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 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
The chief interest connected with Guldin's later years is derived from three books which he published after his ar- rival in America.70 Of these books the " Apologie " is the
70 I. "Kurtze Apologie oder Schutz-Schrifft der unschuldig verdächtig- gemachten und verworffenen Pietisten zu Bern in der Schweitz ; in sich hal- tend.
"I. Die wider sie gethane Relation der Commission vor einer hohen Ober- keit daselbst, so beschehen den 9 ten Junii 1699.
"2. Die Apologie oder Shutz-Schrifft dagagen, aufgesezt und ans Licht gegeben von Samuel Güldin, gewesenen Prediger und Diacono in allen dre- yen Haupt-Kirchen daselbst. Gedruckt zu Philadelphia im Jahr Christi, 1718."
II. "Kurtze Lehr und Gegensätze zu Erläuterung und Rettung der Gott- lichen Wahrheit," von Samuel Güldin. Philadelphia, 1718.
III. "Samuel Güldins, gewesenen Prediger in den Drey Haupt Kirchen zu Bern in der Schweitz, Sein unpartheyisches Zeugnüss über die neue Vereini- gung aller Religions-Partheyen in Pennsylvania." Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur in Germantown, 1743.
74
The Reformed Church in America.
Surge APOLOGIE ober
Beifft
Der unfajuldig verdächtig gemachten und verworfenen
Nietiften gu Bern in der Sameig
in fich haltenD. I. Die mider fie gethane Relation Der Commifion vor einer hohen Oberfeit Dafelbit/ fo befcheben ven 9. Junii 1699. II. Die Apologie Oder Saus Schrift Dagegen/ aufgefett und ans Licht gegeben von Samuel Bulbin/
gevejenen Srediger und Diacono in allen dreven Daupts Rirchen Dafelbft.
Bernd't su Philadelphia im Jahr Chrifti x 7 1 8.
75
Guldin's "Apology."
most important. It contains a full account of his trial, and is a defense against the accusations that were preferred against him. In most instances he acknowledges the facts but denies the inferences. In fact, the book is a defense of Pietism, though the author is evidently not a fanatic. The argument is strong and the style good, though occa- sionally the writer lapses into Swiss forms of speech.
The second publication, published in the same year, we have not seen, but from its title it is easy to conclude that it was in some sense connected with the former work. It is remarkable that the author should have waited nearly twenty years before publishing these vindications ; but the fact shows how deeply and permanently his European ex- periences had affected him. The earliest book purports to · have been printed in Philadelphia, and the second bears the same imprint. This can hardly be literally correct ; for in those days there was no German press in America. Besides this, it may be remarked that the printing and gen- eral appearance of the book is greatly superior to anything that could have been produced in this country. Probably the author sent his manuscripts to Germany and had them printed there. The publishers may have deemed it prudent to assume an American imprint, so as to avoid possible complications with the authorities ; or it may have been in- tended to intimate obscurely that the work was published under the auspices of one of the Philadelphian societies which then existed in Germany.
After an interval of twenty-five years Guldin once more appeared as an author. He had attended a meeting of the " Congregation of God in the Spirit," which proposed to unite the German churches of Pennsylvania, but had evi- dently no confidence in the permanence of the movement. The book in which he expressed this judgment was pub-
76
The Reformed Church in America.
lished by Christopher Saur in 1743. It consisted of five separate tracts. In four of these he gives his reasons for opposing the union movement ; but in the fifth, which was written in defense of the Rev. James Davenport, a cele- brated revivalist, he opposes formalism in the church, and intimates, as he had done in the " Apologie," that religious revivals should not be opposed, but rather kept within proper bounds.
Guldin evidently remained to the last a moderate Pietist, and from our present point of view nothing can be said against his position. As a work of literature his latest publication is of little importance, and we can hardly sup- pose that it ever exerted an extensive influence.
Guldin died on the 31st of December, 1745. Saur's paper of January 16, 1746, contains this brief notice : " Der sonst von vielen Jahren her bekannte Samuel Guldin ist in Philadelphia den Tag vorm neuen Jahr gestorben in 81 ten Jahr seines Alters." Concerning the circum- stances of his death we have no particulars ; but he left an unsigned will-a curious document in several languages, in which he expressed a desire that a part of his property should be given to the poor.
We know so little about Guldin's later years that we can hardly refer with confidence to his character and work. That he was a learned man and a fine pulpit orator is suf- ficiently evident. With his splendid talents he might, we think, have accomplished a great work ; but of his minis- terial activity in America hardly a trace remains. From his writings we conclude that his mind continued to dwell on the scene of his early trials ; and if he felt no enthu- siasm for the upbuilding in America of a church whose authorities had in Switzerland treated him with unkindness, not to say injustice, the fact is at least intelligible. He
77
Guldin's Death.
remained, however, firmly attached to Reformed standards, and his children were educated in the same faith. He was a devout man, and deservedly holds an honorable place at the very beginning of the history of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania.
SPECIMEN OF EPHRATA PENWORK.
.
CHAPTER VII.
THE AMERICAN FOUNDERS. John Philip Boehm-George Michael Weiss.
URING the first quarter of the eighteenth cen- tury very little was done in be- half of the Reformed people of Pennsylvania. They were scattered in little settlements here and there, but they had neither churches nor pastors, and in some places their pov- erty was extreme. Many of Mappen von Krefeld. them hoped against hope that ministers would be sent to them from the fatherland, but for a long time they were disappointed. Some took their children to Philadelphia to be baptized by a Presbyterian pastor, Dr. Andrews ; but a few were so greatly discouraged that they actually joined the Quakers.71 In some instances, we know, pious laymen gathered the people on the Lord's Day and read to them a printed sermon or an extract from some ap- proved manual of devotion. These men, who were
71 Report of Synod of Dort, 1731.
7)
79
Boehm.
known as " Readers," were often called to officiate at funerals, and some of them became fluent speakers, if not actual preachers. The practice was, after all, not very different from that which prevailed among their Menno- nite neighbors.
In 1725 three little congregations requested their " Rea- der" to become their pastor, and thus to exercise all the functions of a Christian minister. The most important of these congregations was at Falkner Swamp, which is well known as one of the earliest German settlements in Penn- sylvania. The other two were Skippack and White Marsh, which have already been mentioned in connection with the missionary labors of the Rev. Paulus Van Vlecq. The " Reader" who was thus invited to assume the pas- toral office was John Philip Boehm, who, on account of his subsequent energy and devotion, deserves the foremost place among the pioneers of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania.
.
C Befring 8
John Philip Boehm was born at Hochstadt, in Hanau, November 25, 1683. He was the son of a Reformed minister, the Rev. Philip Ludwig Boehm, who seems to have been a worthy but unfortunate man, for in his later years he was blind, and received a charitable stipend from the authorities of the church. Where the son was edu-
80
The Reformed Church in America.
cated we have no means of knowing, but it is evident that he did not receive a university training. From 1708 to 1715 he was teacher of the parochial school of the Re- formed congregation at Worms. Here he had a dispute with one of the officers of the church with respect to the fees of his office, and finally resigned the position, and became parochial teacher at Lambsheim, near Franken- thal. Here he also had troubles with regard to his per- quisites and at last he also resigned this position and emigrated to America. In all these conflicts he seems to have been entirely in the right, and the utmost that can be said against him is that he may have been somewhat litigious.72 In a petition to the Church of Holland, dated in July, 1728, he is said to have been persecuted by the Roman Catholics, but though this is probable it cannot now be established by contemporary evidence.
When Boehm arrived in America he became a farmer ; there is no evidence that he ever taught school on this side of the ocean. He seems to have resided first in Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, near the place where he subsequently founded the church which bears his name. Soon after his arrival he was called upon to lead the peo- ple in religious service, and his service was so acceptable that the best people in the community requested him to become their pastor. " He explained to them that accord- ing to the order of the Reformed Church he could not minister to them without ordination "; but they continued their appeals " protesting that he could not justify before God his refusal of so necessary a work." Among those who were most earnest in this matter was Henry Antes, known as " the pious Reformed man of Frederick Town-
72 For a full account of these conflicts see Dr. Good's "History."
8I
Falkner Swamp.
ship," who subsequently came to differ widely from Boehm on subjects connected with the organization of the church.
That the call thus presented caused Boehm a great deal of trouble we can easily conceive. He was by nature closely attached to forms and precedents, and to assume the office of the ministry must have seemed to him like laying unhallowed hands upon the altar. On the other hand, the necessities of the case were undeniable. The people were "like sheep without a shepherd," and he alone was qualified to lead them in the right way; for though he had not received a thorough theological training he had so long been engaged in the service of the church, that he must have been convinced that he knew exactly how Reformed Churches ought to be conducted. The whole subject was to him in the profoundest sense a mat- ter of conscience; but at last he determined to accept the call as coming from God, and proceeded to perform the duties of the pastoral office. On the 15th of October, 1725, he administered the communion at Falkner Swamp to fifty communicants ; at Skippack in November to thirty- seven; and at White Marsh on the 23d of December to twenty-five.
When Boehm had accepted the pastorate of these churches, he proceeded to organize them as nearly as pos- sible after the pattern of the fatherland. The congrega- tional constitution which he prepared was adopted by his congregation and signed by the individual members. It was subsequently adopted by other churches, and became the model for other constitutions which differed from it in several minor particulars.73 For about two years Boehm
73 This constitution was submitted in 1728 to the Classis of Amsterdam and approved by that body. It was adopted by Coetus and published in 1748, and a copy is preserved in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. See Mercersburg Review, Oct., 1876, for a translation of these so-called " Re- formed Church Ordinances."
.
82
The Reformed Church in America.
was practically alone in his missionary work. Almost immediately he undertook extensive journeys to outlying settlements, and organized congregations wherever the way was open.
At first the labors of Boehm were confined to what may be called the eastern German settlements, in the region which is now included in the counties of Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Northampton, Lehigh and Berks. There was, however, a western district, which was in those days regarded as remote and almost inaccessible. It was known as Conestoga, and comprised the part of Ches- ter County lying west of the Octorara, though its limits were very vaguely defined. As early as 1718 there were in the latter district seventy German tax-payers, but soon afterwards the number was largely increased. In the eastern district many mem- SPECIMEN OF JOHN PHIL BOEHM'S ORNAMENTAL PENMANSHIP. bers of the Reformed Church had settled, but in Cones- toga they were comparatively few in number. The ma- jority then, as now, belonged to the Mennonites, Dunkers and minor German sects.
The earliest efforts for the establishment of the Re- formed Church in Lancaster County appears to date from the year in which Boehm organized the church at Falkner Swamp. At first the devotions of the people in the west- ern district were led by a pious tailor, named John Conrad Tempelman. Long afterwards, when this man had be-
83
Conestoga.
come a regular pastor-he wrote a letter to the Synods of North and South Holland, dated February 13, 1733, in which he embodied his recollections of this early period. He says : " The church in Canastoka had its origin in the year 1725, with a small gathering in private houses, here and there, with the reading of a sermon, with singing and prayer, on all Sundays and holidays, but for want of min- isters without the administration of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper." The people earnestly desired Tempel- man to become their pastor, but he declined to assume the responsibility. At a later period he removed to what is now Lebanon County, and, having been regularly ordained, became the founder of a number of important churches.
When the Reformed people of Conestoga learned that · Boehm had organized the churches of Philadelphia County, they invited him to perform the same work in their behalf, and he acceded to their request. In a letter to the Classis of Amsterdam, dated January 14, 1739, he says : "This district of Conestoga is very extensive. The first congre- gation which was gathered here I call ' Hill Church ' (Berg- kirch) ; it is situated in the center. I served it according to their call to come to them twice a year ; for the first time in the year 1727, on the 15th of October, and there were present 59 communicants, as this was the first time that a [Reformed?] communion service had been celebrated in the Cannestoga valley."
The church which was organized on this occasion has been identified as Heller's Church, about six miles east of the city of Lancaster.
The work which Boehm had begun soon met with serious disturbance. On the 2 1st of September, 1727, Rev. George Michael Weiss arrived in America, in the ship William and Sarah, with a company of four hundred immigrants.
84
The Reformed Church in America.
That he was the appointed leader of these people is ex- plicitly stated in a report published in 1731 by the Synod of Dort.74 He had been " qualified by the Palatinate Con- sistory," and was therefore an ordained minister at the time of his arrival.
Weiss was a vigorous young man and was disposed to magnify his office. When he found that Boehm was per- forming ministerial acts without ordination, he protested with word and deed. He entered without permission into Boehm's congregations, and warned the people against such irregular conduct. In Conestoga, for instance, almost immediately after his arrival, Weiss "administered the communion to some who had come over the sea with him." Boehm says : " He drew the people over to him, but left them soon afterwards." He even went so far as to summon Boehm to appear to answer for disorderly conduct before the English Presbytery of Philadelphia, which had, of course, no authority in the premises.75
In the meantime, however, Boehm and his friends had not been idle. Recognizing the irregularity of Mr. Boehm's ministry they appealed to the Dutch ministers of New York to remove the ground for dissension by granting him regu- lar ordination. As these ministers were unwilling to assume so great a responsibility without authority from the father- land a petition was, in July, 1728, addressed to the Classis
74 See Professor Hinkes' article in "The Perkiomen Region " for Sept., 1900. 75 George Michael Weiss was a native of the Palatinate. His baptism took place at Eppingen, Jan. 23, 1700, but the "Chronicon Ephratense " says he was born at Stebbach-a place only two or three miles from Eppingen (Dr. Good's "History," p. 113). Perhaps it is safest to assume that he was born in Ep- pingen, where his family resided, though it is hard to suppose that John Peter Miller, of Ephrata, could have been wrong in such a matter especially when he was certainly so nearly right.
Weiss was educated at Heidelberg, ordained by the Upper Consistory of the Palatinate, and commissioned to serve the church in America. Unfortunately the minutes of the " Consistorium " appear to be lost.
شوب
جور
٠٠٨
THE REFORMED CHURCH IN PENNSYLVANIA.
HENRICUS BOLL.
GUALTERIUS DUBOIS.
85
Weiss.
of Amsterdam, asking permission to perform the rite. This permission having in due time been granted, the Dutch dominies no longer hesitated, and it was resolved that Boehm should be ordained in the Reformed Church of New York. On his journey thither Boehm was accom- panied by Frederick Antes, of Falkner Swamp, Gabriel Schuler, of Skippack, and William DeWees, of White Marsh. The service of ordination was held on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 23, 1729, and was conducted by the Rev. Henricus Boel and the Rev. Gualterius DuBois.76 On the day following Weiss, who was present on this occasion, formally withdrew his objections to Boehm's ministry and the two German pioneers were formally reconciled. They even signed an agreement, of which one of the articles .read as follows : " That Do. Weiss recognizes Do. Boehm for the lawful, ordained, regular minister of the three aforesaid congregations ; that Do. Weiss will stay away from Schipback, and will declare to the congregations that he leaves that and the other two congregations entirely to Do. Boehm as their lawful minister that he may pursue his work in peace among the three." 77
In the meantime Weiss had been actively engaged in the work of the ministry. Before the close of the year 1727, he had organized a congregation in Philadelphia. The elders then chosen were Piter Lecolie,78 John William Roerig, Henry Weller and George Peter Hillegass. It may seem strange that we have no record of an earlier or- ganization in Philadelphia where many Reformed people had settled at an earlier date. Boehm, we know, had oc-
76 Dr. Good mentions Autonides, of Long Island, as the third officiating clergyman.
77 See Dotterer's monograph on Boehm, p. 4.
78 Lecolie seems to have been a merchant, and his name frequently appears in contemporary documents. From the fact that he wrote his Christian name " Piter " we conclude that he was in all probability a Walloon.
86
The Reformed Church in America.
casionally preached there before the arrival of Weiss, but his work appears to have been merely preliminary. At any rate we have no knowledge of an earlier congregation than the one which Weiss established; and here he
Philadelphia April 16th 1997 thou found of games Burglary Pucel of all accounts whatfocose Excipulling I hilding dix ponies Piter Leolie
preached for several years, serving at the same time the congregations in Germantown and Goshenhoppen, besides preaching for some time to the party which had separated from Boehm's congregation in Skippack. He also made occasional missionary excursions to outlying congregations. In 1729 he published a pamphlet directed against a fan- atical sect, the ' New Born' of Oley.79 In 1730 he adver- tised that he was " willing to teach logic, natural phi- losophy, metaphysics, etc., to all who were willing to learn." His congregations were very poor, and in this way he may have eked out his living.
Weiss did not long continue in the pastorate of his churches. In the spring of 1730 Jacob Reiff, of Skippack, undertook a journey to Europe, and Weiss determined to accompany him. Reiff had been in Europe before, 80 and his visit had resulted in awakening an interest in the German churches of America. What could be more
79 " Der in der Amerikanischen Wildnüss," etc. A copy of this unique pamphlet was discovered by Professor Hinke in the National Library at Wash- ington.
80 In 1727 when he presented a petition for relief from the congregation of Skippack and Philadelphia to the authorities of the Church in Holland. This is held to be the first occasion when the Churches of Pennsylvania corresponded with the Church of Holland.
87
Jacob Reiff.
natural than that these churches should embrace the oppor- tunity to solicit contributions from their brethren in the fatherland ?
Reiff appears to have been a typical Pennsylvania Ger- man of his time. Though uneducated he was enterprising and had successfully managed a number of rustic enter- prises. Dr. Weiser has preserved a tradition that the people nicknamed him " Ah so" (Auch so or Just so), be- cause he was in the habit of agreeing with those with whom he conversed. In the controversy at Skippack he had been the chief supporter of Weiss, and had built for him a little church on his own land. There were debts on this church, and it is probable that this fact was not without its influence in inducing Reiff to act as financial agent for the Pennsylvania churches. On the 19th of May, 1730, the consistories of the churches in Philadelphia and Skippack granted him a power of attorney, of which a contem- porary copy is preserved at Lancaster. In this document Reiff is given authority, in case Weiss should determine to remain in Germany, to bring another minister from Heidel- berg to supply the Pennsylvania churches.
We shall not attempt to relate the incidents of that un- fortunate expedition. The story has often been told, and it must be confessed 81 that it is not pleasant reading. It relates the common experience of several American de- nominations. The churches of the fatherland proved them- selves liberal, but a large part of their contributions never reached their proper destination. Weiss collected a con- siderable sum, but handed it over to Reiff, and thus freed himself from financial responsibility. Reiff was careless and kept no proper accounts ; but he finally confessed that
81 "Papers in the Reiff Cases," Reformed Church Review, 1893, p. 68 ; "History of the Reiff Case," by Prof. Wm. J. Hinke ; Dotterer's " Hist. Notes," p. 133.
.
88
The Reformed Church in America.
he had received something more than 2,000 florins. It must, however, be remembered that out of this sum the traveling expenses of two men had to be paid, so that the amount must have been considerably diminished. Finally Reiff invested the proceeds of his mission in goods which it was supposed could be sold in America at a profit ; but, in consequence of a series of accidents, 82 he was compelled to set sail without them, and they were retained in an English custom-house for non-payment of duty. Reiff claimed that his purpose in making this investment was to advance the interests of the churches ; but it is now plain that it was a speculation in which he was encouraged by men who were willing to repudiate the whole business when it proved unsuccessful.
Weiss returned to America in 1731. He came by way of Maryland and remained but a short time in Philadelphia. He then removed to New York, where he labored as pastor at Burnetsfield, Rhinebeck, etc., until 1746. Dr. Good suggests, that, though not personally responsible for the re- sults of Reiff's mission, " coming events cast their shadows before," and that on his removal to New York he was not unwilling to escape from a gathering storm by seeking a residence in another province. However this may have been, it is certain that he did excellent work in his new field. He kept up his correspondence with the Church of Holland, and published a book on the characteristics of the American aborigines.
When Reiff returned to America he took the most im- prudent course that could possibly have been suggested. The people had gained the impression that the sum was very great, and could never be convinced that the contrary was actually the case. Instead of presenting his account,
82 Related at length in his answer to the Court of Chancery.
89
Philadelphia and Skippack.
and patiently submitting to such criticisms as might be of- fered, he declined to make settlement, though formally re- quested to do so. The result was much correspondence and protracted litigation. The Skippack congregation had apparently little to say-for there Reiff and his rela- tives were in control-but the church in Philadelphia took up the matter and would not let it rest. Though the mis- sion had been undertaken solely in behalf of the churches of Philadelphia and Skippack, other congregations in some way conceived the idea that they were deprived of their dues.83, On the 23d of November, 1732, the con- sistory of the church of Philadelphia appeared before Governor Patrick Gordon, in the Court of Chancery, and lodged a complaint and petition, in which they gave a full account of the case. From this document and from Reiff's answer-both of which are preserved among the papers collected by Dr. Harbaugh-many interesting facts con- cerning the early history of the church of Philadelphia have been gathered. The authorities of the Church in Holland were naturally greatly interested in the prosecu- tion of the case; and as the original subscription had dis- appeared they made up the account, as best they could, from such documents as were in their possession. In the petition in chancery the amount of the collection is stated as " two thousand one hundred and ninety-seven guilders, amounting to three hundred and two pounds sterling money of Great Britain." The Court of Chancery has, however, always been proverbial for its delays, and there the case lingered until after the arrival of Schlatter,84 who finally
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.