USA > Pennsylvania > The German Pietists of provincial Pennsylvania : 1694-1708 > Part 12
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Yet notwithstanding its apparent flourishing condition, the Community as a distinct organization was rapidly ap- proaching its end. This was no fault of the leaders or of the truths they taught. Their faith, courage, and sincerity were as strong as ever ; their belief as firm in the approach- ing millennium and the coming of the Deliverer as when they left the sand dunes of Holland.
The great increase of the population, the encroachments upon their beloved solitude in the wilderness, the formation of new settlements in the vicinity, and the political changes all tended to have an adverse effect upon a society whose chief aim was to live in seclusion. Another matter that tended somewhat to weaken the influence of the Brother- hood with their German neighbors and countrymen at large, was the bitter strife that had been engendered be- tween Pastorius and Daniel Falkner since the latter's return from Europe, and his active interest in the political and civil affairs of the German township, ending in the final displacement of Pastorius by virtue of the authority Falk- ner had brought from Europe. This feud was used by the partisans of Pastorius as another argument against the Community on the Wissahickon. Some went even so far as to demand their expulsion. The better judgment of Pastorius, however, prevailed; and, so far as he was con- cerned, the whole matter was held in abeyance. From some of the Pastorius manuscripts that have come down to
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
us it is to be inferred that the feeling between the two inen and their partisans must have been exceedingly bitter. But neither Kelpius nor Seelig were in any way involved in this controversy.
Among the important events in the life of the Com- munity, one that shines out even to the present day, is the ordination of one of their number to the ministry and the sending of him to an adjoining province as a missionary. This was Justus Falkner. He was ordained November 24, 1703, in the Swedish Lutheran Church at Wicacoa, in the German language, by the resident Lutheran pastors, Rud- man, Biörck, and Sandel, assisted by Kelpius and the Brotherhood.
This was the first regular ordination of an orthodox Lutheran clergyman in the Western Hemisphere. The full record of his unselfish labors, godly life and un exampled piety bears witness to associates. still exists and the character of his
The changed condition of affairs in the Province, however, did not affect the educational efforts that had been originally introduced by Kelpius, but increased their scope and usefulness among the Germans, who were now flocking thither in great numbers. But these efforts were not enough to counteract the general conditions, both civil and religious, as they affected the peculiar institution 011 the Wissahickon. From month to month it became more apparent that the state of affairs since the Church party became more dominant was inimical to the permanent growth of such a Community.
Great were the changes within the decade since Kelpius' arrival. Where ten years ago the southeastern part of Pennsylvania was but sparsely settled, the settlers were
I 59
Return of George Keith.
now numbered by thousands ; whereas formerly there were no houses of worship, except those of the Friends, there were now a number of fine churches and different congre- gations in Philadelphia, while throughout the rural districts were scattered churches with organized congregations of various denominations,-Episcopal, Baptist, Sabbatarian, German Lutheran, Mennonite, and Dunker. Stranger than all, George Keith, who had fomented the great schism in the Province among the Quakers from 1690 to 1694, now, il1 1702,216 returned to Pennsylvania as a full-fledged mis- sionary of the English Church.207 He had but little sym- pathy with his former adherents who had gone out with him from the Society of Friends a decade before, except with such as had renewed their fealty to the Established Church.
The only record of intercourse between Keith and the Sab- batarian congregations that Heinrich Bernhard Köster NIA · had been partly instrumental MERCI in establishing in the Prov- PENN . PROPR ince is an occasional notice of the Philadelphia Church, under Thomas Rutter, and tlie feud that broke out be- tween Keith and William Davis of the Pennepack VSTI Church. This ended in a victory for the foriner, and GREAT SEAL OF THE PROVINCE (OBVERSE). tlte Sabbatarians lost their church, which henceforth was known as Trinity Church, Oxford.208 GOVERNO
The latter during his
206 Keith landed at Boston, June II, 1702,
207 See "The Sabbath-Keepers," a series of papers by the writer, pub- lished in the Village Record, West Chester, Pa., March, 1888. No record whatever is known to exist of any meeting or even acquaintance between Kelpius and Keith.
208 Ibid.
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
sojourn in Pennsylvania was accompanied by Rev. John Talbot and supported by the local minister, Rev. Evan Evans. He paid most attention to the Welsh, as it was thought that they, who were restive under the Quaker supremacy, were ready to throw off the religious as well as civil yoke and return within the fold of the Church of England.
In this supposition the three churchinen were not mis- taken, as their efforts resulted in the establishment of a congregation within the Welsh tract at Radnor. This was strictly a Welsh Church, the services being held in that tongue for many years.
It is an interesting fact that both congregations at Oxford and Radnor were served by the Lutheran minister at Wicacoa. Further, at the laying of the corner-stone and dedication of both churches, in 1711 and 1714 respectively, the Swedish Lutheran pastors were prominent actors.
The quaint stone church, subsequently built by the Welsh congregation at Radnor in 1714, and commonly known as "Old St. David's," is now the oldest Episcopal church in Pennsylvania, and has become historic.
AN OLD GERMANTOWN RELIC IN POSSESSION OF THE WRITER.
VISITS OF THE SABBATARIANS. .
OW great the esteein was in which Kelpius and his fellow mystics TRANSTITE were held by the various re- ligious separatists throughout the country is further shown by the fact that when the so- called "Rodgerines" sprang into existence in New Eng- land an attempt was made SEAL OF THE COLONY OF CONNEC- TICUT, A.D. 1700. forthwith to establish a regular communication with Kelpius and his companions for the purpose of receiving advice and instruction.
Several visits were made from New England to the Wissahickon at an early day by the new Separatists, but without results, as the extravagant religious notions of Rodgers and his followers were foreign to the Theosophy of Kelpius, which was based upon the fundamental doc. trines of the Christian faith. In fact, it has been stated that the only point in which they approached agreement was with regard to the keeping of the seventh day.
21
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
Toward the close of the year 1700 John Rodgers per- sonally visited the Tabernacle, upon which occasion lie arranged with Reynier Jansen, the (Germantown ?) printer, for the publication of his differences with Saltonstall. This curious work appeared in the following year (1701) under the title, "An Impartial relation of | An Open and Publick Dispute | Agreed upon | Between Gurdon Salton- stall, Minister of the || Town of New London | and | John Rodgers of the Same place || With the Circumstances leading thereto, and the Consequences thereof || as also a Relation of the said Gurdon Saltonstall's Recovering a || Judgment of Court of Six hundred Pounds, and Cost of Court || against said Jolin Rodgers, for saying, the said Saltonstall went to wave, shun, or shift the said Dispute agreed upon. || The Truth of || which waving, shunning or shifting is here also evidently demonstrated. || By John Rodgers. | Printed [by Reynier Jansen] for the author in the year 1701."
This work is a small 4to, and consists of twenty pages, of which the title forms one; "To the reader," four; and the "Relation" proper, fifteen. 208
There still exists in Connecticut a traditional, if not documentary, account of another visit made by the same religious enthusiasts to Kelpius in the year 1702, and, further, that upon his return Rodgers stopped at New York to consult with a public Friend, then suffering im- prisonment there for conscience sake.
This account the writer has been unable to secure in the original ; but there is, nevertheless, a strong probability of its authenticity, as Samuel Bownas, the public Friend in
208 " Issues of the American Press in Pennsylvania," by Charles R. Hildeburn, No. 86. Original in library of Devonshire House Meeting, London, England.
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The Rhode Island Records.
question, was imprisoned in New York at that time, and mentions a visit from John Rodgers in his journal.
"An | account | of the || Life, Travels | and Christian Experiences || in the | work of the Ministry || of Samuel Bownas | Stanford || reprinted by Daniel Lawrence || MDCCC, Page 135 et seq."
Another evidence of the great esteem in which Kelpius and his companions were held throughout the provinces is shown by the action of the Rhode Island Sabbatarian Churches, which, in 1703, appointed two brethren, Williamn Hiscox and Joseph Crandall, as a committee to journey to Wissahickon, and then, with the aid of Kelpius, to adjust if possible the differences which had been fomented by William Davis between the Philadelphia and Pennepack churches (Seventh-day Baptist). The records of these interviews and negotiations, as well as the resulting corres- pondence, the writer has good reason to believe is still in existence among the musty records of the Sabbatarian brethren in Rhode Island or Connecticut.
The following interesting extracts from the old Westerly, R. I., church records bear upon this intercourse, viz.,-
"The church met at Newport the 3d Sabbath in June, 1703, being the 19th day; and the day before, on which some considerations were proposed, upon the request of our friends in Pennsylvania, relating to some differences between them, and the matter deferred until the First-day following.
" And on the First-day, accordingly, the church met, and appointed Bro. Hiscox and Bro. Clarke, Sen., if Providence should so order, to go to Pennsylvania soon after the first Sabbath in the 7th month.
" The church inet the Ist of the 7th month, at Westerly, and Bro. Clark, judging himself incapable to perform the journey to Pennsylvania, Bro. Joseph Crandall was ap- pointed to go with Bro. Hiscox [on the ] said journey.
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
"At a church meeting at Westerly the last Sabbath in the 8th month, 1703, the letters sent to the church from Bro. William Davis were read and acted upon.
"Westerly, the 20th of the 8th month, 1704, the church met at Bro. Maxson's, Sen., to confer with the Pennsylvania · Brethren, William Davis and Abrahamn >> 209
[William Davis was a native of Wales. He was sent to Oxford, but, becoming a Quaker, was forced to leave that institution. He came to Philadelphia in1 1684, being then in his twenty-first year. He was at once recognized as a preacher of the Society. When Keith separated he be- came one of his staunch supporters, and was one of the forty-eight signers to the reasons for separation.
After the decline of the Keithian meetings, when their leaders returned to England, Davis became an attendant of the services held by Köster, and soon became one of his most active supporters. He was baptized by the German evangelist, as related in a subsequent chapter,210 and became pastor of the Sabbatarian congregation on the Pennepack, in Oxford township, a short distance from Germantown.
It was while stationed here that he published a book in vindication of his peculiar doctrine, viz.,-"Jesus || The Crucified Man, || the | Eternal Son of God, || or, an | An- swer || to || An Anathema or Paper of | Excommunication, of John Wats, en | tituled, Points of Doctrine preached & | asserted by William Davis. || Wherein the Mystry of Christs Descen- || tion, Incarnation and Crucifixion is | Unfolded. || By William Davis. Philadelphia Printed for the Author [by Reynier Jansen] in the Year 1700." 211
209 Name illegible.
210 It appears that William Davis was also baptized by the Rev. Thomas Killingsworth, a First-day Baptist preacher, in 1697.
211 No. 72 Hildeburn, 16m10. The title of this unique book is repro- duced in facsimile.
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William Davis.
JESUS The Crucifyed Man, THE Eternal Son of God,
OR, A N ANSWER TO An Anathema or Paper of Excommunication, of John Wats ca- tituled, Points of Doctrine preached C. ·fferredby William Davis.
Wherein the Myftry of Chritts Defcen- tion, Ipcarnation and Crucifixion is Unfolded.
By William Davis.
[PRINTED BY REYNIER JANSEN. PHILADELPHIA, 1700.]
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Davis was naturally an agitator and disturber, and, by airing his own doctrinal views, he subsequently became involved not only with the regular Baptists and the Revs. Keith, Evans, and Talbot, of the Established Church, but with the members of his own congregation as well.
It was to heal these internal differences in the Sabba- tarian congregation at Oxford that the New England churches took the above-recited action.
The differences between Davis, on the one hand, and Keith and Evans on the other, also produced pamphlet and counter-pamphlet.
After the loss of their meeting-house they met for ser- vices in the different houses, under the leadership of Davis, until 1710, when he left to take charge of a church at Westerly, Rhode Island. Here he remained until 1727, when he returned to Pennsylvania. In 1734 he again went to Rhode Island, whence ten years later he led a party of Seventh-day Baptists to establish a settlement at Squan, New Jersey, of which he became pastor. He died there in 1745, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, honored and respected as a Christian clergyman. ]212
The fame of Johann Kelpius's piety and learning also extended to other parts of the country, and his corres- pondence must, for that day, have been quite extensive, and it included various conditions of people. An instance of this is shown by his letter written, "10 8ber 1704," to Maria Elizabeth Gerber, in Virginia. It was in reply to a communication from her in which she asks Kelpius's opin- ion of the Quakers. His reply is quite lengthy, and he takes the occasion to give his opinions rather fully, and emphasizes that he belongs to no special denomination, but to the elect of Jerusalem. (Gal. iv, 9, 10.213)
212 Vide Sabbath-keepers before quoted.
213 He might also have added verse 26: "The Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother."
ATTORNEY AND BAILIFF.
J AF the papers of the old Frank- fort Land Company were still in existence and accessible, the correspondence would no doubt show that for some reasons there was great dissatisfaction upon their part with Pastorius and his administra- tion of the company's affairs in ARMS OF FRANKFORT ON THE MAYN. Pennsylvania. This feeling may have been augmented by Daniel Falkner during his visits to Frankfort in 1699-1700. Whatever the true cause may have been, it is certain that Daniel Falker had the entire confidence of all members of the Land Company, as well as of William Penn and Ben- jamin Furley, his Rotterdam agent.
It will be seen that the original power of attorney granted to Kelpius, Falkner and Jawert was signed and sealed by all members of the company, viz. :
" We subscribed do manifest & confess herewith, Whereas we joiningly have bought five & twenty thousand acres of unseparated land in Penn- silvania, according to the documents & indentures thereof, with peculiar Privileges & Rights, And therefore in virtue thereof the 12th of Novem- ber, 1686, by a peculiar writing having formed a Society, & for the culti-
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
vation & administration of the sd land have Impowred Mr. Francis Daniel Pastorius, J. U. L. according to the letter of attorney bearing date the 12th of April 1683. And yet because of the death of some heads of the sd Company, & the between Irruption of the French War, as also chiefly because of the absence of the Governor, & the unableness of the sd our Factor, these our affairs in the sd Province are come to a Stop, the more mentioned Mr. Pastorius having also desired by & in several of his Letters to be discharged of his administration, That we for such end do Conferr full Power & special Authority on Mr. Daniel Falkner & Johanes Kelpius as Inhabitants for the present in Pensilvania, And also on Mr. Johanes Jawert the Son of one of our Principals, nominally Mr. Balthasar Jawert of Lubeck, who hath resolved to transport himself thither, thus and in such wise that these our three Plenipotentiaries Joiningly or in case of death of one or the Other, they or he who remains shall have in the best form the Administration of all our goods we have there of the lands in the former where they are joiningly or separately assigned unto us, or shall be assigned, surveyed & set out, and of the City-Lots by reason of the five & twenty thousand acres being Competent to us, viz., the 4 or 6 Places in the City of Philadelphia, and of the 300 acres situated in the Right & Liberty of the City before & about Phila- delphia, And of the land bought by the Scullkill for a Brick-kiln, And of all & every erected Building & other meliorations, and of what hath been sent thither or bought there or otherwise got of Victuals, Comodities, Cattels, houshold-stuff, tools, Servants, Tenants & of other Persons, &c., and therefore to call to an account in Our name the sd Mr. Pastorius, who hitherto hath been our Plenipotentiary, and to take of him herewith all such Our Estates & effects, and in Case any of them should be alienated without our knowledge, above all things to vindicate them. So then in general or Special, as it can be done best, to dispose, exchange, sell & receive the money for them, and hereupon to quit, transact, make indent- ures & documents, assurances, & in sum to do & leave everything what we Ourselves' could or might do or leave if we were then & there per- sonally present, Cum potestate, Substituendi, et Substitutionem toties qnoties revocandi emq clausulis rati grati, omnibusq, alijs illius loci & fori necessarijs et consuetis. And in Case our aforementioned Plenipo- tentiaries should want any larger Power then [sic] herein is contained, the saine we advisedly do grant herewith unto theni, & do decently Implore the Governour in Chief and Magistrates of the sd Province to regard them as such, and to grant them upon their request their magisterial aid, in case they should want the same. On the other hand our Plenipoten- tiaries Joinedly & Separately are directed to the two Principals in Franc- fort on the river of Main, viz., the heirs of Jacob van de Walle & Daniel Behagel both deceased, to acquaint & give an account unto them timely
Bailiff Falkner. 169
of every one of their transactions, and to address unto them moneys or Comodities, to Correspond within and to expect, if need, further Orders & Instructions of them in the name of the whole Company, wherewith they shall further in this Case Communicate and get their Consent. Lastly we grant unto them herewith special Power to appropriate fifty acres of Our land in Germantown for the benefit of a Schoolmaster, that the Youth in reading, writing & in good manners & education, without partial admonition to God & Christ may be brought up and Instructed. All faithfully and without Fraud, In true witness whereof we have witlı our own hands Subscribed & Sealed this Letter of Attorney, and caused the same to be made under & by publick Authority. Done in Frankfort on the River of Mayn, the 24th day of January 1700.
[I.s.]
" Catharina Elizabetlia Schutzin, Widow.
[1 .. s.] " the Widow of Jacob van de Wallen, deceased.
[L.S.]
" the heirs of Daniel Beliagel, deceased.
[I.S.]
"Johannes Kemler.
[L.S.]
" Bathasar Jawert.
[L.s.]
"Johan Wilhelin Petersen, d.
[L.S.]
" Gerhard van Mastriclit.
[I.S.] "Johanes Le Brun.
[L.s.] " Maria van de Walle, widow of Doctor Thomas van Willigh with her Copartners."
When, upon Falkner's return, Pastorius was informed of the new state of affairs he did not take kindly to the situa- tion : the recollection of the virulent attack upon him by Köster and his adhierents was yet fresh in his memory. Therefore, it excites but little wonder that Pastorius, as well as his friends and followers, protested vigorously against Falkner's action in demanding an immediate ac- count from him as to the company's property. The new agent, however, was firm in his demands, and, having the support of both Council and Proprietary, was well able to enforce his position.
That Daniel Falkner was by far the abler politician of the two is shown at the next general election at German- town in the fall of the year 1700, when Daniel Falkner was chosen bailiff; his brother, Justus Falkner, a burgess ;
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
Johann Jawert, recorder ; and Daniel Geissler, crier of tlie court.
History is silent as to how this result was brought about : whether there was a general dissatisfaction with the old officials among the German residents, or whether Falkner anticipated the tactics of modern local politicians by voting the Community of Mystics "solid," and thus securing a victory, is a question hard to decide at this late day. Indi- cations, however, are that the election of Falkner's party to civil office was due rather to sharp tactics than to any personal animosity against Pastorius on the part of the older settlers.
Magister Kelpius was entirely innocent of any collusion or sympathy with this movement on the part of Falkner and otliers to obtain a hold upon the civil power. So far as the Community property was involved, he naturally seconded Daniel Falkner's efforts to maintain their rights. When he first learned that, together with Falkner and Jawert, lie had been made joint-attorney of the Frankfort Land Company, he was perhaps even more surprised than Pastorius was of his deposition.
Kelpius refused to act as attorney or take any part what- ever in civil or political matters, and eventually renounced all claim to the appointment. To do this in a legal manner lie executed the following renunciation :
" Whereas, upon recommendation of Mr. Daniel Falkner, the Frankfort Society hath made me ye subscribed their Plenipotentiary, together with the said Mr. Falkner & John Jewart, But my Circumstances not permiting to entangle myself in the like affairs I do confess herewith that I do deliver all the authority, which is given unto me in tlie Letter of Attorney, to the said Society & him who did recomend ine to the same, towit, Mr. Daniel Falkner, for
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The Board of Property.
to act and prosecute the Case of the said Society without me with Johann Jewart upon their account according to the letter of Attorney who attributes to one or two as much power as to three in case of a natural or civil death."
This unique document was witnessed by Johann Gott- fried, Seelig, and Johann Hendrick Sprogel.214
That there was evidently some understanding and inter- course between William Penn and the Falkner brothers during the former's second visit to the Province, is shown by several entries in Minute-book G of the Board of Prop- erty of the Province of Pennsylvania, where, in a dispute about some land, the Proprietary steps in and issues an order in favor of Daniel Falkner.215 The next entry in the same book, made 12th of IIth Month, 1701, shows that Penn's interest in Falkner continued during the former's stay in the Province. One of Pen's last official acts prior to his departure was the letter quoted in these proceedings before the Land Commission :
" James
" Prepare a War't for 4,000 acres for Benjamin Furley, out of which 3 Wart's for 500 acres Each for Falkner and Brother and Dorthy and Brother and Sister, which recom- mend to the Commiss'rs of Propriety if not done before I goe. 25th 8ber., 1701.
"WILL'M PENN."
The following interesting entries appear in the old Ger- mantown Court Records, now deposited with the Historical
214 No date is appended to the transcript by Pastorius, from which this copy is made. Johann Heinrich Sprogel came to America either with Falkner, in August, 1700, or else shortly after. His name appears upon the official records as early as ,8th II mo., 1702. See Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, vol. xix, p. 351.
215 Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, vol. xix, p. 219.
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The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania.
Society of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, being fragmentary, they give but little insight into the official doings of the few Mystics who temporarily preferred the excitement of political life to the quiet of the cloister on the Wissahickon.
The first entry after the election hield subsequent to Falkner's return sets forth,-
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