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 5
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The Lutherans appear to have remained at Germanna some time longer, but finally they also removed, and founded the "Hebron" Church, in Madison County, 58 which is still in existence. As early as 1724, Germanna appears to have been entirely deserted by the Germans.59
The church built at Germantown was in all probability the earliest edifice erected exclusively for purposes of wor- ship by a German Reformed congregation in this country. It has long since disappeared, but its foundations could
56 Gen. Roller's Address.
57 "The site of this place is on a small stream, called Licking Run, about eight miles below Warrenton, in Fauquier County."-Roller,
58 " Hallesche Nachrichten," I., pp. 577-585 (note).
59 Hugh Jones, "The Present State of Virginia," p. 59.
59
An Appeal.
until recently be traced. According to the autobiography of the Rev. Dr. James Kemper, an eminent Presbyterian divine, who was himself a descendant of one of the earliest settlers, there were both a church and school-building at Germantown, and German was the common language of school, church, and business "for sixty years before the Revolutionary War."
When the people of Germantown set out to erect a church, they naturally appealed for aid to their brethren across the sea. First they turned to the London Society, as their pastor had vainly done on a previous occasion. Their petition, which bears traces of having been written for them by a strong Anglican, was presented, Oct. 2, 1719, but there is no evidence that it brought the desired result. Many writers have quoted from this interesting document, but it may be worth while to reproduce the fol- lowing section :
" For the enjoyment of the ministries of religion there will be a necessity of building a small church in the place of their settlement and of maintaining a minister, who shall catechize, read and perform divine service among them in the German tongue, which is the" only tongue they do yet understand. There went over, indeed, with the first twelve families one minister, named Henry Haeger, a very sober, honest man of about 75 years of age, but being likely to be past service in a short time, they have empow- ered Mr. Jacob Christopher Zollikofer, of St. Gall, Switz- erland, to go into Europe and there to obtain, if possible, some contributions from pious and charitable Christians towards the building of their church, and bringing over with him a young German minister to assist the aforesaid Mr. Haeger in the ministry of religion, and to succeed him when he shall die; to get him ordained in England
60
The Reformed Church in America.
by the Right Reverend, the Lord Bishop of London, and to bring over with him the liturgy of the Church of Eng- land translated into High Dutch, which they were desirous to use in public worship."
The results of Mr. Zollikofer's mission "are unknown ; but some years ago Mr. H. S. Dotterer discovered in the Extraordinaire Kaiserliche-Reichs- Post Zeitung of June 15, 1720, a somewhat similar appeal for contributions for the erection of a church and schoolhouse in Virginia, and this was probably connected with the same general move- ment. In this appeal there appears to be a slight confu- sion in facts and figures, but the paragraph which is his- torically most interesting reads as follows :
" It will be remembered by everybody how some years ago several thousand people of both sexes and different religions emigrated from the Palatinate and neighboring places to be transported to America. Although a part of this people died and a part returned to Germany, yet 700 persons were sent to Carolina and 300 families to New York. But 72 families came to Virginia ; the largest part of them, however, had to pay the passage, according to the custom of the country, with several years of servitude among the Englishmen there; the rest being free consist of thirty-two families, of whom twelve are Evangelical Reformed and twenty Evangelical Lutheran. They, to- gether with an old Reformed minister, Henry Hager, seventy-six years of age, have established a colony in the year 1714 in the said Virginia called Germantown on the Brapenhanck (Rappahannock) River."
John Henry Haeger died in 1737. His will, written in 1733, was admitted to probate in Prince Williams County, on March 26, 1737. In it he speaks of his wife, Anna Catharine, as still living. The will is signed " H. Haeger,
61
Haeger's Death.
Verbi Dei Minister." He was evidently poor in this world's goods ; but-as is not unusual when ministers pass away-he left " a parcel of books and one large Bible."
According to the dates here given Haeger must have been nearly or quite ninety-three years old at the time of his death. This great age might naturally lead one to suspect an error ; but it will be observed that it is fairly well sub- stantiated, and that, at any rate, it cannot be far out of the way. Among his numerous descendants was the Hon. James Lawson Kemper, Governor of Virginia.
General Roller presents a strong argument to show that some of the members of the church at Germantown re- moved to Rockingham County and these founded the "Friedens Kirche," " the mother of six or eight churches in that and the neighboring county of Augusta." This, he holds, is the site of New Germantown, which Schlat- ter visited during his memorable journey. Rupp in- forms us that Rockingham and Augusta Counties were settled prior to 1746,60 and a connection between these early settlements is, therefore, altogether probable. It is, at any rate, pleasant to believe that though Haeger's church died early, it became before its death the mother of Reformed Churches in the Valley in Virginia.
60 "Fireside History," MS.
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CHAPTER V.
NESHAMINY AND GERMANTOWN.
Pioneers in Pennsylvania-A Dutch Settlement-Paulus Van Vlecq- White Marsh and Germantown.
HAT there were Re- formed people among the earliest settlers of Penn- sylvania may be regarded as certain. It has been claimed in behalf of certain well- known Reformed laymen- such as Henry Frey and the father of Jacob Reiff, of Skippack-that they came to this country before the arrival MERCY JUSTICE of Wm. Penn. They were here, at any rate, very soon after that event. Isaac Dil- beck, an energetic member of the Reformed Church, arrived in 1683, in the same vessel with Pastorius.
The writer is indebted to Mr. Julius F. Sachse for an ex- ract from a letter dated Germantown, February 12, 1684,
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63
Neshaminy.
written by one of the Van Bebbers to the elder Jawert, in which the writer says :
" Man findet in Pennsylvania (auserhalb uns) Luther- ische und Reformirte. Die ersten haben zwo Prediger, ihre Früchte aber geben Zeugniss dass sie Lehrer sind ohne Geist. Zu Neucastell wohnen meist Holländer. Die Reformirten haben alda anitzo keinen Prediger. Die Papisten alda haben keine Versamlung."
TRANSLATION.
" There are in Pennsylvania (besides ourselves) Luth- erans and Reformed. The former have two preachers, but their fruits bear testimony that they are teachers with- out spirit. In New Castle most of the inhabitants are Hollanders. The Reformed have at present no preacher there. The Papists at that place have no congregation."
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So far as the Reformed Church is concerned this extract appears to refer most directly to New Castle, Delaware, where we know a Dutch Reformed congregation had been founded as early as 1654. The statement, that besides the sect-people, there were Lutherans and Reformed in Pennsylvania at that early date is, however, decidedly interesting.
There is no proof that the church in New Castle ever exerted any influence beyond its immediate vicinity ; but it is to a little Dutch settlement in Bucks County, Penna., that, at a somewhat later date, we must look for the first signs of missionary activity.
This settlement was called Neshaminy, deriving its name from a creek which enters the Delaware below Bristol. That a Dutch settlement was founded in Pennsylvania may appear remarkable; but it was in fact " an overflow" from New Jersey, where Hollanders were numerous.
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The Reformed Church in America.
In this region a congregation was organized on the 20th of May, 1710, by the Rev. Paulus Van Vlecq, who had previously been a schoolmaster at Kinderhook, and is said to have been irregularly ordained by Freeman. The congregation which he founded consisted of several preach- ing points, and was officially known as " Bensalem and Sammeny " (Neshaminy). The Bensalem section was in 1719 reorganized as a Presbyterian Church, and retained the early records ; 61 but Neshaminy (or " Sammeny ") re- mained Reformed, and subsequently exerted an important influence in the organization of the German Churches. 62 Van Vlecq himself joined the Presbyterians, but is said to have returned to Europe in 1715.
It is evident that Van Vlecq regarded himself as mis- sionary to a somewhat extensive field. The Bensalem record says : "Den 20 May int jaer onser heeren Jesu Christie, 1710, is Mr. Paulus Van Vlecq bevestigt voor pastor of herder en Leeraar in de kercke Jesu Christie tot Shamenie bensalem en Germantown ende omleggende Dorpen." On the day after the organization of the church and his own installation, Van Vlecq installed Hendrick Van Dyck and Leendert van der Grift as elders, and Stoffel van Sandt and Nicolaus van der Grift as deacons of the church at Neshaminy.
A few days later pastor Van Vlecq started on his earli- est missionary journey. A little further to the west along the banks of the Skippack Creek there was a little settle- ment of Hollanders and Plattdeutsch. Here, on the 29th of May, the Neshaminy pastor baptized a number of
61 A transcript of these records may be found in the library of the Histori- cal Society of Pennsylvania.
62 This congregation was until 1772 ecclesiastically connected with the German churches, but has since then belonged to the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America. The charge now consists of two congregations, North and South Hampton.
65
White Marsh.
children. It does not appear that he founded a church at Skippack, but at White Marsh ( Wytmes) he ordained elders and deacons on the 4th of June of the same year. The elders were Hans Hendricks Meels and Evert Ten Heuven, 63 and Isaac Dilbeck and William De Wees were deacons. Of these persons the deacons are best remembered. Isaac Dilbeck was one of the founders of Germantown; but in 1700 he purchased five hundred acres in the township of White Marsh, where he probably subsequently resided. Pastorius mentions him kindly in his correspondence,64 and he was evidently a worthy man. On Christmas Day, 1710, he was promoted to the eldership of the church at White Marsh, and for many years remained one of its leaders. When John Philip Boehm took charge of the congregation in 1725 he was still an active member, and as late as 1730 he was an officer of the church.
William De Wees was a native of Leeuwarden, in Fries- land, and came to America with others of his family about 1689, when he was about thirteen years old. In the same year his sister, Wilhelmina, was married in New York to Nicholas Rittenhouse. Soon afterwards the De Wees family removed to Germantown, Pennsylvania, and in due time William became a man of wealth and influence. In 1710 he built the second paper mill in America, which-as Mr. Dotterer informs us-was situated " on the west side of the Wissahickon, in that part of Germantown called Crefeld."
William De Wees and his wife-as well as other mem- bers of the same family-were members of the Reformed Church of White Marsh. Indeed, it is evident that De Wees was regarded as, in some sense, the patriarch of the congregation. For twenty years, at least, during the
63 This name is now generally written De Haven though in early records it sometimes appears as Im Hoff and Inden Hoff.
64 Dotterer's "Historical Notes," p. 15.
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The Reformed Church in America.
pastorate of John Philip Boehm, the Reformed people met at his house for worship, and his death, which occurred March 3, 1745, was a blow from which the little flock was never able to recover.
The other members of the first consistory are not en- tirely unknown. Evert Ten Heuven, as the Dutch pastor wrote his name, was a native of Mühlheim on the Ruhr, and came to America in 1698. Hans Hendricks Meels was in 1701 chosen Recorder of Germantown.
It has been asserted that Van Vlecq organized a Re- formed congregation in Germantown, but this appears to be doubtful. It is true that he calls himself pastor of " Shamenie, Bensalem and Germantown and neighboring villages," but this statement must, we think, be taken in a very general sense, merely claiming pastoral care of the Reformed people residing in these places. It will be ob- served that some of the leading members of the White Marsh congregation resided in Germantown, which would hardly have been the case if a congregation had been or- ganized in the latter place.
The beginnings of the Reformed Church in German- town, Pa., are very obscure. It has been asserted 65 that a Reformed church was built there in 1719 and that the Swedish pastor, Dylander, laid the corner stone, but there is evidently some confusion here, as Dylander did not ar- rive in America until 1737. It is also stated that " after 1725 the congregation had a bell on its place of worship"; but this assertion seems to be founded on the fact that the bell on the old church bore that date. It is plain, how- ever, that the bell may have been cast and dated before the erection of the church.
We do not desire to intimate that the Reformed people of Germantown may not have occasionally held religious
65 Halle Reports, Reading ed., p. 62.
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Germantown.
services at an earlier date than has generally been sup- posed. As early as 1686 a meeting-house was built " for the benefit of the community," and it is quite possible that Van Vlecq, or some other Dutch dominie, may have occa- sionally occupied the pulpit. Heinrich Bernhard Köster, who was probably the earliest preacher in Germantown, is said to have been born at Blumenberg (or Blomberg) in Lippe-Detmold-a Reformed principality ; but at this time his attitude towards the Reformed Church appears to have been indifferent, if not hostile. There is, in brief, no proof that an organized Reformed congregation existed in Ger- mantown in the days of the earliest pioneers. For the present we shall hold to the view of earlier historians, that the Reformed Church of Germantown properly dates its origin from the religious meetings which were held in 1726, or soon afterwards, by the pious turner, John Bechtel, who subsequently became the pastor of the congregation.
The question might here be asked : In what language were the religious services of the Reformed Church con- ducted in those early days? That the Dutch language was exclusively used in the church at Neshaminy can hardly be doubted ; but it might be hard to prove that Van Vlecq was unable to speak German. On the other hand Boehm, who became pastor at White Marsh some years afterwards, was a German, but he could write Dutch well enough, and it is probable that he could speak it after a fashion. It is said that many of the people of German- town and its vicinity at first spoke "Crefeld-Hollandish," a sort of lingua franca that was derived from the lower Rhine. No doubt the language of the pulpit was of the same general character ; or possibly the minister may have begun in one language and then have glided insensibly into the other. In recent times we have sometimes heard German and English treated in a very similar fashion.
CHAPTER VI.
SAMUEL GULDIN.
Pietist and Pioneer-Earliest German Reformed Minister in Pennsylva- nia.
TH HAT Samuel Guldin was the earliest or- 169 dained German minister of RV ACE the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania appears to be ENT certain. Apart from a vague ND E tradition among his descen- dants there was nothing known about him in the HAOT church of this country until a few years ago. In 1863 his aged namesake and de- scendant, Samuel Guldin, of Berks County, told the writer that he had been informed that his grandfather had been a Reformed minister ; but he could relate no particulars of his career. To have been strictly correct he ought to have said that the minister was the grandfather of his grand- father.
The appearance, in 1885, of Hildeburn's " Issues of the Pennsylvania Press" first directed the attention of the writer to the fact that Guldin had, in 1743, published a
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69
Pietism.
book on the title-page of which he is styled " late preacher in the three principal churches of Berne, in Switzerland." Here was a clue which deserved to be followed. If Gul- din ever occupied a position of such prominence it seemed probable that his name was still remembered in the father- land. A correspondence with the city librarian of Berne, and with other gentlemen in Switzerland, led to the collec- tion of the material for an article in the Reformed Quar- terly Review, for July, 1892, entitled " Samuel Guldin, Pietist and Pioneer." Some additional facts have since been discovered, but the outlines of the story have proved more nearly correct than the author had ventured to anticipate. Though the American career of its subject still remains in some respects obscure, we are able to present a sketch of the life of a somewhat remarkable man.
Samuel Guldin 66 was born in Berne, Switzerland, in 1664.67 He belonged to a family of some prominence which was originally derived from St. Gall, but had, in 1633, acquired the right of citizenship in Berne. He was well educated, not only at Berne, but in foreign univer- sities.
It was at this time that Pietism, as taught by Jean de Labadie, Spener and Untereyck, swept over the land. That there was room for reaction against the cold formal- ism of the times will not be denied; but, as is usual in great religious movements, there were undeniable extrava- gancies, and when the authorities of the church and state interfered, the innocent were often made to suffer with the guilty.
66 The orthography of the family name has varied considerably. In early publications it appears as Güldin, but in Europe and America it was popularly called Guldi or Guldy.
67 He was baptized April 8, 1664 .- Good's "History," p. 69. The exact date of his birth seems not to have been recorded.
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The Reformed Church in America.
In his subsequently published " Apologie " Guldin mi- nutely relates the circumstances under which he became a Pietist. He excuses his German teachers from any attempt to influence him in favor of Pietism, because, he says, " they did not know anything about it." It was on a journey to Geneva, in company with three of his fellow- students, that his mind was influenced in this direction. One of his companions fell ill at Geneva, and during his illness the whole company were brought to a knowledge of their spiritual condition and " became so united in spirit that they ever afterwards remained faithful to each other."
Guldin did not, however, date his conversion from this occasion. He became pastor at Stettlen, a league from Berne, but for nine months was greatly troubled in mind, so that he finally made up his mind to retire from the min- istry. At last, when he supposed he had preached his last sermon, another change occurred. He says: "On the 4th of August, 1693, between nine and ten o'clock in the forenoon, the light of faith arose, and was born within me. In that hour all my scruples and difficulties disappeared, so that I was never afterwards affected by them ; and I began to preach with new power, so that my whole congregation became aware that a change had taken place in my soul."
In the village where Guldin preached there were people who had been carried away by the spirit of pietism in its extremest form. These gathered around him and sounded his praises throughout the land. Great crowds gathered to hear him preach, and soon phenomena appeared, similar to those from whom the Quakers derived their name. There were quakings and tremblings, and strong men cried aloud for mercy. It does not appear that Guldin at any time expressly approved of these manifestations, but he refused to condemn them, and this was in itself enough to
7I
Berne.
rouse the suspicions of the authorities. Besides this, his companions on the journey to Geneva were now settled in their native canton, and several of these went further than Guldin in their approval of the " new measures." One of them even ventured to criticise the government-an act which was in those days regarded as the greatest of crimes.
In the first glow of popular enthusiasm Guldin had been chosen, on the 26th of December, 1696, diaconus, or assis- tant pastor of the cathedral church of the neighboring city of Berne. It is no doubt perfectly true, as he claims on the title-page of his books, that he preached in turn in the three principal churches of the city. His election was re- garded as a great triumph by the pietistic party, and his friend Lutz wrote an imprudent letter which unfortunately fell into the hands of the authorities. Playing on the name of the successful candidate, he said : "Golden tidings ! This day our golden brother, Guldin, was elected diaconus by a majority of the council. Glory to God who doeth wonders ! May He anoint the man whom He has or- dained ! How will it sound in the ears of our enemies? The ' arch-sectarian' is now a city pastor and a member of the ministerium and council. Thus the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. In- form the brethren, so that they may praise God and help us to contend for the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ."
For more than two years Guldin occupied his important pastorate, and his popularity constantly increased. His enemies, however, were alert, and Guldin and two of his friends, Koenig and Lutz, were in 1699 cited to appear before the Great Council of the canton. The result of the ensuing trial was probably a foregone conclusion, and on . the 9th of June all the accused were condemned. Koenig, who had spoken disrespectfully of the government, was
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The Reformed Church in America.
deposed from the ministry and banished from the canton. In the case of Guldin and Lutz the judgment was a little less severe. They were deprived of their pastoral charges, and forbidden to teach either in public or private, or to at- tend " conventicles," under penalty of deposition from the ministry. If they should agree to renounce Pietism, and to submit to the Helvetic Confession and the decrees of the Council, they might at the pleasure of the authorities, " be appointed to positions inferior to those which they had hitherto occupied, and as far distant as possible from the city of Berne."
In accordance with this decree Guldin was offered an obscure parish, but he either withdrew or was removed within the same year. 68 According to the family tradition he was for some time imprisoned, and this is altogether probable if he ventured to express his opinion of the treat- ment which he had received. For several years he re- sided in Germany, and in 1710 he sailed to America.69 He brought with him his wife and four children, Samuel, Maria Catharina, Christoffel and Emanuel Frederick. In America he lived more than thirty-five years, but what he did during all this time we are unable to determine. At first, he tells us in a letter to Germany, he lived in the house in Roxborough, previously occupied by Kelpius and Matthäi, and as he afterwards purchased land not far away it is probable that he made that region his permanent home. He seems to have been possessed of considerable means for he purchased the farm in Oley, which was oc- cupied by his son Samuel, together with other valuable property. Whether the father ever lived in Oley, we do
68 A manuscript note on the title-page of the "Apologie," in the possession of the writer says he was appointed pastor "in der Lengg." Dr. Good fixes the place at Boltingen, a mountain parish south of Berne.
69 See Good's "History," p. 74, where is a copy of an interesting letter, written after his arrival, giving an account of his voyage.
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Emigration.
not know. Records of the marriage of several of his chil- dren have been found in Philadelphia. It is almost cer- tain that several years after his arrival in this country his wife died, and that he was married a second time.
The only certain assurance which we have that Guldin ever preached in this country is derived from a report to Holland in 1739, in which Boehm incidentally remarks that " in Germantown old Guldi occasionally preaches." Once we know he visited Ephrata. The Chronicon Eph- ratense says : "When a learned scholar named Gulde saw Beissel's ' Ninety-nine Mystical Sayings ' he traveled to him and asked him why he had made ninety-nine of them and not one hundred. His answer was that when the number ninety-nine was reached he was stopped by the spirit." The family tradition describes Guldin as a suc- cessful and enterprising farmer who occasionally preached and administered the sacraments, as his services were re- quired, though without a regular charge. It is, however, barely possible that this tradition refers to his son, Samuel, who had been brought up under pietistic influences, and may have occasionally preached to the people.
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