USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania: The German influence in its settlement and development, Pat V > Part 4
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
and gleaned amongst the " Landmarks in the Lebanon Valley," most entertainingly speaks of this building, which is so typical of the many substantial homes provided, even at this early day, by the Pennsylvania Germans of the Tulpehocken region, for themselves and their families. He tells us that " its walls are two feet thick, and laid up with many large and well-dressed stones. Its door posts, about five and a half feet high, and the lintel fully three feet long, are single sandstones, with some attempts at carved ornamentation upon them. The head stone over the door, and the slab bearing name and date, have rather elaborate figures and lines carved upon them. The door is broken into two, like ordinary stable doors, and consists of double inch boards pegged together with wooden pins. An iron catch, or staple, on the inside, soldered with lead into the stone door post, catches the heavy iron latch that closes the door. All the windows were originally but small square port holes in the wall ; but three of these have since been enlarged into the size of ordinary windows, for more modern convenience. The rest remain intact. So does the building throughout. Its main floor, over the cellar, is arched below and leveled with stone and earth. A huge and quaint Queen Anne fireplace, twelve feet wide, graces the kitchen part of the house." It was not only a home but a fort, in addition, as all the early homes needed to be, and, during the horrors of the French and Indian War, nigh at hand, it frequently opened its protecting doors to fleeing neighbors.
There is an old family tradition that Christine, the wife of old Heinrich, seeing three savages prowling about the house, trying to gain admission, when all the family were absent save herself, descended into the cellar with an axe. Presently the head of the first Indian protruded
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Church and School.
through the port hole, when down came her weapon with deadly effect. Promptly dragging the body inside she called to the others, in a disguised voice, who, supposing all to be well, made similar efforts to enter and were in turn despatched.
This stone house, however, was the second building erected by Heinrich Zeller and, as a permanent residence, supplanted the temporary log house which he built in 1723, upon his first arrival, and which stood some fifty feet dis- tant. It was in Zeller's log house, in 1727, when the num- ber of the settlers had been sufficiently augmented to war- rant them in such a proceeding, that a public meeting was held and it was resolved to erect a house for the worship of God, using it during the week for educational purposes and the gathering of the parish school. Without a pastor, or the immediate prospect of procuring one, widely separ- ated as to their dwellings, and scanty of means as well as few in numbers, this action was certainly of a praiseworthy character. It was altogether a work of the laity. Amongst the pious men present, of prominence, were the Reith (Reed) brothers, Adam, Leonhardt and Michael, the former of whom is said to have presided. Others were Frederick and Michael Schaeffer and Christopher Lech- ner, who was chosen 'to superintend the erection of the building. George Scholl is said to have made the motion to erect the house of worship, which was unanimously carried. It is said that in the devotions conducted at this meeting Luther's famous battle-hymn, " Ein Feste Burg," was rendered. Mr. Croll, in speaking of this gathering, remarks, very appropriately, that though the hymn thus rendered by these devout men may not have approached, in excellence of rendition, to the efforts of our more mod- ern trained chorus, yet how much more sincere and thrill-
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ing it must have been. The three Reith brothers, or, pos- sibly, Leonhardt alone, promptly donated the land, over eight acres in all, sufficient for church, school house and burial purposes, and, under Mr. Lechner's superintendence, assisted by men and women, the first church, not only in the Tulpehocken region but in that part of the Province, was erected in five months, and dedicated in October of the same year. It was called " Zion's " church, but is now better known as "Reed's church," from the name of the family who were so active in its erection. It belonged to the Lutheran denomination, the faith of its early members. It is hardly possible that any clergyman could have been present at the dedication, but, as we know that a parochial school was in existence from the beginning, it is probable that its first teacher, Jacob Hannmer, a native of Man- heim, Germany, officiated at these services.
To Rev. P. C. Croll we are again indebted for a descrip- tion of this building which stood on an eminence near the present town of Stouchsburg. It consisted of hewn logs, with roof of thatch or tiles. The pews were made of the same material (logs with a hewn side for seats), while the pulpit was made of rough boards. An ordinary walnut table, 34 × 48 inches in dimension, donated by one of the Reiths, was used as altar and communion table, which identical table is still intact, the property of Aaron Snyder, Esq., a lineal descendant of the donor, living at Mt. ÆEtna, Berks County, Penna.
The question of obtaining a regularly ordained pastor was far more puzzling to our immigrants than the erection of their church, as it was to all the early German settlers in Pennsylvania.
Their earnest desire to hear the word of God expounded, which was to them not merely a vain repetition of empty
Rev. Peter Miller. 403
sounds, but, in truth, the " Bread of Life," caused them to be less circumspect in their choice of a mouthpiece to give utterance to the same, and, most unfortunately though most naturally, led them into much trouble and endless con- fusion.
So great a scarcity was there of pastors for this suddenly but sparsely settled and remote district, that the immi- grants were willing to give ear to the preaching of any one who seemed to be clothed with authority and whose teach- ings had even the remotest resemblance to their own Lutheran faith.
In August, 1730, John Peter Miller, a native of Oberant Lautern, of the Electoral Palatinate, and a graduate of the University of Heidelberg, arrived in Philadelphia, and there made application to the Scotch Synod for clerical ordination. Before receiving ordination a question for discussion was proposed, and, in answering it, he showed himself to be a man of rare endowments. "We gave him," says Rev. Andrews in a letter to a friend, " a question to discuss about Justification, and he answered it, in a whole sheet, in a very notable manner. He speaks Latin as readily as we do our vernacular tongue."4
Shortly after ordination Mr. Miller visited Weiser at Tulpehocken, and labored, as a minister of the Gospel, among the Germans, for several years.
About that time a religious excitement prevailed through- out the entire region ; scores imbibed the sentiments pro- mulgated by Conrad Beissel, the founder of the " German Seventh Day Baptist Association" at Ephrata.
Amongst the number of converts were Miller and Weiser, both of whom were initiated into that church, by the ordi- nance of baptism, in May, 1735. Weiser soon forsook
+ Rupp.
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the society, but Miller resorted to Ephrata, where he re- mained till the day of his death, September 25, 1796.5
In the meantime, about 1733, Casper Liebbecker had become teacher in the little parish school, as well as a lector to the congregation, or reader of sermons written by the fathers of the church. As the Beissel excitement died down and the people returned to their former faith an ef- fort was made to secure a pastor, doubtless from abroad, at a salary of thirty pounds (Pennsylvania currency), but without avail ; then, in despair, they turned to their teacher and selected Liebbecker for their minister, who occupied a newly built parsonage.
Whilst these events were transpiring on the borders of the Province, there landed in Philadelphia, on Sept. II, 1728, by the ship Good Will, David Crocket, master, from Salinger Amt, Duchy Berg, in Unter Pfaltz, Germany, the missionary John Caspar Stoever, Sr., and John Caspar Stoever, Jr., a theological student 21 years of age. The former took up his life work in and about Spottsylvania, Va., whilst the latter labored as a missionary in Pennsyl- vania, throughout its entire settled portion, at a time when there was probably not a single ordained Lutheran min- ister in the whole Province except the Swedes at Philadel- phia. In 1733 he received ordination at the hand of Pastor Schultze, and was married at the same time, whereupon he promptly resumed his labors in Lancaster and Berks Counties.
As was to be expected, the ministry of Mr. Liebbecker failed to give satisfaction to many from the mere nature of things. With the advent of Rev. Stoever as a regularly ordained clergyman of their own Lutheran faith, came the desire on the part of many to elect him as their pastor and
5 Rupp.
The Tulpehocken Confusion. 405
bring to an end the temporary arrangement then existing. But, meanwhile, Mr. Liebbecker still retained a number of adherents who may have reasoned that it was but poor judgment to cast off a tried servant, one who resided in their midst and constantly attended to their wants, to take up one whose duties allowed him to give but a portion of his time to them. Be that as it may, the congregation was divided into factions and bitter was their strife, which lasted several years and is known as the " Confusion of Tulpehocken," from the title of a statement published Aug. II, 1742, by the wardens of the party opposed to Stoever, which was attested by Conrad Weiser.
The contention became so strong between the congrega- tions, either having their pastor or church officers, that an appeal to the law became necessary. The whole matter was argued before the nearest Justice of the Peace, Wm. Webb, of Kennett, Chester County, who was lawful attor- ney for John Page, of London, the proprietor of these Tul- pehocken lands, under the title of " Court Baron of the Manor of Plumton," who decided in favor of the Lieb- becker party, giving them exclusive rights to the church
property. This interesting document, bearing date of January 22, 1735, is still kept as a relic by Mr. Franklin B. Reed, the seventh lineal descendant of the Leonhardt Reith who donated the ground.6 It was stipulated, how- ever, that when no regular services were held by Lieb- becker, the regular pastor, Stoever, or any other preacher who would behave himself, might occupy the house for worship. Under these conditions, and with the approba- tion of his opponents, Stoever continued to preach once a month. It is said, however, that his adherents did many things calculated to annoy, and even injure, Liebbecker,
6 Rev. P. C. Croll.
.
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as on one occasion, when a log filled with powder was placed in the fireplace, but, fortunately, exploded without harming any one.
Mr. Liebbecker died in 1738, but even then the factions failed to unite and his congregation remained without a pastor. The effort to supply his place introduced a new element of discord. Conrad Weiser had meanwhile be- come acquainted with Count Zinzendorf, of the Moravian Church, and was so much impressed with his religious zeal and unquestioned piety as to render him, for a while, per- sonal aid in his labors. Aware of the conditions at Zion's Church, the Count offered to supply the vacant charge with a pastor, free of expense, who should serve them until they might obtain one of their own faith from Germany. The offer was accepted and J. Philip Meurer selected, to begin his labors in September, 1742. Pending his arrival, in March, 1742, Gottleib Buettner, a young man just or- dained by the Oley Synod, took temporary charge.
At once the Stoever faction denounced him as a non- Lutheran interloper, whilst the Liebbecker party accepted him as their minister. Again an appeal was made to the law and again the attorney, Mr. Webb, decided in favor of the original congregation upon the assurance of the war- dens that they would hold the church in trust for a Lu- theran congregation.
Upon the arrival of Meurer, unwilling to accept him as a pastor and in the firm belief that the old church was swept away from its Lutheran moorings, Mr. Stoever and his adherents withdrew, in the fall of 1742, to found a new one, which was erected about a mile west of the former edifice and named Christ Tulpehocken Church, though now generally known as the Tulpehocken Lutheran Church.
This original building was doubtless of logs. Its foun-
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Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.
dation stones can still be seen. When the corner-stone was laid in May, 1743, there was placed in it a document set- ting forth the principles upon which this new church should he founded, which carefully guards against their admix- ture with any sects and errorists, and is signed by 166 ad- herents. The first building was replaced, in 1786, by a substantial stone structure, which venerable edifice is still standing. By 1743, however, the Rev. Mr. Stoever had resigned his charge at this place and was succeeded by the Rev. Tobias Wagner, who was the first pastor of Christ Church.
The old congregation, under the charge of Rev. Meurer, did not flourish. More as a matter of competi- tion with Christ Church a new stone edifice was erected in 1744, but without avail. Finally, in 1745, the Moravians having built a church of their own, some seven miles far- ther down the Tulpehocken, where a Moravian settlement was founded, those who were distinctly of their faith withdrew, leaving the congregation very small in numbers and barely able to maintain services. Mr. Meurer added to his unpopularity by refusing, February, 1747, to allow the pastor of Christ Church to hold funeral services in the case of a deceased member of his congregation who re- quested that such might be done.
With the advent of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg in America the harassed and storm-tossed immigrants were, at last, to find rest. This work was aided materially by his marriage, April 22, 1745, to Anna Maria, daughter of Conrad Weiser. Through his efforts Weiser was finally and firmly anchored to the Lutheran faith. Through the persuasive reasoning of both the remnant of Zion's congre- gation were, likewise, restored to the fold from which they had temporarily wandered, and were induced to elect as
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their pastor, in September, 1747, the Rev. J. Nicholas Kurtz, who had been just chosen, in addition, as the pastor of Christ Church. Thenceforth, for a century, the two charges were as one congregation except in the matter of a preaching place.
There only remained to decide what interest the Mora- vians had in the property, inasmuch as part of the means for erecting the church of 1744 had been furnished by them. A suit was brought to test the matter and a decision reached, April 26, 1755, which affirmed the claims of the Lutherans on the ground of the original intention of the donors of the land and the large majority of membership of the Lutherans at the time suit was brought.7
Having traced the religious experiences of our Palatine immigrants from New York Province, so far as we may, it only remains to add a word with regard to their early efforts in education. Under the adverse circumstances by which they were surrounded it might have been excusable had they postponed action in that respect. Such was never the thought or purpose of these men. The reader has al- ready learned that their first act was the establishment of a parochial school, a place of instruction not only for the brain, but for the heart as well. He has also been given the names of its first teachers and, now, needs but to be told that upon the death of Mr. Liebbecker, in 1738, his place, as a teacher, was taken by Valentine Kraft. When the Rev. John Nicholas Kurtz became pastor of Christ Church he also taught the parish school. I have not touched upon the Tulpehocken Churches of the Reformed denomination, feeling they were not within the scope of this paper, but it is not out of place to remark that, with their advent, came also their parish school, established by direction of the Rev.
7 M. L. Montgomery.
THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN SOCIETY.
JES.99
ORIGINAL HOUSE.
ADDITION BUILT 1834.
THE OLD WEISER HOMESTEAD NEAR WOMELSDORF.
PHOTOGRAPHED FOR THE SOCIETY BY JULIUS F. SACHSE.
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The Parish School.
Michael Schlatter, which had an existence as early as 1752. And the existence of these schools was not a matter of a mere day's time, but they were maintained for a century, long after the establishment of public schools. It was this firm adherence to an education, something more than merely secular in character, which caused their early action, in opposition to an untried system of general public instruc- tion, to be misconstrued, and themselves to be maligned.
CHAPTER VIII.
HIS INFLUENCE AS AN AGRICULTURIST.
HE critic who reads the pages now written in eulogy of the early German settler in Pennsylvania may well ad- vance the argument that it were but natural for the Pennsylvania- German of to-day to sound the praise of his ancestor and to ascribe to him much of the pros- perity to which this Common- wealth has now attained. If he lean towards adverse criticism he may be inclined to close his eyes to the material proofs surrounding him of the truth of what has been claimed; but no one can fail to give credence to a favorable assertion made by one not of Ger- man descent, and, not only unprejudiced, but, rather, pre- judiced against the Palatines. This assertion comes from the lips of Thomas Penn himself. The reader need not be reminded of the fact that the German immigrant was looked upon, at first, with disfavor. He spoke a foreign tongue ; his country was not the country of the English,
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Industry of the Palatines.
and his ways not their ways ; he was, frequently, indigent, and, on the surface, did not indicate his real value; and there was a galling obstinacy about him which tended to widen the breach. It cannot be denied that, for a while at least, the proprietors and their commissioners were much in doubt whether the presence of the Germans in their province was at all desirable, and whether "their room would not be preferable to their company." Under such circumstances a change of opinion, on the part of the pro- prietor himself, must inevitably carry great weight with it, and it cannot fail to be a source of gratification to all Penn- sylvania-Germans to know that, at the meeting of council held at Philadelphia, January 2, 1738 (Col. Rec., 4-315), as Thomas Penn was summing up the past and advising for the future, he made the following just assertion :
" This province has been for some years the asylum of the distressed Protestants of the Palatinate, and other parts of Germany, and I believe it may with truth be said that the present flourishing condition of it is in a great measure owing to the industry of those people ; and should any dis- couragement divert them from coming hither, it may well be apprehended that the value of your lands will fall, and your advances to wealth be much slower ; for it is not al- together the goodness of the soil, but the number and in- dustry of the people that make a flourishing country."
Even Penn, himself, failed to realize the greatness of the truth he uttered, because he failed to analyze the real but, to him, hidden reason which actuated these " indus- trious " people. On the surface, he saw a body of men, women and children fleeing for asylum to his Province, and because they were useful and law-abiding he bade them welcome. Could he have read their hearts he would have known that, in all they did, they were moved thereto
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by one great, irresistible desire, and that was the love of home. It was this "love of home" which made them cling, for weary years of terrible suffering, to the Father- land, until " home" no longer existed ; it was this same longing for a " home" which then drove them, through how much hardship we already know, to a new world; it was a " home," which would be their own home, they de- manded upon arrival and with nothing else would they be satisfied. Now that they had found this " home" they were content to abide on it and to make of it a very garden spot and horn of plenty for the entire province.
We will have occasion presently to refer to the fact that the German settlers of Pennsylvania who occupied its border lands saved the life of the province by stopping the encroachment of the savage, and future papers treat- ing of the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War will have some astonishing facts of interest to relate, but the writer would here impress this great truth upon the reader that the present material prosperity of the great state of Pennsylvania is mainly owing to the solid founda- tion upon which it rests, and that this foundation was laid by the early German immigrant who came, not as an ad- venturer to restlessly flit about and curse the land of his adoption by constant quarrel, intrigue and general insta- bility, but who came for a " home," with everything that word implies in its best sense, and whose descendants to- day, in many cases, occupy the same home and cling to it with the same tenderness.
The first step, in the preparation of a home, from a mere temporal standpoint, was that which was required of every settler, whatever his nationality, the clearing of the land and the erection of buildings. Its value, to a colony, de- pended upon the perfection with which the work was done by its people.
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Founding a Home.
Our immigrants from New York found a wilderness stretching before them, well watered, to be sure, but of no unusual fertility, uncultivated, and the home of savages. It meant labor, and labor was given unstintingly. The temporary log cabin first came into existence for an abid- ing place, followed, almost immediately, by an edifice to the service of God and a building for the instruction of their youth. Then came the clearing of the land, the cutting down and uprooting of trees and thickets, the gathering together and haul- ing away of stones, the plow- ing, planting and manuring of the soil, the caring for their cattle and erection of granaries, the supply of food from the stream or woods, the wearisome carriage of grain to the distant mill, the constant guard against the thieving or murdering abo- rigine, the spinning and weaving of their own gar- ments, even the manufacture of their own furniture. With the primitive utensils then in common use, but few of us can realize the enormous amount of heartbreaking and body-wrecking labor necessary for the accomplishment of even meager results. Can we wonder that only those should persevere who were indeed in earn- est? Because our Germans were truly in earnest they did
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persevere until they have spread abroad over the entire land, supplementing their less stable brethren of other nationali- ties. Before even the break of day, during the heat of the noontide sun they toiled on, and until its rays had disap- peared beneath the western horizon, when darkness made work impossible, and then they sought their needed rest in slumber, but not before each little family had gathered about its altar to sing their hymns of praise and invoke the same Divine blessing upon their future undertaking which had been showered upon their past.
Other settlers have likewise toiled and struggled, but it may well be asked what other settlers can show an equal result to these Palatine immigrants within the same length of time. Hardly had a decade of time elapsed when, on all sides, were to be seen flourishing farms, with fields of waving grain, orchards laden with fruit, and pastures filled with well-conditioned domestic animals. The tem- porary log house has given place to a two-story stone structure, a most durable, commodious and comfortable home; in place of the shedding, hurriedly erected, now stands the great red barn, upon its stone base, and with its overhanging frame superstructure bursting with plenty ; and everywhere are scattered the many little adjuncts of prosperity and comfort. How well the fathers then built is evidenced by the present existence of scores of these buildings, still home-like and inviting as of old.
M
CHAPTER IX.
HIS INFLUENCE FROM AN INDUSTRIAL STANDPOINT.
HE historian is generally willing to admit that the Ger- man immigrant into Penn's Province was a successful agri- culturist, and, as such, useful in its upbuilding. His praise fre- quently stops there, and he is in- clined to give most, if not all, the credit for industrial prosperity to others. If such were, indeed, the case the influence of the Ger- mans in the upbuilding of Pennsylvania would truly be limited. That the facts are far different is too generally unknown.
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