USA > South Carolina > History of the German settlements and of the Lutheran church in North and South Carolina : from the earliest period of the colonization of the Dutch, German, and Swiss settlers to the close of the first half of the present century > Part 14
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formed minister, Rev. Christian Theus, still felt it their duty to build a church for themselves, where they could worship God according to the princi- ples of their own faith ; but at what time they took the proper steps to secure this object, although so much discouraged by Rev. Bolzius, is not known. Nevertheless, as the Urlsperger Reports, which gives us the Church news generally, does not mention this fact up to the year 1760 (the latest date of the Ebenezer pastors' diary), and as the Cherokee War would naturally interfere with all ecclesiastical enterprises, it can be safely inferred, that the building of the Lutheran church at Sandy Run, probably the earliest erected Lutheran Church in Saxe-Gotha, was not commenced before the year 1765.
Nine years later we have a brief record from Dr. Muhlenberg's journal, as follows: " A visit from Rev. Lewis Hochheimer, 120 miles from here, at Sandy Run, who related to me the events of his life, and offered to assist me in preaching next Sunday." "Sunday, September 18th. In the afternoon I went again to church and heard Rev. Hochheimer preach from Psalm 50 : 21: ' These things hast thou done and I kept silence,' quite edifying and systematic." " Monday, Sep- tember 19th. Rev. Hochheimer took leave, and promised to give me a correct description of some Lutheran congregations in this neighborhood." These records indicate that a Lutheran church existed at Sandy Run at that time, and that the congregation had a pastor, the Rev. Lewis Hoch- heimer.
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The early settlers along the Congaree River ser lected their lands and erected their dwellings very near the river banks, where they could obtain the richest lands, and enjoy all the advantages of water transportation, fishing, &c .; but where they, on the other hand, suffered much from the effects of the miasma arising from the river and its nu- merous swamps. Nevertheless, they clung to their original settlements and homes until disease had made repeated inroads upon their robust consti- tutions, and death had greatly diminished their original number.
Wherever they had located their houses and homes, there likewise did they erect their church, about three miles from the present situation of Salem Church, Sandy Run. The old graveyard, which was not far removed from the church, is still pointed out under the appellation of "The Church Field;" and it is stated that so swampy or spongy is the condition of the land, that many a coffin was lowered in its grave which had become half filled with water, so that the coffin became quite covered with that element; and all efforts to remedy the evil at that place were unavailing. Yet it did not occur to the members of the church until a long time afterwards, to remove the church and graveyard to a more elevated situation.
It is to be lamented that we know so little of Rev. Hochheimer's history; when he became - pastor, how long he remained at Sandy Run, what the condition of the church was during the Revolution, who succeeded Rev. Hochheimer,
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when and where he died and was buried? all these are questions which, it is feared, will never be answered, and these answers, with other in- teresting facts connected with them, may lie for- ever buried in the oblivion of the past.
Three Lutheran congregations composed at one time the Saluda charge: Zion's or Mount Zion, on Twelve-mile Creek, St. Peter's, on Eighteen- mile Creek, and Bethel, on High Hill Creek. They are always spoken of in the old records of their church-books as having formed one pastor- ate; but how far back this arrangement extended cannot now be ascertained. Salem Church, on Hollow Creek, was added to this pastorate at a much later date, probably some time at the be- ginning of the present century.
In the year 1767 the Rev. John Nicholas Martin commenced to labor in the Fork of the Saluda and Broad Rivers, and remained there until the close of the year 1774, when he was recalled to Charles- ton, as temporary pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church.
During the Revolutionary War, it is probable that these churches were vacant, as no Lutheran minister was residing then in that part of South Carolina, unless, perhaps, the Rev. Lewis Hoch- heimer of Sandy Run was still living, and occa- sionally visited them.
Section 9. Other German Churches in South Carolina.
Newberry District (County) was only partially settled by Germans, and at a period succeeding
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the colonization of Saxe-Gotha. A number of German churches existed there in 1788, which were incorporated at that time by legislative en- actment, the names of which were: " The German Lutheran Church of Bethlehem, on Forest's (Fust's) Ford;" "The German Lutheran Church of St. Jacob, on Wateree Creek;" "The German Protestant Church of Bethany, on Green Creek;" and "The German Lutheran Church of St. Mar- tin." The last one mentioned was not organized until after the Revolutionary War. (See minutes of Corpus Evangelicum.) When these congre- gations were organized, and whether they had a pastor previous to the Revolutionary period, is not known, and the probability is that no minister labored there at that time. The first pastor min- istering there, of whom we have any knowledge, was the Rev. Frederick Joseph Wallern, whose name occurs in the first minutes of the Corpus Evangelicum, in 1787, but of the date of his arrival in Newberry nothing is said.
At Hard Labor Creek, Abbeville District (County), there was also a Lutheran Church, likewise incorporated in 1788, and named St. George; but unless the German settlers brought their pastor with them from Germany, of which nothing is said in the records of their colonization, it is exceedingly doubtful whether they were sup- plied with the means of grace in the German language previous to the Revolution, inasmuch as this German settlement was only made in
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1764, eleven years before the breaking out of the war.
Concerning the other settlements of Germans in South Carolina very little can be said during this period, except that which has already been stated; the one on Indian Field Swamp, fifty miles from Charleston, had no minister for some time: they were supplied with the labors of a German preacher in 1774, whether Lutheran or Reformed is not stated, and even his name is not mentioned; the congregation worshiped in a barn belonging to Philip Eisenman.
Dr. Muhlenberg speaks of the condition of this German settlement as follows: "My kind host re- ceived a visit to-day from an intimate German family of our denomination from old Indian Swamp, fifty miles in the country. The man is named Philip Eisenman, has a farm of his own, but no negroes. He and his wife cultivate the place themselves, in the sweat of their brows. They lamented the want of schools and churches in their neighborhood. He has arranged his barn for public worship, and they have accepted as preacher a young man lately arrived from Ger- many, and who might answer for a schoolmaster. He writes his sermon through the week, and reads it on Sunday, and even reads with it the Lord's prayer also, being yet young, and excusing himself with: 'The Lord not having gifted him with a retentive memory.' The credentials brought by him from Germany are -a black suit of clothes. The remaining fragments, to
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wit, band, &c., he obtained from his countryman, Rev. Daser. The two honest old people com- plained that his preaching was so meagre and dry, and left the heart entirely unaffected, and they wanted something, therefore, more to awaken and nourish the heart."
It is not known at what time these people suc- ceeded in building their church, but it is not very probable that they accomplished this undertaking until after the Revolutionary War, inasmuch as they had no church at the time of Dr. Muhlen- berg's visit, which was only a few months previous to the battle of Lexington, Mass. In 1788 this settlement had a church organization and a house of worship, incorporated under the name of "The German Protestant Church of St. George, on In- dian Field Swamp."
The German Protestant congregation in Rich- land District (County), near the Fairfield line, in- corporated at the same time by the name of "The German Protestant Church of Appii Forum, on Cedar Creek," was established during this period. Mills, in his Statistics, p. 722, says: "The Presby- terians were the first religious society established in the (Richland) District; they erected a church on the banks of Cedar Creek anterior to the Rev- olution." Dr. Howe, in his " History of the Pres- byterian Church in South Carolina," p. 494, says: "It must have been of the German Reformed connection, and was ministered to by Rev. William Dubard, who died of the small-pox in the city of Charleston, near the close of the Revolutionary
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War." Dr. Howe thinks it probable that this was the church which became incorporated by legis- lative enactment, in 1788, under the name of "The German Protestant Church of Appii Forum, on Cedar Creek."
From the memoranda furnished Dr. Howe, p. 495, by A. F. Dubard, of Cedar Creek, Richland, we learn that "the traditions of the neighborhood speak of it as having continued in existence into the next century, the successors of Mr. Dubard being a clergyman by the name of Penegar, another by the name of Houck, and another by the name of Loutz. The house of worship was built of logs, with an earth floor."
" Our informant speaks of Mr. Loutz as a man of education and influence, who visited this church from North Carolina, where his residence was. The communion seasons were to his mind, in his youth, scenes of great solemnity. The commu- nicants, approaching the table one after another, received the elements of bread and wine in a standing posture, and passed away from the table with clasped hands and uplifted eyes."
"This church had occasional preaching by others, but became extinct as a Presbyterian church of the German Reformed order, and the neighborhood became the seat of a Methodist church and congregation. No traces of this church now remain."
The Rev. Mr. Houck, or Hauck, is mentioned in the minutes of the Lutheran Synod of North Carolina, A.D. 1812, p. 7, as a candidate for the
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ministry, who desired to be ordained by that body as a minister of the German Reformed Church; " but this Synod, after due consideration, con- cluded that they could not consistently do any- thing in this matter."
Dr. Muhlenberg mentions the name of a Rev. Mr. Hausile as having preached twice in the Ger- man Lutheran Church of Charleston "a few years ago," but whether he became permanently located in South Carolina, and where he labored is not known.
The following is a list of all the German min- isters who were laboring in South Carolina imme- diately preceding the Revolutionary War, as far as the records in the writer's possession appear to indicate, namely : 1. Rev. John N. Martin, pastor of the Lutheran church in Charleston ; 2. Rev. F. Daser, no charge, but still residing in Charleston; 3. Rev. - , preacher at Indian Field Swamp; 4. Rev. John G. Friederichs, pastor of the Lutheran churches in Amelia Township, Orangeburg Dis- trict; 5. Rev. Lewis Hochheimer, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church, Sandy Run; 6. Rev. Christian Theus, German Reformed pastor in Saxe-Gotha Township; 7. Rev. Christian Streit, pastor, for a short time during the Revolution, of the Lutheran church in Charleston; and although the names of Revs. Cilley and Hausile are also mentioned, nothing special is known concerning them; 8. Rev. William Dubard, German Reformed pastor at Cedar Creek Church, Richland District.
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Section 10. Early History of St. John's Lutheran Church, Salisbury, N. C.
It is a cheerful task for the writer of historical narrativo to enter upon a field where the earliest records are abundant, carefully made, and well preserved. This is the case in regard to nearly all the churches in North Carolina, whose original church record-books and titles to church property are still extant, and the reports of whose pastors' labors, like those of the Pennsylvania and Georgia ministers, had been sent to Germany, and were published there.
St. John's Lutheran Church, in Salisbury, North Carolina, is first brought to view, and was doubt- less the first Lutheran congregation organized in that Province, under the following circumstances :
The German citizens of that place organized themselves into a congregation in the days of King George III, and several years before the Revolu- tion, when Salisbury was as yet denominated " a township," containing but few dwellings and a small number of inhabitants. One of the wealthy citizens residing there, John Lewis Beard, a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church, was bereaved by death of a beloved daughter. Whether the town- ship of Salisbury could then boast of a regular " God's acre " is not known, and the probability is that the mortal remains of departed ones were, at that early period, deposited without many re- ligious services in the grounds of each landholder in whose family or family connection the death
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occurred, a custom thus early established from the force of circumstances, and still reverently ob- served by many in various parts of this country.
In the same manner was the body of Mr. Beard's daughter laid in the silent tomb, opened on her father's town property, in a lot containing nearly an acre, and well selected for the quiet repose of the dead. However, the question then naturally arose, Shall that hallowed spot, consecrated by the repose of the dead and the tears of fond survivors, ever be disturbed by the march of civilization ?
To prevent such an occurrence, the forefather of the Beard family in Salisbury made and executed the following land title, donating the grounds upon which his daughter slept the quiet slumber of the dead, to the German Lutheran Church, - the Church of his choice. The original title is still preserved, and enables us to glance at the peculiar customs of that day in making conveyance of prop- erty, as well as to learn the condition of the Church at that time.
Leaving out all useless and redundant matter, it reads as follows :
"This indenture, made September 9, 1768, be- tween John Lewis Beard, of Salisbury, in the County of Rowan, and Province of North Caro- lina (butcher), of the one part, and Michael Brown, Michael More, Caspar Guenther, and Peter Reeb, Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran congregation in the township of Salisbury, of the county and province aforesaid, of the other part, Witnesseth, that for and in consideration of the sum of five shillings, &c., &c., and for other good causes, him
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thereunto moving, hath granted, &c., &c., unto the said trustees of the said congregation aforesaid, and to their successors in office forever " (here follows the boundaries and description of the lot, contain- ing 144 square poles), " unto the German Lutheran congregation in and about Salisbury, for to erect and build thereon a church, for the only proper use and behoof of the said German Lutheran con- gregation forever" (here follows a long descrip- tion of the manner the vacancies in the trustees' office are to be filled, granting also the use of the church to) "the High Church of England, and to the Reformed Calvin ministers at such time as the said Lutheran minister doth not want to perform divine service in said church," &c., &c. Signed and sealed by John Lewis Beard, in presence of John Braly, Andreas Betz, and Valentine Mauny.
The historical facts derived from this convey- ance and from other sources are the following : In the year 1768, Salisbury had as yet no house of worship of any kind within its precincts; min- isters of the Gospel may have often or occasionally preached in the private or public houses of the place, and persons may have worshiped in other churches in the country, but no church existed in Salisbury at that early period.
Although trustees had been elected for the Lu- theran congregation there, indicating that some kind of organization had been effected, yet regular worship could not have been held among the mem- bers, as no Lutheran minister was then laboring in all North Carolina; all these arrangements were
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made preparatory to, and anticipating the regular administration of the means of grace.
The Lutheran church in Salisbury is the oldest church established in the place, and from other sources we learn that the congregation had a log church edifice erected on the lot granted by Mr. Beard, in order that they might secure the land to the congregation as stipulated by the grantor, in which he also rendered them every assistance in his power. This log church was built soon after the lot of land was granted.
This deed seems to have answered the threefold purpose of a title to the land, a charter, conferring upon the congregation certain rights and privi- leges, and a code of by-laws for its government, and thus has the appearance of a very peculiar legal document.
The first pastor of this church was the Rev. Adolph Nussmann, a ripe and thorough scholar, and, what is still better, a devoted, self-sacrificing, and pious Christian. He came from Germany in 1773 under circumstances related in Section 13, succeeding, but did not labor long in this congre- gation. He removed to Dutch Buffalo Creek Church, now better known as St. John's Lutheran Church, Cabarrus County. He was succeeded by Rev. Godfrey Arndt, who had charge of Organ Church at the same time, but soon removed to the west side of the Catawba River.
The Lutherans at Salisbury were energetic par- ticipators in the Revolutionary struggle, arraying themselves on the side of liberty and independence,
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as can be seen by referring to Wheeler's History of North Carolina, where the names of Beard, Barringer, Beekman, Mull and others, frequently occur in connection with those who labored and fought for their country's welfare and honor.
During this trying period the Lutheran church in Salisbury was vacant for a few years, but was visited by Revs. Nussmann and Arndt as often as the circumstances of the country would admit.
Section 11. Early History of Organ Church, Rowan County, N. C.
The proper name of this congregation is " Zion's Church," but there are few persons, even among its members, who are acquainted with its true name. The fact that it was, until recently, the only Lutheran church in North Carolina which was possessed of such an instrument of music, has given it this sobriquet, by which it is generally known and so called in all the records of the Lu- theran Church in the State. The old organ-a relic of the past-is still there, but its voice is no longer heard in the worship of the congregation; like the voices of its contemporaries, who are now mouldering in the adjoining graveyard, its spirit of music is fled, and the external remains, encom- passing a number of broken and disarranged pipes, are all that is left to remind us of a former age, a former congregation, and of a master whom it once honored. How forcibly, under such circum-
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stances, do the following lines of Moore's Melo- dies strike the mind !
" The harp that once, through Tara's halls, The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls, As if that soul were fled."
The history of this congregation is gathered from the old German church-book, which is still carefully preserved, and the historic records are made therein by one of the first pastors, Rev. C. A. G. Storch, from which a correct idea may be obtained of the past transactions of the people who worshiped there.
The first German settlers of that portion of Rowan County, along Second Creek, came from Pennsyl- vania, and were members of the Lutheran and German Reformed Churches, but in numbers far too few to erect a church for the sole use of either denomination; hence they concluded to build a temporary house of worship to be owned by them- selves jointly, and which was called "The Hickory Church." According to the statement of the late Rev. J. A. Linn, this church occupied the site on which St. Peter's Lutheran Church now stands, and was built by permission on the land of Mr. Fullenwider, who, however, never gave the two congregations a title for this spot of ground, as the church was considered a temporary building only, to be occupied alternately by both these de- nominations, each of which expected to erect their own house of worship at a later period. The term
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" Hickory Church " also indicates of what perish- able material this house of worship was built, and was in keeping with the original idea. It was soon left unoccupied, and in course of a few years it crumbled into ruins. More than half a century later a want for a church to be built on this same site was again felt, when St. Peter's Lutheran Church was organized, and a more durable build- ing was erected.
As was the case with all the first German set- tlers in North Carolina, who did not bring their pastor with them, so likewise were the Lutheran members of the Hickory Church destitute of the means of grace for some length of time, and as no other hope of obtaining a regularly ordained min- ister of the Gospel presented itself, the members were resolved to send to Germany for a pastor. In this manner they secured the services of Rev. Adolph Nussmann as their pastor, and Gottfried Arndt as their schoolteacher.
The new pastor preached but one year in the Hickory Church to both denominations, after which some dissension arose, and a majority of the Lutherans then resolved to build a church for themselves, and in this manner originated Zion's Church, better known as Organ Church. The members of the German Reformed Church soon followed the example of their Lutheran brethren, and likewise built a new church on another loca- tion, which they named Grace Church, but is more frequently called "The Lower Stone Church," on account of its position lower down
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the stream above mentioned, and built of the same material as Organ Church.
Before the building of Organ Church was quite completed, Rev. A. Nussmann left this congrega- tion, and went as pastor to Buffalo Creek Church, in Cabarrus County.
The congregation, which now had a church but no pastor, sent their schoolteacher, Gottfried Arndt, to be ordained to the office of the ministry, in the year 1775. He served them through the trying period of the Revolution, until 1786, when he moved to the Catawba River, residing in Lincoln County, and labored in that field to the close of his life.
Section 12. Early History of St. John's Church, Cabarrus County, N. C.
Cabarrus County is known in the early records as Mecklenburg County, in which it was included, but was formed into a separate county in the year 1792. The eastern portion of it was settled en- tirely by Germans, the most of whom came from Pennsylvania.
During the Revolutionary War, a number of Hessian soldiers deserted from the British army at Savannah, after the siege of that place, and found their way to the German settlement on Dutch Buffalo Creek, intermarried with these settlers, and were thus permanently located there. They, in a measure, supplied the loss of so many young men in that settlement, who had sacrificed
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their lives in the service of their country. This col- ony suffered severely during that dark and bloody period. Although no regular army assailed these Germans, or passed through their settlement, yet they had to contend much with the Tories, whilst many of their young men enlisted as soldiers in the American army. One family, named Schwartz- wälder(Blackwelder), had seven sons, four of whom were in the battle of Camden, South Carolina, and two or three of them found soldiers', graves upon that battlefield, having lost their lives in the service of their country. Others shared the same fate, whilst those at home had several skirmishes with the Tories. The following account of the action, which one of these early settlers took in the war for independence, is given by one of his grand- sons, and may not be uninteresting :
"John Paul Barringer, who took an active part in all public matters, was known as Captain Bar- ringer long before the Revolution, and during this war, though too old for regular service, took the lead against the Tories in his section, and so odi- ous did he become to them from his efficient and unceasing efforts against them, that they surprised him in his bed at night, and posted him off as a prisoner to Camden, where he remained in con- finement several months, if not during the re- mainder of the war. In the meantime the Tories stole and destroyed most of his property, and left his family, then afflicted with small-pox, in a most helpless and distressing condition."
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