USA > North Carolina > Historic sketch of the Reformed Church in North Carolina > Part 2
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The Reformed Church in North Carolina.
and Graffenreid himself barely escaped with his life, under circumstances that made it impossible for him to remain in comfort at New Berne. He finally made his way back to Switzerland, where he died in 1743. The remnants of this colony went into the Presby- terian Church, and so were lost to the Reformed Church.
The Reformed Church in South Carolina has a history. There are now no Reformed congregations in that State, save one in Charleston; but the time was when there were many German Reformed people and several congregations. Why are there none now? The old answer is in point: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." The county or province of Saxe-Gotha, S. C., was settled by German and Swiss immigrants in 1737. It is a hundred miles or more inland from Charleston. The district is now called Lexington County. These settlers were nearly all members of the German Reformed and Swiss Reformed Church. Their first pastor was Rev. Christian Theus, a Swiss. He came in the first company of immigrants, or soon afterwards. He was educated for the ministry, his education having been finished before he came to America. But he had not yet been ordained to the ministry, and his name is given as a "candidatus theologica." He was ordained by the English Presbyterians, in 1739, as a German Reformed minister, and in that same year he began his work as pastor of the Reformed and Lutherans in Saxe-Gotha.
Mr. Theus had a fine education, and his learning and piety were highly spoken of. He was a friend of the
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The Reformed Church in North Carolina.
Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg, of the Lutheran Church, and entertained him several times on his visits to South Carolina. Dr. Muhlenberg obtained from Mr. Theus the promise of a written account of the German churches which he served in Saxe-Gotha. The Rev. Mr. Theus was a faithful man, and no doubt did for his friend what he promised. But no such paper seems ever to have been found among Dr. Muhlenberg's possessions; at least, it has never been published or quoted from. It will be a valuable contribution to history if it is yet found. Mr. Theus had many thrill- ing experiences in those early times of primitive life. One of the things that gave him much sorrow and anxiety was the wild theory, which has been denomi- nated the "Weber Heresy." Jacob Weber claimed to be God and Peter Smith claimed to be Christ. At one of those wild meetings which Mr. Theus attended, he took an open stand against the wickedness. The fol- lowers of the fanatics were determined to put him to death, either by hanging or drowning. But Mr. Theus fled to the river and jumped into a boat there, and had a negro to row him across to the other side.
Services were held in temporary places of worship in the first years of the work of Rev. Christian Theus. But in 1744 one of his influential members, John Jacob Reimenspurger, under a threat that the Ger- ' man settlers would remove to Pennsylvania if some- thing was not done to help them, obtained from the government five hundred pounds sterling towards the building of a Reformed Church. The name of this Reformed Church was St. John's, and its location was a few miles below the junction of the Broad and
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The Reformed Church in North Carolina.
Saluda Rivers, near the spot where the grave of Mr. Theus is still known to be. The church seems to have been destroyed in the Revolutionary war,. and was likely not rebuilt, as it is not mentioned in the general act of incorporation in 1788. This was not the only church that Mr. Theus served, for there were many other places of worship among the Reformed and Lutherans of Saxe-Gotha. Six of the churches served by him were still in existence in 1831, when the Classis of North Carolina was organized, and reported to that body. His labors also extended far beyond the limits of Saxe-Gotha into other parts of South Carolina and North Carolina, though he was really pastor only in Saxe-Gotha.
The date of the death of Rev. Christian Theus is not known, but his grave is pointed out eight miles from Columbia. No other graves are marked, but it is likely this was originally a cemetery near one of the defunct churches served by him. Many years ago a stone was erected over the grave by Mr. Abraham Geiger. This is very fortunate, for otherwise even the place of burial of this faithful Reformed preacher would not be known. And, in fact, unless another stone is soon erected on the spot, the place will be lost sight of, for the present stone sadly shows the marks of time, standing as it does in an open cotton field on a plantation. The stone contains these sentences: "This stone points out where the remains of the Rev. Christian Theus lie. This faithful divine labored through a long life as a faithful servant in his Mas- ter's vineyard, and the reward which he received from
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The Reformed Church in North Carolina.
many for his labors was ingratitude." He was still living in 1789, as he attended the meeting of the "Corpus Evangelicum" that year. After that date, we have no further information concerning him.
Rev. Christian Theus was a great and good man, and was the first minister among the Swiss and Ger- mans of Carolina. If there had been formed a "Coe- tus," covering the Carolinas and Georgia, in those early years, similar to that in Pennsylvania, the Re- formed Church would now have a different history to write of its work and people in the South. A few faith- ful men, such as Theus, Froelich, Martin, Dupert, Suther, Penager, Zubly, Schneider, Bithahn, Loretz, stood alone for years and did their work well. But in South Carolina and Georgia they had no successors. But the labors of Mr. Theus were not in vain. He fostered the weak German churches in North Carolina and held them together until permanent ministers came and located there. The Classis of North Caro- lina does well, even at this late date, to pay tribute to Rev. Christian Theus, whose labors in those early years prepared the way for future success.
The German immigration was at high tide from 1745 to 1755. These people were members of the Reformed, Lutheran and Moravian Churches. They settled in the most fertile sections of North and South Carolina. They were not slow to gather the people into congre- gations. Often the Reformed and Lutherans built union churches, a few of which are still found. The greatest problem of all was to secure ministers. Rev. Christian Theus, who began to preach in South
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Carolina as early as 1739, made missionary tours through the German settlements in North Carolina from 1745 to 1760, and likely even later than that. The Rev. Mr. Martin, a Swiss Reformed minister, preached to the congregations from 1759 to 1764. He was followed in the latter year by the Rev. Mr. Dupert, a Huguenot minister. In the interval of these years, the Rev. Mr. Schwum, a German Reformed minister, preached to the several congregations.
Rev. Samuel Suther began to preach in North Carolina in June, 1768. He located in Mecklenburg County, which was formed in 1762, and included a large section of the State along the South Carolina border. In 1792, Cabarrus County was formed. The churches which were then in Mecklenburg County were within the present limits of Cabarrus County. Mr. Suther continued to reside in Mecklenburg County from 1768 until October 25, 1771, when he removed to the eastern section of Reformed Churches, at the time including Orange and Guilford Counties. Orange County was formed in 1751, and included then Guil- ford County. Guilford County was formed in 1770. Mr. Suther retained his residence here until January 7, 1782, when he again removed to the central section of congregations. Here he remained four years, until 1786. In 1786, he removed to the Reformed Churches in the upper part of South Carolina. Here he died, September 28, 1788, aged 66 years, 4 months and 10 days.
Father Suther was an indefatigable worker. To him is due largely the credit of thoroughly organizing
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most of the congregations still in existence at the for- mation of the Classis of North Carolina in 1831. At first, several of the congregations worshiped in private houses and brush arbors. There had already been built some substantial log houses when he came. He exerted himself to build houses of worship for all the congregations. Feeling the need of money for this purpose, in 1784, in company with George Gurtner, Esq., he made a trip to Pennsylvania to collect funds to assist in building churches.
Mr. Suther's parish consisted of that large section of the State now covered by the counties of Alamance, Guilford, Davidson, Rowan, Cabarrus and Stanly. He organized several congregations in this section, and preached to them all statedly.
Mr. Suther took a prominent part in the affairs of the State. His residence in North Carolina covered the Revolutionary war period. He is the "Dutch Minister" mentioned by Governor Tryon. Mr. Suther was an intense patriot, and preached this doctrine among his people. As a consequence, nearly all his people were patriots, though many Germans of other denominations were Tories.
Rev. Christian Theus located in the Congaree section of South Carolina. He was ordained in 1739 by the English Presbyterians, in the absence of an organized body of the Reformed Church clothed with that author- ity. In that large territory he labored for many years, preaching to the Reformed people and also to the Lutherans in the long periods when they were unable to secure pastors. The Rev. Mr. Suther also preached
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for the Lutherans until 1773, when the first Lutheran pastor (Rev. Adolph Nussman) came to North Caro- lina. The parish of Rev. Theus was certainly very extensive. While he labored mostly in South Caro- lina, he found time to visit his destitute brethren in North Carolina, in order to baptize the children, cate- chize the youth, administer the communion and preach the Gospel. He was sincerely devoted to the Reformed Church, and it was likely through his in- fluence that Rev. Samuel Suther went to South Caro- lina, in 1786. But at the same time, he was broad in his sympathies, and readily endorsed the union movement, known as the "Corpus Evangelicorum." Mr. Theus and Rev. Carl Froelich were the Reformed ministers who went into that organization, which, however, did not succeed.
Rev. John William Pythan (often written Bithahn) had an unfortunate career prior to his coming to North Carolina, having been deposed from the minis- try by the Coetus (Synod) of Pennsylvania, in 1771. Subsequently he gave up his immoralities and preached acceptably in North and South Carolina. The date of his coming to North Carolina is not definitely known, though he preached in the Lincoln County churches before Rev. Andrew Loretz came, in 1786. He located finally in Guilford County and preached to the congre- gations there and also to those in Rowan (including Davidson) until his death. He had been a pastor in Europe prior to his coming to America, in 1769. He was a bright, intelligent man and an eloquent preacher. He was the successor of Suther in the eastern section,
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and seems to have given satisfaction. His death occurred on a Sunday after he had preached a sermon at the Clapp's Church, which was remembered long years afterwards by those who heard it. His body was buried at Clapp's Church (Brick), in Guilford County.
Rev. Samuel Suther changed his residence from North Carolina in 1786. Rev. Andrew Loretz was the next minister who deserves the title "pastor of all the churches." In times of their vacancy, he sup- plied all the Reformed churches in North Carolina through many years, and he also preached in South Carolina after the death of Mr. Suther. Mr. Loretz was the son of Rev. Andrew Loretz, who was, for a short time, a pastor in Pennsylvania. He was born in Chur, Switzerland, and came to America in 1784. He came to North Carolina in 1786 and located in the western section of the Church, which, up to this time, had been more sadly neglected than the other churches. For twenty-five years he was a faithful minister of the Word. In addition to his work in this State, he visited the destitute congregations in South Carolina four times a year. The latter churches had no regular pastors after the death of Theus and Suther. In 1827 ' all those churches had been lost except those in Lex- ington and Newberry districts. The report of a com- mittee to Synod that year, at York, Pennsylvania, on the southern section of the Reformed Church makes the following statements concerning those churches: "The only fragments of congregations belonging to our Church in South Carolina of which we have any
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knowledge are found in the 'Dutch Forks,' formed by the Saluda and Broad Rivers. This Forks was origi- nally settled by Germans, and almost exclusively of the Reformed Church. Immediately after the Revo- lutionary war there were numerous flourishing congre- gations. They were attended by two ministers about fifteen or eighteen years, when they were removed by death. Unable to procure a pastor, they solicited the occasional labors of the Rev. Loretz, of Lincolnton, North Carolina, who visited them four times a year catechized the children and administered the Lord's Supper. Thus the Church was externally kept to- gether about twelve years. After the death of Loretz, they were entirely destitute for many years."
But the large field was entirely too extensive for one man to cultivate. Father Loretz was a faithful man. He and Suther and Schneider and Bithahn built well upon the foundation of the Church already laid in North Carolina. Mr. Loretz had a polished education, being well acquainted with the Latin, French and German languages, and spoke each flu- ently. He was a strong preacher and a good organ- izer. Many admirers said of him that he was "one of the best pulpit orators in the Carolinas." His name is still held sacred by the descendants of those to whom he ministered in holy things. He died on a Sabbath evening in 1812, after having preached at St. Paul's Church. He lies buried in the graveyard at Daniel's Church, in Lincoln County. His works do follow him.
The Rev. Mr. Schneider came to North Carolina in
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1787. His labors were given primarily to the con- gregations in Rowan county (now Davidson), on Abbott's creek. He organized Beck's Church in 1787, after preaching in that community in private houses and brush arbors in the groves. His work was quite effective and resulted in gathering the Reformed people scattered over a wide section into four reason- ably strong congregations. Up to 1787, Leonard's Church was the only organized Reformed Church in Rowan County east of the Yadkin River. When Mr. Schneider became pastor, he established churches at Beck's, Sower's and Fredericktown (now Bethany). He also extended his labors into other sections of the North Carolina churches.
Samuel Weyberg came to North Carolina the first time as a theological student, in the year 1791. He had first studied law in Philadelphia, but in 1790, on the death of his father, who was the pastor of the old Race Street Church in that city, he gave up law for theology, and studied under the direction of Revs. Wack and Herman. On this first trip, he visited the German Reformed settlements in North Carolina, and preached to the several congregations. He then re- turned to Philadelphia, and was regularly licensed and ordained, either the latter part of 1792 or early in 1793. In 1793, he came south a second time. Rev. Andrew Loretz was then the only resident minister in North Carolina (unless Mr. Bithahn was still living), and Mr. Weyberg was a valuable accession to the churches. For ten years he preached regularly in the congrega- tions of the Reformed Church, particularly those in
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Cabarrus and Rowan Counties (including Davidson). He was a strong preacher and a diligent pastor. He rode miles hunting the Reformed families in a wide section of country. He was greatly loved by the wide circle of members to whom he broke the Bread of Life. About the year 1800 there began to be a feverish ex- citement among the people of Mr. Weyberg's congre- gations to emigrate to the region beyond the Missis- sippi River. Large inducements to settlers were held out by the governments of France and Spain. Several of the Reformed people in the congregations of Mr. Weyberg went west under this influence and entered large tracts of fertile lands. In 1803, France sold the great Louisiana Territory to the United States, and this further stimulated immigration into that inviting new country. But these people who had been accus- tomed to having worship conducted by ministers of their own faith sadly missed their former pastors. In 1803 Mr. George F. Bollinger came all the way back to North Carolina to present in person a call to Rev. Samuel Weyberg to serve Reformed people in Louisiana. The call was signed by Mr. Bollinger and many other substantial men who had been members of the Reformed Church in North Carolina. Mr. Bollinger was a man of influence, being a member of the State L'egislature. Mr. Weyberg loved the people among whom he labored in North Carolina, and he felt that he owed them a duty. At the same time he sympathized with those in the far Southwest, who so sadly needed the Gospel. It was no easy matter to decide whether to leave his adopted home and find a
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new one several hundreds of miles away. But at last he had to decide, after long and careful deliberation, and his decision was to go. North Carolina thus fur- nished the first Reformed missionary to the great West. Rev. Samuel Weyberg preached the first Protestant sermon ever preached west of the "Father of Waters."
But his departure was a sad loss to the congrega- tions in North Carolina. This servant of God died June 18, 1833, from the dreadful scourge of cholera. His people in the West were left without a pastor till 1841. In the interval, they made strong appeals (notably in 1835 and 1841) to the churches in North Carolina to send them ministers. But, unfortu- nately, the requests could not be granted, because they themselves were so sadly in need of more ministers.
The parents of Rev. John Jacob Larose came to America about 1740, or before that date. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was in the battle of Trenton. In the summer of 1777 he came to North Carolina, and located in Guilford County, where he followed his trade of tailoring. In his home he studied the Bible and religious books, preparatory to the Gospel ministry. He also received some instruction from a Presbyterian minister. He was licensed by the Presbyterian Church in 1795. He preached to several congregations in Guilford and Orange Counties, and in other parts of the State where there were vacancies, until September, 1804, when he went to Ohio.
In 1797, a petition was sent up from Ritschland, Steiner's and Grace Churches, in the eastern section,
. . J.
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for a faithful minister. These were likely some of the congregations formerly served by Rev. John W. Pythan. The Synod could not grant the request, but resolved that the matter should be attended to as soon as possible. The same year, Synod was asked by the congregation at Second Creek, Rowan County, to take up a collection for them and also to send them a min- ister. The Second Creek Church was at that time en- gaged in building a new house of worship, to take the place of the old log church. The new church was a handsome stone structure, ever since popularly called the "Lower Stone Church." Synod declined to take up the collection, but promised to send them a min- ister as soon as practicable.
Jacob Christman, a young North Carolinian, was received under the care of Synod in 1794, as a student for the ministry. When Synod met in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1798, six congregations in North Carolina petitioned that body to ordain Mr. Christman as their minister. He was examined by Revs. Messrs. Gobrecht, Wack and Runkel. The examination being satisfactory, he was ordained, May 1, 1798. Mr. Christman was one of the students trained by Rev. Samuel Weyberg, while he was pastor in North Caro- lina. He labored in the State until 1803, when he removed to Ohio, being the first Reformed minister in that State. Though the Reformed Church in North Carolina was so sadly in need of ministers herself, yet she gave the pioneer Reformed missionaries both to Ohio, where she sent Rev. Jacob Christman, and to the region beyond the Mississippi River, whither she sent Rev. Samuel Weyberg.
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There were too many congregations in Orange, Guilford and Randolph Counties for Rev. John J. Larose to serve alone; besides, he was only a licentiate. Some of those congregations, already in 1797, had overtured Synod for a minister, but there was no one available to be sent. The needs became greater and greater. Rev. Andrew Loretz was serving the churches over a wide extent of country in Lincoln County. Besides he had to visit the destitute congregations in South Carolina. Since the coming of Weyberg and Christman to the Yadkin River and Abbott's Creek sections of the Church, it is true he was relieved of much extra work, but it was a long distance to the eastern group of churches. Revs. Weyberg and Christman had their hands full in serving the congre- gations in the territory at present covered by the counties of Stanly, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davie and Davidson, and hence they could give only occasional visits to the vacant churches. Accordingly, again in 1802, these congregations asked Synod to place Mr. Henry Dieffenbach, then a catechist in Virginia, in a "position to serve them in all circumstances as a German Reformed minister." They wanted a man among them who could perform all ministerial acts. The Synod met that year in Philadelphia. Mr. Dief- fenbach, in response to this request, was licensed and ordained, May 18, 1802, the committee on ordination being Revs. Wagner, Wack and Runkel. He at once located in the eastern group of churches, and after the departure of Revs. Weyberg and Christman, he and Rev. Andrew Loretz, together with Rev. George Boger,
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supplied the churches formerly served by those minis- ters. In 1805, his health having failed, he asked Synod to permit him to resign his work. But the Synod requested him to delay pressing his resignation for two years yet, on account of the urgent need of ministers in North Carolina. The exact date when he left the State is not known, but it must have been be- fore 1813, for in that year four of the congregations which he had regularly served petitioned Synod for a minister. Or possibly his health continued impaired, rendering him unable to discharge his ministerial duties. Sometime during this period of ill health he went to Pennsylvania, and later to Ohio, where he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared in 1838. He left home to take a walk of two miles, and was never heard of again. It is supposed that he was murdered and his body concealed.
The departure of Rev. Mr. Dieffenbach and the death of Rev. Andrew Loretz, in 1812, left Rev. George Boger the only ordained Reformed minister in North Carolina. There were elders in many congregations who conducted services and held prayer-meetings. There were also school teachers who were pressed into service to read printed sermons and prayers. Thus the congregations were held together.
George Boger was a native of North Carolina, and studied theology under the direction of Revs. Samuel Weyberg and Andrew Loretz. He was ordained March 6, 1802, by Rev. Andrew Loretz, at Savitz's Church. He lived in the community of his birth all his life, where he died, June 19, 1865, in his eighty-
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third year. After the departure of Revs. Weyberg and Christman, in 1803, he took charge of the group of churches served by them, and he ministered to them regularly for twenty-seven years. He also extended his labors into other counties and into South Carolina. Mr. Boger was succeeded in 1830 by Rev. Daniel B. Lerch. Following is the autobiography of the Rev. Mr. Boger:
"In the name of God, Amen. To God be glory. GEORGE BOGER-HIS BIOGRAPHY.
"In the year 1782, December 15th, George Boger was born and baptized by Rev. Suther. The sponsors were George Goodman and Rosina Foil, unmarried. I was brought up in Cabarrus County, North Carolina (then Mecklenburg County). My father's name was Jacob, and was born and reared in Maxidonee (Maxa- taney) Township, Pennsylvania. My mother was a Loeffler, of the same State and county. After their marriage, they betook themselves to North Carolina and settled on so-called Buffalo Creek. There went I some months to a German school, when seven or eight years old. The schoolmaster's name was Joseph Hentzler. When nine years old, I went to school again, to Martin Schlump, and when eleven years old I went again six months to a German school, to Joseph Hentzler. When fourteen or fifteen years of age I went to English school four months, to John Yeoman. And when I had attained to sixteen years, three months and one-half my father sent me to religious instruction to Rev. Samuel Weyberg. After six weeks,
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