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 8
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It has long been known that a family named Goet- schius,107 including a son named J. Henry, arrived in Philadelphia May 29, 1735 ;108 and this arrival was in some way connected with the well-known migration of Pastor Moritz Goetschius, of Saletz,109 but the dates did not har- monize with those given above, and there were all sorts of suggestions for the removal of difficulties. At last it came to be assumed that there were two ministers named John Henry Goetschius, one of whom was the founder of Ger- man churches in Pennsylvania; and that the other-a younger man-after preaching a few years in Pennsyl- vania became a very prominent minister in the Reformed Dutch Church of New Jersey and New York. 110
107 The name is variously written Goetschius, Goetschy, Goetschiey and Goetschie. As every signature I have seen, both in this country and Europe, is written Goetschius, I have accepted this form, on the principle that a man ought to be the best judge of the orthography of his name.
108 Rupp's "Collection of Names," p. 99.
109 Löher's "Die Deutschen in Amerika," Cincinnati, 1847.
110 Corwin's "Manual of the Reformed Church in America," p. 282.
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The Reformed Church in America.
It now turns out, as the result of European researches, that all our early writers have been mistaken, and that there was actually but one minister named John Henry Goetschius. The elder " John Henry " is actually what historians have called " a ghost-name ";111 that is, a name which had no corresponding reality. How such an error came to be made can be made plain only by relating a somewhat extensive history.
The Rev. Moritz Goetschius (1686-1735) had been min- ster at Saletz, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. He was an eminent scholar, especially in oriental languages, so that he made use of them in his daily lessons to his family.112 In 1731 he was deposed from the ministry, but the people remained attached to him, and even men who were eminent in the Church manifested a disposition to show him kindness.113 As the circumstances of the case are not minutely known, it may reasonably be supposed that the people believed that he had suffered injustice. Active and energetic, he proceeded to organize a " col- ony " to go to the Carolinas, and in this work he was unusually successful. On October 4, 1734, he left Zurich with a company numbering, it is said, four hundred per- sons, taking with him his wife and eight children. The eldest daughter, Anna, was married at Neu Wied to John Conrad Wirtz (or Wuertz), a candidatus from Zurich who was in the party, and who subsequently became a minister in Pennsylvania.
111 There are other "ghost-names " in our early history. There never was a Reformed minister in America named Dillenberger, but the Rev. John Jacob Wissler added Dillenberga-Nassauicus to his name to indicate that he was a native of Nassau-Dillenberg. Some early investigator misread the name as J. J. W. Dillenberger of Nassau ; and though the correction has frequently been made, the phantom manifests a constant tendency to reappear.
112 Good's "History," p. 173.
113 Letter of Dr. Escher, of Zurich, to the author, Feb. 2, 1892.
107
Moritz Goetschius.
The journey from Zurich to Rotterdam was accompa- nied by many privations, and many of the company turned back before they reached Holland.114 At the Hague Goet- schius fortunately met a Mr. von Felsen, who persuaded him to change his destination from Carolina to Pennsyl- vania, and through his influence the Dutch government made Goetschius a donation of 2,000 guilders, with the particular object of securing a trustworthy account of the condition of the churches in Pennsylvania. In a letter, appealing for the necessary credentials from Switzerland, dated November 26, 1734, Goetschius stated that he was to be superintendent of the whole church in Pennsylvania, and that his income was to be 2,000 thalers until the people could themselves provide for his support ; but it must be remembered that this pleasant story was told for the edifi- cation of friends at home. At the same time Henry Goet- schius-a son of the Reverend Moritz, only 16 or 17 years old-wrote to Switzerland that Mr. von Felsen had prom- ised that, in case the testimonials from Zurich should re- sult favorably to his father, he (Henry) should finish his studies at the University at Leyden at the public expense, and that he should be sent as future successor to his father. 115 The credentials, it is said, did not arrive in Holland until Goetschius had sailed for America, and, though giving him credit for extraordinary learning, were not otherwise quite as favorable as had been anticipated.
114 One of the disheartened members of the colony on his return to Zurich published a pamphlet giving a full account of this eventful journey. It was entitled : Der Hinckende Bote von Carolina. Oder Ludwig Webers von Wallissellen Beschreibung seiner Reise von Zürich gen Rotterdam, mit derjenigen Gesellschaft welche neulich aus dem Schweizerland in Carolinam zu ziehen gedachte. Zürich, bey Joh. Jacob Lindinner, MDCCXXXV. Weber's story, which is very interesting, is translated in Dotterer's "His- torical Notes," and its substance is reproduced in Good's "History."
115 Dotterer's "Historical Notes," p. 183.
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The Reformed Church in America.
The ship Mercury sailed from Rotterdam in February, 1735, and arrived in Philadelphia in May. It had been a horrible voyage and the passengers had suffered greatly. According to the Penna. Archives, Vol. XVII., the Goet- schius family appeared to be qualified with the other pas- sengers on the 29th of May, but the father, Moritz Goet- schius, was not in the number. He had been very ill ; but on the arrival of the vessel the elders of the Reformed Church of Philadelphia came on board, greeted him with enthusiasm and recognized him as the pastor of their church. Summoning all his strength he accompanied them on shore, but immediately his strength failed, and he had to be car- . ried to a house where in a few minutes he died.
A letter preserved in Zurich gives a full account of this melancholy event. It was written by John Henry Goet- schius, who was then but seventeen years old. The peo- ple of Philadelphia had manifested great sympathy for the afflicted family, and the father had been "buried in the churchyard of the principal Presbyterian Church, with elaborate ceremonies.116 The condition of the family was , most discouraging, as may be well imagined. 'John Henry was, however, a precocious boy, and when the people saw his excellent testimonials from the schools of Zurich, ac- companied by the statement that he had been regarded as a worthy student for the ministry, they insisted that he must preach. Boy preachers have always been popular with the masses, and we are not surprised that he was greeted with enthusiasm.
"And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew
That one small head could carry all he knew."
Everywhere the people were eager to accept him as their pastor, and on the title-page of the records of the church
116 Good's " History," p. 182.
109
John Henry Goetschius.
at New Goshenhoppen he stated that he simultaneously served the congregations at Skippack, Old Goshenhoppen, New Goshenhoppen, Swamp, Saucon, Egypt, Macedonia, Mosillem, Oley, Bern, and Tulpehocken. He treated his predecessor, Boehm, with little consideration, and the latter naturally complained of such unauthorized interference with his work.
The inscriptions on the title-pages of church records, which have led to so much misunderstanding, are easily explained. Goetschius found the books already in exist- ence, containing a number of entries of baptism; but the first page was in each case unoccupied, and he took a boyish pleasure in putting his name there, sometimes add- ing a few sentences in Greek or Latin. The inscription at New Goshenhoppen was not written before 1736, though on the next following page there is the record of a baptism solemnized in 1731 by some earlier minister. The inscrip- tion at Egypt turns out to have been written in 1739, and the one at Great Swamp alone is legibly dated April 24, 1736. There was no intention to deceive, but the circum- stances very naturally led to a misapprehension. As for the Greek and Latin sentences they were nothing but remi- niscences of the Latin school at Zurich.
In 1737 Goetschius applied for ordination to the Presby- terian Synod of Philadelphia, but the application was not granted. In 1739, or 1740, he retired from his work in Pennsylvania for the purpose of continuing his studies, and was irregularly ordained by Dorsius, Tennent, and Frelinghuysen. From this time forwards he labored ex- clusively in the Reformed Dutch Church, at first on Long Island and afterwards at Hackensack and Schraalenburg, N. J. At Hackensack he was visited by the Rev. H. M. Muhlenburg, who speaks of him very kindly.117
117 " Hallesche Nachrichten," II., 289, new edition.
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The Reformed Church in America.
The career of Goetschius in the Dutch Church was stormy, but he was recognized as a man of strength and in- fluence. Corwin says : " He was below the middle size, of a vigorous constitution, abrupt in speech, but his lan- guage was clear and expressive. He was a man of deep feeling and strong passions, it being said that once when resistance was apprehended to his entering the church at Hackensack, he buckled on his sword and, thus ac- coutred, entered the pulpit. It must be remembered, how- ever, that it was not unusual for even a minister to wear a sword, sometimes carrying it to church and laying it be- hind him in the pulpit during service." His only publica- tion was a pamphlet sermon, " The Unknown God," 1742. He died in 1774.118
John Conrad Wirtz (or Würtz) (1706-1763)-the brother- in-law of John Henry Goetschius-became his successor in that portion of his extensive field which is now included in Northampton and Lehigh Counties. In 1750 he re- moved to New Jersey and was ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick. In 1761 he was called to the pastor- ate of the Reformed Church at York, Pa., where he died after two years' service. He bears the reputation of hav- ing been a faithful and devoted minister. In York he built a new church. " At the time of his death the floor was not yet laid; so they buried him under the altar." 119 From what we have said it must be evident that there was
118 John Mauritius Goetschius, a brother of John Henry, was ten years old at the time of the arrival of the family in America. He seems to have studied in Europe. A votum, written in Dutch, in the album of Dr. Zubly, dated Zurich, October 19, 1743, is signed "J. M. Goetschius, St. Theol." Corwin says : "He came to America in 1744"; but the latter must be the date of his return from his studies. He preached and practised medicine-preaching both German and Dutch-at Schoharie and elsewhere. A son and a grandson of John Henry Goetschius, served in the ministry of the Reformed Dutch Church. 119 Harbaugh's "Lives of the Fathers," I., p. 393.
III
Moral Conditions.
confusion everywhere. Besides the ministers we have mentioned there were "land-lopers" whose names are perhaps fortunately forgotten, or if remembered are hardly worthy of record. The moral condition of the people is described as most discouraging, especially in consequence of the drinking habits which were then prevalent. Order and discipline were almost unknown. So far as we can see the only movements in the direction of organization was the adoption by many congregations of Boehm's Con- stitution of 1725, and in the work of this good man we see the brightest prospect of better days.
CHAPTER IX.
THE UNITY CONFERENCES.
Henry Antes-John Bechtel-C. H. Rauch-Brandmüller-Jacob Lischy.
HE multitude of sects was in Pennsylvania a serious obstacle to the progress of the Church. It was impossible to interest a whole com- SEQUAMUR VICIT munity in the founding of a church, EUM AGNUS or in the establishment of a college- as had been the case in New Eng- land-for in extensive regions there STER were hardly two neighbors who were agreed in religious faith and practice. SEAL OF THE UNITAS FRATRUM. There were not only the denomina- tions with which we are now familiar; but all the little mystical sects and coteries, which sprang directly or in- directly from the revival of Jean de Labadie, had their American representatives. The very head and center of this mysticism was Oley, in Berks County, concerning which such men as Schlatter and Muhlenberg expressed themselves in unmistakable language. It was one of the oldest and richest settlements, and its earliest settlers were unusually intelligent ; and yet they represented so many different shades of faith and unbelief that it was not until nearly half a century after the first settlement had
(112)
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Henry Antes.
passed away that any single denomination found itself suf- ficiently strong to attempt the erection of a building de- voted exclusively to religious purposes. Naturally enough it was from this place, where the evil was most keenly felt, that there came the first cry for the union of churches. If they could not be brought to accept a common confession of faith, might they not be induced to join in the profes- sion of Christian love? John Adam Gruber, of Oley-an "Inspirationist " of the school of John Frederick Rock -issued in 1736 an appeal for religious union. The proj- ect was extensively discussed, but it was first brought into tangible shape by Henry Antes, who was known as " der fromme Reformirte Mann aus Friedrich township."
John Henry Antes 120 was born in 1701 at Freinsheim, in the Palatinate, and was baptized in the Reformed Church of that place on the 17th of July of the same year.121 His father, Philip Frederick Antes, in later years migrated to America with his family, and in 1723 purchased a farm in
what is now Montgomery County. Possibly he resided there a year or two before the purchase was effected. It seems to be taken for granted that Henry Antes accompa- nied his father, and both were from the beginning promi- nent members of the Falckner Swamp church, which was near at hand. As we have seen, it was Henry Antes who persuaded Boehm to undertake the work of the ministry.
120 Our readers have no doubt observed that among the Germans of that age the first Christian name was rarely used. The second name-der Rufname- was the name by which they were called, and which they employed as a signa- ture. It was so with Antes and many others mentioned in this volume.
121 McMinn, "On the Frontier with Col. Antes," Camden, N. J., 1900.
114
The Reformed Church in America.
For some years the two men were very intimate, and Boehm himself refers, in one of his published pamphlets, to the hours they had spent in sweet religious communion. Antes himself soon became a religious exhorter, if not a preacher. Harbaugh says that as early as 1736 he minis- tered to the Reformed people in Oley. He was less de- nominational than Boehm, and greeted Christians of every name with warm affection. When the celebrated revi- valist, George Whitefield, came to Pennsylvania he visited Henry Antes and preached at his house April 23, 1740, to a great multitude of people. 122 The Moravian bishop, Petrus Boehler, preached German on the same occasion.
When Count Zinzendorf arrived in Philadelphia in De- cember, 1741, he soon made the acquaintance of Henry Antes, and the latter explained to him his plan for the
union of the churches. It is said that the Count hesi- tated for some time, but finally gave his approval. Antes therefore issued his " Call for a meeting of Christians, to be held on New Year's Day, 1742, in Germantown." 123 It was to be held " not for the purpose of disputing with one another, but to confer in love on the important articles of faith, in order to see how near all could come together
122 Mr. Seward, who accompanied Whitefield, says in his Journal, pp. 12, 13: "They were Germans where we dined and supped, and they prayed and sang in German as we did in English before and after eating." This occasion would afford a splendid subject for a painter-Whitefield preaching in English to the Germans of Frederick Township, who, while most of them probably failed to understand the sermon, could not help feeling the power of his trans- cendent eloquence.
123 Reprinted in Büdingische Sammlungen, II., p. 722. Translated in Mc- Minn's "On the Frontier with Col. Antes," p. 20.
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Conferences.
in fundamental points." It was this meeting that led to the organization of the "Congregation of God in the Spirit."
Seven conferences were held between January I and June 3, 1742. The proceedings, together with other docu- ments pertaining to the general subject, were in the same year published in a quarto volume by Benjamin Franklin.124 There can be no doubt that these conferences or synods attracted a great deal of attention, and at the first meeting eight different sects were represented. Unfortunately, perhaps, the representatives were generally self-appointed and most of them were popularly regarded as extreme pietists or mystics who entertained modes of thought that were at least unusual. The hope of Antes that the meeting would · " confer in love" was not realized. The " Ephrata Brethren " were there in force, and naturally there were sharp contentions. Gradually, however, the extremists withdrew, and at the third conference-held in Oley at the house of John De Turck-an organization was effected in accordance with the plans of its earliest promoter.
There can be no doubt that from the beginning the lead- ing spirit in the conferences was Count Zinzendorf. He has often been blamed for having employed them for proselyting purposes. Professor Seidensticker-employ- ing a German idiom-says : " He sought to bring them all under one hat, that is, his own hat." This reproach, how- ever, appears to be undeserved. Unless we greatly mis- understand the purpose of Count Zinzendorf and his coadjutors they never wished to establish a denomination in the modern sense, that would compete in numbers with existing ecclesiastical organizations. In faith Zinzendorf
124 AUTHENTISCHE RELATION, etc. Titles in Hildebrun, I., 747, and in Seidensticker's "First Century of German Printing," p. 16.
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The Reformed Church in America.
was a Lutheran, as he was always ready to declare; but he was not a doctrinaire. Many of his coadjutors belonged to other confessions; but they made no renunciation of their faith when they joined the Unitas Fratrum. The brotherhood had been instituted with other purposes, and in its unity the brethren ignored the differences of creed and nationality. In its practical relations it might have been called a great missionary organization that stretched forth its arms to embrace many nations. For the accomplishment of its highest purposes it was deemed necessary to establish settlements that might become centers of influence ; but it was never supposed that Christendom would in all respects accommodate itself to the peculiar forms of life which were there cultivated. The founders had a beautiful vision of unity in diversity-of a church that preserved its local forms and confessions, but was per- vaded by a higher life, and was most intimately connected with the local centers which the brotherhood had founded. If such a plan could have been carried out the results would have been grand beyond conception. The ancient forms of faith, which men had learned to love, would not have been sacrificed; there would have been no lack of that generous rivalry which often leads to earnest effort ; but there might have been a " Union in the Spirit " that would have been the nearest approach to millennial antici- pations which the world has ever seen.
For such a purpose Zinzendorf's theory of Tropes ap- peared to be peculiarly well suited. The idea was pro- fessedly based on Philippians 1, 18; and though it may be traced back to the early history of the Bohemian Brethren, it was Zinzendorf who developed and applied it. Accord- ing to this theory it was possible for true Christians to retain their denominational peculiarities, while their hearts
II7
John Bechtel.
were united in an elect brotherhood. In fact it was not very different from the method of organizing devout Christians into societies, without separating them from the congregations to which they had been previously attached, which had for some time prevailed among the pietists of Germany.
It seemed at first as if this well-meant plan would prove successful. Many excellent men welcomed it as well suited to existing conditions. So far as the Reformed Church was concerned the Count could hardly be called an intruder, for there was as yet no general organization. Though himself in faith a Lutheran, he had been ordained to the ministry by the leading minister of the Reformed Church of Brandenburg, the celebrated Jablonsky, 125 who was also a Moravian bishop, and had been active in the organization of the renewed church. By the authority thus granted, Zinzendorf proceeded to ordain Reformed ministers, and for a time it must have seemed as if there would be no serious opposition to his authority.
The first Conference, as we have seen, was held at Ger- mantown. JOHN BECHTEL was ministering to a Re- formed congregation in that place. Bechtel was born Oct. 3, 1690, at Weinheim in the Palatinate, to which place his parents fled when the French burnt Francken- thal, their native place.126 His parents seem to have in- tended to train him for the ministry ; but they died during
125 Daniel Ernst Jablonsky was born November 26, 1660, at Nassenhuben and died at Berlin May 25, 1741. He was successively pastor of Reformed churches at Magdeburg and Lissa, and was subsequently the favorite court-preacher of the first two kings of Prussia. He labored earnestly to promote the union of the Lutheran and Reformed Churches of Prussia. From the University of Oxford he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was a son-in-law of Comenius. For a full sketch of his life see De Schweinitz, "History of the Unitas Fratrum, " p. 625.
126 Jordan, "John Bechtel," p. 2.
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The Reformed Church in America.
his childhood and he learned the trade of a wood-turner. In 1715 he was married to Maria Appolonia Marret, with whom he had nine children, of whom five were daughters. After following his trade for some years in Heidelberg and Franckenthal, he went with his family, in 1726, to Pennsylvania, and settled in Germantown, where he re- sided for nearly twenty years. He was a devout man and soon began to minister to the Reformed people in sacred things. If there had been a congregation there at an earlier date it must have been entirely broken up, for we read that at first he held religious meetings not only on Sundays, but every morning and evening on week days. The congregation which he gathered built a church on Market Square, and in 1733 called him to be their pastor. It is said that before this time he had received from the authorities in Heidelberg a license to preach the Gospel.127 In 1738, he tells us in his autobiography, he made the acquaintance of the Moravian Bishop Spangenberg, who was then sojourning at the house of Christopher Wiegner, on the Skippack. At this old Schwenkfelder homestead there was a monthly meeting of devout people, among whom were Antes, Stiefel, Adam Gruber, and Bechtel, who were called the " Associate Brethren of Skippack."128 Here, says Bechtel, they "enjoyed many blessed hours together."
When Count Zinzendorf arrived in America he wrote to Bechtel to meet him in Philadelphia. The daughter of the latter wrote many years afterwards that her father at first hesitated to accept the invitation ; but she was enthu- siastic and urged him to go, personally bringing his horse
127 Harbaugh's "Fathers," I., p. 317.
128 See also chapter on the Skippack Brethren, German Sectarians, Vol. I., . pp. 423-438.
119
Bechtel's Catechism.
saddled and bridled to the door. From this time onward Bechtel was one of the Count's most active coadjutors. It was in his church that the latter preached his first American sermon; and it was at Zinzendorf's direction that Bechtel was ordained by Bishop David Nitschmann, April 18, 1742, " to labor with the Reformed brethren who were connected with the synod." At the same time he was appointed commissary or overseer of all the German Reformed churches in Pennsylvania. Zinzendorf wrote to Boehm, informing him of this arrangement, and sug- gesting that he should submit to Bechtel's authority. That Boehm was not the kind of man to respond favorably to such a proposition need hardly be stated.
It is for his contributions to religious literature that Bechtel is best remembered. It was at the fifth Confer- ence, held at Germantown, that he presented the manu- script of his Catechism, ad modum Bernatum, for the use of the Reformed congregation in Pennsylvania which held to the union. It claimed to be based on the decrees of the Great Synod of Berne, held in 1532, ignoring all later Reformed confessions. It was not without merit, being full of unction and fervor ; but to those who insisted on the preservation of doctrine in its historic sense it naturally failed to prove acceptable.
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