USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > Lower Heidelberg > History of St. John's (Hain's) Reformed church in Lower Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Penna > Part 1
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REV. WM. J. KERSHNER.
HISTORY
OF
St. John's (Hain's) Reformed Church
IN
LOWER HEIDELBERG TOWNSHIP
Berks County, Penna.
BY REV. W. J. KERSHNER, Pastor AND ADAM G. LERCH
READING, PA. : I. M. BEAVER, PUBLISHER
1916
F157 . 483K4
.
-
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ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH. 1
PREFACE.
To write a narrative or history of passing events as they trans- pire from time to time is an easy task. The matertal is then at hand and is only to be put in sentences embelished with language to gratify the taste of both writer and readers.
To put into writing what transpired more than five genera- tions ago is a more difficult undertaking, especially when records and traditional facts are meager and few. It then becomes neces- sary to collect from all available sources information that throws light on the subject, and by collation ascertain which and what of the material is of the greater weight and reliability. This was found to be the case in the compilation of this work. It had been the wish of some of the members of the St. John's Reformed Church in Lower Heidelberg township, Berks county, Penna. (bet- ter known as Hain's Church), to have a history published giving in detail a description of the formation, struggles and growth of the congregation. An attempt of the same is hereby offered to the reading public.
THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH RECORD.
In the year 1891 Mr. Michael Ruth, an aged member of the congrega- tion, made a suggestion that some one should take care of the old church records, so that they would not be lost. It was then remarked that Mr. Adam G. Lerch was the proper person for this task. This induced Mr. Lerch to make translations of the same, so that the coming generations could read them. Then later Dr. James I. Good.
"We, the undersigned, whose ancestors lie buried in the grave-yard of the Hain's Reformed Church, Berks county, Pennsylvania, do, out of re- spect to their memory, present this Church Register to its consistory, so that the early church records may be translated into it by Adam G. Lerch, and thus preserved. May 9, 1896.
Ancestors.
Conrad Eckert
Captain in the
Revolutionary War
Donors. Janies I. Good Rebecca Eckert Stetson George B. Eckert William E. Good Susan E. Benson David E. Benson
Ruth-Ludwig. James Rick
Henry Hain. S. Agnes Otis
Henry, Daniel, John, Jacob Hain. Clara L. Hain Zieber
George, Casper, Joseph, Benjamin and Harriet Hain Daniel B. D. Beaver "
We have not given any references showing the sources of our informa- tion, because a great many pages would have been marred by numerous repetitions, but we would express our gratitude, appreciation and indebt- edness to the consistory of the Church and to the members of the congre- gation in their aid in the work ; to the "Reformed Church Record," Rev. I. M. Beaver, Editor, and the men in his establishment; William S. Delp, Dr. Jas. I. Good, Rev. William Hinke, H. Harold Kershner, Rev. Thomas H. Krick, Edward E. Hafer, Harry E. Miller and "The Reading Eagle."
CONTENTS.
Page
FIRST PERIOD-1730-1757 9
Cacoosing Territory 11
From Schoharie to Tulpehocken 11
Early History of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania 12
Sectarianism
13
Tulpehocken Territory 15
The War of the Palatinate. 17
The Theory of the Divine Right of Kings. 18
Religious Revival, Sects and All Sorts of Fanatics. 18
John Conrad Tempelman 19
Rev. Samuel Guldin
20
Francis Layenberger 20
John Philip Boehm 20
John Henry Goetschi
20
Jacob Lischey
20
Frederick Casimir Miller
22
John Henry Decker
23
Thirty Years' War
23
Controversy Between Boehm and Lischey in Heidelberg.
23
Copy of Original Document Given to William Fisher in 1733. 24
Ground for Erection of the Church
24
Will of George Hain
25
Hoehn's Church Records, 1745-1757
27
Baptismal Record, 1745-1757
27
SECOND PERIOD-1757-1810
33
John Waldschmidt.
33
Erection of the Second Church
40
Interior of the Second Church
41
John Christ Ammann
41
Rev. John W. Boos.
42
Independent Preachers
46
During the Revolution
48
Whig and Tory 49
Rev. John Wesley Gilbert Neveling 50
6
ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH Page
Daniel Brodhead 51
Conrad Eckert 52
John Patton 52
Jacob Schaeffer 53
Battalion 53
Company of Capt. Jacob Livingood 53
First Recommendation for Prayer 53
Proclamation 54
List of Capt. Conrad Kershner's Company. 56
The Organ.
58, 477, 478
- Baptisms by Revs. Waldschmidt, Ammon and Boas
59
THIRD PERIOD-1810-1834 127
Rev. Philip Mayer 127
Rev. William Pauli. 128
Approval of Revivals by the Classes and Synod 129
Rev. William Hendel, D. D
129
Rev. Frederick A. Herman. 130
Rev. Joseph S. Dubbs, D. D.
130
Rev. John Hautz
132
Rev. Augustus L. Herman.
132
Rev. Thos. H. Leinbach
132
First Meeting of the Synod 133
The Conflict of Languages 134
The Separation of the Free Synod. 134
Revivals
136
Baptisms by Revs. Mayer, Wm. Pauli, Hendel, F. A. Herman, Dubbs, Hautz, A. L. Herman and Leinbach 137
FOURTH PERIOD-1834-1871 164
Rev. Charles Augustus Pauli 164
Church Remodeled, 1844. 167
Inscription on the Stone Over the Door 167, 484
Baptisms by Rev. Charles Augustus Pauli 169
Confirmations by Rev. Charles Augustus Pauli 263
Funerals held by Rev. Charles Augustus Pauli. 268
FIFTH PERIOD-1871-1883 283
Rev. Wm. F. P. Davis. 283
New Addition to the Church 285
Dedication of the Church 287
Baptisms by Rev. Wm. F. P. Davis 28
Confirmations by Rev. Wm. F. P. Davis 307
7
ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH.
Page
Marriages Performed by Rev. Wm. F. P. Davis.
309
Funerals Held by Rev. Wm. F P. Davis. 312
SIXTH PERIOD-1883 319 Rev. Wm. J. Kershner. 319, 485
Baptisms by Rev. Wm. J. Kershner 320
Confirmations by Rev. Wm. J. Kershner 374
Marriages Performed by Rev. Wm. J. Kershner 385
Funerals Held by Rev. Wm. J. Kershner 416
List of the Church Members 441
Diagram of the Church Land.
457
Early Families and Their Homes
459
A Soldier of the Revolution
468
A Child Lost.
469
School Teachers and Organists
469
Wernersville Sanatarium.
480
Elders and Deacons
481
Consistory
483
Improvements.
486
Adam G. Lerch .. 487
Sunday School 488
Bethany Orphans' Home League 490
Anniversary Chorus 491
Regular Choir 491
Log Church 493
Program of Sesqui-Centennial 495
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
Rev. Wm. J. Kershner
Frontispiece
St. John's (Hain's) Reformed Church 3
Adam G. Lerch. 9
Dillenberg, the Birthplace of Rev. Waldschmidt 33
Home of Rev. John Waldschmidt, Vinemont, Pa 39
Church Built in 1766. 40
Chestnut Teee Under Which Michael Wallinger Enlisted 53
Residence of Michael Kintzer 73
Parlor Ceiling in Home of Michael Kintzer 89
Residence of James Gaul 105
Sanctuary in Home of James Gaul. 121
Homestead of the Lerches 137
Rev. Charles Augustus Pauli
165
The Third Church 168
Rev. Wm. F. P. Davis
283
The Birthplace of Rev. Wm. J. Kershner 319
Mrs. Wm J. Kershner 329
H. Harold Kershner
345
Florence E. Kershner 361
Class of 1916 384
The Church During a Service in 1916 409
The Organ and Chancel in 1916 425
Interior of the Church in 1916. 441
The Eastern Cemetery
457
Hain Homestead at Wernersville
461
Home Built from Church Logs
462
Old Chestnut Tree that Stood where the Hain Monument will be Erected.
463
The Gerhard Homestead
465
The Old Hain Mill 466
Henry Gaul Farm 467
Organists
473
Prof. Chas. G. Specht 475
The Consistory in 1916. 484
Inscription Over Entrance 484
Hain Monument Erected in 1916 492
Memorial Church of 1916 493
Henry H. Reber, Builder of Memorial Church of 1916. 494
ADAM G. LERCH.
St. John's (Hain's) Reformed Church.
First Period-1730-1757.
The history of St. John's Reformed Church of Lower Heidel- berg township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, is the history of the people of that part of the country in those early pioneer days and brings to light the life and character of the people of Eastern Pennsylvania. They were men of good morals, pure character, honest and upright in their dealings, whose word was as good as their note, with strong and hardy bodies endured to hardship, ever willing to suffer deprivation for the cause of justice, of reso- lute determination and zealous devotion to the God whom they worshipped. These people came from a country where war and strife held supremacy for centuries, and where no one was safe from molestation.
"Brains," says Machiavelli, "are of three generations-those that understand for themselves, those that understand when another shows them, and those that understand neither of themselves nor by the showing of another." The people that came to this coun- try were of the first class. Such men you cannot enslave ; you can put them in bondage, but their minds will ever remain unfettered. If it were not for the latter two classes, humanity could not be made the tools and servants of unscrupulous and tyrannical despots and be hurled against each other in war to their own destruction, and those escaping the ravages of the mur- derous hand made to restore the devastated land and pay the taxes. For centuries the common people were oppressed by war, but especially when the Thirty Years War broke out ; the conflict- ing armies swept over Germany and the Netherlands like a devas- tating fire, fighting solely for plunder, and men became like legions of bends unchained from hell. When the war ended in 1648, by the Treaty of Westphalia, civilization was almost blotted out.
After coming out of all this strife, deprivation and suffering it is but natural that the earliest settlers should endeavor to organize a home rule or government that would meet with their long deferred hopes. With such underlying thoughts and feelings in the hearts of the men, this community was established, a place for good government and pure religion. These very thoughts and motives. produced a Thomas Jefferson, a George Washington, and a William Penn, and many others, the founders of our free institu-
2
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ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH.
tions, and the separation of the State and the Church and the education of the children, for in the country where our people came from the Church and the State were one, a great evil in the minds of our forefathers ; hence whenever the State or any organ ized body tried to bring things back to the old system it met with the greatest opposition, and the people that belonged to the Tory party called them all sorts of names, ridiculed them and spoke of their language in derision, but our people remembered the suffer- ings, the trials and all the wrong that had been perpetrated under the guise of religion and those who said they were divinely ordained to rule over them. Several of the American colonies, following the example of England, established Churches supported by the State, but the Revolution, which severed the relations between the colonies and the mother country, put an end to these establishments. The State Church was repealed in New York in 1777, in Virginia in 1785, in New Hampshire and Connecticut in 1818, and in Massachusetts in 1833.
"After taking these things into consideration, we can under . stand why Thomas Paine, in 1776, published a pamphlet entitled "Common Sense," in which he maintained the cause of the colonies against the mother country. The success and influence of this publication were extraordinary and it won for him the friend- ship of Washington, Franklin and other distinguished American leaders.
Thomas Jefferson said that every man had two countries, his own and France and the Netherlands, from which he learned many of the ideas which became part of the Constitution of the United States. In the Declaration of Independence, Church and State are separated and the rights of the individual man estab . lished.
But long before the Declaration of Independence was written those principles were deeply written into the hearts of the men that came to the Lebanon valley and laid the foundation of what is now Hain's Reformed Church, or was then known as the Cacoosing Church of Heidelberg township. The origin of the birth of the Constitution is found in France, Holland and the Netherlands, which have been the battleground of the world for centuries and which aroused such intense opposition to the Church and State being one and the State the ruler of both, and where the rulers claimed divine origin, denying the rights of the common people. This is the reason that Jews and Roman Catholics were excluded from holding public office ; because they could never di - vorce their religion from public affairs and the government, and thus they were not considered safe as rulers in a country where free institutions prevailed.
11
ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH.
CACOOSING TERRITORY.
By a careful study of the conditions existing at the time those sturdy pioneers made their appearance in the section of territory east of the Tulpehocken region to the Cacoosing creek and made their abode in what is now the fertile Lebanon valley ; the reader must remember that the Cacoosing territory was directly east of Wernersville, that is the watershed into the Cacoosing creek, the eastern part of the Lebanon valley, and extended west as far as Cornwall, to the Quito Pahillo and to the South Mountain, eastern part of Heidelberg township and a small part of Spring town- ship; the central part comprised the territory extending westward to the Tulpehocken watershed, and the western part of what was then Heidelberg, to Tulpehocken region, likely as far as the Mill- creek.
FROM SCHOHARIE TO TULPEHOCKEN.
The section known as Heidelberg, Berks county, formerly Lancaster county, was settled by immigrants who left the Palati- nate in Germany about the year 1707-1709. They first went to London in respone to the invitation of Queen Anne, who had seen their destitute condition in the Fatherland. About the year 1710 a number of the Palatinates came to Schoharie, Ulster county, New York.
Owing to the cruel treatment received at the hands of Gov- ernor Hunter, and having heard of the unoccupied lands in Swa- tara and Tulpehocken in Pennsylvania, they left Schoharie and traveled in a southwestern direction through the forest till they reached the Susquehanna river, where they made rafts, loaded them with their families and some household goods, floated down the river to the mouth of the Swatara creek ; thence they worked their way up till they reached a fertile spot on the Tulpehocken creek, where they settled amidst the Indians in the spring of 1723. The cattle they drove by land There were thirty- three families of them at Tulpehocken in 1728.
In 1729 there was an important accession. Among these were the Holms, Fischers, Lauers, Anspachs, Badtorfs, Spichers, Christs, Cadermans, Noacres, Lebenguths and the Weisers. Some of these families remained in the Tulpehocken section, while some moved eastward to Womelsdorf, and still others farther eastward to what was known as the Cacoosie section, among whom were the Hains, Fischers, Spohns and Laucks.
Thus the causes that led them to brave the tempests of the At- lantic, the trials and suffering they had to endure at the hands of those in whom they had entrusted their weal and woe; in their defective title to the lands at Schoharie, New York, and eviction ont of their homes ; their journey through an unbroken wilder-
12
ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH.
ness inhabited by wild beasts and savage Indians ; their floating down the Susquehanna river on primitive rafts, and on disem- barking having nothing before them but again a vast wilderness and the canopy of the heavens; their tedious and weary journey to the place which was to become their abode ; the labor, the tri- als and hardships they had to undergo in conquering the forests and the wilderness to make the land arable and bring about the productiveness of the soil. No wonder that those became a pecu- liar or separate people, of different thought and mind, than such as had not passed through such fiery furnaces or ordeals of adver- sities as they had. On the other hand, we have those of the Pal- atines who came direct from their mother country to the eastern part of the province of Pennsylvania and settled in this section at a later time, who for the sake of religious liberty sought a home where they could worship God according to the dictates of their conscience without hindrance or molestation.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN PENNSYLVANIA.
The recorded history of our Church in Pennsylvania begins with the year 1720. There is but a single document which goes back to that early date. It is the petition of the Reformed people in Montgomery county, presented to the Classis of Amsterdam, requesting that body to consent to the ordination of John Philip Boehm Writing of Rev. Boehm they thus refer to the first Ger- man Reformed services in Pennsylvania : "Shortly after his arri- val (in 1720) some of the neighbors established a religious meet- ing, in which the said John Philip Boehm, as reader, maintained the ministry of the Word to the best of his ability and to the great satisfaction of the people, for five years, without receiving any compensation." In the year 1725 the people succeeded at last in persuading Boehm to assume all the duties and responsibilities of the ministerial office. After long hesitatian he finally yielded to their urgent request, and on October 15, 1725, he celebrated the Lord's Supper for the first time at Falkner Swamp, and organized the first German Reformed congregation in Pennsylvania. If we are to accept any date as the birthday of our Church in Pennsyl- vania, it ought certainly to be October 15, 1725.
At the same time when Boehm was organizing his first con- gregations and assuming all the rights of a minister, the Reformed people began to congregate in another section. It is an interest- ing fact, which ought to be emphasized, that almost contempora- neously and yet independently, the beginning was made in two distinct places, namely, in the Schuylkill Valley by Boehm and in the Conestoga Valley by Conrad Tempelman. The latter be- gan unknown to Boehm and independent of him in 1725, the birthyear of our Church. They were both pious laymen, both
13
ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH.
were urged to undertake the work by their neighbors and friends, and both were instrumental in gathering many congregations and in saving the Reformed Church from the danger of sectarianism, which threatened to crush out her existence.
The first definite reference we have to Hain's or Cacusi Church is found in the report of John Philip Boehm to the Classis or Coe- tus of Amsterdam, January 14, 1739. After referring to difficul- ties which existed at Oley he continues: "The minister of this congregation can also supply the place which is called Cacusi, where (as I hear) likewise a considerable congregation has gath- ered. This place is about seven or eight miles from the centre in Oley. (Goetschi has also presumed for some time to serve this congregation with the means of grace.) At Falkner Swamp, White Marsh, Oley and Philadelphia, and also in the neighbor- ing places, there is as yet nothing. Services are held with great inconveniences in houses and barns, except at Cacusi, near Oley, where (as I hear) they have built a log church for their use. Now concerning the last point, how the congregations are supplied with schoolmasters and precentors, there is as far as I know no- body with fixed position."
In the same report Rev. Boehm reports how the churches of Pennsylvania may be combined and in the most convenient and useful way be served by six ministers. "At Oley the same con- dition prevails, and perhaps a suitable place may still be found from which Cacusi and Maxatawny may be served."
Minutes of Coetus, pages 12, 13 and 16.
SECTARIANISM.
Pennsylvania was flooded at that time by all kinds of sects- Quakers and Mennonites, Dunkers and Seventh Day Baptists, In- spirationists and Separatists, Hermits and Newborn. Moreover, we are informed by Spangenberg, the biographer of Zinzendorf, that "many thousands of these people were so indifferent toward religion that it had become proverbial to say of a man who did not care for God or His Word, that he had the Pennsylvania re- ligion."
This deplorable condition is very strikingly set forth in a let- ter of Boehm to the Classis of Amsterdam, dated November 12, 1730, in which he says : "By these dangerous sects an appalling number of people have been led astray, yea, even married people have been separated. The two main heretics, who have been driven away from all places (C. Beissel and Michael Wohlfohrt) live at Canastoka and Falknerschwam. Meanwhile it must be feared that if they are not opposed, many poor people will be led astray by them. We hear continually of such who here or there have gone over to them, to our great astonishment, even of some Reformed people."
14
ST. JOHN'S (HAIN'S) REFORMED CHURCH.
It was this activity and missionary enterprise, especially of the Dunkers, described at length in the Ephrata "Chronicle," which led the Reformed people to rally around their leaders with the determination to stem, if possible, the flood of sectarianism, which was sweeping over the land.
They realized that the thing for them to do was to erect a Church for the glory of God, where they might worship God and have His divine blessing and enjoy the freedom for which they had been struggling for centuries. Therefore, by their united ef- forts, these various sects were prevented from coming into the territory of this congregation.
Grotius, who was well informed as to the conditions of Europe, says that a hundred thousand heretics were put to death in the Netherlands under the edicts of Charles V. Such was the relig- ious record of this people. They were divided into seventeen provinces ; this explains the numerous sects found in eastern Pennsylvania, as each province united under their faith because the old form of government was largely destroyed.
When the Reformation first broke out, the Reformers of the Low Countries inclined to the theology of Luther. But in time they took up with the teachings of Calvin, and Calvinism in all its fullness was adopted as the creed of the Reformed Church. It is to this doctrine that the tree countries owe their liberty, and the United States are the first fruition.
It was the Reformed Church of Holland which first planted Presbyterianism in the new world. Subsequently, many adherents of the Reformed faith emigrated to America. Those from the Continent, while retaining the general epithet of the Reformed, prefixed adjectives to indicate their origin ; hence the Dutch Re formed, the French Reformed, and the German Reformed Churches ; scattered representatives of the Swiss Reformed also were not wanting. From 1730 to 1792 the German Reformed churches, mostly derived from the Palatinate, placed themselves under the Classis of Amsterdam. To Amsterdam, indeed, all the American Churches that were of Continental origin turned for men and money.
The Reformed Church in the United States, while it recog- nizes all evangelical Christians as brethren, has been noted for conservatism in doctrine, or else this congregation could not have been true to its doctrine for a period of some twenty years without a regular minister ; this proves that the early settlers were well grounded in their faith.
The elders and deacons are chosen only for two years, although they may be re elected ; but the elder retains the honor of his of- fice for life, and may at any time, although not in the Consistory,
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