USA > Pennsylvania > The Reformed Church in Pennsylvania : part IX of A narrative and critical history, prepared at the request of the Pennsylvania-German Society > Part 15
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Strange as it may seem Zubly appears at this time to have had no idea of a possible separation from the mother country. He went to Congress in the hope of aiding in the settlement of existing difficulties. He was willing to contend with a tyrannical ministry, but not to renounce his allegiance to his King. He had declared in print : " I do not regard independence as a remedy for our troubles, but rather as a new and dangerous disease." From this point of view his course in Congress was perfectly consistent. Nat- urally he became a thorn in the side of the radical party, and it was determined to destroy his influence. Judge Samuel Chase arose in Congress and denounced him for corre- sponding with the Colonial governor of Georgia, Sir James Wright-as though that had not been practically the very thing which his constituents had directed him to do. Charges of disloyalty were made against him, and in the excitement of the hour he determined to return to Georgia, to defend himself to his constituents. It was an imprudent
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A FATHER'S TRIBUTE.
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Zubly's Law of Liberty.
THE LAW OF LIBERTY.
A SERMON
ON
AMERICAN AFFAIRS,
PREACHED
AT THE OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF GEORGIA.
ADDRESSED
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF DARTMOUTH.
WITH AN APPENDIX,
GIVING A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF THE STRUGGLES OF SWISSERLAND TO RECOVER THEIR LIBERTY.
BY. JOHN J. ZUBLY, D. D.
EPHRAIM Shall not envy JUDAH, And JUDAH Shall not vex EPHRAIM. Í3A. xi. 13.
PHILADELPHIA PRINTED, AND LONDON Re-printed for J. ALMON, opposite Burlington Houfe, in Piccadilly. MULCLXXY. . (Courtesy of Professor Hinke. )
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The Reformed Church in America.
course, as it was construed into a confession of guilt. When he arrived at home he found that the trend of popular sentiment had changed and he was practically left without supporters. He became that most unfortunate of men-a politician who in times of great popular con- vulsion attempts to take a middle course.
Zubly was treated very badly, and that by both parties. It is said that in 1777 he was banished from Savannah with the loss of one-third of his property ; and that when the British took the town the work of spoliation was con- tinued by soldiers who knew no more than that he had been a " rebel " leader.
At last there came a period of reaction, and it was felt that Zubly had been treated with unnecessary severity. His congregation sought him out and he was brought back to his former charge in Savannah. For several years he attended to his pastoral duties, but it may well be sup- posed that he knew himself to be a broken man. He died August 21, 1781. As is usual in such instances his ser- vices were best appreciated after he had passed away, and two prominent streets in Savannah-Joachim and Zubly -were named in his honor. A suburb of the city is said to be still known as St. Gall, in commemoration of his birthplace.
If Zubly had remained in Congress a few months longer he would no doubt have become a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence, and as such he would have been highly esteemed, especially as representing the German element in that great convention. As it is he is practically forgotten, and recent investigators have found it no easy task to bring together the facts that mark his history.
That Zubly was devout and eloquent will not be denied, and in his own way he was no doubt a faithful laborer in
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A Brilliant Failure.
the Church ; but he dissipated his strength in many under- takings, and utterly failed to recognize the necessity of general organization. Not one of the congregations which he founded is now in connection with the Reformed Church; and indeed, with one or two exceptions, they are no longer in existence. Recognizing the fact that he was in many respects the most eminent German Reformed minister of the Colonial period, we are, therefore, reluc- tantly forced to the conclusion that his career-in the Church no less than in the State-can hardly be accounted more than a brilliant failure.
CHAPTER XIII.
SOME INDEPENDENT MINISTERS.
Reasons for Independence-In the Mohawk Valley-Pennsylvania Inde- pendents-Theus and the Weberites-Corpus Evangelicum.
HAT there were German Re- formed ministers in America who were not members of Coetus has been frequently intimated in the preceding pages. We may, how- ever, have failed to create the im- pression that they actually occupied the greater part of the territory of the Church ; and it is therefore nec- ARMS OF AMSTERDAM. essary to remind the reader that in almost all the British colonies-not even excluding New England-there were German settle- ments which desired religious instruction. That the Coetus was unable to supply their necessities goes without saying, and they became the natural prey of the " lopers." Of most of these wanderers-whose only credentials were a black coat-it may be well to say as little as possible ; and the fact that the names of many of them are forgotten is not greatly to be regretted.
It would, however, be an error to include all inde- pendent ministers in this disreputable class. Some were no doubt good men who absented themselves from Coetus
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New York Churches.
on account of the remoteness of their residence. Others, whose scholastic training had been defective, were ex- cluded by the stern decree of the synods of Holland, though they may have done excellent work in their imme- diate field.
From our point of view almost all the German Re- formed ministers of the province of New York may be regarded as independent, though some of them were at times loosely connected with the Dutch Coetus. No doubt the Dutch Coetus might have gathered them all, but it was not an energetic body and seems to have put forth no efforts in this direction.
In 1758 the Rev. Abraham Rosenkrantz founded the German Reformed church of the City of New York. This was done with the full approval of the Dutch min- isters, but for many years the church and its pastor were practically independent. Rosenkrantz is described as a man of considerable ability and force of character. He was married to a sister of General Herkimer, " the hero of Oriskany." He left New York about 1760, and after this, says Benton, " his field was the whole Mohawk valley."187 He died at Little Falls in 1794. His successor, the Rev. John P. Spinner (1768-1848) was a native of Germany, but became fully identified with the Reformed Dutch Church. He was the father of General Francis. E. Spinner, who was for many years treasurer of the United States.
The Reverend John Michael Kern, a native of Mann- heim, in Germany, must be numbered with the Inde- pendents, at least during a part of his career. He was sent in 1763 by the Consistory of Heidelberg to take charge
187 "History of Herkimer County," p. 356.
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The Reformed Church in America.
of the German church on Nassau street, New York. 188 Identifying himself with the Dutch Church he soon became a leader of the Amsterdam, or foreign, party, as opposed to those desirous of home government in the administration of ecclesiastical affairs. In 1772 he removed to Mont- gomery, N. Y., where he remained until the commence- ment of the Revolutionary War. He bore the reputation of being a man of extraordinary learning. He was an enthusiastic Loyalist, and his congregation maintaining opposite political principles, he resigned his charge, went to Halifax, and remained there until peace was declared. In 1788 he returned and located in Rockhill Township, Bucks County, Pa., where he died, March 22 of the same year. He was buried at Indianfield, and members of that congregation have recently erected a modest memorial to his memory.
John Jacob Wack belongs to a somewhat later period, but may be mentioned in this connection as the last of the distinctively German pastors of the Mohawk valley. He was born in Philadelphia, June 14, 1774, and died at Ephratah, N. Y., May 26, 1851. He studied under his brother, Caspar Wack, from whom, however, he differed greatly in general disposition. Having for several years preached in New Jersey, he served for some time as an army chaplain, and in 1803 became pastor at Fort Plain and Stone Arabia. He was physically and men- tally a strong man, and Corwin tells us that "he re- sembled a bishop in his diocese more than an ordinary country pastor." He was in 1816 suspended on the ground of intemperance, but his congregation refused to recog- nize the decree and became independent. It is known,
188 Lossing's "Historical Record," Vol. II., p. 23.
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Pennsylvania Independents.
however, that they regarded themselves as in some way subordinate to the German Coetus.
In Pennsylvania there was among the Independents no man of commanding influence, unless such distinction should be awarded to Stoy.
FREDERICK CASIMIR MILLER is described as a vigorous opponent of Schlatter. He had been a schoolmaster at Goshenhoppen, but at the time of the arrival of Weiss from New York was preaching to a part of the congrega- tion. In 1753 he applied for membership in the Coetus, but was rejected on the ground of an offensive life. He seems, however, in later years to have avoided scandal, and became the founder of many churches.
PHILIP JACOB MICHAEL (1716-1772) was originally a weaver-some say a mason-but began to preach in eastern Berks County as early as 1750. In 1764 he applied to Coetus for ordination, and was favorably recommended to the Fathers in Holland. The testimonial declares that he had faithfully served his congregations for fourteen years and was no " landloper." At this time he served twelve congregations. The Hollanders, however, refused the re- quest, unless Michael would come to Holland to receive the rite, which was out of the question. The minutes of Coetus for 1765 say : "We will say no more about Michael, as the Dutch Church does not desire him to be received. He is an old man, and his congregations are satisfied with him without ordination."
PITHAN or BITTHAHN was an itinerant whose course may be traced from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. He had been a minister in the Palatinate, and was a man of some learning. The minutes of Coetus for 1769 say rather suggestively : " Pithan has been permitted to supply Easton. If he had been unworthy he would have taken a
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charge without asking us." Unfortunately his moral weak- . ness prevented him from remaining very long, and in time he became a wanderer.
Eyerman, who was pastor at Saucon and Springfield, derived some notoriety from the fact that he was badly mixed up in the Fries Rebellion. The published accounts of the succeeding trials for treason give us a good idea of his peculiar disposition.
Ulrich Heininger has not hitherto been mentioned by historians. He preached in the neighborhood of Landis- burg, Perry County, from 1789 to 1802, and possibly longer. Tradition represents him as a worthy man.
To attempt to enumerate the independent Reformed preachers of Pennsylvania would be to furnish a some- what dreary catalogue. The materials for further investi- gation are, however, easily accessible. We may possibly incidentally refer to some of them hereafter.
South of the Potomac the Independents were at one time in possession of the whole field. There were, of course, some good pastors ; but the churches were in general neg- lected, and many of them were lost to the denomination.
The Reverend Christian Theus, of South Carolina, ap- pears to have been an interesting character, but little is known of his personal history. He was a native of Switz- erland, and had a brother in Charleston who was an emi- nent artist. That he was related to the Deiss, or Tice, family of Pennsylvania, is an old tradition. He preached near Columbia for 50 years at least, until 1789 or later. Bernheim relates how he came into collision with the fanatical sect known asthe Weberites 189 and barely escaped with his life.
189 A mystical sect founded by Jacob Weber, a Swiss, before 1760. They declared themselves to be incarnations of the deity, or of persons mentioned in the Scriptures. Weber, who declared himself to be God, killed a man whom
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Union Movement.
In 1787 Theus and another Reformed minister, named Carl Froelich, joined with three Lutheran ministers in an attempt to unite the German churches of South Carolina. This union received the double Latin name of Corpus Evangelicum and Unio Ecclesiastica. It was expressly provided that there should be no change of confession, but that such liturgies and catechisms should be used as the majority of each united congregation might prefer. As the Reformed were generally in the minority the result might easily have been expected. The chief in- terest in this movement is found in the fact that it antici- pated the Prussian church union of 1817 in some of its most important particulars.
After the death of Mr. Theus a wealthy family, named Geiger,190 erected a monument over his grave. The con- gregations which he had served lingered some thirty or forty years, but their independent preachers are hardly known even by name. In the far South-as in many other re- gions-the failure of the work of the Reformed Church was due to a lack of faithful pastors.
he called Satan, and was executed for the crime. Mühlenberg says : "The English inhabitants scoffed about it, and said the Germans had nothing to fear, their Devil having been killed and their God having been hanged."
190 To this family belonged Margaret Geiger, whom Mrs. Ellet calls one of the heroines of the Revolution. She rode a great distance at night and con- veyed important information to General Greene.
2
CHAPTER XIV.
THE MEN OF THE REVOLUTION.
Patriotic Ministers-Generals Herkimer and Steuben-Letter to Wash- ington.
HE period of the Revolution must always be peculiarly in- teresting to Americans. It may, indeed, be asserted that it has been unduly glorified by poetry and romance, and that many of its characters have been magnified beyond their proper proportions. We may perhaps acknowledge that into the early history of a nation the mythical element is sure to intrude ; but for this very reason it is important that facts which may be regarded as of minor importance should be gathered and preserved.
That the great majority of the church people-Reformed and Lutheran-were in favor of political independence, may be regarded as certain. The very fact that they recognized the lawfulness of defensive war drew a line between them and the non-resistant sects who were thus placed in a position antagonistic to the policy of Congress.
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Patriotic Ministers.
In looking over the extant muster-rolls of Pennsylvania regiments we observe the great number of German names ; and there surely can be no difficulty in determining the class of people from whom they were generally derived.
Though, as we have intimated, several Reformed min- isters were Loyalists, we do not think that any one of these could be properly regarded as a Pennsylvanian. As early as August, 1775, the Reformed and Lutheran con- gregations of Philadelphia, in association with the Ger- man Society, published an appeal for liberty from British oppression. A number of Reformed ministers served as chaplains in the American army, and several were actually imprisoned by the British for their devotion to the patriot cause. Harbaugh has preserved a number of instances in which preachers indicated their sentiments by the choice of peculiar texts. The Reverend John H. Weikel-an in- dependent-got into trouble at the beginning of the war, by preaching in Boehm's church, Montgomery County, on the text : " Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king who will not be admonished," Ecclesiastes, vi, 13. Dr. Weyberg, of Philadelphia, was imprisoned for his patriotism, and his church was occupied by British soldiers. The church was so greatly injured by this occupation that the cost of repairing it was $15,200-though this was, of course, in continental money which was considerably depreciated. On the Sunday after his release from prison Dr. Weyberg addressed his congregation on the words, " O God ! the heathen have come into Thy inheritance : Thy holy temple have they defiled."
The Reverend J. C. A. Helffenstein was pastor at Lan- caster at the time when the captive Hessians were kept there and it frequently became his duty to preach to them. On one occasion he preached on the text, Isaiah 53: 3.
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The Reformed Church in America.
"For thus says the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought and ye shall be redeemed without money." Soon afterwards he preached a sermon in the evening on the words : " If the son make you free, ye shall be free in- deed "; when the excitement became so great that it was deemed necessary to accompany him home with a guard. Once he preached to the American soldiers on their depar- ture for the scene of conflict on the passage : " If God be for us who can be against us ?"
The Reformed Church certainly had its full proportion of the men who distinguished themselves on the field of battle. Leaving out of consideration men like Philip Schuyler, who belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church, we must not forget "the hero of Oriskany." Nicholas Herkimer (1715-77) always wrote his name Herchheimer. His father was a Palatine and one of the original patentees of Burnetsfield, and assisted in founding the church of which the Rev. George Michael Weiss was pastor. The son was a plain, uneducated man, but was a military genius and won a great reputation during the French and Indian War. In the Revolution, when Fort Stanwix was invested by a force of British regulars aided by Brant's Indians, Herkimer led a body of militia to the relief of the garrison ; but was surprised by Col. St. Leger and severely wounded. His subordinates wished him to retire, but he took his seat under a tree and smoked his pipe while giving orders for the battle. By his persistent bravery the enemy was repulsed, but Herkimer died of his wound, or rather of an unskilful amputation. The scene of his victory is marked by a splendid monument.
Baron Frederick William von Steuben was the most celebrated of the American generals who were identified with the Reformed Church. He was born in Magdeburg,
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Baron Steuben.
Germany, Nov. 15, 1730, and died at Steubenville, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1794. His career is so well known that it seems useless to enlarge upon it. Every school history relates how he served under the great Frederick during the Seven Years' War, and how after an interval of dignity and repose he was finally induced to cast in his lot with the struggling
Le Baron de Pudenz
colonists. Of all the foreign generals who took the part of the Americans during the war of the Revolution, Steuben appears to us to have been the one whose motives were least open to misconstruction, and whose career is through- out most completely satisfactory. As Inspector General of the American army he took charge of the matter of dis- cipline, and it has been said that after he had drilled the soldiers they were never beaten in a fair fight. At York- town he held an independent command and gained the highest distinction.
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The Reformed Church in America.
These facts may be regarded as thoroughly familiar ; but it may not be so well known that when the war was over Steuben sought out the church of his fathers and took an active interest in its affairs. He connected himself with the German Reformed church on Nassau street, New York, and was for some years regarded as its most eminent member. He was a ruling elder, and several times wrote the minutes of the consistory in the absence of the regular secretary. His death occurred at his country residence, but his aide, Colonel North, erected a tablet to his memory on the walls of the church of which he was a member, and there it may still be seen.191
A number of eminent officers of inferior rank were iden- tified with the Reformed Church. Among these may be mentioned Colonels Frederick Antes, Peter Kichlein, Henry Spyker, Lewis Farmer, Peter Nagle and Nicholas Lutz; and to these might be added the Hiester family, one of whom subsequently became Governor of Pennsylvania, and such well-known names as John Arndt, John Glon- inger and Valentine Eckert-not forgetting Michael Hil- legas, who was Treasurer of the United States during this momentous period.
The minutes of Coetus contain little that bears directly on the progress of the war of the Revolution. In 1777 the Coetus prayed the " Fathers " to use their influence to secure mediation between the contending parties. Days of fasting and prayer were appointed, and in 1780 no meeting could be held on account of the disturbed condi- tion of the country. In 1781 a pastor (Dubbendorff) is said to have lost his influence because he was suspected of sympathizing with the British. The report for 1786
191 The church has been removed to Norfolk street, but the tablet has been preserved. The congregation is still German, but now belongs to the Re- formed (Dutch) Church in America. Of this congregation the first John Jacob Astor was a member until his death.
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Patriots.
contains the following curious item : " The people have grown luxurious since peace has been declared, and do not recognize with gratitude the great things which God has done for them. O, that Americans would continue to wear home-made clothes, and to live simply as they did in the so-called continental times." As marking the be- ginning of the first national period of our secular history, the following brief extract from the Coetal minutes of 1789 may not be destitute of interest : " As General Washington has been elected President, it was resolved to send him a letter of congratulation. The committee con- sists of Weyberg, Gros, Blumer, and three elders, Col. Farmer and Messrs. Grosskoup and Arndt, both esquires."
For many years after the Revolution the Loyalists, or Tories, were utterly condemned by popular sentiment ; but we have now learned to appreciate the fact that there were good men on both sides of that momentous struggle. It is, however, pleasant to be assured that the great majority of our ecclesiastical predecessors were decided in their sup- port of the cause which led to national independence. .
TOMB OF BARON STEUBEN.
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CHAPTER XV.
OTTERBEIN AND THE "UNITED MINISTERS."
Early Training-Pastoral Charges-Otterbein and Lange-Conflicts in Baltimore-the "New Reformed."
HEN Schlatter was about to bring his little company of Reformed ministers to America, he said in a report to the deputies that Otterbein was "quiet and pious." This judgment was justified by a long career of labor and devotion ; and though Otterbein could not es- cape the opposition which comes to all men, it may be confidently as- serted that there was no other mem- ber of Coetus who was at all times so generally esteemed. As in his later years he joined with several other Reformed ministers in an evangelical movement which finally resulted in the establishment of a separate religious denomination, his relation to the Reformed Church has frequently been misunderstood ; and it is therefore desirable-while avoid- ing all material that can properly be regarded as contro- versial-to furnish a brief sketch of his personal history.
Philip William Otterbein was born June 3, 1726, at Dil- lenburg, Nassau. His father and grandfather had been
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Philadelphia, 1795. Betrudt und rerlegt ben Cart Cift.
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The Reformed Church in America.
Reformed ministers, and five of his brothers also assumed the sacred office. Of his brothers several became eminent, and one was a successful religious author.192 The whole family was unusually devout, and seems to have been greatly under the influence of the religious movement of which such men as Theodore Untereyck and Gerhard Tersteegen had been distinguished exponents.
William-for by this name he was always known-re- ceived a good education at Herborn, and was subsequently ordained to the ministry. He was pastor at Fliesbach when Schlatter invited him to accompany him to Pennsyl- vania ; but did not hesitate to undertake the work to which he was called.
Immediately after his arrival in America Otterbein was called to the pastorate of the church in Lancaster, which was then, next to Philadelphia, the most important in the province. His immediate predecessors had left the con- gregation rent and distracted. His sincerity and enthusi- asm were, however, irresistible, and the scattered elements were soon reunited. A church was erected which re- mained standing until 1853. He insisted earnestly on church discipline, and a document signed by many of his members is still extant, pledging them to the strictest ob- servance of their duties. In the minutes of Coetus for 1757 he is called " an excellent pastor."
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