the Same to D. Schutz of Franckfurth-on-the-Mayn, May 30, 1685.
It almost seems as if the greater number could not fully carry out their good intentions (namely, to serve God and righteousness in tranquillity of spirit, here in Pennsylvania), but that some of them, as it were against their will, were en-
1 He did not sail from Deal until the 10th.
413
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
1691]
tangled in various affairs of this world, with neglect of the one thing needful.
I, for my part, can not now do otherwise than give my attention partly to Philadelphia and partly to Germanopolis, which I, nevertheless, would gladly turn ever toward the heavenly Jerusalem, the future city of God, which is to be sought for with every effort by me and by all who love the Lord. But the duties of a loyal superintendent, which have been confided to me, must also be administered with diligence and fidelity. My hearty greeting to all friends in Franckfurth, Wesel, and Duisburg. And let not my most worthy and dear friend doubt that I shall remain, under the commendation of the Most High, in unaltered affection until I die, etc.
Doctor Joh. Jacob Schutz made thereupon these sad com- ments: Alas, that this so-called New World should soil itself with unrighteousness and transgression, even as our Old World is entirely covered therewith, and instead of cleansing itself as is necessary, becomes each day more involved therein. Nevertheless, the Lord knows His own, and this is surely a valued seal for all who hold His coming dear.
Letters from Pennsylvania, October 10, 1691.
Dearly beloved and honored father:
I can not allow the present opportunity to go by without briefly informing you of the prosperous condition of myself and my associates, as well as conveying to you my cordial love and respects, wishing from the bottom of my soul that all may go well with my honored father and those belonging to him, and that the Almighty, according to His holy will, may pre- serve and deliver them all from His judgment of destruction which, in these our days, He is bringing upon the impenitence of Europe, by means of the Turks and the French.1 Here, in this country, we have listened with compassion to the bar- barous proceedings of the French, the laying waste and burning of so many beautiful cities, churches, and imperial sepulchres, and thereby have been strengthened in our belief that we should trust, not to our bodily strength and to fortified castles, but 1 Under Louis XIV.
1
414
NARRATIVES OF EARLY PENNSYLVANIA [1691 -
entirely and solely to the protecting hand of God, for Whom it is as easy to defend us against all assaults of the enemy as it is impossible for mere bulwarks of stone to do so.
We know nothing indeed of the condition of affairs in Upper Germany at the present time, for it is long since any ships have come in,1 nevertheless we hold fast to the belief that these calamities will hardly cease until a reformation of life shall result therefrom.
In the meantime may the Most High grant to my honored father a constantly blessed prosperity, until such time as our correspondence can be again continued. May it only be vouch- safed us to grow, in Christlike tranquillity as respects the inner man, in upright love, and to embrace one another in heart- felt affection, as being one in Christ, which neither the remote- ness of places, nor the dangers of pirates, nor any other cir- cumstances are able to prevent.
I inform you further that our governor, William Penn, has sent us High-Germans certain concessions from England, and appointed me to be the first mayor and justice of the peace in this town,' so that now we have our own council and laws, provided that they are in accordance with the laws of England.
And as I drew up the proper regulations and laws for this, and on June 2, 1691, began the first Council Records of Ger- manton, I placed at the opening thereof the following holy admonitions:
There is no power but of God. Romans, xiii. 1.
For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works and search out your counsels. Wisdom, 6.
And thou shalt take no gift. Exodus, xxiii. 8.
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. Exodus, xxii. 22.
Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy. Psalm lxxxii. 3, 4.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great. Deut. i. 17.
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment. Lev. xix. 15. Doing nothing by partiality. I Tim. v. 21.
1 Shipping being interrupted by King William's War.
" Germantown.
--
--
-
1
415
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
1691]
Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. Deut. i. 13.
A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. Psalm ci. 4.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. Luke vi. 31.
The said Council thus instituted has likewise its own seal, which is, as the impression bears evidence, a trefoil. On one of the leaves a grape-vine is represented, on another a flax- blossom, and on the third a weaver's spool, with the inscription: Vinum, Linum et Textrinum,1 to signify that one may in this place maintain himself by cultivating the vine, by growing flax, or by manufactures, to the satisfaction of God and his honor.
In the meantime we live peaceably and contentedly, with no desire for transitory riches; provided we have sufficient food and clothing for this our pilgrimage, for the rest we turn our eyes ever toward the heavenly Jerusalem, our true father- land.
I acknowledge it as an entirely unnecessary impulse of his fatherly affection that my honored father should affirm, in his letters to me, that he would gladly be able to do more for me in this world, and now, that God has bestowed a child upon me, I can judge of this far better than ever before, and com- prehend far more deeply the axiom: Amorem descendere potius quam ascendere.' My respected father has given me more than I have ever deserved, or than I shall ever be able to repay. So that often when thinking of the past I say in my heart: Ah, if only my dear father had saved those sums which he sent me in cash at the universities to provide for himself in his old age, etc. But that which is done cannot be altered by wishing. May God on High most richly reward him with His heavenly blessings, in time and in eternity, for all the love, fidelity, and kindness he has shown me. With this petition, I remain unti! death, etc.
Oct. 10, 1691.
1 "The vine, the flax, and weaving."
""That love rather descends than ascends."
416
[1693
NARRATIVES OF EARLY PENNSYLVANIA
[1692.] On June 7, 1692, there was such a terrible earthquake in the island of Jamaica that it destroyed the greater part of the capital city, Port Royal, and annihilated about twenty- five hundred people, aside from the natives who have been buried by the mountains and hills. Among others my good friend and former fellow traveller, Mardochai Loyd,1 was swallowed up in a hollow mountain, yet even in these circum- stances he was saved through the miraculous providence of God; for he crept out again by means of a hole below, bringing forth his own life, as if it were a booty.
And at the time of this terrible earthquake, this marvel also came to pass, that some women dressed à la mode, who were going that way wearing high head-dresses and topknots, so that they appeared to have double heads, were buried in the earth up to the waist, and these it was not possible to dig out in any way, or to remove from the place before they became stiff in death, and were obliged to play the rôle as it were of the devil's pillory-posts.
Further News from Germanton, June 1, 1693.
After a most filial greeting and the wish for all the blessings of well-being, both for soul and body, I cannot refrain from saying what unparalleled joy comes over me when I receive letters bringing news of the good health and prosperity of my honored father and of the dear ones belonging to him, and since I suppose that similarly some in your country desire now and then to know somewhat of our condition, and how it fares with me in this new and somewhat desolate western world, on this account I have thought that in the following lines, in accord- ance with the request of my honored father, I would speak somewhat at length concerning the public affairs of this region, as well as of the private concerns of my own family. And first concerning the general condition of things:
The most holy God has so graciously sheltered this province under the wings of His mercy, during the ten years of my resi- dence here, that no unfriendly clamor, whether of trumpet or musketry, has broken in upon our daily toil and nightly rest.
1 Mordecai Lloyd (1669-1694), son of Governor Thomas Lloyd, came 'over With the other members of his family in 1683, as a fellow-voyager with Pastorius.
417
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
1693]
Indeed, in all these years, we have not been obliged to pay a farthing for war or other taxes, until, about five weeks past, the new governor, Benjamin Fletcher,1 arrived in Philadelphia, with the royal decree and authority to govern this province in the name of King William III., until the vindication of William Penn should be fought out by way of the law, in Old England. To him, as compensation for the expenses of the journey, we have granted the 240th penny. This governor confirmed our Germanton charter anew, by virtue of which we are enabled to hold our own courts and council-meetings, and appointed me Irenarcha, or justice of the peace in the county of Phila- delphia, after which he set forth from this place, with his ret- inue, for New York, in which place he is likewise governor, as also commander-in-chief over all the English islands and col- onies in America.
I hope, and wish from my heart, that our former ruler, William Penn, may soon clear himself of all unreasonable suspicion of a treasonably-conducted correspondence with King James, and that he will shortly return to us again, seeing that his personal presence could prevent many contentions and disputes, in political as well as in religious matters, and could bring to naught the evil designs of many quarrelsome persons.
For the difference of belief " which arose here a year ago is not yet calmed or adjusted, for each believes that he knows the nearest and most direct way to Heaven, and can show it to others, although truly there has been One only Who could say of Himself with truth: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Via rectissima (according to Thomas a Kempis) Veritas suprema, Vita Beata, Via inviolabilis, Veritas infallibilis, Vita interminabilis, Via in Exemplo, Veritas in promisso, Vita in praemio, etc.' This narrow path of sorrows brings us finally to so high a place that we shall have the stars under our feet.
1 Colonel Benjamin Fletcher, a professional English soldier who had served under King William III. in the Low Countries and in Ireland, was Governor of New York, 1692-1698, and the first and only royal governor of Pennsylvania, 1693-1694, during the time when Penn was temporarily deprived of the province. ' The George Keith schism.
""I am the invariable and perfect way; the supreme and infallible truth; the blessed, the uncreated, and endless life. I am the way thou must go, the truth thou must believe, and the life thou must desire." Chap. XxxIx of Payne's ed. (London, 1842).
418
NARRATIVES OF EARLY PENNSYLVANIA [1693
Although I have been requested by one party to suppress or drive out the other, I preferred to put off the matter for the arrival and decision of the proper governor, William Penn, and in the meantime I exhorted both parties to gentleness and harmony in the following verses both in German and in English.1
I The error of my brother Fills me with holy horror, Yet may I not abide That he by word of mine Be forced to give some sign That shall his thought deride; For such enforced submission Redounds to his perdition And sets all truth aside.
II
Those who with pen or sword Would prove their Master's word Durst not upon me call For aught save deeds of peace- For this I strive, nor cease, Whatever may befall. Both friend and foe alike I wish to serve aright, And to turn harm from all.
III
May no remorse nor sorrow Darken for us the morrow, May naught arrive save joy. Yes, joy that is of Heaven, Where we from morn to even Shall dwell without annoy. For so the Lord hath taught us, And to His fold hath brought us, Where all is peace and joy.'
Pastorius gives only his German; the English version here given, in the metre of the original, is by Miss Kimball
"I Cor. xi. 16. (Note in original.)
-
419
1693]
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
They who would serve the Lord By empty deed and word Look not within the heart; But they who seek His will In quiet to fulfil- Such choose the better part.
N. B. The English verses are omitted here [i. e., in the original] since I am unfamiliar with the language.
I now come to the so-called savages. I can say little of these native dwellers in these parts which will be satisfactory to those whose aim is rather to gain outward and worldly in- formation than to put into practical exercise the precepts and prohibitions of Christ. In part they [the savages] are not un- fitly to be compared with the son in the Gospel story, who went to work in the vineyard without promises and protestations, and nevertheless in real industry far surpassed his brother who promised much. They live more contentedly and with less thought for the morrow than we Christians. They over- reach no man in business. They also know nothing of the pride of life, and of the fashions in clothes to which we cling so closely. They neither curse nor swear, are temper- ate in their food and drink, and if one occasionally drinks too much it is usually the nominal Christians who are to be blamed, who for their accursed self-interest sell strong drink to the savages.
In my ten years of residence here I have never heard that they have attempted to do violence to anyone, far less mur- dered anyone, although they have not only had frequent op- portunity to do so, but also to conceal themselves in the thick and extensive forest. Therefore, in view of the horrible wicked- ness which is practised in Europe, among the nominal Chris- tians, and, in mature comparison therewith, the candid sim- plicity of these my present West-Indian countrymen, I am always reminded of the sermon delivered before you by Herr Johann Augustin Litzheimers, upon Christianity brought to shame by a consideration of Heathendom, wherein the preacher asserts, on page 45: The nominal Christians crucify the Son of God, and scornfully spit upon their Holy Creator when they value the money and goods of this world more highly than the Word of God, or the well-being of this perishing life above
420
NARRATIVES OF EARLY PENNSYLVANIA
[1693
God and immortal bliss; on the other hand the heathen Seneca professes: Semper magis nolo,1 quod Deo [Deus] vult, quam quod ego, adjungar et adhaerebo illi velut Minister et assecla. Cum illo appeto, cum illo desidero. Nihil recuso omnium que ipsi vide- buntur. Tu Deus quocunge me voles, ducito, quam vestem lubet, circumdato, si Magistratum me gerere vis, vel privatum in pau- perie esse, ecce non tantum assentior, sed etiam apud alios te de- fendam et tuebor .? Listen and ponder and blush over these things from the heathen.
But our nominal Christians are diametrically opposed to these heathen virtues, and seek their pleasure in eating, drink- ing, gambling, and debauchery, in usury, fraud, envy, cursing, and quarrelling. Oh, thou heathen Christendom! and yet thou dost nevertheless imagine to be even in such wise cleansed from thy sins. To assume this hypothetically, forsooth, is, unless improvement follow, a manifest error.
In conclusion, I must further add to the recommendation of my unsavage savages, that they are much averse to war and the shedding of human blood, and would far rather be at peace with all men; while, in contrast, nearly the whole of Christen- dom is under arms, and they rend and destroy one another in offensive and defensive warfare, with barbaric cruelty far exceeding that of the most horrid monsters. Concerning which the German poet makes complaint:
Lion, wolf, and tiger still Are loth to work their comrades ill; How then can a Christian bear Fellowmen to rend and tear,- While their Lord enjoins these three, Love, and peace, and unity.ª
1 Evidently a misprint for volo.
""I ever prefer that which God wishes to my own desires. I shall be joined to him and cling to him as a follower and a disciple. I shall be united with him in my strivings and longings. I refuse nothing, of what shall seem best to him. Thou, God, shalt lead me whithersoever thou desirest, thou shalt throw around me whatsoever garment thou wilt. If thou wishest that I should hold a magis- tracy, or that I should live in poverty as a private citizen, behold, not only do I assent thereto, but even in the presence of others I will defend thee, and main- tain thy cause."
'John xiii. 34. (Note in original.)
421
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
1693]
I now inform you briefly of the particulars relating to my- self. On November 26, 1688, I was married, here at German- ton, to the Jungfrau Anna Klostermannin, daughter of Hen- ricus Klostermann, Doctor of Medicine, and a native of the Duchy of Cleves.1 On March 30, 1690, my wife gave birth to a little son, whose name is Johann Samuel, and on April 1, 1692, to a second son, to whom the name Heinrich was given at the holy baptism.
May the Lord our God in mercy turn His holy countenance upon these my children, and all others, and bestow his Holy Spirit.upon them, and may this lead them in the way of truth, and preserve them from error and false teaching; may He permit them to grow up in His service and obedience, may He comfort and strengthen them in trouble and temptation, that they together with us may fight a good fight, hold fast to the faith until the end, and thus win the crown of life and glory.
That furthermore God in His compassion has even up to this time preserved my honored father in His mighty protect- ing hand, from utter ruin in these dangerous events (especially now that the French Hannibal ' has laid waste the Rothen- burg frontier with fire and sword before your eyes), as also [for the fact] that my honored father has been selected by the regular election in the Council and by the gracious confirmation thereof on the part of His Majesty the Roman Emperor, to be chief justice of the city of Windsheim, for these things I con- gratulate him, since he has now obtained greater opportunity and power to render poor Windsheim beneficial service, ac- cording to the admonition of Saint Bernhard: Vae tibi si praees, et non prodes.' On this account, may we unceasingly bear in mind that the Most High Chief-Justice of the living and the
1 Pastorius was married, November 6, 1688, to Ennecke Klostermanns (1658- 1723), a native of Mülheim-on-the-Ruhr, daughter of Jan (not Henricus) Klos- termanns. (Learned, Pastorius, p. 191.). She had a brother Heinrich Kloster- manns.
' Evidently Louis XIV.'s commander, General Feuquières, the leader of the French forces in their terrible ravaging campaign in Southern Germany in 1689. Their operations extended to Rothenburg-on-the-Tauber, which, while surround- ed by seventeen burning villages, made a valiant defense against the enemy. Rothenburg is only about twelve miles southwest of Windsheim, where Pastor- ious's father resided.
""Alas for thee, if thou art high in place yet conferrest no benefits."
422
NARRATIVES OF EARLY PENNSYLVANIA [1693
dead has not confided to us such judicial authority for our own private advantage, but that it may be used for the good of all, and that, in the great day of the last judgment He will demand much from those to whom much was given. According to the following words: Potentes potenter tormenta patientur.1 And this I write because of the compassionate desire which I bear for the salvation of all our souls, considering that we as followers of Christ are not obliged merely to pray for one another, but also to encourage one another to holiness on all occasions. Yes, even to true holiness! without which no one can come to God. And I remain, under the true dispensation, in the blessed hand of God, during my life's course, etc.
Letter of Francis Daniel Pastorius from Pennsylvania to Tobias Schumbergius,' his former Teacher.
De Mundi Vanitate.
Vale, Mundi gemebundi colorata Gloria.
Tua bona, tua dona sperno transitoria. Quae externe, hodierne splendent pulchra facie,
Cras vanescunt et liquescunt, velut Sal in Glacie.
Quid sunt Reges, quorum leges terror sunt mortali- bus?
Multi locis atque focis latent infernalibus. Ubi vani, crine cani Maximi Pontifices?
Quos honorant et adorant Cardinales Supplices?
Quid periti, eruditi sunt Doctores Artium? Quid sunt Harum vel illarum studiosi partium? Ubi truces Belli Duces, Capita militiae, Quos accendit et defendit rabies saevitiae? Tot et tanti, quanti quanti, umbra sunt et vanitas, Omne Horum nam Decorum brevis est inanitas: Qui vixerunt, abierunt, restant sola Nomina, Tanquam stata atque rata nostrae sortis Omina.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.