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ment for his mother language and so it came that in February, 1818, Dr. Michel Diffenderfer and thirty-five other members of the First German Reformed Congrega- tion petitioned the consistory for permission to have Eng- lish preaching in the church on every Sabbath afternoon. The Synod granted the petition. This caused a great deal of excitement and trouble. A committee consisting of Peter Diffenderfer and Jacob Hoffman invited Rev. Lewis Meyer to pay them a visit and preach in German and English. On a Sabbath morning in the month of September, 1818, Dr. Meyer preached a sermon in the German language to a very large congregation, and in the afternoon preached another in the English language to an immense concourse of people. The excitement was in- tense. The members who feared the extinguishment of the German language in their church charged it being done in violation of the charter and founding of the church to have English preaching and some of them threatened violence to the minister. Their fears were well grounded, for, within ten years thereafter, in 1827, the last sermon in the German language was preached in this church. It became exclusively English in language, known as the First English Reformed Church, but lost in membership and influence.
Different was the course of the German Evangelical Lutheran Zion Congregation, which was organized about the same time the Reformed Church was organized (1750) and continues to the present day to worship in the German language, a vigorous large congregation.
In the year 1773, it adopted a new constitution and by- laws, which were subscribed by one hundred and forty-
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seven members. We find among these subscribers the names of many of our prominent families of our city of the present day. In 1808 it erected the church building on Gay street, between Saratoga and Lexington streets, on a lot of ground extending to Holliday street. The dimension of the building is 99 feet in length by 75 feet in width. The costs were $36,750.69, paid by the con- tribution of 265 of its members, whereof we have a com- plete list, published in Second Annual Report of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland, pages 57 to 75.
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IN TIME OF WAR AND FAMINE.
In 1814, when the war of Great Britian with our country had lasted for more than a year and the English had suffered keenly from the many privateers fitted out in our harbor, Admiral Warren of the British Navy said : "Baltimore is a doomed town."
The English came with a fleet of more than seventy ships to destroy Baltimore and, on Sunday, September IIth, 1814, anchored off North Point twelve miles from the city and, on the next day, landed about 7,000 men of infantry, artillery, marines and sailors fully equipped for battle and advanced toward the city.
Their warships proceeding up the Patapsco to bon- bard the city from the river, to assist the army in the work of capture and destruction.
The city had heard of the threats and was informed of the design of the enemy and prepared to make a heroic defense. In August, 1814, a committee of vigilance and safety of 30, whereof the mayor of the city was chair- man, the following citizens of German birth or descent were members of this committee: Henry Stauffer, Solo- mon Etting, William Lorman, Adam Fonerden, Fred- erick Schaeffer, George Woelper, Herman Alrichs and George Warner. Philip Cronmiller, Ludwig Hering, Frederick Leypold, Henry Schroeder, Peter Gold and George Decker were among the superintendents of work for the erection of the fortifications. Peter Diffenderf- fer, William Brown and Daniel Diffenderffer were mem- bers of the committee on relief, and Christian Keller,
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GERMAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND
Henry Schroeder, Balzer Schaeffer and Jacob Miller were members of the ward committees. Not less did these citizens show their patriotism and valor in defense of our city, to drive back the foreign invader by force of arms, marching out of the city to give battle to the enemy. General John Stricker, commanded the brigade, which bore the brunt of the battle of North Point on the 12th of September. There was no regular army on the American side, they were all citizens' militia and volun- teers, among them were "The First Baltimore Light In- fantry," organized by Captain Mackenheimer, an officer in the continental army in the War of Independence and later promoted colonel. Captain John Schirm com- manded the company in 1814; "The Independent Com- pany," organized 1792 by Captain John Stricker; The Baltimore Jagers, commanded by Captain Philip S. Sadt- ler, the Union Jagers by Capt. Dominic Bader, a com- pany called the Gray Jagers, the Maryland Cavalry, com- manded by Capt. Jacob Baer, the 5Ist Regiment, Md. M., commanded by Colonel Henry Amey, who signed his orders Amich, and was a member of the Germ. Ev. Zion Church; Captains Haubert, Michel Peters, Andrew Smith, J. Matthews, Daniel Schwarzauer, George Stoever, John D. Miller, Thomas Warner, Andrew C. Warner and Henry Meyer, commanded companies in various regiments. We find their names again as mem- bers of the German Society. Our citizens of German birth and descent have at all times and in every emer- gency proven to be true Americans, devoted to liberty and to the free institutions of our country: shoulder to shoulder with their fellow-citizens, in time of peace and
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time of war they have striven and fought for the welfare of the nation and of the community they lived in.
The long series of the Napoleonic wars in Europe where Germany had been the principal battle ground came to an end, and the United States made peace with England. The inhabitants of these countries could again pursue their peaceful industries, cultivate the soil, repair their shattered fortunes or traverse the ocean with- out molestation, to seek new homes and better conditions of life.
The old fatherland had been impoverished and devas- tated by the ravages of war, peace now gave assurance to the peasant cultivating the waste fields, that he could reap the harvest of his crops without them being destroyed by passing troops or confiscated for the armies. A still greater calamity, however, fell upon these poor people. For several years after the end of the wars in 1816, 1817 and 1818, the crops failed in northern and central Europe. Years of famine and general destitution pre- vailed in Germany; the price of a pound of bread rose to twenty cents, the poor people had not the money and to save themselves from starvation they would eat boiled weeds and grasses, this caused sickness and many per- ished. It was then after an interruption of about forty years, 1776 to 1816, in the immigration, that the
GREAT 19TH CENTURY IMMIGRATION
of people from Germany to the United States commenced. The Labadists, Quakers, Menonites, Dunkers, Schwenk- felders, Moravians, Salzburgers and most of the palatines of seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had left Germany to escape religious intolerance and cruel persecution.
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Now it was the economic condition, to escape a famine stricken country which caused about 60,000* persons in the years 1817-18 to leave their fatherland for the hospi- table shore of America. Most of them came from Würtemberg and the Rhenish countries, wandering along the roads with their scant household goods and baggage in horse carts or floating in barges down the river Rhine, bound for the ports of Holland to cross the Atlantic. They were mostly peasants and artisans, strong and healthy in body, industrious and frugal in habits, but im- poverished by years of war and famine, they had not the money to pay the passage on the ships, but very desirable passengers to be sold as redemptioners on their arrival in America. About the middle of the month of November, 1816, upward of three hundred of these immigrants, men, women and children arrived at the city of Amsterdam to seek passage to America. The Dutch ship "Jufvrow Johanna," Capt. H. H. Bleeker, offered them passage to Baltimore, most of them had not the money to pay for the passage and came as redemptioners. The ship sailed with its living freight on its perilous voyage in the midst of winter. This winter is recorded as one of the coldest ever known. The chronicles of Germany relate that the birds froze to death in the air and the game perished in the forests. In Baltimore, the thermometer on Feb- ruary 5th, 1817, registered five degrees above zero, on the 6th, 13th, 15th and 17th at zero, on the 14th four de- grees below, and on the 16th four degrees above zero. The Chesapeake Bay was frozen from shore to shore. It was in this terrible weather that the ship "Jufroun
*Loher's History, 255.
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Johanna" with its 300 emigrants, after fifteen weeks buf- feting the tempestuous Atlantic Ocean on its trip from Amsterdam in the first days of February, 1817, worked its way in the capes and up the bay as far as off Annapo- lis, where it became ice-bound.
The ship had become short of provisions, and the pas- sengers upon making the capes, seeing the promised land so near in their exultation of being shortly released from their long captivity in the dark hold of the ship by land- ing in Baltimore, had thrown their bedding, which had become filthy, overboard; misery and acute suffering from cold and hunger set in. Communication with the shore being established, the condition of these poor people became known.
A humane gentleman of Annapolis, thereupon, on Feb- ruary 7th, inserted the following appeal in the Baltimore American, addressed "To citizens generally and to be- nevolent Societies "
"A ship with upward of 300 German men, women and children has arrived off Annapolis, where she is detained by ice. These people have been fifteen weeks on board and are short of provision. Upon making the Capes, their bed- ding having become filthy, was thrown overboard. They are now actually perishing from the cold and want of pro- vision."
On the next day, February 8th, the following adver- tisement appeared in the same paper :
GERMAN REDEMPTIONERS.
The Dutch ship, "Jufvrow Johanna," Capt. H. H. Bleeker, has arrived off Annapolis from Amsterdam with a number
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GERMAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND
of passengers, principally farmers and mechanics of all sorts, and several fine young boys and girls, whose time will be disposed of. Mr. Bolte, ship broker of Baltimore, will attend on board at Annapolis, to whom those who wish to supply themselves with good servants, will please apply ; also to Capt. Bleeker on board.
The ship with the passengers aboard remained ice- bound, in the bay off Annapolis for about six weeks. It was not until the 21st day of March, when the following advertisement appeared in "The Baltimore American."
GERMAN REDEMPTIONERS.
The Dutch ship "Johanna," Capt. H. H. Bleeker, has arrived before this City and lies now in the cove of Wieg- man's Wharf ; there are on board, desirous of binding them- selves for their passage, the following single men : two cap- ital blacksmiths, a ropemaker, a carrier, a smart apothecary, a tailor, a good man to cook, several young men as waiters, etc. Among those with families are gardeners, weavers, a stone mason, a miller, a baker, a sugar baker, farmers and other professions, etc.
This appeared daily in the "American" until the 7th day of April following, when, it may be presumed the last of these redemptionists, five months after they shipped from Amsterdam, were disposed of.
On the 13th of February, another strong appeal was made in the Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily Adver- tiser by one who signs himself a German descendant, for aid of the distressed emigrants on board of the ship "Johanna" ice-bound in the bay. The same paper con-
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tained a call for a meeting of Germans and descendants of Germans to be held at Kaminsky's Hotel on Bank near Light street, that evening, at 6.30 P. M. to organize for the better protection and assistance of German emigrants.
The meeting was attended by many influential and wealthy citizens. Among the organizers and first men- bers of the society we find General John Stricker, the commanding general of the Maryland Militia and an off- cer of the Revolutionary War; the merchants, Christian Mayer, B. J. von Kappf, Heinrich Schroeder, Louis Brantz, Frederick Leypold, Johann Hoffman, Frederick W. Brune, Michael Kimmel, F. L. E. Amelung, the founder of the first glass furnace in the State; William Krebs, John Frick, Samuel Keerl, John F. Fries, Peter Sauerwein, Frederick Waesche, Jesse Eichelberger, Dr. Diffenderffer, Justus Hoppe, Lewis Mayer, Philip D. Sadtler, J. J. Cohen, Samuel Etting, Conrad Schultz, Dr. A. J. Schwartz, Benjamin J. Cohen, Charles W. Kart- haus, Lawrence Thomson; the eminent attorneys, David Hoffman, William Frick and Charles F. Mayer. Chris- tian Mayer presided and William Frick, Esq., acted as secretary.
The descendants of most of these are still living in our midst and maintain the high character, the virtues and influence of their ancestors. Stricker, Waesche, Schroeder, Hoffman, Etting, Warner, Brune and Decker streets perpetuate some of these names in our city.
This meeting was the revival of "The German Society of Maryland," which for a number of years, whilst there was no immigration, had been dormant.
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At the next meeting of the society, which was held on the 18th of February, 1817, a constitution was adopted, and at the following meeting on the 3rd of March the following board of officers were elected: President, Christian Mayer ; vice-presidents, Dr. A. J. Schwartz, B. J. von Kappf, Heinrich Schroeder and General John Stricker ; managers, Justus Hoppe, Louis Brantz, Conrad Schultz, Jacob Small, F. L. E. Amelung, William Krebs, John F. Frick, Samuel Keerl, John F. Friese, Peter Sauer- wein, Michael Kimmel and Jesse Eichelberger; secretary of the society, Louis Mayer; secretary of the officers. Lawrence Thomson ; treasurer, Friedrich Waesche ; coun- sellors, David Hoffman and William Frick, Esqs .; physi- cians, John George Wolf and Jacob Baer. The objects of the society were declared to be: The protection and assistance of poor emigrants from Germany and Switzer- land and of their descendants who may reside in the State of Maryland or be temporarily sojourning therein.
One hundred and forty-nine citizens (see appendix), being natives of Germany or Switzerland or the de- scendants of such natives, subscribed their names to the constitution of the society.
That it was not only the suffering of emigrants on board of the ship "Juffrow Johanna," but the system of redemptioners at that time which was the cause of these good men to combine to remedy the evil, appears from the many advertisements which appeared in the newspapers of those days. I have selected but a few, culled from the "Baltimore American" of the months of March and April, 1817.
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On March 3 a reward is offered for the capture of a German redemptioner, a tailor, who absconded from Washington. And the following :
FOR SALE OR HIRE.
A German Redemptioner, for the term of two years. He is a stout, healthy man and well acquainted with farming, wagon driving and the management of horses. For further particulars, apply to
C. R. GREEN, Auctioneer.
On March II Patrick McCrystal offers $30 reward for the capture of a German redemptioner, a bricklayer.
On March 13 Aquila H. Sparks offers $50 reward for an absconded German redemptioner. On April II the following : :
GERMAN REDEMPTIONER .- $30 REWARD.
Absconded from the subscriber on Sunday, the 5th inst., a German Redemptioner, who arrived here in November last, by name of Maurice Schumacher, about 30 years of age, 5 feet, 9 inches, well proportioned, good countenance, but rather pale in complexion, short hair, has a very genteel suit of clothes, by trade a cabinet maker, but has been em- ployed by me in the making of brushes. He is a good Ger- man scholar, understands French and Latin, an excellent workman, speaks English imperfectly. $30 reward if lodged in jail.
JAS. M. STAPLETON, Brush Maker, 139 Baltimore St.
The first meeting of the board of managers, comprised of the fifteen officers of the society, was held March 6,
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GERMAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND
1817, all members present. Resolutions were adopted : that a majority of the members present at a meeting of the board shall decide, the president on all occasions to be entitled to vote. David Hoffman, Esq., and William Frick, Esq., were unanimously elected counsellors, and Dr. John G. Wolff and Dr. Jacob Baer elected physicians of the society; that the constitution of the society be printed; that subscriptions be solicited from natives of Germany and Switzerland, or their descendants, living within this State, and the constitution of the society be published in newspapers of the city and two newspapers in Fredericktown and Hagerstown; that all officiating German clergymen residing within this State shall be con- sidered honorary members of this society; that two thou- sand dollars ($2,000.00) of the fund of the society be forthwith invested in United States stock. A communi- cation from a certain Mr. Amy, of Georgetown, accom- panied by a deposition before a magistrate relative to cer- tain grievances of a German family by the name of Kraft, lately arrived in the Dutch ship "Johanna," Captain Bleeker, off Annapolis, against the said captain was re- ferred to the counsellors of the society.
The president on the next day consulted the legal coun- sellors, Hoffman and Frick, of the society and gave the following direction in writing :
To Messrs. Conrad Schultz, L. E. Amelung, Peter Sauerwein
Managers of the German Society of Maryland.
After a consultation held yesterday with the counsellors for the Society, I beg you that just before and immediately
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after the arrival in this port of Captain Bleeker, you make exhaustive inquiry and gather all legal evidence concerning the following three offenses for which the captain may be prosecuted ; according to reports-legal evidence of which is not lacking.
Ist .- That from the start of the voyage of the ship "Juffrow Johanna," the passengers neither in sufficient quantity nor quality, received the provisions stipulated in the contract.
2nd .- That the captain ignoring the contract, arbitrar- ily demanded of several passengers a larger sum for their passage, than had been agreed upon, and whereby they were in the true sense of the word sold and not released from their debt, as it should have been.
3rd .- That the captain seized and possessed himself of the clothes and effects of the passengers who died on board.
Baltimore, March 8th, 1817. CHRISTIAN MAYER,
President.
L. THOMSEN, Secretary of the Board.
The next entry in the Record Book reads :
William Frick, Esq. is requested to bring suits against the Master of the Netherland ship "Juffrow Johanna" upon all the documents in his possession.
Baltimore, March 31, 1817,
approved C. MEYER, President.
LOUIS BRANTZ, CONRAD SCHULTZ,
Managers of the German Society.
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GERMAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND
The ship "Juffrow Johanna" had sailed for Baltimore, and the redemptioners expected and had the legal right to enter their redeeming service only in this city and State, but Capt. Bleeker, by advertisement, which appeared from February 24th to March 3rd in the Alexandria Gazette, in the State of Virginia, and in the National Intelligence in the District of Columbia, offered his passengers to be sold for their passage money and did sell them at the board of his vessel in the bay off Annapolis, to Virginia and the District of Columbia, without having entered the port of Baltimore. This being a clear violation of the law and of the terms of their contracts, some of the re- demptioners sold to these places, by letters, appealed to the society for its assistance and for redress. The society took energetic action by bringing their cause be- fore the United States court, and thus the poor redemp- tioners fleeing from a famine stricken country, bound by the harsh terms of a legal contract to years of servitude, ignorant of the language and the laws of a country then foreign to them, without means and in the greatest dis- tress, found in the German Society friends, able, willing and ready to help, to protect them in their legal rights against the abuses of the master of the vessel who brought them here and the master who bought them on their arrival, by the assistance of the best legal talent of its eminent counsellors-at-law. The president of the society, Mr. Christian Mayer, a prominent merchant, con- sul-general of the Kingdom of Würtemberg, etc., came from a renowned family of the old city of Ulm, Germany, in 1784 to Baltimore. He was a man of great energy and keen intellect, in deep sympathy with the misery and suffering of the redemptioners. The secretary, Mr.
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Lawrence Thomson, was also a man of marked ability, equally versed in German and English language, worked with no less zeal in the humane cause; these officers were supported by a board of managers, consisting of promi- nent citizens. They invoked the aid of the law to punish those who committed acts of wanton violence on redemp- tioners and caused the sick to be removed at their expense to the hospital, but they could not, under the law, prevent that these poor people were sold on their arrival pro- miscuously, often at public sale, to whosoever would pay to the captain their passage money and take them to parts unknown. Thereby families were separated the mem- bers sold singly to different buyers, without knowing what had become of each other. In the Broening case, hereinafter stated, the two infant sons were sold to a farmer in Queen Anne's county, Maryland, and their parents to a farmer in Pennsylvania. No public record was kept of these sales, nor of the contracts under which they were bound, nor was a duplicate of the contract furnished to each of the redemptioners sold. These con- tracts were in the Dutch language and the German and Swiss redemptioners being ignorant of the Dutch and English languages, were completely at the mercy of an unscrupulous crafty master, who took them to distant parts, away from their friends. It was, therefore, of the first importance that laws should be passed to remedy these evils and a committee consisting of the president and the two counsellors of the society was elected to secure at the next session of the legislature of Maryland the enactment of a body of laws and regulations for the protection of German and Swiss emigrants arriving in the State of Maryland.
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GERMAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND
In the meantime the society found enough work on their hands under the existing laws.
The following letters I have copied from the record and minute book of the board of managers of the society. I have selected only such letters as by their contents throw light on or give information of the fate of some of these redemptioners, and on the manner of the officers in dealing with their grievances and rendering them assist. ance.
On May 29, 1817, the president of the society addressed the following letter to one W. Martin Gillet :
Sir :- The bearer, John Bernet, has applied to the Ger- man Society for their aid in a complaint he has against you. They have referred him to one of their counsels, who is of opinion, that you have no right to the servitude of Bernet's children. The officers of the Society wish to in- form you of this opinion of their counsel, and to invite you to an amicable arrangement of the business if possible by reference or otherwise. Bernet is willing to pay whatever impartial person may think him indebted to you for his children and begs that you will cease sending officers of Justice after him. Your reply, written or verbal, if you are disposed to settle the difference in a friendly manner, will oblige, etc.
This affair seems to have been amicably arranged, for no further complaint is made.
On July 17, 1817, he sent the following letter to Mr. Solomon Davis, Marble Quarry, Montgomery county :
Sir :- Yesterday, I received your letter of the 9th inst. The man you mention has been to see me about three weeks
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ago. He complained plausible enough, not only of ill usage, but also of the hardship of being put to work, which he hav- ing a rupture, it was physically impossible for him to do. He has stated that he would make up the money which has been paid for his passage from Europe. I answered him that the German Society could not interfere, especially, if his employer resided in the District of Columbia, or in Virginia, which he could not tell, that he must apply to a magistrate and a court &c. I finally advised him to return to his service and tender the money he could procure. I am glad to find that he at least so far followed my advice as to return and I am sorry to learn that he absconded again. These poor people, sir, are ignorant of the laws of this State and the manners and customs of its inhabitants. At least of those of British origin and descent make no dif- ference between white servants and black slaves, and when they are treated accordingly, they fancy themselves ill used,-which to be sure is inconvenient to their masters. A servant of mine is a native of the same village, in Suabia, from which your man came. I interrogated him on receipt of your letter about your man whose name I understood is Thies. My servant assured me that he did not see nor hear of him since he was with me last month, etc., etc. I am respectfully sir,
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