USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > The old Trappe Church, 1743-1893 : a memorial of the sesqui-centennial services of Augustus Evangelical Lutheran Church, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 7
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
(70) The " petition of the Vestrymen and Wardens in the name of the German Lutheran con - gregation at New Providence, about Perkiomen and Skippack, in the County of Philadelphia," in which the offer was made, forwarded by Muhlenberg to the trustees, was subscribed by John Schrack, Anthony Heilman, Jacob Schrack, Valentine Sherer, John Hubner, John Heilman, Nich- olas Custer, Hieronymus Haas, Michael Bastian, Conrad Yost, and Nicolas Seidel. Life of Dr. Wm. Smith, Vol. I, p. 70.
(71) Muhlenberg says of him in a letter to Dr. Wm. Smith (Life of Dr. Wm. Smith, vol. I, p. 79) : " Cornelius Rabatan (more correctly Raboteau) is a true-born Englishman, a Presbyterian bred and. . . besides his native English, speaks indifferent good French and Dutch. He is much be- loved by people of all persuasions for his decent and Christian behavior." As revealing the inti- mate and friendly relation in which he stood to Muhlenberg, we quote the following baptismal entry made by the latter in the church record : "Mr. Charles Cornelius Raboteau, his espouse Mary Elizabeth ; their first born son Charles Cornelius Henry Melchior was born Anno 1756, Octo- ber the 15th, 12 o'clock at night: baptized October the 23d. God fathers Henry Melchior Muhlen berg and the father of the infant."
(72) On July 24th, 1755, he signed a receipt for £15 " as catechist to the Society's free schools . . commencing from May 1, 1755." Ibid. p. 94.
(73) Ibid p. 66.
5I
The Old Trappe Church.
man periodical to advance the cause of the Charity schools.74 But as Muhlenberg had anticipated, the plan met with determined opposition. Christopher Saur, printer and publisher at Germantown, was quick to discern and exaggerate the political and Anglican tendency which the movement seemed to take, and soon excited and fostered suspicion and distrust through his newspaper, so that the Charity schools never grew in popular favor. After a few years, owing to the growing opposition and indifferent success, as much as to the exhausted condition of England after the triumphant issues of the Seven Years' War, terminated by the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, the London Society withdrew its sup- port and the entire scheme of the Charity Schools gradually and in 1763, completely came to an end.75 At Trappe, in fact, the plan was little more than attempted. Muhlenberg says76 that on July 8, 1763, he was instructed by the authorities to inform the trustees and schoolmasters in Providence, New Hanover and Pikestown that the scheme of the Charity schools had been abandoned, but the statement needs some qualification. The two trustees at Trappe (Providence) continued to serve until the plan was dropped, but at this time there was no schoolmaster here in the pay of the Philadelphia trustees, since almost from the beginning, as far as Trappe was concerned, the Charity school was a pronounced failure. At New Hanover the plan was more successful, and thrived until it was doomed by the edict. Schoolmaster Walters was the last one engaged there by the trustees, and when the school was closed he received from Dr. Richard Peters, through Muhlenberg, £18 as salary for the last three quarters of the year. When the school opened at Trappe, “ eighteen poor children "77 were in attendance, but already in October of the same year, 1755, John Fleischer appears as the parochial school-master. He received a salary of £24 and served until 1760, when he removed to Reading.
On August 1, 1760, the following rules were added to those already enacted. " (a) Any desiring to send children to the school for the entire year shall pay for each child 10 s. and one bushel of grain, and contribute also a portion of the fire-wood. (b) For one child, for half a year, 5 s. and one bushel of grain together with a portion of the fire-wood. (c) No child shall be received irregularly for a few days at a time."78 In 1762
(74) Muhlenberg received the offer from the Society to become inspector of its publication at a stipulated salary, but being compelled for special reasons to decline, he recommended Handschuh in his stead, who accordingly received the appointment. (Hall. Nach. II, p. 210.)
(75) Hall. Nach. II, p. 227. Dr. Mann's Life and Times of H. H. M., p. 337. Dr. Mann's Ver- gang. Tage., p. 8.
(76) Hall. Nach., Old Edition, p. 1108.
(77) Life of Dr. Wm. Smith, Vol. I, p. 93.
(78) Muhlenberg's Minute Book, p. 36.
52
The Old Trappe Church.
several short-lived schools were started in the township, and as a result, the main school at the church was empty. But in the following year, a new interest in the parochial school having been aroused, another school- master, who had been a subordinate officer in the German army, taught and disciplined the children in the school-house. His special qualifica- tions, which Muhlenberg ascertained when on May 11th he made appli- cation for the position, were that he wrote a good hand and could play a choral upon the organ (einen Choral auf der Orgel schlägt).79 The next day (Ascension) when Muhlenberg conducted service, the school-master was invited to play the organ. "After service," Muhlenberg says, " I asked if they (the congregation) would engage the organist whom they had heard, and have him conduct the school ; they assented, but said : if they could only raise enough for his support, for those members living several miles distant stated that they were obliged to maintain school-mas- ters in their own districts, and whilst they were willing to contribute something for organ-playing, the rest of the members whose children could attend the school at the church, must chiefly provide for his sup- port. I made a test, had the members subscribe what they would give a year for organ-playing, and found the sum was £II. If now the rest pay the usual school fee for their children, the school can with God's help again be continued."80 Muhlenberg, who now lived in Philadelphia, again visited the school on June 17th, wrote out a series of regulations and showed the new school-master how he should proceed with the chil- dren. And so with varying success and some intermissions, the parochial school was carried on until supplanted by the public school system.
The log school-house was torn down in 1793, and superseded by a more pretentious structure, built of stone with white pointed joints, con- taining a school-room and dwelling for the school-master. Between the years 1808 and 1811 Francis R. Shunk, afterwards Governor of the State, served as schoolmaster, one of his pupils being Hon. Jacob Fry, father of Dr. Jacob Fry of Reading, and for a number of years president of the vestry. His immediate successor as school-master was Hon. Joseph Royer. In 1816, as there was no resident school-master at the time, and as in consequence the school was closed, the use of the school- house and dwelling was granted to certain private parties for school pur- poses, on condition of keeping the building in good repair and paying a rental of $14 for the year. The following year the parochial school was again revived, but from this time the dwelling was regu- larly occupied by the sexton. In addition to the dwelling, kitchen, and granary connected with the school-house, the use of a stable and garden, which were attached at this time, and a separately enclosed lot for pas-
(79) Hall. Nach., Old Ed., p. 1098.
(80) Ibid. p. 1099.
53
The Old Trappe Church.
turage or cultivation, was granted to the sexton. The last parochial school-master was Abraham Miller, who taught in 1845.
In April, 1846, shortly after the act providing for public schools was accepted in the township, the vestry rented the building to the directors of the public school for a period of six months for $10, reserving the right to use it for meetings as occasion required. But the introduction of the public school was the death knell of the parochial school, and in- deed of the school-house itself. On January 1, 1851, on motion of George Yost, it was unanimously resolved to tear the building down. Amos Essig, the last sexton to occupy the dwelling, received notice to vacate on April Ist, and in September the last vestige of the ancient land- mark was removed.
54
The Old Trappe Church.
Church Lots.
On March 10, 1743, the congregation bought two adjoining tracts of land. The first tract was purchased of Thomas How, a member of the congregation, for £1 15s. It is thus described : "Beginning at the Great road ; thence by land of Thomas How, N. E., 42 perches ; thence by land of John Harpel, S. E., 3 perches and 141/2 feet ; thence N. W. by Harman Indehaven's land, 42 perches to said road ; thence to beginning -containing one acre."
'The second tract was purchased of Harman Indehaven for the con- sideration of five shillings " as also other good causes." This tract ad- joined number one and was 42 perches by 4 perches, containing one acre and eight perches. The titles to these lots were made in the " name of Nicolas Cressman and Frederick Marsteller, church wardians of the High Dutch Lutherine Congregation and to their society and their suc- cessors to and for the said congregation to erect and build a church thereon and burial place as the said wardens and congregation shall see meet and convenient."
The next addition to the Church property was made on April 27, 1751, when the congregation bought of Henry M. Muhlenberg one acre and one perch for £5, "lawful money," which the latter purchased of John George Krissman on Jan. 6, 1747, for £3. This conveyance was made to " Frederick Marsteller and Jacob Schrack, their heirs and assigns, in trust and for use, intents and purposes of the church called the Augus- tus Church, belonging to the Lutherien congregation according to the unaltered Augsburg Confession." The indenture records it as follows : " Beginning at a stone on the N. E. side of the confirmed Great Road, thence by Church land 40 perches and 7 feet to a stone in the line of said Henry Muhlenberg's other land ; thence by the same S. E., 4 perches to a stone ; thence S. W. by said John George Krissman's land, 40 perches and 3 feet to a stone on the side of said Great Road : thence by the same N. W. 4 perches to the place of beginning." Muhlenberg duly acknow- ledged this conveyance as his deed before Conrad Weiser, Esq., Justice of the peace. This land was sold by William Penn to William Streeper on Jan. 21, 1705, in a tract of five hundred acres. The latter sold it to Peter Johnson on March 1, 1714, and on the 20th of Dec., 1722, John- son sold two hundred and fifty acres of it to Harman Indehaven, who
55
The Old Trappe Church.
practically presented one acre and eight perches of it to the Church, and sold thirty-one acres of it to John George Krissman on July 20, 1746. The latter sold one acre and one perch of the thirty-one to Muhlenberg, who duly conveyed it to the trustees of the congregation.
The last purchase of land, a deed for which was executed on April 3, 1837, was made of Michael Shupe for $ 1152, on June 30, 1836, including 5 acres and 39 perches adjoining the first two lots. This land was owned by Dr. Muhlenberg and sold by Peter Muhlenberg to John Winner and by him on June 14, 1809, to John Groves and conveyed successively to John Graff on May 31, 1811, to Cornelius Tyson March 28, 1813, to Elias Laver March 31, 1829, to Michael Shupe April 6, 1830, and sold by him to " Rev. Jacob Wampole, the Trustees, Elders, Wardens and their suc- cessors, in trust for the congregation." The first three lots were inclosed by a rough-cast solid stone wall with board coping, completed in 1759. After the addition of 1836 was made to the property, the greater part of it was removed and the enlarged grounds were compassed by more modern fencing.
The Cemetery.
The part of the first two lots to the rear of the Old Church was used as a burying-ground about thirteen years before it was duly purchased by the congregation in 1743. The first addition, made in 1751, was the part of the lot bought of Muhlenberg, parallel to the original burial ground on the S. E. side, and a narrow strip of fourteen feet from the lot last purchased was next added on the N. W. side in 1841. It was enlarged in the same direction in 1850 by sixty feet, and the last addition, by which the cemetery was extended to the N. W. limit of the church property, was made in 1865. The graves in the oldest part of the cemetery all face East looking toward the German Fatherland and significant of awaiting the resurrection. Here,
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
The oldest legible epitaph reads : "Here Lyeth the Body of HANNA SCHRACK. Was Born April day, 1722. Died September 9, 1736." The oldest person buried in the cemetery was, as her tombstone records,
56
The Old Trappe Church.
" Margaret, wife of George Moser, Born July 5, 1750, died November 21, 1854. Age 104 yrs., 4 mos., 16 days."81 For many years no suicides were permitted to be buried in the graveyard. An application for the burial of a suicide was made to the vestry on Dec. 20, 1834, but was refused. This stricture continued in force until 1856, when on March 24th the vestry agreed to " admit suicides to be buried in the lot of their friends and strangers to be put in the row in the lower end of the yard." This " row " is marked by one solitary grave.
On a certain day in October, 1829, two men at daybreak surrep- titiously disinterred and carried off the remains of an infant supposed to have been buried three years before. Though they were discovered as they were moving away they managed to escape. The vestry at once passed a resolution and added it to the by-laws, " prohibiting, under penalty of $50, the removal of the remains or dead body of any person or persons, who have been or may be buried in this graveyard, without the written consent of the vestry."
Four of the pastors of the church have here found their last resting place : the patriarch Muhlenberg, whose wife was buried beneath the same stone, John Frederick Weinland, Henry A. Geissenhainer and Jacob Wampole. Here too are deposited the remains of the once fiery preacher, patriot and soldier, General Peter Muhlenberg, whose tombstone was brought from Philadelphia at a cost of $3.50. It bears the following epitaph in beautiful simplicity and truthfulness :
Sacred to the Memory of GENERAL PETER MUHLENBERG, Born October Ist, A. D. 1746, departed this Life October Ist, Anno Domini, 1807, aged 61 years. He was Brave in the Field, Faithful in the Cabinet, Honorable in all his transactions, a sincere Friend and an Honest Man.
By his side rest the remains of his wife and two daughters, Mary Ann and Elizabeth. Other members of the Muhlenberg family buried here are Mrs. Mary Swaine, wife of General Francis Swaine and daughter of Muhlenberg, her two daughters, Anna Maria and Maria M., and
(81) During the Revolution, when her husband was summoned to war before he had time to shingle his newly erected barn " Old Auntie Moser," as she was familiarly known, herself climbed the roof and nailed the shingles. She was a near relative of William Hurry, keeper of the State House in Philadelphia and doorkeeper while Congress was in session. His was the distinction of tolling the old bell when the Declaration of Independence was signed, proclaiming liberty to the American people. When the news arrived that Cornwallis was taken, he was lying sick unto death. They withheld the glad tidings from him, fearing the excitement might hasten his end, but hearing the night watchman repeat it, he exclaimed : " Good news; my joy is now in heaven," and soon after expired.
57
The Old Trappe Church.
Henry William, eldest son of Hon. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg. Here are also to be found the graves of heroes of the revolu- tionary war, who were wounded at the battle of Germantown and died in the Old Church when it was used as a hospital, and also of a num- ber of soldiers who fought in the Great Rebellion. One of the most prominent monuments in the cemetery is the towering marble shaft, twenty-five feet high, that marks the grave of Francis Rahn Shunk. He was born at Trappe August 7, 1788, held various positions in the State, was elected governor in 1844 and reelected in 1847, but almost immediately after resigned on account of his failing health. He loved the old sanctuary, and during his State engagements so arranged his visits to his native place as to be able to worship at least once in the quaint old building, around which clustered the mem- ories of his boyhood. He died July 20, 1848, and according to his last request his remains were brought to Trappe for interment. The monu- ment over the grave of this popular governor was erected by the citizens of Pennsylvania on July 4, 1851. One face of the shaft bears the engrav- ing of the seal of the State, another the medallion likeness of the Gov- ernor in bas-relief, and a third a flight of stairs82 with the legend, " Ich ersteige," emblematic of his ascent to a higher life.
Could Thomas Gray have stood in this village graveyard he would have found a muse to inspire a still loftier elegy than he did at Stoke Fogis, for here indeed reposes the sacred dust of heroes who figured prominently in Church and State, in the camp and battlefield and in the councils of the nation.
Bequests.
The congregation has received the following legacies during its past history. The first bequest received was from the estate of John Heinrich Haas, £3, according to his last will, which was drawn up shortly before his death, in January, 1751, by Muhlenberg, who reported it to Halle.
In 1756, from the heirs of Frederick Marsteller, £10.
In 1757, bequest of Euphrosina Schrack, in her last will and testa- ment, £3.
(82) Dr. O. Seidensticker (in the Pennsylvania Magazine, vol. xiii, p. 185,) is disposed to con- nect this allegorical stair-case with the origin of name Trappe from the German " Treppe," which Governor Shunk so persisteutly urged. See page 1 of this volume.
58
The Old Trappe Church.
In 1762, from the heirs of Conrad Yost, according to his last will, £6.
On December 11, 1762, from Anna Elizabeth, widow of Peter Pools and executrix of his estate, £3.
On May 27, 1785, from the widow of Jacob Nuss, according to his last will, in behalf of the church and congregation, £53.
On January 18, 1794, bequest of the widow Defried, £50, which was applied to the building of the stone school-house.
On December 12, 1809, from the executors of General Peter Muh- lenberg's estate, a bequest of $125, in addition to the sum of $50 which Peter Muhlenberg and his son Henry M. Muhlenberg previously pre- sented to the congregation.83
On August 23, 1812, bequest of Christian Schrack, about $250. The exact amount cannot be ascertained from the records.
On November 14, 1841, bequest of Sarah Johnson, $100, " for the benefit and proper use of Augustus church." This money was used to pay off part of the mortgage on the parsonage lot.
On July 8, 1847, bequest of John Burk, $300. In compliance with the terms of the will, the interest of this sum was applied to the " use and benefit of repairing the church-house and graveyard," and the principal subsequently expended in the " re-building of the church-house."
On January 1, 1874, bequest of Mrs. Heister, $100.
On January 1, 1877, bequest of Wright A. Bringhurst, $100, the in- terest of which the will requires to be applied to the keeping of the graves of his kinsfolk in proper order.
On April 1, 1889, bequest of Margaret A. Lewis, $200.
On January 1, 1885, bequest of Jacob Shuler, $110.
On February 2, 1892, bequest of Jacob C. Laver, $500, the interest of which is to be applied to keeping his burial lot and the graves of his parents in good condition.
On April 18, 1892, gift of Mrs. Sarah Yocum, $100, to keep the family burial lot in repair.
(83) The letter of General Peter Muhlenberg to the congregation reads thus :
" By John Marckley, Esq., I transmitted the sum of Fifty Dollers presented to you by my son, Henry M. Muhlenberg and myself. I have like wise in my Last will and Testament bequeathed un- to you in a Bank share in the bank of Philadelphia Annually, which my executors are directed to purchase and pay to the congregation within Twelve Months after my Desease. This donation of Money and this bequest are Intended as a small Capitol they Interest arising from which shall be wholly and solely appropriated to keep in Decent order and repair they buryal ground now Belong- ing to the Congregation, when this annual repair is Completed and a Surpluse should then remain, the Corporation Shall then be at Liberty to Expend the said Surplus in any repairs to the Church they may think proper. I will thank the Corporation to have this Letter entered on they minutes accompanyed by a Resolution stating that they donation hath Been Accepted of on they Terms aforesaid.
" September 10th, 1807.
" I am, Gentlemen, your very humb, servt,
"PETER MUHLENBERG."
59
The Old Trappe Church.
The entire amount thus bequeathed to the congregation in pounds and dollars throughout its past history, including a bequest of $800 agree- able to the will of Philip Bechtel, deceased, dated March 5, 1889, which the congregation is to receive upon the decease of his widow, is $3076. 33. The greater part of this sum has been applied to the current or special expenses of the church in accordance with the specifications of the wills.
60
The Old Trappe Church.
The Old Church.
This quaint, one-story structure, built of brown stone from local quarries, which may be said to have a history of its own and may, therefore, properly be considered in a separate section, is the oldest unaltered Lutheran church in America, and one of the few land- marks of the colonial era still in its primitive condition. The total cost of building, including Brunnholtz's valuation of the labor con- tributed at £32, the expense of digging the well at the church, £1 45 7d the cost of the chain weighing 2972 pounds, amounted to £337 95 51/2d,84 equivalent to $889.92. One of the materials, which according to the records seems to have been indispensable especially to the masons in build- ing in those days, was "rom " with " brandawein " as a frequent change. The interior furnishings are in keeping with the quaintness of the exterior and identically the same as of old. On entering the ponderous key is inserted in the still more ponderous lock upside down, significant of the inversions of modern styles. There is the original red-walnut pulpit with overhanging sounding board, which received its only touch of varnish in 1833. The high-backed ancient pews of poplar and oak, roughly planed but long since polished smooth, are entirely devoid of paint or varnish, save the doors on which the numbers are still plainly visible. On the book-holders, fastened on the back of each pew, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., burnt in with a branding-iron, accorded a special place to each worshipper. Some of the pews are provided with locks, securing special privilege to such as furnished pews at their own expense. The pews in the Eastern angle under the organ gallery were reserved for the Eldeste and Vorsteher, the women occupied the pews on the Northwest side and the men the row of pews on the opposite side, while boys, apprentices and servants mounted the high-tiered seats in the Porkirche (Emporkirche) as the gallery was called, under the watchful eye of the sexton. The original gallery, extending on the Southeast and Southwest sides, is constructed of eternal oak, fastened together with wooden pins and wrought iron spikes, and supported by ashlers projecting from the walls and oak pillars, squared with the broadax, resting on red sandstone blocks. In the open space in front of the pulpit stands the white-painted
(84) The pound sterling equals $4.84. The colonial pound was at that time equivalent to $2.42 but according to the valuation of the present day worth $2.662g.
61
The Old Trappe Church.
altar movable on the floor, conforming at the same time to the usages of the Church of England, and the low inclined benches on which the cate- chumens knelt at confirmation are also still preserved. The gallery on the Northeast side was not included in the original plan, but was specially built in 1751 to accommodate the newly purchased organ. This organ was one of the first pipe organs used in rural Pennsylvania, sent over from Europe through the agency of Gottlieb Mittleberger, who when he came to this country in 1750, brought with him a pipe organ manufactured at Heillbronn by John Adam Schmahl85 for St. Michael's Church in Phila- delphia. Muhlenberg consecrated the organ at Trappe on the Sunday before the 31st of October, 1751, at which time Brunnholtz and Hand- schuh were present and participated in the services. The total cost of the Emporkirche, organ, together with its erection, painting both organ and gallery, and a half-register set of pipes added in 1752, with a few additional repairs, amounted to £123 155 4d ($329.77), of which sum £46 gs was contributed by "kind benefactors," £3 by the New Han- over and the rest by the Trappe congregation. This organ was in service until a few years before the new church was built, when having been dis- abled by age and use it was supplanted by an orchestra of no mean powers. In the new church a melodeon was used for a short time until the new pipe organ was procured, which has rendered excellent service and now awaits a successor. On July 30, 1859, the vestry resolved to sell the old organ, but as it had completely outlived its serviceableness, it did not obtain a purchaser. Some time afterwards the old organ was gradually eviscerated by vandals and relic hunters, so that nothing but the frame- work now remains. The school-masters for many years served as organist and " vorsinger," while the sexton performed the duties of bellows- blower (Orgel-treter) at a salary of ten cents a service. The first choir was introduced in 1825 to support the vorsinger. From that time the organ gallery was reserved exclusively for members of the choir. It is separated from the main gallery by a partition, the door of which is guarded by a ponderous lock to keep out intruders. The first and prob- ably the only paid female vocalist was Miss Mira Bean, a distinguished sopranist, appointed in 1855, at a salary of $10 per annum. The Trappe Choir soon became noted throughout the county and filled many en- gagements at different places. Its services were secured to grace the
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.