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THE 


(BeRMAN   (pIETISTS 


OF 


Provincial  (!&ennsylvania 


BY 


JULIUS    FRIEDRICH    SACHSE 

LIFE-MEMBER    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    OF    PENNSYLVANIA, 

AMERICAN    PHILOSOPHICAL    SOCIETY, 

PENNA-GERMAN    SOCIETY,    ETC. 


• 

1 694- 1 708. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR 

1895. 


COPYRIGHT,    1895, 

By  JULIUS   F.  SACHSE. 

ALL  RIGHTS   RESERVED. 


Printed  by  P.  C   Stockhausen,  53-55  N.  7th  St.,  Philadelphia. 


PART   1. 
THE   WOMAN    IN   THE   WILDERNESS. 


PART    11. 

THE    HERMITS   ON   THE   WISSAHICKON. 
APPENDIX. 


Of  this  Letter  Press  Edition 
Five  Hundred  Copies  have  been  Printed  for  Sale. 


No. 


^6^ 


-<^-£^ 


N^ovenibt'r,  iS()^. 


FOREWORD. 


^N  submitting  this  volume  to  the  public,  the  writer 
I  ventures  the  opinion  that  it  will  prove  an  accep- 
^^  table  contribution  to  our  local  history.  The  annals 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Philadelphia  have  for  years  past  been 
conspicuous  in  the  chronicles  of  the  nation.  There  is, 
however,  one  particular  in  which  they  have  been  more  or 
less  deficient,  viz.,  in  the  history  of  the  early  Germans  who 
came  to  this  country  with  the  firm  intent  of  founding  a 
home  in  the  new  world  for  themselves  and  posterity,  and 
who  took  so  large  a  part  in  the  formation  of  our  great 
commonwealth. 

The  promise  of  liberty  of  conscience  caused  Pennsyl- 
vania, toward  the  close  of  the  seventeeth  century,  to  be- 
come the  dream  of  the  various  religious  sects  and  enthu- 
siasts then  arisen  in  Germany,  and  at  variance  with  the 
established  orthodox  church  of  their  special  divisions  of 
the  Fatherland.  They  longed  for  the  religious  freedom 
offered  them  in  the  Province  of  Penn,  and  gave  shape  to 
their  desire  in  an  extended  emigration  from  Germany, 
fostered,  as  it  were,  by  Benjamin  Furly,  the  agent  of  Penn 
at  Rotterdam.  Thus  arose  the  peculiar  religious  condition 
of  the  Province,  and  the  establishment  of  the  many  differ- 
ent sects  in  the  early  period  of  our  history.  Some  of  these 
congregations,  founded  upon  the  tenets  of   true  religion. 


vi  Foreivord. 

have  maintained  their  autonomy,  and  exist  even  to  the 
present  day,  having  increased  with  the  growth  of  the 
country.  Others,  again,  whose  foundation  was  not  so 
stable,  or  whose  system  of  congregational  government 
proved  unsuitable  to  the  changed  conditions  resulting  from 
an  increasing  population,  exist  now  only  in  tradition  and 
history. 

Conspicuous  among  the  latter  class  is  the  Community  of 
German  Pietists,  or  true  Rosicrucian  Mystics,  who  came 
in  a  body  to  these  shores  in  the  year  of  grace  1694,  under 
the  leadership  of  Magister  Johannes  Kelpius,  in  the  firm 
belief  that  the  millennium  was  near. 

To  this  body  of  religious  enthusiasts  the  present  volume 
is  devoted.  The  influence  exercised  by  them,  coming,  as 
it  did,  at  the  critical  period  when  the  Quaker  hierarchy 
was  rent  with  internal  dissension,  was  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance ;  and  to  the  efforts  of  individual  members  is  due 
the  honor  of  holding  the  first  orthodox  church  services 
within  the  Province  since  it  became  Penn's  domain. 

It  was  through  their  efforts  that  the  Church  Party  took 
heart,  and,  toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
perfected  organizations  which  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  congregations  of  the  various  Protestant  denominations 
in  Pennsylvania. 

How  their  influence  extended  into  neighboring  colonies, 
and  how  one  of  their  number  was  the  first  person  to  be 
ordained  to  the  ministry  in  America  for  missionary  pur- 
poses, is  also  shown  in  these  pages.  The  text  is  amplified 
by  several  hundred  foot-notes  and  illustrations.  Where 
rare  or  unique  books  are  quoted,  a  fac-simile  of  the  title- 
page  is  given  wherever  possible.  Another  object  has  been 
to  preserve  every  scrap  of  information  bearing  upon  this 
interesting  episode  of  Pennsylvania  history.     At  the  same 


Foreivord. 


Vll 


time  the  greatest  care  has  been  taken  to  verify  the  old 
legends  and  traditions  and  trace  them  to  an  anthentic  sonrce. 
The  search  for  documentary  information  has  been  carried 
on  over  both  continents,  and  no  time  or  expense  has  been 
spared  with  pen,  pencil  and  camera  to  make  the  volume 
exhaustive  and  complete. 

Acknowledgements  are  due  to  Fredk.  D.  Stone,  Litt.  D., 
the  learned  librarian  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  advice  and  suggestions ;  to  the  Hon.  Judge 
Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  use  of 
rare  books  and  documents  in  his  library  ;  to  the  Sesqui- 
Centennial  Memorial  Committee  and  the  authorities  of  the 
Moravian  Church  at  Bethlehem,  for  courtesies  extended  to 
the  writer  in  his  investigations ;  to  the  Reverend  J.  H, 
Sieker,  pastor  of  St.  Matthew's  congregation  in  New  York, 
for  access  to  the  old  church  records ;  to  the  Rev.  Roswell 
Randall  Hoes,  for  the  use  of  his  abstracts  of  S.  P.  G. 
Records ;  and  also  to  Albert  Edmunds  and  the  many  other 
friends,  at  home  and  abroad,  who  in  various  ways  have 
assisted  the  writer. 

Julius  Friedrich  Sachse. 

Philadelphia,  November ,  iSg^. 


LIST  OF  PLATES. 


The  Anchorite  Cell  of  Kelpius 

Relics  of  the  German  Pietists  . 

Effigy  of  Johannes  Tauler  .... 

Ericus  Tob  :  Biorck  (Portrait)        .... 

God's  Protecting  Providence  (Fac-simile  of  title  page) 

horologium  achaz 

Seeking  the  Lapis  Philosophorum 

The  Hermit's  Glen  on  the  Wissahickon 

The  Old  Monastery 

Johannes  Kelpius  (Portrait)  . 
Magister  Johannes  Fabricius  (Altdorfimis) 
Penny  Pot  House  and  Landing 
Christ  Church,   Philadelphia  (Prior  to  the  Revolution) 
Christ    Church.    Philadelphia    (Interior    prior  to   the 
Revolution)        ...... 

Breitenhaupt  House,  Nordheim  (Germany) 

Gloria  Dei  (Old  Swedes  Church),  Wicacoa 

Moravian  Evangelists  (Portraits) 

St.  Michael's  Church,  Germantown 

De  Quaakers  Vergadering 

William  Penn  (von  Kneller  portrait) 

A  Scene  in  Old  Rotterdam 

A  Page  of  Rosicrucian  Theosophy  (Fac-simile) 


Frontispiece, 
facing  page       lo 


96 
104 
112 
120 
184 
201 
224 
232 
272 
288 

289 
296 
360 
400 
424 
448 
448 
456 
472 


CONTENTS. 


PART 


INTRODUCTION. 

Sect  People  of  Pennsylvania.  Heirlooms.  Pietistic  Sects. 
Unitas  Fratrum.  Sources  of  Information.  Rosicrucian 
Theosophj' i-io 

THE  EXODUS  FROM  THE  FATHERLAND. 

The  "  Sara  Maria."     The  Embarkation      ....       11-12 

THE  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA. 

Kelpius'  Diary.  The  Start  from  Holland.  Falkner's  Mis- 
sive. Perils  of  the  Journey.  Miraculous  Delivery  from 
Shipwreck.  The  Final  Start.  Instructions  for  Sailing. 
A  Fight  at  Sea.     Capes  of  Virginia.     End  of  the  Voyage.       13-27 

THE  ARRIVAL  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  Blue  Anchor  Tavern.  Entrance  into  Philadelphia. 
Visit  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor.  The  "Sonnenwend- 
feuer."     Arrival  at  Germantown  .....       28-36 

THE  CHAPTER  OF  PERFECTION. 

Theory  of  Mystic  Numbers.  Leaders  of  the  Party.  The 
Perfect  Number.     Rosicrucian  Symbolism  .         .         .       37-42 

GERARD  CROESE. 

Quakeriana.  John  Jacob  Zimmermann.  Appeal  to  Benja- 
min Furly.  The  German  Pietists.  Teutonists.  Jacob 
Boehme 43-48 

THE  PIETISTS  IN  GERMANY 

Spener.  Collegia  Pietatis.  Johannes  Tauler.  Erfurth. 
August  Hermann  Francke.  Royal  Edicts.  Expulsion 
from  Erfurth.  Halle  Institutions.  Essentia  dulcis.  Spread 
of  Pietism.  Expulsion  of  Francke.  Mystical  Symbols. 
Elenora  von  Merlau.  Kabbalistic  Philosophy.  Rosicru- 
cian Epitome 49-64 


X  Contents. 

IN  THE  NEW  WORLD. 

The  Religious  Situation.  Lutheran  Services.  The  Augs- 
burg Confession.  Christian  Quakers.  EngHsh  Services. 
Keithians.  Heinrich  Bernhard  Koster.  Episcopal  Ser- 
vices. Rev.  Jacob  Fabritius.  The  Tabernacle  in  the 
Forest.  The  "  Sternwarte."  Ravine  of  the  Wissahickon. 
The  Cave  in  the  Hillside.  Daniel  Falkner.  Muhlenberg's 
Tribute.     Rosicrucian  Theosophy ^'b-ll 

THE  WOMAN  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

Evangelical  Union.  Doctor  Schotte.  The  Celestial  Eve. 
The  "Contented  of  the  God-loving  Soul."  The  Har- 
binger in  the  Skies.  Motus  Puta  Intrinsecus.  Educa- 
tional Movements 7S-S3 

A  RIVAL  COMMUNITY. 

Koster's  Ministrations.  Keithian  Complications.  The 
Brethern  in  America.  Irenia.  The  House  of  Peace. 
Controversy.  "  De  Resurrectione  Imperii  ^ternitatus." 
A  Unique  Title.     The  Coming  of  the  Lord        .         .         .       84-92 

AN  EMISSARY  TO  THE  OLD  WORLD. 

Arrival  of  Swedish  Missionaries.  Service  at  Wicacoa. 
Visit  to  Kelpius.  "  A  Poetical  Thanksgiving."  Arrival  of 
Rev.  Thomas  Clayton.  Philadelphiac  Society.  Daniel 
Falkner's  Return  to  Europe.     "  Curieuse  Nachricht"  .       93-99 

REYNIER  JANSEN. 

Moral  Jewel  Caskets.  A  German  Prayer-book.  The  Jan- 
sen  Tradition.  The  Second  Press  in  Pennsylvania.  Jansen- 
ites.  Jansen  Press  in  Amsterdam.  Satan's  Harbinger 
Encountered.  A  Provincial  Proclamation.  Death  of 
Reynier  Jansen loo-ioS 

THE  DIVINING  ROD  AND  HOROSCOPE. 

Zimmermann's  Deductions.  Hermetic  Studies.  The 
Menstrum  Universale.  Cabbala  and  Apocalypse.  Divin- 
ing Rod.  Casting  of  Nativities.  Horologium  Achaz. 
Ancient  Traditions.  Phlebotomy.  Barber-chirurgeon. 
Cometo-Scopia     ........  1 09-1 19 

LOCAL  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  Mystic  Seal.  Zauber-zettel.  Wunder-sigel.  Old 
Shrunk 120-124 


Contents.  xi 

THE  MYSTICS  ON  THE  WISSAHICKON. 

Abel  Noble.  "  Noah's  Dove."  "  A  Little  Olive  Branch." 
The  Mumford  Letter.  Kelpius'  .Mysticism  Detined.  Quie- 
tists.     Man  or  Macrocosm.     Stephen  Mumford  .         .         .   125-138 

RETURN  OF   DANIEL  FALKNER 

Peter  Schaffer.  Departure  of  Ko.ster.  Gloria  Dei  at 
Wicacoa.  Return  of  Falkner.  The  Frankfort  Land 
Company 139-146 

CLOSE  OF  THE  FIRST  DECADE. 

Matthai  and  Witt.  Quakerism.  William  Penn's  Second 
Visit.  Services  at  Germantown.  Penn  and  the  Indian 
Chief.  A  Curious  Legend.  A  Supernatural  Visitor. 
The  Laurea.  Andreas  Sandel.  English  Superstition 
Tribute  to  Pastor  Rudman.  Civil  Affairs.  Justus  Falkner. 
Return  of  Keith.     Trinity  Church,  Oxford      .         .         .       147-160 

VISITS  OF  SABBATARIANS. 

The  Rodgerines.  A  Jansen  Imprint.  Samuel  Bownas. 
A  Rhode  Island  Deputation.  The  Westerly  Records. 
William  Davis.  "Jesus  the  Crucifyed  Man."  The  Fame 
of  Kelpius 161-166 

ATTORNEY  AND  BAILIFF. 

Daniel  Falkner.  As  Attorney.  The  Original  Document. 
Board  of  Property.  William  Penn.  The  Old  Germantown 
Record  Book 167-175 

THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  COMMUNITY. 

Falkner's  Swamp.  Abandonment  of  the  Sternvvarte.  "A 
Loving  Moan."  Missive  to  Hester  Palmer.  The  "Three 
fold  Wilderness  State."  "  The  Fruitful  Wilderness."  "The 
Barren  Wilderness."  "  The  Elect  of  God."  "  A  Comfor- 
table Song" 176-192 

THE  HERMITS  ON  THE  RIDGE. 

The  Sprogel  Brothers.  The  Books  of  the  Community. 
Christ  Church  Library.  Magister  Seelig.  Conrad  Mat- 
thiii.  The  Separatists.  Conrad  Beissel.  Michael  Wohl- 
farth.  Arrival  of  Zinzendorf.  The  First  Pennsylvania 
Synod.  Evangelical  Alliance.  Fresenius.  The  Monas- 
tery on  the  Wissahickon.  The  Camp  of  the  Solitary. 
Ephrata  MS.S.     The  Changes  of  Two  Centuries  .   193-204 


xii  Contents. 

THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 

Thomas  Fairman's  Gift.  Vicaris  Tract.  Righter  Ferry. 
Oldest  Map  of  Germantown.  After  Two  Hundred  Years. 
Phoebe  Righter.  Evan  Prowattain.  The  Hermitage 
Grounds.  Glen  in  the  Forest.  Hessian  Camp.  Mora- 
vian Records.     Fairmount  Park 205-215 


PART 


MAGISTER  JOHANNES   KELPIUS. 

Services  in  Pennsylvania.  Sievert's  Nachrichten.  Ante- 
cedents of  the  Magister.  Father  and  Brothers.  Studies 
at  Altdorf.  Graduates.  Learned  Thesis.  Magister  Fa- 
bricius.  Literary  Works.  Chapter  of  Perfection.  George 
Kelp.  Kelp  von  Sternberg.  Diary.  Greeting  to  Rev. 
Biorck.  Missive  to  Fabricius.  Penn  and  the  Indian  Chief. 
"Restitution  of  all  Things."  Calivius.  Anglican  Faith. 
Metemptosis.  Knorr  von  Rosenroth.  "  Voice  of  Hidden 
Love."  "  The  Bitter  Sweet  Night  Ode."  "  Colloquim  of 
the  Soul."  "A  Loving  Moan."  Personal  Description. 
Christian  Warmer.  Mysterious  Casket.  Death  of  the 
Magister.     Whittier's  Pennsylvania  Pilgrim        .         .         .  219-250 

HENRICH    BERNHARD   ROSTER. 

Labors  in  America.  Establishes  Church  Services.  His 
Youth.  As  Pedagogue.  Translates  the  Old  Testament. 
Refuses  a  Lucrative  Appointment.  Erudition  of  Koster. 
Rathhelf's  Account  of  Koster.  The  Founding  of  Christ 
Church  in  Philadelphia.  Preaches  to  English,  Welsh  and 
Germans.  Quaker  Opposition  to  Lutherans.  Persecu- 
tions of  Swedish  Lutherans  in  Philadelphia.  First  German 
Book  Printed  in  America.  Yearly  Meeting  at  Burlington. 
Demand  of  the  Keithians.  Exortation  of  Koster.  Printed 
Account.  The  Friends'  Side.  Keithian  vs.  Orthodo.x. 
Public  Baptism  by  Koster.  Administers  the  Eucharist. 
Pastorius'  "Rebuke."  Fac-simile  of  Title.  Outcome  of 
the  Controversy.  Rev.  Thomas  Bray.  Arrival  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Clayton.  Dedication  of  Christ  Church.  Evan 
Evans.  Titles  of  Books.  Mystery  of  the  Triad.  Roster's 
Decachordon.  Nordheim.  Enters  the  Lutheran  Orphan- 
age at  Hanover.     Death  and  Burial 251-298 


Contents.  xiii 

DANIEL   FALKNER. 

Impressions  of  the  New  World.  His  Character.  Religi- 
ous Ancestors.  Lectures  at  Erfurth.  Spener  and  Falkner. 
Excommunication  by  Koster.  Anna  Maria  Schuckart. 
Prophetess  of  Erfurth.  The  Three  Ecstatic  Maidens. 
Charitable  Bequest.  Furly  to  Falkner.  Attorney  for  Furly 
and  Frankfort  Company.  Superceeds  Pastorius.  Elected 
Bailiff.  Johann  Jawert.  Perfidity  of  Sprogel.  Climax 
of  the  Conspiracy.  Captain  Vinings'  Report.  Falkner 
Swamp.  First  German  Lutheran  Church.  Removes  to 
New  Jersey.  Ari  Van  Guinea.  Pastor  of  Lutheran 
Churches.  Ancient  Subscription  List.  Caspar  Stover. 
Church  Dedication.  Rev.  William  Berkenmeyer.  Church 
Council.  John  August  Wolff.  Retirement  of  Pastor 
Falkner         299-334 

JOHANN   GOTTFRIED   SEELIG. 

Sketch  of.  Bosom  Friend  of  Kelpius.  Magister  of  the 
Community.  Resigns  in  favor  of  Conrad  Matthai.  Intro- 
duces Bookbinding  into  Pennsylvania.  An  Ephrata  Tradi- 
tion. Patriarch  Miihlenberg's  Tribute  to  Seelig's  Piety. 
Retires  to  Cabin  on  Levering  Farm.  Visited  by  Moravian 
Missionaries.  Death  and  Burial.  His  Magic  Staff.  Will 
and  Inventory 355-34" 

DOMINIE  JUSTUS  FALKNER 

Birth  and  Parentage.  Earliest  Record  of  Studiosis  at 
Halle.  Biorck  on  Falkner.  Rev.  Francke.  Composes 
Spiritual  Hymns.  "Auf  ihr  Christen,"  fac-simile.  Popu- 
larity of  Falkner's  Hymns.  Appointed  Attorney  by  Ben- 
jamin Furly  of  Rotterdam.  Arrives  in  Pennsylvania. 
Appears  in  Court  in  Furly's  behalf.  Elected  Burgess  of 
Germantown.  Dominie  Rudman  Proposes  Justus  Falk- 
ner as  Pastor  for  New  York.  The  Call.  Acceptance. 
Ordained  at  Gloria  Dei.  Description  of  the  Service. 
Rudman  as  Suffragan.  Invocation.  Consecration.  Certifi- 
cate of  Ordination  signed  on  the  Altar.  Journey  to  New 
York.  Accepts  the  Charge.  The  old  "Kercken-Boeck." 
Entry  and  Invocation.  Serves  Churches  in  the  Hudson 
Valley  and  New  Jersey.  Condition  of  Churches.  Appeals 
for  Aid.  Troublesome  Times.  Disputes  with  Calvinists. 
Publishes  the  first  Orthodox  Lutheran  Text  Book  in 
America.     Falkner's  Orthodoxy.      Extent  of  Missionary 


xiv  Co7itcnts. 

Field.  Rev.  Josua  Kocherthal.  Personal  Notices.  Old 
Church  Register.  Fac-simile  of  Title  Page.  Church 
Papers.  Doop  Register.  Entries  and  Votum.  First 
Communicants.  An  Indian  Baptism.  Marriage  of  Dom- 
inie Falkner.  Arduous  Duties.  Correspondence.  Last 
Records.     Death.     In  Memoriam 341-385 

CONRAD   MATTHAI. 

Conspicuous  about  Germantown.  Portrait.  Magus  on 
the  Wissahickon.  Succeeds  Seelig.  Counsels  Beissel. 
Camp  of  the  Solitary.  Espouses  Cause  of  the  Eckerlings. 
Reconciliation  with  Father  Friedsam.  White  Magic.  A 
Psychological  Experiment.  John  Bechtel.  Bishop  Cam- 
merhoff.  Visits  from  Moravian  Evangelists  and  Converts. 
Attends  a  Pennsylvania  Synod.  Serious  Condition.  An 
Impressive  Service.  Death  and  Burial.  Chronicon 
Ephretense.     A  Moravian  Tribute 386-401 

DOCTOR  CHRISTOPHER  WITT. 

The  last  of  the  Mystics.  Christian  Warmer,  Doctor  of 
Physic  and  Chirurgene.  Widow  Zimmermann.  Estab- 
lishes first  Botanical  Garden  in  America.  John  Bartram. 
Peter  Collinson.  Dr.  Witt  as  Botanist.  Interesting  Cor- 
respondence. Mechanical  Ingenuity.  Clockmaking. 
Musical  Instruments.  Great  Comet  of  1743.  Hexenmeister 
of  Germantown.  Superstitions.  The  "  Teufels-bursche." 
Signature  to  Will.  William  Vates.  Death.  Curious  Burial 
Custom.     Charitable  Bequest      ......  402-418 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  SPOOK  HILL. 

The  Warmer  Graveyard.  Location.  List  of  Burials. 
Ghostly  Legends.  Moravian  Burial-ground  in  Germantown. 
Old  Legends.  A  Weird  Story.  Dr.  Witt.  Mount  Misery. 
Reservation  of  the  Ground.  A  Desolate  Spot.  The 
Morris  Family.  Deed  of  Gift.  St.  Michael's  Church. 
Consecration.  The  Old  Mulberry  Tree.  A  Glorious 
Monument 419-430 


APPENDIX. 


BENJAMIN   FURLY. 

Birth  and  Marriage,  Zeal  for  Quakerism.  Records  of. 
"You  to  Many,  and  Thou  to  One."  Publishes  Quaker 
Books  Appeal  to  Burgomasters  of  Rotterdam.  William 
Penn.  Visit  to  Holland  and  Germany.  Furly  as  Inter- 
preter. "  Het  Christenrijk  ten  Oordeel."  John  Locke. 
Makes  Suggestions  to  Penn.  The  First  Protest  Against 
Negro  Slavery  in  America.  Pastorius.  Promotes  first 
German  Emigration  to  Pennsylvania.  Publishes  Descrip- 
tion of  Provmce  in  Dutch  and  German.  Landed  Interests. 
Reynier  Jansen.  Appoints  Falkner  as  Attorney.  Thomas 
Lawrence.  Sells  the  Land  to  Jacobus  van  de  Walle. 
Correspondence  with  Locke.  Renounces  Quakerism. 
Bibliography.  Von  Uffenbach's  Visit.  Bibliotheca  Fur- 
liana.  Phillipus  Limborch.  Personal  Appearance.  Curious 
Map  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Sons  of  Furly.  His  Tomb 
in  the  Groote  Kirk 433-459 

MAGISTER  JOHANN  JACOB   ZIMMERMANN. 

Sketch  of.  E.xpulsion  from  Wiirtemberg.  Difficulty  in 
Tracing.  Ambrossii  Sehmanni.  Johannis  Matthaeus. 
Erudition  of  the  Magister.  Astronomical  Calculations. 
Mundus  Copernizans.  Jacob  Boehme.  Old  Church  at 
Beitigheim.  A.stroIogy  and  Magic.  Accused  of  Heresy. 
Bibliography.     Descendents  in  America      ....  460-472 

DOMINIE   ANDREAS   RUDMANN. 

Studies  under  Dr.  Svedberg.  Selected  as  Missionary-  to 
Pennsylvania.  Biorck  and  Auren.  King  Charles  XI. 
Contribution  and  Dismissal.  Condition  of  the  Province. 
Supplies  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia.  Radnor  and  Oxford. 
Quaker  IntoUerance.  Persecution  of  Lutherans.  Pro- 
ceedmgs  before  Council.  Trials  of  the  Early  Missionary. 
Gratuity  from  London.  His  last  Letter.  Burial  at  Wica- 
coa.  Epitaph.  Renewal  of  Quaker  IntoUerance.  San- 
del  vs.  Chambers.  Final  Proceedings  before  the  Provin- 
cial Council     . .  472-4S3 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Theosophical  MSS.,  votum 
Pennsylvania  (1694)  Seal 
Arndt's  Wahres  Christenthum 

Title 

Paradis-Gartlein,  Title 
Unitas  Fratrum,  Seal  . 
Thauleri  Predigten 
Ephrata  Relics  .     .     . 
Rosicrucian  MSS.,  Title 
Arms  of  Commonwealth,  1894 
Theosophical  MSS.,  votwin 
German  Empire  (1694),  Arms 
Pietistical  Emblem  of  Christ 
Kelpius'  Diary,  votuni     .     . 
William  Penn,  Arms  . 
Kelpius'  Diary,  page  i     .     . 
Falkner's  Send-Schriben,  title 
Philadelphischen  Societat,  title 
Ship  "  Sara-Maria"     . 
Will.  Allen,  Autograph 
Naval  Trophies      .     . 
Map,  Chesapeake  and  Delaware 
Laus-Deo,  Emblem    .     . 
A  and  O,  heading  .     .     . 
Philadelphia  (1701)  Seal 
William  Penn,  Autograph 
Blue  Anchor  Tavern  .     . 
Governor  Fletcher,  Autograph 

Seal 

William  Markham,  Autograph 
Penn's  Cottage  .... 
Theosophical  Symbol 
Prima  Materia,  Symbol  . 
Essenes,  Symbol    .     .     . 
Rosicrucian  MSS.,  folio  7 
Heading,  Mystic    .     . 
Holland  (1693)  Arms  .     . 


PAGE 
I 


4 
5 
6 
8 

9 
:o 
II 
II 
12 
13 
13 
14 
15 
16 
20 
21 

25 
26 
27 
28 
28 
28 
29 
31 
31 
32 
33 
36 
37 
37 
41 
43 
43 


Wiirtemberg  (1693)  Arms 
Croese  Ouakeriana,  Title 
United  Netherlands.  Arms 
Monogram  of  Christ,  Greek 
Erfurth,  Episcopal  Seal  . 
Phillip  Jacob  Spener,  Portrait 
Phillip    Jacob    Spener,    Auto 

graph 

Erfurth  (1693)  Arms  .     .     . 
Collegium  Pietatis  in  Session 
Edict  of  Denmark,  Title 
Edict  of  Charles  XI,  Title  . 
Historia  von  Erffurth,  Title 
Aug.   Hermann  Francke,   Por- 
trait   

Aug.  Hermann  Francke,  Auto 

graph     

Merlau,  Mystical  Chart  . 

Glaubens-Gesprach,  Title  . 
Pietistical  Faith,  Epitome  . 
Unaltered    Augsburg    Confes 

sion.  Title 

Germantown,  Seal  of,   1691 
Ancient  Telescope      .     . 
Rosicrucian  Symbol    .     . 
Keith's  Catechism,  Title,  1690 
Rosicrucian  MSS.  24th  folio 
Ephrata   Community,  Symbol 
Astrological  Emblem      .     . 
The   Woman    in   the    Wilder 


ness 

Abgenothigter   Bericht,    Title 

1739 

Celestial  Eve,  Emblem  .  . 
Broadside,  illustrating  Apoca 

lypse 


44 

45 
48 

49 
49 
50 

51 
51 
53 
54 
54 
55 

56 

58 
60 
61 
61 
63 

66 
65 

71 
72 

75 
76 

77 
77 

78 

79 
80 

82 


JlliLstratioJis. 


xvii 


PAGE 

Mithra,  Symbol 83 

Prima  Materia,  Symbol  ...  84 

Esoteric  Symbol 86 

Rosicrucian  Symbol    ....  86 

A  Sophar ........  89 

De  Resurrectione  imperii,  Title    90 

Holy  Lamp  of  Tabernacle       .  91 

Hermes,  Ancient  Emblem  .     .  91 

Cabbala,  Symbol 92 

Ephrata  Pilgrim,  Symbol     .     .  93 

Philadelpiiiac  Symbol      ...  96 

"  Curieuse  Nachricht,"  Title   .  98 

Ancient  Lamp 99 

Ephrata  Hand-press  ....  roo 

Moral  Texts loi 

Schatz-Kastlein  with  Spriiche  .  102 
Schrift-massige    Anweisung, 

Title 103 

Comprehensive    Method    of 

Prayer,  Title 104 

Proclamation  Broadside       .     .  107 

Headpiece,  The  Astrologer    .  109 

Old  Horoscope 109 

Scriptura  S  :  Copernizans,  Title  1 10 
Comet-stern  1682,  Title  .     .     .118 

The  Jansen  (Amsterdam)  press  119 

Zauberzettel 120 

Astrological  Charm    .     .     .     .120 

....  121 

Artabel 122 

Tritheim  Zettel 123 

Magic  Signet 124 

On  the  Stern warte      .     .     .     .125 

Seal  of  Solomon 125 

Macrocosm  appearing  to   Dr. 

Faustus 133 

Astrological  Chart      ....  138 

Gloria  Dei,  a.  d.  1700     .     .     .  139 

Mythraic  Symbol 139 

Gloria  Dei,  1895 143 

Phallic  Emblem 146 

Light  from  Darkness  ....  147 


PACK 

Great  Seal  of  Province,  1699  .  147 
"  "  obverse  159 

An  Aerial  Apparation  .  .  .  152 
Old  Germantown  Horoscope  .  155 
"  "  Relic  .     .     .   160 

Connecticut  Seal  of,  a.  d.  1700  161 
"Jesus    the    Crucifyed   Man," 

Title 165 

Frankfort  on  the  Mayn,  Arms  167 
Sweden,  Arms  of,  a.d.  1700  .  176 
Allegorical   Representation  of 

all  Faiths 182 

Rhode  Island,  Seal  of  .  .  .  192 
Ephrata  Community,  Seal  of  .  193 
The  Tabernacle  in  the  Forest  .  204 
Cave  of  Kelpius,  1894  .  .  .  205 
Oldest  Map  of  Germantown  .  208 
Contour  Map   of   Community 

Tract 209 

Germantown,  Seal  .  .  .  .215 
Kelpius'  Autograph  .  ...  219 
Clover  Blossoms,  Tailpiece  .  215 
Mystic  Seal  of  the  Community  216 
Kelp  von  Sternberg,  Arms  .  .219 
Seal,  Royal  Library,  Stuttgart  223 
Fac-simile  of  Biorck  Letter  .  228 
Kelpius'  Hymn  Book,  Title  .  236 
Kelpius'  Hymn  Book,  German 

Page 238 

Kelpius'  Hymn  Book,  English 

Page 242 

Christian  Warner,  Autograph  245 
Daniel  Geissler,  "  246 

Symbol,  "  Fire  and  Water  "  .  248 
German  Society,  Seal  of  .  .  249 
Chur-Brandenburg,  Arms    .     .  251 

Rotterdam,  Arms 258 

Magdeburg,     " 258 

Amsterdam,    " 259 

Friends  Meeting  at  Burlington  269 
Ancient  Pewter  Chalice  .  .  .  277 
Pastorius'  "Rebuke,"  Title     .   2S1 


XVlll 


Illustrations. 


PAGE 

Bishop  Compton,  Portrait  .  .  286 
Koster's  Harmonie,  Title  .  .  293 
Roster's  Harmonie,  Mystic 

Chart 295 

Hanover,  Arms 296 

Nordheim       "         297 

Koster's  Harmonie,  Fac-simile  298 
Daniel  Falkner,  Autograph      .  299 
Falkner's  Send-schreiben,  Fac- 
simile      299 

Erfiirth,  Arms  of,  A.  d.  1895     .  302 
"         Old  University  .     .     .  303 
"        Street  View  ....  305 
Signatures  on  an  Old  Deed      .  307 
Pastorius,  Autograph      .     .     .  308 
Benjamin  Furly,  Autograph      .  309 
"            "       Address     .     .  309 
Pastorius   vs.  Falkner,    Fac- 
simile      310 

Jawert's  Letter 313 

John  Henry  Sprogel,    Auto- 
graph      315 

Andreas  Sandel 320 

West  Jersey,  Seal 323 

Falkner's  Subscription  List, 

Fac-simile 327 

Berkenmeyer  Diary,  Fac-simile  333 
Chur-Braunschweig,  Arms  .  .  335 
Justus  Falkner,  Autograph  .  341 
Chur-Sachsen,  Arms  ....  341 
Justus  Falkner  as  Student  .  .  342 
Dissertatio  Gradualis,  Title  .  343 
"  Auf  ihr  Christen,"  Fac-simile  345 
Zionitischer  Weyrauchs  Hiigel, 

Title 346 

East  Jersey,  Seal 350 

Rudmann's  Entry  in  Church 

Register 352 

Signatures  to  Ordination   Cer- 
tificate    360 

Falkner's  First  Entry  in  Church 
Register 362 


PAGE 

Official  Signature  of  Dominie 

Falkner 363 

Seal  of  New  York,  a.  d.  1703  .  364 
"Grondlycke  Ondericht  "  Title  368 
Fac-simile    of     First     Printed 

Hymn 370 

Kercken-Boeck,  Title  page  .  375 
Earliest     Baptismal      Record, 

Fac-simile 377 

First     Communicants,      Fac- 
simile      383 

Ancient  Dutch  House     .     .     .  386 

Chur-Pfaltz 388 

Conrad  Matthai,  Portrait  .  .  389 
Arms  of  Penn,  1723  ....  402 
Christopher  Witt,  Autograph  .  403 
Christopher  Witt,  Signature  to 

Will 415 

The  Warner  Tombs  .  .  .  .419 
Entrance  to  Old  Spook  Hill  .  420 
A  Colonial  Doorway  ....  429 
Ancient  Dutch  Headpiece  .  .  433 
Royal  Arms  of  Holland.  .  .  433 
Benjamin  Furly,  Signature  .  .  434 
"  A  Battle-Door,"  Title  .  .  .436 
"  Het   Christenrijk   Ten    Oor- 

deel,"  Title 441 

John  Locke,  Autograph  .     .     .  442 

Sidney's  Goblet 442 

Furly 's    Anti-Slavery    Clause, 

Fac-simile 444 

Dutch  Description  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Title 446 

German  Description  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Title 447 

Wiirtemberg,  Arms  1689  .  .  460 
Old  Church  at  Beitigheim  .  .  465 
An  Old  Spinning  Wheel  .  .  472 
Axel    Oxensteirn,    Autograph 

and  Seal 473 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  Autograph  48* 
Finis 484 


D  .  O  .  M  .A. 


INTRODUCTION. 


(^ 


O  subject  of  local  his- 
tory offers  a  greater 
field  for  study  to  the 
historical  student,  or  is  of 
greater  interest  to  the  gen- 
eral public  than  that  of  the 
so-called  "  Sect"  people  of 
provincial  Pennsylvania. 

By  the  tenn  "  Sect"  people, 
as  applied  to  early  emigrants 
to  this  State,  are  to  be  under- 
stood such   communities  or 
Seal  of  thk  Province  1694.  bodics  of  German  emigrants 

as  left  their  native  land  for  conscience  sake,  or  were  driven 
out  by  bigoted  persecution,  and  who,  either  prior  to  their 
departure  or  shortly  after  their  arrival  in  this  country,  for 
religious  or  social  reasons  fonned  distinct  communities  or 
congregations  in  the  New  World,  keeping  themselves  dis- 
tinct and  separate  from  their  dissenting  countrymen  as  well 
as  from  their  English-speaking  neighbors. 

These  people  on  account  of  the  adherence  to  their  native 
tongue,  unostentatious  mode  of  life,  frugality,  and  peculiar 
religious   ceremonies, — devout  and   loyal   as  they  were, — 


D.  O.  M.  A. — From  title  page  of  Theosophical  manuscript ;  abbrevia- 
tion of  Deo  Optimo  Maximo  Altissimo. 


2  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

became  from  the  start  more  or  less  objects  of  suspicion,  and 
later  on,  after  the  influx  of  the  more  aggressive  Irish  ele- 
ment, were  maligned,  and  no  opportunity  was  let  pass  to 
injure  or  oppress  them.  This  was  especially  the  case  after 
the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  as  nearly  all 
of  the  so-called  "  Sect"  people  of  Pennsylvania  were,  like 
the  original  Friends  or  Quakers,  what  are  known  as  non- 
combatants. 

Their  peaceful  and  domestic  habits,  their  refusal  to  med- 
dle with  politics  or  the  affairs  of  State,  their  tenacious 
adherence  to  their  mother  tongue,  together  with  their  sub- 
sequent success  in  nearly  all  their  undertakings,  both  indus- 
trial and  agricultural,  all  tended  to  excite  the  envy  of  their 
more  intemperate  and  turbulent  neighbors,  and  resulted  in 
ridiculous  charges  of  heresy  being  brought  against  some 
of  these  distinctive  communities,  when,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  they  were  composed  of  none  but  God-fearing  men  and 
women. 

These  calumnies  have  been  repeated  so  often  in  print 
that  they  are  now  received  as  truth  by  the  casual  reader. 
It  is  this  state  of  lamentable  ignorance  or  misrepresentation 
by  writers  upon  the  subject,  together  with  the  persistent 
vilification  by  a  certain  class  of  New  England  writers,  that 
has  given  to  readers  at  a  distance  the  impression  that  even 
the  present  generation  of  Pennsylvania-Germans  of  certain 
denominations  are  but  a  single  remove  from  the  animal 
creation. 

Although  all  of  the  early  "  Sect"  people  of  Pennsylvania 
were  non-combatants,  it  is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  under- 
stood that  they  were  deficient  in  courage,  as  in  cases  where 
they  submitted  meekly  to  ruthless  oppression  it  was  not 
caused  by  any  lack  of  manhood,  but  was  merely  putting  into 
practice  the  religious  teachings  they  professed. 


Heirlooms.  3 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  writer,  iu  all  of  his  travels 

throuo;hout  this  State  aud  in  his  historical  researches,  has 

©rt  ®filt  ml  Jtcfhe.d)n,  Mmi,  Y^t  to  find  the  first  specimen 

^Crni  30l)antl  2(rnbta/  offireanns  or  murderous  wea- 

Shtl'  (Bnittal '  Sopmntnifiaitnit  M  SutOnillluiiU 

©ointitdx  SmDe  »ii*n  P^ns  brought  over  b)-  the  ori- 

2>on!  2CaI)rcil  ginal  Gennan  emigrant.   Yet 

B  1 1  it  C  K  f  5  U  tft  /     ^^^^^^  ^^  hardly  any  Pennsyl- 
hoMkt,^  vania-Gennan  family  which 

f)fi!|i)iiifr?5u(rf/ bftjiidjft  Olmunb  2fit  uixt  bif  6ui*«  ,  .     ^  .   .  , 

iinbiBfll)Cfni9ilaubfn/ou(t)l)(ili9fmSrttnunli9BanM         CaUUOt     pOlut    With     pardou- 

Oidit niitm nut b«yB«fiigttn ^cStttn/ aiiii«itfuiig«ii/i<tM*     nblp  Dridp  to  the  old  Germnn 
init  ttiwuiKtm  euinwiMB  m«  wca  ffrtHiBod,  B  i  b  1  c,  Catechisiiius, 

uub  f iiKT  ffiotfdJfhfdKn 'S'nlrituna  WB  338.  Stagro  ^        , 

•"•rt"^  Gesangbuch    or  some  devo- 

^atabicS  ♦  exirtlciB/  tional  book  (usually  Arndt's 

m  grobfli  Dtirf 
tlnbfmivnbffontemWfgiftfrn/ wtmitttld  tije(d|cli  mail       "WahrCS     Chnstenthum"  ' 

fitfrt  ^Surt)  ouf  Jilt  ScTOi'.  one  Srftta.irt :  *«iii(tlla  unS  ttullWn 

^         -^  ,mn.>,.... and  "Paradies  Gartleni ') 

(Bu-fftn/ a3«ixs»  «>«t«i>  ;>"«*  coiPDiuc-  g^jii  jj-^  |--|^g  possession  of  the 

family,  and  which  formed  the  chief  treasure  of  the  original 
emigrant,  as  it  proved  his  comfort  in  times  of  sorrow  and 

^  Arndt's  "  Wahres  Christenthum"  was  originally  published  in  Germany 
in  1605,  and  was  followed  by  many  subsequent  editions.  This  devotional 
book  was  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  early  Germans,  especially  such  as 
adhered  to  the  Orthodox  Lutheran  faith  ;  it  was  usually  bound  together 
with  the  ' '  Paradies  Gartlein, ' '  making  a  volume  of  1300  pages  quarto.  The 
titles  reproduced  are  from  the  copy  which  was  brought  to  this  country  by 
the  ancestors  of  the  writer.  As  all  the  various  pietistical  ' '  Sects' '  in 
Pennsylvania  took  kindly  to  the  writings  of  Arndt,  whom  they  claimed 
as  one  of  their  members,  the  demand  for  the  book  became  so  great  that 
Benjamin  Franklin,  together  with  Johann  Bohm,  in  1751,  proposed  to  pub- 
lish an  American  edition  provided  500  subscribers  could  be  obtained.  The 
preface  to  this  American  edition  was  written  by  the  Lutheran  minister. 
Rev.  J.  A.  Christoph  Hartwig,  and  had  the  support  of  both  Lutheran  and 
Reformed  Churches.  This  was  the  largest  book  printed  in  Philadelphia 
during  the  last  century.  It  contained  32  pages  of  preface  and  1356  pages 
of  text,  with  65  imported  copper  plates.  This  edition  did  not  contain  the 
"  Paradies  Gartlein."  Fourteen  years  later,  in  1765,  Christopher  Saur,  of 
Germantown,  published  the  latter  ;  it  was  a  16  mo.  with  32  pages  of  preface, 
and  531  of  devotional  text  and  index.  Both  of  these  books  are  now 
extremely  rare. 


4  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

trial.  Where  relics  of  worldly  handicraft  still  exist,  precious 
heirlooms  as  they  are,  they  are  found  to  be  implements  of 
peaceful  arts,  such  as  were  used  in  the  farm  economy  or  the 
domestic  household. 

The  Mennonites  were  the  first  body  of  emigrants  to  come 
to  these  shores  as  a  distinctive  sect ;  ^  the  original  party 
consisted  of  thirteen  families,  who  arrived  at  Gennantown, 
October  6th,  1683. 

The  next  distinctive  community,  a  party  of  "  Labadists" 
from  Friesland,  arrived  in  the  fall  of  1684,  under  the 
leadership  of  Petrus    Sluyter   and    Jasper    Bankers,   who 

settled  on  a  tract  of  land  known    . 

as    the    "Bohemia    Manor,"   a  s^nni^ZZmi, 

portion  of  which  was  in  New  asfoi.  ©fnf^al.©ul^mntfn^mml<^rtswfll(^lB^• 

Castle  County,  and  then  formed  HnntutlgtS 

a  part  of  Pennsylvania.-'  ^rtrr1^t^'^rt1*ffritt 

Ten  years  later,  June  24th,        ^I^WVWVi;'"^^WVIUlll 

1694,  Kelpius  and  his  chapter  SDr((ili(t)cn'sugtnb(n/ 

of  Pietists  or  true  Rosi crucians  eoidje 

landed  in  Philadelphia,  walked  2)ur(&  anW^ftge  unt>  m^m  0(&rtf 

to  Gennantown,  and  finall y  set-  j^,  ^  «,a«t«barfien  mm^>^  xm  ^\^ 

tied  on   the  rugged  banks  of  1 

the  Wissahickon.     It  is  to  this 


Snligti  extlmtt  taaM  eumiM 


community  and  their  successors 
on  the  Cocalico  the  subsequent  pages  are  mainly  devoted. 
The  year  17 19  marks  the  advent  of  the  Bunkers  or  Ger- 


■^  For  a  full  account  of  the  early  Mennonites  and  their  settlement  in 
Gerniantown,  see  the  exhaustive  papers  upon  the  subject  by  Hon.  Samuel 
W.  Pennypacker,  w'yL.—Mcnnonite  emigration  to  Pennsytvaiiia,  "  Penna. 
INIagazine,"  vol.  ii,  pp.  117,  et.  seq.  The  settlement  of  Gennantown,  Pa., 
"Penna.  Magazine,"  vol.  i,  p.  i,  et.  seq.;  also  "Historical  and  Bio- 
graphical Sketches,"  Philadelphia,  1883. 

■^  The  members  vs^ere  under  the  impression  that  they  were  wholly  within 
the  bounds  of  Penn's  domain. 


TJie  Pietistic  Sects. 


man  Baptists ;  ^  twenty  families  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in 
the  fall  of  that  year.  Germantown  also  became  their  strong- 
hold, whence  emanated  all  the  other  congregations  of  the 
faith  throughout  the  State. 

The  "  Neu-geborenen,"  or  the  "  Stillen  im  Lande," '" 
settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Germantown  about  1725. 

The  Ephrata  Community,  on  the  Cocalico,  who  were  the 
virtual  successors  to  the  Mystics  on  the  Wissahickon,  dates 
from  about  the  same  period,  and  the  names  of  the  two  leaders, 
Conrad  Beissel  (Father  Friedsam  Gottrecht)  and  the  Rev. 
Peter  Miller  (Prior  Jabetz)  are  well  recognized  in  Pennsyl- 
vania history. 

The  Schwenkfelders  arrived  in  Philadelphia  from  Ber- 
thelsdorf  and  Gorlitz  in  the  fall  of  1734,  and  located  in 
Philadelphia  and  Bucks  Counties,  where  their  descendants 
still  religiously  celebrate  from  year  to  year  the  anniversary 
("  Gedachtniss  Tag")  of  their  arrival. 

The    last    and    the    most    important 
relio-ious     enthusi 


Province  as  a  com 
Unitas  Fratrum,or 
also  called  the  Mo 
Their  first  perma 
was  made- on  the 
Bethlehem  now 
though  a  small  col 
Pennsylvania  in 
evangelists  as  early 


Seal  of  the  Unitas 
Fratrum. 


body  of  German 
asts  to  come  to  this 
m  unity  was  the 
Moravian  Church, 
ravian  Brethren, 
nent  settlement 
Lehigh,  .  where 
stands,  in  1742, 
ony  had  arrived  in 
1 740,  and  their  first 
asi734.«Nowtlieir 


influence  extends  throuehout  the  whole  continent,  from  the 


*  See   "Chronicon  Ephretense."     Translation  by  Rev.  J.   Max  Hark, 
D.  D. ,  chapter  i. 

*  See  "  Hallische  Nachrichten,"  orig.  edit.  p.  226.     New  edition  p.  348, 
annotations  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Mann,  ibid.  p.  417. 


TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


frozen  wilds  of  Alaska  to  the  tropical  glades  of  the  West 
Indies.  Wherever  a  mission  station  is  needed  there  is  to 
be  found  the  Paschal  Lamb  and  cross  of  the  Moravian 
Church.^ 

The  most  interesting  of  these  communities,  by  reason  of 

the  air  of  mystery  which 
has  thus  far  enshrouded  their 
history,  was  the  one  led  by 
Johannes  Kelpius,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  were  imbued 
with  the  highest  religious 
thaulp.ri  ■•  PREDiGFEN."  ^ud    purcst   uioral    motives. 

These  people  came  to  the  colony,  then  in  its  earliest 
stages  of  development,  for  the  purpose  of  pennanently 
settling  within  its  borders,  and  at  the  same  time  enjoy  to 


^  The  first  Moravian  evangelist  in  America,  George  Bohnisch,  landed  at 
Philadelphia,  September  22d,  1734,  having  been  sent  by  Zinzendorf  with 
Christopher  Bans  and  Christopher  Wiegner  to  accompany  the  Schwenk- 
felder  exiles  to  America  ;  Bohnisch  engaged  in  evangelistic  activity  for 
several  years,  and  returned  to  Europe  in  1737. 

Spangenberg  and  Bishop  David  Nitschmann  came  to  Pennsylvania 
in  April,  1736,  and  labored  for  awhile  among  the  Schwenkfelders  and 
others,  making  Wiegner' s  house  their  home. 

George  Neisser  arrived  in  Pennsylvania  in  February,  1737,  from  Georgia, 
and  took  up  his  abode  temporarily  at  Wiegner's.  So  for  awhile  there  were 
three  of  them  in  Pennsylvania,  viz.,  Bohnisch,  who  returned  to  Europe, 
1737;  Spangenberg,  who  left  for  the  time  being  in  1739,  ^iid  Neisser; 
Nitschmann,  the  fourth,  left  in  June,  1736,  and  returned  in  1740. 

Andrew  Eschenbach,  sent  to  the  Pennsylvania-Germans  by  Zinzendorf 
at  Whitfield's  suggestion,  arrived  at  Philadelphia  in  October,  1740. 

Christian  Henry  Ranch  and  Frederick  Martin  (afterwards  missionary 
bishop  in  the  West  Indies )  were  also  in  Pennsylvania  before  the  end  of  1 740. 

'  A  full  and  exhaustive  history  of  the  Moravian  Congregation  at  Bethle- 
hem is  now  in  course  of  preparation  by  the  Church  authorities.  This  work 
is  intended  to  be  a  Sesqui-Centennial  Memorial  of  that  Church  in  America. 
It  will  give  a  full  and  concise  account  of  the  early  trials  and  struggles  of 
the  Moravian  pioneers  in  America,  whose  chief  object  was  to  spread  the 
gospel  among  all  persons  irrespective  of  creed,  color  or  nationality. 


Sources  of  hiforniatioii.  n 

the  fullest  extent  the  promised  liberty  of  conscience  and 
religious  freedom. 

Another  cherished  object  was  to  put  into  practical  opera- 
tion the  mystic  and  occult  dogmas  taught  and  studied  in 
secret  for  many  previous  ages,  looking  not  only  to  spiritual 
but  also  to  physical  regeneration  and  perfection.  These 
dogmas,  it  was  believed,  also  existed  among  the  aborigines 
in  this  continent. 

There  has  always  been  a  veil  of  mystery  about  this  com- 
munity ;  numberless  are  the  traditions  which  have  been 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation ;  gruesome  the 
tales  current  in  Gennantown  and  believed  throughout  the 
country.  They  have  been  repeated  time  and  again  during 
the  long  winter  nights  while  sitting  beside  the  flickering 
fireside  until  they  have  been  accepted  as  facts.  Weird  were 
the  tales  recounted  by  the  naturally  superstitious  population, 
of  the  occult  rites  and  ceremonies  which  it  is  said  were 
perfonned  by  the  adepts,  and  their  followers  within  the 
tyled  portals  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  forest. 

The  object  of  the  following  pages  will  be  to  lift  some- 
what this  veil  of  mystery  which  has  so  long  shrouded  the 
history  and  ceremonial  of  this  community  and  to  set  aside 
the  erroneous  traditions,  so  as  to  place  these  Theosophical 
enthusiasts  in  their  proper  light  before  the  enlightened 
community  of  the  present  day,  now  almost  on  the  verge  of 
the  Twentieth  Century. 

Another  aim  will  be  to  show  how,  with  the  decline  of 
the  first  organization,  the  scene  shifted  from  theWissahickon 
to  the  Cocalico,  at  Ephrata,  where  the  Mystic  Theosoph}- 
Phoenix-like  once  again  rose  from  its  ashes.  In  that  re- 
tired valley  beside  the  flowing  brook  the  secret  rites  and 
mysteries  of  the  true  Rosicrucian  Philosophy  flourished 
unmolested  for  years,  until  the  state  of  affairs  brought  about 


8 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvajiia. 


by  the  American  Revolution,  together  with  pernicious  Sun- 
da}'  legislation-  which  .also  discriminated  against  the  keepers 
of  the  scriptural  Sabbath  day  '^  gradually  caused  the  incoming- 
generation  to  assimilate  with  the  secular  congregations. 

The  information  used  in  this  narrative  is  mainly  de- 
rived from  original  sources,  manuscripts  and  books  used  by 
the  different  com  jji  munities,  now  either  in  possession  of 
the  writer  or  to  ^  which  he  has  had  access,  together  with 
contemporane  g  ous  accounts  sent  to  Europe  by  trust- 
worthy per 
sons,  sup- 


Ephrata  Relics. 


plemented  with  extracts  from  manuscripts  in  the  archives 
of  the  Moravian  Church  and  elsewhere.  Little  or  none  of 
the  matter  in  these  pages  has  ever  been  published,  and 
then  only  in  a  fragmentary  form. 

In  addition  to  the  above  authorities,  trustworthy  tradi- 
tions have  been  incorporated,  some  of  which  were  related 
to  the  writer  in  his  boyhood  days. 

The  text  has  been  embellished  and  amplified  with  illus- 
trations and  fac-simile  reproductions  of  references  and 
originals  whenever  obtainable.  A  number  of  these  illus- 
trations consist  of  the  secret  symbols  of  the  Rosicrucians, 
copied  direct  from  an  ancient  manuscript,  an  heirloom  in 
the  writer's  familv.      It  is  similar  to  those  used    b\-  the 


**  The  Sunday  law  of  1 794  ;  for  a  full  account  of  the  causes  which  led  to 
its  passage  see  paper  by  J.  F.  Sachse  in  "The  Outlook"  for  April,  1S90, 
■'  The  seventh  day,  or  Saturday. 


Sources  of  Information. 


Phis  J  caMetaehisicv 


^J^fyocaL  f.  zr.  u. 


A     ."2^    _•. 


:e  X 


HYPERPHISICA, 

X)  .  O  .  M  .A  . 

o$c  Omnipotaitltt^as^tftonos , 
dMoria  mofamorumQ^ailapAmai.! 

linfdffli  ABeif^ucRfT 
fffucn^i^^c^  &crcitio 


<s 


Title-page  of  Rosicrlcian  MSS.     (Original  in  possession  of  writer.) 


lO 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pemisylz'aiiia. 


coinmuuities  on  the  Wissahickon  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cocalico,  and  so  far  as  is  known,  is  the  only  perfect  copy 
extant.  The  title  of  this  literary  treasnre  is  here  repro- 
duced in  rednced  fac-simile,  the  original  folio  nieasnring 
12  X  i8  inches.  The  manuscript  consists  of  thirty  pages 
exquisitely  written  and  embellished  with  illuminated 
symbols. 

The  histor}'  of  these  people  forms  a  most  romantic 
episode  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Penns}-1- 
vania,  and  the  influence  they  exerted  in  the  early  days  of 
our  development  extends  down  even  to  the  present  time. 


Arms  of  thk  Commonwealth,  1894. 


I  ^ 


OmnipotailiJitXaus,  o/wiios, 

THE  EXODUS  FROM  THE  FATHERI.AND. 


5 


T  was  just  two  centuries 
ago,  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  February,  in 
the  year  of  grace  1694  (O.  S.), 
that  a  number  of  religious 
enthusiasts  from  various  parts 
of  the  Fatherland  embarked 
in  a  body  on  the  good  shij^ 
"Sarah  Maria,"  at  London, 
for  a  voyage  over  the  track- 
less ocean  to  the  Province  of 
Penn, — a  voyage  undertaken 

Arms  OF  THE  German  Empire,  A.  D.  1694.     ^^^^     qj^]^.    ^^     ^\^^     iuclemeut 

season  of  the  year,  and  against  the  advice  and  counsel  of 
relatives  and  friends  at  home,  but  in  face  of  the  war  then 
being  waged  between  European  nations  on  the  high  seas,  a 
source  of  danger  almost  greater  than  that  of  the  elements. 
Sad  had  been  the  parting  from  the  loved  ones  in  the 
Fatherland.  The  farewells  then  said  were  looked  upon  as 
the  final  parting  in  this  world  ;  family  ties  then  severed,  in 
most  cases,  were  never  to  be  re-united.  These  conditions 
were  well  recognized  by  the  determined  band  of  pilgrims. 


Deo  Omnipotenti,  etc.  From  title  page  of  Theosophical  Manuscript : 
"Unto  Almighty  God  be  praise,  honor  and  glor}-  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen." 


12 


TJic  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Even  the  loss  of  their  leader  at  the  ver\-  outset  of  their 
departure  from  Holland  failed  to  turn  them  from  their 
a"\'owed  purpose  of  entering  upon  a  pilgrimage  to  the  un- 
known wilds  of  the  West  with  the  sole  view  of  extendino- 
the  Faith  in  Christ. 

It  was  not  imtil  the  evening  of  the  twelfth  of  June, 
after  many  vicissitudes  and  hair- 
breadth escapes  from  shipwreck 
and  capture  by  foreign  foes,  that 
the  shores  of  the  New  World  were 
sighted.  Two  days  later  the  ship 
entered  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  after 
a  sail  of  five  more  days,  anchor  was 
finally  dropped  at  the  Bohemia 
Landing. 

The  first  act  of  the  part}-  after 
landing,  according  to  the  devout 
rvlagister  Johannes  Kelpius,  was 
to  thank  the  Almighty  upon  their 
bended  knees  for  having  carried 
them  "  as  on  eagle's  wings  such 
an  immense  distance  through  all  the  gates  of  death." 

They  at  once  reported  to  the  royal  commissioners  of  Mary- 
land, informing  them  who  they  were  and  wdi)-  they  had 
come  to  reside  in  America.  After  this  formality  the)- 
started  overland  to  the  town  of  New  Castle,  then  the  chief 
port  on  the  Delaware,  where  they  .arrived  on  the  twenty- 
second  day  of  June.  Early  in  the  next  morning  they  em- 
barked upon  a  sloop  which  was  in  readiness,  and  wafted  by 
favorable  winds  and  tide,  the  part}-  landed  safely  in  Phila- 
delphia on  the  same  day. 


A  PiETisTiCAL  Emblem  of  Christ, 
A.D.  ibga. 


THE   VOYAGE   TO   AMERICA. 


/^ii^WO  accounts  of  this  re- 
i^ ^  markable  voyage  have 
come  down  to  ns  :  one 
is  contained  in  the  diary  of 
Magister  Johannes  Kelpius,'" 
the  other  in  a  letter  or  "  Send- 
schreiben,"  written  by  Daniel 
Falkner,  dated  Germantown, 
August  yth,  1694,  about  six 
weeks  after  their  arrival  in 
America.  This  letter,  sent  to 
friends  in  Germany  and  Hol- 
Arms  of  Penn.  YoAxdi,  was  published  and  cir- 

culated there  shortly  after  it  was  received. 

A  copy  of  this  interesting  communication  has  found  a 
resting  place  among  the  treasures  of  the  Pennsylvania  His- 


J.  N.  J. — Abbreviation  for  the  Latin  /«  Nomine  Jcsu,  i.e.,  "  in  the  name 
of  Jesus."      VotiiiH  at  commencement  of  Kelpius'  Diary. 

'"  This  journal  has  been  reproduced  entire  in  photographic  facsimile  by 
the  writer.  Copies  are  to  be  found  in  the  collection  of  Hon.  vS.  W.  Penny- 
packer  and  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


14 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


-^4;^,  fn..^.    ^t^.  ^    ^^^#^f 


4rtrH 


Clf 


rt 


:,.^y^/:  ^-V*^.v  ^.-/'  -  ^^  -  ^J^>^uj\j:a^^ 


tilt    lf-4,'j  ijrrt  tg^  h9/^%C  .>CwWcoJ 


^  nine   ^ci'^->'    A,     ^  '.    ""^^'^^J/iifri    5r6-W**^ 


•'i/ 


dOMtc 


o 


nli 


irr.     J<  <.**tt^ 


}/^y)ce-Tt^^ 


Fac-simile  of 


First  Page  of  Diary  of  Magister  Johannks  Kelpius. 


The  Start  from  Holland.  15 

torical  Society,  from  which  the  title  is  here  reproduced," — 
(translation)  "  Copy  ||  of  a  Missive  from  ||  and  relating  to  the 
New  World  ||  The  Narra-  ^^->   ^^   -p^   y      a 

tion  of  a  dangerous  ||  Sea  v^>   \_)   Jl     1.   /\ 

Voyage,     and     propitious    ^(1105  leilD^l^rettenS  (lUf 
disembarkation  of  some  ||    '       \>il  llCUCn  ^elf/betrcfftnO 
Christian  Fellow-travelers    ^iC  ^rjC^lun^    CJIlCt   O0iK\\^VSi 
\\  who  upon  this  Pilgrim-    ^mS'Xi^'^i^^y  m^n^'^''^^^^^^K'^ 


g(^rift(irf)en  Dtcifcgcfc^cten/Wfldx  ju^fm  < 
age  set  out  the  ||  Faith  in    fee  \\i\i  QBallfal)rt  angctcettcn/  kit  ©loih 

Jesus  Christ  even  there  ||         ^^» *"»  ^^^'""jS"'"  '''^''"^' 

to  extend.  ||  Tob :   xii.  8.'"  ^^^  ^^j  g^ 

Printed  in  the  year  1695."    ^^  ^^^j^^  „„t)  Surflcn  IXat^  un6  ^eimii«fdf« 

in   ine   mam   lacis   me  mnn  l;<mid)  prnfcu  unD  offtnbann.        y^ 

two    accounts    agree,    the .  — -.1-^ 

only   difference    being    in  ©(SwKfttaiOa^tKSs*. 

some  of  the  detail  of  minor  occurrences.  From  these  ac- 
counts it  is  learned  that  the  start  from  Germany  was  made  in 
the  summer  of  the  year  1693.     They  first  rallied  in  Holland. 

After  remaining  in  Holland  for  some  time,  the  party  left 
Rotterdam  for  London,  where  they  arrived  during  the 
month  of  August.  While  in  London  the  leaders  of  the 
part)-  had  considerable  intercourse  with  the  so-called  "  Phila- 
delphists,"  a  society  which  was  formed  in  England  by  the 
celebrated  Jane  Leade  and  others,  originally  for  the  purpose 
of  studying  and  explaining  the  writings  of  Jacob  Boehme. 
The  outcome  of  this  movement  was  a  league  of  Christians 
who   insisted  on   depth   and   inwardness  of  the  spirit.     A 


"  Translated  in  full  by  the  late  Dr.  Oswald  Seidensticker,  "  Penna.  Mag. 
Hist,  and  Biography, ' '  vol.  xi. ,  pp.  430  et.  seq. 

'■'  This  is  a  typographical  error  in  the  original.  It  should  be  Tob.  xii, 
verse  7. — "  It  is  good  to  keep  close  the  secret  of  a  king,  but  it  is  honorable 
to  reveal  the  works  of  God.  Do  that  which  is  good,  and  no  evil  shall 
touch  vou. " 


1 6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania 

number  of  pamphlets  were  published  by  this  society,  and 
afterwards  translated  into  German. 

A  correspondence  between  Johann   Kelpius  and  Henry 

S>rt  John  Deichmann,  secretary  of   the 

Philadelphifcl^m  Socief^f     London    society,    was    kept    up    for 

SafianMtnt  S<i^affent)ttf ; ,        several  years  after  the  arrival  of  the 

!Du-®riinDc;  iroraufdefufTttJ  onb     party  in  Pennsylvania. 

3(tioi .  brttathrt  fa  rtnit 

■>innMttaufrin(5*m(i«i  Tlic    part)'  remained   in   London 

until    February  13th,    1694   (O.  S.), 
trtSTr^m"'"™®""        when  they  sailed  down  the  Thames 


Philalethe  ,  (uif  ^3«anlafiu«8  6et 


B.  i;. 


3a/  ft)ru^jnt^fn:  ©tfjogemtt)      to  Gravesend,  where  they  embarked 

(3.f.ME.rmbvntaiilxn.  qj-^      ^Iiq^-j-      sllip.  TlllS     VCSSel,      COUl- 

au«  Niti  €tifllti'cf)tn  onfS  gctreufli  ^  ' 

^^-  manded    by    Captain    Tanner,    was 

armed    and    carried    fourteen    larg-e 

cannon. 

The  name  of  the  vessel,   "  Sarah 
©«tnKhim3iii)t(£iriii«r<98-  Maria"  (accordiug  to  Kelpius,  Sara 

Mariahojue  spei)^  was  taken  by  the  theosophical  enthusiasts 
who  composed  the  party  as  a  propitious  omen  for  the  journey. 
To  them  the  prosaic  ever\'day  name  of  the  ship  indicated 
"  Glaube^  Licbe^  Hoffniing^^  (Faith,  Hope  and  Love  or 
Charity).  According  to  their  mystical  interpretation  they 
argued, — 

1.  By  Faith  (Sarah)  we  got  for  our  journe}'  the  means  that 
were  not  in  sight. 

2.  By  Smyrnean  Love  ^^  (Maria — in  Hebrew  Mar,  bitter, 
whence  ]\Iaria)  which  is  not  obtained  without  toil  and  trou- 
ble, but  remains  faithful  unto  death.      [Rev.  ii,  10.] 

3.  And  at  last,  through  "Hope"  we  will  be  "Well" 
(safely)  landed.      "For  so  we  have  been  taught  by  God."  '^ 

Many  were  the  vicissitudes  experienced  by  these  religious 

'■'  An  allusion  to  the  epistle  to  the  church  of  Smyrna  :  Rev.  ii,  8-10. 
'^  "  Penna.  Mag.,"  vol.  xi,  p.  430. 


The  Perils  of  the  Journey.  '  1 7 

enthusiasts  during  this  eventful  voyage.  The  first  mishap 
came  at  the  very  outset  when  they  ran  into  a  furious  gale 
in  the  channel.  The  pilot,  taking  his  course  close  to  the 
English  coast  for  fear  of  Frenclr  privateers,  was  forced  to 
steer  between  cliffs  and  sand-banks.  As  the  storm  increased 
in  fury,  fearing  for  the  safety  of  the  vessel,  they  cast  their 
largest  anchor.  When  the  gale  was  abating,  the  ship  drifted 
against  the  anchor ;  it  broke,  knocking  a  hole  in  the  ship, 
which,  however,  caused  no  leak.  Towards  night  another 
storm  arose,  and  the  vessel  was  driven  b}^  wind  and  waves 
against  a  hard  sand-bank.*'*  There  was  a  crash  as  if  every- 
thing in  the  ship  was  turning  topsy-turv^ey,  and  as  two  more 
thumps  followed,  the  cry  was  raised,  "  Commend  your  souls 
to  the  Lord  ;  we  shall  go  down." 

The  passengers  and  crew  now  gave  themselves  up  as 
lost,  and  all  threw  themselves  on  their  knees  and  prayed 
for  about  an  hour,  expecting  the  vessel  to  go  to  pieces  every 
moment ;  when  suddenly  Johannes  Kelpius,  the  leader  of 
the  party,  upon  a  "third  inward  prompting,"  told  Captain 
Tanner  that  the  Lord  had  promised  deliverance,  that  more 
dangers  were  impending  but  Divine  Providence  would  grant 
a  safe  arrival."'  Falkner  in  his  account  writes,  "  Here 
Faith,  which  conquers  the  world  and  its  elements,  proved 
so  strong  and  heroic  in  some  of  the  passengers,  that  they 
forgot  the  danger,  went  to  the  captain  and  told  him  to  be 
of  good  cheer :  the  danger  was  not  meant  for  destruction, 
but  for  testing  the  belief  and  the  love  of  many.  This 
proved  to  be  true,  for  when  the  prayers  strove  most  earn- 
estly against  the  wind  and  waves,  the  most  powerful  waves 
came,  as  it  were,  to  the  support  of  the  prayers,  and  at  the 
behest  of  the  Creator,  whom  they  obeyed,  lifted  the  ship 

^^  Probably  one  of  the  shoals  known  as  the  Goodwin  Sands. 
'"  Kelpius'  MS.  Journal. 

3 


1 8  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

and  carried  it  over  the  bank  into  a  safe  depth,  contrar}-  to 
all  experiences  upon  sea  and  to  the  surprise  of  the  crew." 

After  a  general  thanksgiving  service  led  by  Magister 
Kelpius,  in  which  all  on  board  participated,  the  journey 
was  continued  through  the  channel.  Eventually  the 
Downs''  were  reached  (February  2ist)  without  further  mis- 
hap ;  here  a  stop  was  made  for  over  two  weeks ;  a  new 
anchor  was  obtained  in  place  of  the  one  lost,  and  the  ship 
thoroughly  overhauled,  while  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  a 
good  convo}',  which  was  to  have  been  sent  from  London.^'^  . 

Alluding  to  this  delay  at  the  Downs,  Kelpius  mentions 
in  his  journal — "On  the  27th  of  February  we  sent  letters 
to  London  and  to  Tob.  Ad.  Lauterbach  and  others  in  Ger- 
many, from  whom  we  had  received  most  cheering  answers. 

"  On  the  4th  of  March  I  received  a  letter  from  Samuel 
Waldenfield,  in  London,  at  the  Lamp  in  Fennhard'''  Street, 
with  a  draft  of  the  pious  virgin  Catherine  Beerens  van 
Bofing  on  Samuel  Standerwick  in  Deal.-"  This  gentleman 
received  me  and  my  friend  Selig^'  the  next  day  very  kindly. 
He  listened  with  the  greatest  pleasure  to  our  account  of  the 
Pietists  in  Genu  any,  and  invited  us  to  repeat  our  visit ;  we 
were  prevented  from  doing  so  by  our  sailing." 

This  time  while  lying  at  anchor  was  utilized  by  the  party 
in  edifying  discourses  and  biblical  study.  The  expected 
convoy  not  arriving,  sail  was  set  on  the  eighth  day  of  INIarch, 


'"  "  The  Downs,"  a  spacious  roadstead  in  the  English  Channel,  affording 
an  excellent  anchorage.  It  is  between  the  shore  and  the  Goodwin  Sands 
and  is  much  used  by  the  British  navy. 

•~  This  was  during  the  universal  war  then  waged  against  Louis  XIV.  of 
France,  1689-1697.  In  American  history  it  is  known  as  "  King  William's 
War." 

'•'  Query  :  Fenchurch  Street  ? 

-"  Deal,  a  seaport  and  market  town  in  Kent,  England.     It  has  no  harbor. 

'-'  Johann  Selig,  one  of  the  members  of  the  party. 


TJie  Final  Start.  19 

in  company  with  eighteen  other  vessels,  three  of  which  were 
men-of-war. 

Under  date  of  the  next  day  (March  9th)  the  following 
memorandum  in  English  is  inserted  in  Kelpins'  Latin  diary 
in  a  different  handwriting  : 

"  Instructions  for  the  better  keeping  company  with  their 
Maj's  ship  Sandador  Prize  under  my  command. 

"  If  I  weigh  in  the  day  I  will  haule  home  my  foretopsail 
sheets  and  fire  a  gunn.  If  in  the  night,  I  will  putt  a  light 
in  the  main  top  mast  shrouds  and  fire  a  gun,  which  light 
you  are  to  answer.  If  I  weigh  in  a  fog  I  will  fire  3  gunns 
distantly  one  after  another.  If  I  anchor  in  the  night  or  in 
a  fogg,  I  will  fire  2  guns  a  small  distance  of  time  one  from 
the  other  and  putt  abroad  a  light  more  than  my  constant 
lights,  which  light  you  are  to  answer. 

"  If  I  lie  by  or  try  in  the  night,  I  will  fire  two  guns  and 
keep  a  light  abroad  more  than  my  constant  light  in  the 
Main  shrouds  and  if  through  extreamity  of  weather  we  are 
forced  to  lye  a  Holl  or  under  a  Mizen,  I  will  fire  three  guns 
and  put  abroad  two  lights  of  equal  height  more  than  my 
constant  light ;  and  if  I  make  sail  in  the  night  after  blow- 
ing weather  or  after  lying  by  or  for  any  other  reason  I  will 
make  the  same  sing  [sign  ?]  as  for  weighing  in  the  night, 
which  light  you  are  to  answer. 

"  In  case  of  separation  if  we  meet  by  day  the  weathermost 
ship  shall  lower  his  Fore  top  sail  and  then  the  leward  shall 
answer  by  lowering  their  main  top  sail. 

"  He  that  apprehends  any  danger  in  the  night  shall  fire 
guns  and  put  abroad  three  lights  of  equal  hight  and  bear 
away  or  tack  from  it ;  but  if  it  should  happen  to  be  strange 
ships,  then  make  false  fires  and  endeavor  to  speak  with  \\\\  ; 
and  to  better  to  know  each  other  in  the  night,  he  that  hails 
shall  ask  what  ship  is  that  and  he  that  is  hailet  shall  ^w- 
s^^x  Adventure^  then  he  that  hailet  first  shall  reply  Rupert. 


20  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Thk  "SARA-MARIA,"  Captain  Tanner,  Master. 
(From  an  old  Dutch  print.) 


Listruciions  for  Sailing.  2 1 

"  If  I  have  a  desire  to  speak  with  you  I  will  hoist  a  Jack- 
Flag  in  my  iiiizen-top  mast  shrouds  and  make  a  weft  with 
my  ensign. 

"  If  yon  have  a  desire  to  speak  with  my  ;  yon  shall  hoist 
your  ensign  in  your  Main-Top-Mast  Shrouds. 

"  If  in  the  night  you  chance  to  spring  a  leak  keep  firing 
of  Guns  and  showing  of  lights." 

After  an  uneventful  sail  of  four  days  anchor  was  dropped 
in  the  harbor  of  Plymouth  on  March  12th,  a  good  place 
for  anchorage  being  secured  under  the  guns  of  the  fort. 
In  this  harbor  the  vessel  remained  for  five  weeks  waiting 

o 

for  the  convoy  from  London, 

It  was  while  here  in  port  that  letters  were  received  from 
Lieut.  Schmaltz^'  and  others  in  Erfurth,  and  friends  in 
Cleves,  Konberg^^  and  elsewhere  in  Germany,  questioning 


'^■'  Lient.  Schmaltz  was  a  leading  spirit  of  the  Collegia  Pielatis  in  Erfurth. 
He  died  in  1702.  An  entr^^  in  the  town  chronicle  states  "  Lieut.  Schmaltz 
could  not  be  induced  during  his  last  illness  to  make  any  confession  as  to 
the  person  of  Christ  or  the  justification  of  a  sinner  before  God  ;  he  also 
refused  to  receive  the  sacrament." 

When  his  friends  attempted  to  bury  his  body  at  night  by  torchlight, 
they  were  set  upon  by  the  authorities,  who  drove  back  the  mourners,  the 
parish  beadles  ( Stadt-Knechte )  extinguished  the  torches,  and  took  the 
body  and  buried  it  in  an  unconsecrated  corner  of  the  Mercatoruui  ceme- 
tery.— "  Historia  Civitatis  Erffurtensis,"  pp.  1069. 

■■'■'  This  is  evidently  a  typographical  error  in  the  original,  no  such  place 
as  Konberg  is  to  be  found  on  any  atlas  of  that  period.  Konigsberg  is  no 
doubt  intended,  the  seat  of  the  celebrated  Albertine  University  (Collegium 
Albertinum)  founded  in  1544  by  the  Margrave  Albert,  and  which  at  that 
period  numbered  2000  students  on  its  roster.  In  later  years  it  became 
celebrated  as  the  place  where  the  philosophy  of  Kant  was  first  propounded. 


22  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

the  expediency  of  the  party  emigrating  to  the  unknown 
shores  of  America,  and  urging  the  enthusiasts  to  return  to 
home  and  friends,  notwithstanding  the  edicts  and  mani- 
festoes which  were  being  issued  against  all  Pietists  and 
religious  enthusiasts.  Kelpius  in  reply  addressed  commu- 
nications to  Lauterbach,  De  Watteville,  Meerkamp  and 
others,  declining  their  advice,  and  adhering  to  his  determi- 
nation of  going  to  Pennsylvania. 

The  expected  convoy  not  arriving,  a  final  start  was  made 
on  the  1 8th  of  April  under  the  protection  of  several  foreign 
men-of-war,  Danish,  Spanish  and  Swedish"*  then  in  the 
harbor,  and  which  were  to  sail  from  Plymouth  to  Cadiz. 
For  this  purpose  an  agreement  was  entered  into  with  the 
Spanish  Admiral,  Nicholas  De  Rudder,  for  a  certain  sum 
of  money  to  convoy  the  vessel  two  hundred  Dutch  miles 
into  the  ocean  ;  and  on  the  25th  of  April  the  actual  voyage 
to  the  new  world  commenced,  in  company  with  another 
English  vessel,  the  "  Providence,"  carrying  18  guns. 

After  parting  w4th  the  anned  escort  the  two  vessels  fol- 
lowed a  southwestern  course,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  month 
were  favored  with  good  weather  and  favorable  breezes. 

Magister  Kelpius,  in  writing  about  their  life  on  shipboard, 
states  :  "  Our  exercises  on  board  the  ship  consisted  in  dis- 
courses of  various  kinds  and  interpretations  of  the  Scrip- 
ture, in  which  those  who  felt  inclined  took  part.  We  had 
also  prayer  meetings  and  sang  hymns  of  praise  and  joy, 
several  of  us  accompanying  on  instruments  that  we  had 
brought  from  London." 

On  the  loth  of  May  the  two  vessels  fell  in  with  three 
French  vessels,  one  a  frigate  of  24  guns ;  a  lively  action 
took  place,  lasting  four  hours,  and  resulted  in  the  repulse 

'•'*  In  this  war,  under  the  league  of  Augsburg,  almost  the  whole  of 
Europe  was  arrayed  against  France. 


A  Fig]it  at  Sea.  23 

of  the  French  frigate  and  the  captnre  of  a  prize  by  the 
consort  "  Providence."  Falkner  has  left  us  the  following 
interesting  details  of  this  incident,  viz.  : 

"  On  the  loth  of  May  our  faith  was  again  put  on  trial. 
We  were  only  two  ships  and  saw  in  the  morning,  when  the 
weather  was  fair  and  quiet,  three  vessels  in  the  distance. 
(Mark,  when  at  sea  a  foreign  ship  comes  in  sight,  immedi- 
ately alarm  is  given  and  everything  put  in  readiness  for  an 
encounter. )  Many  of  us  became  depressed  in  mind  from  a 
presentiment  that  they  were  hostile  French  ships.  They 
steered  directly  towards  us,  but  on  account  of  the  calm 
could  make  no  headway  for  5  or  6  hours.  About  noon  we 
could  see  by  the  telescope  that  they  carried  white  flags  with 
lilies,  enough  to  show,  that  this  day  things  would  take  a 
French,  not  a  Christian  turn.  As  soon  as  this  was  ascer- 
tained, every  thing  was  made  ready  for  battle.  The  pas- 
sengers were  given  the  choice  to  fight  or  not.  We,  of 
course,  abstained  of  carnal  weapons  and  taking  the  shield 
of  faith  sat  down  between  decks  behind  boxes  and  cases, 
pra}'ed  and  invoked  the  Lord,  every  one  for  himself,  as  on 
account  of  the  great  noise  and  the  report  of  cannons  nothing- 
could  have  been  heard.  We  had  hardly  got  down,  when  a 
French  frigate  with  24  cannon  and  a  merchant  ship  with  6 
cannon  made  straight  for  our  ship  and  opened  fire  so  vigor- 
ously, that  it  was  really  time  to  pray  for  averting  great 
calamity.  The  merciful  Father  made  the  enemies'  balls  drop 
into  the  water  before  our  ship,  only  one  cannon  ball  struck 
the  ship  over  our  heads  without  doing  harm  to  anybody, 
though  the  ship  got  a  hole  two  ells  above  the  water  line. 
In  the  mean  time  our  cannon  and  ball  were  not  idle,  but 
did  great  damage  to  the  enemies'  ships,  which  we  inferred 
from  their  retreat.  But  half  an  hour  afterwards  they  re- 
sumed the  attack.     Then  a  12  pound  ball  was  sent  right 


24  The  Pietists  of  Pi^ovincial  Pennsylvania. 

through  the  captain's  room,  but  inflicted  no  damage ;  the 
captain's  boy  who  carried  a  bottle  in  his  hand  came  very 
near  being  hit ;  the  ball  took  the  bottle  so  neatly  out  of  his 
hand  that  he  hardly  knew  the  ball  had  done  it.  An  hour 
later  the  frigate  fell  back  a  little  and  with  the  third  vessel, 
which  carried  12  guns  attacked  our  fellow  ship,  which, 
however,  made  a  good  defense.  Here  it  happened  that  a 
Frenchman  on  the  merchant  vessel  while  aiming  with  his 
rifle  at  our  captain,  while  on  the  point  of  shooting,  was  rent 
to  pieces  by  a  cannon  ball,  before  he  could  pull  the  trigger. 
Whether  the  shot  came  from  our  companion  ship  or  ours 
nobody  knows.  The  enemy  stopped  firing,  expecting  us  to 
capitulate  or  else,  designing  to  turn  to  our  port,  but  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  make  an  end  of  the  racket  that  day 
and  to  drive  the  enemy  to  flight  by  means  no  one  would 
have  thought  of.  For  the  Lord  put  it  into  the  heart  of  our 
captain  to  call  all  males  on  deck,  and  to  make  them  join  his 
crew  in  raising  a  pretended  shout  of  joy.  When  this  was 
done,  and  the  enemy  observed  on  our  ship,  contrary  to  ex- 
pectation, so  many  heads,  whom,  they  thought,  had  been 
fighting  and  would  continue  to  fight,  it  was  as  if  their  can- 
nons had  at  once  become  dumb  and  their  courage  sunk  into 
the  sea  like  a  millstone.  The  Lord  struck  them  with  fear, 
so  they  suddenly  turned  their  ships  about  and  fled  away 
from  us."'  The  large  frigate  gave  the  signal  of  flight ;  but 
the  others  could  not  follow  so  swiftly  and  we  might  easily 
have  captured  both  of  them.  Our  captain,  however,  was 
satisfied  when  the  merchant  ships  hoisting  a  white  flag  sur- 
rendered.    Then  we  also  stopped  firing.     The  two  other 

^^  It  was  at  this  point  that  the  "Providence,"  the  companion  of  the 
"  Sarah  Maria,"  came  up  and  joined  in  the  pursuit.  Being  the  faster  of 
the  two,  she  chased  and  engaged  the  hostile  frigate.  The  battle  lasted 
four  hours,  but  only  three  balls  of  the  enemy  struck,  doing  little  damage 
to  the  ship  and  none  to  the  men.     ( Kelpius'  MS.  Diary. ) 


The  Capes  of  Virginia. 


25 


ships  got  oif ;  the  third  fell  into  our  hands.  There  were  on 
board  twenty  four  Frenchmen,  among  them  one  of  the  re- 
fonned  faith,  who  had  been  attending  mass  under  comj^ul- 
sion.  Seven  were  taken  aboard  our  ship,  including  this 
Huguenot,  who  liked  our  company  and  was  pleased  that  we 
could  speak  his  language  and  assuage  in  some  measure  his 
bruised  conscience.'**  The  others  were  taken  on  board  by 
our  fellows.  The  ship  had  a  cargo  of  sugar  and  came 
from  Martinique  under  the  17th  degree  of  Latitude.     At 

first  the  prisoners 
raised  a  great  wail 
and  lamentation  ; 
they  had  expected 
to  land  in  France 
as  freemen  and  had 
now  to  return  to 
America  in  captiv- 
ity.   But  thus  they 

Naval  Trophirs.  liad  UlCaut  tO  SCrvC 

us.  The  Lord  fulfilled  on  them  what  is  written  Revel,  ch. 
13,  "He  that  leadeth  into  captivity  shall  go  into  captivity."'^ 
After  this  episode  nothing  further  of  importance  occurred, 
except  several  false  alarms  by  hostile  ships,  until  June  12th, 
when,  at  10  o'clock  a.  m.,  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  was  ob- 
served, the  craft  being  in  lat.  36°  45'.  On  the  evening  of 
the  same  day  (June  12th)  the  party  had  their  first  glimpse 
of  the  western  world,  the  capes  of  Virginia  were  sighted, 
and  two  days  later  (June  14th)  the  "Sarah  Maria"  entered 
Chesapeake  Bay.      It  took  the  travelers  five  days  to  sail 


■"'  Kelpius  makes  no  mention  of  this  incident. 

''■'  The  distribution  of  the  cargo,  consisting  of  sugar  and  cider,  gave  rise 
to  dissatisfaction,  which  the  captain  finally  quelled  by  allowing  to  all  an 
equal  share  in  the  "  unjust  Mammon."     (Kelpius'  MS.  Diary. ) 

4 


26 


The  Pietists  of  Pi-ovincial  Pennsylvania. 


\   ^\C^ 


>,VM    V  ^-K  ■^  -rtt   .  R? 


Ancient  Map  Showing  Road  Between  Chesapeake  Bay  and  Delaware  Rjver. 


TJic  End  of  tJic   I  'oyage. 


27 


up  the  Bay  of  Virginia,  durino:  which  time  occurred  one 
of  the  strangest  and  most  unaccountable  episodes  of  the 
voyage.  This  was  a  disagreement  between  some  of  the 
party,  in  which  a  woman,  who  was  one  of  the  ship's  com- 
pau}-,  was  evidently  the  leading  cause,  or  at  least  a  promi- 
nent character.  All  that  is  definitely  known  about  the 
aifair  is  the  entry  in  the  Kelpius  diary-'' — June  17th,  under 
the  sign  of  the  sun — "  that  Falkner  was  excomnuinicated 
by  Koster,  as  was  also  Anna  Maria  Schuchart." "" 

That  this  estrangement  between  the  leaders  of  the  party 
was  but  temporary  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  subsequent 
mention  of  the  episode  appears 
in  either  the  Kelpius  or  Falkner 
papers. 

Five  days  after  the  vessel  had 
entered  the  capes  of  Virginia 
the  anchor  was  dropped,  and 
the  landing  made  at  the  Bohe- 
mia Landing,  as  before  stated. 
Daniel  Falkner,  in  his  account, 
at  this  point  notes  :  "  We  hope, 
in  this  land  also.  His  mercy  will 
not  be  wasted  on  us,  especially 
as  we  are  assured  that  we  have  come  hither  bv  His  will.'' 


28  Notabilis  ilia  Falkneri  a  Coestere  excommunicatio,  ut  &  Aiinge  Mariae 
Schuchartinse  (?)  Prophetissee  Erphortianae  ! 

2"  A  further  account  of  this  person  will  be  found  under  the  chapter 
devoted  to  Koster. 


THE    ARRIVAL    IN    PENNSYLVANIA. 


t 


HE  sun  was  past  the  me- 
ridian on  Saturday,  June 
23,  1694,  when  a  sloop, 
whose  deck  was  crowded  with 
passengers,  made  fast  to  the  pub- 
lic wharf  of  Philadelphia.  This 
landing  was  built  out  from  the 
sandy  beach  at  the  northwestern 
shore  of  the  point  where  Dock 
Creek  emptied  its  waters  into 
the  Delaware ;  this  beach  was  almost  immediately  in  front 
of  the  Blue  Anchor  Tavern,^"  and  was  the  same  point  where 
the  Proprietor  Wil- 
liam Pennhad  landed 
just  twelve  years  be- 
fore. 

The  passengers,  as 
they  left  the  vessel  and  gathered  upon  the  sloping  beach,  at 
first  sight  looked  like  a  motlev  crowd  ;  thev  numbered  fortv 


■•'■  The  Blue  Anchor.  This  ancient  hostelrie  stood  at  what  is  now  the 
northwest  corner  of  Front  and  Dock  Streets  ;  it  was  taken  down  in  1810. 
For  an  extended  notice  of  this  landing  place  see  "  Penna.  Magazine," 
vol.  X,  p.  61. 


A  Philadelphia  Landmark. 


29 


30  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

men  of  various  ages,  all  with  intelligent  features,  and  clad 
in  strange  attire.  Some  were  in  a  coarse  Pilgrim  garb, 
others  in  the  peculiar  dress  of  the  Teutonic  university 
student,  while  others  again  wore  the  distinctive  costume  of 
the  German  interior  provinces.  It  was  the  same  party  of 
religious  enthusiasts  who  had  crossed  the  ocean  in  the  good 
ship  "  Sarah  Maria." 

After  a  short  religious  ser\'ice  the  party,  walking  silently 
two  by  two,  took  a  survey  of  Philadelphia,  then  nothing 
more  than  a  straggling  village  of  perhaps  five  hundred 
houses,^^  as  yet  undivided  into  wards  or  divisions.  Great  was 
their  surprise  when  they  learned  that,  notwithstanding  the 
promises  of  religious  liberty  that  were  granted  b\'  the  char- 
ter of  Penn,  not  a  single  house  of  worship  other  than  those 
of  the  Quakers  existed  within  the  bounds  of  the  Province  f- 


^^  In  1700  there  were  about  seven  hundred  houses;  see  "  ScharfF  & 
Westcott,"  page  145. 

•"  Christ  Church  was  not  built  until  1695.  The  first  Baptist  congrega- 
tion on  the  Pennepack  had  no  house  of  worship  until  the  year  1 707  ( His- 
torical sketch  by  H.  G.Jones,  p.  11).  The  Presbyterians  erected  their 
first  church  in  1704.  The  Swedish  Blockhouse  at  Wicacoa,  although  still 
standing,  was  then  ( 1694)  in  a  very  ruinous  condition,  so  much  so  that 
no  services  could  be  held  in  the  building.  The  old  Dutch  pastor,  Jacobus 
Fabricius,  so  far  back  as  1685  petitioned  the  Provincial  Council  for  per- 
mission to  keep  an  ordinar}^  or  tavern  [for  the  support  of  himself  and 
family].  This  was  refused  by  Council  in  the  curt  sentence  that  "they 
don't  think  fitt  to  grant  ye  Petitioners  request."  [The  action  of  Council 
was  no  doubt  influenced  by  the  known  intemperate  habits  and  life  of  that 
pioneer  clergyman.  "  See  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,"  iii,  243  ;  "  Hallische  Nach- 
richten,"  new  ed.,  pp.  619-20]. 

In  August,  1693,  Magister  Jacobus  Fabricius  again  petitioned  William 
Markham,  Lieutenant-Governor  under  Gov.  Fletcher,  and  the  Provincial 
Council.  This  time  the  petition  was  one  for  relief,  and  set  forth  that  he 
had  now  became  totally  blind,  and  was  reduced  to  the  direst  poverty,  and 
that  he  had  not  whereupon  to  live. 

Council  ' '  Ordered  that  the  church  wardens  of  their  church  have  notice 
to  appear  att  Council  the  ffifteenth  instant,  to  make  ansr  to  the  said  Com- 
plaint."     This  order  was  aimed  against  the  Christina  (Wilmington)  con- 


The  Eiitrajicc  into  PJiiladelphia. 


31 


nor  could  the  embryo  city  as  yet  boast  of  town-hall,  court- 
house or  prison.'^'* 

Considerable  commotion  was  caused  at  first  among  the 
staid  inhabitants  of  the  Quaker  City  by  the  advent  of  this 
party  of  strangely  robed  foreigners  walking  in  a  body 
through  the  streets.  Naturally  the  question  was  asked, 
"  Who  were  these  peculiar  people  in  outlandish  attire  and 
of  foreign  tongue?" 

The  information  vouchsafed  was  merely  that  they  were 
German  students  who  had  became  convinced  of  the  Quaker 
doctrine,  and  were  going  to  settle  upon  a  tract  some  distance 
out  of  the  city  near  the  German  township — a  piece  of  news 
which  allayed  the  fears  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  first  act  of  the  leaders  of  this  band  of  emigrants 
upon  their 
entrance  into 

the  city  was       ^^J^*S  />J4^ 

to  call  upon  —^'^^    ^  ^ 

B  enj  amin 

Fletcher,  Captain-General  of  Pennsylvania,  and  William 
Markham,  his  Deputy  Governor,  for  the 
purpose,  as  an  old  manuscript  states,  "  Of 
taking  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  and  ex- 
plaining their  reason  for  coming  to  the 
Colony;"'*^  Pennsylvania  then  being  a 
province  under  the  Crown  of  England, 
and  out  of  the  control  of  William  Penn.'^^ 

Seal  of  Gov.  Fletcher. 


gregation  of  the  lower  counties.  No  notice  whatever  seems  to  have 
been  taken  of  this  action  of  Council.  The  death  of  the  old  clergyman 
is  recorded  in  the  same  year. — "  Records  of  Old  Swedes'  Church,"  Wil- 
mington, p.  7. 

The  present  church  at  Wicacoa,  "  Gloria  Dei"  or  "  Old  Swedes',"  was 
not  built  until  the  year  1700.' 

'■■'  When  the  General  Assembly,  consisting  of  fifty-four  members,  first 
met  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  they  hired  a  room  and  paid  the  expense. 
The  country  members  took  lodgings  out  of  the  city  and  walked  in  to 


32  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pe7insylvania. 

Unfortunately,  we   have  no  positive  record  where  this 
unique   cere- 
mony     took 
place.     The     W  (J/ ^ (jcUU^h^^i^^yry^ 

pro  babilities 

are  that  it  was  either  at  the  "  great  house"  built  by  Robert 
Whitpain  on  the  lower  side  of  Front  Street  between  Walnut 
and  Spruce,  and  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  official  resi- 
dence of  Governor  Fletcher  when  in  Philadelphia,  or  at  the 
Penn  Cottage,  which  formerly  stood  on  Laetitia  Court  near 
Second  and  Market  Streets,  the  residence  of  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Markham,  It  was  in  the  latter  house,^''  then  sur- 
rounded by  ample  grounds,  that   the   Provincial   Council 


attend  the  meetings,  frequently  bringing  their  dinners  with  them. — 
"  Hazard's  Register,"  vol.  v,  113. 

■^^  This  was  then  a  custom  of  the  country.  See  ' '  Record  of  Rev.  Ericus 
Bjork  ;"  "Records  of  Holy  Trinity  (old  Swedes')  Church,"  Wilmington, 
Del.,  pp.  II. 

•*^  In  October,  1692,  William  and  Mary,  King  and  Queen  of  England, 
appointed  Benjamin  Fletcher,  Governor  of  New  York,  to  be  also  Governor 
of  Penns3-lvania  and  the  lower  counties  on  the  Delaware.  Thus  Penn 
lost  the  government  and  jurisdiction  over  these  provinces,  without,  how- 
ever, being  deprived  of  his  i:ight  as  proprietary.  In  making  this  appoint- 
ment he  was  as  little  thought  of  as  the  charter  that  had  been  granted  to 
him  ;  in  order,  however,  to  strengthen  the  royal  authority,  the  new  gov- 
ernor was  invested  with  the  power  of  negativing  all  laws,  and  none  was 
to  be  in  force,  unless  approved  by  the  King.  In  April,  1693,  Fletcher 
made  his  solemn  entry  into  Philadelphia,  where  Governor  Lloyd  and  his 
Council  gave  up  the  government  to  him  without  being  thereunto  author- 
ized either  by  the  crown  or  the  proprietary. — Eheling. 

The  government  of  Pennsylvania  remained  under  the  Crown  of  Eng- 
land from  April  26,  1692,  to  March,  1695. 

■■'*'  This  building  was  erected  by  Governor  William  Markham  prior  to 
the  arrival  of  William  Penn.  The  bricks  and  finer  parts  of  the  frame- 
work were  brought  from  England,  together  with  Penn's  workmen  ( "  ser- 
vants" )  to  set  them  up.  A  few  years  ago  this  old  landmark  was  taken 
down  and  re-erected  in  Fairmount  Park.  The  illustration  here  given 
represents  it  as  it  appeared  about  thirty  years  prior  to  its  removal. 


TJic  Sojourn   in  PJiiladcIpJiia. 


33 


=^-^f^'^'H 


34  T^^ic  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

held  its  deliberations  at  that  time  and  for  man)-  }ears  after- 
wards, while  the  Assembly  for  some  )'ears  met  in  "  the 
large  room"  of  the  Whitpain  house. 

In  former  years  there  was  a  curious  tradition  current  among 
the  older  German  residents  in  connection  with  the  short 
sojourn  of  this  party  within  the  city.  After  the  formality 
of  reporting  to  the  representative  of  the  Crown  had  been 
complied  with,  arrangements  were  made  for  shelter  and 
sustenance  as  best  they  could  be  for  so  large  a  part}-,  and  it 
was  well  after  nightfall  before  this  was  completed. 

When  night  had  fairh'  set  in  a  number  of  the  strangers, 
tired  and  wear\'  as  the}'  w'ere,  wended  their  way  towards 
one  of  the  highlands  that  loomed  up  just  northwest  of  the 
old  city  proper,  and  which  are  still  known  as  "  Bush-hill" 
and  "  Fairmount."  Arriving  at  a  suitable  point,  dry 
leaves  and  brush-wood  were  hastily  gathered,  a  tinder-box 
was  produced,  and  fire  struck  with  flint  and  steel.  After 
the  leaves  and  fagots  were  ignited,  pine  boughs  were  broken 
off  and  heaped  upon  the  fire  luitil  a  bright  flame  extended 
skyward. 

Then  the  mystic  rites  incident  to  St.  John's  eve  were 
performed,  after  which  the  burning  brands  were  scattered 
down  the  sloping  hillsides  with  considerable  ceremony. 
The  party  then  returned  to  the  sleeping  city,  after  having 
lit  for  the  first  time  in  America,  so  far  as  is  known,  the 
"  Sanct  Johannis"  or  "  Sonnenwend-feuer,"  a  mystic  cere- 
monial and  religious  rite  which  dates  far  back  into  the 
most  remote  period  of  time  when  the  early  Ar}ans  were 
yet  a  small  colony  in  northern  Europe.^" 


•'"  The  rite  of  the  "  Sonnenwend-feuer,"  held  on  the  eves  of  June  24th 
and  December  25th,  to  celebrate  the  recurrence  of  the  summer  and  winter 
solstices,  dates  back  to  the  dark  days  of  heathen  mythology.  The  rite  on 
the  eve  of  the  summer  solstice  consisted  in  building  a  fire  on  an  eminence  ; 


TJie  Arrival  at  Gcrmantouni.  35 

The  party  did  not  tarry  long  in  the  city  ;  the  early  Sab- 
bath morn,  even  before  the  snn  rose  in  the  east,  found  them 
on  their  way  to  ''Gennanopel,"  as  Gennantown  was  then 
called.  Their  path  led  up  Second  Street,  then  a  mere 
country  lane,  due  north  to  Fairhill ;  thence  northwest  to 
the  German  settlement  under  Pastorius,  where  the  "  town" 
consisted  of  a  few  houses  on  a  single  street. 

It  took  the  party  almost  four  hours  to  reach  their  goal, 
and  the  sun  was  well  up  on  the  horizon  on  that  double 
holiday — "St.  Johannis  Tag,"  June  24th,  (St.  John  the 
Baptist's  Day)  and  Sunday — when  the  company  filed  into 
the  village  of  their  countrymen  and  inquired  for  the  house 
of  one  Jacob  Isaac  Van  Bebber,'^'^  a  native  of  Crefeld  on 
the  Rhine,  near  the  borders  of  Holland. 

Here  the  weary  travelers  found  a  haven  of  rest.  Their 
arrival  had  been  long  looked  for  by  their  host,  and  he 
forthwith  secured  for  them  shelter  and  sustenance. 

Much  anxiety  had  been  felt  by  Van  Bebber  and  his 
friends  in  Gennantown  on  account  of  the  non-arrival  of 


when  brightly  blazing,  flowers,  pine  boughs  and  bones  were  thrown  into  the 
fire,  and  the  esoteric  rites  and  incantations  were  performed  :  these  were  for 
the  purpose  of  allaying  any  possible  pestilence  or  disease.  The  embers 
were  then  rolled  down  the  hillside,  indicative  of  the  waning  of  the  sun's 
power.  The  rites  on  the  eve  of  the  winter  solstice  consisted  mainly  in 
lighting  resinous  pine  boughs  giving  an  upw-ard  flame,  denoting  the  grow- 
ing power  of  the  sun.  The  custom  of  the  present  day  of  lighted  tapers 
on  the  Christmas  tree  is  a  relic  of  this  ancient  rite.  The  object  of  this 
ceremonial  was  believed  to  be  a  sure  safeguard  against  many  evils.  The 
practice  still  survives  in  some  parts  of  Germany  and  maj-  occasionall}' 
be  witnessed  in  Pennsylvania. 

■'***  Daniel  Falkner,  in  his  "  Sendschreiben,"  notes  :  "  We  have  here  in 
Germantown  a  man  by  the  name  of  Jacob  Isaac,  a  native  of  Crefeld  on  the 
Rhine,  near  Holland.  He  was  formerly  a  Mennonite,  but  he  desires  to 
depart  with  his  whole  house  to  acknowledge  and  abandon  the  follies, 
scandals,  shortcomings  and  stains  of  his  former  religion." — "  Penna. 
Mag.,"  vol.  xi,  p.  440. 


36  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Peniisylvania. 

this  party.  The  long  and  uncertain  ways  of  communica- 
tion at  that  early  day  precluded  any  news  reaching  them 
as  to  the  causes  "of  the  delay  before  or  after  their  embarka- 
tion. On  account  of  the  prevailing  war  with  France, 
great  fears  were  entertained  that  the  party  might  have 
been  captured  and  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  or 
succumbed  to  the  elements.  But  now  all  uncertainty  was 
removed.  The  joyful  feeling,  however,  was  not  confined 
to  the  residents  of  Germantown.  Doubly  thankful  were 
these  wear}'  pilgrims  that  they  had  arrived  safely  at  the 
end  of  their  long  and  eventful  journey  on  the  natal  day^**^ 
of  the  Saint  whose  example  they  strove  to  follow  by  words 
and  action. 


'^''  In  the  whole  calendar  there  are  biit  two  natal  days,  viz.,  St.  John 
the  Baptist's  Day,  June  24th,  and  Christmas  Day,  December  25th.  All 
other  saints'  days  are  memorial  days,  which  mark  the  day  of  their  supposed 
martyrdom  or  death. 


Symbol  from  Theosophical  MS. 


h  ■??!*: 


THE   CHAPTER    OF    PERFECTION. 


t 


'his  party  of  emigrants — so 
different  from  the  general 
mass  of  settlers  who  were 
then  flocking  from  Gennany  to 
the  Province  of  Pennsylvania — 
were  not  Quakers  or  Friends, 
although  they  are  so  considered 
in  some  of  the  old  records ;  but 
Symbol  of  the  essenes.*"  they  wcrc  a  compauy  of  Theoso- 
phical  Enthusiasts — call  them  Pietists,  Mystics,  Chiliasts," 
Rosicrucians,  Illuminati,  Cathari,^"  Puritans,*^  or  what  you 


PRIMA  MATERIA,  a  Theosophical  symbol  from  Rosicrucian  MS. ,  on 
folio  12,  descriptive  of  "  Eternity  and  the  uncreated  inscrutable"  Primum 
M0BII.E  (Primordial  Motion,  the  first  life-impulse). 

A  Theosophical  authority  defines  Materia  Prima  (primordial  matter) 
A'  IVasa,  as  a  universal  and  invisible  principle,  the  basic  substance  of 
which  all  things  are  formed.  By  reducing  a  thing  into  its  prima  materia 
and  clothing  it  with  new  attributes,  it  may  be  transformed  into  another 
thing  by  him  who  possesses  spiritual  power  and  knowledge.  There  are 
several  states  of  matter,  from  primordial  down  to  gross  visible  matter ; 
some  of  the  early  philosophers  therefore  distinguished  between  materia 
proxima,  materia  remota  and  materia  ultima. — Dr.  Franz  Hartmann  in 
"Cosmology,"  Boston,  1888. 


38  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

may — who  in  Europe  had  formed  what  was  known  accord- 
ing to  their  mystical  dogmas  as  a  "  Chapter  of  Perfection," 
and  then  came  to  the  western  world  to  put  into  execution 
the  long-cherished  plan  of  founding  a  true  Th^osophical 
(Rosicrucian)  community  ;  going  out  into  the  wilderness  or 
desert,  after  the  manner  of  the  Essenes  ^*  of  old,  as  also  did 


^^  The  serpent  was  not  at  first  a  personification  of  evil,  but  of  wisdom 
and  salvation,  and  was  used  as  a  symbol  of  immortal  life.  The  symbol 
here  reproduced  is  frequently  met  with  in  ancient  sculptures,  and  sym- 
bolizes eternity,  or  a  world  without  end. 

^'  Croese's  "  Quakeriana,"  p.  551. — (Latin  Edition.) 

^''-  Cathari, — a  mystical  sect  which  dates  back  to  the  tenth  or  eleventh 
century  ;  the  name  is  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  signifies  "the  pure." 
It  is  from  this  name  whence  came  Ketzer,  the  German  word  for  heretic. 
The  Cathari  regarded  the  exaltation  of  the  soul  over  the  moral  nature,  so 
as  to  become  wholly  absorbed  in  mystical  contemplation,  as  the  highest 
stage  in  the  religious  life  of  man. 

Deep  d'evotion  of  the  heart  in  prayer  and  a  life  of  purity  connected 
with  abstinence  from  carnal  pleasure  and  from  the  use  of  stimulating  food, 
were  their  exercises  of  piety. 

It  is  claimed  by  some  writers  that  the  Waldenses  were  an  outcome  of  the 
original  Cathari. 

*^  Puritans  is  here  but  another  term  for  Cathari. 

^*  The  Essenes, — a  mystical  Jewish  sect,  not  mentioned  in  the  Jewish 
or  Christian  scriptures,  and  concerning  whom  the  only  original  sources 
of  information  are  passages  in  the  works  of  Josephus,  who  lived  about  the 
time  when  the  Essenes  had  reached  their  highest  point  of  development. 
The  notices  of  them  ascribed  to  Philo  are  of  doubtful  authenticity.  Even 
Hippolytus  appears  to  have  drawn  his  account  of  them  from  Josephus. 
They  lived  an  austere  life  in  the  solitudes  on  the  western  side  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  where  they  held  their  property  in  common,  wore  a  white  robe,  prayed 
and  meditated  continually,  made  frequent  ablutions,  for  the  most  part 
renounced  marriage,  and  often  practised  medicine.  According  to  Beller- 
mann  (Berlin,  1821)  the  creed  or  chief  doctrine  of  the  Essenes  was  con- 
tained in  the  word  "  Love"  (charity).  This  was  divided  into  the  "  Love 
of  God,"  the  "Love  of  Virtue"  and  the  "Love  of  their  Fellow-man." 
Especial  stress  was  laid  upon  obedience  to  the  law  or  government  {obrig- 
keit),  as  all  law  emanated  from  God.  Prayer,  abstinence  and  labor  were 
the  chief  features  of  their  life.  St.  John  the  Baptist  is  said  to  have  been 
an  active  member  of  this  Jewish  sect  of  Mystical  Theosophists. 


The   Theory  of  Mystic  Nimibers.  39 

•Moses,  Elijah  and  other  biblical  characters,  to  perfect  them- 
selves in  holiness,  thus  preparing  themselves  for  the  millen- 
inm  which  they  believed  to  be  approaching  ;  or  in  case  that 
their  calculations  should  have  misled  them  as  to  the  ending 
of  all  things  terrestial,  the  community  would  prove  a 
nucleus  from  which  the  individual  members  would  be 
qualified  to  come  forth  among  men  again  as  holy  men,  to 
convert  whole  cities  and  to  work  signs  and  miracles. 

This  party  of  religious  enthusiasts,  who  were  led  by  the 
noblest  impulses,  and  whose  hearts  were  filled  with  the  sole 
desire  to  live  a  godly  life  and  serve  their  fellow  countrymen, 
as  well  as  the  aborigines,  was  under  the  leadership  of  Mag- 
ister  Johannes  Kelpius,  with  Heinrich  Bernhard  Koster  as 
deputy  magister,  and  Johann  Seelig,  Daniel  Falkner,  Daniel'f 
Liitke  and  Ludwig  Biedermann  as  wardens  or  assistants, 
together  with  thirty-four  brethren,  all  men  of  learning, 
making  a  total  of  forty,  the  symbolic  number  of  "  Per- 
fection." V 

[  In  the  theory  of  mystic  numbers,  unity  is  called  the 
Monad,  and  is  no  number.  It  is  the  first  ring  in  the  chain 
of  existence,  and  one  of  the  qualifications  which  the  ancient 
philosophers  have  given  the  Deity.  Its  symbol  is  the 
mathematical  point.  The  figure  2'  consists  of  repeated 
unity,  which  is  no  number,  and  is  represented  by  the 
mathematically  straight  line,  consequently  is  not  perfect. 
The  figure  4,  however,  is  known  as  the  equal  perfect  num- 
ber,^^  and  has  been  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  schools  of 
mystic  philosophers.  This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that 
the  simple  figure  not  only  represents  the  square  of  the  re- 
peated unity  (2X2=^4),  and  the  product  resulting  from  the 


*=  The  number  4  derives  its  sacredness  from  concrete  and  material  rela- 
tions, from  external  perceptions,  and  has  its  application  in  the  objective 
and  phenomenal  world. — "  The  Origin  of  Sacred  Numbers." 


40  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

addition  with  itself  (2  +  2=4),  t>iit  also  the  potential  decade 
1+2  +  3  +  4=10;  it  also  fomis  the  enclosed  figure  known 
as  a  true  square,  whenever  2  and  2  parallel  lines  are  placed 
at  right  angles  to  each  other.  It  is  from  these  facts — 
properties  which  are  not  found  in  an}'  other  number — that 
the  numeral  has  for  ages  past  been  held  in  reverence,*'  and 
been  the  visible  symbol  of  the  Deity,  and  is  constantly 
recurring  in  the  symbolism  of  every  religious .  cult.  It  is 
also  identified  with  justice,  because  it  is  the  first  square 
number  the  product  of  equals.  Thus  the  name  of  the 
Deity  is  represented  by  four  letters  in  all  languages,  the 
English  language  being  the  exception. 

Whereas'4  represents  the  perfect  Deity,^'''  the  mysterious 
numeral  3,  figured  as  the  Triad  by  the  equilateral  triangle, 
is  the  emblem  of  the  attributes  of  God  only,  as  it  reunites 
the  properties  of  the  first  two  numbers. 

40,  the  decade  of  the  perfect  number,  is  known  as  the 
number  of  perfection,  to  which  the  greatest  importance  has 
always  been  attached  both  in  religious  and  esoteric  lore. 
This  is  partly  explained  in  the  symbolical  chart  here  re- 
produced. It  forms  the  seventh  folio  of  the  Theosophical 
MS.] 


**  Daniel  G.  Brinton,  M.D.,  L,L.D.,  in  the  "American  Anthropolo- 
gist," April,  1894,  states  that  among  the  aborigines  throughout  America 
the  tribal  mythologies,  rites,  ceremonies,  beliefs  are  constantly  and  pro- 
foundly governed  and  moulded  by  this  sacred  number. 

*"  As  a  type  of  Deit}-,  we  all  know  of  the  famous  Hebrew  title  Tetra- 
grammaton,  or  incommunicable  name,  Jehovah,  IHVH  ;  this  name  was 
disclosed  by  the  Kabbalistic  Rabbis  as  a  blind  to  the  populace  and  to  hide 
their  secret  tenets. 

"  Almost  all  the  peoples  of  antiquity  possessed  a  name  for  Deity  consist- 
ing of  four  letters,  and  many  of  them  considered  4  to  be  a  divine  number. ' ' 
— W.  Wynn  Westcott,  in  "Numbers,  their  Occult  Power  and  Mystic 
Virtue,"  p.  22. 


The   Theory  of  Mystic  Ntivibers. 


41 


fluti}MitiS riot  (ant.  '^ak^ijckiia.  C 

4-0.  -fiaiif  norm  iuJinixrSfrculiiibtryPu  'UJt^unim/itr^ar&in^uom-^iSi^ctkai 

4-0.  ^afwi^ladnc i)itt4{uX»^}d!iiut   ,  -£k,  unM>  im  vcrfiarutiilaiK  ((ixit ^}<)u 

4-0.  '^t^chatU  iniAaH^fmv(^<U  uiOMmri-O.  3aiir >MS^hii(ti<Minmtcif(^n  1)!  bu<3tak 


OA 


y^ 


bin  unreutcrMf^cnfinc^d^' 


Skventh  Folio  of  Rosicrucian  MS. 


42  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

TRANSLATION. 

Firstlv. — Wherefore  the  Lord  God  vouchsafed  to  the  first 
world  3  times  40  years;  that  is,  120  years  of  respite 
and  time  for  repentance. — Genesis  vi,  3.^"^ 

Further. — From  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 

IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT. 

40  days  and  nights  it  rained,  as  the  deluge  spread  over  the 

face  of  the  earth. 
40  days  after  the  deluge  the  waters  subsided,  and  Noah 

opened  the  Ark. 
40  days  and  nights  Moses  sojourned  upon  Mount  Sinai. 
40  years  the  Children  of  Israel  wandered  in  the  desert. 
40  days  and  nights  were  spent  by   Elias  in   fasting  and 

pra)'er. 
40  days  were  granted  to  the  city  of  Nineveh  for  penance. 

IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT. 

40  weeks  Christ,  like  unto  all  men,    was  formed    in    his 

mother's  womb. 
40   months   the   Lord   preached   on   earth    and    performed 

miracles. 
40  days  and  nights  He  fasted  in  the  desert  and  was  tempted. 
40  hours  Christ  la}'  in  the  grave. 
40  days  after  His  resurrection  He  spent  upon  earth,  and 

showed  Himself  in  His  glorified  body. 
40  vears  after  Christ's  ascension  the  city  of  Jerusalem  was 

destroyed. 
Result. — 3  times  4  times  40  is  the  secret  interpretation. 
Woe  unto  me,  I  perish,  for  I  am  of  too  unclean  tongue  to 

proclaim  the  mystery. — Isaiah  vi,  5.*" 


*"  Ich  will  ihnen  nocli  frist  geben  hundert  und  zwanzig  Jahr  (/.<'.,  "  zu 
leben  und  biisse  zu  thun,"  Martin  Luther).— Basel  Bible,  ed.  1753. 

*•'  An  allusion  to  the  sanctification  of  Isaiah  for  his  prophetic  station. — 
Basel  Bible. 


A     <fi^    -V 


Phisi  caMeiaphiska, 

HYPERPHISICA. 


GERARD    CROESE. 


«' 


'UT  little  is  known 
from  their  own 
writings  as  to  the 
immediate  canses  which 
led  these  men  to  take  the 
momentons  step,  and  for- 
sake their  home  and  friends 
to  come  to  iVmerica.  A 
contemporar}-  acconnt  in 
Latin,  published  at  Am- 
sterdam in  the  year  1696,"^ 
or  two  years  after  their  de- 
parture, gives  us  a  little  in- 
formation about  this  Chap- 
ter of  Pietists.  This  record  is  of  the  greatest  importance, 
as  it  shows  the  fact  that  the  party  were  assisted  on  their 
journey  by  the  Friends  or  Quakers  then  in  Holland, — a  fact 


Arms  of  Holland,  i 


A  &  fl  (Alpha  and  Omega.) — The  beginning  and  end  of  all  things; 
?'.  e.,  the  beginning  and  end  of  all  manifestation  of  activity  and  life  in 
the  Cosmos. 

Phisica,  Metaphisica  et  Hyperphisica,  from  title  page  of  Theosophical 
Manuscript. 

"^  The  first  edition  of  Croese's  "  Quakeriana"  was  published  in  1695. 
This  edition  is  exceedingly  rare:  the  only  copy  met  with  by  the  writer  is 


44 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


which  was  afterwards  brought  up  to  the  detriment  of  some  of 
their  number  at  the  yearly  meeting  at  Burlington  in  1695.'^' 

A  part  of  this  account  was  evidently  written  before  the 
company  left  England,  while  the  concluding  part  dates 
from  some  time  in  1695,  shortly  after  the  receipt  of  the  first 
letter  or  information  from  the  Theosophical  community  in 
America. 

The  chronicler,  Gerard  Croese,''"  a  Protestant  divine  of 
Amsterdam,  in  his  "  Historia  Quakeriana,"  Liber  iii,*^  states 
(translation,  London,  1697):  "  Among  these  new  mystical 
Men   there  was   herxoge  rvwviiTElJBERe.- one  ycV/// yirrre?/' 


Zim))ierman.,''^ 
theran  Church 
of  IVirtembiiJ'g^ 
Mathematicks, 
he  had  contrac 
erroneous  opin 
other  excellent 
mind,  to  which 
the  temper 
wherein  he  was 
and  who  was  of 


pastor  of  the  Z//- 
in  the  DiitcJiy 
a  Man  skilled  in 
and,  saving  that 
ted  of  these 
ions,  had  all 
endowments  of 
may  be  added 
ance  of  his  Life, 
inferior  to  none, 
considerable 


Arms  of  VVurte.mberg,  a.d.  1693, 

fame  in  the  world  ;  Who,  when  he  saw  there  was  nothing  but 
o-reat  danofer  like  to  hang  over  himself  and  his  Friends,  he 
invites  and  stirs  up  through  his  own  hope  about  sixteen  or 
seaventeen  Families  of  these  sort  of  Men,  to  prefer  also  an  hope 


in  the  archives  of  the  German  Society  in  Philadelphia  ;  it  bears  the  im- 
priijt  "  Apud  II  Henricum  &  Viduam  ||  Theodore  Boom,  1695."  Of  the 
second  edition  (1696)  there  is  a  copy  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  another  in  the  library  of  the  writer. 

■'1  Pemberton  MSS.,  Smith's  "  History  of  the  Province,"  Hazard's  Reg- 
ister, vol.  vi.  No.  23. 

^'^  Gerard  Croese,  a  Protestant  divine,  born  at  Amsterdam  in  1642.  He 
studied  at  Le3'den,  whence  he  went  with  a  son  of  the  celebrated  De  Ruyter 


Jo  Jill  Jacob  Ziiiniierniann. 


45 


Gerardi  CroesI 

HISTORI  A 


De    vulgo  di(ftis  Quakeris, 
Abortuiltorumufqueadrecens 

natum    fchifma  , 

LlBRI     III. 

In  quihus  prxftrtim  agitur  de  ipfb-' 
mm  pr£Bcipuis  antecefToribus  &do- 

gmaris(iii  &  fimilibus  placiiisahorum  hoc 

ctmport   )    fjdl.rquc  ,  iiTafibul,  ■ 

memotabilcbus 

EoiTio      Secunda 

Indice  locupleiior. 


of  better  things,  tlio  it  were  dubious  before  the  present  dan- 
ger, and  forsaking  their  Country  whicli  they  through  the  most 
percipitous    and   utmost  danger,  tho  they  suffered   Death 

for   the   same,  could   not  help 
and  relieve  as  they  supposed, 
QUAKERIANA*     and  leaving  their  Inheritance, 

which  they  could  not  carry  along 
with  them,  to  depart  and  betake 
themselves  into  other  parts  of 
the  world,  even  to  Pcusilvaiiia^ 
the  Quakers  Country,  and 
there  divide  all  the  good  and 
evil  that  befell  them  between 
themselves,  and  learn  the  Lan- 
guages of  that  People,  and 
Endeavour  to  inspire  Faith  and 
Piety  into  the  same  Inhabitants 
by  their  words  and  examples 
which  they  could  not  do  to 
■  these  Christians  here. 

"  These  agree  to  it,  at  least  so  far  as  to  try  and  sound  the 
way,  and  if  things  did  not  go  ill,  to  fortify  and  fit  them- 
selves for  the  same. 

^'^  Zimnicriiiau^  having  yet  N.  Koster''''  for  his  Colleague, 

to  Smyrna,  and  on  his  return  home  became  pastor  of  Alblasserdam,  near 
Dort,  where  he  died  in  1710.  He  wrote  the  "  History  of  the  Quakers," 
printed  in  Dutch,  1694,  and  translated  into  EngHsh  in  1696.  It  was  answered 
by  a  Quaker  work  entitled  "  Dilucidationes  qusedam  valdtS  Necessarias  in 
Gerardi  Croesii,  Hist.,"  8vo.  Croese  wrote  also  a  singular  book,  with 
the  title  of  "  Honierus  Hebroeus,  sive  Historia  Hebrseorum  ab  Homero," 
1704,  4to.  The  intent  of  this  work  is  to  prove  that  the  Odyssey  contains 
the  history  of  the  Jews  in  the  patriarchial  ages,  and  that  the  Iliad  is  an 
account  of  the  siege  and  capture  of  Jericho.  He  is  chiefly  known  b}^  his 
history  of  the  Quakers,  which  went  through  several  editions  in  Latin, 
English  and  German. 


AMSTELODAMI, 

Anno  M.DC.IVC- 


46  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pehnsylvajiia. 

who  was  also  a  famous  Man,  and  of  such  severe  manners 
that  few  could  equal  him,  writes  to  a  certain  Quaker  in 
Plollaiid  who  was  a  Man  of  no  mean  Learning,  and  very 
w^ealth}-,  very  bountiful  and  liberal  towards  all  the  poor, 
pious  and  good : 

''  That  as  lie  and  his  follozvers  and  friends  designed^ 
(They  are  the  very  words  of  the  Letter  which  is  now  in  my 
Custody).  To  depart  from  these  Babilonisii  Coasts^  to  those 
American  Plantations,  being  led  thereunto  by  the  guidance 
of  the  Divine  Spirit^  and  that  seeing  that  all  of  the^n 
wanted  worldly  substance^  that  they  would  not  let  them 
want  Friends^  but  assist  them  herein^  that  they  might  have 
a  good  Ship  zvell  provided  for  tliem  to  carry  them  into  those 
places^  zt'herein  they  might  mi)id  this  one  things  to  wit  to 
sheu'  zcith  iinanimoiis  consent^  their  Faith  and  Love  in  the 
Spirit  i)i  converting  of  People^  but  at  the  same  time  to 
sustain  their  bodies  by  their  daily  Labour. 

''  So  great  was  the  desire,  inclination  and  affection  of 
this  Man  towards  them,  that  he  forthwith  promised  them 
all  manner  of  assistance,  and  performed  it  and  fitted  them 
with  a  Ship  for  their  purpose,  and  did  out  of  that  large 
Portion  of  Land  he  had  in  Pensilvania.^  assign  unto  them  a 
matter  of  two  thousand  and  four  hundred  Acres,  for  ever  of 
such  Land  as  it  was,  but  such  as  might  be  manured,  im- 
posing yearly  to  be  paid  a  very  small  matter  of  rent  upon 
everv  Acre,  and  gave  freely  of  his  own  and  what  he  got 
from  his  friends,  as  much  as  paid  their  Charge  and  Passage, 
amounting  to  an  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  sterling ;  a 
very  great  gift,  and  so  much  the  more  strange,  that  that 


^^  P.  539,  et  seq.   (English  translation,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262,  seq. 
^^  Zimniermann,  p.  563,  ibid,  original  edition. 
^^  This  should  be  Henry  Bernhard  Koster. 


TJie   Germati  Pietists.  47 

same  Quaker  should  be  so  liberal,  aud  yet  would  uot  have 
his  name  mentioned,  or  known  in  the  matter.'" 

"  But  when  these  Men  came  into  Holland,  they  Sailed 
from  thence  directly  for  Pcnsilvania;'''  Zimmerman  sea- 
sonably dies,  but  surely  it  was  unseasonable  fop^hem,  but 
yet  not  so,  but  that  they  all  did  chearfully  persue  their  Voy- 
age, and  while  I  am  writing  hereof,  I  receive  an  account 
that  they  arrived  at  the  place  they  aim  at,  and  that  the>'  all 
lived  in  the  same  house,  and  had  a  publick  Meeting  three 
times  every  week,  and  that  they  took  much  pains,  to  teach 
the  blind  people  to  become  like  unto  themselves,  and  to 
conform  to  their  examples." 

Croese,  in  explanation,  further  states  (English  trans., 
vol.  ii,  p.  256) :  "  Moreover,  there  was  in  Germany,  as  it 
were,  three  sorts  of  Pietists  (pardon  the  expression).  One, 
which  I  have  described,  consists  of  those  who  sought,  and 
pressed  nothing  else,  but  sincere  Religion  and  true  Piety; 
and  the  greatest  part  of  those  are  among  the  Learned  and 
better  sort  of  men,  through  Saxony  and  all  Germany. 

"[Second.] — Another  sort  of  them  was  that  cr^ed.  That 
the  Church  was  much  Corrupted,  and  loved  Piety;  but  such, 
who  themselves  on  the  other  hand,  stagger  not  a  little  in 
the  Faith  and  True  Religion,  and  these  same  are  commonly 
less  moderate  and  more  violent  in  Celebrating  their  Assem- 
blies together 

"[Third,] — The  third  sort  of  them  was  that  which  may 
be  called  Behmists  or  Teutonists  ;  ^'^  these  called  back,  as  it 


^^  Everything  goes  to  point  to  Benjamin  Furley  as  this  charitable  friend, 
who  was  also  the  agent  of  Wni.  Penn  at  Rotterdam. 

^^This  an  error;  the  party  went  from  Rotterdam  to  England,  thence 
to  America,      llde,  p.  15,  supra. 

^'^  They  were  also  known  as  Gichtelians  or  Gichtelianer,  who  were 
conspicuous  for  their  silent,  virtuous  and  benevolent  life. 


48  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

were,  Jacob  Behman-''^  the  Shoemaker  of  Garlingen  in  Si- 
lesia, from  the  Dead,  who  was  called  Tntonick^  and  did  both 
Broach  those  Opinions,  which  had  been  really  delivered  by 
him,  as  also  those  Errors  that  had  been  falseh-  laid  upon  him, 
and  ascribed  to  him,  yea,  and  horrid  and  hellish  Blasphemy, 
and  cried  them  up  as  worthy  of  all  Esteem  and  Glory." 


^' Jacob  Boehme,  or  Behmen,  was  one  of  the  most  renowned  mystics  of 
modern  times.  Born  in  1575  at  Altseidenberg,  a  village  near  Gorlitz,  of 
poor  parents,  he  remained  to  his  tenth  year  without  instruction  and  em- 
ployed in  tending  cattle.  He  was  then  apprenticed  to  a  shoemaker,  and 
in  1594  he  became  a  master  shoemaker  in  Gorlitz,  married  and  continued 
a  shoemaker  all  his  days.  Several  visions  and  raptures  led  him  to  take  up 
the  pen.  His  first  work  appeared  in  161 6,  and  was  called  "  Aiirora. "  It 
contains  his  revelations  on  God,  man  and  nature.  Perhaps  his  most  im- 
portant work  is  his  ' '  Description  of  the  Three  Principles  of  Divine  Being. ' ' 
His  works  contain  many  profound  and  lofty  ideas.  He  died,  after  several 
prosecutions  and  acquittals,  in  1624. 

Several  complete  sets  of  Boehme 's  works  (Amsterdam  edition,  Gichtel, 
1682,  10  vols. )  were  brought  over  to  America  by  Kelpius  and  his  followers. 


Arms  of  the  United  Netherlands,  from  an  old  Copperplate. 


THE  PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


O     (■ 


i.M'\^'4'inf 


'■■«ri^ 


I  UA 


,^ 


Effigv  of  Johannes  Tauler  in  the  former  Church  of  the  Dominicans 

AT  STRASBURG,   from   A  SKETCH    MADE  IN    1840. 


THE    PIETISTS    IN    GERMANY 


5 


T  was  in  the  second 
half  of  the  seven- 
teenth centnry,  dnr- 
ing  a  marked  period  of 
spiritnal  nnrest which  per- 
vaded Gennany,  that  an 
agitation  was  caused  in 
German  theological  circles 
by  the  well-known  divine 
Philip  Jacob  Spener,''"  who 
advocated  a  system  of  per- 

Ancient  Episcopal  Seal  ok  Erfirth.  SOnal    and   practical    picty, 

having  for  its  central  principle  "That  Christianity  was 
first  of  all  life,  and  that  the  strongest  proof  of  the  truth  of 
its  doctrine  was  to  be  found  in  the  religious  experience  of 
the  believing." 

Organizations  were    formed    which    became    known    as 
"  Collegia  Pietatis,"  and  the  individual  members  as  "  Pie- 


Greek  monogram  of  Christ  and  symbol  of  salvation. 

«"  Philip  Jacob  Spener,  born  in  Alsace,  January  13,  1635  ;  died  in  Ber- 
lin, February  5,  1705.  As  early  as  1680  he  formulated  the  dogma  that 
only  persons  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost  could  understand  the  Scriptures, 
which  produced  many  enthusiasts.  For  a  time  he  lived  in  Dresden, 
afterwards  in  Berlin,  where  he  held  some  ecclesiastical  dignities. 


50 


The  Pietists  in   Germany 


PHILIP  JACOB   SPENER, 

FROM  AN  OLD  KNGRAVING  IN  THE  FERD.  J.  DREER  COLLECTION. 


Tiic   Gcrniai!  Pietists. 


51 


tists," '''  and  as  Spener  obviously  based  his  dooinas  upon 
the  writings  of  Johannes  Tauler,''^  these  "  Collegia"  through- 
out Germany  soon  became  homes  for  the  mystics  of  all 
sorts — religious  and  speculative — with  which  continental 
Europe  swarmed  at  the  time. 

Autograph  of  Philip  Jacob  Spknkr,  from  Drekr  Collection. 

Among  the  names  prominent  in  this  movement  are 
Johann  Heinrich  Horbius,  brother-in-law  to  Spener,  Hoch- 
mann  von  Hochenau,'''^  August  Hermann  Francke,"^  Gott- 
fried Arnold,''^^  Dr.  Johann  Jacob  Fabricius ""  of  Helmstadt, 
Dr.  J.  W.  Petersen,  Johanna  von  Merlau  and  many  others 
of  equal  prominence. 

One  of  the  most  important  centers  of  this  movement  was 


the  ancient  city  of 
gia.  At  an  earl\- 
tion  it  became  a  ral 
dents,  Mystics  and 
parts  of  Germany, 
ed  the  orgauizatioii 
eventually  came  to 
The  date  of  the 
individual    Chapter 


RPTVRTK. 


Erfurth,  in  Thurin- 
period  of  this  agita- 
lying-point  for  stu- 
Pietists,  from  all 
Here  also  was  form- 
a  part  of  w  h  i  ch 
America  in  a  body, 
organization  of  this 
in  Erfurth  was  in 
we  find  it  under  the 


1690  or  1691,  when  '^'<^'s  of  erfurth.  i 

leadership  or  patronage  of  Rev.  August  Hermann  Francke,"' 

then  "  Diaconus  Augustini"  (a.ssistant  pastor  at  the  Angus- 


52  TJic  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pe)insylvania. 

tine  Church).  Under  date  of  January  27,  1691,  a  commis- 
sion was  appointed  by  the  reigning  authority  to  inquire 
about  the  Pietists  who  held  secret  meetings  by  day  and 


"'  A  somewhat  similar  movement  in  the  Roman  Church  at  the  same 
period  was  started  by  one  Miguel  de  Molinos.  The  members  of  this  sect 
were  known  as  Quietists.  K  inore  extended  notice  of  this  order  is  given 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

•*-  Johannes  Tauler  (the  name  is  variously  spelled  in  the  old  MSS.  viz., 
Tauler,  Tauller,  Tauweler,  Thauler,  and  even  Thaler,  vide^  catalogtie 
libr.  MSS.,  Leipsic,  p.  721).  This  celebrated  leader  among  mystic  theo- 
sophists  was  born  in  1290  at  Strasburg.  About  the  year  1308  he  entered 
the  convent  of  the  Dominicans,  and  became  a  monk  of  that  order.  He 
acquired  great  skill  in  philosoph}-  and  scholastic  divinity,  but  applied 
himself  principally  to  mystical  theology,  and  as  it  was  believed  that  he 
was  favored  with  revelations  from  heaven,  he  was  styled  the  Illuininatcd 
Divine. 

His  great  talents  for  preaching  soon  made  him  the  most  popular  preacher 
of  his  age.  In  his  great  love  of  truth  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  instruction  of  the  people,  and  in  his  opposition  to 
the  abuses  of  the  Roman  Church,  Tauler  was  a  worthy  predecessor  of 
Ivuther. 

His  followers  were  known  as  Gottesfreioidc,  or  the  Friends  of  God, 
a  designation  derived  directh-  from  the  words  of  Christ  as  recorded  in  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John  xv,  15.  Tauler's  followers  formed  themselves  into 
Chapters  and  Societies,  and  after  the  publication  of  the  ban  of  the  Church 
continued  to  meet  in  secret. 

The  following  extract  from  a  sermon  preached  by  Tauler  on  the  twenty- 
second  Sunday  after  Trinity  ( Basel  folio  MSS. ,  a.d.  1290)  gives  his  reasons 
for  the  institution  of  the  new  mystical  society  der  Gottesfreiinde.  It  also 
serves  as  an  representative  specimen  of  Tauler's  composition  and 
mediaeval  German, — 

„Der  furlte  dine 
„welte  der  hat  iezent  an  alien  enden  geseget  das  unkrut 
„under  den  rosen,  das  die  rosen  dicke  von  den  dorneu 
„verdrucket  oder'sere  geftochen  werdent.  Kinder,  es  mus 
„ein  fluht  oder  ein  ungehcheit,  ein  sunderhcit  sin,  es  si 
,,in  den  klollern  oder  do  ufsen,  und  das  ensint  nut  sec- 
„ten  das  sich  gottes  friint  ungehch  usgebent  der  welte 
„frunden" 


TJie  Gcniian  Pietists. 


53 


A  Collegium  Piiitatis  in  Session. 
(From  an  old  German  engraving.) 


54 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


night,  and  were  harbored  by  the  Diaconus  Francke  in  one 
of  the  abandoned  cloisters  within  his  parish.''^ 

The  resnlt  of  this  inqnisition  was  an  edict  for  the  snp- 
pression  of  the  Chapter,  together  with  a  censure  and  fine 
imposed  upon  the  Diaconus  Francke.  Whereupon  Francke, 
as  well  as  his  Senior,  Dr.  Breitenhaupt,^'''  preached  several 
sermons  ag-ainst  the  action  of  the  authorities.""    This  action 


iljroioni([i»K(!. 

3u  Dcnnrinarif  /  D^priDcgm  ir. 
llnfcrg  nlln-gndbiglTfii  Monarchen 

ffirnftligrt  unb®6ffill  -»ortreff1iif6 

DJCT 

2)l(6(fnillc(t  ^nfdtmtiinrdntfK  onh  gotllorr  3rr'9t6r(n 

35frfr  ^ifti|Tfn/ 

3u(>  Dtro  i^MjR  prnp1icl)nilianb(8  ri^l(ilu1>rji  Uoi1«rg« 

Anno  1700.  cman.m/ 

QScn  Sffl.  BSmn  D.  Neumanno. 

©firm  (mtrl)on:(b<  Anno  1708  .lufgdrgtt/ 
^nj  nwir  un&  mfftt  ao^nna^lB(n  Otfurningrn  mil  cum 

unmCimftlillKn  Addielle 

2(1  @cinf  ^od>TOiirbige  MAcNiFictKct, 
DCTR^Wffl.  KitdjftvXart)  an^  General  Superuirendcnrcn. 

SSn.  LicTHEODORLlM  DASSOVUIM 

HzNaicoBuDtt,  P»l>ortiuSt.Nicolaimi6Con(inor,ijigl(lUbur(J. 
JXCR0AU>^IB/  <B«ini<tt>m.nirifloi>ii^rtfia!        " 


S()C(t  aSonijIirttn  }.5!mrfr4, 
Se$©r(if}ma*ti9iitn/  ©(ort^)ur^iflfI(ll 

CAKOLI^fgXI• 

EDICT 

©amt6nilti3(?tmSff(()l  ull^  'Btrprtnunj 

8)Kt<Q  boun  \fia  unt  ipifCM  Oct)  rrtuitmtxn  ^nimuiijcn  untt 
f(il|<^  ^OJcuuingtn 

ENTHUSIASM!,  CHILIASMI, 
Sc^arifAfn 

PIETISMI,  QVACKERISxMI, 
^fffl^td^cn  gnrt^umfrn/ 

SlflKd  Convoiticulis ,  mt  Stfimg  iSiftWrtmtrifigft 

€d)rlfftm/  ant  niit  tctx  tthm/  ??r(&iiia  m^  <?d>u!  CPrtimtc  in 

wo  fcmtcn  PDrflAfi-iIid)  hulr  en/  l]n^  fo  moljl  (14  frlllini 

(il»*tte)aiitm<mit5i'l)*rtT6iifiJtbmKil)rtn 

BnbfiAhiHtnfpUtn. 

Pubiiciretiu  ®»it(rlm  ^(n  6.  Oftrtii:/ 

Anno  i6g+. 


renewed  the  trouble  and  culminated  in  Diaconus  Francke 
beinof  exconnuunicated  by  the  Church  at  Erfurth.     This 


''■^  Ernst  Christoph  Hochmann  von  Hochenau,  a  leading  mystic,  who 
while  imprisoned  in  the  Castle  Detmold,  in  November,  1702,  formulated 
a  Pietistical  creed  or  profession  of  faith  (Glanbensbekentniss).  This  was 
republished  b\'  Christopher  Saur  in  Germantown,  1743.  A  fragment  of 
an  Ephrata  reprint  has  also  been  found. 

'"  Croese  in  his  account  states,  p.  545  :  "The  chief  whereof  (the  Pie- 
tists )  were  Augustus  H.  Francus,  the  Disciple  and  Companion  for  a  long 
time  of  Spener  and  John  L'Schadeus,  Francus'  fellow-student,  both  of 
them  Masters  of  Art,  and  Learned  and  Eloquent." 

"^  Gottfried  Arnold,  a  Lutheran  clergyman  and  well-known  writer  on 
mystic  theology. 

'"'  The  tutor  of  Johannes  Kelpius. 


Royal  Edicts.  55 

decretiim  was   issued   September   18,  1691,  and  went  into 

force  forthwith."*      Twenty-four  hours  only  were  granted 

him  to  leave  the  city  ;  during  which  time  he  is  said  to  have 

CMTATis  ERFFURTENSis  composed  the  beautiful  Cxcr- 

HISTORIA  CRITICA  "'^"  ^^>''^^'  "^"°"  ^^^  ^^" 

ET  DIPLOMATICA,  SchrittzurEwigkeit."  Upon 

Mlt-mttcHliS)  %m        '  ^^'^  formulation  of  this  edict 

®Stri«tm4>  urtH  ®«*^t««^tfi  ^^-  I^reitenhaupt,  the  "  Sen- 

^tpnCDM^rpffPf  ior  Augustini,"   preached  a 

g3onl»icffr@Ml)tUrfprun5n»ajKn3ftitt(i(5«mib2luf'    s^nnon    in    justification    ot 
juactwnitn6|iictt  ml^uJyullfiSate1«e^ll^lJ(It;      '      jT'iaucke,  lor  wnicii  iic  also 

©011(1  audj  Bitk  unb  srcftfii  2^6  inijeDtutrft  t)iplo;iiat3.  SSor, 

"*^''*"'^S;;r^'?.5;:;S.'SiX^*^r,"''"'*''''3'=     was    dismissed   and   ordered 

UC^ertl  o^gr^flUMt,  ^^   ^^ave   the   city;    a  bod>- 

unt .« «n.=,  "W«;^3^-^a^  «rf*m  »«^«;  of  rcspcctablc  burghers  who 

«(*.5iiiit!Br«iiiinnir»^(pa:nf*,nt»f  BtMi.,mttos™)ji:$HDH!}ni       aLLeiiipLcu     Lo    inierceue    lor 


Soneiil  Ofr  JUifTrnftfioffKn  SPjfglittf. 


S>tU(fUm*  tetlcau  Solxuin  OBifliam  5iitf(t«L  irj». 


Francke  were  summarily  im- 
prisoned. 

[August  Hermann  Francke. — This  celebrated  clergy- 
man was  born  in  Liibeck,  March  23,  1663  ;  died  June  8, 
1727.  He  is  chiefly  known  for  the  charitable  institution 
which  he  founded  at  Halle  for  the  education  of  poor 
children  and  orphans,  and  which  soon  became  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  charitable  institutions  of  German}-. 
It  is  usually  known  as  "das  Hallische  Waisenhaus."  The 
usefulness   of  this  institution   was  soon   enlarsfed   \i\   the 


'•'  See  "  Civitatis  Erffurtensis,"  p.  1056,  copy  in  library  of  writer. 

'•"  "Civitatis  Erffurtensis, "  p.  1055. 

''■'  This  was  the  celebrated  Joachim  Justus  Breitenhaupt,  born  at  Nord- 
heim,  February,  1658  ;  died  Halle,  March  16,  1732.  He  is  chiefly  known 
b}-  his  "Thesis  credendarum  et  agendorum  fundementalis, "  1700,  and 
"  De  perfectione  partium,"  1704. 

'"  Ibid,  p.  1056. 

^'  "  Civitatis  Effurtensis,"  p.  1059;  "  Die  Stiftengen  Aug.  Her.  Francke," 
Halle,  1863,  p.  66. 


56  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Portrait  and  Actograph  from  Colleci  ion  of  Ferd.  J.  Dreer,  Esq.,  Phila. 


The  Halle  Institution.  57 

introduction  of  a  department  having  for  its  object  the 
spreading-  of  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts.  It  was  at  the 
instance  of  this  clergyman  and  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Halle  Orphanage  that  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Miihlen- 
berg  was  sent  to  America,  where  he  became  the  patriarch 
of  the  Lutheran  Church.  It  is  further  an  interesting  fact 
that  the  first  church  built  in  America  by  Pastor  Miihlen- 
burg,  at  the  "  Trappe,"  in  Montgomery  County,  Penna., 
was  named  in  honor  of  August  Hennann  Francke  the 
"  Augustus  Church,"  the  congregation  of  which  have  just 
celebrated  their  sesqui-centennial  (September  26,  1893).'^ 
The  church  is  still  in  a  good  condition  and  is  the  only 
provincial  church  in  America  which  }"et  retains  all  of  its 
quaint  original  features. 

Another  interesting  item  in  connection  with  the  institu- 
tion presided  over  by  Dr.  Francke  is  the  manner  in  which 
he  obtained  the  sustenance  for  its  support.  One  of  the 
members  of  the  Collegium  Pietatis  in  Erfurth,  Burgstaller 
by  name,  who  was  an  alchemist  and  chemist,  on  his  death- 
bed bequeathed  to  Francke  the  receipt  for  compounding  cer- 
tain medicines,^'^  which  were  sold  by  the  different  clergymen 
in  sympathy  with  the  institution."^  These  remedies  eventu- 
ally yielded  an  annual  income  of  more  than  $20,000,"  and 


'■■^  See  "  Sesqui-Centennial  Memorial  of  Trappe  Church,"  by  Rev.  E.  T. 
Kretschmann,  Ph.  D. ,  Phila. ,  1894. 

"•'  Burgstaller's  chief  nostrum  was  the  celebrated  Goldtiiictui\  or  extract 
of  gold.     It  was  also  known  as  the  Essentia  diilcis. 

"*  Prior  to  the  Revolution  these  remedies  were  sent  to  America  in  large 
quantities,  and  were  disposed  of  to  the  Germans  and  others  by  the  resident 
Lutheran  clergymen.  In  Philadelphia  the  main  supply  was  stored  in  one  of 
the  side  porches  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  corner  Fifth  and  Appletree  Alley. 
By  many  persons  these  remedies  were  supposed  to  have  magical  or  super- 
natural properties,  against  which  neither  Satan  nor  disease  could  prevail. 

'■'  The  maximum  income  from  that  source  was  reached  in  1761,  and 
amounted  to  ^6,106  thalers. 


58  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

made  the  institution  financially  independent.  It  combined 
an  orphan  asylum,  a  paedagogium,  a  Latin  school,  a  German 
school  and  a  printing  press  for  issuing  cheap  copies  of  the 
Bible.] 

/a.  ,^  %^^  -  /4^  ^^ 


»-i«-^^ 


Draft  of  Letter  by  Francke  to  Spener,  from  Autograph  Collection 
OF  Ferd.  J.  Dreer,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

As  the  Pietistical  movement  spread  and  gained  foothold 
in  the  various  governments  in  Germany,  and  extended  into 
the  neighboring  kingdoms,  special  edicts  were  issued  against 
it,  in  which  not  only  public  and  private ""  assemblages  of  the 
Pietists  were  forbidden,  but  also  their  literature." 


'•^  Edict  promulgated  at  Leipsic,  March  25,  a.d.  1690. 
''  Edict,  Stockholm,  October  6,  1694. 


Royal  Edicts.  59 

In  all  of  these  edicts  ''^  the  sale  of  all  Pietistical  or  suspici- 
ous books  was  prohibited  under  heavy  penalties,  while 
reading  and  discussing,  or  even  countenancing,  such  works 
was  interdicted  by  both  Church  and  secular  authorities. 

After  his  expulsion  from  Erfurth,  Francke  went  to  Gotha 
where  his  mother  then  lived.  Shortly  afterwards  he  received 
a  call  as  pastor  at  Glaucha,''*'  a  suburb  of  Halle. 

In  the  year  1694  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  professor- 
ship of  oriental  languages*'  in  the  new  University  at 
Halle,^^  and  four  years  later  (1698)  founded  the  celebrated 
orphanage  in  the  suburbs  of  Halle,  which  exists  to  the 
present  day. 

Notwithstanding  the  expulsion  of  Francke  from  Erfurth, 
the  meetings  were  continued  without  intermission,  but  less 
openly.  Consequently,  on  July  20,  1693,  the  authorities 
issued  another  edict  or  "  Decretum  Senatus,"  which  was  pub- 
licly read  from  every  pulpit,  forbidding  under  penalty  the  as- 
semblage of  any  "  Collegia  Pietatis"  within  the  jurisdiction. 

'*  Edict,  March  2,  1692  ;  February  28,  1694.  Manifesto,  February  4, 
1697.  Edict,  January  7,  1698.  Edict,  Halle,  January  25,  1700.  A  copy 
of  all  the  edicts  above  quoted  are  in  possession  of  the  writer. 

""  Glaucha,  a  village  or  settlement  without  the  walls  of  Halle.  At  that 
early  period  Glaucha  and  Halle  were  virtually  two  distinct  towns.  There 
was  no  communication  between  the  two  places  after  sundown,  at  which 
time  the  portals  of  Halle  were  closed. — Stiftimgen  Francke's,  p.  299. 

*"  Francke  afterwards  filled  the  chair  of  theology. 

'^' The  celebrated  Frederick  University*  of  Halle — so  called  after  its 
founder  Frederick  I,  King  of  Prussia — was  opened  in  the  year  1694.  The 
Great  Elector  of  Brandenburg  had  founded  an  academy  at  Halle  in  1688, 
this  was  known  as  the  "  Ritterakademie,"  and  in  1694  was  changed  into 
a  university,  when  the  celebrated  Thomasius  came  hither  from  Leipsic, 
followed  by  a  number  of  students.  A  series  of  distinguished  professors 
and  the  liberal  provisions  of  government  soon  raised  this  university  to  the 
rank  of  one  of  the  first  in  Europe.  The  university  was  twice  suppressed 
by  Napoleon  (1806-13).  I"  1815,  by  a  Prussian  Edict,  the  university  was 
united  with  that  of  Wittenberg,  since  which  time  it  bears  the  official  title 
of  the  United  Frederick  University  of  Halle-Wittenberg. 


6o 


The  Pietists  of  Provi)icial  Pennsylvania. 


Amoiio-  the  minor  clero'^•lnen  of  note  who  were  attracted 
to  the  Pietistical  movement  was  the  before-mentioned  John 
Jacob  Zimmermann,  of  Bietigheim,  in  Wiirtemberg,  a  man 
well  versed  in  geometry,  geomancy  and  astrology,  as  well  as 

theology.  He  was  also  a  promi- 
nent character  in  the  various 
philosophical  and  theosophical 
fraternities  in  his  native  coun- 
try. Upon  being  deprived  of  his 
J  charge  by  the  church  authori- 
ties on  account  of  his  connection 
J  with  the  Mystics,  it  appears  that 
he  drifted  to  various  places,  and 
while  in  Hamburgh  he  became 
acquainted  with  Horbius,  the 
brother-in-law  of  Spener.  He 
finally  w  ent  to  Erfurth,  and  there 
perfected  the  plan  of  organizing 
a  "  Chapter  of  Perfection,"  and 


MvsTicAL  Chart  from  Merlau's 

"  GLAUBRNS    GeSPRACHE    MIT 
GOTT." 


going  in  a  bod)-  to  the  western  world 

Another  of  the  chief  pro- 
moters of  this  scheme  of  emi- 
gration, who  never  reached 
these  shores,  was  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Johann  Wilhelm 
Petersen,  who,  together  with 
his  wife,  Eleonore  von  Mer- 
lau,  was  a  member  of  the 
Frankfort  Land  Company, 
under  whose  auspices  Pas- 
torius  had  come  to  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1683.  The  inter- 
'  course  between  Dr.  Petersen  and  the  leaders  of  this  Chapter 


^-^^i^i^^*^^' 


Mystical  Svmbol  from  Merlau's 

'  GlAUBENS  GESPRACHK  MIT  GOTT." 


Eleonorc  von  Merlau. 


6i 


of  Pietists  was  close  and  intimate.  The  former,  altliongh 
a  leading  fignre  in  the  extreme  mystical  movements  of  the 
day,  was  no  mere  adventnrer.  A  professor  of  Poesie  in 
Rostock,  pastor  in  Hanover,  and  snperintendent  in  Liibeck 
and  Liineburg  he  moved  in  the  best  society.  He  was  married 
to  the  celebrated  Eleonore  von  Merlau,  who  was  subject  to 
ecstatic  visions. 

The  couple  conscientiously  studied  the  Apocalypse  to 
ascertain  when  the  millennium  of  Christ  would  take  place. 
They  were  aided  in  this  research  by  the  beautiful  Rosa- 

munda  von  Asseburg,  an  ecsta- 
tical  phenomenon  of  the  time, 
whose  piety  even  Leibnitz  and 
Spener  never  questioned  for  a 
moment.  The  result  of  these 
speculations  were  published  in 
1 69 1  simultaneously  at  Frank- 
fort and  Leipsic,  under  the  title 
of  "  Glaubens  Gesprache  mit 
Gott." 

The  outcome  of  Zimmer- 
mann's  efforts,  as  stated  by 
Croese,  was  an  application 
made  to  some  prominent  Qua- 
kers in  Holland  for  aid  and 
sustenance  during  the  proposed 
voyage.  Zimmermann,  how- 
ever, did  not  live  to  witness  the 
successful  culmination  of  his  hopes,  as  he  died  on  the  eve 
of  the  embarkation  at  Rotterdam,  in  1693.  His  widow 
with  her  four  children,  however,  continued  on  the  journey, 
and  came  to  Pennsylvania  with  the  party  that  her  husband 
had  been  instrumental  in  oreanizino-.^' 


bnic^dleabdefaffet/ 
^a^^eu(Jnlp/^Ie§^a(r)tun^ 

S^xxMHiit.  Dee  ®lflubcu^/ 

»«  111.  ClKll/ 

«^  ift  IxrecclfinScltgWt/ 

t»r|iclla/ 

3n  ticfcr  [c$t<n  ©laublofcn  3«t 

iut  2luffmunterun9  uiiDermccfung  Ccfi 

Son 

OHANNA  ELEONORA  ^ctcrfctl/ 

Qkbo()rncMinunPiug}?ctlau.    

S'ondf.  unD  Acrpjig'  ' 

Wi'Sii^atlS^sMinitn/  Mil  jutte(iri|(i  J<ji. 


62  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

The  men  who  composed  this  Chapter  of  Mystics  were 
not  only  Pietists  in  the  accepted  sense  of  the  word,  but 
they  were  also  a  true  Theosophical  (Rosicrucian)  Connnu- 
nity,  a  branch  of  that  ancient  mystical  brotherhood  who 
studied  and  practised  the  Kabbala,-'*  which,  when  truly 
searched  for,  contemplated  and  understood,  it  is  believed, 
"  Opens  her  arms,  and  from  its  great  height  in  the  unknown 
essence  of  the  Supreme  Deity,  the  Endless,  Boundless  One, 
to  its  depth  in  the  lowest  materialism  of  evil,  gives  an 
opportunity  for  the  reception  and  acquisition  of  the  grandest 
and  noblest  ideas,  to  the  highest  and  most  subtle  order  of 
religious  spiritual  thought.-^ 

^^  The  widow,  Mary  Margaret  Zimmerniann,  and  her  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  viz.,  Phillip  Christian,  IVIary  Margaret,  Mathew  and  Jacob 
Christopher.  I'ide,  will  proved  in  Philadelphia,  October  i,  1725,  Will 
Book  "  D,"  p.  433,  etc. 

^  Various  are  the  opinions  of  scholars  respecting  the  origin  of  the 
Kabbalistic  Philosophy.  The  Rabbis  derive  the  kabbalistic  mysteries 
from  the  most  ancient  times  of  their  nation,  nay  even  from  Adam  himself. 
But  although  a  secret  doctrine  existed  among  the  Hebrews  in  the  earliest 
ages,  this  had  reference  merely  to  religious  worship.  The  origin  of  the 
Philosophical  Kabbala  is  to  be  sought  for  in  Egypt,  and  dates  from  the 
time  of  Simeon  Schetachides,  who  conveyed  it  from  Egypt  to  Palestine. 
[Mansel  (Gnostic  Heresies)  says:  Persian  influence  at  the  captivity,  a 
much  likelier  source.  The  dualism  and  angelology  of  Mazdeism  sud- 
denly appear  in  the  Old  Testament  after  the  captivity.  ]  Thus  :  2  Sam. 
xxiv,  I ,  Jehovah  moves  David  to  number  Israel.  This  is  the  pre-exilian 
account.  But  i  Chron.  xxi,  i,  says  it  was  Satan.  This  is  the  post-exilian 
account,  after  contact  with  the  Zoroastrian  doctrine  of  Ahriman.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  Asmodeus  in  the  Book  of  Tobit  is  a  Persian  name  for 
a  demon.  Even  such  a  sober  scholar  as  Bishop  Lightfoot  admits  a  con- 
nection between  Mazdeism  and  Essenism  ;  while  L.  H.  Mills,  one  of  the 
translators  of  the  sacred  books  of  the  East,  is  still  more  pronounced  in 
maintaining  a  direct  historical  connection  between  the  late  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  Zoroastrian  cult.  While  the  Kabbala  probably 
arose  from  the  same  wave  of  post-exilian  thought  as  generated  Essenism, 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  trace  it  back  as  a  system  beyond  the  Middle 
Ages,  when  its  principal  writings  were  composed. 

«  Kabbala. 


TJic  Epitome. 


63 


*      ♦     * 


^  \ivmcim 


h  Corinthji. 


(«.««.'f^^MJHft.~i-''=r^ 


Epitome  of  the  Pietistical  Faith,  page  3  of  Rosicrucian  MS. 


64  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

The  great  object  of  these  speculations  was  to  reach  the 
nearest  approach  that  man  can  make  to  the  unseen,  that 
inner  communion  which  works  silently  in  the  soul,  but 
which  cannot  be  expressed  in  absolute  language  nor  by 
any  words,  which  is  beyond  all  formulations  into  word- 
symbolism,  yet  is  on  the  confines  of  the  unknown  spiritual 
world.  This  state,  it  was  held,  could  only  be  obtained 
away  from  the  allurements  of  the  world  by  entering  into 
silence,  meditation  and  inter-communion  with  one's  self. 

"  With  the  absolute  negation  of  all  world-matter,  thought 
and  wOrld-matter  existence ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  nearest 
approach  to  the  Invisible  can  only  be  reached  by  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  Non  Ego." 

Translation  of  epitome, — 

"  I  understand — I  purpose — I  accomplish — I  find  pleasure 
in — I  boast  of — I  delight  in — I  seek — nought. 

"I  also  seek  nought'*'^  in  Heaven  or  on  Earth,  except 
only  the  living  Word. 

''Jesus  Christ  the  crucified. — i  Corinth.,  ii.'" 

"  This  is  the  most  exalted,  holiest  and  most  judicious 
ArticiiP"  of  Heaven,  and  to  us  evidently  disclosed  by  God 
revealed  in  the  Light  of  Nature." 


***  An  explanation  of  the  occult  term  nothing  is  that  it  is  to  be  taken  as 
the  antithesis  of  something.  In  occult  literature  the  term  nothing  is 
sometimes  applied  to  signify  something  which  is  inconceivable,  and  there- 
fore 710  thing  to  us.  In  the  German,  the  word  is  used  to  denote  the  Non 
Ego,  or  the  absolute  insignificance  of  the  hi;man  being  in  comparison 
with  the  Deit}^ 

'^  "Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified."  ' 

^"  Used  in  the  sense  of  a  point  of  faith. 


t 


'HE  first  matter  to  at- 
tract the  attention 
of  the  leaders  of  the 
Theosophical  community 
upon  their  arrival  in  the 
German  settlement  was  the 
pitiful  condition  of  the 
Germans,  who  were  here 
entirely  without  any  regu- 
larly ordained  spiritual  ad- 
visers, the  nearest  approach 
to  church  worship  being  the 
occasional  house  services  of  the  Mennonite  brethren,  and 
the  silent  meetings  like  those  of  the  Society  of  Friends,'''^ 
that  were  held  at  the  house  of  Tennis  Kundert/^^ 


I/A 

G  ermari  1o  wn  Pa  .^ 
1691 


**  Watson,  vol.  ii,  p.  23. 

^'^  A  part  of  the  walls  of  this  old  house  was  standing  as  late  as  1823, 
a  portion  of  what  was  then  known  as  Lesher's  Inn.  At  present  it  is 
known  as  No.  5109  Germantown  Avenue.  Mr.  T.  H.  Shoemaker  in- 
forms me  of  a  singular  fact  regarding  the  old  wall  used  by  Lesher  in 
rebuilding,  that  it  would  not  retain  a  coat  of  "dash"  or  "roughcast," 
which  fell  off  whenever  ptit  on,  thus  exposing  the  original  stones  and 
pointing. 

9 


66 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


The  early  settlers  of  the  German  Township,  althongh 
all  were  consistent  Protestants  and  persons  of  exemplary 
pietv,   made   no   attempt  whatever    after   their   arrival   in 

America  to  establish  regular 
orthodox  services  according  to 
either  the  Lutheran  ritual  or 
the  Reformed, — the  faiths  in 
which  they  were  all  brought 
up  in  the  Fatherland.*^ 

No  sooner  had  the  enthusi- 
astic   Koster    learned    of    this 
S'ft&!S|SS&'"f     state  of  affairs  than  he  imme- 

diately  commenced  to  hold 
religious  services  in  the  Ger- 
ihan  language,  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
at  the  house  of  Van  Bebber,^' 
wherein  he  sought  to  impress 
his  hearers  with  the  impor- 
tance of  remaining  steadfast  to 
the  dogmas  of  the  Church  as  founded  upon  the  original 
x^ugsburg  Confession.  ^^ 


^/ugfpurg  <  anno  i  «•?  c.  ffarolo  V. 

otcrecbiii/ jb^Jfetni}  in  D«  Dtcicf!83lrd)im6  iici)at» 
Ugt/uiiD  aile  Km  -Original  fr<iCfn  ^f;urfilr|l{ii 

11 


in. 

^    ^  SfMtCflte. 

4u»  Ptif/ppi  n6  m  jfit  annxfcnhm  I^rtfegcn 

ffortcaor  ^Il^  4.in!>  rtiorli*  kffSjrtf ben cic. 

ancnff  ^riflcn  jur  ltj?<ntigcn  gcttielrit  unt  »>ng<< 
r^K v(i{  ^(Featai*  auffs  nn>  itijccucf  gcflcbtn. 
Cum  ptiviJcgioJ«onico8j  BiunJiburpto. 

©rtrmfii  f'mjrirrric^  /^nrrmon/QSuc^filfrfr 


1  >«to<-tHu 


1  net  <P»«t/  3m  3af)t  I  6  o  J . 


Title  of  Koster's  Personal  Copy  of 
THE  Unaltered  Augsburg  Con- 
fession. 


^  Dr.  Oswald  Seidensticker,  in  Cinchinatti  Pioneer,  vol.  ii,  p.  275. 

^^  Jacob  Isaacs  Van  Bebber,  a  baker  of  Crefeld,  was  one  of  the  original 
six  Crefeld  purchasers  who  bought  1000  acres  of  land  each  from  William 
Penn  on  June  11,  1683,  and  whose  object  was  colonization  and  not  specu- 
lation. Jacob  Isaacs  Van  Bebber  came  to  America  as  a  Mennonite  in  1687, 
and  became  one  of  the  most  influential  persons  in  the  community.  He 
was  a  man  of  standing,  ability,  enterprise,  and  means.  A  few  years  after 
the  arrival  of  Kelpius  in  America,  Van  Bebber  moved  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  is  described,  in  1698,  as  "  a  merchant  in  High  Street. "  He  died 
in  the  city  prior  to  171 1.  For  additional  facts  concerning  the  Van  Bebber 
family,  see  Hon.  SamUel  W.  Pennypacker,  in  Petiusylvania  Magazine, 
vol.  iv,  pp.  1-41. 

"'-  The  Augsburg  Confession,  presented  by  the  Protestants  at  the  Diet 
of  Augsburg,  1530,  to  the  Emperor  and  the  Diet,  and,  being  signed  by  the 


Religious  Services.  67 

These  services  were  public,  and  from  the  outset  were 
well  attended  b}-  the  Germans.  As  they  became  known 
throughout  the  vicinity  a  number  of  English  hearers  pre- 
sented themselves.  On  account  of  their  numbers  it  was 
at  first  thought  that  they  were  Quakers,  who  strove  to  fill 
the  house  so  as  to  exclude  the  regular  German  worshippers. 
Such,  however,  proved  not  to  be  the  case :  they  were,  in 
fact,  Keithians'-'^  or  Christian  Quakers,  as  the  followers  of 
George  Keith  were  then  called.  Thus  it  frequently  hap- 
pened that  the  English  outnumbered  the  Germans. 

Impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  situation,  Koster 
informed  his  German  hearers  that,  as  so  many  of  the  at- 
tendants at  the  services  could  not  understand  German, 
while  nearly  all  knew  English,  he  would  thereafter  conduct 
services  in  both  lano-uag^es.''*     This  course  at  first  caused 


Protestant  States,  was  adopted  as  their  creed.  Luther  made  the  original 
draught,  at  the  command  of  John,  Elector  of  Saxony,  at  Torgau,  in 
seventeen  articles  ;  but,  as  its  style  appeared  to  be  too  violent,  it  was 
altered  by  Melanchthon,  at  the  command  of  the  Elector,  and  in  compliance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  body  of  Protestant  princes  and  theologians.  Thus 
changed,  it  was  presented  and  read  in  the  Diet,  June  25,  1530,  and  hence- 
forth became  the  creed  of  the  Orthodox  Lutheran  Church. 

Afterwards  Melanchthon  arbitrarily  altered  some  of  the  articles,  and  a 
new  edition  with  his  changes  appeared  in  1540.  The  latter  gave  rise  to 
the  denomination  known  as  "  German  Reformed." 

Roster's  copy  of  the  original  Confession,  the  title  of  which  is  repro- 
duced in  fac-simile,  also  contains  the  original  seventeen  articles  as  pre- 
sented by  Martin  Luther.     This  book  is  now  in  possession  of  the  writer. 

®^  George  Keith  personally  disavowed  the  appellation  "  Keithian,"  and 
objected  to  its  use  by  his  enemies.  In  a  letter  written  to  Rev.  Gerard 
Croese,  he  states  :  "As  to  my  part,  it  is  very  odious  to  me  that  such  among 
the  people  called  Quakers,  professing  the  same  Christian  faith  with  me, 
should  be  called  Keithians.  For  if  the  name  of  Calvin  ist  be  odious  to 
him,  why  should  not  the  name  of  Keithian  he  equally  odious  to  me  and 
to  my  brethren  professing  the  same  faith  of  Christ  with  me,  which  name 
this  author  useth  in  divers  places  of  his  history?"  See  "The  General 
History  of  the  Quakers."     (London,  1696  ;  Appendix,  p.  i.) 

"*  Geschichte  jetzt  lebender  Gelchrten  (Zelle,  1743),  p.  489. 


68  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

inucli  dissatisfaction  among  tlie  Germans.  The  English 
services  were,  however,  soon  transferred  to  Philadelphia,*^ 
where  Koster  nsed  all  his  eloquence  and  learning  to  lead 
such  of  the  Quakers  as  were  discontented  back  to  the 
Church. 

The  Keithians  flocked  around  his  standard,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1694,  for  the  first  time  since  the  establishment  of 
the  Province  under  Penn,  church  services,  that  approxi- 
mated orthodoxy,  were  held  at  regular  intervals  in  Phila- 
delphia.'"' 

One  of  the  first  fruits  of  these  ser\'ices  was  to  show  to 
what  a  low  spiritual  state  the  Province  had  fallen.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  there  were  few  or  no  English  Bibles  to  be 
had.  As  soon  as  this  became  known  to  Koster  he  wrote  to 
London,  and  at  his  own  expense  had  a  large  number  sent 
over  from  England''"  to  Philadelphia  for  distribution  among 
his  hearers.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  record  that,  notwith- 
standing the  theosophical  and  mystical  tendencies  of  Hein- 
rich  Bernhard  Koster,  the  pious  and  erratic  enthusiast,  the 
religious  services  instituted  by  him  at  Germantown  and 
Philadelphia  in  1694  were  undoubtedly  strictly  according 
to  the  Lutheran  ritual,  and  were  also  the  first  of  the  kind  to 
be  held  in  America  in  the  German  and  English  languages. 

Furthermore,  it  was  the  influence  engendered  by  these 
religious  meetings,  led  by  the  bold  and  aggressive  German, 
that  paved  the  wsij  for  the  establishment  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  services  as  by  law  ordained  in  the  Province. 


"^  An  account  of  his  later  religious  services  will  lae  found  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

■*  Falkner,  in  his  Scndschreiben  a  us  der  neuen  cvelt,  states,  "In  the 
house  of  this  man  Jacob  Isaacs  ( Van  Bebber)  there  are  every  week  three 
meetings,  at  which  Koster  generally  speaks  publicly  to  the  great  edifica- 
tion of  those  present.  It  is  also  his  custom  to  hold  a  meeting  once  a  week 
in  Philadelphia  in  which  he  speaks  English." 

''"  Rathelf,  Biography,  vol.  vi,  p.  494. 


Rev.  Jacob  Fabritms.  69 

The  earliest  church  services  held  on  the  western  banks 
of  the  Delaware  or  South  River,  under  both  the  Swedish 
and  the  Dutch  regime.,  were  also  services  of  the  Orthodox 
Lutheran  Church  as  founded  on  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
but  they  were  held  in  either  the  Swedish  or  the  Low 
Dutch  language. *"* 

It  is  true  that  the  Rev.  Jacob  Fabritius,^'-"  the  last  Swedish 
or  Dutch  clergyman  who  served  the  congregations  on  the 
Delaware  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Kelpius  and  his  party,  was 
a  German  by  birth,  and  had  been  regularly  ordained  as  a 
Lutheran  pastor  at  Grosglogau,  in  Silesia,  before  coming 
to  America  ;  but  there  are  no  records  or  traditions  whatever 
to  show  that  Fabritius  ever  held  a  single  service  in  the 
German  language  while  in  Pennsylvania,  or  even  that  he 
opened  communications  with  the  German  immigrants  who 
arrived  with  Pastorius,  or  subsequently  came  to  the  Ger- 
manopolis  in  Penn's  Province. 

While  Koster  was  looking  after  the  religious  needs  of 
the  Germans  and  their  English  neighbors,  Kelpius  con- 
summated   arrangements    looking   toward    the    permanent 


^*  Acrelius,  Neza  Sweden  (translation),  p.  177. 

"^  Rev.  Jacob  Fabritius,  before  mentioned,  see  note  page  30,  was  origi- 
nally sent  to  America  (New  Amsterdam)  by  the  Consistory  of  Amsterdam 
to  serve  the  Dutch  Lutheran  churches  along  the  Hudson  River.  He 
arrived  in  New  York  in  1669,  but  his  conduct  there,  as  is  shown  by  the 
public  documents  of  the  day,  was  far  from  bringing  honor  upon  himself 
or  his  church.  After  many  quarrels  with  his  congregations  and  the  local 
magistrates,  he  finally  drifted  to  the  Delaware  in  1671,  and  in  the  year 
following  he  and  one  Lock  divided  the  Swedish  congregations  into  two 
parishes.  In  1677  we  find  Fabritius  holding  services  in  the  old  block- 
house at  Wicacoa.  It  also  appears  that  Fabritius  lived  up  the  Delaware, 
somewhere  on  the  river  bank  near  Shackamaxoji.  He  died  some  time  in 
1693,  about  a  year  before  the  arrival  of  the  theosophical  fraternity.  An 
attetnpt  has  been  made  by  a  late  writer  to  show  that  the  blind  pastor  of 
Wicacoa  was  the  son  of  the  celebrated  court  preacher  of  the  same  name 
as  Gustavus  Adolphus. 


70  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

settlement  of  his  party  and  the  religious  and  moral  educa- 
tion of  the  neglected  youth  within  the  German  Township, 
as  one  of  the  best  means  to  promote  vital  religion,  to  raise 
the  lukewarm  from  indifference  and  excite  a  spirit  of  vigor 
and  resolution  in  those  who  had  been  satisfied  to  lament  in 
silence  the  progress  of  impiety. '^"^ 

The  individual  members  of  the  party  who  had  found 
refuge  among  their  countrymen  in  the  settlements  of  Som- 
merhausen  and  Crisheim  near  the  Wingohocking,^"*  by 
whom  they  were  most  cordially  received,  and  where  they 
shone  as  peculiar  lights,  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Ger- 
mantown  only  until  such  time  as  Thomas  Fairman  the 
surveyor  could  locate  and  survey  for  them  a  tract  of  land 
some  distance *^^  from  Germantown,  containing  175  acres, 
which  was  given  to  them  after  their  arrival  by  a  well- 
disposed  resident  of  Philadelphia.  Evidently  this  parcel 
of  land  had  no  connection  with,  nor  was  it  any  part  of, 
the  2400  acres  given  to  them  previous  to  their  departure 
from  Holland. 

This  tract  was  on  what  is  now,  after  the  lapse  of  two 
centuries,  still  known  as  the  "Ridge."  It  was  then  sup- 
posed to  be  the  highest  point  of  land  vacant  in  the  vicinity 
of  Germantown,  and  was  part  of  the  range  of  hills  which 
fonned  the  rugged  dell  through  which  purled  a  crystal 
stream,  the  Wissahickon,^"^  over  rock  and  ledge  until  the 
waters  mingled  with  the  placid  Schuylkill. 

Here  the  necessary  ground  was  cleared  and  a  log  house 
built  upon  the  highest  point  of  the  tract.     This  structure 


100  Ephrata  MSS. 

101  Fahnestock  MSS. 

^°^  Several  old  accounts  state  ' '  three  miles. ' ' 

1"^  Then  called  Whitpaine's  Creek.      Wissahickon  (Wisamekhan),  the 
Indian  name,  according  to  Heckewelder,  denotes  "  Catfish  Creek." 


TJie   Tabernacle  in  the  Forest. 


71 


was  forty  feet  square  and  true  to  the  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass.  It  was  for  the  use  of  the  forty  brethern  whose 
number,  as  before  stated,  was  arrived  at  according  to  the 
esoteric  symbolism  of  the  Rosicrucian  fraternity."'* 

It  was  especially  designed  for 
their  various  requirements,  and 
is  said  to  have  contained  a  large 
room  or  "  saal"  for  their  relig- 
ious and  musical  services,  in 
addition  to  a  school-room  and 
the  separate  "  kammern"  or  cell- 
like rooms  for  the  recluse  Theo- 
sophists.^'^^ 

Surmounting  the  roof  was  a 
lantern  or  observatory  (stern- 
warte)  for  the  observation  of  the 
heavens.  Here  some  of  the 
scientific  members  were  contin- 
ually on  the  watch  at  night 
with  a  telescope  and  other  in- 
struments, being  on  the  lookout 
for  celestial  phenomena, — so  that 
in  case  the  Bridegroom  came  in  the  middle  of  the  night 
their  lamps  would  be  found  to  be  filled  and  trimmed. 


Ancient  Telescope  now  at  Amer- 
ican Philosophical  Society. 


^"■^  Vide,  p.  40,  ante. 

'"5  An  old  legend  descriptive  of  this  tabernacle  in  the  forest  was  incor- 
porated by  George  Lippard,  a  novelist  of  half  a  century  ago,  in  one  of 
his  publications.  The  writer  has  heard  it  stated  upon  good  authority  that 
Lippard's  informant  had  in  his  youth  frequently  seen  and  been  about  the 
ruins  of  the  old  structure.  It  may  be  well  to  state  here  that  this  building 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  massive  stone  one  farther  up  the  stream, 
which  was  built  in  1738,  and  is  still  known  as  "the  monastery  on  the 
Wissahickon. " 

The  description  given  to  Lippard  says  that  the  building  was  upon  the 


72  The  Pietists  of  Pi'ovijicial  Pennsylvania. 

This  crude  obser\'atory,  having  for  its  object  matters  both 
mystical  and  astronomical,  was  without  doubt  the  first  astro- 
nomical observ^atory  set  up  within  the  Province. 

Surmounting  this  structure  was 
raised  a  peculiar  cross  or  emblem,""^ 
in  such  a  position  that  the  first 
rays  of  the  smi  as  it  rose  in  the 
east  would  flood  the  mystic  symbol 
with  a  roseate  hue/"^ 

The  rugged  ravine  through  which 
the  Wissahickon  found  its  way  into 
the  Schuylkill  was  especially  well 
suited  to  the  uses  of  the  mystic 
Fraternity  and  their  esoteric  studies.  Wild,  weird,  and 
rugged  as  it  was,  shaded  by  the  ghostly  hemlock  and 
stately  pine,  it  afforded  cool  retreats  for  repose,  contem- 
plation, and  study  during  the  long  summer  days.  Crystal 
springs  trickled  from  the  rocks ;  the  healing  aroma  of  the 
balsam-pine  and  sweet  scents  from  the  flowers  were  wafted 
in  the  air,  while  strains  from  the  throats  of  scores  of 
feathered  songsters  added  an  almost  celestial  charm  to  the 
scene. 


RosiCRUCiAN  Symbol. 


brow  of  a  hill,  a  large  square  edifice  built  of  trunks  of  giant  oaks  and 
pines,  and  that  it  rose  above  the  surrounding  woods.  The  roof,  in  1770, 
was  crushed  in,  as  though  stricken  b}'  a  hurricane,  many  of  the  tim- 
bers lying  in  a  shapeless  mass.  The  walls,  however,  were  still  intact. 
Towards  the  west  there  were  four  large  square  spaces,  framed  in  heavy 
pieces  of  timber,  while  the  other  sides  of  the  structure  were  almost  blank. 
In  the  large  lower  room,  which  was  circular  in  form,  there  were  the 
remnants  of  an  altar  and  a  large  iron  cross  fixed  against  the  wall. 

lot;  'j>j^g  symbol  of  the  true  Rosicrucian  Fraternity  is  a  cross  within  a 
circle.  Its  antiquity  reaches  far  behind  the  Christian  era.  The  sj-mbol, 
however,  is  a  mere  variation  of  the  "  Sonnen  rad,"  or  solar  wheel.  The 
circle  denotes  the  solar  year  or  eternity,  while  the  four  arms  of  the  cross 
typify  the  four  seasons.  There  are  other  esoteric  meanings  connected 
with  this  symbol,  which  are  only  explained  to  the  initiates. 


The   Cave  in  the  Hillside.  73 

To  complete  the  enchantment,  as  it  were,  a  small  natnral 
cave  existed  among  the  rocks  of  the  hillside,  near  which 
flowed  a  spring.  This  cave  was  claimed  by  Magister  Kel- 
pius  as  his  own,  and  to  it,  after  it  was  enlarged  and  made 
habitable,  he  was  wont  to  retire  for  contemplation  and 
prayer  until  the  end  of  his  da)'s. 

From  an  old  Ephrata  manuscript  it  is  learned  that  from 
the  outset  the  plan  for  seclusion  in  the  forest  was  strenu- 
ously opposed  by  the  residents  of  the  German  Township. 
It  seems  that  various  members  had  made  so  good  an  im- 
pression upon  the  people  amongst  whom  they  were  tem- 
porarily quartered  that  when  the  time  came  for  them  to 
resume  their  communal  life,  considerable  opposition  arose 
aeainst  it.  Arguments  were  advanced  bv  the  citizens  that 
"  they  were  not  entrusted  with  talents  to  be  hid  in  a  napkin, 
and  that  the  obligations  they  were  under  for  their  valuable 
inheritance  should  constrain  them  to  render  themselves 
useful  in  the  promotion  of  vital  truth  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind." 

In  vindication  of  their  course  the  brethren  persisted  in 
the  "  conviction  of  being  impelled  by  a  power  to  live  apart 
from  the  vices  and  temptations  of  the  world,  and  to  be 
prepared  for  some  immediate  and  strange  revelations  which 
could  not  be  communicated  amid  scenes  of  worldly  life, 
strife  and  dissipation,  but  would  be  imparted  in  the  silence 
and  solitude  of  the  wilderness  to  those  who  came  out  from 
iniquity." 


107  <<  gui;  -^hen  the  dawning  or  morning  redness  shaU  shine  from  the  east 
to  the  west,  or  from  the  rising  to  the  setting,  then  assuredly  time  will  be 
no  more,  but  the  sun  of  the  heart  of  God  rises  or  springs  forth,  and  RA. 
RA.  R.P.  will  be  pressed  in  the  wine-press  without  the  city,  and  therewith 
to  R.P. 

N.B. — These  are  hidden  mystical  words,  and  are  understood  only  in  the 
language  of  Nature." — Behmen's  Aurora,  chap,  xxvi,  vol.  v,  pp.  126-27. 

10 


74  The  Pietists  of  PTOvincial  Pe7insylvania. 

The  old  manuscript  further  states  that  against  these 
arguments  all  persuasion  proved  futile,  and  no  sooner  were 
the  people  forced  to  relinquish  the  hope  of  retaining  the 
services  and  eloquence  of  the  Theosophical  students  than 
many  branded  them  as  fanatics  and  self-righteous  hypo- 
crites. 

However,  that  in  the  end  they  triumphed  and  obtained 
the  goodwill  of  the  greater  portion  of  the  community,  is 
shown  by  the  letter  of  Daniel  Falkner,  written  to  Germany 
under  date  of  August  7,  1694,  wherein  he  also  gives  the 
intentions  of  the  Fraternity, ^-^^  viz., — 

"  We  are  now  beginning  to  build  a  house  there,  and  the 
people  lend  us  all  possible  help.  We  place  this  to  the 
public  good,  and  expect  not  a  fool's  breadth  on  our  own 
account.  For  we  are  resolved,  besides  giving  public  in- 
struction to  the  little  children  of  this  country,  to  take 
many  of  them  to  ourselves  and  have  them  day  and  night 
with  us,  so  as  to  lay  in  them  the  foundation  of  a  stable, 
permanent  character.  With  them  beginning  must  be  made, 
otherwise  there  will  be  only  mending  and  patching  of  the 
old  people." 

To  these  religious  enthusiasts  in  the  forest  on  the  banks 
of  the  Wissahickon  is  due  the  credit  of  making  the  earliest 
attempt  to  erect  and  maintain  a  charitable  institution  for 
religious  and  moral  instruction  within  the  bounds  of  Penn- 
svlvania.^*^^ 


1"*  Falkner,  Sendsclireiben,  translation,  Pennsylvania  Magazine^  vol. 

xi,  p.  441- 

1"^  It  appears  from  the  journals  of  the  Provincial  Council  that  as  early 
as  December,  1683,  Enoch  Flower  undertook  to  teach  school  in  the 
"town  of  Philadelphia."  His  charges,  a  record  of  which  is  still  pre- 
served, indicate  the  simplicitj'  of  the  period.  To  learn  to  read  English, 
four  shillings  a  quarter  ;  to  write,  six  shillings,  etc. ;  boarding  a  scholar, 
to  wit,  lodging,  washing,  and  schooling,  ^10  for  the  whole  j^ear.     It  will 


Muhlenberg^ s   Trilmte.  75 

A  tribute  to  the  educational  efforts  of  this  Fraternity  will 
be  found  in  the  correspondence  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior 
Miihlenberg  with  the  Orphanage  at  Halle,""  where,  in  com- 
menting   upon     the    remarkable 
incidents    that    came    under    his  ^  p,^^  5,^^^ 

notice  during  his  long  pastorate        CATECHISM 
in  America,  he  recites  the  case  of  ^"^^ 

a  devout  widow  who  had  been  a         Children  &  Youth, 

1  hat  may  be  Serviceable  to  luch  Oiheri, 

member  of  the  Lutheran  Church         «hon«d,oix.nftrn£ud.nchcv,raprm. 

ciplcsand  Grounds  of  ihe 

at  Germantown,  and  to  whom  he         Chnlhan  Rehgion. 

administered  spiritual  consolation  t- «hich  ^  iddcd. 

.  A  Oiort  Paraphrale  or  Opening,  by  wtjr 

during  her  last  illness.     He  there         otMcditauon  on  ibat  hayr,  whuh  o^ 

"^  Lord  lelusChull  laiighitUiDifciples'-oai- 

states  that  in  her  tender  youth  this         moniy  can  d.  r«.  t^^.  ^^c. 
devout  sister  went  to  school  and        — ^- — — — — — -7^ 

Prov  11.6    Trtin  4f  *  ChlU  tn  rbt  wrf  ht  flKUd 

was  instructed  by  Johannes  Seelig,         ^°;  ""'"""'^  i.oiu>.mii^^f^jr«, 

J    ,••        ,    .,  ,,  1      1    •       j_  1  Hcb  f.il.  For  whin  fif>"hctuiieyr0fti;ht  tobt 

and  that  it  was  through  his  teach-  T'lhcr^yrhMvcmcJrh^ro^Jchy-az^n 

iiig  that  her  mind  received  such  ooi,  «<i4r,  *.«-. /w*«,tofc4«««< ,/ 

gentle    impressions    as    emanate  i;;:;^ aTTsoki b.  mmam  BMnrj^tPhu*. 
only  from  true  piety. 

.  .  Title  of  Keith's  Cathecism. 

In  addition  to  their  other  labors 
a  piece  of  ground  was  cleared  and  a  large  garden  cultivated 
for  their  own  support.  Considerable  attention  was  also  given 
to  growing  and  acclimating  medicinal  herbs  (krauter),  which 
was  probably  the  first  systematic  effort  made  to  raise  European 
medicinal  plants  for  curative  purposes  in  America. 


be  seen  from  the  above  that  Flower's  venture  was  by  no  means  a  chari- 
table institution.  The  public  school  system,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Friends,  of  which  George  Keith  was  the  first  preceptor,  was  started 
about  1689  ;  but  it  was  not  founded  on  a  firm  basis  until__^artcrod  in  tToi,. 
George  Keith  had  printed  by  William  Bradford  for  use  in  his  school  a 
short  catechism.  The  title-page  of  this  unique  book  is  reproduced  in 
reduced  fac-simile.  A  complete  reproduction  of  the  only  known  copy 
was  made  by  the  writer  for  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

"°  Nachrichten  von  den  Vereinigten   Deutschen  Evengelisch-Luther- 
ischen  Gemeinen  in  Nord  America.     Halle,  1787,  p.  1265. 


76 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Cngura  diimia0tjecf?iJx^(^^  ncc 


£/)aisJrauius 
^        cjcwlt 

\l''ii'iiK.  , 

JlllKIItllWlf 

TJtidamMrs  ill  / 
'Jucfxs  wto;5  uigerveSti/ 

RUACH 
tJyaJurcb  (ucjtu-  omnc\ 

|)avftatur/>uranl<, 


ex/LcntrouL 
\/tntriurL.     y 

'^^auti  ut&mcinxf^rrfj/ru 


IjfllliK  Aci)/ri(II(|ffll 

Tw^ni  ima^jvitb  audi  Ccytii 
3n  dwtdat  unb  pu 

furfilhlfC 
fcfi^t  Atif(dthp[i 

Ji'chilfai'MM/rit 
nahrixifii  eiichtdmtu^ 

dhurct/i  vhurum. 

fy(nm{  in  limr-' 

\(^kturit\f(fM 

''3 


'^cr'Jfjilcjo-- 

mmruirionkn 
L'ciianiftillienmim- 

lirnK-'o* 
-       ■^. 

\iSn  itkitbui  iA>^ 


-phorWTi 

Ic*^  |:ininwn\tr| 
<5wn 


^  iluaJiia/c  C  ^laaJi/iiate 


Twenty-fourth  Folio  of  Rosicrucian  MS. 


TheosopJiy. 


n 


Here  in  the  solitude,  far  away  from  the  bustle  and  gossip 
of  the  village,  these  Theosophical  students  when  not  em- 
plo}'ed  on  errands  of  mercy  were  free  to  devote  their  spare 

time  to  their  esoteric  studies, 
undisturbed  by  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  world  or  official 
interference, — seeking  Theo- 
sophical light,  as  set  forth 
in  their  secret  and  zealously 
guarded  symbolical  manu- 
scripts. 

A  former  writer  upon  this 
community'"  well  says,  "Thus 
amid   the   rugged  rocks    and 
wild    scenery   of  the    Wissa- 
hickon,  surrounded  by  the  tall 
forest  trees  in  beautiful  groves, 
God's  first  temples,  these  Her- 
mits of  the  Ridge  were  wont  to  commune  with  their  God." 
Such   as  remained   true   to  their    original   compact,   to- 
o-ether  with  the  accessions  to  their 

o 

number   that    arrived    from   various 
parts  of  Europe  from  time  to  time, 
lived  here  in  the  virgin  forest  of  the 
New  World  in  almost  unbroken  har- 
mony for  a  period   of  at  least   ten 
years,  a  strictly  Theosophical  frater- 
nity,   whose    tenets    were 
founded  upon  the  dogmas 
of  the  Cabbala  and  esoteric 
philosophy. 


Symbol  of  the  Ephrata  Community. 


^^^  Hon.  Horatio  Gates  Jones. 


THE    WOMAN    IN    THE    WILDERNESS. 


dtv 


FTER  the  Commu- 
nity was  permanently 
installed  in  its  new 
home  in  the  Western  World, 
Johannes  Kelpins  sought,  as 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of 
the  Chapter,  to  bring  about 
a  union  or  combination  of 
all  the  various  sects  that  ex- 
isted among  the  Germans  in 
Pennsylvania  and  unite  them 
into  one  universal  Christian 
Church.  For  this  purpose  public  devotional  services,  ad- 
vocating Christian  love  and  unity,  were  held  every  morning 
and  evening  in  the  large  room  or  saal  of  the  Tabernacle, 
to  which  all  were  invited.  ^^^ 

These  services,  it  is  stated,  were  opened  with  a  prayer 
and  a  hymn ;  then  a  portion  of  Scripture  was  read  and 
critically  examined,  when  any  one  present  could  advance 
his  opinion  and  engage  in  a  dispassionate  discussion  of  any 
abstruse  or  unsettled  point.  Visitors,  no  matter  of  what 
nationality  or  whence  they  came,  were  received  with  much 
cordiality  by  the  brethren,  and  made  to  feel  welcome. 


Einfaltig  A-B-C  Biicliel,  etc. — From  title  page  of  Tlieosophical  MS. 
"2  Ephrata  MSS. 


^''Doctor  Schotte.''''  79 

From  a  small  book  published  over  a  century  and  a  half 
ago  by  Christopher  Saner,  it  is  to  be  inferred,  upon  authority 
of  a  certain  "  Doctor  Schotte,"  that  some  kind  of  a  mon- 
astic rule  was  observ'ed  by  this  band  of  Pietists,  in  addition 
to  their  esoteric  discipline,  both  before  and  after  their 
arrival  in  the  New  World.  According  to  this  somewhat 
doubtful  authority,  Kelpius  was  known  as  Philologits^ 
j,„  Seelig  as  Pudens^  Falkner  as  Gajiis^ 

ab8«n6t&i9f„  Re^_  ^    H.  Francke  as  Stephamis, 

^K    f    f    t    ffi    f        Peterson  as  Elias^  etc."^     A  careful 
'^-^  ^        I   search,  however,  has  thus  far  failed 

Sum  iffSn'bcgcijrK  ^o  establish  the  identity  of  this  "  Dr. 

^^     .  .  Schotte,"   or  any  corroboration  of 

yS MlWvXlf         Sauer's  statements. 

5xn«nDarnaci?fra9cn&cnPor3*<3t.5n|I*l)a&  FrcqUCUt   rcligioUS   meetings,   CX- 

tcnbci  inxT)  ^ritfft  unD  Derm  •■       •  r    a-i  i        i      i   i        tt  •• 

uvfa^.  elusive  01   those  conducted  by  Kos- 

ter,  as  before  mentioned,  were  also 

m  »on  iDwwr  sd)ot»e/ un»  .tiniac'     held  at  Gemiautown,  and  at  stated 

ssr.ff.jcnBcmfcib.n,u,un,         intervals  at  various  places  in  the 

trwssw  vicinity.     No  request  for  religious 

mmm^^^^S&im^m&^  instruction    was   ever   refused,   the 

(Samamw.  brethren    holding    themselves    pre- 

Gebllirfi   bcp  Ct?ri(?op^  3<t»x  tin.  ,    ,  n       r  r 

pared  to  answer  any  calls  irom-aiar 
or  near  at  a  moment's  notice."* 

It  was  through  these  services  that  the  peculiar  Theo- 
sophical  dogmas  of  the  Brotherhood  became  publicly 
known,  as  frequently  during  the  fervent  exhortations, 
Kelpius,  Seelig,  and  other  brethren,  when  shocked  at  some 
new  evidence  of  spiritual  indifference  among  their  hearers, 


1^^  A  reduced  fac-simile  of  the  title  page  of  this  curious  book  is  here 
given.  It  is  from  the  only  known  copy,  in  the  librar}^  of  Hon.  Samuel 
W.  Pennypacker. 

1"  Ephrata  MSS. 


8o 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


were  apt  to  call  upon  the  multitude  to  repent,  as  the  hour 
of  the  approaching  millennium  was  drawing  near, — fortify- 
ing their  arguments  with  well-known  quotations  from  the 
Apocalypse.  It  was  this  feature  that  led  to  the  Fraternity 
being  called  "The  Woman  in  the  Wilderness."  A  con- 
temporary of  Kelpius  states  that  this  somewhat  curious 
name  was  given  them  because  they 
persisted  in  giving  esoteric  inter- 
pretations to  the  Scriptures,  and  in- 
dulged in  unrestrained  mysticism. 
But  the  real  reason  was  that  the 
Brotherhood  believed  and  taught  in 
their  exhortations,  as  well  as  in  their 
explanations  of  the  Apocalypse,  that 
the  Woman  in  the  Wilderness  men- 
tioned in  Revelation  xii,  14-17,  was 
prefigurative  of  the  great  deliverance 
that  was  then  soon  to  be  displayed 
for  the  Church  of  Christ. 

The  appellation,  however,  was 
never  acknowledged  by  the  Frater- 
nity, as,  in  accordance  with  their 
mystical    teachings     and    precepts, 

Emblem  of  the  "Celestial       ^,  -       ,       ^  ..  .  . 

Eve,"  from  Ancient  ms.^'^  they  dcsircd  to  livc  m  Comparative 
seclusion,  without  name  and,  above  all,  sectarianism,  in 
love  and  religious  harmony  with  all  men,  at  the  same  time 
looking  after  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  general  com- 
munity, while  perfecting  themselves  in  their  Theosophical 
and  esoteric  speculations  as  to  the  expected  millennium. 

A  curious  entry,  corroborative  of  the  above,  appears  in  an 
old  Ephrata  manuscript,  and  states,  that  "  while  giving  up 


^^*  In  Rosicrucian  Theosophy  this  emblem  typifies  the  "  Celestial  Eve," 
representing  Theo-Sophia,  divine  wisdom,  or  nature  in  her  spiritual  aspect. 


The   Contoitcd  of  Uic   God-loving  Soul.  8i 

their  souls  to  their  Creator,  and  devoting  their  whole  lives 
to  a  preparation  of  heart  for  the  glorious  inheritance  pre- 
pared for  the  faithful,  they  mutually  instructed  each  other, 
and  cemented  a  bond  of  brotherly  love  and  holy  affection. 
They  professed  love  and  charity  toward  all  denominations, 
but  desired  to  live  without  name  or  sect.  '  The  Contented 
of  the  God-loving  Soul'  ""  was  the  only  name  wdiich  they 
acknowledged." 

With  the  ignorant  and  rationalistic  populace,  however, 
they  were  almost  exclusively  known  as  "  The  Woman  in 
the  Wilderness," — Dass  Weib  in  der  Wiiste. 

The  old  manuscript  goes  on  to  state  that  the  Brotherhood, 
in  using  that  peculiar  part  of  the  Holy  writ,  showed  deep 
thinking  and  much  ingenuity.  As  she  (the  deliverer)  was 
to  come  up  from  the  wilderness  leaning  on  the  Beloved,  so 
[they]  the  beloved  in  the  wilderness,  laying  aside  all  other 
engagements  and  trimming  their  lamps  and  adorning  them- 
selves with  holiness  that  they  might  be  prepared  to  meet 
the  same  with  joy,  did  well  to  observe  the  signs  and  the 
times  and  every  new  phenomenon,  whether  moral  or  pre- 
ternatural, of  meteors,  stars,  and  the  color  of  the  skies :  if 
peradventure  "  the  Harbinger  may  appear."  They  further 
argued  that  there  was  a  threefold  wilderness  state  of  pro- 
gression in  spiritual  holiness,  viz.,  the  barren,  the  fruitful, 
and  the  wilderness  state  of  the  elect  of  God.  It  was  this 
last  state  after  which  they  were  seeking  as  the  highest 
degree  of  holiness.  To  obtain  it  they  believed  it  very 
essential  to  dwell  in  the  solitude  or  in  the  wilderness. 
Hence  they  were  termed  by  others  "  The  Society  of  the 
Woman  in  the  Wilderness." 

Another  cherished  object  with  the  Fraternity  was  the 


"*  This  fact  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere. 

II 


82 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Motus  Piita  Iiitrinsccus  83 

conversion  of  the  Indians.  In  their  intercourse  with  the 
aborigines  they  attempted  to  ascertain  to  a  certainty 
whether  they  were  actually  the  descendants  of  the  ten  lost 
tribes  of  Israel,  which  at  that  time  was  almost  universally 
believed.  To  settle  this  much  disputed  question,  special 
efforts  were  made  to  find  out  whether  the  different  tribes  of 
Indians  kept  the  seventh  day  (Sabbath  or  Saturday)  holy, 
and,  if  so,  how  they  kept  it.  They  also  instituted  investi- 
gations as  to  whether  there  were  any  philosophers  or  "wise 
men"    among    the  .       i  tribes  who  practised 

any  system  of  phil  ^^  osophy,  and,  if  so, 

how  they  practised        J^^^^C^  ^^'    ^'^^^^    ^^^^    ^^^^^ 

were,    and    if   they        If  observed  the  course 

of  the  heavens ;  also        ^^«v  whether  or  not  the 

Indians     observed            ^WSv  ^"^^  understood  any 

of  the  extraordinary    X'^^^^tZlTX  pl^^"^^^^^"^'   terres- 

tial      or     celestial;  C(^^^p'£J>'|  whether  any  among 

them    ever  showed  ^^^^^^^^^fi:^  any     extraordinary 

inspiration     or     in                  '^  ward       movements 

/  ,  ,        ,  ...  MiTHRAIC    SyMBOI-.H'  \  ]         1      „i1 

{motus  piita  intrin  seais) ;  and,  lastly, 

whether  among  the  different  tribes  any  extraordinary 
movements  were  noticeable  indicative  of  the  approaching 
millennium. 

A  systematic  educational  movement  was  also  started  by 
Kelpius  among  the  Germans.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  mystic  Brotherhood  by  no  means  passed  their  time  in 
idle  speculation  and  indolence.  The  scriptural  injunction 
to  labor  six  days  of  the  week  was  strictly  complied  with, 
as  was  also  the  one  to  keep  the  Sabbath  holy. 

To  their  lasting  honor  be  it  said  that  all  services  of  a 
spiritual,  educational,  and  medical  nature  were  given  free, 
without  price  or  hope  of  fee  or  reward. 


"'  From  ancient  Rosicrucian  MS. 


A'  RIVAL    COMMUNITY. 


0ITTLE  has  thus 
^^  far  been  pub- 
lished in  relation 
to  the  internal  affairs 
or  domestic  life  of  the 
Fraternity  after  they 
were  established  in 
their  new  home  on  the 
banks  of  the  Wissa- 
hickon. 

There  is  ground  for 
belief  that  in  more  than 
one  instance  internal 
dissension  manifested 
itself  in  the  Community,  in  which  Kelpius  was  called  upon 
to  act  as  general  peacemaker.  The  brethren  would  have 
been  saints  indeed,  if,  under  the  stress  of  their  peculiar  life, 
jealousies  and  bickerings  had  not  arisen.  But  on  the  whole, 
the  unity  seems  to  have  been  fairly  well  maintained,  and 
the  Society  of  the  Woman  in  the  Wilderness  struck  root 
deeply  in  the  soil. 

"**  This  ancient  symbol  represents  the  principle  of  Nature,  the  prima 
materia  or  primordal  matter, — the  foundation  of  all  things. 


Symbol  Frivia  Materia. '^'^^ 


K'oster'^s  Ministratiojis.  85 

Enough,  however,  is  shown  in  the  letter  written  to  Ger- 
many by  Daniel  Falkner,  August,  1694,"^  to  prove  that  all 
did  not  remain  true  to  their  profession,  "  to  remain  free 
according  to  the  better  advice  of  St.  Paul." 

The  first  to  break  his  voluntary  resolution  of  celibacy 
was  Ludwig  Christian  Biedermann,  who  almost  immediately 
upon  his  arrival  in  Germantown  married  Maria  Margaretha, 
the,  daughter  of  the  widow  of  Rev.  Johann  Jacob  Zimmer- 
mann.  They  had  been  fellow-passengers  across  the  ocean. 
Their  example  was  followed  by  several  other  members 
during  the  first  year  or  two.  These  defections,  however, 
were  not  serious,  nor  by  any  means  the  greatest  trouble 
that  confronted  the  leaders  of  this  experimental  movement 
in  practical  theosophy. 

The  first  question  to  arise  after  the  consecration  of  the 
Tabernacle  in  the  Forest  was  the  erratic  and  dictatorial 
course  pursued  by  Koster  and  his  few  adherents  in  the 
Community.  Koster,  in  addition  to  being  a  devout,  austere 
enthusiast,  was  a  fearless  and  impulsive  man  ;  and,  as  before 
stated,  lost  no  time  in  extending  his  ministrations  from 
Germantown  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  preached  and  ex- 
horted both  in  German  and  English.  While  in  Phila- 
delphia he  became  more  or  less  involved  in  the  Keithian 
controversy,  which  was  then  agitating  the  Quakers  through- 
out the  Province. 

Koster,  aggressive  and  belligerent  as  he  was,  without 
delay  took  sides  with  the  partisans  of  George  Keith,  and 
whenever  preaching  to  the  Keithians  lost  no  opportunity 
to  widen  the  breach  that  existed  between  them  and  the 
Orthodox  Friends.  As  an  old  German  manuscript  states, 
"  He  gradually  led  them  from  the  ways  of  the  Quakers, 
farther  and  farther  into  the  lanes  that  ended  in  the  true  path." 


See  mention  of  letter,  p.  15. 


86 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Esoteric  Symbol. 120 


As    the  Orthodox    Friends,  immediately   uj^on    the    de- 
parture of  Keith  and  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Koster,  had 

commenced  a  strong  effort  to  heal 
the  schism  that  then  existed  in 
their  community  and  bring  back 
the  seceders,  Koster's  action  did 
not  tend  to  improve  the  religious 
situation  in  Philadelphia.  His  im- 
passioned and  outspoken  utterances 
gave  fresh  courage  to  the  oppos- 
ing party,  and  emboldened  them  to 
renew  their  discussions,  which  soon 
undid  the  efforts  that  had  been  made  by  the  Friends  in  the 
interest  of  unity  and  peace.  All  the  bitterness  of  the  old 
strife  was  thereby  revived,  and  dissensions  were  once  more 
rife  in  the  different  meetings  throughout  the  Province. 

The  stand  taken  by  the  German  enthusiast  in  reference 
to  the  troubles  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  which  also  par- 
took somewhat  of  a  political 
nature,  was  not  only  opposed  by 
the  latter,  but  also  by  his  more 
conserv^ative  associates  and  bro- 
ther Mystics,  who  had  naught 
but  the  best  feelings  toward  the 
Quakers,  and  were  always  in  full 
accord  and  sympathy  with  them. 
Matters  went  along  in  this  way 
for  over  a  year,  the  breach  grad- 
ualh^  widening  between  Koster 
and  his  old  associates  as  the  time  passed,  and  the  former 
became  more  closely  allied  with  William  Davis  and  several 


^L^ 


RosicRUCiAN  Symbol. i-'l 


^^^  According  to  the  esoteric  teachings,  this  symbol  typifies  the  universal 
matrix,  or  great  invisible  storehouse  of  Nature,  wherein  the  character  of 
all  things  are  contained  and  preserved. 


The  Brethren  in  America.  87 

kindred  sj)irits  wlio  had  been  among  the  first  to  foment  the 
Quaker  schism.  The  sequel  of  the  disagreement  between 
Kelpius  and  Koster  was  the  withdrawal  of  the  latter  and 
a  few  others  from  the  original  Community,  who,  together 
with  a  few  of  the  Keithians,  attempted,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Koster,  to  form  a  new  community  of  religious 
evangelists.  They  called  themselves  "  The  Brethren  in 
America,"  and  their  community  was  to  be  known  as  "  The 
True  Church  of  Philadelphia,  or  Brotherly  Love." 

For  the  purposes  of  the  society  a  piece  of  ground  was 
obtained  in  Plymouth,  a  short  distance  north  of  German- 
town.  Just  how  this  ground  was  obtained  is  not  known 
to  a  certainty,  nor  has  the  location  been  traced.  The  old 
manuscript  before  quoted  states  that  it  was  purchased  by 
Koster ;  ^"  another  account  tells  us  that  it  was  given  to  the 
new  community.  Be  this  as  it  may,  a  tabernacle  or  com- 
munity-house was  built  on  the  plot.^"^  When  finished,  the 
building  was  consecrated  with  mystic  ritual  and  called 
"  Irenia," — that  is,  "The  House  of  Peace."  Thus  for  a 
time  two  separate  and  distinct  religious  communities  ex- 
isted in  the  vicinity  of  Germantown. 

This  action  of  Koster,  who,  notwithstanding  his  erratic 
course,  still  adhered  strictly  to  the  Orthodox  Lutheran 
doctrine  in  his  religious  services,  had  but  little  effect  or 
influence  upon  the  original  Fraternity.  Nowhere  in  the 
writings  of  Kelpius,  Seelig,  or  Falkner  is  this  defection  of 
Koster  thought  worthy  of  mention. 


^^^  This  symbol,  representing  an  armillary  sphere  sustained  b}^  the  three 
forces,  viz..  Truth,  Justice,  and  Peace,  according  to  the  esoteric  doctrine 
portrays  the  universe. 

1--  According  to  Rathelf,  p.  487,  the  Plymouth  lot  was  bought  jointly  by 
Koster  and  two  others. 

'-'  Ein  Bericht  an  alle  Bekenner  und  Schriftsteller.  Von  H.  B.  Koster. 
New  York,  1696;  p.  i. 


88  The  Pietists  of  Pj^ovincial  Pennsylvania. 

Under  the  spiritual  guidance  of  Kelpius,  and  the  judi- 
cious financial  management  of  Daniel  Falkner,  the  matter 
proved  but  a  passing  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Frater- 
nity, as  it  soon  recovered  from  whatever  setback  it  had 
received. 

In  the  subsequent  controversy  ^"*  betM^een  Koster  and  the 
leading  Quakers,  in  which  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius  ^~^  took 
so  active  a  part,  none  of  the  other  members  of  the  original 
community  became  involved. 

The  most  important  incident,  from  a  literary  point  of 
view,  after  the  formation  of  the  "  Triie  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia" by  Koster  was  the  writing,  in  the  fall  or  winter  of 
the  year  1697,  of  a  Latin  thesis,  ^''  De  Resiirrectione  Imperii 
^ternitatns^^''  a  quarto  of  forty  pages.  When  the  work 
was  finished,  as  there  was  no  printer  in  Pennsylvania  at 
that  time,  he  attempted  to  get  it  printed  by  William  Brad- 
ford in  New  York.  The  printer  declined  the  commission, 
as  he  could  get  no  one  to  correct  the  printed  sheets  intel- 
ligently.'"' 

This  mystical  dissertation  is  the  first  theological  or  theo- 
sophical  book  written  or  composed  in  Pennsylvania  to  be 
printed  in  the  Latin  language,  if  not  within  the  English 


'-*  This  famous  controversy  will  be  treated  at  length  later  on. 

1^^  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius  was  born  at  Somerhausen,  September  26, 
1 65 1.  He  attended  the  University  of  Strasburg  in  1672,  went  to  the 
high  school  at  Basle,  and  afterwards  studied  law  at  Jena.  He  was 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Greek,  Latin,  German,  French,  Dutch, 
English,  and  Italian  tongues,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  publich'  dis- 
puted in  different  languages  upon  law  and  philosophy.  After  practising 
law  for  a  short  time  in  Frankfort,  he  sailed  for  America  from  London, 
June  10,  16S3,  and  arrived  in  Philadelphia  August  20th.  His  great  learn- 
ing and  social  position  at  home  made  him  the  most  conspicuous  person 
in  Germantown.  He  married,  November  26,  168S,  Ennecke  Klostermann. 
He  died  leaving  two  sons. 

^-^  Zellische  Gelehrten  Geschichte. 


"  Z)<?   Resurrectiojie,^''  89 

colonies  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  full  text  of  this 
extremely  rare  and  almost  forgotten  work  reads  (transla- 
tion) :  "  x\  Directory  and  Universal  View  ||  of  the  Ashkenaz- 
Elamite  Journals  ||  that  is  ||  of  the  at  last  triimiphant 
struggles  of  arising  and  restoring  righteousness  ||  to  wit 
ll  of  the  Resurrection  ||  of  the  Empire  of  the  Eternities  || 
among  the  Churches  exiled  yet  pressing  forward  from 
Jesus  to  Jesus  the  Restorer  ||  from  the  Millennium  of  the 
Apostolic  Jerusalem  unto  the  Trumpet  of  Illyricum  and  to 
the  sixth  Vial :  ||  Romans  xv.  19  ;  Rev.  ix.  13,  14 ;  xvi.  12.  || 
Succinct  Axioms  |1  on  the  arising  of  the  future  eternity  of 
the  seven  Hebrew  vials  or  the  ||  sixth  week  [or  Hebdomad] 
of  the  eternities,  against  the  Beast  and  Babylon  the  great,  to  • 
the  union  of  the  empire  of  the  ||  fullness  of  the  nations  with 
the  Universal  Church  of  the  Israel  that  is  to  be  saved  ;  || 
composed  ||  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia  of  America,  on  the 
border  of  great  Cymry-Wales  ||  upon  the  ashes  of  the  Indian 
husbandman  of  ancient  ||  Celt-Iberian  or  Celtic-Hebrew 
Spain,  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1697  ;  in  those  days 
when,  in  the  ||  limits  of  the  City  and  the  whole  region  of 
Philadelphia,  the  first  standard  and  public  outcry  against 
every  arrogance  and  enthusiasm  ||  Spanish  and  Quaker  was 
set  up  II  by  the  Philadelphian  Union  of  the  Un- 
armed Baptism  of  the  primative  churches  ||  ol 
Asia  (reviving  after  the  completed  ages  of  Anti- 
christ, in  this  candlestick'"''  [candelabrum]  or  upon 
II  return  of  the  sixth  spirit- 
ual day)  with  the  temperate 
rule  of  the  British  Church  'Sofhar,"  or  sacred  XRUMPiiT. 

and  Monarchy  ||  being  the  first  Christian  [church]  thence 
from  Constantius  Chlorus  under  the  presidency  of  the  sixth 


^''■''  Candelabrum,  besides  its  obvious  allusion  to  the  Apocalypse,  was 
here  used  by  Koster  to  designate  an  evangelist,  or  one  who  diffuses  light 
( Lainpentmger) . 

12 


90  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

DiRECTORIUM  Et  CoNSPECTUS  UNIVERSALIS 

EPHEMERIDUM  ASCHKENAZ^C- 
ELAMITICARUM, 

i.e. 
Triump  hantium  tandem  agonumjuftici^exorientisntquereducis, 

■videlicet 

De  RESURRECTIONE 

IMPERII  iETERNlTATUM 

Inter  Ecdefias  exuJcs  &  perfe  verantes  a  Jelu  ad  Jefum  redacem, 

31  eiillennio  Jerufalem  Apoftolic^  usqtie  ad  Tubam  Illyrici  &;phia- 
1am.  fexcam  Rons.  if.  v.  19.  Apoe.  9.  v.  13. 14.  cap.  16.  v.  iz, 

^xiomatafuccmBa 

If!  exot'tum  yEtenntatisftitnr<€  jphialarum  Hehr\earumy  Hehdofna- 

dosfcxm,  /Etcrnitatum^conTra  Befiiam  &  BabjloKcm  ffi.-t^fiam^  adHKiontm  ImperiipU- 
nitHdints  gentthm  cumfalvandilfraetis  univerjlBccUJjat 

confcripta 

In ui'be  Philadelphia  Amcrkae,  MagnDeCimbro-Cambri^  fer- 

mino ,  fuper  cineribus  Indianorum  colonorum  Hifpanice  vereris 
Cek-ibcrlccE  vel  Celt-ebrsese,  circa  Colophonem  Anni  1697.  ''^'^  diebus,  quibus  in 
pomceriis  urbis totaque  regione  Philadelphice  contra  omnem  faftum  6c  Enchufia- 
rmumHifpanicum  6:  Quakerianum  erigebaturprimum  vexiilum  &;  publicum 
pra^conium  philadelphica:  unionis  baptifmi  inermis  primEevarum  Eccleliarum 
Afia'(rcv'ivifcentiumpoftAntichrii\ia'tacescompIetas,  hoc  candelabri  five  diei 
fexti  (p;ricu:^s  reditu )  cum  rcgimine  modcrato  Ecclefia;  (Sc  Monarchia;  Britanni- 
ca.', Clirifti^ceprimxindeaConrtantiqCiilororubpntfidio  figilli  fexti  complett 
6(:rcdiviviinChri(liani(lTiTioHeroc&Monarcha  RegeGulielmoIII.  cumque  te- 
Itimonio  vindictarum  Sionis  Bohcmicce  &  Waldenfis  fi.'brevivifcente  nunc  Tu- 
ba rcxtacumphialarexta,reriauratricejuflitia-&:rapientia^  Orientalis  (5c  civicatis 
acgIoriceHebra:orum;demonflrante  &c  publice  nuncpromulgadft  perin- 
tioicum  Hcbrao-Waldenfem  five  Tertium 

HENRICO    BERNHARDO   COSTERO, 

Prophet t<i  Htbr£ornm  referAtiStudiofo, 

Lemgovia?,  typisHenr.  Wilii.Meyeri,  1702. 


' '  De   Rcsii  rrectione. ' ' 


91 


The  Holy  Lamp  of  the 
Tabernacle. 


seal  completed  ||  and  revived  in  the 
most  Christian  Hero  and  Monarch 
King  William  III.  and  with  the  || 
witness  of  the  liberation  of  the  Bohe- 
mian and  Waldensian  Zion  under  the 
now  reviving- 1|  sixth  Trumpet,  together  ' 
with  the  sixth  Vial,  the  restorer  of  1 
righteousness  and  Eastern  wisdom  and 
of  the  state  ||  and  glory  of  the  He- 
brews. Demonstrated  and  now  pub- 
licly promulgated  through  the  Hebrew- 
Waldensian  or  third  entrance,  ||  by 
Henry  Bernhard  Koster  ||  studious  01  « 
the  unlocked  Prophecy  of  the  Hebrews. 
II  Lemgo  [in  Lippe  Detmold],  printed 
by  Wilhelm  Meyer,  1702."  A  fac-simile  of  the  title  is 
also  reproduced  from  the  original.  Great  was  the  disap- 
pointment of  Koster,  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  the  thesis,  when  he  found 
that  the  work  could  not  be  printed 
in  America.  Upon  his  return  to 
Europe  he,  however,  lost  no  time  in 
having  the  manuscript  put  into  print. 
A  number  of  these  copies  were  sent 
to  his  friends  and  late  associates  in 
America.  The  only  known  copy  of 
this  work  is  now  in  the  librar}'  of 
the  writer.  This  book  not  onh-  shows 
the  trend  of  Koster's  thoughts  and 
speculations  as  to  the  expected  mil- 
lennium, but  also  furnishes  a  proof 
of  his  great  learning  and  the  scoj^e 
of  his  researches  in  both  sacred  and 
profane  history.       His   language  and   ideas,  however,   are 


Ancient  Hermetic  Emblem. 


92  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pejuisylvania. 

frequently  presented  in  an  erratic  if  not  somewhat  disjointed 
manner.  The  following  extract  will  serve  as  an  illustra- 
tion. His  theme  here  is  the  coming  of  the  Lord. — (i 
Thess.,  iv  i6,  17.)'^^ 

"  Awake  !  The  hour  calls  to  us, — They  call  unto  us  with 
a  loud  voice, — Awake  !  thou  City  of  Jerusalem, — Midnight 
is  the  Cry, — The  watcher  is  high  upon  the  house-tops, — 
Awake  ye  wise  Virgins,  vel.  (or)  Awake  !  the  voice  calls 
unto  us, — The  watcher  stands  high  on  the  house-tops, — 
Awake  !  thou  city  of  Jerusalem, — Midnight  is  the  hour, — 
They  cry  unto  us  a  with  a  loud  voice, 

—  Wise      Virgins,  -(lliPlllv  where  are  you  ?" 

The    rival    com  r — ""jlF^ 7  munity  that  Koster 

attempted  to  estab    \ \j|f  l[|v//    lish    at    Plymouth 

never  became  a  sue       \T  /%L      cess,  as  the  doctrine 

taught  by  him  at  Ji\\  / /jIk  ^'^^^  public  services 
was  not  conducive  JliilillH  to  either  monastic 

or   communal   life.  \     /  In  fact,  Koster  was 

more    of   an  Evan  ^  gelist  and  Theoso- 

phist  than  a  Mystic  philosopher.  The  plain  orthodox 
doctrine  preached  by  him  was  entirely  different  from  the 
peculiar  mysticism  and  code  of  morality  promulgated  by 
Kelpius  and  his  followers. 

That  the  former  was  also  versed  in  occult  philosophy, 
the  doctrines  of  the  Cabbala,  and  believed  in  an  approach- 
ing millennium,  however,  is  not  denied. 

The  subsequent  career  of  Koster  and  his  works  form  the 
basis  of  a  special  chapter. 


128  Page  30  of  original. 


AN    EMISSARY   TO    THE    OLD    WORLD. 


O 


N  Tuesday,  the  29tli  day  of 
Jnne,    1697,    ^    party     of 
three    respectable-looking 
personages    came    ashore    at    the 
public    landing    in    Philadelphia. 
They  were  the  missionaries  sent 
to  America  by  Charles  XI,  King 
of  Sweden,  in  response  to  the  re- 
peated appeals  from  the  Swedish 
Lutherans  on  the  Delaware,  at  the 
instance  of  the  Rev.    Dr.  Jesper 
Svedberg,^^*'  who  was  at  that  time 
Provost  (Domprobst)  of  the  Cathedral  at  Upsala. 


An  Ephrata  Symbol. 129 


129  From  the  Blutige  Schauplatz,  oder  Martyrser  Spiegel  der  TaufFs 
Gesinten.     Ephrata,  1745. 

^^"Dr.  Jesper  Svedberg  (father  of  Emanuel  Svedberg,  afterwards 
called  Swedenborg)  became  an  army  chaplain  in  1682  ;  court  preacher  in 
1689;  pastor  at  Vingaker  in  1690;  professor  of  theology  at  Upsala  in 
1692  ;  Provost  of  the  Cathedral  in  the  same  place  in  1695  ;  Bishop  of 
Skara  in  1702  ;  died  in  1735. 


94  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Their  first  official  act  after  landing  was  to  wait  on 
Lieutenant-Governor  William  Markham,  as  did  Kelpius 
and  his  party  three  years  previous.  When  he  saw  their 
credentials,  fortified  as  they  were  by  a  passport,  dated  at 
Kensington,  November  22,  1696,  with  the  British  king's 
(William  III.)  own  hand  and  seal,  giving  liberty  of  pas- 
sage from  England  over  to  the  Delaware,  Governor  Mark- 
ham  received  them  with  great  kindness  and  welcomed 
them  cordially  to  Penn's  domain,  promising  them  all  pos- 
sible favor  and  assistance.  ^^^  This  trio  consisted  of  M agis- 
ter Andreas  Rudman,  master  of  philosophy,  a  native  of 
Gevalia,  in  the  Province  of  Gestrickland ;  Tobias  Eric 
Biorck,  of  the  Province  of  Westmanland  ;  and  Jonas  Auren, 
of  the  Province  of  Wermeland. 

On  the  next  day,  Wednesday,  June  30,  1697,  the  three 
clergymen  went  to  Wicaco,^^^  then  some  distance  from  the 
embryo  city,  and  held  their  first  service  among  the  Swedes 
on  the  Delaware,  and,  as,  Rudman  states,  "  according  to 
the  true  doctrines  contained  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  of 
faith,  free  from  all  human  superstition  and  tradition."  ^'^ 
Upon  this  occasion  the  three  clergymen  officiated,  clad  in 
robe  and  suplice.  This  ser\dce,  in  the  Swedish  tongue, 
which  the  records  fail  to  tell  us  whether  held  within  an 
humble  dwelling  house,  or  in  a  barn,  or  the  ruins  of  the  old 
block-house,  or  perhaps  under  the  shade  of  the  majestic 
trees  that  then  lined  .the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  was  the 
first  in  America  in  which  the  Lutheran  ritual  was  rendered 
in  its  fulness  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Mother  Country. 


^^^  From  diary  of  Rev.  T.  E.  Biorck.     See  records  of  Trinity  Church. 

132  wicacoa  is  an  Indian  word,  derived  from  ivickiiig,  dwelling,  and 
chao,  a  fir-tree.  Probably  there  was  in  former  times  a  thicket  of  fir-trees 
where  the  Indians  had  their  abode.     Acrelius'  New  Sweden. 

^^^  Rudman's  Memoirs  of  Wicaco. 


Arrival  of  Swedish  Pastors.  95 

The  following  day  the  three  ministers  went  to  Gennan- 
town  and  visited  the  Fraternity  on  the  Wissahickon,  where 
they  were  received  with  great  consideration  by  Kelpius 
and  his  associates.  The  friendship  begun  at  this  time  was 
continued  with  mutual  benefit  to  both  parties  without  in- 
terruption until  the  death  of  Kelpius  removed  the  leading 
spirit  of  the  Community. 

The  Brethren  learned  from  their  visitors,  among  other 
things,  that  the  crusade  in  Germany  against  the  Pietists 
had  not  ceased,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  extended  into 
Sweden  and  other  Protestant  countries ;  also  that  a  poem 
had  lately  been  printed  and  circulated  praising  such  princes 
and  rulers  as  had  issued  mandates  against  them.  This  was 
called  "  A  Poetical  Thanksgiving"  by  "  a  lover  of  truth."  '^* 
One  stanza,  that  is  especially  aimed  at  our  Community, 
reads  (translation), — 

"  Carl,  who  the  fanatic  spirit  cannot  endure, 
Holds  God's  honor  in  esteem,  commands  all  Chiliasts 
To  Ben-Sylvania,  to  their  Brethren  to  go, — 
There,  according  to  their  teachings,  the  thousand  years  to  rest, 
And  without  constraint  in  constraint  to  stand. 
A  common  pebble  knows  no  diamond  ; 
Egyptian  darkness  knows  no  Jacob's  sun  ; 
No  prince,  no  true  Christian,  loves  fanatic  kinsfolk, 
Therefore  slinks  the  dreamer  away  before  the  blaze  of  light. ' ' 

How  close  the  intercourse  became  between  the  three 
Swedish  pastors  and  Kelpius  is  shown  by  the  correspon- 
dence of  the  latter,  addressed  to  Rev.  Tob.  Biorck,  pastorem 
ad  Christenam}'^^ 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  1697  it  became  evident  that 


'^*  Original  in  possession  of  writer. 

^^^  A  draught  of  a  twelve-page  Latin  letter  is  in  Kelpius's  diary.     See 
fac-simile  reproductions  at  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  pp.  48-60. 


96 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvmiia. 


the  influences  exercised  and  the  truths  taught  both  by  the 
Community  and  the  ministrations  of  Koster  had  made 
themselves  felt  among  the  settlers  and  were  bringing  about 
good  results,  notwithstanding  such  active  opposition  as  that 
of  Pastorius  and  others  of  equal  prominence,  which,  how- 
ever, was  aimed  chiefly  against  the  enthusiastic  Koster  and 
his  "  Brethren  in  America." 

In  view  of  this  greatly  improved  condition  of  the  relig- 
ious situation,  which,  early  in  1698,  was  strengthened  still 
more  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton,  the  first  min- 


MvsTic  Symbol  from  a  Philadelphic  Manuscript. 

ister  of  the  Church  of  England  who  came  to  the  Province, 
it  was  concluded  by  the  leaders  of  the  original  Fraternity, 
partly  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Swedish  pastors,  to  send  an 
emissary  from  among  their  number  to  Europe  'to  make 
public  the  true  state  and  spiritual  condition  of  the  Germans 
who  had  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania ;  set  forth  the  labors 
of  the  Pietistical  Brethren  among  their  countrymen  in 
America,  and  solicit  aid  and  additional  recruits,  so  that  the 


THE  PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


PHOTOGRAPHED    FROM    THE    ORIGINAL   CANVAS    IN    SWEDEN. 


QrioUS   ^tS^.  J^o(>WJ(j; 


Daniel  Falkiier  in  Europe.  97 

mystical  number  of  forty  could  be  kept  intact,  and  at  the 
same  time  could  extend  their  usefulness  in  educating-  and 
ministering  to  their  neglected  countrymen  in  Penns)  Ivania. 

Another  important  scheme  then  under  consideration  was 
the  emigration  of  the  members  of  "  the  Philadelphic 
Society"  in  a  body  from  England  and  the  Continent  to 
settle  in  Pennsylvania,  and  there  found  a  colony  where 
their  peculiar  teachings  should  be  their  only  law.  Con- 
siderable correspondence  had  taken  place  upon  the  subject, 
and  it  was  thought  by  Kelpius  and  others  that  the  time 
had  arrived  for  a  consummation  of  the  scheme.  It  was 
therefore  desirable  that  a  thoroughly  competent  person 
should  be  sent  on  the  mission  at  that  time.  For  this  im- 
portant service  Daniel  Falkner  was  selected.  He  was  a  man 
of  strong  character  and  practical  piety,  as  well  as  the  execu- 
tive head  of  the  Community  affairs,  and,  in  addition  to  his 
religious  duties,  took  considerable  interest  in  sectilar  things. 

Daniel  Falkner,  persuant  to  the  above  arrangement,  re- 
turned to  Europe  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1698.  After 
a  short  sojourn  in  Holland,  he  went  to  Germany  to  visit 
his  old  associates.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Saxony,  he  found 
that  time  had  wrought  many  changes  in  the  condition  of 
his  former  companions, — some  had  been  banished,  others 
lived  in  obscurity,  while  the  fonner  leader  of  the  local 
Pietistical  movement,  Hermann  August  Francke,  now  posed 
as  professor  of  Oriental  languages  at  the  newly  established 
University  of  Halle,^'"  pastor  of  the  suburb  Glaucha,  and 
superintendent  of  an  orphanage  of  his  own  projection. 


^^®  The  bi-centennial  of  the  Halle  ( Frederick-Wittenberg)  University 
was  celebrated  with  great  eclat,  August  2,  3,  5,  1894,  the  Emperor  of 
Germany  being  represented  upon  the  occasion  by  Prince  Albrecht  of 
Prussia.  The  present  writer  attended  as  a  delegate  from  the  Old  Augustus 
(Trappe)  Church.  For  a  full  description  of  this  Jubilee,  see  "  The  L,u 
theran,"  Philadelphia,  September  6,  1S94. 

13 


98  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Curieufe  »ittit 

Don 

PENSYLVANFA 

2luf  55csel)ren  guter?$teun&c/ 

Hi  Docgelegte  103.  ^m; 

^1/  bet)  fauer  2tt>reieau65emfc^ 

ICittD  iiacl)  obtgem  ^m^t  Anno  1700* 

evtljeilct/unbnun  Anno  lyoiinDcn^Drucf 

Ton 

Spaniel  '^alf  nccn/  ProfcfTorc, 

^rancffuit  un&  J2.eip5ttt  / 
3m  ^otc  ^Wi  1701, 


"  Curieiise  Nachricht.''^ 


99 


Falkner  during  his  sojourn  in  the  Old  World  made 
a  visit  to  Holland  and  England  in  the  interests  of  the 
Philadelphia  Society,  without,  however,  inducing  that 
bodv   to    emigrate  to   Penn's    Province.      While    in    Ger- 


man}', he  also  made  arrange 
colloquial   style  of  the  per 
a  number  of  queries  relative 
conditions  in  Pennsylvania, 
entitled     "  Curieufe    Nach 
II  in   II   Norden  America 
guter  Freimde,  ||  Uber  vor 
seiner  Abreiss  aus  Teutsch- 
Anno  1700.  II  ertheilet,  und 
den   Druck  ||  gegeben  wor 
Falknern,  Professore,  ||  Bur 
allda.  1 1  Franck 
zig,  Zu  finden 
Otto,     Buch 
Jahr     Christi, 
published 
pices  of  the  Frankfort 
pany,  and  issued  siniul 

Frankfort  and  Leipzig.  "^  ^""^  ^'■"■^'"-  It  will  be  no- 

ticed that  the  compiler  here  signs  himself  "  Citizen  and 
Pilgrim  in  Pennsylvania."  Falkner's  visit  to  Europe  also 
partook  somewhat  of  a  political  nature,  which  was  destined 
to  work  radical  changes  in  the  civil  affairs  of  the  German 
settlement. 


ments  to  issue  a  book  in  the 
iod,  containing  answers  to 
to  the  religious  and  social 
This  book,  before  quoted,  is 
richt  II  Von  ||  Pensylvania 
Welche  ||  Auf  Begehren 
gelegte  103.  Fra- 1|  gen,  bey 
land  nach  obigem  Lande 
nun  Anno  1702  in 
en.  II  Von  ||  Daniel 
gern  und  Pilgrim 
furt  und  Leip- 
bey  Andreas 
handlern,  ||  Im 
1702."  It  was 
under  the  aus- 
Land  Com- 
taneouslv    in 


Ancient  Lard  Lamp  used 
BY  THE  Mystics. 


REYNIER   JANSEN. 


QK' 


Ephrata  Hand  Press. 


ELPIUS,  the  pious  enthusiast, 
was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
improve  the  moral  as  well  as 
the  spiritual  condition  of  his  country- 
men in  America.  He  therefore  had 
printed,  or  obtained  from  Germany, 
sets  of  small  cards  or  slips  of  paper 
upon  each  of  which  there  was  a  dif- 
ferent moral  couplet  or  verse  {spi'itcJi) 
from  the  Bible.  The  set  of  cards  was  then  put  in  a  box  or 
card-case,  called  a  jewel-casket  [schatskastlcin)^  and  was 
carried  by  the  members  of  the  Brotherhood  for  distribution 
among  the  worshipers  at  the  Tabernacle  and  the  heads  of 
families,  with  the  request  that  whenever  a  curse,  oath,  or 
blasphemous  expression  was  uttered  in  their  presence  the 
offending  person  should  be  handed  one  of  the  slips  of  paper, 
which  he  was  to  read  carefully  and  then  place  it  upon  his 
tongue.  The  same  rule  was  to  apply  to  the  person  who 
carried  the  schatzk'dstleiji :  whenever  he  did  or  said  any- 
thing wrong,  or  was  even  tempted  to  do  so,  or  was  led  to 
anger,  recourse  was  to  be  had  immediately  to  a  jewel  from 
the  schatskdstlein ;  and  so  strong  was  the  popular  belief. 


The  "  Schatzkastlein?''  loi 


eine  ^iin^c^in  wcinetc  ^u  Oen  %\\^zr\  jf^^SU; 
j[<:^U6  fprarf) :  3br  finO  oiel  ©unC)e  ocr^cbeo/ 
Oetin  fie  hat  x>k\  qeftcbet  ,•  n>eld)ei{i  abcr  twnig  oer.- 
jjebcn  tt)tri>,  6er  (tebcr  tecnig.  I'uc.  7    38  -  47. 
Wetnen  un6  Jlteben,  *' 
^S@U@  h6ret  all  Dem  @cf)nen, 
3i€@U@  fd^auet  oeinc  'ihrdnen : 
*2Cetne  frep,  00*  ticbe  mit, 
©0  erbirt  €r  betnc  ^itt. 


that  nothing  could  shake  their  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  a 
card,  taken  out  at  random,  to  be  pertinent  to  the  individual 
case  in  which  it  was  invoked.''^'' 

The  members  of  the  Fraternity  in  making  use  of  the 
slips  invariably  placed  them  in  their  mouth.  From  this 
peculiar  custom  arose  the  ridiculous  charge  that  the  Piet- 
ists ate  their  reliofion/'^'^ 


gCQc  Oie  (Efottrccfm  kben  aoflcn  m  Cbriffo  ^^ffu 
^    muflen  X^crfolgung  (eyOen.    a  ^im.  j    12. 
baa  er/ife  iloo^. 
•Son  (juffcn  @potr  uno  v5d)macb  Oer  I'euten, 
Q[>on  mnen  ^urcl)f  unD  ^$:raurujfeifen . 

^a^  bier  Den  ^roinmen  roit^  ^emein. 


'•"  Kastlein  mit  zetteln,  darauf  waren  viele  schone  Spriiclie  aus  der 
Bibel  und  andere  Reimen  gedruckt  die  sich  auf  vielerey  Zustande  der 
Menschen  schicken.  Wann  dan  in  der  Companie  jemand  war  der  etwas 
eiteles  zu  reden  anfing,  so  kam  einer  mit  dem  Schatz-Kastgen  und  ein 
jeder  zog  ein  Briefgen  heraus,  dass  wurde  gelesen  und  hat  sich  gemeinlich 
getrofFen  dass  ein  spruch  auf  dem  Zettel  stund  wie  es  um  des  Menschen 
Hertz  beschaffen  war,  und  so  wurden  die  leichtsinnige  reden  unterbrochen, 
und  davon  kam  auch  die  liige  vom  Zettel  fressen.  Christopher  Sauer  in 
Almanack,  1751. 


I02 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


A  "  Schatzkasti.ein"  complete  with  "Spruchk,"  see  Note  138. 

In  order  to  promote  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Germans 
in  Pennsylvania,  Kelpius  had  printed  at  an  early  day  a 
small  book  or  pamphlet  for  distribution  among  the  Gennan 
settlers,  urging  them  to  public  and  private  devotion.  The 
title  of  this  work  was  "  Eine  kurtze  und  begreiflige  An- 
leitung  zum  stillen  Gebet."  This  book,  as  well  as  the 
moral  text-slips,  was  in  all  probability  a  specimen  of  the 
Jansen  (father  or  son)  imprints,  which  are  now  so  rare  and 
valuable/^^  Watson,  in  his  MS.  Annals  of  Philadelphia, 
mentions  Kelpius  as  the  author  and  Dr.  Christopher  Witt 
as  the  translator. ^**^     Later  investigations  go  to  show  that 


^•''*  This  custom  continued  in  use  among  the  Germans  in  Pennsylvania 
for  many  years.  Subsequent  editions  of  these  sets  of  moral  cards  were 
printed  on  both  the  Sauer  and  Ephrata  presses.  The  Sauer  edition,  printed 
in  1744,  was  known  as  "  Der  Frommen  Lotterie. "  The  only  complete  set 
of  this  edition,  381  in  number,  is  in  the  collection  of  Hon.  S.  W.  Penny- 
packer,  of  Philadelphia.     See  illustration  above. 

"*  This  devotional  work  was  translated  into  English  and  printed  at  an 
early  day. 

"*  See  "The  First  Century  of  German  Printing  in  America,"  by  the 
late  Dr.  Oswald  Seidensticker,  p.  62. 


The  Janscn    Tradition,  103 

this  nniqiie  work  was  based  upon  a  somewhat  similar  book 
published   in  Germany,"^  as  early  as   1695,  by  Hermann 

August  Francke,'^^  under 
StUQf    JS?erm.  SrttnCfn'     the  title  "Schriffimassige 

^..S.TheoJ'POrd  Paft.Vlric.&SelM  ^^""^^^^^^'S^'    ^^''^'^    ^^^'"^ 
©CJ^riftltlaplgC  GottwohlgefalHg  zu  Be- 

^  ten,"  and  that  a  number 

of    these     books     were 
brought    from    Halle   by 

2^e4llfUnb(0<DttmOt>Ij3€faU\  ^^'^  Falkner  brothers  up- 
on their  return  to  Amer- 
ica. ^*^  No  copy  of  the 
original  Kelpius  pam- 
phlet, which  was  in  the 
German  language,  is 
known  to  the  writer. 
tTiCblt  ^injUQCfUQten       ^  However,  as    a    copy    of 

iltOrgen^U.  2\hznX>f(Qt\^tU  ^^^^  Henry  Miller  reprint 
Un&  cinctn  of  the    English    transla- 

:KJclif(;(){n  RESPONSCl  t*°"  '^^'^  '''='="  '^"^'y 

^ig  found, ^"  there  is  a  possi- 

<Sen3t§bett  Unb  ^CCfi4crUfl.«^.t  ^^i^i^y  *at  a  specimen  of 

€r5^t«n9  DC^  @^et3  betCfjfenl^.  the  earlier  editions  may 

%^Xi  lHuiflaQf-  also    be    found    at    some 

j^  <jj  ^  j  ^  ^  fnture  day. 

3fn35erl|0UngOe^sa3^DMaufC^,l:        '^^^^^^  ^^  ^^  interesting 

tradition  connecting  the 

Mystic  Brotherhood  with  the  Jansen  press.     It  is  said  that 

during  Daniel  Falkner's  absence  in  Europe,  Kelpius  and 


^*'  Sachsse,  ilrsprung  und  wesen  der  Pietisten,  p.  268. 
'*^  See  p.  55  seq. 

"■''  This  work  was  printed  many  times  on  the  press  of  the  Halle  institu- 
tion.    The  copy  in  the  writer's  library  was  printed  in  1732. 


[04  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

A 

SHORT,  EASY 

AND 

COMPREHENSIVE 

METHOD 

O  F 

PRAYER. 

Tranflated  Lom^the  G  n  r  m  a  i^ 

And  publifhed  for  a  .farther  Trail lo- 
tim,  Kticrmledge  and  Baiejit  of  In- 
ward Prayer. 

By  a  Lover  of  Internal  Devotion.' 

The  Second  Edition  wkh  Addlnon. 

GERMANTOWN, 

Prini^d    by    Chrijlopher   Sower, 

M  DCC  Lxm. 


PIETISTS  OF   PROVINCIAL   PENNSYLVANIA. 


"GOD'S   PROTECTING   PROVIDENCE." 


TITLE    PAGE    OF    THE    FIRST    BOOK    KNOWN    TO    HAVE    BEEN 
PRINTED    ON    THE    JANSEN     PRESS    IN     PHILADELPHIA. 


Rcynicr  Jansen.  105 

others  were  instrumental  in  inducing  Reynier  Jansen,  a 
Hollander,  to  take  charge  of  the  printing  press  which  had 
been  ordered  from  London  by  the  Friends'  Yearly  Meet- 
ing'"' after  the  removal  of  William  Bradford's  press  to  New 
York  ;  and  this  new  press  was  received  in  Philadelphia 
10  mo.  30th,  1698.  It  is  also  said  that  some  of  the  printing 
was  done  in  Germantown.  This  latter  claim  is  partly 
borne  out  by  the  statement  in  a  New  England  Sabbatarian 
record,  that  they  went  to  Germantown  to  get  their  printing 
done."" 

Further,  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  on  the  29th  of 
November  Jansen  bought  twenty  acres  of  Liberty  lands  in 
Germantown,  and  upon  the  7th  of  February,  1698-99,  the 
right  of  citizenship  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Ger- 
mantown court."'' 

Reynier  Jansen  was  a  member  of  the  celebrated  family 
of  that  name  in  Holland,  the  most  prominent  member  of 
which  was  Cornelius  Jansen  the  younger  (i 585-1 638), 
Bishop  of  Ypres,  who  was  the  founder  of  the  peculiar  sect 
known  as  "  the  Disciples  of  St.  Augustine,"  or  Jansenists. 
Another  branch  of  the  family  was  noted  as  printers  and 
publishers  at  Amsterdam,  and  was  intimately  connected 
with  many  of  the  leading  religious  enthusiasts  and  mystics 


^^  This  new  English  edition  was  printed  by  Heinrich  Miller,  Phila- 
delphia, 1761.  (i2mo.,  36  pages.)  The  only  known  copy  is  among  the 
John  Pemberton  papers  in  the  Friends'  Library  of  Fhiladelphia.  Chris- 
topher Sauer,  the  Germantown  printer,  also  reprinted  the  book  two  years 
later  :  the  title  says  ' '  Second  Edition. ' ' 

145  "Agreed  that  a  press  be  bought  for  printing  and  necessary  letters 
and  stamps,  either  from  Boston  or  England,  and  be  paid  for  out  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  stock,  the  care  of  which  is  left  to  Philadelphia  Monthly 
Meeting.  Biirlington,  31st  day  of  the  7mo.,  1697." — (Extract  MSS. 
Minutes  Yearly  Meeting. ) 

"^  MS.  records  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  vSeventh-Day  Baptist  Church. 

147  "  penna.  Mag.,"  vol.  iv,  p.  37. 

14 


io6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

of  whom  the  seventeenth  century  was  so  prolific.  It  was 
upon  the  Jansen  press  at  Amsterdam  that  many  of  the 
peculiar  theological  and  proscribed  works  of  that  day  were 
printed.'^-  The  Philadelphia  printer  was  evidently  of  this 
latter  branch,  and  was  not  so  entirely  ignorant  of  the  black 
art  as  has  been  generally  supposed.'*^  He  was  a  close  friend 
of  Benjamin  Furley  and  other  Separatists  who  then  made 
their  abode  in  Holland  ;  consequently,  it  was  but  natural 
that  after  his  arrival  in  America  he  should  gravitate  toward 
his  fellow  Separatists  at  Germantown,  and,  on  account  of 
his  previous  knowledge  of  the  printer's  art,  assume  the 
charge  and  responsibility  of  the  new  press  that  had  been 
procured  by  the  Society  of  Friends.  Jansen  upon  his 
arrival  in  the  Province  had  but  an  imperfect  knowledge  of 
the  English  language,  and  this,  together  with  the  fact  that 
he  had  for  some  years  previous  changed  his  occupation  from 
printer  to  lace-maker,  accounts  for  many  of  the  imperfec- 
tions and  crudities  of  his  earliest  work.  According  to  the 
Ephrata  manuscripts  and  traditions,  it  was  in  reality  such 
of  the  Mystic  Brethren  as  had  some  knowledge  of  the  art, 
and  were  conversant  with  the  English  tongue,  who  actually 
did  the  type-setting  and  proof-reading,  if  not  the  press- 
work,,  of  the  early  Jansen  imprints.  These  traditions  are 
strengthened  by  the  evidence  that  Johann  Seelig  was  a 
practical  bookbinder,""  who  bound  the  Jansen  books,  and 


"**  Adelung,  iv,  p.  392. 

'^''  It  was  Caleb  Pusey,  and  not  Reynier  Jansen,  who,  in  the  preface 
to  "Satan's  Harbinger  Enconntered,"  apologizes  for  misprints  thus: 
"The  chief  occasion  of  there  being  so  many  errours  was  the  Printer  being 
a  man  of  another  nation  and  language,  as  also  not  bred  to  that  employ- 
ment, consequently  something  unexpert  both  in  language  and  calling, 
and  the  corrector's  \^sic\  not  being  so  frequently  at  hand  as  the  case  re- 
quired, all  which  I  desire  thou  wouldst  favourably  consider." 

iM  i,evering  family,  pp.  18,  19. 


A   Provincial  Proclamation.  107 

nV  THE  HONOUR ALLE  COLLOXFL 

Ji  l.JTl    ^UinS   LIFHTFNANT  COVERNOUR.     of  the  PHOVlsCE 

o»  PENSILVANIA^ND  COUNTIES  ANstxtu 

A  PROCLAMATION, 

AOAiUbl       IMWOKALIXX    and     P  KO  FH  A  N  LN  ESS 

WHtreas  ii  hatli  j^Wafcd  AL\i(CH7Y  CX  D,  from  tbc'Trcafurcs  of  Hif 
liifinKc  GuDj  f.tj  i.'.x.ii.i  I'S  tJ.ouis  11  i  1  ^mjiiem  ,,.grct  .  at'd  (Kiur  Jowi  uu 
uv^culur  bl.lljngi  upon  tl; !  C.h.nv  ,  -Iri  ni.lx:  ferft  k.rt<^ng  thcrtci  ^  as  w^ll  by  ihe 
btftowinp  i  Iiipi7  tuCfefs  O'l  the  tJicJcJ  Ourjc.f  in  Inhibitai  u  aii.l  cro>-[. mg  ^  hat 
folii  ywoiWilderncIs  wirti  a  Ur^  Afl.K'ice  of  ill  the  'F'"*""  and  Comtor  ».t  Lite  t  jsby 
fupponingir  in  an  undifturbcJ  PejccxiJ  rrjnqjillijy  Jjrink,  rtht  Commotionstlnt  have  iVcp.\  at- 
fl.ft'.J  other  parrs  o'th.  Ciiriftun  Worlil  and  toniiiiuingro  us  ,  thffenjoyment  of  thofe  manifold  M  r- 
cits  which  ,  righily  ufcd  ,  tcrvJromjk  a  f~'>;ilc  flitv  hippy  All  which  divine  Br^nncs,  as ih.  r 
loudly  call  tortht  luoft  humble  and  hcit;y  «tk  lowt  ii,incn:Si  To  they  ought  more  deeply  to  impn (si 
]  ift  Tenfe  of  the  great  Olilignionj  upon  Ui  f  .10  teJiUre  our  Ltcl  with  care  ind  cin  .imf, h Q  on  la 
iirueObcJicnce  and  Cont  rmiiy  to  G'  8(5i  hnly  Q.vn  ,.  thai  we  may  rot  inft  adot  ntik.  ig  grateful 
Ritjrns  bv  iTipiety  01  Nctlii;ti)ce  .^  .v./k  ihc  jilt  Argcf  of  tKe  ALMIOHTV  ro  withdraw  Hi» 
*vtnc  Pro  eQiot) ,  and  1;  Hift  on  in  th.  l-.vtri.  Cialtijcmtnts  of  >ii«  )  ift  U.fpicafure.  NctWithftandtng 
all  whtch  ,  ]  lannor  bui  b^  rc.ifible,  tTat  toti'raajiy  ,to  g m.  g  all  ;hofe  Obi iga  ions  ,  ibataj  jtrfoM 
protdOng  the  Ho  y  Chnftian  a.ligion  tt'.  /  ipdilpejirably  lye  unHir  .  have  given  thcTtifdves  a  Lfseia 
their  Lives  ana  Converfations  and  nurkO^y  tram^doi  tncir  pufiriTc  k  .<nm  Dutjes  in  many  vu'i- 
ousPraaices  and  Imm-  riliiiirs  to  the  i;r»ir  OS  new  it  A;  MfCri  I  Y  GOD,  in  iht  Brrach  of  his  Di- 
vine Lnv«  as  Well  as  01  our  otil  1  iftiru'ig.u  add  *o  iiic  scandal  of  fobcr  Men  ,  and  great  DifcTtdn 
of  tnisGi>>'emtii?iit  :  Waich  fnaiv.-  it  not  .lav-ly  brevciited.  may  terminate  in  an  utter  Depraviticm 
of  Manners,  throug  1  the  Encouragem.ni  taken  tf<.jji' thofe  fa<al  and  perniciouf  Eiamplca ,  by  perfina 
w  .ole  betttT  tdueaiion  and  Indimitions  m'  ^ht  otb«h»ire  jav«  reftrained  them  withtn  tbe  Boundsof 
Sobriety  and  Vitiuc  ;  but  from  thuf:  mviy  I  Oances ,  fert  More  thur  Eye»  ,  arc  ip  danger  of  be^ne 
btmied  on  ,  not  only  to  their  own  Rmne  .  but  of  bwoming  Aici  flary  fo  the,  Incenfing,  and  drawK.g 
ctown-tt^on  us  tDc  Vcngsmce  r>t  Hijivcn. 

In  a  deep  Confidcration  of  which  .  and  to  the  end  that  a'i  peffible  Difcoarageraents  may  be  efven  to 
the  Growth  ol  I hefe  Enormities ;  I  have  through  a  fenfe  cf  the  Duty  (owe  to  COL»  ano  ihc  c-renf 
tn»- I'jjr)'- <:""i  r;liofl.Cu^.  a  I  id  wi'.hrhe  (\  Ivies  and  Conteniotth.  Council  ol  tlui  Prtromn 
«ii  ter'iDrnt  Til  u^h  fi  .  >  'u  1 1  u\.\  i>;:l3r-  That  1  will  Uifcountcnanrc  and  fevereiy  I'u- 
B' b  a.  nii.i.r  ji  fKi.  I.ntl  'miv  t  J  -"DpnaTi  ncfi  "lali  p-rTry-isw'utfoeTer,  w  ihin  thuGovem- 
«:it,  iic  *ill  o.-ji'l  y  of  t.i;  iiK  A  1I  Idoc  ^i^-rebflVnaiy  forbid  all  mxmier  ot  Dubanchery,  Lewd- 
•e.i  I)- 114,  ii.-ii  iriiui:  i.7  ir  ng  C  r  1  ig,  iU  >ti  14  jr  ak  ngot  uic  wjaun,  i^ig-it-wi  kingatun- 
(eiu>itjie  tijiirj  wk.iou  liwijlBuli  icl>  £i«ll  orlicrUiforders  Wnailoevcr  thai  are  contrary  to  thtUj- 
tl.'S  01  a  C  irifti  n  Lue  8t'ti;  \i!esottruc  Virtue.  Aid  I  doftnctiy  C>  nmind  8c  Keqnire  all  MirtiflraicS. 
Jaikic-j,  sncrrfs  C-)riftil)li;s»rid  allOlficers  whatfoerer,  and  others  her  M  j  (lies  good  Sub;^s  rhai  iher 
aoioaiy  be  regular  and  drcumrpeS  mthcir  o<n  Livfj  that  bv  then  ^00  ■  t»  imples .  they  m>y  Kcite 
tJ>.'<:ii>t  behold  chemtotne  Pridce  of  virtue  ,  buia  foiiut  thrs  be  very  L)i  is;ent  in  the  D't'overy 
«il  ff.^liil  ■'rof-cuiJi  of  all  OiT.nlen  and  that  tb  y  rtjorojlly  pui  in  E,x<cuion  all  the  «ood  and 
wwi4>m' Ui''>  aii  Jri>ii-i.'.-s  p  jvidcdjgainft  healor.riit  and  ("uch  other  [mnoralitpt  -t-,-:.  ,,,t 
f»»jir  )».ii  '  y  ^f  ^iJi  a  .ny  p  rfo.i  vfmrfocver  a*  they  .viU  43  Ve-r  itu  -Vin.^cty  &V^  yA 
incar    my  jtm  irt  Of  'leifurei.  >* 

\iitartij  o-r.-eif  t  ul .' ni  citioi  iweif  I  breq  lire  and  C  >  mnd  the  f  ,ft  csotQ.  Ttr- "  ;ii- 
OHi  a.-it  reiiel  .e  J  I  n  •  Cor  s  1  nt  J,jv  ri  ne:t  ioj  trie  *»./ rf  ni  ,\  c  .:  ler  oj  n  0  y  •*&  a- 
4*  lilt,  .iir  ti-ycanfei  is  n  ■  'rociiim  un  o  je  .luiU^kiy  rcaj  m  o^  u  Oo.n  imne  lu.eiy  an  rifieir 
C.I t'^: It gi rcn   3  tn- grand- jury. 

_  \.i>:,>«ta  vl  nKrs  jf  .  Cvirch.^  andrev.rt'C  gr  ,  aiK  ■  v  .C.-r  mi,  Pr<rt,>»«  and  Ic.rite. 
Ml,  jiji;  th.' Ian;  tobf  tVil  .n  he  time  of  Divine  Service,  att  their  refpeQve  placo  of  WorfhiL  at 
1ei\  fii  times  mev.rv  If  .ir.  \iiinit  .hey  oe  very  Jirgem.  in  L>  ico..r.,g  ,^  .,1  manner  ol  Vict ,  and 
la  uraiuy  m  .n   r  \jikon    1 1  Eiharnng  tnem  .0  tne  Lxcrdfc  of  piciy  and  vircue. 

iy:%  It  ^>^.llel,l,•i(^  H  ih  liv  .1  Of<*J.r  man.  „i  i.-.,  ,,  ,  Ae:ii„',to<i- Savtreit^  LtJt 
.^VV  bri.ieOriceot  5  )J  .,  fi-f,-/«i  5.<ff'.,»i  .  fr,,,-,  m .  Jrt.tanJ  ^.^e-.  D  Je...JeT  ot  lae 
rota  8u.    Aad  cbc  iwcaty  foortlj  vf  the  PttfritivUi  GmKrmmm$  Aonoq.-     Ljomini  1704. 

JOHN      i,VAN8< 

God  Save  the  Queen. 

rrfatcO  n  rUUtrlfH,  tf  timt  J^fn  m^ 


io8  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

for  years  continued  in  that  profession  in  the  vicinity  of 
Germantown. 

However,  be  that  as  it  may,  in  the  main  it  matters  little 
whether  these  cards  or  pamphlets  were  printed  in  Europe 
or  America.  Kelpius's  scheme  to  raise  the  moral  standard 
of  the  Germans  by  their  use  had  an  effect  that  extended 
far  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  German  Township,  and,  being 
seconded  by  the  Society  of  Friends,  culminated  in  the 
issuing  by  Governor  John  Evans  of  a  proclamation  against 
immorality  and  profanity.  This  edict  was  printed  by  Rey- 
nier  Jansen  in  1704.  A  reduced  fac-simile  of  the  original 
broadside  is  reproduced  on  another  page. 

According  to  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker,  in  his  "  Settle- 
ment of  Germantown,"  '^^  Jansen,  almost  a  year  after  citizen- 
ship was  conferred  upon  him  in  Germantown,  bought, 
December  23,  1699,  seventy-five  acres  of  land  from  Peter 
Klever,  in  the  deed  of  which  he  is  described  as  a  "merchant" 
of  Philadelphia.  This  land  he,  "as  printer,"  sold  to  Daniel 
Geissler,  October  20,  1701. 

His  career  as  printer  was  very  brief.'''"  He  died  about 
March  i,  1706,  leaving  personal  property  valued  at  p<r226. 
i.T,  8^.,  among  which  was  included  "  a  p'cell  of  Books  from 
Wm. .  Bradford,  £\.  2s.  o^."  He  left  a  son,  Stephen,  in 
business  in  Amsterdam,  whom  he  had  apportioned  there, 
and  brought  with  him  to  this  country  two  sons  Tiberius 
and  Joseph,  and  two  daughters,  Imitry  and  Alice.  The 
sons,  after  the  father's  death,  seem  to  have  made  some 
attempt  to  continue  in  the  printing  business,  as  imprints 
are  still  in  existence  bearing  the  names  of  both  Tiberius 
and  Joseph,  respectively. ^''^ 


151  <<  penna.  Mag.,"  vol.  iv,  37. 

1*-  Earlv  Printing  in  Philadelphia,  "  Penna.  Mag.,"  vol.  iv,  p.  432,  et  seq. 


THE    DIVINING    ROD    AND    HOROSCOPE. 


^ 


BESIDES  the  relig- 
ions and  educa- 
tional work  fostered 
b}'  the  Commnnity  on  the 
Wissahickon  and  the  specu- 
lations as  to  the  expected 
millennium,  Kelpius  and 
the  more  advanced  mem- 
bers indulged  in  the  study 
of  the  Hermetic  arts,  as 
well  as  astronomy.  Nightly 
vigils  were  maintained  in 
the  rude  observatory  that  surmounted  the  Tabernacle. 
There,  high  above  the  tree-tops  of  the  surrounding  forest, 
one  or  more  of  the  brethren  was  always  on  the  look-out 
for  celestial  phenomena.  These  astronomical  studies  and 
speculations  were  calculated  according  to  the  manuscripts 
and  publications  of  Johann  Jacob  Zimmermann,  the  Ma- 
gister  of  the  Fraternity,  under  whose  leadership  the  scheme 


An  Old  Horoscope. 


no  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

for  emigration  to  the  New  World  was  consummated,  but 
who  unfortunately  died  on  the  eve  of  the  embarkation  at 
Rotterdam. 

Zimmermann  was  an  astronomer  of  no  mean  order,  who 
in  his  deductions  combined 
theology  and  astronomy,  ac-  ^^'^'"".'^^r^S."^''^''^^' 

..  ,       ,.  ^  r  ^1        ASl RONOMIA  COPFRNICO  SCRIPTURARIA 

cordmof  to  the  custom  oi  tne  bipartita  /<»)^^ 

middle  ages.     The  last  work  <Eln()an(JlKUlm^fcf)tcutioftt 

published  by  bi,„,  but  a  few  ,J|*,  ^ »,  ^ 

months  prior  to  his  death,  is  -^f  |P  V  i  ^  i  1)  U  lU/ 

entitled,    "  Scriptura  S.  Co-  -         .      •/•^f,?,%s.,x  ss^f.i..v^^ 

pernizans  sen  potius  Astrono-     *  c^u  ^n\.  ecf)rifft/ 

mia  Lopernico  bcripturana  i. 'SfpCfseet  ©onnfinflmt  flnMnQiiflrtncn 

...       ^^,  .        .  immi:jd)(c<g<ia(](inD(aii!aiid)NrfftCfe3«rtQrti(4nD«ttc 

bipartita.  i  hat  is,  An   en-       <;)iawttnnfliinli(t«tUmiaufft>fl*(}dbli(tijJna!n?i(r«n; 

.     ,  .,  .  II.  ©if  bnmclTitltrt)  tviCfrrprecfxiibf  (Sfgeiv 

tirely  new    and    very  curious       ©prudje  auU  0«m  Jpibriifdjen  unC  @titd)if(tfn  ^eft 

beullicbfrorien  nwrDfn, 

astronomical  proof  of  the  Co-  uinjoroobicifi^obcit/  jurtreflK^ftivunDAuto- 

-     ,  .     r]i6iDe«^.<ptt!})l)<itfd)fn2C(>ri<,n)iDer0ie^eiirr3<ii3e'2)ft« 

pernican  svstem  oi  the  uiii-  ii"n"'"'9f"^p""'r'rOTrN''"'»i'(i'n,A.hcrfirn,<,W(iu(i)iiirp9in(*; 

•T  J  foi)t)l  nolMJ(iil)i4«io<int>f)abuni)bf8!3J(it«rim4{i()fiiCopcfnicani|<^(n 

verse    irom    me    raOlV      VVIIL.  bu(|)f(,ltli(i)fn<B<r/?anl)bfr/>.e(l)riffr,n)ib(Ttnniioiibi|l)(rig(oCo- 

,_^-  .        ^       -  pcinicjnernonatftbmmilfn  foijtn.SSfriianD,  belli 

riie  astronomical   leature  ^,  ^  mu,i.ci)n,u»rrreobr»n; 

3Reben«  untstmrngiet   Ctlauifruj  tintger  Cartbefia- 

Oi     Llie     J.  aueiliaLlC   ICU    LU    IIC  t(d)l«9?ii(urpoci.cciinb  fonllm  illolthrlm 

...  c  TA         •     1  ISlmitienSilitdciih), 

quent    visits     irom     Daniel        jii}w«veiia:i)eiiencmf:utiflentwot/?<»t, 

Leeds     who      for    some    Vears    1°"^nn  Jacob  giJtimctmanH.Philo-Maihcffiatico 

'  '  _  '  "  Hambu»c,  bcpetrnT' ^iU>Ji)ronl)i.  "" 

prior. to  the  arrival  of  Kel- 

piiis  and  his  party,  had  published  an  Almanack.^'*  Evidences 
are  apparent  in  subsequent  issues  of  the  Almanack  that  he 
profited  by  his  visits,  and  that  the  intercourse  between 
him  and  the  Community  on  the  Wissahickon  was  of  an 
intimate  nature. 

While  some  of   the   Fraternity  kept  the  vigils  in    the 
sterjiwarte^  others  busied    themselves  with    the    study  of 


^°^  The  only  known  copy  of  this  work  is  in  the  Royal  Library  of  Wiir- 
teniberg.  The  photograph  of  the  title  was  furnished  b)-  Professor  D. 
Th.  Schott,  librarian.     A  second  edition  v/as  published  in  Hamburg,  1726. 


Hermetic   Studies.  1 1 1 

what  is  known  as  the  Hermetic  art.  These  researches 
were  not  made  for  the  transmutation  of  metals,  as  many 
supposed ;  for  in  their  ambitions  they  soared  to  a  higher 
plane  than  the  laying  up  of  this  world's  riches.  Their 
object  was  to  provide  remedies  and  preparations  for  the 
alleviation  of  human  suffering/^'' 

In  these  chemical  and  pharmaceutical  studies,  which 
were  mainly  based  upon  the  literature  of  the  preceding 
century,  the  discovery  of  the  Lapis  PhilosophoruTn^  or  the 
Elixir  of  Life,  naturally  entered  largely  into  their  specu- 
lations. It  was  believed  that  if  the  nienstriitn  universale 
could  be  discovered,  it  would  be  by  chemical  means,  and 
then  it  would  be  possible  by  its  application  to  remove  all 
seeds  of  disease  from  the  human  body,  thereby  renewing 
youth  and  lessening  the  infimities  of  age,  if  not  repelling 
death. 


^^*  Daniel  Leeds  was  a  resident  of  New  Jersey  as  early  as  1676.  He 
lived  in  Burlington  in  1680,  and  was  married  at  the  Friends'  Meeting  of 
that  place,  2  mo.  21,  1681.  His  occupation  was  then  given  as  a  cooper. 
In  1682  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  and  Surveyor- General  of  West . 
Jersey.  His  first  quarrel  with  his  co-religionists  was  about  the  almanac 
of  1688  ;  but  he  did  not  withdraw  from  the  Society  of  Friends  until  the 
Keithian- schism.     (Hildeburn,  vol.  i,  p.  7.) 

Jacob  Taylor,  in  his  almanac  for  1707,  calls  him  "That  unparalleled 
Plagiary  and  unreasonable  Transcriber  D.  Leeds,  who  hath  now  for  19 
years,  with  a  very  large  stock  of  impudence,  filched  matter  out  of  other 
men's  works,  to  furnish  his  spurious  almanacks."  [An  Alvianacli  for 
1707.  By  Jacob  Taylo7\  Pliiladclpliia  :  Tiberius  Johnson.  Am.  Philo. 
Soc. ,  xix,  291.) 

155  Mention  has  been  made  in  a  preceeding  chapter  (p.  57),  of  a  prescrip- 
tion of  a  universal  remedy,  bequeathed,  upon  his  death-bed,  by  a  former 
member  of  this  Fraternity  to  Magister  Francke,  and  made  under  the 
latter's  supervision,  from  the  sale  of  which  and  the  revenue  derived 
theiefrom  the  large  cluster  of  buildings  known  as  the  "  Francke  Institu- 
tions at  Halle"  chiefly  owe  their  existence. 

This  remedy,  known  as  the  "Gold  Tincture"  or  "Elixir  Dulcis,"  is 
made  and  sold  to  the  present  day  by  the  Apothelic  connected  with  the 


112  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

In  these  hermetic  studies,  that  were  practised  onl}^  upon 
nights  when  the  moon  and  planets  were  in  a  certain  posi- 
tion, the  brethren  were  often  assisted  by  several  highly 
respected  English  Quakers  and  a  learned  Scotchman,  who 
were  wont  to  make  visits  from  the  city. 

Upon  the  subject  of  an  indefinite  prolongation  of  human 
life,  the  members  were  not  unanimous.  While  all  agreed 
that  this  was  possible  under  certain  circumstances  or  con- 
ditions, some  of  their  number,  notably  Koster,  were  in- 
credulous of  an  elixir  of  life,  but  advanced  the  theory  of 
the  use  of  mystical  communications  with  the  unseen  world, 
as  founded  upon  the  Cabbala  and  the  Apocalypse.  ^'^"^ 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  the  leaders  of  the  Brotherhood, 
which  included  Kelpius,  Koster,  Falkner,  Seelig,  and 
Matthai,  scouted  the  idea  of  physical  death,  and  firmly 
believed  in  bodily  translation  to  the  realms  beyond,  if  they 
adhered  to  their  Theosophical  faith. 

Another  favorite  occupation  of  these  Theosophical  stu- 
dents was  the  casting  of  horoscopes  and  the  use  of  the 
divining-rod.  The  latter  implement  was  a  forked,  slender 
stick  of  witch-hazel,  that  was  cut  at  a  certain  time  in  the 
year  under   peculiar    conditions,  at  which  time  a  mystic 


Orphanage.  No  more  than  a  single  person  at  one  time  was  ever  cogni- 
zant of  its  composition.  The  writer,  during  his  visit  to  the  Orphanage, 
obtained  a  vial  of  this  remedy,  and  was  informed  by  Hugo  Hornemann, 
Ph.  D.,  that  he  had  been  the  custodian  of  the  secret  since  June  i,  1863 
it  having  been  imparted  to  him  by  his  father  and  predecessor  who  served 
from  1S26  to  1863,  and  had  in  turn  received  it  from  Prof  Stoltze,  who 
compounded  it  181 1-26.  Prior  to  this  time  the  secret  formula  was  in 
possession  of  the  Richters  and  Madais,  who  were  the  successive  heads  of 
the  Apotheke. 

Prior  to  the  Revolution,  this  nostrum  had  a  large  sale  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  to  the  writer's  personal  knowledge  was  used  here  as  late  as  the  early 
fifties  of  the  present  century. 

^^•^  Strodtmann,  v.  p.  255. 


THE   PIETISTS  OF   PROVINCIAL   PENNSYLVANIA. 


HOROLOGIUM    ACHA2. 

CHRISTOPHORUS   SCHISSLER,  GEOMETRICUS    AC    ASTRONOMICUS    ARTIFEX, 
AUGUST/E,  VINDELICORUM,   FACIEBAT,    1578. 
NOW    IN    THE    CABINET   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PHILOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY. 


TJie  Divining  Rod.  113 

incantation  and  ceremony  was  used.  This  rod  or  '■'■  hex  en- 
stab''''  was  used  to  find  subterranean  springs  of  water,  and 
to  locate  veins  of  precious  metal  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  To  find  the  hidden  spring,  a  branch  of  the  twig 
or  rod  was  taken  in  each  hand  between  the  thumb  and 
the  forefinger,  the  two  ends  pointing  down.  The  rod  was 
held  in  this  position,  the  palms  toward  the  face :  the  in- 
cantation was  then  said,  the  diviner  walking  slowly  over 
the  ground,  and  when  a  spring  or  subterranean  water-course 
was  passed  the  rod  would  bend  downward.  When  it  was 
desired  to  locate  special  metals,  small  nails  made  of  the 
metals  sought  for  were  introduced  into  the  long  end  of  the 
rod.  For  general  prospecting,  the  rod  frequently  contained 
nails  of  the  seven  metals, — viz.,  gold,  silver,  iron,  copper, 
lead,  tin,  and  an  amalgam  ;  and  it  was  firmly  believed  that 
in  passing  over  a  metallic  vein  the  rod  would  be  attracted 
downward.^" 

The  casting  of  nativities  by  aid  of  the  horoscope  was  a 
far  more  difficult  and  important  matter  than  the  use  of  the 
divining-rod.  Two  centuries  ago  the  horoscope  was  firmly 
believed  in  by  many  intelligent  persons  of  all  nations  and 
faiths.  The  calculations  in  individual  cases  required  con- 
siderable mathematical  as  well  as  astronomical  knowledge. 
By  its  use  not  only  the  life  and  fortune  of  an  infant  were 
foretold,  but  it  was  pressed  into  service  to  find  the  right 
position  of  the  heavens  for  the  undertaking  of  almost  all 
important  ventures,  such  as  voyages,  marriages,  business 
speculations,  and  building  operations. 

Among  the  treasures  of  the  Atnerican  Philosophical 
Society  in  Philadelphia  there  are  two  brass  plates,  finely 


^^'  The  writer  in  his  youth  was  shown  a  bed  of  iron  ore  near  Flower- 
town,  a  small  village  a  short  distance  above  Germantown,  which  was  said 
to  have  been  located  by  one  of  these  identical  rods. 

15 


114  '^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

wrought,  engraved,  and  gilded.  They  are  parts  of  an  in- 
strument once  used  for  calculating  nativities,  and  in  other 
occult  studies  wherein  the  hour  of  the  day  or  night  and 
the  position  of  the  planetary  system  of  the  heavens  took  a 
prominent  part.  This  instrument,  when  in  its  original 
condition,  was  known  as  an  "  horologiiini  Achaz  hydro- 
graphicuniy  The  smaller  of  the  two  plates  measures  5^%^ 
inches  in  diameter,  and  was  the  base  of  the  instrument. 
In  a  raised  centre  it  contained  a  compass  one  inch  in  di- 
ameter. The  larger  piece  is  a  basin-shaped  plate,  with  a 
flat,  moveable  rim  one  inch  wide.  Upon  this  are  engraved 
the  signs  of  the  zodiac.  The  centre  or  concave  part  is  ten 
inches  in  diameter,  and  is  geometrically  divided  into  the 
different  planetary  houses.  The  depth  of  the  basin  is  i  3^ 
inches,  and  the  whole  forms  the  dial  of  the  instrument. 
The  rim  is  surrounded  by  a  brass  figure  representing  an 
ancient  astrologer ;  it  measures  3  Y^  inches  in  height,  with 
the  left  hand  raised  so  as  to  hold  the  gnomon  used  to  cast 
the  shadow,  or  whereby  a  fine  ray  of  light  was  thrown 
upon  the  dial  in  place  of  the  shadow  (photo-sciaterica). 
The  dial  and  base  were  formerly  connected  with  a  mytho- 
logical figure  ;  the  latter,  however,  as  well  as  the  gnomon 
and  other  parts  are  now  missing. 

By  the  aid  of  this  instrument  it  was  possible  to  see  not 
only  the  true  time  of  day  by  sunlight  and  at  night  by 
moonlight,  but  other  solar  phenomena,  such  as  the  true 
time  of  sunrise  and  sunset, — the  orb's  place  in  the  twelve 
houses  of  the  zodiac,  its  perigee,  and  apogee,  the  height 
above  the  horizon,  the  relative  length  of  the  day  and  night, 
and  many  other  phenomena.  The  most  curious  feature 
about  this  apparatus  is  the  fact  that  when  the  basin  is 
filled  with  clear  water  the  time  marked  is  advanced  or 
retarded  so  many  degrees  as  equal  the  angle  of  refraction.  ^^^ 


The  Horologhini  Achaz.  115 

On  the  reverse  of  the  rim  that  surrounds  the  large  basin  is 
engraved,  "  Christophorv^s  Shissler,  Geometricvs  ac  Astro- 
noniicvs  Artifex  Avgvstae  Vindelicorvm,   Faciebat  Anno 

1578." 

The  records  of  the  venerable  Society  fail  to  show  from 
whom  these  relics  were  received,  or  even  when  they  came 
into  possession  of  the  Society.  Tradition,  however,  con- 
nects this  instrument  directly  with  Dr.  Christopher  Witt, 
the  last  surviving  member  of  the  Theosophical  Community 
that  once  occupied  the  Tabernacle  on  the  Wissahickon,  and 
who,  prior  to  his  death  in  1765,  gave  some  of  his  philo- 
sophical and  scientific  apparatus  to  the  Philosophical 
Society,  then  presided  over  by  Benjamin  Franklin/^''.  It 
is  known  that  after  the  death  of  Kelpius,  in  1708,  and  the 
virtual  disbanding  of  the  Community,  all  of  the  philoso- 
phical instruments,  as  well  as  Zimmermann's  astronomical 
apparatus,  passed  into  the  possession  of  Daniel  Geissler 
and  Dr.  Witt.  It  may  be  assumed  without  a  shadow  of 
doubt  that  the  above  relics  once  formed  a  part  of  Zimmer- 
mann's  scientific  outfit.  ^""^ 

As  an  illustration  how  the  horoscope  entered  into  local 
affairs,  there  was  formerly  a  tradition  current,  and  which 
is  recorded  in  one  of  the  Ephrata  manuscripts,  that  prior 
to  the  laying  of  the  foundation-stone  i^grund-steiii)  of  the 


^^®  This  instrument  was  known  to  and  its  peculiarity  mentioned  by 
Zacharias  Von  UfFenbach,  a  classmate  of  Justus  Falkner  at  Halle,  in  his 
published  travels,  Ulm,  1753. 

'^^  There  were  at  that  time  two  scientific  societies  in  Philadelphia, — 
viz..  The  American  Philosophical  Society  and  the  American  Society,, 
held  at  Philadelphia,  for  Promoting  Useful  Knowledge.  These  two  bodies 
united,  January  2,  1769,  and  formed  the  present  American  Philosophical 
Society. 

^•^^  Vide  paper  read  upon  this  instrument  by  the  present  writer  before 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  "  Proceedings,"  February  i,  1895. 


ii6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Peiuisylvania. 

Swedish  church  at  Wicacoa,  Seelig,  at  the  request  of  the 
Swedish  pastor,  first  cast  a  horoscope  to  find  a  proper  day 
for  the  commencement  of  the  building,  so  that  its  com- 
pletion should  be  assured.  The  interesting  service  took 
place  upon  the  appointed  day  in  the  fall  of  the  year  169S, 
and  was  made  an  occasion  of  both  joy  and  profit. 

The  site  finally  decided  upon,  after  some  controversy  as 
to  the  location,  was  within  the  Swedish  graveyard  at 
Wicaco,  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  The  ceremony  of 
laying  the  first  or  foundation-stone  was  performed  by  the 
three  ministers  under  the  direction  of  the  Master  Mason, 
while  the  Fraternity,  led  by  Kelpius,  intoned  the  Psalms 
and  responses. 

Whether  the  old  tradition  that  the  day  and  site  were 
selected  by  the  occult  calculations  of  the  Mystic  Brother- 
hood on  the  Wissahickon  be  founded  upon  fact  or  not,  the 
4av  certainly  was  an  auspicious  one,  as  the  old  church, 
after  a  lapse  of  two  centuries,  is  still  in  constant  use,  and 
is  now  the  oldest  and  most  venerable  sanctuary  within  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  It  has  stood  to  be  im- 
mortalized by  the  prince  of  New  England  poets : — 

"  Distant  and  soft  on  her  ear  fell  the  chimes  from  the  belfry 

of  Christ  Church, 
While,  intermingled  with  these,  across  the  meadows  were 

wafted 
Sounds  of  psalms  that  were  sung  by  the  Swedes  in  their 

church  at  Wicaco. ' ' 

Among  the  universal  remedies  in  which  the  Germans  of 
that  period  placed  great  faith  was  phlebotomy,  or  blood- 
letting, which  it  was  believed  would  prevent  sickness  as 
well  as  effect  a  cure.  Some  persons  were  in  the  habit  of 
undergoing  the  operation  at  regular  seasons  of  the  year, 


PJilchotomy.  117 

no  matter  whether  sick  or  well.  Owing  to  the  belief  in 
astrology,  care  was  taken  to  perform  it  under  favorable 
lunar  and  planetary  influences.  For  this  more  than  any 
other  purpose  the  different  Hermits  on  the  Ridge  were  con- 
sulted by  the  residents  of  the  surrounding  country.  The 
phases  of  the  moon  could  be  gotten  from  the  almanac, 
either  by  the  patient  or  the  barber-chirurgeon,^''^  and  even 
the  good  and  bad  days  easily  calculated  ;  ^"'^  but  to  find  the 
correct  position  of  the  planets  and  foretell  their  influence  in 
an  individual  case,  this  was  another  matter,  and  one  of 
prime  importance,  as  the  operation  would  affect  the  person 
for  a  lunar  year  to  come. 

Then,  again,  it  was  believed  that  the  disposition  of  the 
drawn  blood  was  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  the  patient, 
and  the  art  of  the  astrologer  was  once  more  invoked  as  to 
when  and  how  the  lost  blood  should  be  disposed  of.^*^^ 

Every  vein  or  artery  had  also  its  own  name,  and  came 
under  the  influence  of  a  peculiar  sign  or  planet.  Thus 
there  was  the  cephalic  vein  which  was  ruled  by  Aries  ;  the 


'"'  The  barber-chirurgeon  was  then  quite  an  important  personage.  His 
specialties  were  bleeding,  cupping,  and  leeching. 

^*-  When  the  phase  of  the  moon  changed  before  noon  the  day  was 
counted  as  the  first  day.  If,  however,  the  change  occurred  after  high 
noon  the  day  was  not  counted.  From  a  fragment  of  an  old  manuscript, 
dating  from  that  period,  it  is  seen  that  according  to  the  accepted  theory 
the  first  five  days  of  the  new  moon  were  all  bad  for  blood-letting  :  the 
first  caused  a  bad  countenance  ;  the  second,  a  bad  fever  ;  the  third,  lame- 
ness ;  the  fourth,  a  slow  death  ;  the  fifth,  giddiness  ;  while  the  sixth  was 
marked  "good,"  as  it  purifies  the  blood.  The  seventh,  eighth,  ninth, 
and  tenth  were  all  bad  ;  then  came  twelve  days  all  good,  with  a  special 
reference  to  the  twenty-first,  that  this  was  the  best  day  in  the  year. 

'^^  The  early  Moravians  in  Pennsylvania  had  a  positive  rule,  that  the 
lost  blood  should  either  be  buried  in  fresh  earth  at  once  or  thrown  into 
running  water.  This  was  to  prevent  any  possible  spread  of  disease. 
( Bethlehem  MS.  Diaries. ) 


ii8 


TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


hepatic,  the  splenetic,  arthritic,  quinsy  vein,  etc.,^"*  each 
with  a  different  sign.  The  astrologer  had  therefore  to 
indicate  according  to  the  celestial  signs  what  particular 
vein  was  to  be  tapped,  as  well  as  when  the  other  conditions 
would  be  favorable. 

It  is  not  to  be  assumed  from  the  above  that  Kelpius  and 

his  brother  Mystics 
PortenDens  graVla  eX  aqVlLone 
fVtVra  CoMetes, 


practised  astrology 
for  profit,  after  the 
manner  of  the  charL 
atans  of  that  day, 
A  moderate  use  of 
the  art  was  believed 
in  by  most  intelli- 
gent people  and  the 
signswere  consulted 
and  studied  for  sci- 
entific as  well  as 
personal  purposes. 
Though  the  Mystics 
on  the  Wissahickon 
made  use  of  astro, 
logical  signs  and 
calculations,  and 
believed  in  the  in- 
fluence of  heavenly 
bodies  upon  human  affairs,  5^et  that  they  were  free  from  all 
charlatanism  may  be  safely  assumed  from  the  following 
interesting  extract,  which  appeared  in  Vol,  xii,  p,  270,  of 
the  Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
London,  July  10,  1683,^"^     Here,  in  the  review  of  Johann 


^nbicTcmi6S2.ga(>r/tm 

turn  .SJ^iffi-naiit:  l)fc  fe  l)m 

laffcn. 
^ilrfifirt  11116  iiuf  6ag  cUifaftigfrc  tdxttxi 

fim^cti  mi  bcr  ijn^/  ic^in(if)l'c5cn  Diaconurr. 
\Vk  'Stctiflhciiti. 

\^  3.,l.r 
t  r^Ltltbfn  Vnsf^ifn'Oannfs  WILL  ttVrt9(bpnr  vv,rDm 

THCffKuiMominiSiull^.iri    


Hauptader,  Leber,  Miltz,  Gicht,  Braun,  etc. 

Copy  in  library  of  American  Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia, 


TJic   Conicto-Scopia. 


119 


Jacob  Ziminennann's  "  Coiiieto-Scopia ;  or,  Three  Astro- 
nomical Relations  concerning  the  Comets  that  have  been 
seen  in  the  years  1680,  1681,  1682,"  ^'^*' the  editor  states: 
"Thongh  as  he  [Zimmermann]  saith  he  doth  not  like 
the  common  Astrological  Juggling  Purse  (so  he  calls  it) 
\beiitelschncider'\  where,  according  to  the  Division  of  the 
Heaven  in  twelve  Houses,  and  the  Distribution  of  the 
Countries  to  the  signs  of  the  Zodiack^  the  Superstitious 
Fortune-Tellers  do  Prognosticate  things,  which  have  no 
reasons  nor  grounds,  neither  in  Nature  or  experience,  yet 
it  seems  he  [Zimmermann]  cannot  forbear  himself  to  make 
use  of  the  same  trifles,  when  he  says  that  Virgo  being  the 
sign  of  Sterilty ;  Libj^a^  a  sign  of  Justice  and  Death ; 
Scorpio^  a  house  of  Mars  and  sign  of  Poysons^ — the  Comet 
must  signify  War^  Famine^  Sickness^  or  a  great  Plague.''^ 


!*•'  No  copy  of  this  work  is  known  to  exist.  The  title  reproduced  is 
from  a  similar  work  relating  merely  to  the  comet  of  1682.  The  original 
is  in  the  Royal  Ubrary  of  Wiirtemberg  at  Stuttgart.  The  writer  is  in- 
debted to  Prof.  D.  H.  Schott,  chief  librarian,  for  the  photographic  copy. 


LOCAL    SUPERSTITIONS. 


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NOTHER  custom  then  in 
vogne  among  the  Ger- 
mans   in    Pennsylvania 
was  the  wearing  of  anhangsel^  -a 
kind    of  astrological    amulet    or 
talisman.    They  consisted  chiefly 
p^g  A  of  small  charts  upon  parchment 

or  paper,  formed  by  astrological 
signs,  together  with  hieroglyphic  figures.  In  rare  cases  a 
thin  stone  or  sheet  of  metal  was  used  in  place  of  the  parch- 
ment. These  anliangsel^  or  sauber-settel  as  they  were 
called,  were  prepared  by  the  Mystics  of  the  Community 
with  certain  occult  ceremonies  at  such  times  as  the  culmin- 
ation of  a  particular  star  or  the 
conjunction  of  certain  planets. 
One  of  the  arihdngsel  most 
in  demand  (Fig.  A.)  was  pre- 
pared at  midnight  on  St.  John's 
eve,  and  buried  for  a  time  in  the 
place  where  the  soiinoi-ivend 
fire  had  been.  This  special  one 
was  supposed  to  abjure  all  evil  ^"^'  ^' 

spirits.     The  anh'angsel^  when  properly  prepared  by  'a  com 


G-^/:? 


M^ZX 


>      — 

;:    z 


I 
m 

> 

CO 

■D 

I 
|- 

O 

CD 

o 

■D 

I 

o 

33 

C 


The   Mystic   Seal. 


121 


patent  magus  (the  Jicxcumeistcr  of  the  ignorant),  was  sup- 
posed to  exercise  an  extraordinary  influence  over  the  des- 
tiny of  the  bearer,  particularly  in  averting  disease,  checking 
the  power  of  evil  spirits,  and  defending  the  wearer  from 
malice  and  all  harm. 

Various  mineral  and  animal  substances,  such  as  bones 
and  teeth,  were  also  used  with  the  same  import,  after  they 
had  been  subjected  to  a  certain  mystic  incantation.  Vege- 
table substances  were  rarely  used,  as  it  was  believed  that 
their  efficacy  only  lasted  while  the  plant  or  tree  was  in  a 
state  of  growth  or  activity. 

So  universal  was  the  belief  among  the  Gennans  in  the 


Fig.  C. 

efficacy  of  the  anh'dngsel  that  hardly  an  adult  or  child  was 
to  be  found  without  one.  Frequently  a  charm  of  this  kind 
would  be  placed  upon  an  infant  immediately  upon  its  birth, 
as  well  as  upon  a  corpse  prior  to  interment.  Then,  again, 
some  were  prepared  for  special  diseases,  and  worn  or  ap- 
plied when  the  occasion  presented  itself;  and  it  was  firmly 
believed  where  a  cure  was  effected  that  the  result  was  due 
more  to  the  mystic  charm  written  upon  a  triangular  parch- 
ment, and  then  folded  thrice  and  placed  upon  the  body  of 
the  patient,  than  to  the  remedies  used  by  the  practitioner 

i6 


122  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


of  physic.  Several  of  these  anhdngsel  are  here  repro- 
duced. Fig.  B  was  supposed  to  banish  all  evil  spirits,  being 
a  secret  protection  against  which  no  demon  could  prevail. 
Fig.  C  was  known  as  the  ivunder-sigel ;  it  was  believed  to 
be  a  sure  protection  against  any  and  all  kinds  of  mechan- 
ical injuries,  as  well  as  against  gun-shot  or  stab  wounds  of 
any  sort.  Fig.  D,  known  as  an  artabel  aiiJiangsel^  con- 
sisted of  a  thin  plate  of  metal,  usually  copper,  but  in  rare 
cases  eold  or  silver.  It  was  worn  around  the  neck  by  a 
plaited  three-strand  cord  made  of  hair  taken  from  the 
tail  of  a  horse   at  midnight   upon   Christmas  eve.      This 

charm  was  believed  to  insure  to  its 
fortunate  owner  a  long  life  of 
wealth,  power,  strength,  and  cheer- 
fulness, prolonged  youth  and  an  easy 
death.  Fig.  E  :  this  peculiar  chart 
was  called  a  Trit/ieinisettel^  and  was 
supposed  to  banish  all  harm  from 
the  house  in  which  it  was  used. 
The  derivation  of  the  characters  or 
their  symbolism,  however,  has  not 

been  traced  by  the  writer. 

Independent    of    the    above    de- 

FiG.  D.  ^ 

scribed  charms  or  talismans,  there 
was  another  kind  of  superstition  common  to  the  general 
populace.  This  was  known  as  besprechen.,  a  kind  of  con- 
juration for  the  cure  of  wounds  or  minor  diseases  in  both 
man  and  beast.  The  ceremony  was  nearly  always  performed 
by  an  old  man  or  woman,  usually  the  latter ;  and  in  some 
cases,  such  as  burns,  scalds,  erysipelas,  wounds,  and  hemor- 
rhages, it  was  believed  to  be  of  greater  efficacy  than  an}- 
medical  treatment. 

A  curious  matter  in  connection  with  the  transmission  of 


TJie   Mystic   Signet. 


123 


the  formulae  for  these  conjurations  was,  that  to  maintain 
their  ejfficiency  they  had  to  be  handed  down  by  an  alterna- 
tion of  the  sexes.  As  an  illustration,  a  woman  who  could 
besprcch  fire,  as  burns  and  scalds  were  called,  in  transmit- 
ting her  secret  formula  would  have  to  communicate  it  to 
one  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  he  in  turn  to  another  woman  ; 
otherwise  the  charm  would  not  work. 

Another  strange  belief,  one  in  which  the  Mystic  Brethren 
figured,  was  the  use  of  the  iviiiidcr-sigel^  or  mystic  signet. 
This  was  nothing  more  than  an  ordinary  brass  seal,  one  of 


which  is  now  in  possession  of  the  writer,  whereon  were  cut 
certain  astrological  figures  and  signs.  It  was  used  not  onlv 
upon  documents  and  articles  of  writing,  but  was  impressed 
upon  various  parts  of  the  body,  wdiether  of  human  beings 
or  of  animals.  This  was  done  to  prevent  or  cure  certain 
ailments.  For  this  purpose  the  signet  or  petschaft  was 
smoked  by  aid  of  a  fatty  flame  and  then  impressed  upon 
the  spot  where  the  trouble  existed.  The  application  was 
generally  made  with  an  incantation,  in  which  the  names  of 
the  Trinity  bore  the  leading  part.     When  used  upon  cattle 


124 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


it  was  believed,  among  other  things,  that  it  wonld  prevent 

them    from   straying  away,  and  would    cause 

them  to  return  home  at  the  regular  time ;  also 

that  no  vermin  of  any  kind  would  come  near 

them.     A  horse  so  sealed  could  not  be  stolen, 

but  if  taken  would  at  once  return  to  its  owner. 

An    impression  of  an  electrotype  made  from 

one  of   these  identical   signets  used  by  the  Theosophical 

Brotherhood  is  here  given,  also  a  drawing  of  the   same 

seal,  showing  the  size  of  the  original. 

Watson,  in  commenting  upon  this  peculiar  phase  of 
German  character  in  days  gone  by,  writes,  "  Germantown 
was  certainly  very  fruitful  in  credulit)-,  and  gave  support 
to  some  three  regular  professors  in  the  mysterious  arts  of 
divination.      Besides  Dr.  Witt,  there  was  his  disciple,  Mr. 


Frailey,  sometimes  dubb 

possessed  of  learning.^''" 

to    by    Watson    was    an 

Shrunk."      When   cows 

sons,    got    strange 

fled  ordinary  medi 

mary     to     consult 

lief,  and  their  pre 

seeing  the  patients, 

idea  of  witchcraft  somehow,  and  the  cure  was  effected." 


ed  doctor  also,  though  not 

The  other  person  alluded 

old  man  known  as  "  Old 

and  horses,  and  even  per- 

diseases,  such  as  baf- 

cines,    it  was    custo- 

these  persons  for  re- 

scriptions,   without 

were  often  oriven  under  the 


^®'  No  reference  to  Dr.  Frailey  could  be  found  in  si;pport  of  his  connec- 
tion with  Dr.  Witt. 


THE    MYSTICS    ON    THE    WISSAHICKON. 


(H)' 


^HEN  the  Brotherhood  on 
the  Wissahickon  began 
to  be  better  known  they 
attracted  considerable  attention 
among  the  Dissenters  and  Sepa- 
ratists scattered  thronghout  the 
other  colonies,  as  well  as  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Among  the  first  to  com- 
mnnicate  with  Kelpius  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  the  leaders  of  the  Sab- 
batarian movement  in  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey.  Abel  Noble/''^ 
the  Sabbatarian  apostle,  who  was  then  active  in  the  Prov- 
ince  among  the   Keithians   in    Philadelphia  and   Chester 


Macrocosm,  or  Seal  of 
King  Solomon. 


^'^^  Abel  Noble  was  the  son  of  William  Noble,  a  wealthy  Friend  of 
Bristol,  England,  and  arrived  in  this  country  in  1684,  coming  to  Philadel- 
phia shortly  afterwards.  He  was  a  nephew  of  Richard  Noble,  who  came 
from  England  in  the  "Joseph  and  Mary,"  Captain  Mathew  Payne,  the 
first  vessel  that  landed  passengers  at  Salem,  New  Jersey,  May  13,  1675, 
and  who  held  some  office  under  the  Duke  of  York,  and  will  be  remem- 
bered as  the  surveyor  of  the  Jerseys  who  laid  out  Burlington  ;  he  was  also 
active  in  the  early  settlement  of  Pennsylvania  after  the  grant  to  Penn. 


126  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Counties,  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Tabernacle  in  the 
forest,  where  the  question  of  the  true  Sabbath  received  the 
earnest  consideration  of  the  Theosophists.  In  these  dis- 
cussions they  were  frequently  joined  by  the  Swedish  pastors 
Rudnian  and  Auren. 

According  to  the  Ephrata  manuscripts  and  traditions,  it 
is  to  be  inferred  that  not  only  the  rival  band  under  Koster, 
but  the  original  Community,  as  well  as  one  of  the  Swedish 
pastors,  became  convinced  of  the  Sabbatarian  doctrine  and 
kept  the  Sabbath  or  Seventh-day  holy.  So  far  as  the 
Keithian  congregation  under  Koster  is  concerned,  as  well 
as  in  the  case  of  Rev.  Jonas  Auren,  we  have  ample  docu- 
mentary evidence  to  substantiate  this  claim.  The  former 
eventually  became  a  distinct  Church,  known  as  the  Seventh- 
day  Baptist  Church  of  Philadelphia,  with  Thomas  Rutter 
as  the  first  pastor ;  while  the  Rev.  Jonas  Auren  embraced 
the  doctrine  of  the  Seventh-day  without  letting  it  interfere 
with  his  Lutheran  pastorship.  ^"^'^     He  also  went  as  a  mis- 


Abel  Noble  soon  after  liis  arrival  became  possessed  of  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  what  is  now  known  as  Warminister  Township,  Bucks  County. 

The  claim  of  his  having  been  a  Seventh-Day  Baptist  preacher  prior  to 
his  arrival  in  this  country  is  a  matter  of  doubt,  as  he  had  not  yet  arrived 
to  the  years  of  manhood  when  he  landed  on  these  shores.  Further,  from 
the  start  he  professed  Quakerism,  and  soon  became  a  prominent  member 
among  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the  infant  colony.  However,  when  the 
Keithian  troubles  commenced  we  find  him  a  statinch  upholder  of  Keith, 
and  his  name,  together  with  William  Davis,  is  prominent  among  the 
forty-eight  who  signed  the  reasons  for  the  Keithian  separation.  But  at 
the  same  time  he  continued  in  accord  with  the  society  and  remained  in 
good  standing  among  them,  as  is  shown  by  his  marriage  in  1692  at  Darby 
Meeting  to  Mary  Garrett. 

After  his  final  separation  from  the  parent  society  the  transition  to  the 
Baptists  was  an  easy  matter,  and  the  tradition  that  Noble,  during  a  busi- 
ness trip  through  the  Jerseys,  came  in  contact  with  Killingsworth  and 
was  baptised  by  him,  is  probably  correct ;  but  how,  and  through  whom 
he  was  convinced  of  the  Sabbatrian  doctrine  is  an  unsolved  question. 

^^*  Acrelius. 


Jo /I  as    Aurcii.  127 

sioiiary  among  the  Indians,  and  by  a  cnrions  coincidence 
preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  tanght  the  doctrine  of 
the  Sabbath  to  the  Indians  npon  ahiiost  the  identical  spot 
where  thirty  years  later  the  Hphrata  Community  was  settled. 

[The  Rev.  Jonas  Anren,  of  Wermeland  in  Sweden,  ac- 
companied Rev.  Rudman  and  Biorck  to  America  at  the 
king's  command.  He  had  been  ordained  along  with  Biorck 
at  Upsala,  and  was  under  the  special  patronage  of  King 
Charles  XL  His  special  mission  was  to  make  a  map  of 
the  Swedish  possessions,  with  a  description  of  their  charac- 
ter and  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants,  all  of  which  he 
was  to  bring  or  send  to  his  Majesty  without  delay. 

The  party  sailed  from  Dalaron  August  4,  1696,  arriving 
in  London  October  loth.  It  was,  however,  not  until  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1697,  that  they  left  London  for  America.  Their 
voyage  to  the  capes  of  Virginia  lasted  ten  weeks.  They 
first  went  to  Maryland,  and  remained  for  several  weeks  as 
guests  of  Governor  Francis  Nicholson,  when  they  con- 
tinued their  journey  on  a  yacht  to  Elk  River,  and  reached 
Pennsylvania  by  way  of  New  Castle,  June  24,  1697. 
Rudman  and  Auren  remained  in  Philadelphia,  while  Biorck 
went  down  the  river  to  the  Christiana  congregation. 
Shortly  afterwards  word  was  received  of  the  death  of  King 
Charles  XI,  when  Auren  concluded  to  remain  in  America, 
and  subsequently  became  pastor  of  the  Racoon  Church  in 
New  Jersey. 

Auren's  intercourse  with  the  Sabbatarians  at  Providence 
and  Philadelphia,  as  well  as  with  the  Mystics  on  the  Wis- 
sakickon,  was  of  an  intimate  nature,  and  resulted  in  his 
becoming  convinced  that  the  seventh  day,  or  Saturday, 
was  the  true  Sabbath. 

He  published  his  reasons  for  the  above  in  English  in 
Leeds'  Almanac  for  1700,  under  the  title  of  "  Noah's  Dove.'' 


128  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

This  caused  considerable  trouble  between  the  three  clergy- 
men and  in  the  congregations.  It  was  answered  by  a 
counter  pamphlet  from  Biorck,  also  in  English,  entitled, 
"A  little  Olive  Leaf  put  in  the  Mouth  of  Noah's  Dove."'^" 

In  addition  to  his  other  labors,  Auren  actually  engaged  in 
missionary  work  among  the  Indians  in  Chester  County 
(now  Lancaster),  preaching  to  them  the  gospel  together 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  Sabbath,  upon  the  identical  ground 
on  which  the  Ephrata  Community  of  Mystic  Sabbatarians 
was  subsequently  established. 

A  communication  from  x\uren  appears  in  Biorck.'s  Disser- 
tatio  Gradualism  de  Plajitatione  Ecc.  Siied.^  dated  January 
13,  1699— 1700,  which  gives  some  account  of  his  labors  in 
this  missionary  field. 

It  is  further  an  interesting  fact  that  Auren  laid  the 
corner-stone  of  Holy  Trinity  (Old  Swedes)  Church  of 
Christiana  (Wilmington),  on  the  Seventh  day,  Saturday, 
May  28,  1698. 

Notwithstanding  his  outspoken  Sabbatarianism,  Auren 
was  called  as  pastor  to  the  Rattcong  (Racoon)  Church  in 
New  Jersey,  and  as  he  continued  to  preach  the  doctrine  of 
Sabbath,  he  was  cited  by  Biorck  to  appear  before  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York  ;  but  so  ably  did  Auren  defend  his 
position,  that  he  was  permitted  to  return  as  pastor,  with 
the  understanding  that  he  was  to  preach  the  Orthodox 
Lutheran  doctrine  on  Sunday  to  his  congregation,  while 
he  and  his  family  were  at  liberty  to  keep  the  seventh  day. 

Auren  died  February  16,  17 13,  and  was  buried  in  New 


""  "A  Little  Olive  Branch  put  in  the  Month  of  the  (so-called)  Noah's 
Dove,  Printed  and  sold  by  William  Bradford  at  the  Sign  of  the  Bible  in 
New  York,  1704,"  sm.  4to.  Title  from  catalogue  of  "The  Bradford  Ex- 
hibition" by  the  Grolier  Club,  New  York,  1S93.  The  copy  on  exhibition 
is  the  only  one  known.  The  owner  of  the  specimen  refused  to  leave  his 
name  be  known  to  the  public. 


Kelphis'    Letter.  129 

Jersey.  The  funeral  sermon  was  preached,  Febrnary  24, 
1 7 13,  by  Rev.  Abraham  Lidenius ;  and  on  the  next  day, 
Febrnary  25,  he  was  bnried  in  the  Racoon  Chnrch,  the 
service  being  read  by  Dr.  Andreas  Sandel.''''  He  left  a 
widow'"'  and  two  sons,  the  yonngest  only  five  weeks  old.] 

As  to  the  Sabbatarian  tendencies  of  the  Kelpins  party, 
the  evidence  is  not  quite  so  clear.  It  is  known,  however, 
that  at  an  early  day  communications  were  opened  between 
Kelpins  and  others  on  the  Wissahickon  and  the  leaders  of 
the  Sabbatarians  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 

■  This  fact  is  shown  by  the  following  letter,  the  draft  of 
which  is  in  the  Journal  of  Kelpins  in  his  own  handwriting, 
which  gives  perhaps  the  fullest  and  most  exact  account  of 
the  peculiar  theosophy  of  the  original  Community  which  it 
was  possible  to  reveal  to  an}-  one  who  had  not  made  the 
subject  an  especial  study.  It  is  addressed  to  Steven  Mum- 
ford,  to  whom  is  accorded  the  honor  of  establishing  the  first 
Sabbatarian  congregation  in  xA.merica. 

"To  Mr.  Steven  Momfort  in  Long  Island/"  in  America,  concerning  the 
Pietists  in  Germany. 

"  1699,  II  December. 

"  Dear  Friend  and  Brother  : 

"  In  fellow-fighting  in  that  Free  and  Royal  Spirit  which 
strives  for  the  Prize  of  the  first  Resurrection  when  in  this 
Midnight  the  Cry  of  the  Bridegroom's  coming  is  sounded 
forth  among  the  Virgin  waiters  for  the  Preparation  of  the 
Temple  Body,  wherein  the  King  of  Glory  and  Father  of 
the  coming  Eternity  is  to  enter. 


'"'  February  16,  1713,  Auren  died  at  Ratkungs  Hook,  and  was  buried 
by  me,  February  25,  in  the  Ratkungs  Church.— Z?/rt;j  Andreas  Sandel. 

'"  Auren  was  married  in  November,  17 10,  by  Rev.  Biorch  to  Lydia, 
daughter  of  Hans  Giostason.  He  was  then  Hving  near  the  Susquehanna 
River. — Diary  Andreas  Sandel. 

'"  This  should  be  Rhode  Island. 

17 


130  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"  Your  great  desire  for  to  be  a  little  further  informed  of 
the  Principles  and  Practizes  of  those  People  that  go  under 
the  Name  of  .Pietists/'^'' what  they  hold  as  Doctrin  differing 
from  others,  what  their  Discipline  is  and  what  Methods 
they  use  in  their  own  Country  ;  this  desire  I  will  hope, 
doth  not  arise  from  the  Root  of  that  Athenian  Curiosity  to 
hear  some  new  thing ;  But  rather  you  being  one  among 
thousands  in  Juda,  who  sees  how  since  that  glorious  Primi- 
tive Church  of  Christ  Jesus  the  Apostacy  hath  run  in  a 
continual  current  till  this  very  day,  and  though  this  Stream 
hath  divided  itself  in  many  smaller  Rivulets,  under  several 
Names  of  more  reformed  Purity,  yet  you  are  not  ignorant 
how  they  derive  their  Emanation  from  one  Spring  and 
ten  to  the  same  End,  Viz.  that  the  Woman  in  the  Wilder- 
ness might  be  carried  away  by  the  Flood.  Therefore  you, 
as  a  Remnant  of  her  seed,  long  for  to  see  your  Mother  and 
ofroan  for  the  Manifestation  of  her  children.  No  wonder 
then,  if  your  continual  Gazing  upon  this  Supercaelestial 
Orb  and  Sphier  from  whence  with  her  Children,  causeth 
you  to  observe  every  new  Phoenomena,  Meteors,  Stars  and 
various  Colours  of  the  Skei,  if  peradventure  you  may 
behold  at  last  an  Harbinger  as  an  Evidence  of  that  great 
Jubelee  or  Restitation  of  all  things  and  glorious  Sabbath- 
ismos  or  the  continual  days  of  Rest  without  intervening 
or  succeeding  Nights,  whereof  God  hath  spoken  by  the 
mouth  of  all  his  Prophets  since  the  world  began  (Acts  3,  21) 
and  whereof  both  the  Testaments  prophesie  in  evey  Title 
and  Iota.  If  now  this  late  Revolution  in  Europe  (not  to 
speak  of  that  in  other  parts)  which  in  the  Roman  Church 


•^*  Christopher  Sauer  states  that  the  name  first  arose  from  an  expression 
used  by  a  Prof.  Veller,  who,  in  a  funeral  sermon  on  one  of  the  students, 
said  "  He  was  a  Pietist,"  meaning  that  he  was  a  God-fearing  person. — 
Sailer's  Almanac,  175 1. 


Mysticism    Defined.  1 3 1 

goes  under  the  Name  of  Quictisin,''^''  in  the  Protestane 
Church  under  the  Name  of  Pietism,  Chiliasm,  and  Phila- 
delphianism,  If  I  say  this  together  or  one  in  vSpecial  pur- 
tends  any  thing  to  this  effect.  I  do  not  question,  but  it 
will  be  your  as  well  as  my  desire,  who  would  rejoyce  not 
only  to  give  you  full  satisfaction  as  to  this,  but  to  see  with 
you,  yet  in  our  days,  that  happy  day,  which  when  its  new 
Earth  swallows  all  that  forementioned  Floud  and  where 
its  glorious  Sun  causeth  all  other  Stars  and  Phoenomena 
to  disappear,  no  Night  succeeds  it,  but  that  the  Night  is 
swallowed  up  in  ye  Day,  Darkness  into  Light,  Death  into 
Life,  Judgment  into  Victory,  Justice  into  Mercy,  all  im- 
perfect Metals  into  Gold,  and  Gold  itself  is  refined  seven 
times,  and  all  Churches  and  Virgins  comprised  into  the 
one  Dove  (Cant.  6,  9),  then  all  the  Sons  of  God  will  shout 
for  joy  as  they  did  in  the  Beginning,  when  God  was  all  in 
all,  as  he  will  be  all  in  all,  when  again  the  End  hath  found 
its  Beginning.     Amen  !     Halleluiah  ! 

"  Dear  and  worthy  friend,  though  unknown  to  the  Flesh 
but  known  in  that  better,  yea  in  the  best  Line  and  highest 
descent  in  the  Life  of  our  Immanuel,  whose  Day  we  re- 
joyce to  hear  of  and  more  to  see,  as  well  within  us  as 
without  us,  in  its  Depth,  Hight,  Breadth  and  Length, 
through  the  whole  palsed  and  groaning  Creation,  as  well  as 
in  our  Mother  Jerusalem  above  and  Beneath  !     How  can  I 


1'=  The  Ouietists  were  the  followers  of  Miguel  de  Molinos,  a  Spanish 
Mystic.  The  chief  object  of  this  sect  was  the  attainment  of  spiritual 
and  physical  perfection.  The  founder  taught  that  little  value  was  to  be 
placed  upon  ceremonial  observances,  but  ^  piritual  perfection  consisted  in 
the  perfect  repose  of  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul  in  God  and  indifference 
to  all  the  actions  of  the  body.  For  those  who  obtained  this  "fixed"  or 
"  continuous"  state  there  was  no  sin  and  no  occasion  for  anxiety.  "  Mys- 
tical theology,"  said  Molinos,  "is  not  a  science  of  the  intellect,  but  of 
sentiment  ;  it  is  not  learned  by  study,  but  received  from  heaven." 


132  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

write  the  particulars  of  the  Quietists  or  Pietists,  Chiliasts'"'' 
or  Philadelphians/"  whose  Fame  is  spread  in  all  the  4 
quarters  of  the  now  Christianity.  They  first  sprang  in 
Italy,  in  Rome  itself  (and  are  increased  now  through  the 
whole  Roman  Church  in  many  Millions,  though  they  was 
and  are  still  depressed)  15  or  20  years  before  the  Pietists  or 
Chiliasts  in  Germany  and  Switzerland  (where  the  first 
Reformation)  in  the  year  '89  and  '90,  with  a  swift  increase 
through  the  whole  Nation,  so  that  their  Branches  also  did 
break  forth  into  other  Nations,  as  in  England  under  the 
name  of  Philadelphians.  This  Penn  is  too  dull  to  express 
the  extraordinary  Power  the  Pietists  and  Chiliasts  among 
the  Protestants  in  Germany  (and  especially  in  Saxony)  and 
Switzerland  was  endued  with  in  their  Infancy.  This  only 
I  sav,  as  one  who  hath  read  the  Histories,  that  since  the 
days  of  the  Apostels,  such  Miraculous  Powers  and  opera- 
tions have  not  been  manifested  as  in  a  matter  of  2,^2  years 
among  these.  And  like  as  the  Miracles  wrought  by  God 
through  the  Hand  of  Moyses  was  for  the  main  part  in  the 
outward  Creation  or  Macrocosm,  the  Miracles  of  Jesus  the 
Messia  on  the  Bodys  of  Man  or  Macrocosm, ^^^  so  these  in 
our  days  was  wrought  (much  like  unto  them  in  the  days 
of  the  Apostels)  on  the  Soul  and  more  interiour  parts  by 
Ectases,  Revelations,  Inspirations,  Illuminations,  Inspeak- 
ings.  Prophesies,  Apparitions,  Changings  of  Minds,  Trans- 
figurations, Translations  of  their  Bodys,  wonderful  Fastings 


1™  17dc,  p.  37,  38,  /bid. 

'^'  Vide,  p.  16,  /did. 

1"*  Macrocosm,  used  in  a  figurative  sense  to  denote  the  universe  or  visi- 
ble sj-stem  of  worlds,  literally  the  great  woild.  The  opposite,  microcosm, 
the  little  world,  was  a  name  given  to  man  in  the  times  when  astrology 
flourished,  as  it  was  supposed  that  his  organization  accurately  corres- 
ponded to  the  organization  of  the  universe.  The  above  conception  dates 
back  to  Democritus  (b.  460  B.C.). 


Man    or   Macrocosm. 


133 


for  II,  14,  27,  37  days,  Paradysical  Representations  by 
Voices,  Melodies,  and  Sensations  to  the  very  perceptibility 
of  the  Spectators  who  was  about  such  persons,  whose  con- 
dition as  to  the  inwaid 
condition  of  their  Souls, 
as  well  as  their  outward 
Transactions,  yea  their 
very  thoughts  they 
could  tell  during"  the 
time  of  their  Exstacies, 
though  they  had  never 
seen  nor  heard  of  the 
Persons  before. 

"  These    and    many 

other   Gifts    continued 

as  is  said,  for  a  matter 

of   three    years    and    a 

half  among  all  sorts  of 

Persons,     Noble,    and 

ignoble.    Learned    and 

unlearned,    Male     and 

female,  young  and  old, 

very  conspiciously  and 

generally  Protestants  chiefly,  and  some  Papists,  and  with 

some  though  more  refined  such  and  like  Gifts  last  till  this 

very  day. 

"Thus  partly  I  have  declared  how  the}'  was  baptized 
with  such  energical  drops  out  of  that  supercaleistial  Pillar 
of  Cloud  by  Gifts  and  miraculous  Manifestations  of  the 
Powers  from  on  high. 

"  Now  will  I  tell  in  short  in  what  a  craggy,  uneven  yea 
dark  wilderness  they  have  been  led  since,  when  hitherto 
they   have  been    baptized  with  the   fiery  Pillar  of   many 


MACROCOSM    APPKARING    TO    DR.    FAUSTUS. 


134  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pemisylvania. 

inward  and  outward  Tribulations,  Sorrows,  Temptations, 
Refinings,  Purifications  (but  nevertheless  this  Fiere  casts 
such  a  Light  befor'm  that  securs'ni  from  the  persuing 
Might  and  dark  influence  of  Egypt  and  guides'm  in  that 
beloved  land  and  City.)  This  must  be  through  many 
Tribulations  as  the  Apostels  have  witnessed,  so  they  felt  it 
and  feel  it  still  very  smartly.  For  when  these  things  begun 
to  ferment  every  where,  i.  The  Students  in  the  Universities 
forsake  their  former  way  of  Learning  and  applied  them- 
selves wholly  to  Piety  and  Godliness,  (from  whence  their 
name  was  derived)  leaving  and  some  burning  their  heath- 
enish Logiks,  Rhetoriks,  Metaphysiks.  2.  The  Laymen 
or  Auditors  begun  to  find  fault  with  the  Sermons  and 
Lifes  of  their  Ministers,  seeing  there  was  nothing  of  Ye 
Power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  nor  of  the  Life  of  Christ  and 
his  Apostels.  3.  The  children  under  the  Information  and 
Tuition  of  Pietists,  (for  the  Students  applied  themselves 
chiefly  to  the  Education  of  Children,  as  they  do  till  this 
day  with  great,  yea  extraordinary  success)  begun  to  reproof 
their  Parents  if  they  was  working  and  Lye  or  unrighteous- 
ness !  }'ea  some  in  their  tender  years  came  to  witness  strange 
things  of  the  Invisible  worlds.  Till  at  last  Demetrius  with 
his  Craftsmen  begun  to  see  and  hear  that  not  onh'  in 
Lipzig,  (from  which  University  this  Motion  first  begun  to 
spread  abroad)  but  almost  throughout  all  Germany  and 
adjacent  Contrys  these  Pietists  did  persuade  and  turn  away 
much  People,  saying  that  the  Form  of  Godliness  without 
the  Power  thereof  is  meer  Idolatry  and  superstition  ;  Yea 
they  saw,  how  that  not  only  this  their  craft  was  endangered 
by  these  and  set  at  nought,  but  also  the  Temple  or  Uni- 
versities of  the  great  Goddess  Dianoria  or  Reason  and 
Ratiocination  (which  is  quite  different  from  that  Dionoria 
or    Understanding    or    Unction    whereof   John    witnesses 


The   Anti-Pietists.  135 

I  Job.  5.  19.  c.  2,  27.)  should  be  despised  and  her  Magnifi- 
cence (thus  the  Rectors  in  the  Universities  are  titled)  should 
be  destroyed,  if  in  the  place  of  Dianoria,  the  Sophia  from 
on  high  should  be  adored  and  instead  of  Temples  or  Uni- 
versities, the  Hearts  of  men  should  be  consecrated.  (Ex- 
cuse me,  dear  Heart,  that  I  thus  run  into  an  Allegoricall 
Application,  for  the  very  same  Comedy  was  played  as  you 
read  in  the  x\cts  of  the  Apostels,  only  the  time  and  persons 
changed.)  Thus  the  Battel  and  Insurrection  begun,  which 
lasteth  till  this  day. 

''  The  xA.nti-Pietists  (so  their  Adversaries  are  pleased  to 
call  themselves)  betook  themselves  to  the  secular  Arm. 
But  several  Princes  being  parth'  inclined  to  the  Principles 
of  the  Pietists,  partly  convinced  of  a  superior  Agent  in 
these  things,  took  them  in  their  Protection,  especially  the 
Elector  of  Brandeb.  In  the  Principality  of  Brunswick 
and  Lunebourg,  the  course  was  otherwise,  for  in  the  very 
beginning  3  Bishops  or  Supirts  was  removed  their  offices ; 
the  same  happened  in  other  Countries  and  Cities,  as  Erford, 
Lipzik,  Quedlinbourg,  Halberstad,  Hambourg,  Hassen 
Cassel,  where  and  in  Switzerland  lately  several  Ministers 
are  removed  and  some  banished  the  Country.  Thus  they 
increased  under  the  Cross.  As  for  any  peculiar  Badge  or 
Mark,  they  have  none  being  above  these  trifling  affections) 
or  any  peculiar  Church  Ceremony  or  Discipline  which 
should  cause  a  Shisni  or  branch  a  new  sect.  For  they  are 
not  ignorant  of  the  wilderness  wherein  the  Church  is  and 
hath  been  hitherto,  and  in  what  a  glory  she  will  appear 
when  she  comes  up  from  the  Wilderness  leaning  on  her 
beloved.  Cant.  8.  5.  They  see  will  enough  how  all  the 
Reformations  and  Revolutions  in  this  last  Age  as  well  as 
theirs  are  but  x\pparitions  of  the  fair  colours  of  the  Aurora 
or  Break  of  the  day,  mixed  with  many  uncleanness  wherein 


136  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

there  is  no  stay  (as  my  beloved  Brother  and  faithful  Fellow- 
Pilgrim  in  this  Wilderness  state  Seelig  hath  written)  for 
they  are  not  the  substance  or  sun  itself  through  the  various 
beautiful  Apparitions  of  the  Skie,  should  entice  one  allmost 
enamoured  in  them  and  to  mistake  the  Harbinger  for  the 
King !  whom  to  meet  they  prepare  themselves  earnestly, 
some  of'm  laying  aside  all  other  engagements  whatever, 
trimming  their  Lamps  and  adorning  themselves  with  white 
silk}'  Holiness  and  golden  Righteousness,  that  the}-  may  be 
found  worthy,  when  the  Bridegroom  comes,  to  receive  him 
with  confidence  and  joy  and  to  bring  him  in  the  House  of 
their  Mother,  where  He  will  drink  withhn  that  new  spicy 
wine  of  the  Kingdom  in  all  everlasting  Progresses.  That 
we  also  may  prepare  ourselves  with  our  whole  endeavours 
continually  I  wish  heartily,  who  do  recommend  you  in  the 
Clifts  of  the  Foundation-Rock  of  our  Salvation,  Jesus 
Christ.  Remaining  your  fellow  Traveller  in  this  blessed 
work  and  best  engagement. 

"Johannes  Kelpius." 

Dated  in  the  Wilderness. 

[Stephen  Mumford  (born  1639;  died  July,  1701)  is  ac- 
credited with  being  the  founder  of  the  Seventh-day  Baptist 
Church  in  America.  He  was  a  native  of  England,  and 
prior  to  his  emigration  to  America  had  been  a  member  of 
the  "  Bell  Lane  Church  of  Christ"  (Seventh-day  Baptist), 
London. 

He  arrived  in  New  England  in  1*664,  ^^^^  ^^  once  joined 
with  Dr.  Clarke's  First-day  Baptist  Church  at  Newport, 
thoueh  his  views  favored  the  observance  of  the  seventh 
day,  as  Backus  states  in  his  "History  of  New  England," ^'^ 
"  bringing  with  him  the  opinion  that  the  whole  of  the  Ten 

1"^  Vol.  iii,  p.  232. 


Stephen    Mumford.  137 

Coimnandments,  as  they  were  delivered  from  Mount  Sinai, 
were  moral  and  imnuitable ;  and  that  it  was  the  anti- 
christian  power  which  thought  to  change  times  and  laws 
that  changed  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day 
of  the  week. 

Several  members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Newport 
embraced  his  sentiments,  and  yet  continued  with  the  church 
for  some  years.  They  kept  up  a  correspondence  with  their 
brethren  in  England,  b)'  which  they  were  much  strength- 
ened in  their  resolution  to  lead  a  Christian  life. 

These  persons  were  wont  to  meet  together  for  worship 
on  the  seventh  day  with  Stephen  Mumford  and  others,  in 
a  very  primitive  manner,  at  their  own  houses."^'-  Finally, 
five  of  these  members  withdrew  from  the  First-day  Baptist 
Church,  and  on  December  23,  167 1,  together  with  two 
other  persons,  entered  into  a  church  covenant  and  formed  a 
Seventh-day  Baptist  Church  upon  the  model  of  the  one  in 
London. '*^^ 

From  this  small  beginning  originated  the  Seventh-day 
Baptist  Church  in  America,  which  now  numbers  about 
9000  members,  about  100  churches,  three  colleges,  and 
maintains  missionary  stations  in  Shanghai,  China  ;  Harlem 
and  Rotterdam,  Holland  ;  together  with  thirty-four  home 
missionaries  operating  in  twenty-five  States  and  Territories. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  personal  history  of  this  Sabba- 
tarian pioneer,  as  many  of  the  records  of  the  church  prior 
to  1700  have  been  lost.  In  the  year  1671  he  became  a 
freeman  of  the  Community.  Three  years  after  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Newport  Church,   Mumford  went  to  England 


180  Seventh-day  Baptist  Memorial,  Vol.  i,  p.  70-71. 

'^^  The  members  who  withdrew  were  Stephen  Mumford,  Samuel  Hub. 
bard,  Roger  Baster,  William  Hiscox,  and  Mrs.  Tacy  Hubbard  ;  to  these 
were  added  Rachel  Longworthy,  and  a  sister  whose  name  is  now  forgotten. 


138  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Poinsylvania. 

in  the  interests  of  the  faith  and  for  the  pnrpose  of  obtain- 
ing aid  for  the  struggling  Church  in  America.  Upon  his 
arrival  in  London  he  writes,  under  date  of  March  14,  1675  : 
"  I  took  my  journey  to  London  in  the  Waggon,  where  I 

was    received    by  ^ ^.^^^  the  brethren  with 

much  joy,  in  some       /^  ^\       of  them,  who  had 

a   great  desire    to    /  a  \  hear  of  our  place 

and  people;  some/  \  r^<  /  \talk     of     coming 

with  me."     He  re  I  XX  turned     to     New 

England      shortly  \  \^f  /afterwards,    arriv- 

ing   in  Boston   in   \  /  October     of     the 

same    year.'-"      In      \.  y     the  year  1687  we 

find  him  living  in  Jamestown.  How- 

ever, November  29,  1687,  he  and  his  wife  Ann  conveyed 
some  of  their  property  at  that  place  to  William  Phipps,  Kt., 
of  Boston,  and  returned  to  Newport,  after  which  we  have 
no  record  of  him,  except  the  memorandum  in  the  diary  of 
Magister  Kelpius  in  1699.]^'-^ 

A  late  writer,  in  commenting  upon  the  Mum  ford  letter, 
states :  "  In  such  contemplations  did  Kelpius  dream  away 
his  young  life.  Doubtless  to  him  all  was  a  brilliant  reality 
to  be  enjoyed  at  some  future  day  ;  and  with  a  heart  full  of 
faith  in  his  doctrines,  and  sustained  by  holy  aspirations  for 
the  higher  life,  he  went  forth  to  meet  the  heavenly  Bride- 
groom. Far  better  for  him  thus  to  live  and  die,  visionary 
though  he  was,  than  to  live  and  die  without  hope  and 
without  God  in  the  world." 


i»2  Austin's  Genealogical  Dictionary  of  Rhode  Island. 
'^^'^  Stephen  Mumford  and  his  wife  are  both  buried  in  the  old  cemetery 
of  the  Sabbath-keepers  at  Newport,  R.  I. 


THE    RETURN    OF    DANIEL    FALKNER. 


A  MiTHRAic  Symbol. 


dtV 


S  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  cen- 
tury drew  near, 
the  leaders  of  the  Coni- 
nninit}'  looked  forward  to 
the  coming  of  the  niillen- 
ninni  with  greater  faith 
than  ever.  The  terrible 
sconrge  of  the  Barbadoes 
plagne  (yellow  fever)  that 
had  swept  the  Province 
during  the  summer  of 
1699  was  looked  upon  as 
but  another  forerunner  of  the  expected  deliverer.  It  is 
true  their  mystic  number  was  far  from  complete ;  reports 
from  their  emissary  in  Europe  were  not  encouraging ; 
enemies  at  home  were  casting  ridicule  at  their  relio-ious 
teachings,  while  in  Germany  their  brethren  were  proscribed 
and  scattered.     Still  the  religious  enthusiasts  in  both  hemi- 


"  Gloria  Dei,"  a.d.  1700. 


140  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

spheres  who  chmg  together  and  adhered  to  their  precepts 
felt  far  from  discouraged  as  the  sun  arose  upon  the  March 
day  which,  according  to  them,  ushered  in  the  first  day  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  (They  made  the  popular  mistake 
of  supposing  that  1700  began  the  new  century.)  In  looking 
over  the  situation  the  American  Community  felt  that  their 
labors  had  not  been  altogether  in  vain.  The  religious 
condition  of  both  Germans  and  English  in  the  Province 
had  been  greatly  changed  for  the  better  b\  the  services 
which  they  had  instituted  and  maintained  since  their 
arrival.  In  Philadelphia  there  were  now  two  churches, — 
an  Episcopal  church,  solidly  built  of  brick  ;''^^  a  Seventh- 
day  Baptist  meeting-house,'''^  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
other ;  while  the  Swedish  Lutheran  church  at  Wicacoa, 
humble  as  it  was,  was  nearing  completion.  Presbyterian 
and  Baptist  services  had  also  been  held,  but  as  }-et  no 
retrular  orgfanizations  had  been  established.  In  German- 
town  such  as  were  followers  of  Simon  Menno  were  already 
casting  about  for  a  j^iece  of  ground  upon  which  to  build 
a  regular  meeting-house. 

Then,  again,  the  educational  labors  of  Kelpius  were 
beo-innino-  to  bear  fruit  in  the  children  who  received  moral 
instruction  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  who  had  there  been 
taught  to  pray  and  sing.  Many  of  these  children  were 
now  growing  up  into  men  and  women,  through  whom  the 
religious  training  would  soon  make  itself  felt  among  the 
townsfolk. 


iM  Christ  Church,  on  Second  Street  above  Market. 

!**»  This  house  of  worship  was  on  Second  Street  north  of  Christ  Church. 
It  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Baptists  in  1707,  and  became  known  as 
the  "First  Baptist  Church  of  Philadelphia."  In  1762  a  new  church  61 
feet  by  42  was  built.  It  was  enlarged  during  the  present  century,  and 
finally  sold  and  abandoned  for  a  more  fashionable  neighborhood  (Broad 
and  Arch  Streets).     The  burying-ground  was  in  the  rear  of  the  church. 


Peter   Schdffer.  141 

Toward  the  close  of  the  old  century  the  Coniiimnity  was 
reinforced  by  several  Pietists  from  Halle  in  Germany,  the 
most  important  among  whom  was  one  Peter  Schaffer,'-"  a 
native  of  Finland  and  master  of  arts  of  the  University  of 
Abo.  When  this  party  arrived  they  were  cordially  received 
by  the  brethren  and  domiciled  at  the  Tabernacle. 

Schafifer,  who  was  a  learned  but  somewhat  eccentric 
character,  soon  differed  with  Kelpius  and  the  other  Mystics 
as  to  the  sacraments,  which  were  not  insisted  upon  by  them. 
Consequently  he  offered  to  withdraw  from  the  Community, 
and  proposed  to  live  a  life  of  seclusion  and  contemplation. 

Kelpius  thereupon  submitted  to  him  the  names  of  four 
or  five  devout  families  who  would  give  him  his  living,  pro- 
vided that  he  would  instruct  the  children  of  the  household 
for  several  hours  in  each  day,  the  remaining  time  to  be 
passed  in  his  esoteric  studies.  Schafifer,  however,  rejected 
these  ofifers,  and  concluded  to  labor  as  an  evangelist  among 
his  countrymen  along  the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill,  and 
wdien  the  opportunity  ofifered  to  act  as  a  missionary  among 
the  Indians.  He  soon  left  the  Tabernacle  and  came  direct 
to  the  city.  He  presented  himself  to  Edward  Shippen,  one 
of  the  magistrates  and  leading  Friends  of  the  Province,  and 
informed  him  and  his  wife  Rebecca  that  he  had  a  call  to 
stay  under  their  roof  for  forty  days  and  nights,  during 
which  time  he  was  to  subsist  on  bread  and  water.  He  was 
permitted  to  remain  there  during  his  pleasure ;  and  during 
this  visit,  it  is  stated,  he  became  more  and  more  involved 
in  his  mystical  speculations. 


^^  Peter  Schaffer,  together  with  Ulstadius,  a  priest,  and  Ulhegius,  a 
student  of  theology,  some  years  prior  to  the  former's  arrival  in  America, 
had  given  the  courts  and  consistory'  of  Sweden  great  trouble.  Finally, 
Ulstadius  was  condemned  to  death,  and  Schaffer  recanted  and  drifted  to 
Halle,  whence  he  went  to  England  and  America 


142  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Early  in  the  year  1700  he  appears  to  have  been  chosen 
as  schoohnaster  at  Wicacoa,  where  he,  according  to  Pastor 
Biorck,  at  first  must  have  given  satisfaction,  as  the  latter 
writes  that  at  last  a  school  has  been  established  at  Wicacoa 
"  with  an  able  teacher  at  the  head  of  it,  who  also  serves  as 
parish  clerk."  It  is  not  known  how  long  this  eccentric 
visionary  remained  in  charge  as  schoolmaster  at  Wicacoa. 
From  there  he  went  to  Pennsneck  to  open  a  school,  but, 
according  to  the  Swedish  records,  he  effected  but  little. 
Soon  after  he  came  to  New  Jersey  he  entered  upon  what 
he  termed  a  "  death-fast,"  and  received  a  revelation  that  he 
should  arise  and  wander  about  at  random.^"''"  From  Penns- 
neck he  returned  for  a  short  time  to  the  Tabernacle  on  the 
Wissahickon.  While  there  he  received  a  call  from  the 
Swedes  at  Pennsneck  to  return  to  them  and  act  as  their 
pastor,  with  the  assurance  that  ^24  was  ready  for  his  sup- 
port. This  offer  he  saw  fit  to  refuse,  and  the  next  that  is 
learned  about  him  is  that  he  accompanied  Jonas  rVuren  upon 
one  of  his  missionary  tours  to  the  Indians  on  the  Conestoga. 
Returning  from  this  mission,  he  had  another  vision  com- 
manding him  to  return  to  Europe,  which  he  did  forthwith. 

iVfter  his  arrival  at  Plymouth  he  subjected  himself  to  an 
enforced  fast  of  fifty  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
received  another  revelation  that  he  should  return  to  his  old 
home  in  F'inland  and  there  reprimand  his  former  judges  for 
their  course  against  him.  He  obeyed,  and  was  imprisoned 
in  the  fortress  of  Gefle,  where  he  became  insane  and  died. 

Kelpius,  in  a  letter  written  to  Deichmann  in  1699,  refer- 
ring to  Peter  Schaflfer,  writes  :  "  His  heart  yearned  toward 
his  own  nationality, — the  Swedes  and  Finns,  as  well  as 
toward  the  Indians.  x\ll  three  had  an  interest  for  him,  and 
he  felt  that  he  could  do  good  among  them.     We  parted  in 


187  Acrelius,  New  Sweden,  p.  316. 


"  Gloria    Deiy 


143 


love,  and  left  the  doors  open  so  that  he  conld  return  to  us 
at  any  time  in  case  that  he  did  not  receive  the  reception 
he  anticipated  among  his  own  kindred."  '''^''* 

Another  interesting  incident  toward  the  close  of  the 
century  was  the  final  parting  of  Henry  Bernhard  Koster 
from  his  former  associates  prior  to  his  return  to  the  Father- 
land in  the  winter  of  1699.  Although  he  had  been  sepa- 
rated from  his  former  friends  for  over  five  years,  and  had 


"  Gloria  Dei,"  a.d.  1895. 

run  a  somewhat  eccentric  course,  a  certain  bond  of  sym- 
pathy and  friendship  had  always  been  maintained  between 
the  leaders.  So  when  Koster  finally  determined  to  embark 
for  the  Fatherland  the  parting  between  the  men  was  sad  for 
all,  and  he  went  on  his  way  not  only  with  the  good  wishes 
of  every  one  of  his  former  companions,  but  was  followed 
by  their  blessings  and  prayers  for  his  safe  journey. 

The  first  year  of  the  new  century  faccording  to  their 


Kelpius  MS.  Journal,  p.  29-30. 


144  '^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

reckoning)  was  crowned  by  two  happy  events,  both  bright 
spots  in  the  history  of  the  Conimnnity.  One  was  the  con- 
secration of  the  Swedish  Lntheran  Church  at  Wicacoa ; 
the  other  the  arrival  of  Daniel  Falkner  and  a  number  of 
accessions  to  their  number  from  Europe.  Among  the 
number  was  Justus  Falkner,  a  brother  of  Daniel,  and  who 
was  destined  to  become  an  important  figure  in  the  religious 
history  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  consecration  of  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Church  at 
Wicacoa  took  place  on  the  first  Sunday  after  Trinity,  July 
2,  1700.  The  building,  60x30  feet  and  20  feet  to  the 
square,  had  been  completed  far  enough  to  warrant  its  use 
for  public  worship.  The  event  was  made  the  occasion  for 
a  festival  that  extended  over  three  days.  It  was  opened  on 
Saturday,  July  i,  with  a  jollification  or  kirchzueili,  held  after 
the  manner  of  the  Fatherland.  On  Sunday  the  consecra- 
tion services  took  place.  Pastor  Biorck  preached  the  sermon 
from  the  text  2  Sam.,  viii,  29,''*^  and  christened  the  church 
"Gloria  Dei"  {Giid'' s  Alird' s  Hiiiis  or  Gottes  Ehre).  Upon 
this  festive  occasion  a  great  crowd  was  present,  not  only  of 
Swedes  and  Germans,  but  English  as  well.  The  latter 
were  so  numerous  that  Pastor  Biorck  was  forced  to  repeat 
his  Swedish  sermon  in  English  at  the  close  of  the  services. 

Prominent  among  the  great  assemblage  were  the  Theo- 
sophical  brethren  from  the  Wissahickon,  who  not  only 
furnished  instrumental  music  for  the  occasion,  but  acted  as 
choristers  as  well,  chanting  the  dedicator}'  Psalms  and  re- 
sponses ;  while  the  three  resident  pastors,  Rudmann  as 
Vice-Bishop  or  Provost,  Biorck  as  Celebrant,  and  Auren  as 


1K9  II  Therefore  now  let  it  please  thee  to  bless  the  house  of  thy  servant, 
that  it  may  continue  forever  before  thee  :  for  thou,  O  Lord  God,  hast 
spoken  it  :  and  with  thy  blessing  let  the  house  of  thy  servant  be  blessed 
for  ever." 


The   Frankfort   Land    Company.  145 

assistant,  all  robed  in  snrplice  and  chasuble,  conducted  the 
consecration  services.  A  nach  kirchweih  on  Monday  con- 
cluded the  festival. 

The  other  event  referred  to  was  the  return  of  the  emis- 
sary who  had  been  sent  to  Europe,  and  had  remained  there 
in  the  interest  of  the  Community  for  over  two  years.  Great 
was  the  joy  of  the  brethren  and  the  rejoicing  at  the  Taber- 
nacle on  the  August  day  which  marked  the  return  of  Daniel 
Falkner  and  his  companions  from  the  Fatherland  who  had 
accompanied  him  to  the  New  World  so  that  the  mystic 
number  of  perfection  would  once  more  be  complete  and 
the  circle  unbroken.  Manuscript  and  tradition  are  both 
silent  as  to  the  exact  date  of  Falkner's  return  :  even  the 
names  of  his  companions  remain  unknown,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  his  brother  Justus,  a  candidal  theologies  who  had 
studied  at  Halle,  Johann  Jawert,  Johann  Hendrick  Sprogel, 
and  Arnold  Storcli. 

When  Daniel  Falkner  returned  to  America  he  came  for- 
tified with  docmnents  from  the  Frankfort  Land  Company, 
dated  at  Frankfort-on-Mayn,  January  24,  1700,  which  sup- 
planted Pastorius  as  their  agent,  and  named  himself  with 
Jawert  and  Kelpius  in  his  place,  thereby  making  him  virtu- 
ally the  dictator  of  the  German  Township.  He  also  had  a 
power  of  attorney,  dated  April  23,  1700  (n.  s.),  from  Benja- 
min Furley,  who  was  William  Penn's  trusted  agent  in 
Rotterdam,  to  act  for  him  in  Pennsylvania.  This  was 
subsequently  reinforced  by  an  autograph  order  from  Penn 
to  his  secretary,^""  ordering  him  to  prepare  land  warrants 
for  Falkner  and  his  brother. 

A  certified  copy  of  the  power  of  attorney  from  the  Frank- 
fort Company  has  lately  been  discovered  among  a  number 
of  old  Pastorius  papers  in  Germantown. 


'•'"  Minute  book  "  G,"  Penna.  Archiv'es,  2  Series,  Vol.  xix,  p.  244. 

19 


146        ■  TJie    Pietists    of  Provincial   Pennsylvania. 


In  addition  to  the  above,  Falkner  bronght  a  deed  of  gift 
for  4000  acres  of  land,  being  a  part  of  the  25000  acres 
belonging  to  the  original  German  purchasers.''"  This 
indenture  was  executed  by  Catherine  Elizabeth  Schutz, 
widow  of  Johann  Jacob  Schutz,  and  was  intended  for 
charitable  uses,  to  be  ad- 
ministered by  the  Theoso- 
phical  Fraternity. 

A  result  of  the  change 
in  attorneyship  became  ap- 
parent at  the  next  town 


election  ( 1 701),  when  Dan- 
iel Falkner  was  elected 
vogt  or  bailiff;  Johann  Ja- 
wert,  recorder ;  and  Justus 
Falkner,  one  of  three  bur- 
gesses. 

The  return  of  Falkner 
to  the  Community  and  the  addition  to  their  number  infused 
fresh  courage  into  the  hearts  of  the  leaders,  who  now  felt 
more  sanguine  than  ever  of  the  ultimate  success  of  their 
experimental  enterprise  in  the  "  Wilderness"  of  the  Western 
World. 


A  Phallic  Emblem. 


'^^  The  original  purchasers  were  Jacob  Van  de  Walle,  Daniel  Behagel, 
Johann  William  Peterson,  John  Jacob  Schutz,  and  Caspar  Menan,  who 
acquired  14,000  acres  of  land  from  William  Penn,  and  on  April  2,  1683, 
gave  a  letter  of  attorney  to  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius  to  administer  the  same. 

^'■''-  Gericlitsbjicli  von  Gerniantozvn.  See  also  Collections  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania,  November,  1852. 

The  German  township  was  erected  into  a  borough  by  virtue  of  a  patent 
granted  by  William  Penn,  dated  London,  August  12,  1689.  This  docu- 
ment was  recorded  at  Philadelphia  13th  3d  month,  1691.  It  gave  to  the 
corporation  the  right  to  have  and  use  a  common  seal  and  hold  a  court  of 
record  ever}^  six  weeks  for  hearing  all  civil  causes  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  Province.  The  separate  government  of  Germantown  began  August, 
1691,  and  terminated  in  December,  1706,  being  fifteen  years. 


THE    CLOSE    OF   THE    FIRST    DECADE. 


(H)' 


JTH  the  advent  of 
the  new  centnry 
the  Fraternity  on 
the  Ridge  received  nnnier- 
ons  accessions  from  different 
parts  of  the  Old  World,  in- 
dependent of  snch  as  ac- 
companied Daniel  Falkner 
upon  his  return.  Promi- 
nent among  the  number  was 
Conrad  IMatthai,  from  Swit- 
zerland, and  Dr.  Christopher 
Witt,  from  Wiltshire,  England.''''^  Another  interesting 
incident  that  belongs  to  this  period  is  the  intercourse 
between  William  Penn  and  the  Theosophical  Brotherhood 
during  the  former's  second  visit  to  the  Province.  There 
can  ]De  but  little  doubt  that  during  the  proprietar}''s  stay  in 


Great  Skal  of  the  Province  (reverse. 


LUX  E  TEN EBRIS,— from  an  old  Pietistical  book. 

^'-"^  Another  account  connects  Dr.  Witt  with  the  celebrated  Dutch  family 
of  that  name.  According  to  the  Ephrata  MSS. ,  Gottlieb  Van  der  Looft 
and  Frederick  Casselberg  joined  the  Community  about  the  same  time. 


148  TJie  Pietists  of  Pj-ovincial  Pennsylvama. 

America,  from  November  28,  1699,  to  October  2,  1701, 
there  must  have  been  frequent  visits  to  Germantown  to 
attend  the  meetings  held  by  both  German  and  English 
Friends,  and  that  upon  such  occasions  the  peculiar  institu- 
tion on  the  Wissahickori"  was  not  overlooked  by  him.  This 
argument  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  long  before  Penn 
returned  to  America  Kelpius  had  been  accused  of  Quaker- 
ism, and  his  followers  had  been  publicly  charged  with 
having  embraced  the  tenets  of  the  Society  of  Friends, — a 
charge  which  was  apparently  justified  by  the  fact  that  they 
refused  to  administer  either  baptism  or  the  eucharist,^"* 
except  in  rare  cases. 

A  direct  evidence  of  this  peculiar  feature  of  the  Kelpius 
party  is  to  be  found  in  the  reports  made  to  Halle  by  Rev. 
Heinrich  Melchoir  Miihlenberg.  In  reply  to  a  communi- 
cation from  Halle  respecting  the  survivors,  if  there  were 
any,  of  the  original  party  of  Pietists  and  the  particulars  of 
their  sojourn  here,  he  states :  "  So  far  as  I  could  gather 
from  acquaintances  and  old  residents,  it  seems  to  me  that 
most  of  these  former  candidates  (theological  students)  cared 
little  or  nothing  for  the  holy  sacraments  of  baptism  and 
the  eucharist  as  instituted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  recorded 
by  the  prophets,  evangelists,  and  apostles.  So  much  of  the 
Holy  Writ  was  a  dead  letter  to  them  ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
they  busied  themselves  greatly  with  the  Theosophical 
Sophia,  speculations,  etc.,  and  at  the  same  time  practised 
alchemy."  ^^^ 


^^*  In  Germany  they  were,  on  account  of  this  peculiarity,  called  sacra- 
nients-ver'dchter,  or  despisers  of  the  sacrament.  See  Civitatis  Erffiirtcnsis, 
pp.  1065-1069. 

The  non-observance  of  the  sacrament  became  one  of  the  chief  causes 
for  contention  between  Koster  and  Kelpius  after  their  arrival  in  America, 
and  did  much  to  widen  the  breach  that  was  formed  by  the  course  Koster 
pursued  during  the  Keithian  controversy. 

1^^  Halle  Reports,  original  edition,  p.  1265. 


ll^iUiani    Penn.  149 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  from  the  above  statement  that 
the  Theosophical  students,  pious  and  ascetic  as  they  were, 
and  who  had  left  home,  friends,  and  plenty  to  banish  them- 
selves here  in  the  wilderness,  were  opposed  to  the  two 
sacred  ordinances.  The  fact  was  they  merely  objected  to 
their  abuse  by  too  frequent  and  unauthorized  administration. 

Unfortunately,  thus  far  the  writer's  researches  have  failed 
to  find  any  documentar\  mention  of  an  intercourse  between 
William  Penn  and  the  Germans  in  the  Province  during  his 
second  visit,  except  the  statement  in  Watson's  Annals  (Vol. 
ii,  p.  23)  that  Penn  preached  in  Germantown  upon  two 
occasions, — once  in  a  low  house,  built  of  framework  and 
filled  in  with  bricks,  which  formerly  stood  upon  the  site  of 
Dr.  George  Bensell's  house  (now  5458  Germantown 
Avenue) ;  and  another  time  in  the  original  Schumacher 
house,  built  in  1686,  which  was  still  standing  in  Watson's 
day.  A  picture  of  this  interesting  landmark  has  fortunately 
been  preserved.''"' 

However,  by  a  tradition  which  has  been  current  in  an  old 
Pennsylvania  family  for  generations,  we  learn   that  there 


^"^  Mr.  T.  H.  Shoemaker  kindly  furnishes  the  following  particulars 
respecting  this  old  landmark  : 

"  The  Shoemaker  house  was  located  on  Lot  No.  8.  Gerhardt  Hendrick 
Isaac  Shoemaker  married  his  daughter  ;  hence  it  became  known  as  the 
Shoemaker  house.  The  house  was  situated  in  the  meadow,  about  where 
Wingohocking  station  is  on  the  Reading  Road.  Shoemaker's  Lane  ran 
back  to  it,  say  a  half  mile  from  Germantown  Avenue.  According  to  a 
letter  written  by  Watson  to  S.  M.  Shoemaker,  it  was  built  in  1682.  But 
I  think  this  an  error  of  memory  :  the  date  was  more  probably  a  year  or 
two  later.  The  house  was  taken  down  in  1846  ;  but  close  to  the  railroad 
at  Shoemaker's  Lane  stands  an  old  stone  house  known  as  the  '  Rock 
House,'  because  it  is  built  on  a  large  rock  which  stands  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet  above  the  meadow.  This  house  was  most  likely  a  tenant- 
house,  and  tradition  says  it  was  from  this  rock  that  Penn  preached  to  the 
people  who  assembled  below  in  the  meadow.  I  do  not  know  of  any  other 
places  Penn  preached  in.  It  has  been  said  he  was  present  when  one  of 
the  houses  w'as  raised  :  I  think  Johnson's  old  one,  but  am  not  sure." 


150  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

was  an  estrangement  between  Penn  and  Kelpius,  as  the 
latter  is  said  to  have  qnestioned  the  religious  sincerity  01 
the  proprietary  on  the  ground  of  his  being  a  slaveholder, 
who  persisted  not  only  in  holding  human  beings  in  bond- 
age, but  also  sanctioned  the  traffic  in  their  bodies.'^" 

Kelpius  in  a  subsequent  letter  to  Professor  Fabritius,  his 
old  preceptor  at  Altdorf  and  who  was  now  at  the  University 
of  Helmstadt,  intimates  rather  strongly  that  Penn  and  the 
leading  Quakers  at  that  time  were  mere  Christians  by  word 
of  mouth,  Manl-Christen}'^^  An  allusion  is  also  made  to 
Penn's  second  visit  to  the  Province,  and  relates  an  incident 
where  he  was  refuted  by  the  Indians,  at  which  meeting 
Kelpius  seems  to  have  been  present.  He  states  that  during 
Penn's  visit  in  1701  he  went  to  an  Indian  festivity  or 
kijitika^'^  and  there  took  occasion  to  preach  to  the  Indians 
about  belief  in  the  God  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  The 
Indians,  after  listening  to  him  with  great  patience,  answered 
him :  "  You  ask  us  to  believe  on  the  great  Creator  and 
Riiler  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  yet  you  yourself  do  not 
believe  nor  trust  Him,  for  you  have  taken  the  land  unto 
yourself  which  we  and  our  friends  occupied  in  common. 
You  scheme  night  and  day  how  you  may  preserve  it  so 
that  none  can  take  it  from  you.  Yea,  you  even  scheme 
beyond  your  life  and  parcel  it  out  between  your  children, — 
this  manor  for  one  child,  that  manor  for  another.  We 
believe  on  God  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  heaven  and 
earth.  He  maintains  the  sun  ;  He  maintained  our  fathers 
for  so  many,  many  moons.     He  maintains  us,  and  we  believe 


137  "  William  Penn  in  America,"  by  W.  J.  Buck,  p.  379  et  scq. 

"*  MS.  Journal,  p.  84.  See  photographic  facsimile,  Historical  Society 
of  Pennsylvania. 

1^''  Probably  at  Pennsbury,  Penn's  country  residence  in  Bucks  Count)\ 
John  Richardson,  in  his  Journal,  makes  mention  of  such  an  assemblage 
in  1701. 


A    Curious    Legend.  151 

and  are  sure  that  He  will  also  protect  our  children  as  well 
as  ourselves.  And  so  long  as  we  have  this  faith  we  trust 
in  Him,  and  never  bequeath  a  foot  of  ground."  Our  manu- 
script unfortunately  fails  to  record  Penn's  reply  to  the  astute 
Indian,  or  even  to  hint  at  the  outcome  of  the  discussion. 

William  Penn's  second  visit  to  the  Province  was  evi- 
dently not  a  welcome  one  either  to  his  own  partisans  or  to 
the  so-called  "hot  church  party."  But  little  mention  of 
Penn  or  his  actions  is  made  in  any  of  the  literature  or 
private  journals  of  the  day.  Thomas  Story's  Journal, 
which  is  so  full  as  to  the  year  1699,  is  almost  silent  for  the 
next  two  years,  or  the  period  when  Penn  lived  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. During  this  sojourn  he  spent  his  time,  when  not 
travelling  in  the  Province,  between  his  mansion,  knowm  as 
the  "  Slate-roof  house"  in  Philadelphia,  and  his  country 
place  at  Pennsbury  on  the  Delaware.  It  was  in  the  "  Slate- 
roof  house"  that  Penn's  son  John  was  born  a  month  after 
his  arrival.  The  founder's  life  in  America  during  this  visit, 
according  to  an  old  Friend's  journal,  must  have  been  any- 
thing but  enviable  on  account  of  the  political  dissensions, 
as  well  as  the  objections  made  by  his  wife  and  daughter  to 
taking  up  a  permanent  residence  in  the  Province,  to  wdiich 
must  be  added  his  impecuniosity  and  the  pressing  demands 
of  his  creditors. 

One  of  the  most  curious  legends  in  connection  with  the 
Tabernacle  in  the  forest  is  the  following  tale,  recorded  in 
the  Ephrata  manuscripts,  which  partakes  somewhat  of  the 
supernatural :  It  was  the  seventh  anniversary  of  the  landing 
in  Philadelphia, — a  day  which  was  always  kept  in  remem- 
brance, as  it  not  only  marked  the  date  of  the  Mystics'  arrival 
in  Pennsylvania,  but  it  was  St.  John's  eve  as  well.  Greater 
preparations  than  usual  had  been  made  for  its  celebration, 
because  it  was  the  seventh^ — the  number  of  the  seals  on  the 


152  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


book,  the  vials  of  wrath,  the  trumpets  of  the  Apocalypse, 
and  the  union  of  the  Square  and  the  Triad.  The  old 
legend  tells  us  that  all  preparations  for  lighting  the  mystic 
fires  upon  the  hills  at  nightfall  were  completed,  when  just 
about  twilight,  "  whilst  engaged  in  their  accustomed  ser- 
vices or  ceremonies  in  commemoration  of  their  arrival, 
which  they  observed  with  solemnity,  a  white,  obscure, 
moving  body  in  the  air  attracted  their  attention,  which,  as 
it  approached,  assumed  the  form  and  mien  of  an  angel. 
It  receded  into  the  shadows  of  the  forest,  and  appeared 


again  immediate 
as  the  fairest   of 

It  may  easily  be 
this  aerial  apparition 
phical    ascetics,  the 
the  hopes  and  fears 
within  their  hearts, 
the  cause  of  it,  to 
long  been  upon  a  ner 
if  at  last  the  foreran 
had  come.     The  man 
"  They  fell  upon  their 
bingerof  good  tidings. 


ly  before  them 
the  lovely." 
imagined  what  effect 
^  had  upon  the  Theoso- 
commotion  it  raised,  and 
that    were    engendered 
Whatever  may  have  been 
their  minds,  which  had  so 
vous  strain,  it  seemed  as 
ner  of  the  great  Deliverer 
uscript  goes  on   to  say : 
knees  to  welcome  the  har- 
but,  alas,  the  spirit  van- 
ted  brethren  were  prais- 
liverance  at  hand."     As 
ed  a  degree  of  consterna- 
of  all.      Prayer  and  invo- 


ished  while  the  devo 

ing  their  God  for  the  de 

the  mysterious  form  vanish 

tion  and  alarm  filled  the  hearts 

cation,  however,  were  continued  without  intermission  until 

the  hour  near  midnight,  when  the  mystic  fires  were  lighted. 

High  rose  the  bright  flame,  until  its  reflection  illuminated 

the  symbol  that  surmounted  the  Tabernacle.     Weird  was 

the  scene  as  the  incantations  were  chanted,  and  the  blazing 

embers  scattered  down  the  rugged  hillsides,  sparkling  in 

the  dark  shadows  of  the  hemlock  and  the  pine. 


Andreas    Sandcl.  153 

After  the  ceremony  was  over  the  whole  part)-  returned 
to  the  saal,  where  they  ''  continued  wakeful  in  prayer  and 
fervent  supplication  during  the  whole  night  without  any 
further  disclosures." 

The  legend  further  states  that  when  at  last  the  morning 
dawned  "  the  luminary  of  the  skies  appeared  above  the 
hills  and  shed  her  cheerful  rays  to  renovate  the  energies  of 
the  laboring  man ;  but  the  gloom  of  darkness  hung  upon 
the  waiting  hermits," 

The  next  night  was  anxiously  awaited  by  the  watchers, 
who  confidently  expected  the  reappearance  of  the  fair  mis- 
sionary to  mankind,  but  it  brought  no  intelligence. 

On  the  third  evening,  while  all  were  assembled  at  prayer 
in  the  saal,,  the  apparition  again  appeared.  All  at  once 
fell  upon  their  knees  ;  but  their  prayers,  instead  of  availing, 
always  repelled  the  fair  delieverer.  After  this  the  appari- 
tion did  not  reappear.-""  The  manuscript  further  mentions 
that  after  this  episode  "  Kelpius  and  his  brethren  remained 
at  the  '  Laurea,'  ^"'  wearing  out  the  thread  of  life  in  retire- 
ment and  patient  waiting  for  the  final  drama  they  were  to 
enact  in  the  wilderness." 

That  the  belief  in  the  supernatural  in  the  early  days  of 
our  Commonwealth  was  not  confined  alone  to  the  Germans 
in  the  Province  is  shown  by  the  following  interesting  story 
in  the  diary  of  Pastor  Andreas  Sandel.  The  family  was 
an  English  one  and  were  members  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land : 

"January    12. — A    dreadful    thing    happened    in    Phila- 


'^"^  It  is  further  stated  that  the  probable  reason  for  the  non-return  of  the 
apparition  was  a  confession  made  to  Kelpius  by  one  of  the  hermits  that 
he  had  committed  some  crime  in  Europe  prior  to  coming  to  America. 

™  "Laurea."    This  term  appears  onl}- in  the  Ephrata  MS.    It  evidently 

has  some  reference  to  "  Laurentium,"  a  classic  grove  in  the  Aventine 

Hills. 

20 


154  ^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvatiia. 

delphia  to  the  wife  of  a  butcher.  She  and  her  husband 
quarreled  in  the  evening.  He  asked  her  to  make  the  bed. 
She  said  she  would  not.  When  she  had  refused  for  a  while, 
he  said  he  would  turn  her  out  of  the  house.  She  said,  did 
he  do  it  she  would  break  the  window-panes,  invoking  the 
devil  to  come  for  her  if  she  did  not.  The  husband  led  her 
out.  Then  she  became  at  her  wit's  end  because  of  her 
invocation.  Finally,  she  broke  some  of  the  window-panes, 
and  through  the  kitchen  made  her  way  up  into  the  attic, 
bringing  with  her  a  candle,  and  lay  down  on  the  bed  greatly 
disturbed  on  account  of  her  promise.  She  then  heard 
somebody  coming  up  the  stairs,  but  saw  no  one.  Shortly 
afterwards  she  again  heard  a  noise  as  if  a  person  were 
coming  up  stairs,  but  could  not  see  any  one.  This  lasted 
for  about  half  an  hour.  Becoming  more  and  more  agi- 
tated, fearing  that  her  awful  invocation  was  about  to  be 
realized,  she  went  down  to  her  husband,  telling  him  of  her 
anguish,  and  asking  him  to  aid  her.  In  lying  down  on 
a  bench  near  the  hearth  she  perceived  a  darkish  human 
face  looking  at  her  with  its  mouth  wide  open  and  making 
horrid  grimaces  with  gnashing  teeth.  Then  she  became 
thoroughly  terrified,  and  asked  her  husband  to  read  to  her. 
Turning  to  the  21st  Psalm,  he  read  it  to  her,  and  then  the 
face  was  not  seen  by  her  any  more. 

"  Soon  afterwards  she  perceived  at  the  window,  the  one 
where  she  had  broken  the  panes,  that  someone  was  standing 
there  with  both  arms  extended  through  the  window.  By 
this  her  fright  was  increased.  At  last  she  saw  merely  a 
head  coming  nearer  to  her.  She  could  not  see  where  it 
came  through.  Her  husband  then  clasped  his  arms  about 
her,  when  suddenly  such  a  smell  of  brimstone  was  felt  that 
they  scarcely  could  stay  in  doors.  The  smell  was  also  per- 
ceived bv  others  coming  in  later.  The  husband  saw  nothing, 
but  smelled  the  brimstone  odor. 


Tribute   to   Pastor   Rud))ian. 


155 


"  At  one  o'clock  she  sent  for  the  minister/'"^  who  came 
and  prayed  with  her.  Upon  the  next  day  a  great  many 
persons  came  to  her,  and  in  telling  it  over  she  was  all  of  a 
tremble,  and  had  to  fold  her  hands  across  her  knees,  so 
violent  was  she  shaking.  Bnt  see  what  were  the  devil's 
fnrther  doinofs.  On  the  third  evening  thereafter  there  came 
a  godless  man,  and,  in  passing  her  house,  he  sung  the  most 
wicked  ditties,  repeatedly  invoking  the  evil  one  to  take  him, 
and  saying  he  wanted  to  drink  to  him,  etc.  This  doubtless 
was  to  cause  her  and  others  to  continue  in  the  sin  of  blas- 
phemy or  in  the  belief  that  no  devil  is  in  existence,  etc. 
This  was  a  few  days  afterwards  told  me  by  that  same  woman 
herself  and  by  two  other  English  ministers, — Mr.  Ross  and 
Mr.  Smith."-"-' 

Reference  has  already  been  made  of  the  intercourse  be- 
tween the  Mystical  Brother- 
hood and  the  Swedish  Lu- 
theran pastors  on  the  Dela- 
ware. This  interesting  fact 
is  further  illustrated  by  a 
Swedish  account  of  a  fare- 
well service  or  reception 
given  at  the  Tabernacle 
on  June  15,  1702,  to  Do- 
minie Andreas  Rudman, 
prior    to    his    leaving    the 

An  Old  Germantown  Horoscope.  PrOviuCC    tO    take    charge  of 

the  Lutheran  congregations  in  the  Valley  of  the  Hudson.-*'^ 


Wi3^ 


Anno    J  60  6" 
'5>Iarli/    7 


202  j^gy_  George  Ross,  then  temporarily  serving  at  Christ  Chtirch. 
^"■^  The  identity  of  this  Mr.  Smith  has  not  been  estabhshed.     No  record 
can  be  found  of  a  minister  of  that  name  in  the  colonies  at  that  period. 
■■^"*  Vide,  chapter  Justus  Falkner,  supra  ibid. 


156  The    Pietists    of  Provincial   Pennsylvania. 

Upon  this  occasion  a  poem  was  presented  to  the  retiring 
pastor,  or,  as  the  Swedish  account  states,  "  a  testimonial  as 
a  recognition  of  his  faithful  work.^"^ 

Rudman  der  Armen  Sweden  Hirte 

Kahni  hier  ins  land  zu  recliter  zeit, 
Das  Irthuni  audi  noch  dqss  Verwirrte, 

Was  allbereit  unwissenheit 
Von  Luther's  wahrer  lehr  bey  nahe  entfernet, 
Das  hat  Rudniannus  nun  auch  wieder  neu  gelernet. 
Ein  jedes  werk  preist  seinen  meister, 
Und  wie  der  Haus  herr,  so  sein  lohn  : 
Rudniannus  hast  die  flatter-geister 
Und  predikt  Christum  Gottes  Sohn  ; 
Sein  leben,  lehr  und  anibt,  kan  selbst  vielmehr  erweisen 
Als  meine  feder  ihii  den  leser  kann  an  preisen. " 

With  the  approach  of  Midsummer  Day,  1704,  the  first 
decade  of  the  Theosophic  experiment  was  drawing  to  a 
close.  Time  had  made  the  usual  inroads.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  example  and  teachings  of  the  leading  spirits,  many 
of  the  original  members,  in  view  of  the  conditions  under 
which  they  lived,  had  fallen  in  with  the  allurements  of  the 
world.  Some  followed  the  example  of  Biedermann,  and 
married  ;  others  left  the  Community  to  gather  riches  or 
honors  for  themselves,  while  perhaps  a  few  succumbed  to 
the  temptations  of  the  wicked  world.  History  and  tradi- 
tion, however,  are  both  silent  as  to  the  last. 

Then,  again,  the  Community  attracted  the  attention  of 
various  adventurers  and  religious  enthusiasts  who  drifted 
into  the  Province,  and  thought  to  enter  the  society  and  use 
it  for  their  own  sinister  purposes.  A  prominent  example 
was  the  case  of  Tolstadius,  a  Swedish  adventurer,  who  for 


^"•^  (Vi,  Meddela  for  egendomlighetens  skull  ett  testinioniuni,  soni 
tyskarne  i  Germantown  gifvit  honom  den  15  jiini,  1702,  sasom  ett  erkon- 
nande  of  hans  trogna  arbete.     Engestromska-Samlung. ) 


Civil  Affairs.  157 

a  time  not  only  deceived  Kelpins,  but  the  Swedish  pastors 
at  Wicacoa  and  Christian ia  as  well.  It  frequently  took  all 
of  Kelpius's  firmness  to  discourage  and  eliminate  such 
undesirable  aspirants.  But  these  drawbacks  had  only  a 
temporary  effect,  for,  owing  to  the  numerous  accessions  from 
Europe  within  the  last  two  years  of  the  decade,  the  mystic 
number  was  once  again  complete  or  nearly  so. 

Yet  notwithstanding  its  apparent  flourishing  condition, 
the  Community  as  a  distinct  organization  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching its  end.  This  was  no  fault  of  the  leaders  or  of 
the  truths  they  taught.  Their  faith,  courage,  and  sincerity 
were  as  strong  as  ever  ;  their  belief  as  firm  in  the  approach- 
ing millennium  and  the  coming  of  the  Deliverer  as  when 
they  left  the  sand  dunes  of  Holland. 

The  great  increase  of  the  population,  the  encroachments 
upon  their  beloved  solitude  in  the  wilderness,  the  formation 
of  new  settlements  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  political  changes 
all  tended  to  have  an  adverse  effect  upon  a  society  whose 
chief  aim  was  to  live  in  seclusion.  Another  matter  that 
tended  somewhat  to  weaken  the  influence  of  the  Brother- 
hood with  their  German  neighbors  and  countrymen  at 
large,  was  the  bitter  strife  that  had  been  engendered  be- 
tween Pastorius  and  Daniel  Falkner  since  the  latter's  return 
from  Europe,  and  his  active  interest  in  the  political  and 
civil  affairs  of  the  German  township,  ending  in  the  final 
displacement  of  Pastorius  by  virtue  of  the  authority  Falk- 
ner had  brought  from  Europe.  This  feud  was  used  by  the 
partisans  of  Pastorius  as  another  argument  against  the 
Community  on  the  Wissahickon.  Some  went  even  so  far 
as  to  demand  their  expulsion.  The  better  judgment  of 
Pastorius,  however,  prevailed  ;  and,  so  far  as  he  was  con- 
cerned, the  whole  matter  was  held  in  abeyance.  From 
some  of  the  Pastorius  manuscripts  that  have  come  down  to 


158  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

us  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the  feeling  between  the  two  men 
and  their  partisans  must  have  been  exceedingly  bitter.  But 
neither  Kelpius  nor  Seelig  were  in  any  way  involved  in 
this  controversy. 

Among  the  important  events  in  the  life  of  the  Com- 
munity, one  that  shines  out  even  to  the  present  day,  is  the 
ordination  of  one  of  their  number  to  the  ministry  and  the 
sending  of  him  to  an  adjoining  province  as  a  missionary. 
This  was  Justus  Falkner.  He  was  ordained  November  24, 
1703,  in  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Church  at  Wicacoa,  in  the 
German  language,  by  the  resident  Lutheran  pastors,  Rud- 
man,  Biorck,  and  Sandel,  assisted  by  Kelpius  and  the 
Brotherhood. 

This  was  the  first  regular  ordination  of  an  orthodox 
Lutheran  clergyman  in  the  /^  Western  Hemisphere.  The 
full  record  of  his   ^  ^t  y^___^  unselfish  labors, 

godly  life  and  un  ^  ^^^  ^"^"^^CT?/  exampled  piety 


still  exists  and  NX^^XX^TnOAX^^  bears  witness  to 
the  character  of  his    ^^^'^^\Z'^^^=^^     associates. 

The  changed  condition  ^  ^1^  of  affairs  in  the  Province, 
however,  did  not  affect  the  ^  -^  educational  efforts  that 
had  been  originally  introduced  by  Kelpius,  but  increased 
their  scope  and  usefulness  among  the  Germans,  who  were 
now  flocking  thither  in  great  numbers.  But  these  efforts 
were  not  enough  to  counteract  the  general  conditions,  both 
civil  and  religious,  as  they  affected  the  peculiar  institution 
on  the  Wissahickon.  From  month  to  month  it  became 
more  apparent  that  the  state  of  affairs  since  the  Church 
party  became  more  dominant  was  inimical  to  the  permanent 
growth  of  such  a  Community. 

Great  were  the  changes  within  the  decade  since  Kelpius' 
arrival.  Where  ten  years  ago  the  southeastern  part  of 
Pennsylvania  was   but   sparsely  settled,   the  settlers  were 


Return    of    George   Keith. 


159 


now  iiuiiibered  by  tliousands ;  whereas  formerly  there  were 
no  houses  of  worship,  except  those  of  the  Friends,  there 
were  now  a  number  of  fine  churches  and  different  con<^re- 
gations  in  Philadelphia,  while  throughout  the  rural  districts 
were  scattered  churches  with  organized  congregations  of 
various  denominations, — Episcopal,  Baptist,  Sabbatarian, 
German  Lutheran,  Mennonite,  and  Dunker.  Stranger  than 
all,  George  Keith,  who  had  fomented  the  great  schism  in 
the  Province  among  the  Quakers  from  1690  to  1694,  now, 
in  1 702,"""  returned  to  Pennsylvania  as  a  full-fledged  mis- 
sionary of  the  English  Church.-'^"  He  had  but  little  sym- 
pathy with  his  former  adherents  who  had  gone  out  with 
him  from  the  Society  of  Friends  a  decade  before,  except 
with  such  as  had  renewed  their  fealty  to  the  Established 
Church. 

The  only  record  of  intercourse  between  Keith  and  the  Sab- 
batarian conereoations  that 


Heinrich  Bernhard  Koster 
had  been  partly  instrumental 
in  establishing  in  the  Prov- 
ince is  an  occasional  notice 
of  the  Philadelphia  Church, 
under  Thomas  Rutter,  and 
the  feud  that  broke  out  be- 
tween Keith  and  William 
Davis  of  the  Pennepack 
Church.  This  ended  in  a 
victory  for  the  former,  and  ^reat  sem.  of  the  province  (obverse). 

the  Sabbatarians  lost  their  church,  which  henceforth  was 
known  as  Trinity  Church,  Oxford.-""^     The  latter  during  his 


^"^  Keith  landed  at  Boston,  June  11,  1702, 

^"'  See  "The  Sabbath- Keepers,"  a  series  of  papers  by  the  writer,  pub- 
lished in  the  Village  Record,  West  Chester,  Pa.,  March,  1888.  No  record 
whatever  is  known  to  exist  of  any  meeting  or  even  acquaintance  between 
Kelpius  and  Keith. 

2»8  Ibid. 


i6o  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsyli'ania. 

sojourn  in  Pennsylvania  was  accompanied  by  Rev.  John 
Talbot  and  supported  by  the  local  minister,  Rev.  Evan 
Evans.  He  paid  most  attention  to  the  Welsh,  as  it  was 
thought  that  they,  who  were  restive  under  the  Quaker 
supremacy,  were  ready  to  throw  off  the  religious  as  well  as 
civil  yoke  and  return  within  the  fold  of  the  Church  of 
England. 

In  this  supposition  the  three  churchmen  were  not  mis- 
taken, as  their  efforts  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a 
congregation  within  the  Welsh  tract  at  Radnor.  This  was 
strictly  a  Welsh  Church,  the  services  being  held  in  that 
tongue  for  many  }^ears. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  both  congregations  at  Oxford 
and  Radnor  were  served  by  the  Lutheran  minister  at 
Wicacoa.  Further,  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  and 
dedication  of  both  churches,  in  171 1  and  17 14  respectively, 
the  Swedish  Lutheran  pastors  were  prominent  actors. 

The  quaint  stone  church,  subsequently  built  by  the 
Welsh  congregation  at  Radnor  in  17 14,  and  commonly 
known  as  "  Old  St.  David's,"  is  now  the  oldest  Episcopal 
church  in  Pennsylvania,  and  has  become  historic. 


An  Old  Germantown  Relic  in  Possession  of 
THE  Writer. 


VISITS    OF   THE   SABBATARIANS. 


i 


'OW  great  the  esteem 
was  in  which  Kelj^ius 
and  his  fellow  mystics 
were  held  by  the  various  re- 
ligious separatists  throughout 
the  country  is  further  shown 
by  the  fact  that  when  the  so- 
called  "  Rodgerines"  sprang 
into  existence  in  New  Eng- 
land an  attempt  was  made 
forthwith  to  establish  a  regular 
communication  with  Kelpius 
and  his  companions  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  advice  and 
instruction. 

Several  visits  were  made  from  New  England  to  the 
Wissahickon  at  an  early  day  by  the  new  Separatists,  but 
without  results,  as  the  extravagant  religious  notions  of 
Rodgers  and  his  followers  were  foreign  to  the  Theosophy 
of  Kelpius,  which  was  based  upon  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  the  Christian  faith.  In  fact,  it  has  been  stated 
that  the  only  point  in  which  they  approached  agreement 
was  with  regard  to  the  keeping  of  the  seventh  day. 


Seal  of  the  Colony  of  Connec- 
ticut, A.D.  1700. 


1 62  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsy/rania. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  1700  John  Rodgers  per- 
sonally visited  the  Tabernacle,  npon  which  occasion  he 
arranged  with  Reynier  Jansen,  the  (Germantown  ?)  printer, 
for  the  pnblication  of  his  differences  with  Saltonstall. 
This  curious  work  appeared  in  the  following  year  (1701) 
under  the  title,  "An  Impartial  relation  of  ||  An  Open  and 
Publick  Dispute  ||  Agreed  upon  ||  Between  Gurdon  Salton- 
stall, Minister  of  the  ||  Town  of  New  London  ||  and  ||  John 
Rodgers  of  the  Same  place  ||  With  the  Circumstances 
leading  thereto,  and  the  Consequences  thereof  ||  as  also  a 
Relation  of  the  said  Gurdon  Saltonstall's  Recovering  a  || 
Judgment  of  Court  of  Six  hundred  Pounds,  and  Cost  of 
Court  II  against  said  John  Rodgers,  for  saying,  the  said 
Saltonstall  went  to  wave,  shun,  or  shift  the  said  Dispute 
agreed  upon.  ||  The  Truth  of  ||  which  waving,  shunning 
or  shifting  is  here  also  evidently  demonstrated.  ||  By  John 
Rodgers.  ||  Printed  [by  Reynier  Jansen]  for  the  author  in 
the  year  1701." 

This  work  is  a  small  4to,  and  consists  of  twenty  pages, 
of  which  the  title  forms  one;  "To  the  reader,"  four;  and 
the  "Relation"  proper,  fifteen. -"- 

There  still  exists  in  Connecticut  a  traditional,  if  not 
documentary,  account  of  another  visit  made  by  the  same 
religious  enthusiasts  to  Kelpius  in  the  year  1702,  and, 
further,  that  upon  his  return  Rodgers  stopped  at  New 
York  to  consult  with  a  public  Friend,  then  suffering  im- 
prisonment there  for  conscience  sake. 

This  account  the  writer  has  been  unable  to  secure  in  the 
original ;  but  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  strong  probability  of 
its  authenticity,  as  Samuel  Bownas,  the  public  Friend  in 


^°*  "  Issues  of  the  American  Press  in  Pennsj'lvania,"  by  Charles  R. 
Hildeburn,  No.  86.  Original  in  library  of  Devonshire  House  Meeting, 
London,  England. 


The  RJiodc  Island  Records.  163 

question,  was  imprisoned  in  New  York  at  that  time,  and 
mentions  a  visit  from  John  Rodgers  in  his  joiu'nal. 

"An  II  account  ||  of  the  ||  Life,  Travels  ||  and  Christian 
Experiences  ||  in  the  ||  work  of  the  Ministry  1 1  of  Samuel 
Bownas  ||  Stanford  ||  reprinted  by  Daniel  Lawrence  || 
MDCCC,  Page  135  et  seq^ 

Another  evidence  of  the  great  esteem  in  which  Kelpius 
and  his  companions  were  held  throughout  the  provinces  is 
shown  by  the  action  of  the  Rhode  Island  Sabbatarian 
Churches,  which,  in  1703,  appointed  two  brethren,  William 
Hiscox  and  Joseph  Crandall,  as  a  committee  to  journey  to 
Wissahickon,  and  then,  with  the  aid  of  Kelpius,  to  adjust 
if  possible  the  differences  which  had  been  fomented  by 
William  Davis  between  the  Philadelphia  and  Pennepack 
churches  (Seventh-day  Baptist).  The  records  of  these 
interviews  and  negotiations,  as  well  as  the  resulting  corres- 
pondence, the  writer  has  good  reason  to  believe  is  still  in 
existence  among  the  musty  records  of  the  Sabbatarian 
brethren  in  Rhode  Island  or  Connecticut. 

The  following  interesting  extracts  from  the  old  Westerly, 
R.  L,  church  records  bear  upon  this  intercourse,  viz., — 

"  The  church  met  at  Newport  the  3d  Sabbath  in  June 
1703,  being  the   19th  day;  and   the  day  before,  on  which 
some  considerations  were  proposed,  upon  the  request  of  our 
friends  in  Pennsylvania,  relating  to  some  differences  between 
them,  and  the  matter  deferred  until  the  First-day  following. 

"  And  on  the  First-day,  accordingly,  the  church  met,  and 
appointed  Bro.  Hiscox  and  Bro.  Clarke,  Sen.,  if  Providence 
should  so  order,  to  go  to  Pennsylvania  soon  after  the  first 
Sabbath  in  the  7th  month. 

"The  church  met  the  ist  of  the  7tli  month,  at  Westerly, 
and  Bro.  Clark,  judging  himself  incapable  to  perform  the 
journey  to  Pennsylvania,  Bro.  Joseph  Crandall  was  ap- 
pointed to  go  with  Bro.  Hiscox  [on  the]  said  journey. 


164  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"  At  a  church  meeting  at  Westerly  the  last  Sabbath  in 
the  8th  month,  1703,  the  letters  sent  to  the  church  from 
Bro.  William  Davis  were  read  and  acted  upon. 

"Westerly,  the  20th  of  the  8th  month,  1704,  the  church 
met  at  Bro.  Maxson's,  Sen.,  to  confer  with  the  Pennsylvania 
Brethren,  William  Davis  and  Abraham "  -"^ 

[William  Davis  was  a  native  of  Wales.  He  was  sent  to 
Oxford,  but,  becoming  a  Quaker,  was  forced  to  leave  that 
institution.  He  came  to  Philadelphia  in  1684,  being  then 
in  his  twenty-first  year.  He  was  at  once  recognized  as  a 
preacher  of  the  Society.  When  Keith  separated  he  be- 
came one  of  his  staunch  supporters,  and  was  one  of  the 
forty-eight  signers  to  the  reasons  for  separation. 

After  the  decline  of  the  Keithian  meetings,  when  their 
leaders  returned  to  England,  Davis  became  an  attendant  of 
the  services  held  by  Koster,  and  soon  became  one  of  his 
most  active  supporters.  He  was  baptized  by  the  German 
evangelist,  as  related  in  a  subsequent  chapter,""'  and  became 
pastor  of  the  Sabbatarian  congregation  on  the  Pennepack, 
in  Oxford  township,  a  short  distance  from  Gemiantown. 

It  was  while  stationed  here  that  he  published  a  book  in 
vindication  of  his  peculiar  doctrine,  viz., — "Jesus  ||  The 
Crucified  Man,  ||  the  ||  Eternal  Son  of  God,  ||  or,  an  ||  An- 
swer II  to  II  An  Anathema  or  Paper  of  ||  Excommunication, 
of  John  Wats,  en  ||  tituled.  Points  of  Doctrine  preached  &  || 
asserted  by  William  Davis.  ||  Wherein  the  Mystry  of  Christs 
Descen- II  tion,  Incarnation  and  Crucifixion  is  ||  Unfolded,  || 
By  William  Davis.  Philadelphia  Printed  for  the  Author 
[by  Reynier  Jansen]  in  the  Year  1700."^" 


''■^^  Name  illegible. 

^'^  It  appears  that  William  Davis  was  also  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Killings  worth,  a  First-day  Baptist  preacher,  in  1697. 

■^"  No.  72  Hildeburn,  i6mo.  The  title  of  this  unique  book  is  repro- 
duced in  facsimile. 


William  Davis.  165 


JESUS 

The  Crucifyed  Man, 

THE 

Eternal  Son  of  God, 

O  R,    A  W 

ANSWER 

T  O 

An  ^Anathema  or  Paper  of 

h^kZommumcAUOWf  o{  John  Wat i  ca- 
tiru'cd,  Point f  of  Do^rinf  prcahcdCk 
sfferfedkjf  William  Davis. 

"Wherein  the  Myftry  of  ChriH-sDcfcen- 

tion,  Ijicarnacion   and    Crucifixion    h 

Unfolded. 

By     WillUm   Davu, 

[Printed  by  Reynier  Jansen.    Philadelphia,  1700.] 


1 66  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Davis  was  naturally  an  agitator  and  disturber,  and,  by 
airing  his  own  doctrinal  views,  he  subsequently  became 
involved  not  only  with  the  regular  Baptists  and  the  Revs. 
Keith,  Evans,  and  Talbot,  of  the  Established  Church,  but 
with  the  members  of  his  own  congregation  as  well. 

It  was  to  heal  these  internal  differences  in  the  Sabba- 
tarian congregation  at  Oxford  that  the  New  England 
churches  took  the  above-recited  action. 

The  differences  between  Davis,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Keith  and  Evans  on  the  other,  also  produced  pamphlet  and 
counter-pamphlet. 

After  the  loss  of  their  meeting-house  they  met  for  ser- 
vices in  the  different  houses,  under  the  leadership  of  Davis, 
until  17 lo,  when  he  left  to  take  charge  of  a  church  at 
Westerly,  Rhode  Island.  Here  he  remained  until  1727, 
when  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania.  In  1734  he  again  went 
to  Rhode  Island,  whence  ten  years  later  he  led  a  party  of 
Seventh-day  Baptists  to  establish  a  settlement  at  Squan, 
New  Jersey,  of  which  he  became  pastor.  He  died  there  in 
1745,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years,  honored  and 
respected  as  a  Christian  clergyman.  ]^'^ 

The  fame  of  Johann  Kelpius's  piety  and  learning  also 
extended  to  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  his  corres- 
pondence must,  for  that  day,  have  been  quite  extensive, 
and  it  included  various  conditions  of  people.  An  instance 
of  this  is  shown  by  his  letter  written,  "  10  8ber  1704,"  to 
]\Iaria  Elizabeth  Gerber,  in  Virginia.  It  was  in  reply  to  a 
communication  from  her  in  which  she  asks  Kelpius's  opin- 
ion of  the  Quakers.  His  reply  is  quite  lengthy,  and  he 
takes  the  occasion  to  give  his  opinions  rather  fully,  and 
emphasizes  that  he  belongs  to  no  special  denomination,  but 
to  the  elect  of  Jerusalem.     (Gal.  iv,  9,  10.-'^) 


■^^■^  Mde  Sabbath-keepers  before  quoted. 

■213  jjg  might  also  have  added  verse  26  :  "  The  Jerusalem  that  is  above  is 
free,  which  is  our  mother." 


ATTORNEY    AND    BAILIFF. 


5 


Arms  of  Frankfort  on 

THK    MaYN. 


F  the  papers  of  the  old  Frank- 
fort Land  Compan)  were  still 
in  existence  and  accessible, 
the  correspondence  would  no  doubt 
show  that  for  some  reasons  there  was 
great  dissatisfaction  upon  their  part 
with  Pastorius  and  his  administra- 
tion of  the  company's  affairs  in 
Pennsylvania.  This  feeling  may 
have  been  augmented  by  Daniel 
Falkuer  during  his  visits  to  Frankfort  in  1 699-1 700. 
Whatever  the  true  cause  may  have  been,  it  is  certain  that 
Daniel  Falker  had  the  entire  confidence  of  all  members  of 
the  Land  Company,  as  well  as  of  William  Penn  and  Ben- 
jamin Furley,  his  Rotterdam  agent. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  original  power  of  attorney  granted 
to  Kelpius,  Falkner  and  Jawert  was  signed  and  sealed  by 
all  members  of  the  company,  viz.  : 

"  We  subscribed  do  manifest  &  confess  herewith,  Whereas  we  joiningly 
have  bought  five  &  twenty  thousand  acres  of  unseparated  land  in  Penn- 
silvania,  according  to  the  documents  &  indentures  thereof,  with  peculiar 
Privileges  &  Rights,  And  therefore  in  virtue  thereof  the  12th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1686,  by  a  peculiar  writing  having  formed  a  Society,  &  for  the  culti- 


1 68  Tlie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

vation  &  administration  of  the  sd  land  have  Impowred  Mr.  Francis  Daniel 
Pastorius,  J.  U.  L.  according  to  the  letter  of  attorney  bearing  date  the 
1 2th  of  April  1683.  And  yet  because  of  the  death  of  some  heads  of  the 
sd  Company,  &  the  between  Irruption  of  the  French  War,  as  also 
chiefly  because  of  the  absence  of  the  Governor,  &  the  unableness  of  the 
sd  our  Factor,  these  our  affairs  in  the  sd  Province  are  come  to  a  Stop, 
the  more  mentioned  Mr.  Pastorius  having  also  desired  by  &  in  several 
of  his  Letters  to  be  discharged  of  his  administration.  That  we  for  such 
end  do  Conferr  full  Power  &  special  Authority  on  Mr.  Daniel  Falkner  & 
Johanes  Kelpius  as  Inhabitants  for  the  present  in  Pensilvania,  And  also 
on  Mr.  Johanes  Jawert  the  Son  of  one  of  our  Principals,  nominally  Mr. 
Balthasar  Jawert  of  Lubeck,  who  hath  resolved  to  transport  himself 
thither,  thus  and  in  such  wise  that  these  our  three  Plenipotentiaries 
Joiningly  or  incase  of  death  of  one  or  the  Other,  they  or  he  who  remains 
shall  have  in  the  best  form  the  Administration  of  all  our  goods  we  have 
there  of  the  lands  in  the  former  where  they  are  joiningly  or  separately 
assigned  unto  us,  or  shall  be  assigned,  surveyed  &  set  out,  and  of  the 
City- Lots  by  reason  of  the  five  &  twenty  thoiisand  acres  being  Competent 
to  us,  viz.,  the  4  or  6  Places  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  300 
acres  situated  in  the  Right  &  Liberty  of  the  City  before  &  about  Phila- 
delphia, And  of  the  land  bought  by  the  Scullkill  for  a  Brick-kiln,  And  of 
all  tS:  every  erected  Building  &  other  meliorations,  and  of  what  hath  been 
sent  thither  or  bought  there  or  otherwise  got  of  Victuals,  Comodities, 
Cattels,  houshold-stuff,  tools,  Servants,  Tenants  &  of  other  Persons,  &c. , 
and  therefore  to  call  to  an  account  in  Our  name  the  sd  Mr.  Pastorius,  who 
hitherto  hath  been  our  Plenipotentiary,  and  to  take  of  him  herewith  all 
such  Our  Estates  &  effects,  and  in  Case  any  of  them  shoiild  be  alienated 
without  our  knowledge,  above  all  things  to  vindicate  them.  So  then  in 
general  or  Special,  as  it  can  be  done  best,  to  dispose,  exchange,  sell  & 
receive  the  money  for  them,  and  hereupon  to  quit,  transact,  make  indent- 
ures &  documents,  assurances,  &  in  sum  to  do  &  leave  everything  what 
we  Ourselves  could  or  might  do  or  leave  if  we  were  then  &  there  per- 
sonally present.  Cum  potestate,  Substituendi,  et  Substitutioneni  toties 
quoties  revocandi  cumq  clausulis  rati  grati,  omnibusq,  alijs  illius  loci  & 
fori  necessarijs  et  consuetis.  And  in  Case  our  aforementioned  Plenipo- 
tentiaries should  want  any  larger  Power  then  [^/V]  herein  is  contained,  the 
same  we  advisedly  do  grant  herewith  unto  them,  &  do  decently  Implore 
the  Governour  in  Chief  and  Magistrates  of  the  sd  Province  to  regard 
them  as  such,  and  to  grant  them  upon  their  request  their  magisterial  aid, 
in  case  they  should  want  the  same.  On  the  other  hand  our  Plenipoten- 
tiaries Joinedly  &  Separately  are  directed  to  the  two  Principals  in  Franc- 
fort  on  the  river  of  Main,  viz. ,  the  heirs  of  Jacob  van  de  Walle  &  Daniel 
Behagel  both  deceased,  to  acquaint  &  give  an  acccunt  unto  them  timel}' 


Bailiff  Falkner.  169 

of  every  one  of  their  transactions,  and  to  address  unto  them  moneys  or 
Comodities,  to  Correspond  within  and  to  expect,  if  need,  further  Orders 
ik.  Instructions  of  them  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Company,  wherewith 
they  shall  further  in  this  Case  Communicate  and  get  their  Consent. 
Lastly  we  grant  unto  them  herewith  special  Power  to  appropriate  fifty 
acres  of  Our  land  in  Germantown  for  the  benefit  of  a  Schoolmaster,  that 
the  Youth  in  reading,  writing  &  in  good  manners  &  education,  without 
partial  admonition  to  God  &  Christ  may  be  brought  up  and  Instructed. 
All  faithfully  and  without  Fraud,  In  true  witness  whereof  we  have  with 
our  own  hands  Subscribed  &  Sealed  this  Letter  of  Attorney,  and  caused 
the  same  to  be  made  under  &  by  publick  Authority.  Done  in  Frankfort 
on  the  River  of  Mayn,  the  24th  day  of  January  1700. 

[l.s.]         "  Catharina  Elizabetha  Schutzin,  Widow. 

[l.s.  ]         "  the  Widow  of  Jacob  van  de  Wallen,  deceased. 

[l.s.]  "  the  heirs  of  Daniel  Behagel,  deceased. 

[l.s. ]         "Johannes  Kemler. 

[  L.  S.  ]  "  Bathasar  Jawerl . 

[i-.s.]         "Johan  Wilhelm  Petersen,  d. 

[i,.s.]         "  Gerhard  van  Mastricht. 

[l.s.]         "Johanes  Le  Brun. 

[L.S.]  "  Maria  van  de  Walle,  widow  of  Doctor  Thomas  van  Willigh 
with  her  Copartners." 

When,  upon  Falkiier's  return,  Pastorius  was  informed  of 
the  new  state  of  affairs  he  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  situa- 
tion :  the  recollection  of  the  virulent  attack  upon  him  by 
Koster  and  his  adherents  was  yet  fresh  in  his  memory. 
Therefore,  it  excites  but  little  wonder  that  Pastorius,  as 
well  as  his  friends  and  followers,  protested  vigorously 
against  Falkner's  action  in  demanding  an  immediate  ac- 
count from  him  as  to  the  company's  property.  The  new 
agent,  however,  was  firm  in  his  demands,  and,  having  the 
support  of  both  Council  and  Proprietary,  was  well  able  to 
enforce  his  position. 

That  Daniel  Falkner  was  by  far  the  abler  politician  of 
the  two  is  shown  at  the  next  general  election  at  German- 
town  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1700,  when  Daniel  Falkner 
was  chosen  bailiff;  his  brother,  Justus  Falkner,  a  burgess; 


170  The    Pietists    of  Provincial   Pennsylvania. 

Johaiin  Jawert,  recorder ;  and  Daniel  Geissler,  crier  of  the 
court. 

History  is  silent  as  to  how  this  resnlt  was  brought  about : 
whether  there  was  a  general  dissatisfaction  with  the  old 
officials  among  the  German  residents,  or  whether  Falkner 
anticipated  the  tactics  of  modern  local  politicians  by  voting 
the  Community  of  Mystics  "solid,"  and  thus  securing  a 
victory,  is  a  question  hard  to  decide  at  this  late  da}-.  Indi- 
cations, however,  are  that  the  election  of  Falkner's  party 
to  civil  office  was  due  rather  to  sharp  tactics  than  to  any 
personal  animosity  against  Pastorius  on  the  part  of  the 
older  settlers. 

Magister  Kelpius  was  entirely  innocent  of  any  collusion 
or  sympathy  with  this  movement  on  the  part  of  Falkner 
and  others  to  obtain  a  hold  upon  the  civil  powder.  So  far 
as  the  Community  property  was  involved,  he  naturally 
.seconded  Daniel  Falkner's  efforts  to  maintain  their  rights. 
When  he  first  learned  that,  together  with  Falkner  and 
Jawert,  he  had  been  made  joint-attorney  of  the  Frankfort 
Land  Company,  he  was  perhaps  even  more  surprised  than 
Pastorius  was  of  his  deposition. 

Kelpius  refused  to  act  as  attorney  or  take  any  part  what- 
ever in  civil  or  political  matters,  and  eventually  renounced 
all  claim  to  the  appointment.  To  do  this  in  a  legal  manner 
he  executed  the  following  renunciation  : 

"  Whereas,  iipon  recommendation  of  Mr.  Daniel  Falkner, 
the  Frankfort  Society  hath  made  me  ye  subscribed  their 
Plenipotentiary,  together  with  the  said  Mr.  Falkner  &  John 
Jewart,  But  my  Circumstances  not  permiting  to  entangle 
myself  in  the  like  affairs  I  do  confess  herewith  that  I  do 
deliver  all  the  authority,  which  is  given  unto  me  in  the 
Letter  of  Attorney,  to  the  said  Society  &  him  who  did 
recomend  me  to  the  .same,  towit,  Mr.  Daniel  Falkner,  for 


The   Board  of  Property.  171 

to  act  and  prosecute  the  Case  of  the  said  Society  without 
ine  with  Johann  Jewart  upon  their  account  according  to 
the  letter  of  Attorney  who  attributes  to  one  or  two  as  nnich 
power  as  to  three  in  case  of  a  natural  or  civil  death." 

This  unique  document  was  witnessed  by  Johann  (lott- 
fried,  Seelig,  and  Johann  Hendrick  Sprogel.^" 

That  there  was  evidenth'  some  understanding  and  inter- 
course between  William  Penn  and  the  Falkner  brothers 
during  the  former's  second  visit  to  the  Province,  is  shown 
by  several  entries  in  Minute-book  G  of  the  Board  of  Prop- 
erty of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  where,  in  a  dispute 
about  some  land,  the  Proprietary  steps  in  and  issues  an 
order  in  favor  of  Daniel  Falkner."'"  The  next  entry  in  the 
same  book,  made  12th  of  nth  Month,  1701,  shows  that 
Penn's  interest  in  Falkner  continued  during  the  former's 
stay  in  the  Province.  One  of  Penn's  last  official  acts  prior 
to  his  departure  was  the  letter  quoted  in  these  proceedings 
before  the  Land  Commission  : 

"James 

"  Prepare  a  War't  for  4,000  acres  for  Benjamin  Fnrley, 
out  of  which  3  Wart's  for  500  acres  Each  for  Falkner  and 
Brother  and  Dorthy  and  Brother  and  Sister,  which  recom- 
mend to  the  Commiss'rs  of  Propriety  if  not  done  before  I 
goe  .   25th  8ber.,  1701. 

"Will'm  Penn." 

The  following  interesting  entries  appear  in  the  old  Ger- 
mantown  Court  Records,  now  deposited  with  the  Historical 

^'*  No  date  is  appended  to  the  transcript  by  Pastoriiis,  from  which  this 
copy  is  made.  Johann  Heinrich  Sprogel  came  to  America  either  with 
Falkner,  in  August,  1700,  or  else  shortly  after.  His  name  appears  upon 
the  official  records  as  early  as  .8th  iinio. ,  1702.  See  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  Second  Series,  vol.  xix,  p.  351. 

•ii5  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  vol.  xix,  p.  219. 


172  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Societ}'of  Pennsylvania.  Unfortunate!}-,  being  fragmentary, 
they  give  but  little  insight  into  the  official  doings  of  the 
few  Mystics  who  temporarily  preferred  the  excitement  of 
political  life  to  the  quiet  of  the  cloister  on  the  Wissahickon. 

The  first  entry  after  the  election  held  subsequent  to 
Falkner's  return  sets  forth, — 

"  At  a  court  of  record  held  at  Germantown  the  7th  day 
of  the  9th  month,  1700-r,  before  Daniel  Falkner,  Bailiff, 
Cornelius  Swert,  Justus  Falkner,  and  Dennis  Kunders,  3 
eldest  Burgesses,  and  Johannes  J.  Jawert,  Recorder. 

"  F.  D.  Pastorius  being  Clerk  and  Jones  Potts,  Sheriff, 
it  was  ordered  that  the  overseers  of  the  fences  in  every 
quarter  of  the  town  shall  go  round  some  days  before  the 
next  following  Courts  of  Record,  and  thereupon  acquaint 
the  said  Courts  how  they  find  the  fences  in  their  respective 
quarters  and  those  who  neglect  to  make  them  good.  May 
be  fined  according  to  their  circumstances  and  the  harm 
done.  Abraham  op  de  Graef  and  Peter  Keurlis  were  sent 
for  to  answer  the  complaints  made  against  their  children 
by  Daniel  Falkner  and  Johann  Jawert.  But  the  Sd  Abra- 
ham not  being  well,  and  Peter  Keurlis  gone  to  Phila- 
delphia, this  matter  was  left  to  the  next  session.  Daniel 
Geissler  refused  to  be  Crier  of  the  Court,  which  is  likewise 
left  to  the  general  Court. 

''28th  4th  Mo.  1701.  Johann  Henry  Mehls  was  chosen 
(Recorder)  in  place  of  J.  Jawert." 

At  the  next  general  election,  held  a  year  later,  it  appears 
from  the  entry  that  none  of  the  old  officials,  except  Pas- 
torius and  the  sheriff,  were  re-elected, — 

"9th  of  December  1701,  Aret  Klinken  Bailiff.  Paul 
Wulfif,  Peter  Schumacher  and  William  Strepers  three  Bur- 
gesses. John  Conrad  Cotweis  Recorder,  D.  F,  Pastorius 
Clerk.     Jones  Potts  Sheriff" 


Falktier   as   Attorney.  173 

Evidently  one  of  the  causes  for  Falkner's  defeat  for  re- 
election was  the  determined  effort  made  by  him  as  attorne}' 
to  obtain  the  lands  and  rights  due  the  Frankfort  Land 
Compan)-,  the  affairs  of  which  had  been  either  neglected 
or  overlooked  by  Pastorins.  The  first  effort  in  this  direc- 
tion appears  in  an  entry  in  the  before-quoted  Minute-book 
G,  under  date  17th  of  the  loth  month,  1701.  He  did  not 
confine  his  efforts  to  the  land  office.  Again  referring  to 
the  court  record,  we  find, — 

"4th  day  of  the  6th  month  1702.  Daniel  Falkner  and 
Joliann  Jawert,  as  attorne)-s  for  the  Frankfort  Land  Com- 
pany, requested  in  writing  the  consent  of  this  Court  for  to 
call  or  summon  this  companies  tennants  in  the  companies 
houses,  there  to  make  up  their  accounts  and  pay.  But  this 
Court  thought  it  needless  to  give  such  consent." 

Successive  appearances  before  both  local  courts  and  land 
commissioners  attest  Falkner's  activity  in  fostering  the 
trusts,  with  which  he  was  charged  by  the  principals  in 
Europe,  as  well  as  by  his  own  Community. 

In  the  court  records,  under  date  of  i6th  of  12th  month, 
1 702 1 3,  it  appears, — 

"  By  order  of  this  Court  the  letter  of  Attorney  -'*'  from 
Catherina  Elizabeth  vSchultzin  to  Daniel  Falkner  and  Arn- 
old Stork  was  compared  with  the  copy  which  Hans  Henry 
Meels  hath  delivered  to  the  said  Daniel  Falkner  and  were 
both  found  agreeing  word  for  word.  In  witness  whereof 
the  said  Copy  by  the  said  Courts  order  was  signed  b\-  I). 
F.  Pastorins." 

On  5th  of  2nd  month,  1703,  Daniel  and  Justus  went 
before  the  land  commissioners,  and  produced  a  return  of  a 
warrant  for  fifty  acres  of  Liberty  Lands  surveyed  to  Ben- 
jamin Furley.  They  also  pressed  a  claim  for  a  High  Street 
lot  of  132-foot  front. 


This  was  evidently  the  deed  of  j^ift  recited  on  page  146. 


1/4  T^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

24th  of  3d  month,  1703,  both  brothers  again  appear  and 
ask  for  patents  for  snndry  tracts  of  1000,  1900,  and  50  acres 
respectively. 

On  the  30th  of  6th  month,  1703,  Jnstns  Falkner  appears 
as  attorney  for  Benjamin  Fnrley  in  reference  to  a  tract  of 
1000  acres  of  land  in  Chester  County,  which  either  joined 
or  overlapped  the  Welsh  tract.  This  claim  led  to  some 
complication  with  David  Llo}d  and  Isaac  Norris. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  1704,  Daniel  Falkner  came  into 
court  and  "  desired  that  an  explanation  of  a  certain  letter 
of  attorney  from  Catherina  Elizabeth  Schultzin  to  him  the 
said  Daniel  Falkner  and  Arnold  Storchen  should  be  read 
in  this  Court,  which  being  done,  He  further  desired  that 
the  Sd  explanation  should  be  recorded.  Which  the  Court 
consented  to." 

28th  loth  month,  1703.  The  case  of  Mathew  Smith  vs. 
Daniel  Falkner  being  called,  the  plaintiff  by  reason  of  con- 
science, viz., — "  That  this  was  the  day  wherein  Herod  slew 
the  Innocents,  as  also  that  his  witnesses  were  and  would 
for  the  same  reason  not  be  here,  desired  a  continuance  to 
the  next  term  of  court  of  Record.  To  be  held  for  this 
Corporation,  which  is  allowed  to,  provided  the  Sd  Daniel 
Falkner  do  then  appear  and  stand  Tryal." 

8th  12  mo.,  1703I4.  "Proclamation  being  made  the 
action  of  iMatthew  Smith  against  Daniel  Falkner  was 
brought  before  the  Court,  and  being  wrong  laid  was 
quasht. " 

"d  3M0.  1704  Daniel  Falkner  request  to  this  Court,  was 
read  and  answered  to  the  first  of  his  desires,  that  Mathew 
Smith  hath  paid  the  Court's  fees  already  and  departed  out 
of  this  County  (Township).  To  the  second,  that  Johannes 
Umstadt  hath  all  the  money  which  he  is  to  receive  for  the 
land  in  the  hands  of  Humphry  Edwards  where  it  may  be 
attached." 


Pas/on'iis    i's.   Falkucr.  175 

111  the  year  1704  there  appear  three  entries  that  concern 
the  elder  Falkner.  According  to  one  dated  13th  of  4nio. , 
1704,  he  was  chosen  as  a  burgess  in  place  of  Peter  Keyser. 
October  14,  1704,  he  was  fined  six  shillings  for  having  bad 
fences.  The  next  entry  does  not  appear  in  the  remaining 
part  of  the  original  manuscript  record-book.  It  is  taken 
from  the  "Collections  of  the  Historical  Society"  for  1853, 
p.  256. 

"The  28th  day  of  November,  1704.  Daniel  Falkner 
coming  into  this  Court  behaved  himself  very  ill,  like  one 
that  was  last  night  drunk,  and  not  yet  having  recovered 
his  witts.  He  railed  most  greviously  on  the  Recorder, 
Simon  Andrews,  and  the  Bailiff,  Aret  Klincken,  as  persons 
not  fit  to  sit  in  a  Court ;  he  challenged  Peter  Shoemaker 
one  of  the  Judges  on  the  bench,  to  come  forth,  and  more 
the  like  enormities.  The  Sheriff,  William  de  Wees,  telling 
him  that  he  would  not  do  so  at  Philadelphia,  the  said 
Falkner  himself,  answered  no,  not  for  a  hundred  pounds ; 
and  after  abundance  of  foul  language,  when  the  Court  bid 
the  said  Sheriff  and  the  Constable  bring  him  out,  he  went 
himself,  crying  you  are  all  fools!  But  afterwards  coming 
again,  the  Court  ordered  him  to  pa}'  his  fine  for  having  of 
late  been  extreme  drunk,  and  convicted  before  Hans  Gerry 
Meels,  a  Magistrate  or  Justice  of  the  Peace,  as  also  to  find 
securit)'  for  his  appearance  and  answering  for  the  many 
abuses  ofi'ered  to  this  Court.  He  said  he  would  pay  the 
said  fine  before  going  out  of  the  house,  but  concerning 
security,  the  Frankfort  Company  was  security  enough  for 
him,  offering  also  paper  of  his  to  this  Court,  which  the 
Clerk  begun  to  read,  but  the  Court  having  heard  a  few 
lines  of  it  was  not  willing  to  hear  it  all  over,  and  com- 
mitted him,  the  said  Daniel  Falkner,  to  appear  at  the  next 
Court  of  Record  to  be  held  for  this  corporation  and  answer 
for  the  abuses  above  expressed." 


~    T]^ 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    COMMUNITY 


y^|i^HE  gleam  of  encourage- 
f^^  ment  that  enlivened  the 
hopes  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Community  toward  the 
close  of  the  first  decade  of  the 
Theosophical  experiment  on 
the  Wissahickon,  when  the 
mystic  number,  owing  to  the 
Arms  ok  swkdkn,  a.d.  1700.  acccssious  froui    Europc,  was 

once,  more  complete,  was  but  like  the  burst  of  light  that 
often  precedes  the  d}ing  flame.  While  to  all  outward  ap- 
pearances, in  the  minds  of  the  leading  spirits,  stability  was 
now  assured,  it  was  in  reality  the  turning-point  where  dis- 
integration began.  Many  of  the  new  members  were  imbued 
with  entirely  different  motives  from  those  that  had  insti- 
gated the  original  party  ;  and  as  soon  as  they  commenced 
to  feel  the  yoke  of  restraint,  resulting  from  a  communal 
life  and  discipline,  they  were  the  first  to  return  to  the  free- 
dom of  the  world.  Another  matter  that  hastened  the  final 
dismemberment  of  the  Community  was  the  marriage  of 
Daniel  Falkner-''  and  the  course  pursued  by  him  and 
others  in  taking  an  active  part  in  the  civil  and  political 
affairs  of  the  German  township. 


-''  Frankfort,  Pastorius  papers,  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 


Falkiier'^s   Sivamp.  177 

While  Kelpius  and  a  few  others  refused  all  honors  and 
riches,  the  majority,  owing  to  the  continual  increase  in  the 
population  and  the  demand  for  men  of  their  capabilities, 
again  entered  the  world  and  assumed  their  previous  occu- 
pations or  other  congenial  employment. 

In  consequence  of  this  internal  condition  of  the  Frater- 
nity, the  vigils  in  the  stei'nwarte  were  abandoned,  and  the 
watch  that  had  been  kept  so  faithfully  during  so  many 
nights  to  announce  the  first  sign  of  the  appearance  of  the 
harbinger  of  the  Deliverer  was  kept  no  more.  Then,  as 
the  new  century  increased  in  years,  the  expectation  of  an 
immediate  millennium  gradually  grew  less  and  less  in  the 
minds  of  many.  The  strict  devotional  exercises  in  the 
Tabernacle  also  became  fewer  in  number,  while  the  general 
discipline  relaxed,  and  the  mystical  researches  and  Theo- 
sophical  speculations  were  either  altogether  neglected  or 
left  to  the  leaders  and  such  of  the  older  or  more  enthu- 
siastic members  as  proved  to  be  above  the  allurements  of 
the  surrounding  temptations. 

Daniel  Falkner  soon  found  that,  by  virtue  of  his  new 
duties  as  agent  for  the  Frankfort  Company  and  his  family 
cares,  he  could  not  give  the  same  attention  as  formerh'  to 
these  recondite  things.  Then,  in  addition,  the  landed 
interests  of  the  Community,  as  well  as  those  of  Benjamin 
Furley,  required  his  personal  attention  and  occupied  much 
of  his  time.  When  the  Manatawany  tract  was  finally 
located  and  patented,  a  settlement  was  projected  under  his 
auspices  upon  the  fertile  stretch  of  well-watered  meadow- 
land  that  is  still  known  as  "  Falkner's  Swamp."  Coinci- 
dent with  the  earliest  settlement  of  this  tract,  Daniel 
Falkner,  and  not  his  brother  Justus,  as  has  been  errone- 
ously stated,  organized  an  orthodox  Lutheran  congregation, 
of  which  he  became  the  first  pastor.     This  congregation, 

23 


178  The  Pietists  of  Pi'ovincial  Pennsylvania. 

the  oldest  German  Lutheran  one  in  Pennsylvania,  is  still 
in  existence  and  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

The  departure  of  Justus  Falkner  for  New  York  imme- 
diately upon  his  ordination  at  Wicacoa,  November  24,  1703, 
to  take  charge  of  the  German  and  Dutch  Lutheran  con- 
gregations scattered  along  the  Hudson  and  in  East  Jersey, 
in  connection  with  the  Dutch  Lutheran  Church  of  New 
York  City,  was  another  severe  blow  to  the  permanency  of 
the  Fraternity  as  originally  constituted. 

The  explanation  of  the  withdrawal  of  these  two  brothers, 
both  prominent  members  of  the  Fraternity,  is  that  they 
were  men  of  strong  character,  and,  in  view  of  the  changed 
condition  of  the  German  residents  of  the  Province,  brought 
about  by  the  constantly  increasing  population,  felt  that  the 
proper  field  for  their  activity  lay  among  the  populace,  who 
needed  spiritual  guidance  :  they  could  no  longer  waste  their 
talents  and  learning  in  seclusion  in  the  expectation  of  an 
immediate  approach  of  the  millennium. 

To  make  the  situation  even  more  precarious,  Kelpius, 
who  was  of  a  somewhat  frail  constitution,  broke  down 
physically  under  the  great  mental  strain  and  the  rigors  of 
our  climate.  He,  however,  kept  up  his  educational  labors, 
as  well  as  his  Theosophical  studies.  He  also  continued  in 
touch  with  his  former  associates  in  Europe.  Letters  are 
still  in  existence  written  by  him  during  the  summer  of 
1705  to  Heinrich  Johann  Deichmann,  leader  of  the  Phila- 
delphiac  movement  in  Europe,  and  to  his  former  tutor, 
Magister  Johann  Jacob  Fabricius  of  Helmstadt.  It  is  in 
writing  to  the  latter  that  Kelpius  again  refutes  the  reports 
that  he  had  turned  Quaker  or  had  assimilated  to  any  special 
denomination.  In  the  winter  of  1705  he  became  so  ill  and 
feeble  that  his  companions  removed  him  to  the  house  of 
Christian  Warmer,  one  of  the  original  Brethren  who  had 


"y4    Loving   Moan^  179 

come  over  in  the  "  Sara  Maria,"  and  had  since  married  and 
settled  in  Germantown,  where  he  was  a  tailor.  Hither,  to 
the  humble  abode  of  his  former  follower,  the  Magister  of 
the  Theosophists  in  the  New  World  was  brought  during 
his  illness,  so  that  he  might  have  better  care  and  attention 
than  could  be  given  him  at  the  Tabernacle. 

It  was  while  recovering  from  this  attack,  in  the  following 
spring,  that  Kelpius  wrote  the  hymn,  "  A  Loving  Moan  of 
the  Disconsolate  Soul  in  the  Morning  Dawn,"  to  which  he 
adds :  "  As  I  lay  in  Christian  Warmer's  house,  very  weak, 
in  a  small  bed  not  unlike  a  coffin,  in  May,  1706." 

The  first  and  last  verses  of  this  hymn  will  show  the  state 
of  his  mind  at  that  time, — 


"  Here  lye  I  submissive 

And  weak,  in  a  shrine 
O'er  Come  and  made  passive 
With  the  sweetest  pain 
I  think  on  the  blooming  of  that  lovely  May 

Where  I  my  Beloved  shall  ever  enjoy 
And  the  little  hut  for  a  nevi^  do  away. 

25 
"  So  will  I  them  set  me 
Yet  better  to  stand 
And  over  me  let  thee 

Have  thy  own  free  hand. 
Therefore  kiss,  or  correct,  come  to  me  or  go. 
Give  presents,  or  take  them,  bring  joy,  or  bring  woe  : 
If  I  can  but  have  thee,  thy  will  may  be  so." 

This  was  followed   soon  after  by  a  peculiar   epistle  to 
Hester  Palmer,^'^  a  public  Friend  ^^''  from  Long  Island,  who, 

^1^  Hester  Palmer  was  the  daughter  of  one  Joseph  Palmer  and  his  wife 
Sarah.  The  family  is  enumerated  in  the  "Exact  list  of  all  Ye  inhabi- 
tants names  Wth  In  Ye  towne  of  fflushing  and  p'cincts  of  old  and  young 
flfreemen  &  Servants,  white  &  blacke.     &C  1698." 

219  Benezet  MSS. 


i8o  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

it  appears,  had  had  a  personal  interview  with  Kelpius  pre- 
viously. On  account  of  its  peculiarity  this  letter  is  repro- 
duced entire.  It  treats  of  the  Threefold  Wilderness  state : 
(r)  The  Barren  ;  (2)  the  fruitfull ;  and  (3)  the  wilderness 
of  the  Elect  of  God. 

"A.  1706  d.  25,  Mayi. 
"  My  dearly  beloved  in  our  hmnanuel  Jesiis  the  Messiah  : 
"  The  Son  of  God  our  Savioitr. 

"  Being  presented  lately  with  a  letter  of  yours,  directed 

to  our  beloved  Friend  M B ,  I  found  in  the 

P  S.  that  the  remembrance  of  mine  was  not  yet  slipt  out 
of  your  ]Minde,  insomuch  that  you  desired  to  see  a  few  lines 
from  my  hand,  which  Desire  is  an  evident  sign  to  me  that 
the  said  remembrance  is  in  Love  &  in  the  Truth. 

"  Assure  yourself  that  it  is  with  no  less  Fervency  on  my 
Side,  but  I  finde  as  yet  a  double  wall  between  us,  which 
indeed  seems  to  stop  the  current  of  this  firey  love-dream  of 
which  no  more  at  present,  least  we  should  embolden  our- 
selves to  break  through  before  the  time  appointed  by  Him, 
who  nourisheth  the  Woman  in  the  Wilderness  (Rev.  12,  14). 
And  since  our  Discourse  broke  just  as  we  was  about  this 
matter.  Viz :— THE  THREEFOLD  WILDERNESS 
STATE,  I'll  venture  upon  your  Patience  a  few  lines  Con- 
ceriiing  this  subject,  adding  the  Third  State  in  the  Wilder- 
ness, also  having  Confidence  in  your  good  Acceptance  since 
you  have  in  a  manner  bidden  me  to  write  &  I  finding  no 
better  Subject  than  to  begin  where  we  left  it. 

"  Of  the  first  we  did  discourse  somewhat,  viz  : — Of  the 
Barren  Wilderness,  &  as  we  was  beginning  the  second, 
viz  : — Of  the  Fruitfull  Wilderness,  we  was  interrupted. 

"  The  first  hath  a  respect  upon  the  Old  Birth,  like  as  Ye 
second  upon  the  Neiv.     These  two  run  parallel  until  the 


'' Of  the  Fruitfidl  Wilderness:'  i8i 

First  dieth,  &  then  the  Second  is  set  at  Liberty.  The  first 
is  begotten  in  Egypt,  &  then  arriveth  to  its  manhood,  & 
being  led  out  of  Egypt  falls  and  Dieth  in  the  Wilderness. 
The  Second  is  also  begotten  in  Egypt  but  is  educated,  and 
arriveth  to  its  manhood  in  the  Wilderness,  and  after  the 
death  of  the  First  enters  Caanan.  The  First  seeth  indeed 
the  stretched  out  Arm  of  God  in  Egypt  as  well  as  in  the 
Wilderness,  but  murmurs,  provokes  &  tempts  God  & 
limiteth  the  Holy  one  in  Israel,  alwais  turning  back  with 
its  Heart  lusting  after  Egypt.  The  Second  seeth  God  & 
its  life  is  preserved,  its  face  alwais  turned  Caananwarts  & 
its  Heart  with  Joshua  &  Caleb  (Joshua  signifieth  Aid,  Sal- 
vation, Conservation ;  Caleb,  full  of  heart,  courageous,  un- 
daunted, faithfull)  stands  faithfull  &  seeth  Ye  salvation  of 
God,  being  filled  with  the  fervent  &  only  desire  of  attain- 
ing the  same.  The  first  is  in  continual  fear  of  Death,  & 
what  he  feareth  cometli  upon  him  (Num.  14,  28  ;  Prov. 
10,  24).  The  Second  is  imdaunted  &  liveth  (Num.  14,  30, 
31)  &  puts  his  feet  upon  the  necks  of  his  enemies  (Jos.  10, 
24  ;  Psal.  94,  13).  The  Second  deriveth  its  origen  from  the 
First,  &  dying  to  this  riseth  &  liveth  in  God  :  The  First 
when  He  dyeth,  liveth  in  the  Second  (This  is  a  great 
Mystery  &  wants  an  Explanation  else  it  may  be  miscon- 
strued, but  I  hope  you  are  no  Stranger  to  it).  The  Second 
liveth  under  Moses  as  well  as  the  First  as  long  as  Moses 
liveth  (Gal.  4,  i  ;  Rom.  7),  but  is  liidd  inward  ;  by  chance  he 
is  called  the  inward  Man  in  the  Tabernacle,  from  which 
He  never  departeth  (Exod.  33,  11).  But  when  Moses  Dyeth 
the  New  Man,  being  arrived  now  to  his  Manhood,  appears 
from  his  inward  state  outwardly  to  the  Terror  of  his  enemies 
(see  of  this  coming  forth  Cant.  3,  6  ;  &  8,  5)  of  Whose  Land 
he  taketh  Possession  (Num.  27,  15  ;  Dent.  3,  21-end).  I  will 
not  draw  the  Parallism  further,  since  a  word  to  the  Wise  is 


1 82  TJie   Pietists   of  Provincial  Peiinsylvania. 


Allegorical  Representation  of  all  Faiths. 


"  The  Barren    Jllldcruess.''^  183 

enough.  And  since  we  have  orally  conferred  of  the  First 
state,  viz  : — of  Ye  Barren  Wilderness,  let  us  insist  a  little 
upon  the  Mystery  of  the  Second.  In  which  Fruitfull 
Wilderness  we  enjoy  the  leading  Cloud  by  day,  out  of  which 
so  many  drops  of  the  heavenly  Dew  (Psal.  33,  3)  as  a  Bap- 
tism of  Grace  upon  us  do  fall.  This  is  a  Day  of  Joy  & 
triumph,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  moves  &  stirreth  the  waters 
in  our  Hearts  so  that  this  living  spring  diffuseth  it  self 
through  the  Eyes  in  a  sweet  &  Joyfull  Gush  of  Tears :  O 
Thou  blessed  water-baptism,  who  would  not  desire  to  be 
Baptized  with  thee  every  day.  But  there  followeth  a  night 
also  upon  this  Day,  wherein  nevertheless  the  Pillar  of  Fire 
is  our  Guide,  refining  us  as  Gold  in  the  Furnace,  which  is 
the  Baptism  of  Fire  of  Ye  Son,  &  is  indeed  terrible  to  the 
old  Birth,  but  bright  &  light  to  the  New ;  for  she  learneth 
by  this  to  be  resigned  &  say  '  Not  my  will,  O  Father !  but 
Thine  be  done.'  Thus  our  Tears  are  our  Meat,  yea,  our 
Manna,  not  only  by  Day  but  also  in  the  darkest  Night 
(Psal.  42,  3  ;  80,  5).  The  most  bitter  Myrrh  (which  con- 
diteth  the  old  man  in  his  Grave)  hath  the  most  sweetest 
Sweet  hid  in  herself  For  the  Tree  of  the  Cross  &  the 
Yoak  of  the  Beloved  doth  but  sweeten  the  bitter  water  of 
Affliction  &  sufferings  in  Mara  (Exod.  15  ;  Matt.  11).  The 
darkest  sorrow  contains  in  herself  the  most  inward  Joy  & 
Gladness  (2  Cor.  6,  10).  Darkness  is  like  the  Light  (Psal. 
139,  12).  To  dye  is  in  this  pleasan  Wilderness  to  grow 
lively.  Poverty  maketh  rich.  Hunger  is  the  most  desira- 
ble Meat,  &  Thirst  the  most  refreshing  Nectar  (Math.  5,  6). 
To  be  nothing  is  to  be  Deified  (2  Pet.  i,  4).  To  have 
nothing  is  to  enjoy  all  (2  Cor.  12,  10).  To  become  weak 
is  the  greatest  strength. 

"  Disquietness  is  the  surest  Peace  (2  Cor.  7,  10).     No 
work  no  Pain  doth  tire,  for  the  more  we  work  the  stronger 


184  TJic  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

we  grow  (Gen.  32,  24),  &  yet  we  do  experimentally  find 
that  the  greatest  weakness  hath  the  greatest  strength  hid 
in  herself  (Cant.  2,  5).  Oh  everblessed  Wilderness  thou 
rejoyceth  &  blossometh  as  a  Rose !  yea,  thou  blossometh 
abundantly  &  rejoyceth  even  with  Joy  and  Singing.  The 
glory  of  Libanon  is  given  unto  thee,  the  Excellency  of 
Carmel  &  Sharon  !  In  thee  we  see  the  Glory  of  our  Lord, 
&  the  Excellency  of  our  God  !  In  thee  our  weak  Hands 
are  Strengthened  &  our  feeble  Knees  confirmed  (Esa.  35,  i). 
Who  would  not  desire  to  be  a  Denizon  in  Thee?  Who 
would  not  delight  to  trace  thy  Solitary  and  lonesom  walks  ? 
O  !  ye  Inhabitants  of  this  happy  desolation,  bless  &  kiss 
that  gentle  hand  of  that  Divine  Sophia  who  at  the  first  did 
so  wittily  allure  you,  when  she  intended  to  bring  you  into 
this  Wilderness,  for  to  speak  to  your  Heart,  in  order  to 
search  &  trie  the  same  !  Do  not  forsake  her,  untill  she 
hath  given  you  from  hence  your  Possessions,  &  the  hinder- 
most  Valley  for  the  opening  of  your  understanding  (Hos. 
2,  14,  15,  according  to  the  LXX  Achor  signifying  hinder- 
most,  furthest,  comp.  Exod.  3,  i,  Syrach  4,  17-28). 

"  This  Valley  of  Achor,  or  hindermost  Cavity,  leads  me 
to  the  consideration  of  a  Wilderness  yet  of  a  higher 
(further)  degree  than  the  Second,  which  it  exceeds  by  so 
much  as  the  second  does  the  First.  We  may  call  it  the 
WILDERNESS  OF  THE  ELECT  OF  GOD,  as  being 
traced  but  by  few,  &  none  but  peculiarly  chosen  Vessels  of 
Honour  &  Glory. 

"  I  shall  bring  but  four  Instances  for  this.  Two  out  of  Ye 
Old  &  Two  out  of  the  New  Test.  The  first  is  Moses,  that 
great  Prophet  &  mediator  between  God  &  the  Israel,  accord- 
ing to  the  Flesh,  who,  as  the  Acts  2,  7,  give  us  to  under- 
stand, had  a  Revelation  that  He  should  deliver  Israel  out 
of  Egypt,  whilst  He  was  yet  in  the  court  of  Pharao  ;  which, 


THE    PIETISTS    OF    PROVINCIAL    PENNSYLVANIA. 


HERMIT'S   GLEN    ON    THE    WISSAHICKON. 
VIDE,   PAGE  214. 


'■'■  Afoses  in  the   Wilderness^  185 

as  he  would  put  in  Execution,  miscarried  of  the  Enterprise 
through  the  fault  of  the  People,  whereupon  he  fled  into  the 
Wilderness,  where  he  remained  40  years.  What  He  did 
there  is  nowhere  described,  only  that  towards  the  end  of 
the  40  years  He  led  his  Flock  to  the  Backside  (or  rather  to 
the  hindermost  or  furthest)  Desert.  And  there  the  Angel 
of  the  L(ord)  appeared  unto  him  out  of  a  burning  Bush, 
in  order  to  send  him  in  embassage  to  King  Pharao.  But 
so  forward  as  Moses  was  at  the  first  to  go,  when  he  had  got 
only  an  Intimation  or  Manifestation  or  Revelation  or  In- 
spiration or  Motion  (or  what  we  may  call  it)  of  what  He 
now  was  to  do,  without  any  express  Commission  &  Cre- 
dentials (Viz.  Miricales  &  Signs).  So  backward  was  he 
now  to  go,  when  he  got  express  orders  &  extraordinary 
Credentials,  so  that  we  may  easily  find  what  he  had  done 
during  the  40  years  in  the  Wilderness  having  the  two  ex- 
tremes, viz.,  his  Presumption  &  fervent  Zeal  at  first  in 
which  he  killed  the  Egyptian,  &  his  great  Humility  & 
meekness  at  last  when  God  would  send  him,  which  last  is 
Symbolically  typified  by  his  leading  his  Sheep  by  Ye  Back- 
side or  deepest  of  the  Wilderness.  Whereas  formerly  when 
his  firy  Quality  was  not  yet  thoroughly  tinctured  and  Met- 
amorphosed into  the  Lamlike  nature.  He  led  his  flock,  but, 
as  it  were,  on  the  Brim  &  foreside  of  the  W^ilderness,  of 
which  I  had  more  to  say,  but  lest  the  Letter  should  exceed 
its  bounds,  I  must  hasten  to  the  next  Instance,  which  is 
Fleyah  &  runs  into  many  things  paralell  to  the  first  Wit- 
ness. Read  the  history  i  Kings  6,  29.  He  was  a  very 
zealous  &  had  slain  the  Priests  of  Baal,  as  Moses  had  the 
Egyptian.  They  did  seek  his  life,  as  the  Egyptians  did 
Moses  his.  He  made  his  escape  &  fled  into  the  Wilderness 
as  Moses  did.  Moses  his  40  years  was  turned  to  him  in  40 
days,  He  came  at  last  into  the  Hindermost  Wilderness  to 

24 


1 86  The  Prietists  of  Povincial  Pennsylvania. 

the  Mount  of  God  Horeb,  the  very  same  where  Moses  saw 
the  Vision,  And  here  God  appeared  unto  him,  &  gave  him 
a  gentle  Reprimende  as  touching  his  Zeal  &  Presumtious. 
Shewing  him  withal,  that  the  great  and  strong  winde  &  the 
Earthquake  &  the  Fire  (wherein  Elijah's  his  Ministry  had 
consisted)  did  indeed  go  before  the  L(ord),  but  that  the 
Lord  did  not  dwell  therein,  but  in  the  still  aethereall  creat- 
ing voice  &  that  there  were  yet  7000  left  besides  him  that 
had  not  bowed  unto  nor  kissed  Baal ;  though  they  were  hid 
&  unknown  to  him,  &  had  not  ministered  publiquily  with 
storming  &  quaking  &  burning  Jealousy  as  he  had  done. 
Thereupon  being  Condemned  to  substitute  another  in  his 
Room  (viz.:  to  edifie,  whereas  hitherto  he  had  but  destroyed), 
he  was  soon  after  taken  up  into  Paradise,  by  the  same  ele- 
ment wherein  he  had  ministered.  This  Eleijah  leads  to  Ye 
first  Wilderness  in  the  New  Testament,  the  Clans  of  the 
old  John,  the  Precursor  of  the  Messiah,  who  after  his  edu- 
cation was  also  in  the  Wilderness,  till  the  day  of  his  Shew- 
ing unto  Israel  in  the  Spirit  &  Power  of  Eleijah,  baptizing 
with  water  to  Repentance,  as  the  first  Eleijah  had  baptized 
with  Fier  for  Destruction.  What  he  did  in  the  Wilderness 
is  not  described,  but  by  that  what  hath  been  said  we  may 
safely  conclude  that  he  was  gratified  there  for  his  so  great 
a  Ministry.  That  God  appeared  also  unto  him  there  ap- 
peareth  out  of  what  he  saith  himself  ( Joh.  i,  33).  He  that 
sent  me  to  Baptize  the  same  said  unto  me.  I  will  not  draw 
the  Parallelism  any  further,  lest  I  should  prove  tedious  at 
least.  That  like  as  the  accorded  of  him  who  succeeded 
Eleijah,  raised  the  dead  man  (2  Reg.  13,  21),  so  He  who 
succeeded  John,  by  his  death  became  the  Head,  the  Spring, 
the  Principle  &  cause  of  Life  &  Resurrection  imto  all  that 
believed  in  Him,  both  for  Soul  «&  Body.  This  is  the  last 
&  greatest  Witness  I  am  to  produce  JESUS  the  Messiah  of 


"  The  Prerogative  of  the  Elect:'  187 

God,  our  God  &  Saviour,  tlie  centre  of  all,  who  also  in 
likeness  of  the  first  Lawgiver  Moses  was  40  days  (the  40 
years  of  Moses  being  thus  abridged)  in  the  Wilderness  «& 
tempted  there  with  all  manner  of  Temptations  (though 
without  sin,  wherein  He  hath  the  only  Preogative  above 
all,  Heb.  4,  15  ;  2,  28).  The  Scripture  indeed  maketh 
mention  of  his  firey  trials  (i  Pet.  4,  12).  But  nowhere 
saith  what  they  was  or  are.  They  cannot  be  described  ;  it 
is  only  experience  which  can  teach  them  best.  The  three 
temptations  that  happened  at  the  End  of  the  40  days  (Matt. 
4)  centre  in  this :  If  He  was  the  Son  of  God  or  Not ! 
which  indeed  hath  more  to  say  than  is  commonl}-  supposed. 
The  very  Ground  of  the  Christian  Religion  circling  therein 
&  is  founded  thereupon,  as  appears  from  Matt.  16,  16  ;  Joh. 
II,  27;  I  Joh.  4,  15;  5,  5;  «&  is  the  greatest  Stumbling 
block  to  the  Jews  (Joh.  19,  7)  &  to  the  Turks,  the  Latter 
believing  that  Jesus  the  Son  of  Mary  (as  they  style  him)  is 
the  word  of  God  incarnate,  &  that  he  is  anointed  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  above  all  the  Prophets  &  above  Mahomed, 
&  that  he  is  to  be  the  Judge  of  the  Quick  &  D.ead  &  of 
Mahomed  himself;  but  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God  they 
cannot  believe,  for,  say  they,  God  is  a  Spirit  &  cannot 
beget  a  man  for  his  Son,  &c.  And  no  wonder,  this  being 
a  Mystery  surpassing  all  humane  &  Angeelicall  under- 
standing ;  nor  is  it  to  be  found  out  by  the  same,  it  depend- 
ing solely  from  the  Revelation  of  the  Father,  like  as  that 
of  the  Father  depends  from  the  Reception  of  the  Son  & 
M.  K.,  is  yet  to  answer  the  ?  Why  Jesus  being  God  of  very 
God,  became  to  be  Man  &  died  ?  The  Prophets  &  Patri- 
archs have  been  tempted  indeed  with  great  Temptations, 
but  non  like  this,  none  of  the  Nature  of  this,  they  being 
not  cabable  of  the  same,  as  being  the  Sons  of  God  through 
Faith  in  Him,  who  being  God,  was  to  be  made  Man  (Exod. 


1 88  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

3,  14,  where  it  should  have  been  interpeted  :  I  Schall  be, 
what  I  shall  be,  viz  : — Man)  as  we  through  Faith  in  Him 
who  was  God  and  is  made  Alan.  But  Jesus  having  past 
this  firy  ordeal,  He  received  the  Almightiness  from  his 
Father,  whereof  he  made  no  bragging  Ostentation,  as  Rob- 
bers make  of  their  Pray,  but  humbled  himself  unto  the 
death  even  the  death  of  the  Cross,  styling  himself  at  this 
side  of  the  Grave  only  the  son  of  Man  (or  mankind,  the 
Greek  word  denoting  both  the  Sexes)  though  He  was  the 
son  of  God  :  Wherefore  God  also  by  the  Ressurection  from 
the  Dead  powerfully  declared  him  to  be  his  Son  (Rom.  i, 
4;  Psal.  2.  Act.)  exalting  him  above  all,  Lord  over  all 
worlds,  visible  &  invisible,  this  &  that  which  is  to  come 
(Eph.  I,  2;   Phil.  2,  6-1 1 ). 

"  To  these  four  I  will  add  two  more  out  of  the  Scripture, 
passing  by  the  rest  (Heb.  11,  38).  This  first  is  David.,  that 
man  after  God's  own  Heart,  who  was  10  years  in  the  Wil- 
derness &  exercised  in  continual  Sufferings  «&  Sorrows  (as 
his  Psalms  bear  witness)  before  He  was  installed  in  the 
Kingdom,  to  which  He  was  chosen  &  annointed  so  many 
years  before.  The  second  is  that  great  Apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles Panl,  who  abided  seven  years  in  the  Deserts  of  Arabia 
(Gal.  I,  17,  &  at  the  antient  Church  Records  bear  witness), 
before  he  went  out  for  the  Conversion  of  the  Gentiles.  I 
could  produce  a  whole  Cloud  of  such  chosen  Vessels  out  of 
the  antient  Records  of  the  first  Christians,  who  beeing  pre- 
pared in  the  Wild's  some  for  10,  some  for  20,  some  for  40 
years,  after  their  coming  forth  converted  whole  Cities, 
wrought  signs  &  Miracles,  was  to  their  Diciples  as  living 
Oracles,  as  the  mouth  of  God  through  whom  he  fed  & 
guided  them,  but  having  exceeded  the  limits  of  a  letter 
allready,  I  must  stop  the  Vein  which  so  liberally  would 
diffuse  it  self;  I  hope  what  hath  been  said  manifested  to 


"  The   Third  State:'  189 

the  full,  that  God  hath  prepared  alwais  his  most  eiiiiiient 
Instrunients  in  the  Wilderness. 

"  When  we  consider  now  with  a  serious  introversion  of 
our  minds  those  Three  states  of  the  Wild's,  we  shall  find 
That  there  is  no  entring  into  the  first  Wild's  without  a 
going  ont  of  Spiritual  Egypt ;  and  so  consequently  no 
entring  into  the  second  without  passing  the  first ;  And  so 
on,  no  entring  into  the  Third  without  passing  the  second 
state. 

"We  shall  find  in  the  next  place,  that  like  as  there  is  a 
long  Strugling  &  Groaning  under  the  Egyptian  Burdens 
before  the  delivery  from  the  same  ensueth,  So  there  is  a 
long  contest  between  the  first  &  second  Birth  in  their  Wil- 
derness-Station before  the  Second  is  set  at  perfect  Liberty 
&  made  ready  to  enter  &  possess  Caanan  :  But  how  long 
the  Parallelism  of  the  second  &  third  state  may  run  to- 
gether, &  where  the  Borders  of  each  meet  together  or  if 
there  be  any  Borders  at  all,  I'll  leave  to  higher  graduated 
Souls  than  mine  is  to  enquire  ;  by  it  to  speak  my  mind  :  me 
thinks  the  Childhood  &  Manhood  may  both  well  consist 
with  the  second  state,  &  one  may  arrive  to  the  manhood  in 
Christ  without  ever  entering  the  Third  Station,  this  being 
only  for  some  chosen  Vessels  for  a  peculiar  administration 
which  requires  also  peculiar  &  extraordinary  Qualifications 
&  Endowments,  which  they  are  to  acquire  &  make  trial  of 
in  this  Third  Station  before  they  appear  &  show  themselves 
to  the  Israel  of  God.  So  that  every  one  that  is  to  enter  the 
Third  must  of  necessity  be  acquainted  with  the  second  & 
first.  But  not  every  one  that  hath  entered  the  Second  & 
after  he  is  even  with  the  first  must  also  enter  the  Third 
Station. 

"  By  the  consideration  of  the  Third  State  we  shall  find 
what  a  wighty  thing  it  is  to  appear  &  to  show  oneself  to 


190  TJie  Pietists  of  Provi/icial  Pennsylvania. 

the  Israel  of  God,  as  iminediately  called  chosen  &  sent  by 
the  Lord.  Such  a  being  made,  as  Paul  saith  (i  Cor.  4,  9) 
a  Spectacle  to  the  World  &  to  Angels  &  to  Men.  And 
what  good  reason  Moses  had  to  resist  so  hard  when  he  was 
sent,  whom  God  having  heard  the  crey  &  Prayers  of  his 
People,  did  force  as  it  were  &  thrust  or  cast  forth  (see  Matt. 

II,  38)  where  it  should  have  been  rendered  thurst  or 

forth  instead  of  sent  forth).  And  what  a  great  presump- 
tion it  is,  on  the  other  Hand,  to  go  forth  without  being  thus 
duly  prepared  beforehand.  For  though  such  may  have 
inspirations,  Revelations,  Motions  &  the  like  Extraordinary 
Favours ;  yea,  may  have  arrived  at  the  very  Manhood  in 
Christ  (which  truly  is  a  high  attainment),  yet  they  will 
effect  &  build  nothing,  but  only  (if  they  do  any  thing  at 
all)  destroy,  as  we  see  in  the  instances  of  Moses  &  Elias, 
before  they  had  been  in  that  Wild's.  Yea,  there  is  no 
small  Danger  of  loosing  themselves  &  to  bruise  &  grind 
that  good  seed,  which  was  not  designed  for  Meat  but  for 
increase,  not  for  to  be  sent  forth  but  to  be  kept  in  an  honest 

&    Good  Heart.       (Luc.  ).      Such  are  indeed  with 

Child,  they  are  in  pain,  but  (as  the  common  Translation 
saith,  Esa.  26,  28,  and  as  the  common  experience  witt- 
nesseth  to  be  so)  they  bring  forth  as  it  were  but  Winde, 
they  make  no  deliverance  in  the  earth,  neither  do  the  In- 
habitants of  the  World  fall ;  Wliereas  if  they  was  duly 
prepared  &  had  stood  the  fiTey  ordeal  it  would  fare  with 
them,  not  as  with  the  common,  but  as  the  Translation  the 
first  Christians  made  use  of  hath  it :  Through  thy  Tears 
Lord  we  have  conceived  &  have  been  in  Pain  of  Birth,  & 
have  brought  forth  the  Spirit  of  Salvation,  which  Salva- 
tion we  have  wrough  on  Earth  ;  we  shall  not  fall,  but  all 
that  dwell  on  Earth  shall  fall. 

"  I  had  many  Considerations  more  to  add,  as  also  what 


"  TJic   Wildcriiess-Time.''''  191 

the  Wilderness  it  self  is  in  each  of  these  States,  having- 
spoken  only  of  some  of  the  Inhabitants  thereof  &  of  some 
of  their  Qnalities  &  Circnmstances,  &  this  rather  nnder  a 
veil  &,  as  it  were,  bnt  glancing  at  the  Marrow  &  Substance. 
Nor  have  I  counted  the  number  of  the  Wilderness-Time, 
but  touched  only  the  root  thereof,  which  is  40  Sun-Days 
for  the  New  Birth  &  42  Moons  or  Nights  for  the  Old 
(which  last  I  have  not  so  much  as  mentioned).  Neither 
have  I  measured  from  the  Red-Sea  of  the  Old  Birth  to  the 
Jordan  of  the  New,  and  a  hundred  such  things  more.  But 
my  beloved  &  esteemed  Friend  !  this  was  to  write  a  Volume 
&  not  a  Letter,  And  I  begin  allmost  to  fear  that  I  have  ven- 
tured too  much  upon  your  Patience  this  first  time,  not  con- 
sidering also  the  wall  between  us.  Oh !  that  we  may 
behold  our  Beloved  alwais,  standing  behind  our  Wall,  look- 
ing forth  att  the  Window,  shewing  himself  thorow  the  Lat- 
tesse,  saying  Rise  up  my  Love,  my  fair  one  &  come  away 
(Cant.  29,  10).  To  whose  Love-embraces  leaving  you,  I 
remain, 

"  Your  sincere,  though  unworthy  Friend, 

"J.  K. 
"  RocKSBORROW,  1706,  d.  25,  Maji. 
"  For  Hesther  Pallnier, 

"  in  Long-Island  in  Flushing." 

When  the  bright  warm  weather  returned  Kelpius  again 
rallied,  and  Midsummer  eve  (1706)  found  him  once  more  at 
the  Tabernacle  in  his  beloved  solitude  in  the  forest. 

That  his  physical  improvement  was  only  of  a  temporary 
nature  is  shown  by  his  next  poem,  "  A  Comfortable  and 
Incouraging  Song^  made  intentionally  for  tivo  lonesome 
Widows^''''  where  he  adds,  by  way  of  explanation,  "  By 
occasion  of  a  great  cold  which  seized  me  in  July,  1706." 

Consumption  had  fastened   its  clutches  upon  the  frail 


192  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

form  of  the  Transylvaiiian  Theosophist,  and  after  lingering 
for  almost  two  years  longer,  he  succumbed,  having  labored 
for  fourteen  years  in  the  Community  in  the  wilds  of  the 
New  World;  as  a  late  writer""  aptly  states,  "working, 
preaching,  prophesying,  and,  we  almost  may  say,  ruling  by 
the  right  of  moral  and  mental  preeminence." 

The  exact  date  of  his  death  is  unknown.  All  that  we 
know  to  a  certainty  is  the  mention  of  the  fact  in  Jawert's 
petition  to  the  Provincial  Council  held  March  i,  1708  1  9, 
where  the  words  occur:   '•'"Johajuies  Keipins  nozv  deceased^ 


F.  H.  Williams,  in  "The  New  World,"  June,  1894. 


THE    HERMITS    ON    THE    RIDGE. 


(!>■ 


ERHAPS  one  of  the 
strangest  facts  in  con- 
nection with  this  pe- 
cnliar  Community  on 
the  Wissahickon  is  that  no 
complete  list  of  the  mem- 
bership is  known.  Diligent 
search  among  the  official 
records  in  both  Europe  and 
America  failed  to  brine:  to 
light  any  additional  infor- 
mation as  to  who  composed 
the  original  Chapter.  The  old  shipping-lists  of  Rotterdam 
could  not  be  found  ;  and,  if  not  destroyed,  are  supposed  to 
be  stored  at  either  The  Hague  or  Flushing. 

Another  curious  fact  is  that  all  communications  with 
Europe  ceased  soon  after  the  death  of  Kelpius  (except  possi- 
bly the  official  communications  that  passed  between  Falk- 
ner  and  the  Frankfort  Company),  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  emigrants  seem  to  have  been  forgotten  by  most  of  their 
former  associates  ;  the  exception  being  the  inquiry  sent  from 


A  Seal  of  the  Ephrata  Community. 


25 


194  The  Prietists  of  Povincial  Pennsylvania. 

Halle  and  mentioned  by  Muhlenberg  in  his  reports  for  the 
year  1769.^"^ 

All  trace  has  long  since  been  lost  of  the  astronomical 
and  philosophical  apparatus,  brought  over  at  various  times 
and  used  by  the  Mystical  Brethren  in  their  studies  and 
speculations ;  the  only  possible  exception  being  the  Horo- 
logium  Achaz,  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter. ^^^  As  to 
their  books,  at  least  such  as  were  of  a  theological  character, 
we  are  more  fortunate.  After  the  disbanding  of  the  Com- 
munity and  the  departure  of  Daniel  Falkner  from  the 
Province,  the  bulk  of  the  books,  consisting  of  a  number  of 
folios,  quartos  and  octavos,  mostly  bound  in  parchment, 
came  into  the  possession  of  John  Henry  Sprogel,  and  later 
into  that  of  his  brother,  Ludovic  Christian  Sprogel,  who 
kept  them  until  the  }ear  1728,  when  he  gave  such  as  were 
theological  and  orthodox  to  the  Rector"*  and  Vestry  of 
Christ  Church  in  Philadelphia.  After  the  completion  of 
the  tower  they  were  placed  in  one  of  the  lower  rooms,  where 
they  still  remain. 

Here  these  musty  tomes,  in  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew  and 
German,  representing  the  profoundest  religious  thought  of 
the  XVI  and  XVH  Centuries,  have  found  a  resting-place 
for  the  last  century  and  a  half  forgotten  by  all.  The  few 
of  late  years  who  must  now  and  then  have  noticed  a  vol- 
ume or  two  but  little  imagined  whence  they  came,  and 
wondered  at  the  import  of  the  book-plate,  which  vouchsafed 
the  information  that  they  were  the  gift  of  one  Sprogel : 
''Ex  dono  LUDOVICI  CHRISTIAN!  SPROGELL,  ad 
Bibliothecam  Ecclesice  AnglicamF^  in  Philadelphia^  Die 
Decembris  2^^  i']28,'''' 


^^'  Original  ed.,  p.  1265. 

223  Page  114. 

^'■'*  Rev.  Archibald  Cummings. 


A  Rare   Collection  of  Books.  195 

The  writer  in  his  youth  frequently  heard  the  legend  that 
all  the  books  and  MSS.  of  the  Mystics  had  been  given  to 
Christ  Church,  as  the  intercourse  between  the  founders  of 
both  organizations  in  the  earliest  days  was  of  an  intimate 
nature. 

Fortunate,  indeed,  was  the  day  when  it  was  found  that 
the  legend  was  a  true  one,  and  that  a  large  number  of  these 
old  tomes  were  yet  in  existence  and  in  a  good  state  of  preser- 
vation, though  yellowed  by  age  and  covered  with  dust. 
They  had  escaped  alike  the  search  for  cartridge-paper  by 
both  Patriot  and  British  foraging  parties  during  the 
Revolution,"^  and  the  fate  of  being  discarded  as  worthless 
and  sold  during  the  several  alterations  to  the  church. 

Another  interesting  legend  in  connection  with  this  be- 
quest is  that  the  books  were  given  to  the  corporation  as  a 
nucleus  for  a  free  library.  If  this  be  true  it  would  ante- 
date Franklin's  efforts  in  the  same  direction  by  fully  three 
years. 

The  first  of  these  books  opened  by  the  writer  was  a 
quarto,  and  bore  the  above-quoted  legend,  ^'-  Ex  dono^^''  etc., 
on  the  inside  cover,  while  the  title  read  :  "  Gasparis  Sciopph 
1 1  C(Esa7m  &  Regit  Conselearii-Astrologia  Ecclesiastica  \  \  Ex 
officiiia  Sangeo7'giaiia  ||  Anno  M.DC.  XXXI Vi^'^^ 

Among  this  rare  and  valuable  collection  were  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Honiiliarum  in  Evangclia  qtice  diebus  festis  tain  Jcsu  Cliristi  quain 
aliquoruni  sanctorum  ejus,  pro  condone  proponuntur  et  explicantur. 
Authore  Rodolpho  Gualthero.     [Leyden,  1^83,  2  vols.^fol. ). 

Homilies  of  Lanuza,  translated  from.  Spanish  into  Latin.  {Cologne, 
1686,  J  vols.,/ol.). 


^^^  So  scarce  was  paper  for  cartridge-making  during  the  Revolution  that 
almost  all  the  books  in  the  Ephrata  Cloister  were  confiscated  and  used  for 
military  purposes.     Many  of  the  Sauer  Bibles  were  so  used. 

^''^  The  Ecclesiastical  Astrology  of  Caspar  Sciopo,  Imperial  and  Royal 
Councillor. 


196  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvattia, 

U'altoti's  Polyglott.     {London,  165J,  6  vols.,fol.). 

Lexicon  Heptaglotton ;  Hebraicum,  Chaldaicum,  Syriacum,  Samari- 
tanum,  ALthiopiciim,  Arabicuin,  et  Persicmn.  AtUhore  Edmundo  Cas- 
tello.     {London,  16S6,  2  vols.,foL) 

Greek  and  Latin  Lexicon  of  Scec.  xvi.     {No  date.) 

Osiander's  Latin  Bible.     {  Tubingen,  i^gof-i^gs,  ?  vots.,fot.) 

Examinis  Concitii  Tridentini,  per  Mart.  Chcinnicium  scripti,  Opus 
integrum.     {Geneva,  1641,/ot.) 

Erasmus''  Parallel  Greek  and  Latin  Neiv  Testament.  {151S,  2  vols,  in 
one,  fol. ) 

HueVs  Origen.     {Cologne,  i6S^,fol.) 

Concilioruni  Quatuor  Generalitcni :  Niceni,  Constantinopolitani ,  Ephe- 
sini  et  Calcedonensis  :  Que  divus  Gregorius  magnus  tanqz  quatuor  Evan- 
gelia  colit  ac  veneratur.     { Cologne,  1530,  2  vols.,  folio. ) 

In  Mosis  Genesim plenissimi  Commentarii .  Wolfgango  Musculo  Dusano 
autore.     {Basle,  1354,  fol.) 

Quatuor  Ununi :  hoc  est,  Concordia  Evangelica.  Auctore  Guidone  de 
Perpiniano  Episcopo.     {Cologne,  163 1,  fol.) 

Johannes  Seelig  sncceeded  Kelpius  as  Magister,  but  for 
a  short  time  only.  He  soon  renounced  the  honor,  and, 
donning  his  pilgrim  garb  once  more,  retired  to  a  hermit 
cell  or  cabin,  where  he  spent  his  days  in  teaching  and  study- 
ing, while  he  supported  himself  by  cultivating  his  garden, 
and,  when  the  opportunity  offered,  working  at  his  trade 
of  bookbinder. 

Doctor  Christopher  Witt  and  Daniel  Geissler  also  left  the 
Tabernacle  in  the  forest  and  took  up  their  abode  in  Ger- 
mantown,  where  the  former  for  many  years  practiced  as  a 
physician. 

After  Seelig's  retirement,  Conrad  Matthai  became  the 
leading  spirit  of  the  Theosophists  who  still  remained  at  or 
about  the  Tabernacle ;  a  Community  in  the  original  sense 
no  longer,  but  merely  a  number  of  devout  ascetics  who 
lived  in  retirement  on  the  banks  of  the  romantic  Wissa- 
hickon  under  his  leadership.  Even  this  reduced  number 
became  less  and  less  as  the  years  rolled  by,  and  settlers 
continued  to  encroach  on  their  favorite  solitude. 


"  The  Separatists.''''  197 

According  to  the  Chronicon  Ephratense.,  "  after  their 
leader  (Kelpius)  died  the  tempter  found  occasion  to  scatter 
them,  as  those  who  had  been  most  zealous  against  marrying 
now  betook  themselves  to  women  again,  which  brought 
much  shame  on  the  solitary  state  that  the  few  who  still  held 
to  it  dared  not  open  their  mouths  for  shame."  '^'^ 

Notwithstanding  the  radical  changes  which  were  contin- 
ually taking  place  in  the  vicinity,  incident  to  the  growing 
population,  some  show  of  an  organization  was  kept  up  for 
many  years,  without,  however,  making  any  claim  to  com- 
munal life.  Such  as  remained  upon  the  original  tract  lived 
as  did  Conrad  Matthai,  in  small  houses  or  cabins,  after  the 
manner  of  the  hermits  of  old,  or  the  Separatists  of  later 
days.  It  was  by  the  latter  name  that  they  afterwards  became 
known. 

This  remnant  on  "  the  Ridge"  became  a  nucleus  or  rally- 
ing-point  for  the  many  religious  enthusiasts,  visionaries  and 
separatists  who,  during  the  first  half  of  last  century,  flocked 
to  the  Province  noted  for  liberty  of  conscience ;  to  whom 
must  be  added  such  of  the  older  settlers  as  were  "  awaken- 
ed," or  felt  inspired  to  withdraw  from  the  world  and  its 
allurements,  and  live  henceforth  a  life  of  seclusion. 

About  a  decade  after  Kelpius'  death,  quite  an  emigration 
of  religious  separatists  set  in  from  Europe.  Some  of  these 
pilgrims,  such  as  the  Mennonites  and  Schwartzenauer 
Dunkers  or  Baptists,  came  over  in  a  body,  and  forthwith 
opened  communications  with  the  remnant  on  the  Ridge, 
some  of  their  number  even  adopting  the  solitar}^  mode  of 
life.  Several  of  these  new  acquisitions  remained  steadfast 
and  ended  their  days  as  recluses;  Andreas  Bone  and  Hermann 
Drost  being  prominent  examples. 


Chron.  Epb.,  original  ed.,  p.  12  ;  trans.,  p.  152. 


igS  The  Pietists  of  Pi^ovincial  Pennsylvaiiia. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  following  this  emigration 
(1720),  a  number  of  men  arrived  in  Germantown  with  the 
avowed  intention  of  devoting  the  rest  of  their  lives  to 
religious  study  in  the  wilds  of  the  New  World  far  away 
from  civilized  habitations.  The  names  of  Johann  Conrad 
Beissel,  the  Eckerling  brothers,  Michael  Wohlfarth,"^ 
Simon  Konig,  Joh-ann  George  Stiefel,  Jacob  Stuntz  and 
Isaac  Van  Bebber"''  are  all  prominent  in  the  movement 
which  revived  Esoteric  Theosophy  and  Rosicrucian  Mysti- 
cism in  Pennsylvania. 

The  most  trustworthy  information  we  have  regarding 
the  subsequent  career  of  the  survivors  of  the  original  Com- 
munity who  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Germantown  is  to 
be  found  among  the  IMoravian  records  at  Herrnhut  and 
Bethlehem. 

From  these  old  musty  documents  we  learn  that  George 
Bohnish,  the  first  Moravian  evangelist,  who  labored  in 
Pennsylvania  from  1734  to  1737,  was  a  frequent  visitor 
among  the  recluses  in  the  vicinity  of  Germantown.     The 


22*  Michael  Wohlfarth  (Michael  Welfare).  This  remarkable  man  had 
been  an  active  Pietist  in  Germany,  and  occupied  later  so  prominent  a 
position  in  the  Ephrata  Community,  wherein  he  was  known  as  Brother 
"  Agonius."  He  was  born  in  the  fortress  of  Memel,  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  in 
the  year  1687.  Just  when  he  came  to  America  is  not  known,  nor  is  it 
known  how  long  he  sojourned  among  the  Hermits  on  the  Wissahickon. 

He  was  an  active  exhorter  and  evangelist,  and  first  came  prominently 
into  public  notice  by  exhorting  the  Quakers  from  the  old  court-house 
steps  at  Second  and  Market  Streets,  as  well  as  in  their  meeting-houses. 

He  became  one  of  the  staunchest  supporters  of  Conrad  Beissel.  Wohl- 
farth was  also  a  hymnologist  of  no  mean  order,  and  a  number  of  his 
hymns  are  found  in  the  Ephrata  hymn-books.  He  died  May  i,  1741. 
His  remains  rest  in  the  old  "God's  Acre"  at  Ephrata,  where  his  tomb 
formerly  bore  this  epitaph  : — 

"  Hier  ruhet  der  Gottselige  Kamfer  AGONIUS,  Starb  Anno  1741. 
' '  Seines  alters  54  Jahre  4  Monate  28  Tage. ' ' 

No  trace  whatever  is  to  be  found  of  this  grave  at  the  present  day. 


Ccnint  Zi7izendorf.  199 

Rev.  August  Spaugenberg,  upon  his  first  visit  to  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1736  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  religious 
condition  of  its  German  population,  sought  out  the  survi- 
vors of  the  Theosophical  emigrants  who  almost  half  a  cen- 
tury before  had  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Wissahickon. 
His  visits  to  Seelig  and  Matthai  during  his  stay  in  the 
Province  were  frequent,  and  the  intercourse  between  them, 
it  is  stated,  was  cordial  and  edifying  to  all  parties. 

From  Spangenberg's  report  to  Herrnhut  it  appears  that 
the  survivors  were  then  living  as  "  Separatists."  In  a  sub- 
sequent letter  he  gives  us  an  insight  into  their  daily  life 
and  austere  habits ;  he  there  states  that  they  slept  on  hard 
beds,  using  neither  feathers,  after  the  manner  of  the  Ger- 
mans, nor  straw.  Their  garb  was  of  a  coarse  homespun 
material.  They  would  neither  barter,  trade,  nor  engage  in 
any  occupation  for  profit  or  gain. 

In  another  communication  Spangenberg,  referring  to  the 
above,  states  that  "  where  individuals  had  a  true  desire  for 
their  salvation  and  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  he  knew  of  no 
fairer  land  than  Pennsylvania.""^ 

When,  five  years  later.  Count  Ludwig  Zinzendorf  landed 
upon  these  shores, ^^"  his  earliest  movements  were  directed 
towards  the  forks  of  the  Lehigh,  by  way  of  Germantown  ; 
and  it  was  during  this  journey  that  the  Count  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  surviving  Separatists  of  the  Kelpius 
Community. 

That  friendly  relations  were  established  between  Zinzen- 
dorf and  Matthai  at  the  outset  is  shown  from  the  fact  that 
the  latter's  name  was  conspicuous  on  the  call  issued  for  the 
first  Pennsylvania  Synod,  December  26,  1741. 


^^^  Leben  Spangenbergs,  Barby,  1794,  p.  135. 

«3o  Arrived  at  New  York,  December  2,  1741  ;  Philadelphia,  December 
loth. 


200  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  at  this  meeting,  which  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Theobaldt  Endt  in  Germantown,  on  New  Year's  day,  1742 
(January  12,  1742,  N.  S.),  that  the  first  attempt  was  made 
in  America,  since  the  unsuccessful  efforts  of  Johannes  Kel- 
pius,  toward  an  evangelical  alliance  and  unification  of  the 
German  Protestants.  At  this  meeting  Conrad  Matthai  was 
prominent  and  active,  and  championed  the  cause  of  such  as 
were  adverse  to  being  circumscribed  by  denominational 
bounds. 

A  contemporaneous  account  of  this  meeting  states  that 
certain  remarks  made  by  Count  Zinzendorf  were  construed 
as  reflecting  against  the  Mennonites  and  Schwenkfelders, 
who  were  not  represented  at  the  Synod.  This  caused 
Matthai  to  resent  what  he  thought  was  an  unwarranted 
reflection  by  Zinzendorf,  and  raised  considerable  discussion, 
resulting  in  a  series  of  resolutions  being  adopted. 

Before  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting  a  set  of  resolu- 
tions was  agreed  to,  it  is  said  at  the  instance  of  Matthai. 
The  paper  was  signed  by  the  representatives  of  nine  different 
religious  interests. 

The  next  trustworthy  notice  of  the  later  period  of  the 
old  Community  is  recorded  by  Fresenius  (vol.  iii,  page  221), 
who  there  states  :  "  Towards  the  end  of  this  month  [Decem- 
ber, 1742]  came  Brother  Ludwig  [Count  Ludwig  Zinzen- 
dorf] again  towards  Philadelphia ;  he  had  secured  a  Lodg- 
ment at  Rocksbury,  two  hours  from  Philadelphia,  where 
he  expected  to  hold  a  Conference.  According  to  the  testi- 
mony of  his  own  followers  [Unitas  Fratum]  the  object  was 
to  gather  in  [to  their  fold]  the  remaining  Solitary.^^'  But 
with  two  they  were  not  able  to  accomplish  anything." '^^^ 


^•''  The  survivors  of  the  old  Community  on  the  Wissahickon. 
^^^  The  two  Separatists  here  alluded  to  were  undoubtedly  Seelig  and 
Matthai. 


TJic  Monastery  on  the   JVissahickon.  201 

Turing-  once  more  to  the  Moravian  records,  we  find  that 
one  of  the  last  ofificial  acts  of  Count  Zinzendorf,  prior  to 
his  departure  from  America  on  January  7,  1743,  was  to 
hold  a  deliberative  meeting  with  the  Separatists  who  re- 
mained on  the  banks  of  the  Wissahickon,  at  which  he  had 
a  long  and  earnest  interview  with  Conrad  Matthai. 

In  a  future  chapter  it  will  be  shown  how  upon  Conrad 
Matthai's  advice  Beissel  journeyed  to  the  wilds  of  Cones- 
toga.  The  same  was  the  case  with  the  Eckerling  brothers 
in  1727.  It  was  upon  the  advice  of  the  old  recluse  that 
Israel  Eckerling  left  the  vicinity  of  Germantown  for  the 
Conestoga  country,  whither  he  was  soon  followed  by  his 
widowed  mother  and  her  three  remaining  sons,  all  destined 
to  become  important  factors  in  the  history  of  the  settlement 
on  the  Cocalico. 

When  finally  Conrad  Matthai  was  left  almost  alone  on 
the  old  Community  tract,  an  unbroken  forest  no  longer, 
events  transpired  which  led  to  a  renewal  of  the  spirit  of 
mysticism  in  Pennsylvania,  and  subsequently  took  shape 
in  a  new  Community,  "  Das  Lager  der  Einsanien^^''  the 
Camp  of  the  Solitary,  known  in  history  as  Ephrata,  a 
settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Cocalico  in  Lancaster 
County,  and  which  eventually  became  the  most  successful 
Theosophical  communit)'  of  which  we  have  any  record. 

A  branch  of  this  new  society  for  a  time  flourished  in 
Germantown  and  vicinity.  For  the  purposes  of  the  new 
community  a  massive  stone  building  was  erected  in  1738 
on  the  Wissahickon,  a  short  distance  above  the  spot  where 
the  original  Tabernacle  was  located. 

This  structure,  about  which  there  were  formerly  so  many 
gruesome  tales  and  vague  traditions  current  among  the 
superstitious  residents  of  the  vicinity,  is  still  standing,  and 
although  it  is  now  serving  the  prosaic  uses  of  a  farmhouse, 
it  is  still  known  as  "the  Monastery." 

26 


202  TJic  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

All  vestiges  of  the  original  "  Hermits  of  the  Ridge^' 
have  long  since  passed  away.  A  portion  of  their  domain 
is  now  included  within  the  bounds  of  Fairmount  Park, 
the  largest  natural  pleasure  ground  in  the  world. 

The  straggling  town  of  Philadelphia,  as  it  was  at  the 
landing  of  Kelpius  and  his  fellow-mystics,  has  extended  in 
all  directions,  until  it  now  joins  and  includes  the  whole  of 
the  German  Township  within  its  corporate  limits.  Palatial 
residences  cover  a  part  of  the  ground  once  cultivated  by 
these  Esoteric  students.  Over  the  ver}-  spot  where  rest  the 
remains  of  some  of  this  Theosophical  Community  is  now 
reared  a  Christian  church,  with  pealing  organ  and  white- 
robed  choristers,  a  fitting  monument  to  their  virtue  and 
piety. 

Great  have  been  the  changes  wrought  b}'  time  during 
the  last  two  centuries.  The  metropolis  of  Pennsylvania  is 
indeed  no  longer  a  churchless  city.  Hundreds  of  churches, 
with  their  tens  of  thousands  of  communicants,  are  now 
found  within  its  corporate  bounds. 

In  approaching  the  great  metropolis  from  the  sea,  one  of 
the  first  landmarks  to  greet  the  eye  of  the  mariner  as  he 
nears  the  end  of  his  journey  is  the  old  Swedish  church  at 
Wicacoa  ;  and  as  the  city  proper  is  approached,  the  symme- 
trical spire  of  Christ  Church  becomes  a  prominent  feature. 

Both  of  these  churches,  the  early  history  of  which  is 
cotemporary  with  that  of  our  band  of  German  Pietists,  are 
now  among  the  most  venerable  historic  landmarks  of  the 
great  city  of  Philadelphia  with  its  million  of  inhabitants. 

To  return  once  more  to  the  scene  of  the  early  labors  of 
Kelpius  and  his  followers.  Of  the  tens  of  thousands  of 
pleasure  seekers  who  anuualh'  pass  along  the  Wissahickon, 
from  the  purse-proud  aristocrat  who  rides  behind  prancing 
steeds  and  liveried  servants  down  to  the  wearv  and  foot-sore 


The  Eplirata  Manuscript.  203 

toiler  who  011  a  Sunday  seeks  after  a  breath  of  fresh  air,  how 
few  of  this  vast  niiinber  know  the  derivation  of  the  names 
"  Hermit  Spring''  and  "  Hermit  Lane,"  or  have  even  heard 
the  name  of  Johannes  Kelpius,  the  pious  and  learned  Magis- 
ter  of  the  Theosophical  Fraternity,  who  settled  there  two 
centuries  ago  in  the  unbroken  wilderness  to  connnune  with 
the  Diet}'  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience  and 
benefit  the  spiritual  condition  of  his  fellowmen. 

The  old  Ephrata  MS.,  in  referring  to  the  closing  period 
of  the  original  Community,  and  to  such  as  remained  stead- 
fast, states :  "  Dispensing  religious  instruction  and  charita- 
ble attentions  to  their  neighbors  who  came  to  cultivate  the 
adjoining  wilds,  they  rendered  their  habitation  the  seat  of 
piety  and  usefulness.  Thus  while  years  rolled  on  in  rapid 
succession  the  few  remained  steadfast  in  their  faith  and 
patiently  watched  for  the  revelations  they  so  fondly  antici- 
pated. These  faithful  ones,  however,  followed  each  other 
to  the  shades  of  death  and  a  happy  eternity  without  accom- 
plishing the  work  of  their  devotion  and  self-denial.  They 
were  laid  side  by  side  in  what  was  once  their  garden,  and 
their  requiems  were  sung  by  the  remaining  brethren.  Their 
history  may  be  closed  in  the  language  of  the  Apostle, — 

"  '  These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  prom- 
ises, but  having  seem  them  afar  off,  and  were  persuaded  of 
them,  and  embraced  them,  and  confessed  that  they  were 
strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth."  ' "" 

Notwithstanding  that  ever)-  vestige  of  these  earh-  religi- 
ous pioneers  has  passed  away,  the  effects  of  the  truths  they 
taught  is  yet  felt,  not  only  among  the  German  element  in 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  but  throughout  the  whole  State  and 
country  wherever  the  slightest  trace  of  the  Pennsylvania- 
German  is  to  be  found. 

233  Heb.  xi,  13. 


204  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Peiuisylvatiia. 

The  benign  influence  exercised  by  the  various  Pietistic 
sects  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania  upon  the  rude  pioneers  of 
various  nations  and  races  that  were  attracted  to  the  Province 
in  the  early  days  of  our  existence  will  endure  for  ages  to 
come.  Though  the  personalit)-  of  the  actors  themselves 
may  be  lost  in  oblivion,  and  even  their  names  be  forgotten 
iu  the  modern  struggle  for  wealth  and  power,  yet  in  our 
annals  the  story  of  these  self-sacrificing  enthusiasts,  with 
their  legends  and  traditions,  will  ever  remain  one  of  the 
brightest  and  most  romantic  episodes. 


The  Takernacle  in  the  Foresi,  according  to  an  old  Manuscript;. 


THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


on 


The  Cave  of  {Cei.pius,  iS 


ORE  or  less  uncer- 
tainity  has  thus  far 
existed  among  wri- 
ters upon  Kelpius 
and  the  Hermits  on  the  Ridge 
as  regards  the  actual  location 
of  the  original  settlement  and 
the  tenure  by  which  they 
held  their  land.  There  are 
no  documents  whatever  on 
record  to  show  that  this  or 
any  other  land  in  the  vicin- 
ity was  ever  held  in  fee-simple  by  either  Kelpius  or  the 
Fraternity.  All  accounts  that  have  come  down  to  us  agree 
to  the  fact  that  175  acres  were  given  them,  shortly  after  their 
arrival,  by  Thomas  Fairman,  who  was  then  deputy  surveyor 
general.'"  If  any  title  was  passed  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  placed  on  record. 

It  has,  however,  been  proven  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt 
that  the  portion  of  the  tract,  once  the  site  of  the  Tabernacle 
of  the  Mystic  Brotherhood,  is  identical  with  the  estate  now 
known  as  "  the  Hermitage,"  owned  by  the  Prowattain 
family. 


Fairman  was  not  commissioned-surveyor  general  until  1702. 


2o6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

This  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  Hermit  Lane,  in 
Roxborongh,  in  the  Twenty-first  Ward  of  Philadelphia, 
and  extends  down  to  the  Wissahickon.  The  strip  of  land 
along  the  banks  of  the  creek  is  now  included  within  the 
bounds  of  Fairniount  Park,  having  been  acquired  by  the 
city  under  the  Act  of  April  14th,  1868. 

Now  the  question  naturally  arises :  How  happens  it  that 
here  are  175  acres  of  land  without  any  record  of  having 
been  either  bought  or  sold,  until  about  fifty  years  after  the 
gift  of  Fairman  ?  Nor  does  this  identical  plantation  ever 
appear  to  have  been  in  the  name  of  the  person  who  is 
accredited  with  having  given  it  to  the  German  Theosophists. 

A  careful  search  reveals  to  us  the  fact  that  at  least  a  part 
of  the  land  in  question  was  contained  in  a  grant  of  200 
acres  made  in  1689  by  William  Penn  to  Thomas  B.  Vic- 
aris,^'*^  and  that  Thomas  Fainnan  was  in  charge  of  the 
property,  as  well  as  the  adjoining  one  to  the  eastward, 
which  extended  to  the  Scliuylkill,  and  was  also  supposed 
to  contain  "  200  acres,"  granted  by  William  Penn  to  John 
Jennett,  by  patent  dated  January  20,  1685."^'^ 

Jennett,  on  March  18,  1698,  sold  to  Mathew  Houlgate 
eighty  acres  of  this  land,  which  adjoined  the  Vicaris  tract. 
Mathew  Houlgate  the  elder,  who  was  for  some  time  either 
a  member  of  the  Community  or  else  intimately  connected 
with  the  same,  erected  the  first  fulling-mill  on  the  Wissa- 
hickon. This  was  in  1720,  and  was  an  undertaking  in 
which  he  does  not  seem  to  have  prospered. 

Vicaris,  according  to  tlie  records,  under  date  of  August 
4,  1741,"''^^  sold  to  Michael  Righter  seventy-one  acres  of  land 


235  f  jjg  patent  is  not  on  record.     Another  account  names  Richard  and 
Robert  Vicaris  as  the  original  patentees. 

236  Patent  Book  A,  p.  104.     Exemplication  Book  No.  i,  p.  86. 
23"  Deed  Book  F  T  W  103,  p.  365. 


"  The  Right er  Ferry ^  207 

adjoining  the  Hoiilj^ate  or  Jennett  tract,  whicli  one  Peter 
Righter  had  bought  at  sheriff's  sale,  December  6,  1728."^'^'' 
This  grant  included  all  the  improvements  erected  or  made 
by  the  Theosophical  Community,  viz.,  the  Tabernacle, 
several  small  log  cabins  or  houses  used  by  the  Hermits 
after  disbanding,  the  cave  of  Kelpius,  a  large  orchard 
planted  by  the  Mystics,  and  other  improvements,  such  as 
fencing  and  cleared  ground. 

Two  mouths  after  the  above  conveyance,  October  27, 
1 741,  Peter  Richter  transferred  his  seventy-one  acres  to 
Michael  Richter. ^■^'•'  This  gave  the  latter  a  plantation  of 
15  T  acres,  which,  without  doubt,  included  all  the  land  once 
occupied  both  by  the  Community  and  the  Hermits  who 
succeeded  them. 

The  Righters  or  Richters,  it  is  said,  w^ere  originally  con- 
nected in  some  manner  with  the  Brotherhood.  A  legend, 
which  appears  trustworthy,  states  that  Peter  Righter,  the 
first  of  the  fayiily  in  America,  came  over  with  Daniel  Falk- 
ner  in  1700,  but  soon  after  left  the  Community  and  built  a 
stone  house  on  the  banks  of  the  vSchuylkill  a  short  distance 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Wissahickon,  where  he  also  estab- 
lished a  ferry.  This  was  some  years  prior  to  the  death  of 
Kelpius. 

This  ferry  was  kept  by  successive  generations  of  the 
Righter  families,  until  the  building  of  the  Manayunk 
bridge  removed  any  necessity  for  its  maintainance. 

The  above  151  acres  of  land  remained  in  possession  of 
Michael  Righter  until  his  death,  which  occurred  some  time 
in  1783.  His  will  is  dated  January  29,  1783,  and  under  its 
provision  three  commissioners  were  appointed  by  the  heirs 
to  effect  a  division  of  the  real  estate.     They  apportioned 


^^'^  Record  Book  A  D  B  142,  p.  485. 
2M  Deed  Book  H  9,  p.  367. 


2o8 


TJie  Pietists  of  Provi)icial  PeiDisylvania. 


After   Tu>o  Hundred   Years. 


209 


27 


2IO  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

the  above  151  acres  to  Peter  Righter  (2),'^''"  March  13,  1787, 
and  from  him  it  passed  to  Daniel  Righter  about  the  year 
1818. 

It  was  from  Phoebe  Righter,  the  widow  of  the  last 
named,  that  the  direct  proof  was  obtained  of  the  former 
tenure  of  this  land  by  the  Mystic  Brotherhood. 

The  tract  remained  in  the  Righter  family  until  the  year 
1848,  when  a  part  of  it,  containing  sixteen  acres  and  six- 
teen perches,  which  included  the  site  of  the  Tabernacle  and 
the  Kelpius  cave  and  spring,  together  with  one  of  the  Her- 
mit's cabins,  was  sold  by  the  heirs  of  Daniel  Righter  to 
Evan  Prowattain,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia. 

The  new  owner  at  once  commenced  a  series  of  improve- 
ments so  as  to  make  the  place  suitable  for  a  suburban  resi- 
dence. A  large  mansion  house  was  built  near  the  former 
site  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  upon  its  completion  was  called 
"The  Hermitage." 

Shortly  after  this  mansion  was  finished  and  the  grounds 
laid  out,  the  whole  estate  was  leased  to  Col.  Benjamin  Chew, 
of  Germantown,  who  made  the  place  his  home  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  The  old  log  cabin  in  which  Phoebe  Righter 
had  passed  so  many  years  of  her  life  was  at  that  time  in  a 
dilapidated  condition. 

A  gentleman  with  antiquated  taste,  who  visited  the  Her- 
mitage during  the  first  year  of  Col.  Chew's  occupancy, 
writes :  "  On  the  picturesque  grounds  of  Evan  Prowattain, 
the  residence  of  Col.  Benjamin  Chew,  are  the  old  hut  and 
the  spring  of  Kelpius.  About  the  hut  there  is  some  con- 
troversy. The  settled  opinion  seems  to  be,  however,  that  it 
was  either  the  dwelling  or  the  site  of  the  dwelling  of  Kel- 
pius.    It  is  built  of  logs,  pointed  or  mortised  at  the  ends. 


2+0  Deed  Book  D  18,  p.  632,  deed  of  Daniel  Thomas,  Mathew  Holgate 
and  Anthony  Cook  to  Peter  Righter. 


The  Hermitage   Grounds.  211 

and  now  rotted  under  the  exposure  of  years.  A  rickity 
door  and  front  window  gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  tene- 
ment, and  the  cliances  are  that  a  few  more  years  will  witness 
'the  demolition  of  the  old  landmark. 

"  It  stands  on  the  side  of  an  acclivity,  and  in  the  days 
of  Kelpius  the  foxes  burrowed  in  the  cellar.  It  is  now  used 
as  a  tool-house  and  a  chicken-coop.  A  few  rods  from  this,  - 
farther  down  the  hill,  is  the  spring.  It  lies  at  the  foot  of  an 
old  cedar  tree.  The  water  is  black  and  cold.  Just  below 
the  spring  is  a  stone  cave,  which  looks  like  an  old  spring- 
dairy  or  milk-house.  It  is  said  that  Kelpius  hollowed  this 
out  and  built  it  with  his  own  hands. 

"  Below  the  hill  the  glen  lies  still  and  always  shadowy. 
Here  in  [time  past]  these  Magi  and  Hermits  wandered 
with  thoughts  of  another  world.  From  the  Hermitage,  as 
far  up  the  creek  as  the  red  bridge,  a  deep  glen  or  gorge  fol- 
lows the  north  side  of  the  Wissahickon.  This  was  of 
old  a  favorite  spot  with  the  Hermits,  the  scene  of  their 
wanderings." 

A  visit  to  the  Hermitage  grounds  by  the  present  writer, 
in  June,  1894,  just  two  hundred  years  after  the  arrival  of 
the  German  Theosophists  in  Pennsylvania,  reveals  the  fact 
that  a  few  salient  features  of  interest  are  still  in  almost  the 
same  primitive  condition  as  they  were  when  Kelpius  and 
his  associates  first  trod  upon  its  virgin  soil.  Other  features 
may  still  be  traced  by  vestiges  and  traditions. 

The  object  of  this  visit  was  to  go  over  the  ground  care- 
fully, make  a  critical  examination  of  whatever  was  thought 
to  bear  upon  the  former  occupancy  of  the  Mystics,  and  sift 
as  far  as  possible  such  of  the  legends  and  traditions  as  hover 
about  the  place.  Arrangements  were  also  made  to  photo- 
graph such  relics  as  should  prove  of  historic  value  or  interest 
as  illustrations  to  this  work. 


212  The  Pietists  of  Provincia/  Pennsylvania. 

The  most  important  relic  found  was  the  ruin  of  the  sub- 
terranean cell  or  cave  once  occupied  by  Magister  Kelpius. 
This  anchorite  cell,  as  before  stated,  is  not  a  natural  forma- 
tion, but  was  built  against  the  hillside  with  an  arched  roof, 
which  was  covered  with  about  three  feet  of  soil  and  then 
sodded.  Upon  it  there  is  now  quite  a  growth  of  timber  of 
considerable  girth. 

This  cell  or  "  Einsiedler-hi'ttie^''  has  now  caved  in,  and  is 
partially  filled  in  with  stones  and  soil.  Originally  it  formed 
a  room  sixteen  feet  long  b>-  nine  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  and 
eight  feet  high.  Entrance  to  the  cave  was  had  by  an  arched 
doorway,  which  faced  towards  the  south.  This  entrance  is 
now  partly  choked  up  with  dirt  and  dtbris. 

Reared  on  either  side  of  the  old  doorway  are  two  jamb- 
stones,  which  were  placed  against  the  cave  during  the  tenure 
of  Col.  Chew,  for  the  purpose  of  hanging  a  door  so  as  to 
bar  the  access  to  the  old  retreat.  This  became  necessary 
on  account  of  the  frequent  visitors  who  came  to  view  the 
spot.  Upon  either  side  of  the  opening  two  large  trees 
have  grown,  and  now  stand  like  silent  sentinels  to  guard 
the  scene. 

A  few  yards  from  the  entrance  to  the  cell,  just  beyond 
the  fence  shown  in  the  accompanying  photographic  repro- 
duction, is  the  crystal  spring,  which  in  Kelpius'  time  gushed 
forth  from  amid  the  roots  of  an  ancient  cedar  tree.  The 
water  is  still  as  clear  and  cold  as  of  yore,  and  invites  the 
thirsty  pilgrim  of  to-day  to  quench  his  thirst  out  of  its 
rock-bound  basin.  It  is  still  known  as  "  the  Hermit's 
Spring.''  -^' 

The  old  hut,  as  described  in  the  account  above  quoted^ 
wasi  repaired  and  enlarged,  shortly  after  the  sketch  was 
written,  by  another  room  and  an  additional  stor\'.     It  now 


'"'  Or  "  Kelpius'  Spring." 


TJie   (rloi   in  iJie  Forest.  213 

serves  as  a  comfortable  "  tenant"  lionse  for  the  hired  help 
or  "  farmer"  of  the  estate.  The  size  of  the  original  cabin 
may,  however,  easily  be  traced  from  the  dimensions  of  the 
cellar  or  basement  beneath  the  honse.  This  cabin,  similar 
to  the  anchorite  cell,  was  bnilt  against  the  hillside,  and 
faced  towards  the  sonth. 

There  is  bnt  little  to  impress  the  chance  visitor  with  the 
fact  that  any  part  of  this  structure  ever  served  as  the  soli- 
tary habitation  of  the  recluse  philosopher  or  Theosophical 
student  who  here  passed  his  days  in  voluntary  seclusion 
and  exile  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  himself  in  spiritual 
holiness  and  aiding  his  fellow-countrymen,  who  had  jour- 
neyed so  far  from  the  Fatherland,  to  better  their  condition 
and  enjoy  the  promised  religious  liberty. 

Of  the  Tabernacle  no  trace  whatever  could  be  found. 
There  is  a  vague  tradition  that  the  present  mansion,  now 
temporarily  deserted  and  tenantless,  stands  upon  the  former 
site.  This  has  some  show  of  probability,  as  from  the  porch, 
when  the  trees  are  leafless,  may  be  seen  the  former  camping- 
ground  of  the  Hessian  troops,  beyond  the  Wissaliickon, 
during  the  British  occupation  in  1777-78;  a  fact  which 
appears  to  agree  with  the  Hessian  letter,  written  at  camp 
about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Germantown,  wherein  the 
writer  states  that  the  former  "  Kloster''''  of  Kelpius  was 
visible  from  their  camp.^*^ 

But  by  far  the  most  interesting  spot  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Hermitage  estate  is  the  level  wooded  glen  a  few 
yards  west  of  the  Kelpius  cave,  wdiich  tradition  points  out 
as  the  spot  where  the  public  gatherings  and  open-air  ser- 
vices were  held  during  the  favorable  .seasons.  This  spot, 
now  after  the  lapse  of  two  centuries,  is  as  secluded,  romantic 
and   beautiful  as  it  was  when   the   Theosophical   Mystics 


Ephrata  MSS. 


214  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

wandered  among  its  shadows,  enjoying  the  breezes  and 
quenching  their  thirst  from  the  springs  that  bubble  forth 
here  and  there  and  unite  in  rills  to  feed  the  Wissahickon. 
One  such  rill  is  known  even  to  the  present  day  as  "  Hermit 
Run." 

Except  that  some  of  the  primitive  forest  trees  are  now 
replaced  by  those  of  second  growth,  little  or  no  change  has 
taken  place  in  this  romantic  spot.  The  hand  of  modern 
art  has  not  yet  defaced  any  of  its  prominent  features.  The 
same  wealth  of  wild  flowers  covers  the  ground  during  the 
spring  and  summer,  while  an  occasional  bird  sings  his  song 
high  up  amid  the  verdant  branches.  Thus  it  presents 
almost  the  same  vast,  silent  and  unmolested  solitude  as 
when  Kelpius,  Falkner,  Seelig  and  Matthai,  here  in  one  of 
God's  first  temples,  wandered  among  the  trees  and  sought 
spiritual  inspiration  amidst  the  beauties  of  primeval  nature. 

The  photographic  reproduction  will  give  some  faint  idea 
of  the  beauty  of  the  glen.  Could  the  stones  and  older  trees 
but  speak,  they  might  tell  of  many  a  mystic  incantation 
and  magical  exorcism  here  performed  during  the  hours 
when  graveyards  were  supposed  to  yawn.  Perchance  they 
could  give  reports  of  questions  in  occult  philosophy  and 
alchemy  once  argued  and  mysteries  of  unwritten  Cabbala 
communicated  by  word  of  mouth  from  magister  to  neophyte 
under  obligations  of  secrecy. 

The  steep  hillsides  that  extend  from  the  glen  and  plateau 
down  to  the  Wissahickon  are  still  covered  with  trees  of  a 
primitive  growth.  But  few  thus  far  have  fallen  victims  to 
the  axe  of  the  wood-cutter,  except  for  a  stretch  directly  in 
front  of  the  Prowattain  house,  where  the  owner  had  a  vista 
cut,  so  that  from  his  porch  he  could  see  the  park  drive. 

As  to  the  burial-place  of  Kelpius  and  Matthai  nothing 
definite  was  to  be  ascertained.     Several  records  state  that 


Moravian  Records. 


215 


the  former  was  buried  within  the  garden  of  the  Community. 
Two  direct  records  state  that  Matthai  was  buried  at  the  feet 
of  his  former  M agister. 

From  the  Moravian  records  the  writer  is  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  above  traditions  are  true,  and  that  both 
philosophers  were  buried  in  the  large  orchard,  planted  under 
the  direction  of  Kelpius  and  Falkner  on  the  plateau  north 
or  west  of  the  present  Hermit  Lane. 

The  strip  of  land  bordering  on  the  Wissahickon  and 
originally  a  part  of  the  Hermitage  property,  was  taken 
some  years  ago  for  public  purposes,  and  is  now  included 
within  Fairmount  Park.  It  includes  the  gorge  at  the  base 
of  the  hill,  and  extends  up  as  far  as  the  red  bridge. 

This  glen  or  gorge  on  the  north  bank  of  the  stream  is 
now  a  favorite  resort  for  family  picnics  and  children's 
parties,  coming  during  the  hot  season  from  the  built-up 
parts  of  the  great  city  to  enjoy  the  cool  and 
rustic  retreats  afforded  by  the  shady  shore. 

Few  among  the  tens  of  thousands  are 
aware  of  the  legends  hidden  in  the  signs 
erected  by  the  Park  Commission  :  Her- 
mit Glen,  Hermit  Bridge,  Hermit  Lane. 


PART  II. 

THE    HERMITS   ON   THE    WISSAHICKON, 
1 708 1 748. 


28 


MAGISTER  JOHANNES    KELPIUS. 

OHANNES    KELPIUS 
will  always  remain  one 
of  the  most  picturesque 
characters  of  our    early 
history  ;    the  more  so  on  ac- 
count of  a  certain  air  of  mys- 
tery and  romance  which  has 
thus  far  enshrouded  his  per- 
sonality. 

But   few  of  his    labors   in 

Kelp  von  Sternberg.  America  hflVC  bcCU  reCOUUtcd 

in  these  pages.  Unfortunately,  in  his  modesty,  he  left  but 
little  written  record  of  the  great  work  performed  by  him 
during  the  fourteen  long  years  that  he  lived  on  the  banks 
of  the  romantic  Wissahickon.  How  earnestly  he  soiight  to 
improve  the  morals  and  spiritual  condition  of  the  rude  and 
heterogeneous  population  that  was  then  scattered  through 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  is  shown  by  the  many  traditions 
and  legends  that  have  survived  for  two  centuries. 

By  reason  of  his  scholarly  attainments,  devout  life,  inde- 
pendent bearing,  and,  it  may  be  said,  broad  humanity, 
together  with  his  repeated  refusals  of  worldly  honors  and 
civil  power,  that  were  at  various  times  thrust  upon  him. 


Autograph  of  Kelpius,  from  Muniford  letter,  p.  129-136. 


220  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsyli'aiiia. 

the  Magister  on  the  Wissahickon  stands  ont  in  bold  relief 
as  a  prominent  example  of  piety  and  disinterestedness. 

There  can  be  bnt  little  donbt  that  this  devont  scholar, 
who  thus  volnntarily  banished  himself  from  the  Fatherland, 
home  and  friends  had  many  difficnlties  to  contend  with, 
both  within  and  without  the  Community,  and  that  his  posi- 
tion at  the  head  of  such  a  Fraternit}-  was  anything  but  a 
sinecure.  There  were  conflicting  interests  to  equalize  and, 
upon  more  than  one  occasion,  stubborn  minds  to  combat. 
When  internal  dissensions  threatened  the  Fraternity  it  was 
always  left  to  Kelpius  to  use  the  olive  branch. 

Thus  far  but  little  was  known  of  the  Magister^s  antece- 
dents, except  that  he  was  a  native  of  Transylvania  {Siehen- 
biirgen).  Now,  after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred  years,  it 
has  been  the  good  fortune  of  the  writer,  during  a  late  visit 
to  Europe,  to  gain  at  least  a  slight  insight  into  his  history. 

After  considerable  inquiry  it  was  learned  that  a  book  on 
Transylvanian  sai'aiis  had  been  published  sometime  during 
the  last  centur)-.  Diligent  inquiry,  however,  failed  to 
obtain  either  a  copy  of  the  coveted  volume  or  any  informa- 
tion of  value. 

It  was  during  the  wear}-  search  for  this  work  that  the 
writer  strolled  into  an  antiguarint  in  the  ancient  city  of 
Halle.'^''  Turning  over  man\-  volumes,  almost  ready  to 
give  up  the  search,  he  found  an  old  book,  not  catalogued 
and  apparently  much  the  worse  for  wear.  It  proved  to  be 
the  one  so  long  sought  for."" 

From  this  book  it  is  learned  that  our  Alagister  was  the 
son  of  Pfarrer  George  Kelp,  of  Halwegen,  who  at  the  time 
of  his  death,    February    25,    1685,    was   the   incumbent  at 


"»  F.  W.  Schmidt,  Halle,  a  vS. 

'^^*  Sievert's  Nachrichten,  von  Siebenburgischen  Gelehrten  uiid  ihreii 
Schriften.      Pressbiirg,  1785. 


The  Antecedents  of  Kelpiits.  22 1 

Denndorf,  a  town  in  the  district  of  vSchassljnrg  {Segesvar) 
in  Transylvania. 

Pfarrer  Kelp  had  three  sons  :  Martin  (i 659-1 694),  George 
and  Johannes,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  who  was  born  in 
1673.  The  exact  birthplace  of  Johannes  is  not  known  to 
a  certainty,  but  it  was  probably  Halwegen,  a  town  in  the 
same  district  as  Denndorf  At  the  time  of  Martin's  birth 
the  father  was  resident  pfarrer  at  the  former  place. 

Shortly  after  Pfarrer  Kelp's  death,  Johannes,  who  was  of 
a  studious  nature,  received  an  offer  of  assistance  from  three 
of  his  father's  friends."^'  The  young  orphan  then  deter- 
mined to  continue  his  studies,  but  away  from  his  native 
heath,  and  selected  the  high  school  at  Tubingen.  But  on 
account  of  the  warlike  movements  in  that  vicinity  and  the 
troublesome  times  it  was  concluded  to  send  the  )oung  stu- 
dent to  the  renowned  High-School  or  Universit}-  at  Altdorf, 
a  town  near  Niiremberg,  in  Bavaria,  then  at  the  height  of 
its  fame. 

Here  the  young  student  received  a  thorough  scientific 
and  religious  education.  He  graduated  in  1689,  at  the 
youthful  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  honored  with  the  title  of 
Magister,  or,  as  it  is  stated  in  the  old  records  of  the  former 
University,  ^^  der  freien  Kitnste  und  W^eltiveisJieit  Doctor^'^ 
doctor  of  philosophy  and  the  liberal  arts. 

His  thesis  upon  this  occasion  was  a  treatise  on  natural 
theology  : 

"  T/ieologice  Natiiralis^  sen  Metaphysicce  MetaniorpJwsin^ 
silt)  Dioderamine  l^iri-M.  Dan.  Guilh.  Afo/Ier?\  pro  snniniis 
/lonoi-i/nis^  Cf  privileoiis  philosophicis  legitime  ohtinendis, 
die  i^  Jiin.^  f68cf.      A/tdorfii.'' 

This  thesis  was  published  in  several  editions,  both  quarto 


''*^  Count  Valentine   Franck,  Burgomaster   Michael  Deli,  and  Notarius 
Johann  Zabanius. 


222  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

and  octavo.  It  was  while  a  student  at  x\ltdorf  that  the 
young  philosopher  attracted  the  attention  of  the  principal 
tutor  of  the  institution,  the  Reverend  Johannes  Fabricius 
[Altdorfinus],  and  in  the  year  following  his  graduation 
(1690)  a  book  was  printed  bearing  upon  the  title-page  the 
names  of  both  master  and  scholar,  which  at  that  day  was 
an  almost  unheard-of  honor  to  a  student. 

The  title  of  this  work,  which  is  divided  into  eighteen 
chapters,  is 

"  Scylla  Theologica^  aliquot  exciiiplis  Patruni  &  Doctornm 
Ecclesicr  qui  cum  alios  rcfutare  laborarent.^  fcj^'vore  disputa- 
tionis  abrepti.^  in  cont7'arios  o^rores  niiscre  inciderujit.^  ostensa^ 
atque  in  materiam  disputationis  proposita^  a  JoJi.  Fahricio^ 
S.  TJieol.     P.P.  Cf  M.  Joh.  Kelpio.     Altdorfii.,  i6go^  octavo. 

This  work  is  divided  into  sixteen  chapters  and  a  sum- 
mary. The  former  treat  on  Tertullian,  Pope  Stephen  I, 
Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  Arius,  Marcellus,  Jovian,  Jerome, 
Augustine,  Pelagius,  Faustus,  Bishop  of  Riez,  Eutyches, 
Berengarius,  Amsdorf,  Stancar  of  Illyricum,  Flacius  and 
Huber.  The  concluding  chapter  or  summary  deals  with 
the  royal  road  between  Scylla  and  Charybdis. 

This  work  was  followed  in  the  same  year  (1690)  by  a 
third  book.  It  was  an  essay  on  the  question  whether 
heathen  ethics  [meaning  the  Aristotelian]  were  fit  for  the 
instruction  of  Christian  youth.  Printed  at  both  Nurem- 
berg and  Altdorf,  entitled  : 

"  Inquisitio.,  an  EtJiicus  Ethnicus.,  aptus  sit  Christiance 
Juventutis  Hodegus?  sive :  Anjuvenis  christianus  sit  idoneus 
auditor  Ethices  Aristoielicae?  Resp.  Bait  has.  Blosio.^  Norimb. 

This  valuable  treatise,  to  which  is  added  the  poetic  con- 
gratulations sent  to  him  upon  the  attainment  of  the  degree 
of   Magister,  went    through    several    editions,   octavo  and 


Magisfer'  Liidivig  Brnniiqiiell.  223 

quarto.  Some  of  them  are  dedicated  to  his  patrons  who 
sent  him  to  the  University,  viz.,  Count  Valentine  Franck, 
a  noble  of  the  Saxon  nation  ;  Michael  Deli,  Burgomaster 
of  Schassburg ;  and  Magister  Johann  Zabanius,  provincial 
notarius  at  Hermannstadt.  Other  editions  have  a  some- 
what different  preface,  and  are  dedicated  to  his  Niiremberg 
patrons — Paul  Baumgartner,  Karl  Welser  von  Neunhoflf, 
J.  Paul  Ebner  von  Eschenbach,  and  Joh.  Christoph  Tucher. 
Among  the  learned  men  then  in  Nuremberg  whose  atten- 
tion was  attracted  to  the  young  philosopher's  writings  was 
one  Magister  Johann  Jacob  Zimmerman,  late  Diaconus  at 
Bietigheim,  in  Wiirtemberg,  a  pupil  and  follower  of  the  noted 
M.  Ludwig  Brunnquell,  and  who  in  addition  to  his  sacred 
calling  was  one  of  the  best  mathematicians  and  astronomers 
in  Europe.  So  great  was  the  esteem  in  which  Magister 
Zimmerman  held  the  young  Transylvanian,  that  when  he 
subsequently  organized  a  Chapter  of  Perfection  or  Col- 
legium Pietatis  for  the  purpose  of  emigrating  to  the  New 
World,  there  to  meet  the  great  Deliverer,  we  find  Johannes 
Kelpius,  as  we  will  now  call  him,  the  second  in  command, 
or  Deputy  Master ;  and  upon  Zimmerman's  untimely  death 
at  Rotterdam  on  the  eve  of  embarkation  (1693)  he  became 
Magister  of  the  Chapter. 

It  was  under  the  guidance  of  Kelpius  that  the  journey 
to  the  New  World  was  safely  accomp- 
lished, where  they  expected  to  witness 
the  Millennium,  which,  according  to 
Zimmennan's  astronomical  calculations, 
was  to  take  place  in  the  fall  of  the  year 
of  grace  1694.^*'' 

Martin     Kelp,     our    Magister's    elder 


^*^  Hartmann,    Magister-buch,    1477-1700,    MS.    folio,   499,   Konigliche 
Bibliothek,  Stuttgart. 


224  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

brother,  also  became  known  for  his  learning."^"  He  finished 
his  edncation  nnder  the  patronage  of  Elias  Ladiver  and 
Magister  Schnitzler,  and  studied  at  Hamburg  and  Leipzig, 
where  he  received  the  degree  of  Magister.  He  too  died  at 
an  early  age,  the  year  after  his  brother  left  the  Fatherland 
for  Pennsylvania. 

The  remaining  brother,  George  Kelp,"^''  also  received  a 
liberal  education,  and  subsequently  became  Burgomaster  of 
Schassburg,  the  chief  city  of  his  native  district.  He  mar- 
ried into  the  noble  Sternberg  family,  and  afterwards, 
together  with  his  sons,  was  knighted,  since  which  time  the 
family  has  been  known  as  Kelp  von  Sternberg.  It  is  from 
this  fact  that  Johannes  Kelpius,  the  Magister  on  the  Wissa- 
hickon,  in  the  later  Moravian  records  is  alluded  to  as 
"  Baron  Kelpio." 

For  some  reasons  unknown,  Kelpius,  after  he  came  to 
Philadelphia,  failed  to  keep  in  touch  with  his  family  in 
Germany,     The   Transylvanian  chronicler,   in  closing  his 


'-'*'  Rector  Martin  Kelp  was  the  author  of  the  celebrated  work, — 

''  Natales  Saxoiuini  Transylvanicr^  Aposciasiitatf  Historico  collustrati. 
Resp.  Joacii.  C/iristiano.  li'rstphal,  \i'o-/\'upiit-d!e  22  Mart.,  /6S4. 
Lipsicr.     ^to. 

'^*''  Uffenbach  in  his  Memoirs  gives  the  following  interesting  information 
about  George  Kelp,  the  brother  of  our  Magister,  who  then  seems  to  have 
been  living  at  Liineburg,  in  Hanover  : 

"January  28,  17 10,  I  learned  from  a  resident  pastor  that  a  certain  person 
here,  named  Kelp,  had  purchased  the  library  of  Herr  Horn,  and  then  sold 
the  books  at  Auction.  The  sale  of  the  Manuscripts,  however,  had  been 
forbidden  by  the  Magistrates,  as  there  were  many  of  local  interest  among 
them.  My  informant  further  assured  me  that  Kelp,  who  had  married  a 
daughter  of  the  "  Stern"  family,  was  wont  to  gather  together  many  good 
things,  but  afterwards  sold  them  dear  enough. 

"January  30,  17 10. — Called  again  on  the  above  Herr  Kelp  and  pur- 
chased from  him,  at  a  high  price,  various  books  and  manuscripts.  He  is 
a  young,  pleasant  but  capricious  man,  and  notwithstanding  the  poor  ap- 
pearance of  his  house,  acts  big  and  does  not  urge  one  to  purchase  from 
him. — Uffenbach  Reisen,  vol.  1,  4S3,  506. 


THE   PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


.     T^J^'^^^^^^^^t^     /Ce^^^ V 


FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  CANVASS  BY  DR.  CHRISTOPHER  WITT, 

NOW  IN  THE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 


VU^ 


The  Diary  of  Kelpius.  225 

biographical  sketch,  adds :  "  Afterwards  he  journeyed  to 
Pennsylvania,  and  his  Fatherland  heard  nothinj^  more  of 
him." 

This  statement  may  be  true  so  far  as  his  immediate 
family  is  concerned,  for  a  regular  correspondence  was  main- 
tained between  Kelpius  and  the  leading  representatives  of 
similar  convictions  to  his  own  in  England  and  Germany. 

This  is  shown  by  copies  of  a  number  of  letters  entered 
in  the  back  of  his  Journal — one  of  the  two  manuscript 
books  in  his  handwriting  that  have  come  down  to  us. 

This  Journal,  as  it  is  usually  called,  contains  loi  closely 
written  pages,  in  addition  there  is  a  note  upon  two  of  the 
fly  leaves.  The  first  is  apparently  a  quotation  from  Seneca, 
and  is  headed  '■''Seneca  de  reform 

[Translation.] — "I  cannot  go  beyond  my  country:  it  is 
the  one  of  all  ;  no  one  can  be  banished  outside  of  this.  My 
country  is  not  forbidden  to  me,  but  only  a  locality.  Into 
whatever  land  I  come,  I  come  into  my  own  :  none  is  exile, 
but  on-ly  another  country.  My  country  is  wherever  it  is 
well  ;  for  if  one  is  wise  he  is  a  traveller  ;  if  foolish  an  exile. 
The  great  principle  of  virtue  is,  as  he  said,  a  mind  gradu- 
ally trained  first  to  barter  visible  and  transitory  things,  that 
it  may  afterwards  be  able  to  give  them  up.  He  is  delicate 
to  whom  his  country  is  sweet ;  but  he  is  strong  to  whom 
every  single  thing  is  his  country  ;  indeed  he  is  perfect  to 
whom  every  single  thing  is  his  countr}- ;  indeed  he  is  perfect 
to  whom  the  world  is  exile." 

The  next  leaf  may  be  called  a  title,  and  sets  forth  that 
the  following  are  "  Literal  copies  of  letters  to  friends  in  and 
out  of  Pennsylvania,  sent  from  the  Wilderness  b}-  Johanno 
Kelpio,  Transylvania.      1 694-1703-4-5-6-7." 

The  first  seventeen  pages  of  the  book  proper  contain  a 
Latin  diariuJH  of  his  journey   to   America.      It  represents 

29 


226  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

however,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  voluminous  correspon- 
dence which  he  is  known  to  have  maintained  with  the 
Theosophical  Fraternity  in  Europe. 

The  contents  of  this  Journal  are  as  follows  :  Diarium,  17 
pages  ;  ^^^  German  letter  to  Heinrich  Johann  Deichmann  in 
London,  dated  September  24,  1697,  four  pages ;  another  to 
the  same,  dated  May  12,  1699,  13  pages;  with  a  seven- 
page  postscript  by  Seelig.  Then  follows  the  well-known 
English  missive  to  Stephen  Mumford,  December  11,  1699, 
seven  pages;  a  Latin  letter  to  Rev.  Tobias  Eric  Biorck,  13 
pages  ;  a  twenty-two-page  German  letter  to  Maria  Elizabeth 
Gerber  in  Virginia,  dated  October  10,  1704  ;  one  in  German 
of  five  pages,  dated  July  i,  1705,  to  his  old  tutor.  Prof. 
Fabricius,  who  was  then  at  Helmstadt ;  another  to  Deich- 
mann, of  two  and  a  half  pages,  dated  July  23,  1705  ;  and, 
lastly,  the  English  missive  of  eleven  pages  to  Hester  Pal- 
mer, in  which  he  describes  the  "  Threefold  Wilderness 
State."  -'' 

The  Latin  missive  addressed  to  Rev.  Tobias  Eric  Biorck 
unfortunately  bears  no  date,  but  as  it  is  inserted  between 
the  Mumford  letter  (December  11,  1699)  and  the  Gerber 
missive  (October  10,  1704)  it  was  undoubtedly  written 
during  the  period  when  Rudman  and  Justus  Falkner  were 
active  in  New  York,  and  appealed  to  Kelpius  and  his 
party  for  pecuniary  assistance. 

The  allusion  to  money  evidently  relates  to  the  repayment 
of  a  loan  made  to  either  the  strug-orlino-  Dutch  congreration 
in  New  York  or  the  Swedish  churches  on  the  Delaware. 

The  first  page  of  this  letter  is  reproduced  in  facsimile.^ 
together  with  a  translation.     A  spirit  of  the  true  religion 


''^'^  The  first  page  of  this  diary  is  reproduced  in  facsimile  on  page  14  of 
this  work. 

■^^^  Letter  in  full,  pp.  1S0-191,  ibid. 


Greeting  to  Didrck.  227 

pervades  the  whole  letter,  and  the  allusion  to  the  pious 
Rudiiian  illustrates  the  intimacy  between  the  mystical 
Pietists  and  the  Orthodox  clergymen  in  the  Province. 

[TRANSLATION.] 

"TO    REV.  MAGISTER   ERIC   BIORCK, 

"  PASTOR    AT    CHRISTIANNA. 

"IMMANUEL. 

"  May  Jehovah  remember  thee,  that  thon  mayest  see  the 
good  things  of  his  elect ;  may  he  remember  thee  for  the 
sake  of  his  favor  toward  his  people,  that  thou  mayest 
rejoice  in  the  joy  of  his  nation.  May  he  visit  thee  in  his 
salvation,  that  thou  mayest  glory  in  his  inheritance.     Amen! 

"  Psalm  cvi.  4  and  5. 
"  Very  reverend  Sir  and  Friend^  Master  and  friend  in  Jesus 
our  Sa7)ionr^  ever  to  be  regarded  by  me  zaith  fraternal 
love  : 

"  In    your  beloved  letter,  written    on   January   10,    and 

received  on  January  17,  through  Mr.  Jonas  B ,  I  got 

a  twofold  proof  of  your  fraternal  love,  the  epistle  and  the 
money.  Would  to  God  I  were  truly  such  as  you  have  out- 
lined, or  such  as  you  have  judged  me  with  my  most  beloved 
Rudman.  By  day  and  by  night  I  attend,  indeed,  that  I 
ma}'  cleanse  nn-self  from  every  blemish  both  of  bod}-  and 
of  soul,  and  I  perform  my  rites  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
that  I  may  obtain,  by  grace  alone,  that  which  is  my  pattern 
by  nature,  through  sincere  imitation  of  Him  ;  to  wit,  the 
adoption  as  a  son,  the  redemption  of  our  body  (Rom.  viii, 
23.  Compare  i  John  iii,  1-2;  Phil,  iii,  11-15;  Gal.  iv,  5; 
Apoc.  xix,  8  ;  2  Tim.  iv,  8).     How  many  parasangs ""'  as  yet 


^^'  Parasang  is  a  Persian  measure  of  length,  which,  according  to  Hero- 
dotus is  thirty  stadia,  or  nearly  four  English  miles.  But,  in  different  times 
and  places,  it  has  been  30,  40  or  60  stadia. 


2  28  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


•r 


Letter  to  Magister  Fabricius.  229 

I  mdy  be  distant  from  the  scope  (aim)  prefixed  for  myself, 
becometh  known  to  the  fellow-soldiers  (Associates)  of  those 
crucified  and  buried  with  (in)  Christ  (Gal,  ii,  20),  and  whom 
God,  rich  in  mercy  through  Christ,  kept  secret  (in  silence) 
and  awakened  and  placed  in  the  heavenly  [places]  in  Christ 
Jesus  (Eph.  i,  20).  Better  than  myself  no  one  knows  [my 
shortcomings]  save  alone  the  searcher  of  hearts  and  minds  ; 
for  that  which  our  beloved  Rudman  bore  witness  concern- 
ing me,  is  to  be  attributed  rather  to  himself  (Rudman)  and 
to  divine  charity,  wherewithal  his  heart  was  affected  :  these 
things  also,  Paul  being  a  witness  (I  Cor.,  xiii).  He  en- 
dureth  all,  believeth  all,  hopeth  all,  sustaineth  all." 
[End  of  the  first  page.] 

Another  interesting  missive  in  this  old  diary,  and  one  of 
the  most  important,  is  the  German  letter  written  by  Kel- 
pius  to  his  former  tutor,  Magister  Fabricius,  then  at  the 
head  of  the  Helmstadt  University.      It  runs  thus, — 

[TRANSLATION.] 

"July  23d,  1705. 
"  To  Dr.  Fabricius.^  P>'of.  TJieol.  at  Helmstadt  : 

Your  Magnificence  : — The  joy  your  letter  afforded  me 
I  am  unable,  at  present,  to  describe.  I  did  behold  in  it,  as 
in  a  mirror,  the  sincerity  &  uprightness  of  my  good  old 
mastor,  Dr.  Fabricius.  What  dear  Mr.  Ingelstatter,  ex- 
rettore  dei  Falkein.^  reported,  is  true,  so  far  as  appertaineth 
to  the  principal  point,  namely,  that  I  have  not  become  a 
Quaker.  Such  an  idea  hath  never  come  into  my  mind, 
albeit  I  love  them  from  my  inmost  soul,  even  as  I  do  all 
other  sects  that  approach  &  call  themselves  Christ's,  the 
Paptists  even  not  excluded,  &,  with  Peter,  I  have  found 
out,  in  deed  &  truth,  that  God  regarded  not  the  person, 


230  The  Pietists  of  Provi7icial  Pennsylvania. 

but  in  all  sorts  of  work  &  religion.  He  that  feareth 
Him,  &  doeth  what  is  right,  is  agreeable  to  Him.  I  could 
report  of  magnalities  (if  space  permitted)  which  this  great 
God  hath  wrought  even  amongst  the  Indians,  whereof  there 
is  some  printed  notice  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Phil.  Soc.  in 
London,  &  how  they  are  brought  to  grief  now  &  then  by 
blind-mouthed  Christians.  Yet  one  instance  I  will  report, 
as  abashed  Sir  W.  Penn,  when  he  was  here  last.  Anno  1701 
(if  I  remember  rightly)  when  he  wanted  to  preach  to  them 
of  faith  in  the  God  of  Heaven  &  Earth,  at  their  Kintika 
(thus  they  call  their  festivity).  After  having  listened  to 
him  with  great  patience,  they  answered  :  '  You  bid  us  be- 
lieve in  the  Creator  &  Preserver  of  Heaven  &  Earth,  though 
you  do  not  believe  in  Him  yourself,  nor  trust  in  Him. 
For  you  have  now  made  3^our  own  the  land  we  held  in 
common  amongst  ourselves  &  our  friends.  You  now  take 
heed,  night  and  da}^,  how  you  may  keep  it,  so  that  no  one 
may  take  it  from  you.  Indeed,  you  are  anxious  even  be- 
yond your  span  of  life,  and  divide  it  among  your  children. 
This  manor  for  this  child,  that  manor  for  that  child.  But 
we  have  faith  in  God  the  Creator  &  Preserver  of  Heaven 
&  Earth.  He  preserveth  the  sun,  He  hath  preserved  our 
fathers  so  many  moons  (for  they  count  not  by  years).  He 
preserveth  us,  and  we  believe  &  are  sure  that  He  will  also 
preserve  our  children  after  us,  &  provide  for  them,  &  be- 
cause we  believe  this,  we  bequeath  them  not  a  foot  of  land.' 
Whenever  we  shall  be  made  worthy  to  see  the  many  and 
varied  dwellings  in  our  Father's  house  (for  who  would  be 
so  simple,  to  say  these  dwellings  were  all  of  one  sort),  it  is 
my  belief  we  shall  then  see  that  the  same  Architect  cared 
little  about  our  common  formula  &  systematic  architecture. 
And,  I  trow,  many  disciples  of  IMoses  &  Christ,  when  in 
want  or  dying,  might  be  glad  if  they  shall  be  received  in 


'•'•  Restitution  of  all  Tiling s^  231 

any  of  the  liuts,  described  above,  by  him,  whom  they  per- 
haps accused  of  heresy  in  this  life.  I  hope  that  God,  who 
maketh  happy  both  man  and  beast,  &  hath  mercy  on  all  his 
children,  will,  at  last,  make  all  men,  as  died  in  Adam,  alive 
in  the  other.  But  life  &  death  are  further  distinguished  from 
change,  so  that  those  that  have  been  made  to  live  in  Christ, 
must  be  delivered  from  the  second  death.  I  know  that  some 
cranks,  spiriti  Divines^^  trouble  &  crucify  themselves  con- 
cerning this  Lexion  theologies  (as  they  call  it),  but  espe- 
cially the  Reprobratites,  because  these  (Restitution  of  all 
things)  '^^  cancel  &  crucify  their  dogmas  so  very  frequently. 
Meseems,  however,  their  little  faith  hath  its  origin  in  the 
misunderstanding  of  the  word  Eternity^  which  neither  in 
Greek  nor  in  Hebrew  denoteth  a  time  but  an  end,  but 
rather  the  contrary  as  they  have  both  singular  &  plural 
numbers,  &  Paul  even  speaketh  of  the  birth  of  Eternities. 
But  just  as  the  luminaries  of  the  firmament  are  the  dimen- 
sions of  our  time,  so  it  seemeth  that  the  Eternities  have, 
also,  their  dimensions,  which,  however,  those  (sensual 
Man's  having  not  the  spirit)  cannot  well  see,  wherefore 
allowance  must  be  made,  if  they,  perchance,  judge  hereof 
as  the  blind  do  of  colors.  But  if  the  Lord  from  out  His 
infinite  plentitude  should  give  them  the  spiritual  mind, 
they  will,  no  doubt,  judge  otherwise.  How  wroth  I  for- 
merly would  wax  toward  those  who  would  not  accept  the 
sayings  of  Schertzer  or  Calov"''^  as  Oracles.     And  I  trust  in 


''■'"''■  The  doctrine  of  "Restitution  of  all  Things"  is  still  adhered  to  by 
the  German  Seventh-day  Baptist  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  and  who  are 
the  direct  descendants  of  the  secular  congregation  of  the  Ephrata  Com- 
munity. They  believe  in  "  The  full  restoration  of  all  things  to  the  prime- 
val condition,  as  it  v^as  before  the  fall,  by  Christ,  that  they  may  be  one  as 
we  are. ' ' 

This  is  based  on  the  following  passages  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  :  John 
xvii,  2  ;  I  Cor.  xv,  28  ;  Eph.  i,  10. 


232  TJie  Pietists  of  Provijicial  Pennsylvania. 

the  infinite  mercy  of  God  (&  your  Magnificence  also  had 
great  patience  with  nie  &  to  me,  indeed,  publicly,  whereof 
I  have  since  often  been  ashamed,  but  admired  }-our  Mag- 
nificence's humility  &  prudence),  why  should  I  then  look 
with  evil  eye  upon  my  blind  neighbor,  because  God  hath, 
perchance,  showed  me  beforehand  the  abundance  of  His 
Mercy,  by  opening  mine  eyes  before  theirs  ?  Not  to  speak 
of,  that  I  see  but  little  fragments  of  the  fragmentary  work 
&  the  men  of  the  creation  as  trees  !  But,  especially,  because 
I  hope  to  become  one  in  God  through  Christ  both  with 
those  who  do  not  yet  see  as  I  do,  and  with  those  that  see 
much  better  and  farther  than  I. 

"  Although  I  proffer  this  common  love  in  the  brotherly 
love,  yet  the  brotherly  love,  the  Philadelphiac,  remains  with 
me  on  a  firm  foundation  ;  whence  I  was  wronged,  if  I  have 
been  called  a  Quaker  on  account  of  the  former  (common 
love),  or  even  furthermore,  a  Papist,  as  has  been  done  by 
the  Quakers  in  this  country,  as  I  was  unwilling  to  enter 
the  married  state,  however  advantageous  the  connection, 
wherefore  I  was  either  a  Jesuit  or  an  Indian  Deitist, 
although,  by  the  grace  of  God,  it  is  easy  for  me  to  be 
judged  from  a  human  standpoint.  Nevertheless  I  have 
mercy  on  such  untimely  judges  and  condemners,  who  are 
oblivious  of  the  express  prohibition  of  Christ  &  Paul, 
though  professing  to  be  his  disciples  ;  therefore  I  can  har- 
monize as  little  with  the  canon  of  the  Anglical  Church 
(Confession),  as  with  the  anathema  of  the  Council  of  Trent, 


'^^■'  Abraham  Calovius  (Kalau),  born  April  16,  1612,  was  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  divines  of  the  17th  century,  and  a  native  of  Morungen,  in  East 
Prussia;  died  February  25,  1686,  while  General  Superintendent  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  at  Wittenberg.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  controver- 
sional  writers  of  the  period,  and  as  the  representative  of  the  scholastic 
and  zelotic  Lutherdom  opposed  the  union  of  the  Protestant  Church,  in 
consequence  of  which  his  followers  were  called  Calovians. 


THE  PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


PORTRAIT  OF  MAGISTER   FABRICIUS, 

TUTOR    AND    FRIEND    OF    KELPIUS. 


THOM  AN  OLD  COPPERPLATE  AT  HELMSTADT. 


The  Anglican   Faith.  233 

tlioiigh  having  no  part  in  the  errors  mentioned.  To  the 
honor  of  the  Anglical  Church,  I  must  confess,  that  they 
practice  the  Doctrine  of  universal  grace  much  better  than 
the  Lutherans. 

"  Their  39  Theses,  or  Articles  (I  had  almost  said  40  less 
one)  are  so  mild  and  general,  that  they  can  be  accepted  by 
any  one,  who  is  not  too  narrowminded  and  of  too  little 
faith.  If  any  one  amongst  them  have  but  a  private 
view,  as,  for  instance,  concerning  the  universal  restitution, 
the  Millennium,  the  Metemptosis,^''"'  etc.,  he  is,  on  that 
account,  not  excommunicated  forthwith,  especially,  if  he 
make  them  but  serviceable  to  the  practice  of  piety,  not  for 
the  instituting  of  Sects,  although  they  deem  the  Quaker 
Sect  the  last,  «&  that  the  Lord  would  now  soon  come  to  His 
Temple,  forasmuch  as  the  opinion  concerning  the  Millen- 
nium is  quite  correct  both  amongst  them  and  the  Presby- 
terians, or  Calvinists,  both  in  Old  and  New  England,  as 
well  as  here,  and  even  amongst  the  Quakers  themselves  a 
few  years  ago.  It  is  consequently  wrong  to  place  all  these 
into  one  category.  The  majority  of  them  are  just  as  worldly 
in  their  opinions,  as  any  of  the  great  divisions  may  be,  & 
if  all  their  members  should  be  subjected  to  a  particular 
examination  on  some  points  of  Religion — the  result  would 
be,  as  amongst  others — so  many  heads,  so  many  opinions, 
as  I  have  found  out  in  mine  own  experience."  [Here  the 
letter  ends  abruptly.] 

Most  of  the  letters  in  this  volume  are  somewhat  rhapso- 
dical, and  filled  with  obscure  illusions  to  mystical  subjects 
and  scriptural  quotations. 

A  vein  of  true  piety,  however,  pervades  every  missive, 
the  whole  being  an  evidence  of  the  survival  of  superstition 
at  that  late  day,  strangely  mingled  with  the  observed  facts 

30 


234  ^^^^  Pietisi's  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

of  science,  which,  as  a  late  writer  states,^'*  is  one  of  the 
cnriosities  of  spiritnal  development  in  all  times. 

This  unique  book  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Charles 
J.  Wistar,  of  Germantown.  Well-founded  traditions  state 
that  some  years  after  Kelpius'  death  the  book  was  given  to 
Johannes  Wiister,  an  ancestor  of  the  present  owner,  either 
by  Seelig  or  by  Matthai ;  most  probably  the  latter,  as 
Wiister  cared  for  the  old  recluse  in  his  declining  years. 

The  other  book  contains  a  number  of  hymns,  written 
both  in  German  and  English,  and  in  most  cases  the  musical 
score  of  the  melody  is  neatly  written  at  the  commencement 
of  the  hymn,  showing  that  Kelpius  was  a  practical  musician 
as  well  as  a  poet  and  philosopher.  This  hymn-book  is 
about  5x7^  inches  in  size,  and  is  a  specimen  of  Seelig's 
proficiency  in  the  bookbinder's  art.  It  was  for  many  years 
in  possession  of  the  Warmer  family  of  Germantown,  and 
eventually  passed  successively  into  the  hands  of  William 
W.  Leibert,  who  gave  it  to  A.  H.  Cassel,  of  Harleyville, 
Montgomery  County,  from  whom  it  finally  came  into  the 
collection  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  where 
it  has  now  found  a  permanent  resting  place. 

This  unique  volume  of  seventy  pages  contains  twelve 
hymns  and  melodies.  It  is  evidently  a  duplicate  of  a  simi- 
lar manuscript  collection,  or  else  it  is  a  compilation  from 
loose  sheets  upon  which  were  originalh'  written  such  hymns 
as  were  in  common  use  in  the  services  at  the  Tabernacle. 
The  hymns  are  written  in  German  on  the  left  hand  pages, 
while  on  the  opposite  pages  is  an  attempt  at  a  metrical 
translation  in  English.  The  musical  score  as  well  as  the 
hymns  are  all  in  the  peculiar  handwriting  of  Kelpius,  and, 
like  his  diary,  the  book  affords  us  an  insight  into  his 
relieious  fervor. 


^^*  Francis  Howard  Williams. 


K>iorr  vou  RoscnrotJi.  235 

Most  of  the  hymns  are  written  somewhat  after  the  style 
of  the  celebrated  Christian  Knorr,  Baron  von  Rosenroth,-'^' 
whose  name  is  qnoted  in  connection  with  the  melody  of 
several  of  the  compositions. 

Kelpius  became  acquainted  with  Knorr  during  his  so- 
journ at  the  university,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  first  intro- 
duced the  youthful  student  into  the  secrets  of  Cabbalistic 
philosophy. 

The  title,  together  with  a  specimen  page  of  the  Kelpius 
hymn  book,  in  both  German  and  English,  is  reproduced  in 
facsimile.  An  additional  value  is  imparted  to  this  quaint 
little  book  from  the  falct  that  it  is  evidently  the  first  book 
of  hymnology  or  German  poetry  and  music  that  was  com- 
posed and  written  in  the  western  world.  It  is,  however, 
just  to  state  that  Kelpius  was  not  the  only  poet  and  com- 
poser among  the  original  party  of  Theosophical  emigrants  ; 
Koster,  as  well  as  the  Falkner  brothers,  also  composed 
hymns  that  have  survived  until  the  present  time,  as  will  be 
shown  in  a  future  chapter. 

The  English  translations  are  mere  paraphases,  and  fail  to 
convey  the  full  fervor  and  meaning  of  the  German  original. 


^^^  Christian  Knorr,  Baron  v.  Rosenroth,  was  born  at  Altrauden,  in 
Silesia,  July  15,  1636.  After  studying  at  the  universities  of  Leipzig  and 
Wittenberg,  he  made  an  extended  tour  through  France,  England  and 
Holland.  At  Amsterdam  he  became  acquainted  with  an  Armenian  prince  ; 
with  the  chief  Rabbi,  Meir  Stern,  from  Frankfort  ;  a  M.  Dr.  John  Light- 
foot,  Dr.  Henry  More,  and  others,  and  as  a  result  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  Oriental  languages,  of  chemistry  and  of  occult  and  Cabbalistic 
philosophy.  He  edited  various  Rabbinical  writings,  published  several 
Cabbalistical  works,  notably  his  Kabbala  Denudata  ( 2  vols.  Sulzbach, 
1677).  He,  however,  is  chiefly  known  by  his  hymns,  published  in  Nurem- 
berg, 1684,  under  the  title  "  Neuer  Helicon  Mil  Seitier  Neun  Musen  ;  das 
its,  Geistliche  Siiten  Lieder,  &r."  A  number  of  these  hymns  were  incor- 
porated in  the  Halle  Hymnal,  1704  {Geistreicher  Lieder),  since  when 
they  have  been  translated  into  difl'erent  languages,  and  are  now  used  by 
nearly  all  Protestant  denominations  throughout  the  world. 


236  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

of   the 

at  the   itine      ^  j-     .  . 
t^ceii  fke   fay  in  IH/er^  ^f^'^^'' 
Oftd  cpre^^y  ^/^^     mufhtiid^ 
^  Mr  S^^f'^'^^ 


Xeio(/ce.  not  su^tfj/f  nil  C mineCneMiy^tJl^ 
y;/c^7f/J.c^  a^,    (oA  en  f/it  //<  d^Jte^,  Hi^ 

Jtd^/i^twfi  0/ ^^^^^j  B^aii/d  fAaUeycMMd 
f^<fyf  kifU  an tuf  he  pt^cx ^^  /iiU  caii/e, S^  ejce - 
cult  jiuJgpteft/  j^r  me/  lie  ioi^^tini/  me  fc%/L 

"^jjmS^/Ae    tAnt   if  „une   tTterZ/ka^f^ti 
Tem^FJ^^ft^      77t    A/ner/cu    jyay 

English  Title  of  the  Kelpius  Hymn  Book. 


Voice  of  the  Hidden  Love.  237 

This  applies  to  the  titles  as  well  as  to  the  poetry.  The 
titles  are  therefore  given  here  in  both  languages : 

The  German  title  reads, — 

"  /.  N.  I.  II  Die  Kldglige  Stifnme  \\  der\\  Verborgenen  Lie  he 
II  ztir  zeit  da  Sie  \\  Elend  itnd  Verlassen  \\  darnieder  lag  \\  iind 
von  II  Der  Menge  Hirer  Feinde gedranget  ti7td geaitchstiget\\ 
Wurde  von  einemn  in  Kunimer  Schrvebenden.  ||  Entworfeny 

The  titles  of  the  hymns  are  as  follows : 

(i)  "  J^on  der  Jll'isteney  der  Jungfraulicheii  \\  Heimlichen 
Creiitzes  Lie  be.'''' 

"  Parodie  ||  Die  Seele  ging  zu  Nechst."'^ 

Musical  score. 

[Of  the  Wilderness  ||  of  the  Secret  or  Private  ||  Virgin 
Cross  Love.] 

It  is  divided  into  three  parts,  of  9,  23  and  21  stanzas 
respectively. 

(2)  Musical  score. 

"  Process  \\  der  in  Tode  gr'unenden  \\  Liebe  \\  Bey  gelegen- 
heit  eines  freiindes.^  so  micJi  hassen  zvolte.'''' 

An  explanatory  note  states  that  "  The  first  &  third  part 
may  be  sung  on  the  following,  &  Ye  Second  and  last  part 
on  Mel.  page  i. 

[The  Process  of  Love  ||  growing  in  Death  ||  By  occasion 
of  a  Friend  that  would  hate  me.] 

This  hymn  is  colloquial,  and  is  in  three  parts  and  twenty- 
four  stanzas,  viz.,  part  i,  "Johannes"  10  stanzas;  part  2, 
"The  Friend"  4  stanzas;  part  3,  "Johannes"  9.  Both 
together,  i  stanza,  viz. — 

"  Since  then  our  friendship  has  in  trying  times  stood  even 
The  Lord  increas  it  more  &  strengthen  it  from  Heaven 
So  that  it  fear  no  Might  nor  Pow'r  of  Death  to  come, 
But  may  Triumph  above  by  God  in  Christ's  Kingdom." 


238  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


\i\-^h-tf(^^^tUi'^\np 


fO^  r  ff  j^; 


•arv 


e^ 


•|tom'frP'-n^# 


^-r- 


^  f  -r  ^   If 


^ 


^jZJ-^r>f*rtS^. 


Fac-simile  of  a  German  Page  of  Kelpius'  Hymnal. 


The  Bitter  Siveet  Nig  Jit  Ode.  239 

(3)  "  Bitter  Susse  Nachts  Ode  \\  der  stcrbende/i  \\  Todes 
sick  vergnilgejiden  \\  Liebe.  \\  Bey  der  betrachtimg  dass  ihr 
Creutz  sey  der  Liebe  Pfaiid\\  von  der  hand  Sophia  ihr  zii 

gesajtdty 

"  Parodie  Rosen  :\\  34  Du  hast  o  Seelenfreund :  \\p.  ^." 
[Bitter  Sweet  Night  Ode  ||  of  the  dying  ||  But  contented 
II  Love  II  By  the  consideration  that  the  cross  is  the  Pledge 
of  Love,  sent  to  the  Soul  from  Sophia.  ] 

The  hymn  proper  consists  of  12  stanzas,  at  the  close  the 
composition  assumes  a  dramatic  form,  the  stanzas  being 
rendered  alternately  by  a  "  Speaking  Voice"  and  "  The 
Soul,"  the  purpose  being  to  introduce  "  Contradictions" 
and  "  Objections"  and  "  Conclusions"  after  the  manner  of 
the  theologians  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

(4)  Musical  score. 

^^  Das  Paradoxe  und  Seltsam  \\  Vergiiugcn  \\  der  gottlicJi 
J'er/iebten.  \\  In  eine  Antwort  atif  einen  Brief  so  voller  \\ 
Liebe^  trost  iind  DemiitJiy 

Mel.   "  O  Gott  du  fro  miner  Gott  ivie  folget :'' 

[The  Paradox  and  Seldom  ||  Contentment  ||  of  the  God- 
loving  Soul.] 

This  hymn  contains  twenty-one  stanzas. 

(5)  "  Gesprach  der  See/en  niit  \\  sich  selbst  \\  Uber  ihren 
king  Wehrenden  \\  Reinigitng  \\  Gestillet  in  Traurigen  l^er- 
/angen  \\  in  der  IVusten  \\  Anno  i6gS  \\  jo  Jan.''^ 

^''Parodie  Rosenroth  /S\  Hier  lieg  ich  gefangen?'' 

Musical  score. 

[Colloquim  of  the  Soul  ||  with  its  self  ||  Over  her  Long  || 
during  II  Purification  ||  Set  in  a  pensive  Longing  ||  in  the 
Wilderness  ||  Anno  1698  Ye  30  Jan.] 

This  also  contains  a  series  of  objections,  queries  and 
answers. 


240  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

(6)  "  Von  dcr  Riilic  ||  als  icJi  niich  einstens  in  dcr  Wiistcn 
bey  II  dcr  Arniiith  so  Mude  gearbeitet  iSgy^  Octob.^"^ 

''''  Im  Tlion :  ^  So  wiincJi  icJi  mi)i  eine  gnte  nacJit :  wie 
folgct:  " 

Musical  score. 

[Upon  Rest  ||  As  I  once  in  the  Wilderness,  in  Poverty  || 
had  made  me  weary  with  Labour  ||  in  October,  1697.] 

(7)  "  Von  Den  nciienJiDigfraiilichcn  \\  Kraft  Leib  \\  zvorin- 
nen  dcr  Herr  selbst  woJinet  ||  tutd  seiner  Geheimnisse  offen- 
bahret  ||  wie  solcher  muste  best  diet  sein  ||  Gestcllet  in  SeJui- 
Hchen  Verlangen  ||  Anjio  i6pp^  Febry 

Melodic  p.  17  (same  as  hymn  No.  4.) 

[Of  the  Power  of  the  New  ||  Virgin  Body,  ||  where  in  the 
Lord  himself  dwellest  ||  and  Revealeth  his  Mysteries  :  ||  How 
it  is  to  be  obtained,  ||  Done  in  pensive  longing,  in  Febr., 
1699.] 

The  last  seven  stanzas  of  this  hymn  consists  of  a  rythmical 
prayer. 

(8)  "  Die  macht  der  Liebe  \\  welche  \\  dcr  Welt  dcr  Sunde 
iind  deni  Todt  \\  Obsinget  \\  in  einen  ||  Trauer  Gcdicht  \\ 
entwoifen  ||  I'jo^  \\  N.  Br 

"  A^.  B.  NacJi  deni  iintcrschiedlichen  Satzen  kan  audi  || 
die  Melodic  verdndert  werden  ;  wie  folget. 

"  Erster  Satz  ;  Melod.  '  Die  Seele  ging  zu  ndchstcn.'' 

Musical  score. 

"  Zzueiter  satz  ;  Mel.  '  Du  hast  O  Secle  freiind^  p.  p. 

"  Dritter  satz  ;  '  Die  Seele  ging.,  &c.'' 

"  Vierter  satz ;  Aid.  ''Herr  schone  Mein.''"' 


25B  Metemptosis. — In  chronology  the  solar  equation  necessary  to  prevent 
the  new  moon  from  happening  a  day  too  late,  or  the  suppression  of  the 
bissextile  once  in  134  years  ;  as  opposed  \.o  proeinptosis. 


TJie  Disconsolate  Soul.  241 

"j,  d,  7,  satz ;  Mel.  ''Die  Seele gi)ig  zii  nachstcn.'' 

"  Achter  sats  {This part  was  to  be  spoken.) 

"9  &  10  ;  Mel.  '  Die  Seele  ging  &c.^ 

'' Elf ter  sats ;  Mel.  'O!   Gott  du  fromer  Gott.'-'''^ 

^'' Zwolfter  satz  {To  the  enlightened  souls.,  yet  in  Ye  first 
Love). 

"  Melodie  ||  am  Ende.'''' 

[The  Power  of  Love  ||  which  conquers  the  World,  Sin 
&  Death  1|  in  a  Pensive  Poem  ||  Composed  |1  1705.] 

(9)  '''•  Ein  Verliebtes  Girren  der  \\  Trostlosen  Seele  \\  In 
der  Morgen  Ddm7?iernng  \\  Oder  von  des  Willen  \\  aiif  una 
ahsteig  |1  tind  still  stehen.^'' 

Musical  score. 

[A  Loving  Moan  1|  of  the  Disconsolate  Soul  ||  in  the 
Morning  Dawn  ||  Or  from  the  Will's  Rising,  falling  &  still- 
stand.  II  As  I  lay  in  Christian  Warmer's  House,  very  weak, 
in  a  small  Bed,  not  unlike  a  CofiQn,  in  May,  1706.] 

Contents : 

"The  Soul  does  desire  ||  To  have  Nuptial  fruit  ||  But  as 
she  rose  hier  ||  To  soon  in  pursute  ||  The  Bridegroom  slipt 
from  her,  &  left  her  alone  ||  She  wish's  to  be  perfect  Re- 
signed, in  Moan  ||  So  finds  she  then  lastly  that  most  blessed 
one  II  25  stanzas." 

(10)  "  Trost  nnd  an/ninnterungs  lied  \\  I  or  zwei einsainen 
Wittzven  in  sonderheit  gestellet  ||  All  heir  aber  zti  gemeiner 
besten  in  etzvas  verdnderet  ||  bey  gelegenhcit  einer  grosse?i 
Verk'altiing.,  so  ||  Mich  nbei'fallen  \\  ijo6  in  Julius.''^ 

Musical  score. 

^^  Mel:  '  Was  Gott  thuet  das  ist  zvohlgethan.'" 


^"'  Geistreicher  Lieder,  hymn  303,  p.  377,  by  J.  Herman. 

31 


242  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Peniisylvania. 

QA^OWii^     moan  ^ 

J^/^j^m  0'/^A<<y^  if^rmcff  Mii/«,  Viruio^oA,  pi  a^mA/ 


4  <%(m. 


J^W^ 


^ 


fi"   i^o^r  B 


-y^.// 


Fac-simile  of  a  English  Page  of  Kei.pius'  Hvmnal. 


Description  of  Kclpius.  243 

(11)  ^'' Der  121  Psalm  David'' s^  Tr'dstlich  von  einen  an 
dcni  aicse?'  den  j  &  6  \\  Gesetz  eniivoi'feny 

[The  121  Psalm  of  David  ||  comfortably  paraphras'd.  ] 
"  Afel.  '  Barmherziger  treuer  Goti. '    (Chriazo  Rosenrotli.) 
Musical  score. 
Eight  stanzas. 

(12)  ^'' Ich  Liebe  Jesum  nur  Alleiny 
[The  best  choice.] 

Musical  score,  Mel. 

A  late  magazine  writer,  in  commenting  upon  this  col- 
lection of  raphsodical  poems,  states:  "The  judicious  bio- 
graphical student  who  brings  to  the  consideration  of  the 
character  of  Kelpius  an  appreciative  and  unbiased  mind, 
will  find  in  these  hymns  evidence  of  undoubted  sincerity, 
mingled  with  a  spiritual  exaltation  bordering  on  fanaticism. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  this  lonely  man,  given  to  inces- 
sant contemplation  and  continually  thrown  in  upon  him- 
self, came  at  last  to  regard  his  mental  visions  as  a  veritable 
new  apocalypse ;  and  the  position  of  authority  which  he 
early  attained, — the  spiritual  headship  which  his  purity  of 
life  and  great  learning  procured  for  him, — must  have  tended 
to  fortify  his  belief  in  the  semi-celestial  character  of  his 
mission." 

Johannes  Kelpius  was  small  of  stature,  slight  in  frame, 
and  suffered  from  an  affection  or  paralysis  of  the  left  evelid. 
It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  several  of  the  noted  religi- 
ous leaders  of  the  last  century  had  some  marked  peculiarity 
about  their  eyes, — Kelpius,  Beissel,  Whitefield,  Miihlen- 
berg  and  others.  In  addition  to  the  above  infirmity,  Kel- 
pius was  of  a  frail  constitution,  which   soon   broke  down 


244  ^^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

under  frugal  fare  and  abstemious  habits  and  the  extremes 
of  our  variable  climate. 

A  succession  of  heavy  colds  was  the  result,  aggravated 
by  the  custom  which  Kelpius  had  of  retiring  to  a  cave  in 
the  hillside  for  study  and  contemplation. 

This  cave,  sixteen  feet  long  by  nine  feet  wide  and  eight 
feet  high,"'^'^  as  before  stated,  was  not  a  natural  formation, 
but  was  built  for  his  uses.""'*  It  was  about  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  Tabernacle,  near  a  cold  spring  of  water,  which  to 
the  present  day  is  knowm  as  the  Kelpius'  Spring  on  the 
Wissahickon. 

According  to  the  Ephrata  MSS.,  this  cell  or  cave  was 
known  as  the  "  Laurea,"  and  was  originally  fitted  up  with 
much  taste  and  ingenuity,  containing,  besides  many  books, 
curious  utensils  for  chemical  and  philosophical  purposes. 

Finally  the  repeated  colds  turned  into  consumption,  and 
in  the  winter  of  1705-6  he  became  so  feeble  that  his  life 
was  despaired  of  It  was  then  that  he  was  removed  to  the 
humble  home  of  the  Warmer  family  in  Germantown,  where 
he  was  tenderly  nursed  by  Christiana  Warmer.  How  re- 
signed the  devout  sufferer  was  during  his  illness  is  shown  by 
the  last  three  lines  of  the  twenty-fifth  stanza  of  his  h}-mn, — 

"  Therefore  kiss,  or  correct,  Come  to  me  or  Go, 
Give  Presents,  or  take  them  :  bring  Joy,  or  bring  Wo, 
If  I  can  but  have  thee,  thy  will  may  be  so."  '"" 

It  was  less  than  two  months  after  his  temporary  recovery 
and  return  to  the  Tabernacle  (May,  1706),  that  we  again 
find  him  suffering  from  a  relapse,  having,  as  he  himself 
writes,  a  "great  cold.'' 


258  Prom  actual  measurement. 

259  ggg  frontispiece. 

260  ''  Dj-iijii  K'ussejiiid  z'uchtige ,  kounne  uud geh, 
Beschciike,  entziehe,  bring  f rend t\  bring  iveli, 
IVann  ich  dich  habe,  dein  wille geschch.''' 


Christian    Warmer.  245 

[Christian   Warmer,  the   tailor  of  Gennantown,   whose 

wife  Christiana  was  the  good  Samaritan  of  the  Theosophical 

enthusiasts,   was  also   strongly  imbued  with  the  mystical 

teachings  of  Kelpius  and  his  followers,  and  remained  stead- 

r  f     /4  fast  in   his  profes- 

C-fri^f-t^i/fl       ^^^^  sion  until  his  death, 

which  occurred  in 
the  spring  of  1728.  His  peculiar  ideas  of  the  future  state 
are  well  set  forth  in  his  last  will  and  testament : 

"  In  the  Name  of  God  amen.  The  26  day  of  April  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1728,  I,  Christian  Warmer  of  Germantown  in  the  County  of  Philada 
&  province  of  Pennsylvania  taylor,  being  of  perfect  mind  and  memory 
(for  which  I  return  hearty  thanks  to  God  my  Heavenly  Father)  calling  to 
mind  the  frailty  of  this  Transitory  life  &  that  it  is  appointed  for  all  men 
once  to  die  Do  Make  &  ordain  this  ni}'  last  will  &  Testant  that  is  to  say 
First  of  all  and  Principally  I  Recomend  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  Al- 
mighty God,  my  Heavenly  Father  who  gave  it  to  me  &  being  in  a  fallen 
&  Degenerate  State,  has  again  Espoused  it  a  second  time  to  himself,  by 
&  through  the  Death  &  sufferings  of  his  Dearly  beloved  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  purchased  it  with  his  bitter  &  bloody  passion,  to  be  his  spouse 
it  bride,  with  whom  I  hope  to  live  &  Reign  Eternally,  and  my  body  to 
the  Earth  to  be  buried  in  a  Christian  like  &  desent  manner,  at  the  Direc- 
tion of  my  Execrs  hereafter  named,  Nothing  doubting  but  at  the  resurec- 
tion  of  the  Just  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  I  shall  receive  the 
same  again,  by  the  mighty  power  of  God,  to  live  &  be  with  my  spirit  & 
soul  united  into  one  Heavenly  Creature  with  my  beloved  Saviour  & 
Redeemer  tt  to  Reign  with  him  forever  &  ever. — Amen."] 

Thus  Kelpius  lingered  and  suffered,  the  disease  gradually 
but  surely  gaining  the  ascendancy,  notwithstanding  Doctor 
Witt's  "bolus"  and  the  herb  decoctions  {Jiaiis-niittcl)  of  the 
brethren,  together  with  the  tender  attentions  of  neighbors 
and  friends,  who  knelt  beside  him  praying  for  his  soul  and 
watching  his  failing  breath.  He  finally  succumbed  in  the 
year  1708,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-five. 

His  whole  life  had  been  a  preparation  to  meet  the 
heavenly  bridegroom,  "  la\'ing  aside  all  other  engagements 


,<2C^W;^^^^ 


246  The  Pietists  0/  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

whatever,  trimming  his  lamp  and  adorning  himself  with 
that  white  silky  holiness  and  golden  righteousness  that  he 
might  be  found  worthy." 

Among  the  musty  archives  in  the  library  of  the  Francke 
Institutions  or  Orphange  at  Halle,  on  the  Saale,  in  Saxony, 
there  is  an  old  manuscript  that  gives  a  curious  account  of 
the  death  of  Magister  Kelpius.  This  paper  is  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Pastor  Heinrich  Melchior  Miihlenberg,  and  sets 
forth  that  in  the  year  of  his  arrival  in  Pennsylvania  (1742) 
Daniel  Geissler,  a  trustworthy  man  of  over  sixty  years  of 

-  ^  age,  and  the  former 
fa7}ij(lus  2in<l  confiden- 
tial assistant  of  Kel- 
pius, gave  to  him  the 
following  interesting  particulars  of  the  death  of  the 
Magister  : 

"  Kelpius  among  other  things  was  of  the  firm  belief  that 
he  would  not  die  a  natural  death,  and  that  his  body  would 
not  decay,  but  that  he  would  be  transformed,  transfigured, 
overshadowed  and,  like  Elijah,  be  translated  bodily  into 
the  spiritual  world. 

"  As  his  last  hours  drew  near  and  the  forerunners  of  disso- 
lution, the  Magister  spent  three  long  days  and  nights  in 
praying  to  God,  struggling  and  supplicating  that,  in  his 
case,  the  Lord  Sabaoth  would  receive  him  bodily  as  he  did 
Enoch  and  Elias  of  old,  and  that  there  might  be  no  actual 
dissolution,  but  that  body  and  soul  might  remain  intact 
and  be  transfigured  and  received  in  the  flesh. 

"  At  last,  on  the  third  day,  after  a  long  silence  he  ceased 
his  pleadings,  and,  addressing  himself  to  his  faithful /???««- 
Ins^  said :  '  My  beloved  Daniel,  I  am  not  to  attain  that 
which  I  aspired  unto.      I  have  received  my  answer.      It  is 


The  Mystei^ious   Casket.  247 

that  dust  I  am,  and  to  dust  I  am  to  return.  It  is  ordained 
that  I  shall  die  like  unto  all  children  of  Adam.' 

"  Kelpius  thereupon  handed  Geissler  a  box  or  casket, 
which  was  well  secured  and  sealed,  and  told  him  to  carry 
it  to  the  Schuylkill,  where  the  water  was  deep,  and  cast  it 
into  the  river.  Geissler  took  the  casket  as  far  as  the  river 
bank,  and  being  of  somewhat  an  inquisitive  nature,  con- 
cluded to  hide  the  casket  until  after  his  master's  death,  and 
then  possess  himself  of  the  secret  of  its  contents. 

"  Upon  his  return  Kelpius  raised  himself  up  and,  with  out- 
stretched hand,  pointing  to  \\\'&famHhis^  looked  him  sharply 
in  the  eyes,  and  said  :  '  Daniel,  thou  hast  not  done  as  I  bid 
thee,  nor  hast  thou  cast  the  casket  into  the  river,  but  hast 
hidden  it  near  the  shore.'  Geissler,  now  more  than  ever 
convinced  of  the  occult  powers  of  the  dying  Magister, 
without  even  stammering  and  excuse,  hurried  to  the  river 
bank,  and  threw  the  casket  into  the  water  as  he  was 
bidden." 

The  MS.  goes  on  to  state  that  as  the  mysterious  casket 
touched  the  water  the  "  Arcanum"  exploded,  and  for  a  time 
flashes  of  lightning  and  peals  like  unto  thunder  came  from 
out  of  the  water. 

When  Geissler  again  returned  to  the  bedside  of  Kelpius 
at  the  Tabernacle,  the  latter  told  him  that  now  was  accom- 
plished the  task  he  had  given  him.  A  few  days  after  this 
episode  the  pious  Magister  entered  into  rest.  All  tradition 
seems  to  agree  that  his  remains  were  consigned  to  a  grave 
within  the  orchard  or  garden  belonging  to  the  Tabernacle 
over  which  he  had  so  long  and  faithfully  presided. 

Such  of  the  brethren  as  were  left  of  the  original  Com- 
munity performed  the  last  rites  according  to  the  impressive 
rittial  of  the  Mystic  Fraternity. 

It  was  shorth'  before  sunset  that   the   cortege  with    the 


248  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

bier  solemnly  filed  out  of  the  Saal  of  the  Tabernacle,  the 
Mystics  chanting  a  solemn  "  De  Profnndis,"  ranging  them- 
selves in  a  circle  around  the  open  grave.  The  coffin  was 
then  placed  over  the  opening  until  the  orb  of  day  was  far 
down  in  the  west.  As  the  last  ra^'s  were  seen,  at  a  given 
signal  from  Seelig,  who  was  now  Magister,  the  body  was 
lowered  into  the  grave.  At  the  same  instant  a  snow-white 
dove  was  released  from  a  hamper,  and  winged  its  flight 
heavenward  ;  while  the  Brethern  looking  upward  and  with 
uplifted  hands,  repeated  thrice  the  invocation:  "  Gott gebe 
ihn  eiiie  seilige  an/o-ste/inngy  [God  grant  him  a  blessed 
resurrection.]  -^^ 

The  following  eulogium,  taken  from  the  Ephrata  MSS., 
is  attributed  to  Prior  Jaebetz  (Rev.  Peter  Miller,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Beissel).  It  was  evidently  written  by  a  scholar, 
and  one  who  had  access  to  writings  of  Kelpius  which  are 
now  unavailable.  It  shows  the  estimation  in  which  the 
pious  recluse  on  the  Wissahickon  was  held  during  the  last 
century. 

"  Kelpius  educated  in  one-  of  the  most  distinguished 
Universities  of  Europe,  and  having  had  advantage  of  the 
best  resources  for  the  acquirement  of  knowledge,  was  cal- 
culated to  edify  and  enlighten  those  who  resorted  to  him 
for  information.  He  had  particularily  made  great  progress 
in  the  study  of  ancient  lore,  and  was  quite  proficient  in 
theology.  He  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  principal 
works  of  the  Rabbins,  the  Heathen  and  Stoic  philosophers, 
the  Fathers  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  Reformers. 
He  was  conversant  with    the  writings  of  Tertullian,  St. 


'■""  If  this  story  of  the  dove  is  historical,  it  is  a  survival  of  high  interest. 
Dion  Cassius,  in  an  impressive  account  of  the  funeral  by  the  Emperor 
Pertinax,  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness,  tells  us  that  an  eagle  was  tied 
to  the  funeral  pyre.  When  the  flames  burnt  the  rope,  the  eagle  mounted 
to  the  clouds,  as  the  soul  of  Pertinax  to  the  Gods. 


Tlic  Oracle  at  DclpJios. 


249 


Jerome,  St.  Augustine,  vSt.  Cvprian, 
Clirysostoni,  Ambrose,  Tauler,  Eck, 
Myconius,  Carlstadt,  Hedio,  Faber, 
Osiauder,  Luther,  Zwingle  and 
others,  whose  opinions  he  would  fre- 
quently analyse  and  expound  with 
much  animation.  He  was  also  a 
strict  disciplinarian,  and  kept  atten- 
tion constantly  directed  inwards 
upon  self.  To  know  self,  he  contended,  is  the  first  and  most 
essential  of  all  knowledge.  Thales  the  Milesian,  he  main- 
tained, was  the  author  of  the  precept,  '  Know  thyself,'  which 
was  adopted  by  Chilo  the  Lacedomonican,  and  is  one  of  the 
three  inscriptions  which,  according  to  Pliny,  was  conse- 
crated at  Delphos  by  golden  letters,  and  acquired  the 
authority  of  a  divine  oracle ;  it  was  supposed  to  have  been 
given  by  Apollo,  of  which  opinion  Cicero  has  left  a  record. 
(Cujus  praecipiti  taiita  viz  Delphico  Deo  tributor  Cicero.) 
He  directed  a  sedulous  watchfulness  over  the  temper,  incli- 
nations and  passions,  and  applauded  very  much  the  Counsel 
of  Marcus  Aurelius :  '  Look  within ;  for  within  is  the 
fountain  of  good.'  " 

Thus  lived  and  died  Johann  Kelpius,  the  first  Magister 
of  the  Theosophical  Community  on 
the  Wissahickon,  whose  histor}-  is 
so  filled  with  romance  and  mystery. 
Learned  and  devout,  he  sacrificed 
his  life  in  the  interests  of  humanity, 
and  in  preparing  himself  and  his  fol- 
lowers for  the  millennium  which 
he  believed  was  near  at  hand. 

No  other  of  the  early  settlers  has 

Seal  ok  the  Gfrman  Society 
ever      attracted       the      attention      of  of  Philadelphia. 


32 


250  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

students  of  Pennsylvanian  history,  or  excited  so  much 
speculation,  as  this  meek  and  gentle  Transylvanian  philoso- 
pher. Although  his  last  resting-place  is  unmarked,  and 
known  only  from  vague  tradition,  his  memory  has  never- 
theless been  kept  green  in  song  and  prose.  The  most 
notable  instance  of  the  former  is  Whittier's  "  Pennsylvania 
Pilgrim,"  and  such  parts  of  it  as  allude  to  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  will  prove  a  fitting  close  to  this  chapter  : 

Or  painful  Kelpiiis  from  his  hermit  den 
By  Wissahickon,  maddest  of  good  men, 
Dreamed  o'er  the  Chiliast  dreams  of  Petersen. 

Deep  in  the  woods,  where  the  small  river  slid 
Snake-like  in  shade,  the  Helmstadt  Mystic  hid, 
Weird  as  a  wizard  over  arts  forbid, 

Reading  the  books  of  Daniel  and  of  John, 

And  Behmen's  Morning-Redness,  through  the  Stone 

Of  Wisdom,  vouchsafed  to  his  eyes  alone. 

Whereby  he  read  what  man  ne'er  read  before. 
And  saw  the  visions  man  shall  see  no  more, 
Till  the  great  angel,  striding  sea  and  shore. 

Shall  bid  all  flesh  await,  on  land  or  ships, 
The  warning  trump  of  the  Apocalypse, 
Shattering  the  heavens  before  the  dread  eclipse. 


E ENRICH    EERNHARD    KOSTER. 


& 


F  all  the  characters  con- 
nected with  the  Tlieo- 
sophical  experiment 
in  the  New  World  none  stands 
ont  in  bolder  relief  than  Hen- 
rich  Bernhard  Koster,  one  of 
the  original  promoters  of  the 
enterprise.  To  the  compara- 
arms  of  chur-brandknburg,  1694.  tive  fcw  wlio  tlius  far  knew 
his  name,  he  is  in  fact  the  most  heroic  figure  in  the  history 
of  the  German  Pietists  of  Pennsylvania.  Pious,  devout, 
learned,  courageous  and  combative,  he  not  only  boldly  pro- 
claimed to  the  settlers  of  the  young  province  the  Gospel 
according  to  the  orthodox  Lutheran  faith,  but  was  ever 
ready  to  take  iip  the  gauntlet  when  thrown  before  him. 
Nor  did  he  hesitate  for  an  instant  to  follow  his  opponents 
into  their  strongholds,  and  in  their  very  midst  to  fearlessly 
proclaim  his  convictions,  fortifying  them  with  quotations 
from  the  Scriptures. 

Nation  or  race  made  no  difference  to  this  devout  enthu- 
siast.    Casting^  aside  for  the  time  his  mvstical  doctrines  and 


252  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Rosicrucian  speculations,  he  preached  the  plain  Gospel  with 
untiring  energy  and  zeal  among  both  English,  Welsh  and 
Germans. 

The  seed  sown  by  him  at  Germantown  at  the  humble 
home  of  Isaac  Van  Bebber,  upon  that  natal  day  of  the  holy 
St.  John  in  1694,  struck  root,  grew  and  spread  until  its  in- 
fluence permeated  the  whole  Province.  Upon  that  day 
began  the  movement  which  was  to  lead  the  settlers  from 
the  apathy  into  which  they  had  sunken  back  to  vital 
religion  and  established  church  forms. 

It  is  true  that  Swedish  Lutheran  services  were  held  in 
Pennsylvania  for  almost  half  a  century  prior  to  Penn's 
coming,  and  for  some  years  afterwards.  But  these  were 
held  only  for  the  Swedes.  No  effort  whatever  was  made 
either  by  Fabricius  or  Lock  to  extend  the  faith  among  the 
Quakers  and  Germans  who  were  flocking  to  these  shores.-"^ 


262  'pjjg  following  documents  have  come  to  light  since  writing  the  notices 
of  this  clergyman  in  two  previous  chapters  of  this  book  (notes  32  and  99). 
The  first  is  a  letter  from  Governor  Francis  Lovelace  of  New  York,  and 
explains  itself, — 

"  Fort  James  in  New  York  this  13th  day  of  Ap'  1670. 
"CAPt  Carr. 

"  Upon  the  request  of  ISIagister  Jacobus  Fabritius  Pastor  of  the  Lutheran 
Confession  comonly  called  the  Augustan  who  by  the  Duke's  Lycence  hath 
a  Congregation  here,  I  have  granted  my  Pass  to  him,  &  his  Wife  to  go  to 
Newcastle  or  any  Place  in  Delaware  River,  I  pray  shew  him  all  Civil 
Respect  when  he  comes  amongst  you,  &  take  care  he  receive  no  Affront 
there,  &  I  presume  he  will  comport  himself  wth  gt  Civility  &  Moderacon 
so  as  to  give  no  just  occasion  of  offence  to  others.  I  am 
"Your  ver\-  loving  Friend, 

"Francis  Lovelace." 

The  other  document,  an  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  the  Council, 
gives  us  an  insight  into  the  subsequent  private  life  and  behavior  of  this 
clergj-man  :— 

"  Att  a  Councel  September  15th  1675. 

"  Magister  Jacobus  Fabricius  being  Ordered  by  Special  Warrt  to  make 
his  personal  x\ppearance  before  the  Governor  here  ;  to  Answer  to  a  Com- 


TJie  Establislnneiit  of  Church  Services.  253 

It  was  left  to  Koster  to  take  the  initiative,  and  boldly 
raise  his  voice  immediately  upon  his  arrival  among  both 
Germans  and  English,  and  to  institute  services  intended  to 
induce  the  settlers  to  renew  their  fealty  to  orthodox  religion  ; 
no  matter  whether  to  the  English  Church  as  by  law  estab- 
lished or  to  the  faith  of  the  Fatherland. 

It  is  from  the  advent  of  the  German  Pietists  in  1694  that 
we  must  date  the  religious  revival  in  the  Province.  The 
results  of  Roster's  efforts  were  widespread :  they  were  not 
confined  to  Anglicans  and  Lutherans,  but  also  stimulated 
the  Baptists,  Presbyterians  and  so-called  Sabbatarians  to 
organize  in  Pennsylvania.  Finally,  when,  after  a  sojourn 
of  seven  years  in  the  Province,  the  German  philosopher 
became  convinced  that,  on  account  of  the  changed  religious 
situation,  his  usefulness  as  an  evangelist  was  at  an  end,  he 
returned  to  his  native  country,  and  resumed  his  Theo- 
sophical  studies.  He  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  almost  roimd- 
ing  out  a  century,  and  died  in  an  institution  connected  with 
the  Lutheran  Church. 

Unfortunately  our  estimates  of  the  character  and  ser^'ices 
of  this  pioneer  have  hitherto  been  based  upon  the  accounts 
of  his  religious  or  personal  antagonists,  or  of  such  as  were 
ignorant  of  the  true  motives  that  inspired  him,  and  the 
facts  that  guided  him  in  his  course  in  America.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  matter  now  presented  will  place  this  devout 
enthusiast  in  a  new  light,  and  give  him  his  proper  position 
among  the  religious  leaders  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Henrich  Bernhard  Koster  (Kiister  or  Koster,  as  he  was 


plaint  made  against  him  by  the  High  Sheriff  and  Court  at  Newcastle  in 
Delaware,  for  causing  a  Distuibance  and  Uproar  against  the  ^Magistrates. 
"  It  is  Ordered  that  the  said  Magister  Fabricius,  in  Regard  of  his  being 
Guilty  of  what  is  lay'd  to  his  Charge  and  his  former  irregular  Life  and 
Conversation,  be  Suspended  from  Exercising  his  Function  as  a  Minister, 
or  Preaching  any  more  within  the  Governmt  either  in  Publick  or  Private. ' ' 


254  T^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

generally  known  in  America),  was  born  in  November,  1662, 
in  the  little  town  of  Blnmenberg,  in  the  Principality  of 
Lippe,  in  Westphalia.  His  parents  were  Ludolph  Kiister, 
Bnrgomaster  and  leading  merchant  of  his  native  district, 
and  Fran  Anna  Catherina  Blnmen  von  Schwalenberg, 
a  sister  of  Simon  Heinrich  Blumen,  privy-conncellor  of 
Detmold.  The  Bnrgomaster  was  not  a  man  of  classical 
edncation,  but  he  was  endowed  with  good  sense. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  eldest  of  three  brothers 
who  composed  the  Kiister  family,  and  all  upon  attaining 
their  majorit}'  became  men  of  note.  Ludolph,  the  noted 
literary  critic  and  linguist,  was  born  in  1667,  eventually 
entered  the  Roman  Church,  and  became  the  superintendent 
of  the  Royal  Library  in  Paris,  where  he  procured  the  col- 
lation of  the  famous  Ephrem  Palimpsest. ""^^ 

The  youngest  brother,  Johann,  also  became  a  leading 
citizen  in  his  native  district.  It  was  his  son,  Ludolph,  who 
studied  law,  and  afterwards  became  noted  as  the  bailiff 
[Anitmann)  to  the  Countess  of  Schaak  at  Ingenhausen. 

Young  Henrich  received  the  rudiments  of  instruction 
in  the  common  schools  of  Blnmenberg,  where  he  was  taught 
by  Pastor  Vogelsang.  When  the  latter  was  called  to  Det- 
mold as  assistant  rector,  his  student  accompanied  him, 
and  remained  four  years  under  his  instruction,  perfecting 
himself  in  Latin,  Hebrew  and  Greek,  beside  his  other 
studies. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  went  to  Bremen  with  the  express 
intention  of  studying  law  and  philosophy  at  the  Gymna- 
sium of  that  city.     He,  however,  devoted  himself  mainly 


263  j^;  -^yag  tiig  intention  of  the  parents  that  young  Ludolph  should  become 
a  merchant  and  succeed  his  father.  He,  however,  showed  so  great  a  pro- 
clivity for  books  and  learning  that  his  elder  brother  commenced  to  lead 
him  into  classical  studies,  continuing  his  supervision  over  him,  even  when 
the  latter  attended  school  in  Berlin. 


Kostcr  as  Pedagogue.  255 

to  the  study  of  the  philosophy  of  Descartes,""'  and  attended 
the  lectures  of  Schwelings. 

After  a  sojourn  there  of  five  years  he  went  to  Frankfort 
on  the  Oder,  where  he  studied  law  for  three-  years,  leaving 
the  University  in  1684,  and  ending  his  academic  days  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two.  Koster  had  a  natural  inclination 
to  teach  or  impart  knowledge,  and  at  once  started  upon  a 
career  as  tutor.  He  made  his  debut  as  pedagogue  at  Kiis- 
terin,  in  the  family  of  Aulic-councillor  Polemius,  where  he 
remained  about  a  year. 

In  his  curriculum  he  abandoned  the  old  methods  of 
instruction  then  in  vogue,  whereby  the  minds  of  the  scholars 
were  strained,  but  attempted  rather  to  interest  his  pupils 
by  rational  discourses,  delivered  in  an  agreeable  and  impres- 
sive manner. 

This  system  of  instruction  became  known  to  Pfarrer  Stos, 
a  Berlin  divine,  who  in  turn  brought  it  to  the  notice  of  the 
Brandenburger  privy-councillor.  Baron  Orten  von  Schwerin. 
The  councillor  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  new  method 
that  he  asked  Koster  to  instruct  in  this  manner  his  three 
sons,  Carl,  Friedrich  and  Orten.  A  satisfactory  agreement 
having  been  arrived  at,  Koster  came  to  Berlin  and  was 
installed  as  resident  tutor.  This  was  in  the  year  1685  ;  he 
remained  in  charge  for  seven  years,  dividing  his  time 
between  the  estates  of  his  patron  in  Berlin  and  Landsberg. 

The  father  of  the  Baron  of  Schwerin  was  a  consistent 
Lutheran,  and  was  greatly  grieved  at  the  course  of  his  son 
in  affiliating  with  the  Reformed  Church.      Every  induce- 


^"^  Rene  Descartes  (Kartesius),  a  celebrated  French  philosopher,  born 
1596.  Died  at  Stockholm,  February  11,  165J.  He  advanced  far  beyond 
his  predecessors,  and  if  he  had  done  nothing  besides  introducing  a  spirit 
of  inquiry  into  the  mysterious  operations  of  nature,  he  would  have  labored 
much  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 


256  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

meiit  was  offered  to  the  son  to  adhere  to  the  faith  of  his 
fathers,  but  even  the  promise  of  an  increased  patrimony 
failed  to  alter  the  course  of  the  Baron.  During  this  con- 
troversy between  father  and  son,  the  former  had  greatly 
increased  his  library,  mainly  with  orthodox  standard  and 
controversial  theological  literature. 

To  this  collection  the  young  tutor  had  free  access,  and 
there  came  upon  the  famous  English  Polyglot,"*'^  a  work 
that  interested  him  above  all  others.  He  now  improved 
his  opportunity  to  perfect  himself  in  Greek  and  Hebrew, 
and  although  jurisprudence  had  thus  far  been  his  specialty, 
he  at  once  commenced  to  study  such  of  the  Eastern  lan- 
guages as  were  used  in  the  polyglot  translation. 

He  even  went  so  far  as  to  interest  his  patron  by  calling 
his  attention  to  the  preface  of  Brian  Walton,^""  showing  him 


'^'^  This  work,  one  of  the  "  four  great  Polyglots,"  is  usually  known  as 
the  London  or  Walton's  Polyglot,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  published  in 
that  capital  under  the  editorship  of  Brian  Walton.  This  great  work  was 
completed  in  the  midst  of  persecution  and  civil  war.  It  consists  of  six 
volumes,  folio,  with  two  supplementary  volumes  (London,  1654-57), 
exhibiting  the  text  in  nine  different  languages  :  Hebrew,  Syriac,  Chaldee, 
Samaritan,  Arabic,  ^thiopic,  Persian,  Greek  and  Latin.  The  whole  is 
based  upon  the  Paris  Polyglot  (.Le  Jay,  1645),  with  many  additions  and 
improvements.  A  copy  of  this  work  was  brought  to  America  by  Koster, 
and  formed  a  part  of  the  library  of  the  Community,  where  it  remained 
when  he  returned  to  Europe.  Subsequently  it  came  into  the  possession 
of  the  Sprogel  brothers,  and  is  now  in  the  library  of  Christ  Church  in 
Philadelphia. 

'*"'  Brian  Walton  was  born  in  Cleveland,  Yorkshire,  in  1600,  and  was 
educated  at  Cambridge,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  IVIaster  of  Arts  in 
1623.  During  the  Civil  War  he  sided  with  the  King,  and  was  consequently 
obliged  to  take  shelter  at  Oxford,  where  he  formed  the  scheme  for  his 
polyglot  Bible.  Doctor  Walton  had  several  assistants  in  his  laborious  un- 
dertaking, of  whom  the  principal  was  Dr.  Edmund  Castell.  On  the 
ttistoration  of  Charles  II,  to  whom  he  presented  his  Bible,  with  a  new 
dedication  (the  original  one  to  Oliver  Cromwell  having  been  cancelled), 
he  was  made  one  of  the  royal  chaplains  ;  and  in  1660  he  was  raised  to  the 
Bishopric  of  Chester.     He  died  in  London,  1661. 


Trajislatio)!  of  I  he   Old  Testament.  257 

how  the  Briton  proved  conclusively  that  the  accepted 
Hebrew  text  of  the  Old  Testament  had  been  tampered  with, 
and  that  the  Septuagint  translation  had  been  made  before 
the  interpolations  were  added,  and  it  therefore  contained 
the  veritable  Divine  Word  of  the  Old  Dispensation.^"'' 

These  representations  induced  Baron  von  Schwerin  to 
examine  the  polyglot  and  read  the  introduction  by  Walton. 
He,  too,  became  of  the  opinion  of  his  tutor  that  the  deduc- 
tions of  the  Briton  seemed  feasible.  He  thereupon  con- 
cluded to  refresh  his  knowledge  of  Greek,  and  make  a 
translation  of  the  Septuagint  into  the  German  tongue.  So 
patron  and  tutor  studied  Greek  together,  and  translated  the 
Old  Testament  from  the  Septuagint  into  German.  They 
began  with  the  Psalms,  proceeded  with  the  Pentateuch  of 
Moses  and  so  on,  until  the  whole  had  been  translated  and 
corrected. 

After  the  work  was  completed,  it  was  finely  engrossed 
upon  quarto  sheets,  illuminated  and  bound  up  into  several 
volumes.  This  monumental  work  is  still  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  Schwerin  family. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  see  how  close  the  intercourse  and 
friendship  became  between  the  two  men,  separated  as  they 
were  by  their  social  positions,  and  what  favors  the  tutor 
could  have  asked,  if  he  had  been  so  disposed,  from  a  patron 
who  had  so  great  an  influence  with  the  reigning  House  of 
Brandenburg.  Indeed  more  than  once  was  the  tutor  offered 
a  suitable  provision.  His  reply  was,  when  offered  a  lucra- 
tive appointment  under  the  former  prince,  "  I  am  a  Lutheran, 
and  therefore  must  not  serve  a  Reformed  master,  or  go  to 
a  court  where  there  are  so  many  opportunities  for  sin." 


267  Besides  the  Latin  of  the  Vulgate  there  is  an  interlineary  Latin  trans- 
lation of  the  Hebrew.  Though  nine  languages  are  used,  yet  no  one  book 
appears  in  so  many.      Vide,  note  265. 

33 


258  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


It  was  while  at  Berlin  that  Koster  became  interested  in 
the  Pietistic  movement,  which  had  taken  root  and  was 
spreading  over  northern  Germany.  Joining  a  local  Collc- 
giiim  Pietatis^  he  became  acquainted  with  Horbius,  and 
through  him  with  John  Jacob  Zimmermann.  When,  finally, 
the  movement  fell  imder  the  bans  of  both  church  and 
state,  and  it  was  decided  to  form  a  Chapter  of  Perfection  to 
emigrate  to  the  new  World,  we  find  Koster  actively  sec- 
onding Zimmermann  in  his  efforts  to  secure  transportation 
for  the  party,  and  concessions  from  Penn's  representatives 
in  Holland. 

After  the  issuing  of  the  various  edicts,  the  suppression 
of  the  Collegium  at  Brfurth,  and  the 
expulsion  of  Francke,  it  was  decided 
to  establish  two  central  rallying-points 
prior  to  the  final  embarkation  at  Rot- 
terdam. Magdeburg,  on  the  Elbe,  in 
Saxony,  and  Halberstadt,  were  the  two 
places  selected  on  account  of  their  ac- 
cessibility and  freedom  from    judicial 

.Arms  of  Rotterdam.         interference. 

Koster  journeyed  from  Berlin  to  the  former  place,  and 
there  joined  Seelig,  Kelp,  Biedermann,  Falkner,  and  about 
twenty  others.  This  contingent  elected  Koster  as  their 
leader,  and  when  the  time  arrived, 
started,  as  was  then  the  custom, 
on  foot,  staff  in  hand,  and  knap- 
sack on  back,  upon  their  pilgrim- 
age to  America  by  way  of  Hol- 
land. Here  the  two  parties  were 
united,  and  the  final  preparations 
were  made  to  embark  for  the  prov- 
ince of  Penn,  under  the  auspices 
of  Benjamin  Furly.  arms  of  magdkbukg. 


Entdiiicni  of  Koster.  259 

The  success  in  obtaining  transportation  for  so  large  a 
party  was  mainly  due  to  the  efforts  of  Koster.  It  appears 
that  Benjamin  Furly  and  Ludolph  Koster,  then  living  at 
Amsterdam,'"''''  were  intimately  acquainted ;  and  it  was 
mainly  through  the  intercession  of  the  Koster  brothers  that 
the  experiment  was  jn-Tng^^^^llTnTTfi,  made  possible. 
How  on  the  eve  of  i|fBB  the 

chief  promoter,  ]\Iag  \i  ||^^^^^^^m|  |/  ister  Zimmermann, 
died,  and  Kelpius  ||  |^^^Hi^^^^^i^|  was  chosen  in  his 
place,  together  with  J||i|||||i||^^^Sj  [I  the  eventful  voyage 
on  the  "Sara  Maria"  <j!        w  li^s  all    been   fully 

told  in    previous    n||||||||||||[||^^^  i  ■      chapters. 

The  Rev.  Ernest  ^'ll^^PP^  Ludwig  Rathelf, 
pastor  of  Langen  arms  of  amstkrdam.  hausen,  near  Han- 
over, was  a  close  friend  of  Koster  after  his  return  to  Europe. 
In  referring  to  the  period  we  are  now  concerned  with, 
Rathelf,  under  whose  charge  Koster  was  then  living  at  the 
Hanover  Orphanage,  states:  "Our  Herr  Koster  is  a  Luth- 
eran, and  has  always  adhered  strictly  to  the  dogmas  and 
teachings  of  his  church  ;  carefully  investigated  them,  and 
held  fast  unto  them.  In  his  youth  he  was  taught  the  two 
sacred  languages,  and  he  was  thus  able  to  read  God's  holy 
Word  in  their  original  tongues  and  purity.  In  his  study 
of  jurisprudence,  he  never  neglected  an  opportunity  to 
obtain  a  clear  insight  into  theology." 

While  in  the  employment  of  the  Baron  of  Schwerin,  the 
finding  of  the  polyglot  not  only  urged  him  to  perfect  him- 
self in  the  two  languages,  but  also  to  learn  to  speak  and 
read  other  tongues,  and  to  inquire  further  into  spiritual 
philosoph^^ 

Koster  was  endowed  with  a  remarkable  memory,  with- 
out which    no    ling-uist    can    succeed.      His  mind   retained 


^*'  Memoirs  of  Zacharias  von  Uffenbacli. 


26o  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

everything  which  was  entrusted  to  it,  and  the  matter  could 
be  recalled  with  ease  and  rapidity.  He  could  repeat  vej^- 
batim^  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  all  the  Psalms,  the  whole  of 
Isaiah,  and  other  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  was 
equally  felicitous  in  his  knowledge  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  was  far  easier  for  him  to  recall  any  quotation  from  the 
Bible  than  to  find  it  in  a  concordance.  This  peculiar  prop- 
erty of  his  mind  enabled  him  to  repeat  to  others  his  spiritual 
deductions,  and  to  defend  himself  in  controversy. 

The  society  with  which  he  went  to  America  therefore 
elected  him  as  their  general  instructor ;  and  he  acceded  to 
their  wishes.  He  frequently  spoke  to  his  fellow-passengers 
about  spiritual  matter:;',  arid  when  Sunday  came  he  preached 
to  them  a  regular  sermon,  wherein  he  especially  exhorted 
them  to  remain  steadfast  to  the  Lutheran  Church.  Several 
of  his  company  were  somewhat  clouded,  and  seemed  defi- 
cient in  holiness,  and  in  certain  articles  of  the  faith.  More- 
over, he  foresaw  trouble  when  these  persons  would  come  to 
a  country  where  they  might  be  led  astray  by  the  Quaker 
doctrine.  He  therefore  devoted  all  his  energies  to  lead  the 
erring  ones  aright,  and  fortify  them  against  all  such  temp- 
tation. What  he  had  done  on  shipboard  he  continued  in 
Germantown,  where  there  was  a  lack  of  spiritual  teachers. 
As  previously  stated,  Koster  did  not  confine  his  ministra- 
tions to  the  German-speaking  population,  but  also  went 
among  the  English,  preaching  both  in  Germantown  and 
Philadelphia,  as  soon  as  he  learned  that  his  English  hearers 
were  sincere  in  their  search  after  spiritual  enlightment. 

Rathelf  mentions  that  George  Keith  took  passage  for 
Europe  about  the  same  time  that  Koster  sailed  for  America, 
and  that  the  former  left  many  followers  behind  him,  who 
now  wandered  about  like  unto  sheep  without  a  herdsman. 
When  Koster  arrived  he  knew  nothing  about,  or  the  pecu- 
liar schism  that  had  been  fomented  amouQ-  the  Quakers. 


The  Founding  of  Christ  Church.  261 

But  when  he  learned  of  the  situation,  he  at  once  began  to 
instruct  his  people  and  friends  upon  Sunday  and  other  days, 
and  to  impress  upon  his  hearers  such  doctrines  as  the 
Quakers  failed  in. 

The  Keithians  soon  found  this  out,  and  when  they  heard 
that  he  preached  to  the  multitudes  of  the  Saviour's  death, 
His  merits,  His  ascension,  the  use  of  the  Scriptures  and 
of  the  ordinances  they  flocked  in  crowds  to  listen  to  his 
sermons. 

It  was  these  Keithians  whom  Koster,  not  knowing  them 
at  first,  took  for  enemies.  But  he  soon  learned  to  know 
both  them  and  their  sentiments,  and  led  them  straightway 
from  the  ways  of  the  Quakers.  The  large  number  of 
Bibles  and  prayer-books  ^'^^  which  he  received  from  England 
were  a  material  aid  to  him,  as  they  were  scarce  among  the 
Keithians. 

The  Friends  naturally  made  every  effort  to  heal  the  old 
schism,  and  induce  the  seceders  to  return.  But  the  regu- 
lar Church  services  organized  by  Koster,  and  the  Orthodox 
Lutheran  doctrine  preached  by  him,  considerably  changed 
the  situation.  It  inspired  new  hope  and  courage  in  the 
Keithians,  and  they  even  went  so  far  as  to  again  enter  the 
meetings,  and  boldly  refute  some  of  the  Quaker  tenets. 

The  teachings  of  Henrich  Bernhard  Koster,  however, 
had  even  a  more  extended  effect  upon  the  religious  situa- 
tion of  the  Province,  for  they  increased  among  the  English 
and  Welsh,  a  longing  for  regular  services  according  to 
the  ritual  of  the  English  Church.  This  was  the  case  not 
only  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  followers  of  Keith,  but 


269  -j^iiig  incident  has  already  been  noticed  at  length  on  page  68  of  this 
work.  There  can  be  no  question  whatever  that  Koster  used  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  in  his  English  services,  as  did  the  Swedish  pastors,  Rud- 
mann,  Sandel  and  others  under  similar  circumstances. 


262  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

also  in  others  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Church  prior 
to  becoming  followers  of  Fox  and  Penn.  This  longing 
for  church  services  as  by  law  established  took  shape  under 
the  guidance  of  Koster,  and  within  eighteen  months  after 
his  arrival  in  the  Province  (November  15,  1695),  a  piece 
of  ground  was  secured  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  for 
church  purposes,  subject  to  an  agreement  between  Griffith 
Jones  and  Joshua  Carpenter. 

This  lot,  upon  which  Christ  Church  now  stands,  con- 
tained one  hundred  feet  fronting  on  Second  Street,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  in  depth. '^" 

The  pecuniary  consideration  was  a  yearly  rental  of 
"  tenne  pounds  of  curant  silver  money  of  ye  Province." 
This  ground  rent  could  be  extinguished  for  ^150  at  any 
time  within  fifteen  years.  There  was  nothing  whatever 
stated  in  the  indenture  to  show  or  prove  that  the  ground 
was  secured  for  church  or  burial  purposes.  ^^' 


^™  A  strip  of  land  of  forty  feet  on  Second  Street  north  of  this  lot  was 
eventually  purchased,  making  the  total  frontage  of  the  Church  property 
140  feet. 

^'^  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  conveyance,  although  dated  on  November 
5,  1695-6,  was  not  consummated  until  four  months  later,  March  5,  1695-6. 
There  is  not  a  single  word  in  the  indenture  to  indicate  that  the  ground 
was  to  be  held  for  any  specific  purpose.  Upon  the  face  it  is  a  conveyance 
in  fee-simple  from  Griffith  Jones  to  Joshua  Carpenter,  subject  to  the  above- 
mentioned  ground-rent,  which,  had  it  not  been  extinguished  within  the 
limit  of  fifteen  years,  would  have  become  an  irredeemable  incumbrance. 
It  was  extinguished  by  a  deed  made  April  4,  1702,  and  acknowledged  in 
open  court  in  a  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  June  4,  1702.  (Deed  not  on 
record. ) 

On  the  2oth  of  July  following,  Joshua  Carpenter  signed  a  declaration 
which  set  forth  the  uses  for  which  this  ground  was  originally  intended. 
After  reciting  the  original  deed  and  its  extinguishment,  it  sets  forth  : 
"  To  all  Christian  People  to  whom  these  prese?tts  shall  come : 

"  And  WTiereas,  fifty  pounds  part  of  the  consideration  money  was  the 
proper  monys  belonging  to  the  comunity  of  the  church  and  the  other 


opposition  to  LiitJierans.  263 

The  witnesses  to  this  historic  document  were  Samuel 
Holt,  James  Trewalla,  Jeremiah  Price  and  J[olin]  Moore. 
It  was  acknowledged  in  open  court  on  the  5th  day  of  March, 
1695—6,  and  has  never  been  placed  upon  record. 

This  attempt  to  establish  the  Church  of  England  in  the 
very  stronghold  of  Ouakerdom  naturally  added  fuel  to  the 
flame  of  religious  excitement  in  the  Province,  and  increased 
the  bitter  feeling  which  the  Quaker  leaders  bore  against 
the  German  religious  enthusiast.  So  great  became  the 
hatred  of  the  Friends  and  others  against  the  Lutherans,  on 
account  of  Koster's  successful  efforts  in  establishing  the 
congregation,  that  when  William  Davis,  in  one  of  his 
numerous  disputes  with  the  Orthodox  Friends,  suggested 
the  appointment  of  a  Swedish  pastor  as  referee,  the  request 


hundred  pounds  residue  thereof  was  advanced  and  taken  upon  interest 
by  the  said  Joshua  Carpenter  for  the  use  of  the  said  church  and  the  said 
Joshua  Carpenter's  name  from  time  to  time  used  only  in  trust  the  said 
piece  of  ground  being  always  designed  to  be  appropriated  for  a  Church 
and  Cemetary  and  the  buildings  and  other  improvements  being  compleated 
with  the  stock  and  joint  charge  of  the  members  thereof: 

"  NOW  know  Ye  that  the  said  Joshua  Carpenter  doth  hereby  acknow- 
ledge and  declare  that  his  name  was  used  in  the  aforesaid  deeds  by  the 
speciall  nomination  and  appointment  of  the  community  of  the  said 
Church  and  for  their  use  and  benefitt  and  the  Sd  part  of  the  lott  of  land 
is  intended  for  a  Cemetery  or  Church-yard  and  the  Church  and  other 
premises  are  to  be  perpetually  appropriated  and  used  for  the  publick  wor- 
ship of  God  and  for  the  better  instruction  of  the  people  inhabiting  and  to 
inhabit  in  Philadelphia  aforesaid  in  the  true  Christian  religion  as  it  is  now 
professed  in  the  Church  of  England  and  established  by  the  laws  of  the 
said  Realm  and  to  no  other  use  or  uses  whatsoever  the  Wardens  for  the 
time  being  paying  interest  to  the  Sd  Joshua  Carpenter  his  executors  ad- 
ministrators or  Assigns  from  time  to  time  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
pounds  till  the  principall  mony  shall  be  paid  in  out  of  the  publick  stock. 

"  In  witness  whereof  the  said  Joshua  Carpenter  hath  hereunto  sett  his 
hand  and  seal  this  twentieth  day  of  July  1702." 

The  witnesses  to  the  Indenture  were  Jonathan  Dickinson,  Charles 
Plumly,  John  White,  and  John  Moore. 

The  document  is  not  upon  record. 


264  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

was  refused,  with  the  remark  that  the  Lutherans  were  as 
"  bad  as  Indians  or  Heathens.""  Koster,  however,  was  not 
to  be  diverted  from  his  course  ;  and  in  the  absence  of  any 
English  clergyman  held  services  according  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  whenever  a  suitable  room  was  to  be 
obtained. 

In  referring  to  this  movement  he  states  : — "  Here,  then, 
there  is  an  opening  for  a  great  harvest,  which  the  Lord 
opens  for  us  wider  and  wider,  giving  us  strength  to  make 
his  Philadelphiac  Word  a  foundation  on  which  Jerusalem 
can  descend  from  above." 

This  feeling  against  the  Lutherans,  upon  the  part  of  the. 
Quakers,  was  not  a  new  thing,  but  dates  back  to  some  time 
prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  German  Pietists.  It  arose  in  this 
manner.  One  Charles  Christopher  Springer,  a  Swedish 
schoolmaster  at  Wicacoa,  who,  as  the  old  record  states,  was 
"  a  plain,  honest,  pious  man,  but  devoid  of  talents,"  ''"'^  made 
a  determined  effort,  after  the  incapacity  and  death  of  Fabri- 
tius,  to  maintain  some  show  of  church  services  among 
his  countrymen,  until  a  regular  pastor  should  arrive  from 
Sweden  in  response  to  their  repeated  petitions. 

These  services  were  strictly  according  to  the  Lutheran 
doctrine,  the  sermon  always  being  read  from  Luther's  "  Pos- 
tilla."  It  appears  that  they  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
Welsh  be^'ond  the  Schuylkill  river,  and  the  Quakers,  fearing 
that  this  might  alienate  the  former  from  their  fold,  at- 
tempted to  prevent  both  the  Welsh  and  the  Swedes  from 
crossing  the  Schuylkill  on  Sundays,  so  that  they  could 
not  attend  the  services. 


2T2  "Jesus  the  Crucifyed  man,"  p.  18. 

'^'^  As  a  matter  of  fact  Springer  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  thorough 
education,  as  he  was  an  attache  of  the  Swedish  minister  in  England, 
whence  he  was  abducted  and  carried  off  to  Virginia,  where  he  was  sold 
into  bondage.  After  serving  as  a  slave  for  five  years  he  made  his  escape, 
and  found  a  home  with  those  of  his  ov/n  nationality  on  the  Delaware. 


Persecution  of  Swedish  Lutherans.  265 

This  action  upon  the  part  of  the  local  authorities  was 
met  by  a  protest  and  petition  from  the  Swedes  to  Gov. 
Benjamin  Fletcher  of  New  York,  as  soon  as  the  news  came 
of  his  appointment  to  the  governorship  of  Pennsylvania 
under  the  Crown. 

This  petition  was  read  before  the  Provincial  Council  on 
May  II,  1693,  his  Excellency  Gov.  Fletcher  presiding.  In 
this  paper  "  they  sett  forth  that  their  meeting  house  is  on 
the  other  side  the  river :  that  they  live  three  miles  distant 
from  the  ferry,  and  that  they  are  restrained  from  passing 
the  river  the  nearest  way  to  their  worship  on  Sundays  & 
Holyda}-s  by  Philip  England,  keeper  of  the  ferry  att 
Schuilkill."^'-' 

Governor  Fletcher,  as  the  minutes  of  the  Council  state, 
"  did  offer  his  Inclinations  to  remove  any  obstruction  that 
might  be  given  to  the  worship  of  God,  and  his  regard  to 
the  Interest  of  the  -proprietarie  in  the  ferry,  desiring  the 
Councill's  advice." 

The  members  of  the  Council  present  at  the  meeting — 
Andrew  Robeson,  Robert  Turner,  Pat.  Robinson,  Lawrence 
Cock,  Wm.  Clarke — gave  as  their  opinion,  "  That  the 
petitioners  may  have  Libertie  granted  them  to  transport 
themselves  over  the  river  to  &  from  their  worship,  pro- 
vided they  doe  not  abuse  this  Libertie  to  other  ends,  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  ferry." 

Koster's  course  of  action,  together  with  the  opposition 
of  the  Quaker  leaders,  made  many  enemies  for  him  among 
his  countrymen  as  well  as  among  the  English,  and  culmi- 


'■'■'*  Philip  England  established  the  first  regular  ferry  across  the  Schuyl- 
kill. He  held  his  license  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  William  Penn, 
dated  the  i6th  of  8ber,  1683.  This  grant  was  confirmed  by  order  of  Gov. 
Fletcher,  dated  the  29th  of  April,  1694,  and  further  by  a  lease  from  the 
Lieut.  Governor,  in  behalf  of  the  Proprietor,  for  a  certain  term  of  years  at 
an  annual  rental  of  seven  pounds. 

34 


266  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

• 
nated  in  a  disagreement  with  his    fellow-mystics    on  the 
Wissahickon,  and  his  retirement  with  a  few  others  from 
the  Community  in  the  forest. 

How  he  attempted  to  start  a  somewhat  similar  Com- 
munity in  Plymouth,  under  the  name  of  "  the  Brethern  in 
America  "  or  "  the  True  Church  in  Philadelphia,"  has  been 
fully  detailed  in  a  former  chapter. ^^''^ 

Pastorius,  in  his  so-called  "  Rebuke,"  refering  to  Koster 
and  his  followers  (1697),  writes: — "They  stile  themselves 
the  Brethern  in  America,  the  True  Church  of  Philadelphia 
or  Brotherly  Love,  etc. 

"  This  sounds  mightly  afar  off,  and  some  silly  Women  in 
Germany,  who  may  happen  to  see  their  pamphlet,  which 
probably  for  that  end  and  purpose  was  printed  in  the  Jiigh 
Dutch  tongncf'^'  besides  the  English  will  be  ready  to  think 
this  Church  or  Brotherhood  something  real  and  consider- 
able. But  to  undeceive  those,  who  prefer  Truth  before 
fictions  and  falsehood,  I  herewith  must  inform  them  that 
all  these  specious  Names  and  Epithets  in  the  pages  above 
quoted,  and  more  others,  are  mere  Kosterian  Chimera,  an 
idle  fancy.  He,  the  said  H.  B.  Koster,  arriving  here  in 
Pensilvania,  his  heart  and  head  filled  with  Whimsical  and 
boisterous  Imaginations,  but  his  hands  and  Purse  emptied 
of  the  money,  which  our  Friends  beyond  Sea  imparted 
unto  him,  and  some  in  his  Company,  was  so  cunning  as  to 
intice  four  or  five  to  a  Commonalty  of  Goods,  and  so 
settled  a  Plantation  near  German-town,  upon  a  tract  of 
Land  given  unto  them,  calling  the  same  IRENIA  ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  house  of  Peace,  which  not  long  after  became 
ERINNL\,  the  House  of  raging  Contention,  and  now 
returned  to  the  donor,  the  Bretheren  of  America  being  gone 


-'5  Page  84-92,  ibid. 

'^'^'  This  was  the  first  book  printed  in  the  German  language  in  America. 


TJic    Yearly  Meeting  at  Burlington.  267 

and  dispersed,  and  the  Church  of  Philadelphia  (falsly  so 
called)  proving  momentary,  and  of  no  moment;  Mark  iii, 

25-" 

Among  the  men  whose  enemity  Koster  evoked  was  the 

abov^e-named    Daniel    Francis    Pastorius  of  Germantown. 

The  controversy  thus  engendered  between  the  two  leaders 

became  very  bitter,  and  was  aggravated  still  more  by  the 

occurrences  of  the  following  year. 

The  breach  between  the  Orthodox  Friends  and  the 
Keithians  gradually  widened  toward  the  time  of  Yearly 
Meeting  ;  but  the  tact  of  the  Friends  prevented  the  seceders 
from  making  themselves  heard  or  disturbing  their  annual 
gathering.  In  the  next  year  (1696),  however,  when  the 
meeting  was  to  be  held  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  some  of 
the  more  aggressive  among  the  Keithians  devised  a  scheme 
to  make  themselves  heard.  There  were  six  in  the  party, 
among  whom  were  Thomas  Rutter,  Thomas  Bowyer,  and 
William  Davis.^^''  As  the  time  approached  they  called  on 
Koster,  and  invited  him  to  accompany  them,  but  without 
unfolding  their  plan  of  action.  They  merely  told  him 
that,  as  Burlington  was  in  West  Jersey  and  was  a  Protestant 
town  and  not  under  Quaker  supremacy,  they  could  there 
refute  the  Quakers  assembled  without  fear  of  arrest  as 
disturbers  of  public  worship. 

According  to  Koster's  account,  the  Keithian  party,  on 
the  23d  day  of  September,  1696,  took  their  English  Bibles, 
and  another  book  with  which  they  expected  to  refute  the 
Quakers,  and  journeyed  to  Burlington. 

Arriving  at  the  place  where  the  Yearly  Meeting  was 
being  held,  they  found  the  gathering  anything  but  a  peace- 
ful one.  Even  as  they  were  attempting  to  enter,  they  were 
met  by  a  number  of  Friends  who  were  in  the  act  of  expel  1- 


For  sketch  of  William  Davis  see  page  164. 


268  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

ing  from  the  building  an  old  Keithian,  a  Scotchman  by  the 
name  of  George  Hutchison.-'-  The  latter  then  told  the 
party  that  the  meeting  had  refused  to  hear  him,  and  as  he 
had  presisted,  had  finally  expelled  him. 

Davis  and  Rutter  now  unfolded  their  plan  to  Koster, 
requesting  him  to  act  as  spokesman.  This  he  refused, 
stating  that  the  Quakers  would  accord  to  him  the  same 
treatment  as  to  the  luckless  Scotchman,  and  that  if  they 
did,  he  would  not  submit  so  tamely. 

The  Keithians,  however,  called  his  attention  to  a  sentence 
in  a  book  by  Edward  Burrough,  wherein  he  states  that 
according  to  the  rules  of  discipline,  any  one,  when  moved 
by  the  Spirit,  can  go  into  a  meeting  aiid  refute  the  speaker. 

Four  contemporaneous  accounts  of  what  followed  have 
come  down  to  us.  The  first  is  in  Koster's  own  printed 
narrative  of  what  took  place.  The  others  are  :  the  MSS. 
of  Phineas  Pemberton,  who  was  present ;  the  epistle  sent 
by  the  meeting  to  the  governing  body  of  London  ;  and  an 
entry  in  the  minutes  of  the  ministering  Friends.  They 
all  agree  in  the  salient  points. 

Koster's  narrative  is  perhaps  the  most  reliable,  on  account 
of  his  extraordinary  memory.  But  as  a  matter  of  history, 
Pemberton's  account  is  also  printed,  thus  presenting  both 
sides  of  this  controversy,  the  effects  of  which  proved  so 
widespread  and  portentous. 

Koster,  in  his  account,  states  that  as  he  still  hesitated  to 
enter  the  meeting,  the  Keithians  asked  him  how  they  could 
best  controvert  the  doctrine  of  a  spiritual  Christ.  He 
answered  that  they  must  take  a  clear  and  convincing  verse 
from  the  Scriptures.      While  he  was  speaking  he  recalled 


^^®  George  Hutchison  (also  spelled  Hutcheson  ayd  Hutchinson)  died  in 
1698,  and  on  the  ninth  of  the  third  month  was  buried  in  the  Friends' 
ground  at  Fourth  and  Arch  Streets. — Friends''  Records. 


The  Dcmaiid  of  the  KeitJiiaiis. 


269 


two  verses  in  the  Kpistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  viz.,  chap, 
vii,  27,  and  ix,  26.  There  you 
have,  said  he,  in  the  word,  "  him 
self,"  the  smooth  pebble  to  throw  at  the 
forehead  of  your  Goliah.  They  then 
all  entreated  him  to  do  the  speakin«-,  as  ~~^^ 
the  Lord  had  inspired  him  with  both  texts, 
and  would  certainly  support  him.  Kos-  "^^^ 
ter  still  refused,  and  argued  that  they  were  all  older  and 
of  more  standing  in  the  community  than  himself.  Even- 
tually, however,  he  was  forced  to  accede  to  their  wishes. 

So  thev  went  into  the  building  and  mincrled  with  the 
people.  The  meeting,  continues  Koster,  was  almost  4000 
strong,"''''  and  about  thirty  Quaker  preachers  were  upon  the 
raised  benches. 


'"^  This  must  be  an  error.  The  old  meeting-house  at  Burlington,  built 
in  1683,  was  a  haxagonal  structure,  or,  as  the  original  draft  in  the  Friends' 
records  state,  "  a  six  square  building  of  Forty  feet  square  from  out  to  out," 
for  which  Francis  Collings,  the  builder,  received  ^190.  A  brick  addition 
of  30  feet  was  subsequently  (1696)  added  to  this  structure,  but  under  no 
circumstances  could  a  building  of  this  size  have  held  anything  like  that 
number  of  people.  A  sketch  of  this  old  meeting-house,  the  scene  of  the 
Koster  episode,  is  here  reproduced  ;  it  is  copied  from  an  original  painting 
which  is  still  extant. 


270  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

The  six  Keithians  stood  around  him,  so  that  the  people 
could  not  crowd  on  him  when  he  began  to  speak.  Their 
plan  was  first  to  read  a  quotation  from  the  Quaker  book, 
and  then  ask  three  times  for  an  audience.  Then  the  Ger- 
man was  to  make  the  address. 

It  was  the  custom  at  the  Yearly  Meetings  for  the  Friends 
to  preach  in  succession.  A  number  had  already  spoken  ; 
and  as  one  ceased,  before  another  could  commence,  one  of 
the  six  Keithians  (William  Davis)  addressed  the  meeting 
thus :  "  We  beg  of  you,  Friends,  that  you  will  permit  us 
to  edify  you  from  the  Scriptures."  The  Quaker,  however, 
whose  turn  it  was  to  speak  continued  to  talk.  As  he  fin- 
ished, the  Keithian  again  raised  his  voice  :  "  We  beg  of 
you,  Friends,  once  again  that  we  may  edify  you  with  some 
quotations  from  the  Scriptures."  Again  the  request  was 
ignored,  and  the  next  Friend  in  turn  commenced  his 
addre^'s.  He  was  not  interrupted,  but  when  he  had  done 
they  immediately  arose  once  more,  and  said  :  "  We  beg  of 
you,  Friends,  for  the  third  and  last  time  that  you  may 
hearken  unto  us.  If  you  heed  us  not,  we  will  make  our- 
selves heard."  The  Friends,  however,  paid  no  attention  to 
the  request,  and  the  speaker  next  in  order  commenced  to 
preach.  Then  one  of  the  six  Keithians  stood  upon  a  bench, 
and  read  in  a  clear  voice  the  words  from  the  Quaker  disci- 
pline :  that,  according  to  their  own  laws,  they  were  bound 
to  listen  unto  them. 

Hereupon  Koster  stepped  out,  and  began  to  speak.  The 
Friend  who  was  preaching  had  a  weak  voice  ;  Koster,  on 
the  contrary,  had  a  strong  and  penetrating  one,  which  he 
now  exercised  to  its  fullest  extent. 

The  volume  of  sound  from  the  robust  German  completely 
drowned  the  weak  voice  of  the  Public  Friend,  who  was 
forced    to    desist.      Immediately  all   the    preachers  in   the 


Exhortation  of  Roster.  271 

gallery  stood  up,  and  thereby  thought  to  silence  the  fearless 
Teuton,  but  he  was  not  to  be  frightened.  His  address 
opened  with  this  introduction :  "  We  have  begged  you 
thrice  for  a  hearing,  and  did  not  wish  to  interrupt  any 
speakers.  But  as  you  would  not  have  it  otherwise,  so  now 
we  shall  make  ourselves  heard. 

"  I  raise  my  voice  against  you  in  the  full  conviction  of 
the  Word  of  God,  to  refute  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  your 
blasphemous  doctrine,  which  is  worse  than  that  of  the 
heathen  of  America,  namely  the  doctrine  of  your  spiritual 
Jesus,  and  that  whatever  was  human  in  Jesus  was  dispersed 
among  the  clouds  during  his  ascension  into  Heaven."  He 
thereupon  called  their  attention  to  the  two  quotations  from 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  :  "  For  this  he  did  once  for  all 
when  he  offered  up  himself"  (vii,  27);  and,  "now  once  at 
the  end  of  the  ages  hath  he  been  manifested  to  put  away 
sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,"  (ix,  26).  Koster  pointed 
out  to  them  that  He  who  made  the  offering  and  the  sacri- 
fice was  the  entire  Jesus  ;  that  the  Diety  could  not  have 
become  a  sacrifice  without  humanity  ;  and  that  since  this 
Jesus  has  once  offered  Himself,  therefore  His  humanity  must 
be  imperishable. 

This  testimony  lasted  about  half  an  hour.  Finally  he 
closed  with  these  words  :  "  Now  to-day  has  the  light  of  the 
Scriptures  appeared  in  the  second  American  darkness,  and 
its  strength  you  shall  learn,  not  only  here  in  Burlington, 
but  in  all  the  Colonies.  I  stand  prepared  to  give  you  an 
account  either  in  writing  or  orally  of  my  words,  and  you 
shall  learn  that  you  must  flee  before  these  two  quotations 
of  Scripture." 

With  these  words  as  a  parting  admonition,  Koster  with 
his  party  left  the  meeting.  The  Friends  immediately 
spread  the  report  that  a  number  of  lunatics  had  come  to 


272  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

the  meeting,  and  had  jabbered  much  that  no  one  could 
understand.  This  proceeding  induced  the  Keithians  to  ask 
Koster  to  furnish  an  account  of  the  affair,  which  he  did  and 
it  was  printed  with  his  consent. 

The  full  title  of  this  curious  work  is :  "  History  of  the 
"  Protestation,  done  in  the  publick  yearly  meating  of  the 
"  Quakers  at  Burlingtown  in  the  year  1696,  by  the  witness 
"  of  two  remarkable  passages,  Hebr.  vii.  27,  and  viiii.  26, 
"  aginst  the  false  doctrine  of  the  Quakers,  whereby  they 
"  revile  the  blessed  human  nature  of  lesus  Christ  and  its  suf- 
"  fering,  resurrection,  ascension,  rule  over  the  church  and  his 
"  coming  again  and  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  sacraments, 
"  depending  thereupon.  Printed  and  sold  by  William  Brad- 
"ford  at  the  Bible  in  New  York  1696." 

The  Friends'  side  of  the  controversy  is  thus  told  by 
Phineas  Pemberton,  who  was  present  as  clerk  of  the 
Meeting :  '^^ 

"  No  sooner  had  George  Hutchinson  done  and  left  us, 
but  up  steps  divers  Germans  and  Others,  who  Indeed  were 
very  Fierce  &  Violent  Opposers,  the  Chiefest  of  them  was 
one  of  those  called  Pietists,  his  name  Henry  Barnard  Coster, 
whom  Friends  in  London  as  we  hear  assisted  in  their 
Comeing  here  which  (if  True)  they  are  very  Ungrateful, 
and  Forgetful  of  their  Kindnesses  Received,  For  divers  of 
them  have  given  Friends  here  much  Exercise  &  Trouble 
but  especially  at  this  Meeting,  where  they  brought  divers 
Friends  Books  with  them,  some  of  E.  B.  Some  of  W.  P's 
&  the  Clamour  that  they  made  against  us  was,  that  '  We 
deny  the  Lord  Jesus  ChHst  &  they  were  there  to  Prove  it 
out  of  these  Books  but  Friends  thought  it  not  fit  to  gratify 
their  Jangling  Restless  Spirits  but  Continued  their  Testi- 


■280  Yeyl)atini  transcript  from  epistle  sent  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  at  Bur- 
lington to  the  Yearly  Meeting  at  London,  jmo.  23,  1696,  O.  S. 


«      V    *  f       - 


Keithian  vs.    Orthodox.  273 

inonys  over  their  heads  Raising  their  Voices  &  Speaking 
Two  or  Three  or  more  sometimes  together,  but  the  Lords 
Power  Weighed  &  Chained  them  down  &  they  left  us. 
After  which  we  had  in  the  Close  of  our  Meeting  a  Sweet 
&  Quiet  time  in  which  Friends  were  much  Solaced  & 
United  in  the  Love  and  Life  of  Truth." 

The  above,  continues  Rathelf,  is  not  the  only  thing  that 
Koster  and  the  Keithians  undertook  against  the  Orthodox 
Quakers.  The  heart  of  the  former  and  the  courage  of  the 
latter  were  strengthened  by  these  various  occurrences. 

The  Quakers  now  began  a  new  line  of  attack,  and 
accused  the  Keithians  of  being  people  who  failed  to  prac- 
tice what  they  preached.  The  charge  was  that  while  they 
continued  to  advocate  the  Holy  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist, 
they  failed  to  administer  either  rite. 

"  However,"  continues  Rathelf,  "  the  Quakers  failed  to 
consider  that  George  Keith  was  a  Briton,-"^'  and  had  natur- 


^''"  George  Keith  was  born  about  1639  in  Scotland,  probably  in  Aber- 
deenshire. He  was  educated  at  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen,  where  he 
graduated  M.  A.,  1653-7.  He  was  designed  for  the  Presbyterian  ministry, 
but  it  is  uncertain  whether  he  was  ever  ordained.  About  1662  he  adopted 
the  tenets  of  the  Quakers  and  promulgated  their  doctrines,  and  exercised 
an  important  influence  by  providing  Barclay  with  illustrative  material  for 
his  great  "  Apology."  Keith  suffered  several  terms  of  imprisonment  for 
his  conscience  sake,  after  which  he,  together  with  Penn,  Barclay  and 
Furly,  made  the  memorable  tour  through  Holland  and  Germany  ;  Furly 
acting  as  interpreter  for  the  party.  Returning  to  England  he  was  again 
imprisoned. 

In  1682  he  emigrated  to  East  Jersey,  where  he  was  appointed  surveyor- 
general.  Shortly  after  Penn's  arrival  he  came  to  Pennsylvania,  and 
engaged  extensively  in  writing  and  propagating  the  sentiments  of  the 
Quakers.  In  1689  he  taught  school  in  Philadelphia.  His  career  here 
was  a  turbulent  one,  and  ended  in  the  so-called  Keithian  schism  and  the 
establishment  of  the  "  Christian"  Quakers,  who  afterwards  became  Sab- 
bath-keepers, or  Sabbatarians.  Keith  returned  to  Europe  early  in  1694, 
and  set  up  a  separate  Meeting  in  London  ;  he  subsequently  took  orders  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  returned  to  America  as  a  missionary  in  1702  ; 

35 


274  ^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pomsylvania. 

ally  been  imbued  with  English  ideas  regarding  the  neces- 
sity of  priestly  ordination  ;  that  without  such,  none  could 
administer  either  ordinance," 

Our  Koster,  however,  was  a  Lutheran,  and  had  entirely 
different  conception  respecting  priestly  ordination.  He 
believed  that  in  cases  of  emergency,  where  no  ordained 
priest  was  to  be  found,  any  Christian  was  justified  and  had 
the  right,  when  it  was  required  of  him,  to  baptize  and 
administer  the  Holy  Eucharist. 

To  remove  the  above  aspersion  and  refute  the  charges 
of  the  Quakers,  Koster  resolved  to  publicly  baptize  such 
of  the  Keithians  as  were  born  within  the  Quaker  fold,  and 
had  therefore  not  been  baptized.  The  Keithians,  in  con- 
sidering this  matter,  concluded  to  conform  to  the  Scripture 
text  as  nearl}'  as  possible,  and  asked  that  the  ordinance  be 
administered  in  the  Apostolic  manner,  by  immersion,  to 
such  of  their  number  as  presented  themselves. 

The  place  selected  for  this  public  profession  of  faith  was 
the  river  Delaware,  just  above  the  city.^^^  However,  as 
the  time  approached,  there  were  only  a  few  men  who 
remained  steadfast  and  were  willing  to  offer  themselves 
as  living  examples  of  their  convictions  in  the  face  of  the 
ridicule  of  their  Quaker  relatives  and  neighbors. 


returning  to  England  in  1704  he  was  offered  the  rectory  and  charge  of 
Edburton  in  Sussex,  which  he  thankfully  accepted,  although  the  situa- 
tion was  one  of  comparative  seclusion.  He  left  no  opportunity  pass  to 
enter  the  lists  against  the  Quakers.  He  served  his  cure  until  about  171 1, 
when  his  bodily  strength  began  to  fail  and  he  became  bedridden.  He 
died  on  the  27th  of  March,  1716,  and  was  buried  within  the  chancel  of 
the  church  at  Edburton.  Strange  to  say  his  remains,  like  those  of  his 
two  co-workers  in  Pennsylvania,  Evans  and  Club,  rest  in  an  unmarked 
grave.  Even  the  precise  spot  cannot  at  the  present  time  be  traced. 
There  is  a  stone  of  Sussex  marble  within  the  chancel  at  Edburton  which 
it  is  supposed  was  placed  there  to  protect  his  grave. 

2K2  -j^j-^g  f,j^y  Qf  Philadelphia  then  extended  'only  from  South  or  Cedar 
Street  to  Vine  Street  on  the  north.  The  district  above  Vine  Street  was 
known  as  Liberty  Lands. 


Public  BaptisDi  by  Kostci^.  275 

The  spot  selected  was  the  sandy  beach,  just  above  the 
"  Penny  Pothouse "  landing.  This  was  a  little  north  of 
the  present  Vine  Street,  which  was  then  the  extreme 
northern  boundary  of  the  city.  Just  above  the  inn  there 
was  a  ship-yard  upon  the  shore,  and  several  sheds  offered 
shelter  for  the  uses  of  both  priest  and  postulant. 

When  the  day  and  hour  arrived,  according  to  Rathelf, 
"  the  Quakers  were  present  in  large  numbers,  long  before 
the  appointed  hour,  to  see  if  any  of  the  seceders  would 
remain  steadfast ;  what  they  would  do  and  have  to  say  ; 
and  which  of  the  leading  Keithians  would  fail  to  appear 
at  the  last  moment." 

There  were  also  many  friends  and  adherents  of  the  candi- 
dates present,  together  with  numbers  of  avowed  church- 
men— Swedes,  Germans,  and  a  few  of  Koster's  former  com- 
panions. 

The  day  proved  mild  and  serene.  The  populace  upon 
the  beach  in  their  various  costumes ;  the  broad  expanse  of 
water  in  the  foreground,  with  the  building  brig  upon  the 
stocks ;  the  primeval  oaks  and  pines  for  a  background, — 
all  tended  to  form  a  pleasing  picture.  The  chief  interest, 
however,  centered  in  the  figure  of  the  enthusiastic  German 
evangelist,  as  he  stood  upon  some  elevation,  surrounded  by 
his  postulants.  Tall  and  erect,  robed  in  a  long  black  gown, 
and  with  a  fearless  and  flashing  eye,  he  opened  the  services 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  and  made  a  stirring  supplica- 
tion in  English  showing  the  necessity  for  baptism,  and 
giving  his  reasons  why  he  at  that  time  felt  justified  in 
administering  the  Holy  Ordinance  after  the  manner  of  the 
Apostles  and  early  Christians.  After  his  address  was 
finished,  he  demanded  a  public  profession  of  faith  from  each 
of  the  nine  candidates. 

He  then,  to  make  the  ceremony  still  more  impressive. 


276  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

after  the  manner  of  the  Lntheran  Church,  and  according 
to  the  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI,  pronounced  the  exor- 
cism of  "  the  Devil  and  the  seductive  spirit  of  Quakerism  " 
\der  Ten/el  iind  Qiidcker  Irrgeist^.  This  was  delivered 
with  all  the  power  of  the  German  evangelist  : 

"  I  command  thee,  unclean  spirit,  in  the  name  of  the 
Fatlier,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  thou  come 
out,  and  depart  from  these  thy  servants,  whom  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hath  vouchsafed  to  call  to  His  Holy  Baptism,  to 
be  made  members  of  His  body,  and  of  His  holy  congre- 
gation. Therefore,  thou  cursed  spirit,  remember  thy  sen- 
tence ;  remember  thy  judgement ;  remember  the  day  to  be 
at  hand  wherein  thou  shalt  burn  in  fire  everlasting,  prepared 
for  thee  and  thy  angels,  and  presume  not  hereafter  to  ex- 
ercise any  tyranny  towards  these  persons  whom  Christ 
hath  bought  with  His  precious  blood,  and  by  His  Holy 
Baptism  calleth  to  be  of  His  flock." 

When  this  impressive  exorcism  was  concluded,  the  party 
to  be  baptized,  with  Koster  at  their  head,  formed  a  proces- 
sion, and  walked  down  to  the  river's  edge  and  into  the 
stream,  until  they  were  about  waist-deep  in  the  water. 
After  a  short  invocation  they  were  immersed  one  after  the 
other  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  were  finally 
dismissed  with  the  command  in  Matthew  xxviii,  19:  "Go 
ye  therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing 
them  into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  '"^ 

Thus  ended  the  first  public  administration  of  the  Script- 
ural ordinance  of  Baptism  within  the  Province  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Koster  himself  declares  that  he  never  afterwards 
administered  it  in  America. 

The  Keith ians  were  now  more  anxious  than  ever  to  have 
Koster  as  their    regular  pastor.      But  this  he  refused,  on 


'^^  Text  according  to  the  Greek  original. 


The  Sabbatarian   Congi'cgation.  277 

account  of  their  tendencies  toward  the  Sabbatarian  and 
Anabaptist  doctrines.  They  then  selected  their  teachers 
from  among  the  number  baptized  by  the  German  evangelist, 
who,  however,  administered  the  Holy  Communion  to  such 
as  demanded  it.^-^ 

The  only  names  that  have  come  down  to  us  as  having 
been  among  this  party  of  converts  are : 
William  Davis,  Thomas  Rutter,  Thomas 
Peart  and  Thomas  Bowyer.  The  other 
five  are  unknown.  This 
small  party  formed 
the  nucleus  for  two 
Sabbatarian  congre- 
gations, viz.,  the  church 
at  Oxford  '^  which  chose 
William  Davis  for  pastor;  and  the  First  Church  of  Philadel- 
phia, which  chose  Thomas  Rutter.  The  latter  congregation 
kept  charge  of  the  Keithian  meeting-house  ^^^  which  had 
been  erected  some  years  previous  on  Second  Street,  a  little 
north  of  where  Christ  Church  was  afterwards  built.  Ed- 
wards, in 'his  "Materials,"  referring  to  this  church  states: 
"  Another  society  of  Keithian  Quakers  who  kept  together 
(after  Keith's  departure)  was  that  of  Philadelphia,  where 
they  builded  a  meeting-house  in  1692.  *  *  *  Nine  persons 
united  in  communion  on  June  12,  1698,  having  Thomas 
Rutter  to  their  minister.      They  increased  and  continued 

''^♦Rathelf  page  50T. 

'■***^  See  page  164,  ibid. 

'^^  The  only  direct  official  record  relating  to  this  building  that  has  come 
down  to  us  is  the  correspondence  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton  in  connec- 
tion with  his  attempt  to  bring  back  the  Keithians  into  the  fold  of  the 
Church,  and  at  the  same  time  to  recover  the  land  and  buildings  held  by 
them  for  the  uses  of  Christ  Church.  A  copy  of  this  correspondence  may 
be  found  among  Morgan  Edwards'  "  Materials." 


278  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

together  for  nine  years.  But  some  removing  to  the  country 
(Thomas  Rutter  --^  among  the  number)  and  the  unbaptized 
Keithians  falling  off,  the  society  in  a  manner  broke  up  in 
1707  ;  for  then  the  few  that  remained  invited  the  regular 
Baptists  to  join  them,  and  were  incorporated  with  them." 

The  course  of  Koster,  together  with  the  publication  of 
his  pamphlet  on  the  Burlington  controversy,  excited  the 
ire  of  Pastorius,  who  sided  with  the  Orthodox  Friends,  and 
lost  no  time  in  denouncing  the  German  enthusiast  as  well 
as  his  converts. 

These  public  denunciations  brought  forth  another  pam- 
phlet by  Koster,  in  which  Pastorius  was  severely  handled. 
This  pamphlet  was  issued  early  in  the  year  1697,  ^^^^  "^^^ 
published  in  English  and  German  under  the  following 
title  : 

"  /Vdvice  for  all  Professors  and  Writers.  By  Henry  Bern- 
hard  Koster." 

"  Ein  Bericht  an  alle  Bekenner  nnd  Schrifftsteller.  l^07i 
Henrich  Bernhard  Koster.,  /dp/." 

This  controversial  work,  printed  by  William  Bradford  in 
New  York,  was  not  only  the  first  high-German  book  written 
and  printed  in  America,  but  also  the  first  work  that  was 
issued  in  America  in  two  languages. 

According  to  Pastorius'  "  Four  Boasting  Disputers  re- 
buked," p.  2-3,  this  pamphlet  in  the  high-Dutch  tongue 
was  printed  for  circulation  in  Germany.     As  a  matter  of 


-*'  Thomas  Rutter  remained  in  Philadelphia  and  vicinity  until  1716, 
when  he  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Pottstown,  where  he  built  a  forge  and 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  iron,  the  first  that  was  made  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. His  lands  were  outside  of  the  present  limits  of  Pottstown,  and 
his  works  are  supposed  by  some  to  be  identical  with  the  old  Pool  Forge, 
on  the  Manatawney,  about  three  miles  above  Pottstown,  though  it  might 
have  stood  at  the  confluence  of  the  Schuylkill  and  Manatawney,  where 
traces  of  an  old  forge  formerly  existed.  Thomas  Rutter,  after  his  eventful 
career,  died  in  1729. 


First  GcvDian   Book  Printed  in  America.  279 

fact,  such  copies  of  the  German  edition  as  were  not  used 
among  the  Germans  in  Philadelphia  and  Germantown  were 
circulated  in  Germany  and  Holland,  while  the  English 
edition  was  distributed  broadcast  throughout  the  Province 
and  the  adjoining  colonies. 

In  this  pamphlet  Koster  boldly  challenges  every  opposing 
writer  and  professor,  with  the  proviso  "  that  none  who  will 
not  be  accounted  by  them  as  a  vagabond  Egyptian,  and  his 
answer  as  a  railing  pamphlet,  must  write  again,  unless  he 
hath  first  appeared  upon  the  publick  Theatre  and  Stage  of 
the  Church  and  of  the  world  unto  a  dispute  at  Philadel- 
phia, etc."""*^ 


^*^''  The  followinp^  fragmentary  quotations  are  all  we  have  of  this  inter- 
esting pamphlet.    They  were  used  by  Pastorius  in  his  so-called  refutation  : 

Page  I. — "Brethren  in  America,"  "Poor  dark  devil  (meaning  Pasto- 
rius) without  a  body." 

Page  2. — "  That  the  root  of  Anti-christianity,  that  is  to  say,  the  Deneyal 
of  Jesus  in  the  flesh,  is  to  be  found  among  the  Quakers." 

Page  3. — "The  Councils,  and  Clergies,  and  Universities  of  Babylon. " 
"They  tell  how  they  entered  the  22d  day  of  September,  1696,  into  the 
yearh'  Meeting  at  Burlington,  and  there  lifted  up  their  Voices  like  Trum- 
pets, and  broke  our  Friends'  Voices  in  the  Air." 

Page  4. — "The  Babylonian  Churches." 

"  That  the  Quakers  deny  Jesus  to  be  properly  the  Son  of  God." 

"That  the  Quakers  say  Christ  had  offered  that  which  is  not  himself, 
but  only  a  Garment,"  etc. 

"That  the  Quakers  deny  God  in  his  most  high  Spirits  and  Godheads 
power  to  be  the  Father  of  Christ's  body  and  Mary  the  Mother." 

Page  5. — "  That  many  of  the  Quakers  in  preaching  and  writing  revile 
the  Baptism  and  Supper  of  Christ,  &c.  Desiring  us  to  show  them  by 
what  second  degree  and  message  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles  the  union  of 
the  Spirit  with  the  outward  creatures,  or  water,  bread,  wine  and  the  like, 
has  been  abrogated." 

Page  7. — "The  Babylonian  Beasts." 

"  Quakerian  Spirits." 

"The  true  church  of  Philadelphia  or  Brotherly  love,"  etc. 

Page  8. — "The  four  chief  Quarters  of  Babylon." 

"  That  the  body  of  Christ  is  absent  from  the  Saints  on  earth." 

[There    is    no  doubt  that  many  extravagant  utterances  of  the  early 


28o  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

This  was  evidently  intended  by  Koster  to  draw  out  such 
of  his  opponents  as  had  already  been  engaged  in  the  con- 
troversy, and  induce  them  to  put  their  answers  in  writing. 
In  this  scheme  he  was  partially  successful,  as  a  number  of 
members  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  smarting  under  the  con- 
tinued attacks  of  the  Keithians,  and  aggTavated  by  the 
charges  hurled  at  them  by  Koster  in  his  last  pamphlet, 
induced  Pastorius  to  prepare  a  counter-pamphlet.  K  fac- 
simile of  title  is  here  reproduced,  it  reads : 

"  Henry  Bernhard  Koster,  William  Davis,  ||  Thomas  Rut- 
ter  &  Thomas  Bowyer,  ||  Four  1|  Boasting  Disputers  ||  of 
this  World  briefly  ||  REBUKED  |1  And  Answered  according 
to  their  Folly,  ||  which  they  themselves  have  manifested  in 
a  II  late  Pamphlet,  entitled.  Advice  for  all  Pro-  \\fessors  and 
Writers.  \\  Colophon: — Francis  Daniel  Pastorius.  ||  Printed 
and  Sold  by  William  Bradford  at  the  ||  Bible  in  New  York, 
1697."-*^^ 

That  this  work  was  issued  with  the  full  knowledge  and 
consent  of  the  Orthodox  Friends,  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing verbatim  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Ministering: 
Friends.  The  original  is  among  the  archives  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Yearly  IMeeting : 

"  Att  a  Meeting  of  Ministering  ffriends  held  att  Burling- 
ton  at  ye  House  of  Saml  Jennings  ye  5  of  ye  4  Mo.  1697. 

"  Where  after  some  time  spent  in  a  Silent  retire^i*^  before 
ye  Lord  &  divers  good  Testimonies  from  friends  did  in  a 
Weighty  &  Orderly  manner  proceed  to  business,  where  ye 


Friends  betrayed  a  tendency,  always  present  among  them,  to  deny  his- 
torical Christianity.  Thus  we  read  that  Dennis  HoUister,  a  Bristol  Bap- 
tist, said  at  a  church  meeting,  after  he  had  become  a  Quaker,  that  the 
Bible  was  the  plague  of  England. — Records  of  the  Broadniead  Church, 
p.  44,  London,  1S4J.     Froin  the  original  MS.  of  Soc.,  .rvii.'\ 

289  ^  photographic  /rt'r-^/w/V^  of  this  unique  book,  made  by  the  present 
writer,  is  in  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


A    Unique  Imprint.  281 


Thom<ff  RvtcerS{  Thorn ai  Boryer^ 
FOUR 

Boaifling    Dirputers 

Of  this  World  briefly 

REBUKED, 

And  Anfwered  according  ro  their  Foriy, 
which  they  ihemfeWes  have  manife/^ed  in  a 
late  Pamphlet,  entftiled,  Mv  ice  for  all  Pro- 
fcffcrs  and  Writers. 


If 


Tvainti  Dan  I  (I  Pa  fori  US. 


PrinCed  And  Sold  by  WtHi^  Bradford  a\  the 
Bible  in  New^Tori^    ^  ^ 97^ 

Title  of  Pastorius'  "  Rebuke." 


36 


282  The  Pietists  of  Proz'incial  Pennsylvania. 

first  thing  that  occiirr'd  was  a  small  Manuscript  from  Fran  : 
Dan^^  Pastoras  presented  to  this  meeting  in  Answer  to  a  vile 
Pamphlet  under  the  Names  of  H.  B.  C,  W.  D.,  T.  R.,  T. 
B.  wch  said  answer  was  by  him  Submitted  to  Judgemt  of 
ye  sd  Meeting  to  be  made  Public  or  otherwise  as  they 
should  judge  meet ;  who  upon  a  Serious  perusal  of  it  did 
Judge  it  Servicable  to  be  printed,  &  accordingly  Thos. 
Ducket  «&  Nicho  :  Walln  are  to  acquaint  him  wtli  it,  only 
ye  Meeting  desires  he  would  Explain  those  two  fifr^s  that 
Concerning  some  comming  into  ye  Meeting  &  Smoaking 
Tobbacco  there  to  ye  disturbing  of  ffriends,"'-'"  the  s^  two 
ffriends  are  also  to  let  him  know  yt  friends  will  defray 
ye  Charge  of  ye  Press  on  ye  acctt  aforesaid."  \_Verbati))t 
extract  from  minutes  of  Ministering  Friends]. 

The  following  quotation  from  this  "  Rebuke"  will  convey 
an  idea  of  the  tenor  of  the  work  : 

"They  tell  how  they  entered  the  22d  day  of  September, 
1696,  into  our  yearly  Meeting  at  Burlington,  and  there 
lifted  lip  their  Voices  like  trumpets,  and  broke  our  friends' 
voices  in  the  air,  &c. 

"  That  at  such  a  time  and  place  (we  being  Assembled  not 
to  quarrel  with  any  Brawlers,  but  to  worship  the  living 
God  in  Spirit  and  in  Truth,  waiting  for  the  enjoyment 
of  his  Comfortable  presence)  H.  B.  Koster,  with  some 
not  much  unlike  unto  himself,  came  into  our  Meeting- 
House,  and  there  as  Trumpets  of  an  uncertain  sound,  were 
blown  by  the  Prince  of  the  Power  of  the  Air,  who  ruleth 
and  operateth  in  the  Children  of  Unbelief,  we  do  not 
deny. 

"Neither  is  the  Impudency  of  these  our  Adversaries  a 


^""This  matter  seems  to  have  been  eliminated,  as  it  does  not  appear  in 
tlie  book. 


An   Outcome  of  the   Coiiti^oversy.  283 

New  thing  unto  us  ;  For  several  others  before  them,  acted 
likewise  by  him,  who  made  bold  to  appear  in  the  midst 
of  the  Sons  of  God  when  they  came  to  present  themselves 
before  the  Lord,  Job  1-6,  entered  into  Friends  Meeting 
Houses,  and  by  their  ill-behaviour  and  disorderly  inter- 
ruptings,  attempted  to  disturb  the  People  religiously  therein 
gathered. 

"  With  these  troublesome  men  of  Belial,  H.  B.  K.,  W.  D., 
T.  R.,  T.  B.,  and  the  rest  of  their  Fraternity,  in  whose 
behalf  they  have  signed  their  Pamphlet,  may  some  cut 
their  own  shame  as  (among  us)  they  will.  We,  measurably 
quickened  with  Christ,  are  set  down  in  a  safe  and  heavenly 
hiding  place,  viz  : — his  powerfull  Name,  having  that  satis- 
factory assurance,  that  there  the  Enemy  and  his  wicked 
instruments  cannot  approach  nor  hurt  us,  Praises  to  the 
Lord  our  God  forever." 

An  immediate  outcome  of  this  controversy  was  that  a 
number  of  German  Quakers  petitioned  Pastorious  in  his 
official  capacity,  as  the  head  of  the  settlement  of  German 
Township,  to  suppress  or  disperse  the  whole  community  of 
Mystics  and  Pietists  within  the  bounds  of  his  bailwick. 
Pastorius,  however,  skillfully  evaded  this  dilemma  by  stating 
that  he  would  refer  the  whole  matter  for  adjucation  to  the 
Proprietor  on  his  arrival,  which. was  then  shortly  expected. 
He  also  admonished  the  petitioners  in  the  meantime  to 
exercise  patience,  forbearance,  and  with  meekness  to  main- 
tain unity.  "''^ 

He  gave  vent  to  his  own  feelings  in  a  piece  of  poetry 
found-ed  on  i  Cor.  xi,  16  :  "  But  if  any  man  seemeth  to  be 
contentious,  we  have  no  such  custom,  neither  the  churches 
of  God." 


Ephrata  MSS. 


284 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Penjtsylvania. 


Die  Fehler  meiner  Briider 
Sind  Mir  zwar  ganz  zuwieder 
Doch  wegen  eines  worts 
Ihr  zeugniss  zu  vernichten 
Und  freventlich  zu  richten 
Find  Ich  nicht  ineines  Orts. 


[The  errors  of  my  Brethern 

Are  to  me  indeed  wholly  repugnant. 

However,  for  a  single  word 

Their  testimony  to  destroy, 

And  wickedl)-  to  judge, 

I  do  not  find  within  my  duty.] 


It  was  during  this  period  of  intense  religious  excitement 
that  Koster  wrote  his  "Z><^  Resurrcctione  Imperii^''''  noticed 
at  length  in  a  previous  chapter  (pp.  88-92).  One  of  the 
favorite  methods  of  the  German  enthusiast  was  to  close  his 
exhortations  with  a  quotation  from  the  celebrated  revival 
hymn  of  Nicholai :  "  IVachet  an/:  ritfft  u/is  die  Stimme 
der  Wachter^  schr  Jioch  anf  der  Zinne^'^  ahead}'  mentioned 
on  page  92  of  this  work.-^^ 

Another  important  result  of  this  peculiar  religious  condi- 
tion of  the  Province  was  to  form  a  closer  union  among  the 
thirty  odd  English  churchmen  in  the  city  and  vicinity. ^''''^ 

The  leading  spirit  among  this  embryo  congregation  was 
Colonel  Robert  Quarry  who,  with  the  encouragement  re- 
ceived from  Governor  Francis  Nicholson  of  Maryland,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  1696,  commenced  the  erection 
of  a  substantial  brick  building"'-'^  for  church  purposes  upon 


^■'-  There  is  a  beautiful  translation  of  this  hymn  by  Miss  Wink  worth,  in 
universal  use  :  "  Av;ake  !  Awake  !  for  the  night  is  flying." 
*'■'  The  names  attached  to  this  memorable  petition  were, — 


Francis  Jones,  Jasper  Yeates, 

Jar  vis  By  water,  Thos  Briscoll, 

Fard'do  Dowarthy,  Enoch  Hubord, 
Thos  Walter,  Thomas  Craven, 

Anth'y  Blany,  Edw^  Smout, 

Joshua  Carpenter,     Sam.  Holt, 
Edw.  Bury,  Jeremiah  Price, 

Jeremiah  Hunt,        John  Sibley, 
Robert  Gilliam,        John  Gibbs, 

'^•'*  Col.  Quarry  to  Gov.  Nicholson. 
Church  (Pennsylvania),  p.  6-7. 


Willm  Grant, 
Darby  Greene, 
George  Fisher, 
Thos  Curtis, 
Robt  Quarry, 
Rob'  Snead, 
Addam  Birch, 
John  White, 
John  Moore, 


Sami  Peres, 
Thomas  Harris, 
John  Harrison, 
John  Willson, 
Charles  Sober, 
Wm  Dyre, 
Thos  Stapleford, 
Geo.  Thompson, 
John  Herris. 


Historical  collections  of  the  Colonial 


Rev.    Thomas  Bray.  285 

the  lot  on  Second  Street,  which  had  been  secured  by  Joshua 
Carpenter  late  in  the  previous  year. 

Reports  of  these  disturbances  and  the  unsettled  condi- 
tion of  religious  affairs  in  the  great  Quaker  Province  soon 
spread  over  the  adjoining  colonies  in  an  aggravated  form, 
and  became  known  in  England,  where  they  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  Metropolitan  of  Canterbury,  and  of  the 
Bishop  of  London. 

The  subject  was  at  once  referred  to  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Bray,^^^  who  had  but  lately  been  appointed  commissary,  and 
had  been  especially  charged  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury to  prepare  a  report  upon  the  state  of  the  Church 
in  the  various  colonies.  It  was  at  his  instance,  and  upon 
the  representations  of  Bishop  Compton  of  London,  that 
eventually  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton  was  appointed  a  stipend 
of  ^50  a  year,  and  ordered  to  prepare  for  a  journey  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  arrived  some  time  during  the  first 
half  of  the  year  1698. 


295  'j^i^g  Rev.  Thomas  Bray,  D.  D.,  was  a  native  of  Marston,  Shropshire, 
educated  at  Hart-Hall,  Oxford.  He  was  patronized  by  Lord  Digby  and 
by  Bishop  Compton,  by  whom  he  was  sent  ovit  as  commissary  to  settle 
the  church  affairs  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  He  behaved  in  this  employ- 
ment with  all  that  zeal  and  disinterestedness  which  characterizes  the  true 
Christian,  he  instituted  libraries  in  several  parts  of  America  for  the 
information  of  the  missionaries  employed  in  preaching  the  Gospel,  and 
every  method  was  pursued  to  render  the  conversion  of  negroes  and  pagans 
to  the  Gospel  easy  and  certain. 

Upon  his  return  to  London  he  published  several  papers  relating  to  the 
state  of  the  Church  in  America.  The  most  important  of  which  were  the 
"  Memorial  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  America."  "The  acts  of  his 
visitation  in  Maryland."  "A  circular  letter  to  the  Clergy  in  that 
Province." 

The  publication  of  these  papers  caused  much  excitement  among  the 
Quakers  in  London,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  answer  and  refute  the 
statements  of  Dr.  Bray  in  a  quarto  of  some  fifty  pages.  This  was  entitled, 
"Remarks  on  Dr.  Bray's  Memorial,  &c.,  London,  1701."  A  copy  of 
which  may  be  found  in  the  Philadelphia  Library. 


286 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  PeJinsylvania. 


In  the  meantime  the  congregation  in  Philadelphia  was 
occasionally  served  by  Koster,  and  in  his  absence,  for  at 
least  a  part  of  the  time, 
a  Mr.  I.  Arrowsmith 
tanght  the  church 
been  started  by  the 
When  the  new  cler 
Pennsylvania  he, 
superiors,  at  once 
for  the  purpose 
him  an  ex 
the  situ 
return 
man  ac 
"The 
ter,  who 
med  Th 
ton,"-^'"*  was 
take  the  task. 
Philadelphia.  The 
of  the  English  con 
meagre,  and  consis 
members."''^       But 


Dr.    Henry  Compton, 
Lord  Bishop  of  London, 

1675-1713. 


pi  a}  ers  were  read  by 
a  schoolmaster  who 
school  which  had 
con  o  regation."^" 
gyman  arrived  in 
at  the  desire  of  his 
sought  out  Koster 
of  obtaining   from 
act   knowledge    of 
ation.      To 
totheGer- 
<_)unt.'''' 
minis- 
was  na- 
mas  Clay- 
to    under- 
He  settled  in 
commencement 
gregation  was  very 
ted  of  hardly  twenty 
they    kept    on    in- 


creasing.    Our  Herr  Koster  went  about  with  the  pastor  and 
instructed  him  in  the  refutation  of  the  teachings  of  the 


Beside  the  money  subscribed  by  individuals  or  corporations,  Dr.  Bray 
contributed  the  whole  of  his  small  fortune  to  the  support  of  his  liberal 
plans,  better  gratified  in  the  promotion  of  public  happiness  than  in  the 
possession  of  private  wealth.  To  his  great  exertions  many  of  the  societies 
in  London  owe  their  institution  ;  especially  that  for  the  Reformation  of 
Poor  Proselytes,  that  for  the  Reformation  of  Manners,  and  last,  but  not 
least,  that  for  the  Propagation  of  tfie  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts. 

This  good  man,  whose  life  was  devoted <to  benevolent  purposes  and  who 
deservedly  received  the  thanks  of  both  King  and  Parliament,  died  in  1730, 
aged  seventy-three  years. 


Dedication  of  Christ  Church.  287 

Quakers.  Clayton  was  a  young  man,  and  willingly  and 
cheerfully  took  the  advice  of  a  man  who  had  often  dealt 
with  such  people  ;  and  thus  one  by  one  the  Keithians  were 
drawn  back  into  the  fold  of  the  Church." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  German  evangelist,  in  addi- 
tion to  instituting  the  Orthodox  Lutheran  services  among 
the  Germans,  was  instrumental  in  starting  two  English 
Sabbatarian  congregations,  as  well  as  being  prominent,  if 
not  the  chief  factor,  in  establishing  the  oldest  Episcopal 
one  within  the  State.  Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Henrich 
Bernhard  Koster,  the  German  Pietist,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Clayton,  upon  his  arrival  in  Pennsylvania,  found  a  sub- 
stantial church-building  almost  ready  for  consecration  and 
the  well-organized  nucleus  of  a  congregation. 

One  of  the  first  visible  results  of  the  labors  of  the  new 
clergyman,  coached  as  he  was  by  the  German  Theosophist, 
was  the  organization  of  a  regularly  constituted  vestry,  and 
the  completion  and  solemn  dedication  to  its  pious  uses  of 
the  plain  brick  structure  on  North  Second  Street.  An  old 
document  states:   "  Thouoh  humble  in  its  size  and  archi- 


•296  "Perry's  Historical  Collections,"  vol.  ii,  pp.  7  and  15. 

■■'»'  Rathelf,  p.  501. 

^i"*  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton,  a  young  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England, 
was  the  first  minister  of  that  faith  who  was  regularly  sent  out  to  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Bray's  appointment  as  commissary  in  1696,  the  peculiar 
situation  in  Pennsylvania  became  known  in  England.  Urgent  appeals 
for  clergy  were  also  received  from  South  Carolina  at  the  same  time. 

It  was,  however,  not  until  the  year  1698,  that  two  nien  were  selected  for 
these  missions,  Thomas  Clayton  and  Samuel  Marshall,  the  latter  was 
selected  for  Charleston.  Both,  as  an  old  record  states,  "as  pious  and 
happy  in  their  conduct  as  could  have  been  found."  They  both  started 
on  their  journey  together.  Cla^'ton's  career  in  Philadelphia  was  a  short 
one,  as  it  was  terminated  in  the  year  after  his  arrival  (1699)  by  the  yellow 
fever. 

'■''•'''  Such  as  lived  within  the  city  limits. 


288  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

tecture,  it  was  a  goodly  structure  for  a  city  then  in  its 
infancy." 

[There  is  no  proof  whatever  for  the  statement  that  Christ 
Church  was  a  wooden  structure,  and  as  small  as  is  repre- 
sented by  the  same  authority.  The  foundation  for  this  tale, 
which  has  been  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  print,  is 
but  the  incoherent  mutterings  of  an  old  negro,  "  Black 
Alice,"  who  was  then  (1802)  over  a  century  old,  and  no 
doubt  confused  in  her  mind  the  first  Keithian  meeting- 
house, which  was  built  of  frame  and  located  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity,  with  Christ  Church.  Gabriel  Thomas,  in 
his  account  of  1698,  says  that  the  Church  of  England  built 
a  very  fine  church  in  Philadelphia,  etc. 

Then  in  the  old  cash  book  of  the  congregation,  under 
date  of  May  11,  17 11,  there  is  an  entry  or  charge  for  37,000 
bricks  for  an  addition  to  the  church,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  charge  for  "  pulling  down  the  gable-end  and  cleaning  the 
bricks."  It  is  hardly  probable  that  so  many  thousands  of 
bricks  would  be  used  in  enlarging  a  wooden  church  of  such 
small  dimensions  as  quoted  by  Watson  in  his  "Annals."] 

Christ  Church  was  the  name  applied  upon  that  occasion 
to  both  church  and  congregation.  The  name  of  the  church 
and  its  associations  have  became  historic,  not  only  in  the 
annals  of  our  State  but  of  the  whole  nation. 

Koster  continued  to  preach  and  exhort  in  both  English 
and  German,  but  now  spent  much  of  his  time  in  retirement 
and  study  upon  his  little  farm  in  Plymouth,^""  where  he 


300  -j^jjg  location  of  the  Tabernacle  of  the  rival  Community  known  as 
"  Irenia  "  or  the  House  of  Peace,  is  somewhat  obscure,  all  of  the  German 
accounts  state  that  it  was  at  Plymouth,  and  one  or  two  writers  state  par- 
ticularly that  it  was  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  Pastorius.  It  was  proba- 
bly on  part  of  Thomas  Fairnian's  land  in  that  vicinity. 

Pastorius  in  his  "  Rebuke  "  calls  it  "  a  plantation  near  Germautown. " 
Vide  p.  87,  Supra.     Rathelf,  p.  487. 


THE  PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


CHRIST    CHURCH,   PHILADELPHIA. 

PRIOR    TO   THE    REVOLUTION. 


ORIGINAL    IN    THE    COLLECTION    OF    THE    PENNSYLVANIA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 


THE   PIETISTS   OF    PROVINCIAL   PENNSYLVANIA. 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH    PRIOR  TO  THE  REVOLUTION. 

COMPLETED    1745. 

FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    OF   THE    ORIGINAL    SKETCH. 


Rev.  Evan  Evans.  289 

also  taught  children  and  gave  spiritual  instruction  to  adults. 
During  the  long  winter  nights  he  wrote  several  theological 
works,  one  of  which  has  been  noticed  at  length  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter.'^"'  He  also  composed  a  number  of  hymns, 
which  were  printed  upon  his  return  to  Europe.*'^ 

As  the  time  passed  the  epidemic  of  yellow  fever  spread 
over  the  land  in  1699,  numtfering  among  its  victims  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Clayton.*'^ 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Clayton,  Evan  Evans  arrived 
from  England.  He  had  been  sent  to  Pennsylvania  by  the 
Bishop  of  London,  with  special  reference  to  the  Welsh 
Quakers  who,  it  was  understood,  had  also  became  restive 
under  the  Quaker  rule.  Evans  at  once  resumed  charge  of 
the  Church  affairs  in  the  Province. 

Koster,  in  viewing  the  situation,  now  felt  that  the  term 
of  his  usefulness  among  the  English  colonists  was  about 
completed,  unless  he  absolutely  joined  the  Sabbatarian 
movement,  which  embraced  such  of  the  Keithians  as  had 
not  returned  to  the  Church  of  England.  This  he  refused 
to  do,  for  it  would  have  necessitated  a  sacrifice  of  his  Luth- 
eran principles :  he  therefore  conceived  a  desire  to  return 
to  his  native  land.  As  one  of  the  members  of  the  original 
Community,  who  had  married,  intended  also  to  return, 
Koster  was  persuaded  to  accompany  him.  His  troubles, 
however,  were  not  yet  at  an  end.  In  December,  1699,  the 
little  party  started  for  Virginia,  where  they  were  to  take 
passage  on  a  tobacco  ship  for  England.  Koster  left  all  the 
arrangements  for  the  voyage  to  his    companion  who,    he 


301  Page  88,  Sjipra. 

^"'^  Some  of  these  hymns  were  incorporated  by  Gottfried  Arnold  in  the 
"  Poetische  Samlung, "  Ratione  nicditationes  herineneviicea. 

•m?.  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton  died  at  Sassafras,  Maryland,  where  he  had 
gone  to  escape  the  scourge,  and  at  the  same  time  consult  with  some  of  the 
Maryland  clergy  on  the  state  of  the  Church. 

37 


290  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Poinsylvania. 

states,  was  an  "  eccentric  character  with  but  little  sense, 
and  subject  to  sudden  impulses," 

The  vessel  in  which  the  passage  was  secured  was  an  old 
one,  besides  being  heavily  laden.  To  make  matters  worse, 
the  captain  suffered  from  rheumatism  in  his  feet  and  was 
often  helpless.  The  weather  was  stormy,  it  being  mid- 
winter. To  crown  all,  Koster  had  given  his  money,  the 
proceeds  from  the  sale  of  his  property,  to  his  companion  for 
safe-keeping,  and  the  latter  attempted  to  exchange  the  cur- 
rency for  specie.  But  the  broker,  "  a  wicked  Scotchman," 
handed  him  in  return  the  amount  in  Spanish  dollars,  which 
proved  to  be  copper  silver-plated  counterfeits. 

Koster  was  hereupon  urged  to  remain  in  the  country  at 
least  until  spring.  But  as  his  companion  refused  to 
acquiesce,  they  embarked  on  the  vessel  as  originally  in- 
tended. The  season  and  passage  proved  a  stormy  one,  as 
was  shown  by  the  numerous  wrecks  that  were  seen  upon 
the  Goodwin  Sands,  and  Koster  states  that  he  felt  they  also 
would  go  hence  into  eternity  unless  the  Almighty  would 
help.  Fortunately  the  storm  suddenly  abated,  and  the  old 
ship  dropped  her  anchor  safely  in  the  Thames.  They 
arrived  in  London  at  the  close  of  January,  1700. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  trace  at  length 
Koster's  long  and  eventful  course  in  Europe.  From  Lon- 
don he  journeyed  to  his  native  land  by  way  of  Holland. 
When  in  Amsterdam,  he  published  an  octavo  against  the 
Quakers  under  the  title  : 

"  Aufgeschlossene  Prophetia  der  Hcbrcier^  oder  dcr  von 
anno  i6g2  an^  vom  Hinimel  aits  dem  Rath  der  Wachter 
Jiernbsteigende  Blis  iind  dcr  von  <?,  /^^7,  1700^  ^7oj-,  1707 
an^  bis  an  allc  Endc  der  Hijnniel  und  Erdcn^  darauf  folg- 
ende  Doniter.     Amsterdami^  1700.     8  zu" 

About  the  same  time  he  also  became  interested  in  Oliger 


Return  to  Europe.  291 

Pauli,  and  in  the  following  year  pnblished  a  pamphlet  np- 
holding  that  visionary  : 

"  Der  Hebrcer  Schechina^  d.  i.  die  personliche  Einwoh- 
miJig  der  gottlicJien  Herrlichkeit  in  dem  Messia  an  Oliger 
Paiili.     Amsterdam.^  lyoi.     Svo^ 

From  Holland  he  jonrneyed  to  Germany,  and  in  the  next 
year  pnblished  at  Lemgo  the  Latin  thesis  he  had  written 
in  Philadelphia  prior  to  his  departure.  The  full  title  and 
description  of  this  curious  composition  have  been  given 
in  a  previous  chapter  (page  88). 

When  Kostef  heard  that  the  Baron  of  x\mazone,  whom 
he  had  formerly  known  in  Berlin,  was  now  upper  tutor  to 
the  Abbess  of  Hervorden,  Charlotte  Sophia,  a  born  princess 
of  Curland,  he  went  there  to  visit  his  former  friend.  The 
Duchess  who  had  a  claim  upon  the  ruling  Duke  of  Curland, 
Ferdinand,  asked  Koster  to  act  as  her  ambassador  and  press 
the  claim.  For  this  purpose  he  went  to  Stockholm,  where 
he  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  year  1702.  Here  they  directed 
him  to  the  King,  who  was  then  with  his  army  in  Poland. 
Koster  found  the  King  the  following  year  in  the  camp 
before  Thorn,  and  was  so  successful  in  his  efforts  that  the 
Duke  was  compelled  to  pay  a  part  of  the  money  owed. 
Such  a  service  deserved  a  reward,  but  the  Abbess  was  soon 
after  compelled  to  leave  Hervorden  and  flee  to  Verden, 
where  she  was  not  in  a  situation  to  show  herself  grateful  to 
him.  Koster  nevertheless  remained  with  her  several  years 
in  Verden,  and  afterwards  went  to  Hamburg,  where  he 
acted  as  tutor  for  a  short  time,  until  the  Danish  ambassador 
to  England,  Baron  von  Scliaak,  who  was  about  to  leave  for 
that  country,  took  him  as  tutor  to  his  sons.  He  was  sent 
from  Hamburg  to  Copenhagen,  and  thence  to  Schwanholm, 
where  the  family  resided. 

Here  he  remained  for  seven  years,  and  in  17 14  he  went  to 


292  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Berlin,  where  he  took  up  his  abode  with  a  country  curate 
named  Rindfleisch.  In  1724  he  went  to  Berleburg,  which 
at  that  time  was  a  rallying  point  for  religious  visionaries  and 
enthusiasts  of  all  kinds. 

The  Count  Casimir  von  Sayn  and  Witgenstein,  who 
granted  them  religious  liberty  within  his  domain,  was  so 
well  pleased  with  Koster  that  he  asked  him  to  remain  at 
court  during  his  pleasure.  Koster  now  set  to  work  to  com- 
plete his  greatest  work,  one  that  he  had  had  in  hand  for  a 
long  time,  for  he  had  worked  upon  it  even  during  his 
sojourn  in  America.     It  was  called  : 

"  Schliissel  II  der  ersten  nnd  letsten  \\  Hebraisch  GriecJiisch 
TeiitscJien  \\  HARMONIE :  \\zvelche  nicJit  nur  in  einer\\ 
Probe  von  tausend  Wdrtern  ||  an  Bedeutiing  und  Klang  eine 
nahe  Vej^wandtscJiafft  zeiget ;  durch  welches  Mittel  man  die 
Hebr'aischen  W'drter eher  behalten.^  undsichvieler\\  ursprung- 
lichen  Wahrlieitcn  errin)iej'7t  niag^  &c.  Hcnrich  Bernhard 
Koster.^  ||  Jiinger  der  vollstandigen  Rede  des  Logii  Alpha 
und  Omega.  ||  Berlebnrg^  zii  Jinden  bey  Johann  Jacob  Hang. 
A?ino  iy2^^  Svo..,  j68 pages.'''' 

An  edition  of  a  thousand  copies  was  ordered  to  be  printed 
at  the  expense  of  the  Count  Casimir,  to  whom  the  volume 
was  dedicated,  with  display  type  in  all  the  verbose  and 
laudatory  style  of  the  period.  The  only  known  copy  of 
this  interesting  work,  the  title  of  which  is  reproduced  in 
facsimile.,  and  is  in  the  library  of  the  writer,  bears  the 
curious  endorsement  upon  the  title  that  the  author  was  a 
scientist  of  a  peculiar  kind  ;  and  as  no  University  would 
call  him  to  a  professorship,  he  signs  himself:  Professoriwt 
Extrac  *  *  *  Lingua  Orientate  Occidentaliiim  per  Uni- 
versa  *  *  *, 

The  main  title  of  the  work,  "  Key  of  the  first  and  last 
Hebrew-Greek,  German  Harmony,"  sets  forth  its  import, 


Roster's  Greatest   Work. 


293 


bet  rrften  unb  IcPfni 


arinonie: 


on  25ebcutun3  unt  ^(ang  einc 

^       buret)  SDctcfece  SDJittcl  man  Die  !Ocbi(iir(:f)i 
i'rfpriin9lid)enS03ahit- 

au^  t)cmOrmitbucc^ben^unt)unbt)u 

Durc^ Die recttt 6000  ^flhicoon  Dfv ©cbSpffunq  anblflsm 

loutfrcn 'Sibel  allfin  rcgTfrtt/unMreit  ubtr^le'Bcrf;llfd)angt^  t 

unboUcr  Diirau?  tn(|?an^cnt^  t!!rrt6nmfr/  tut  ^cuqniffin  unDi^i 

nnnvntlict)  bcr  i440oolcbcBH9fn  auf3nn9£<''Pfeilcr  fcrVln.  sil 

tat,  ourtSiibcr  noct»in  @rlcctK:n'U^^ WorcnIanD/ (Sgoi-trn  • 

CKcito^icn/  'i);ol^(^uun^(.'?rrvlc^/  unD  bcDbcmton  ^I'ro  %K^^t 

lfr»cn3bro^aDi(rl.  Waicii  5ui-cMcu«li(ig|?cn  $vcH"  ■?'trrn 

lf6(tnf  aucb  tm 'ibglan^  unt>  ai'rnb'ScbeinoiccUci 

^oUunt?/  (EngcliinD?;/  unD 

0(u^  Dm  evt.inni  DC(?  SJUcrtl 

.Dc(TenallmdcI)ttfif«  SvcicJ)  erft 

^cgmbogcn  bcr  ^antiome  fc 

mit  Der  Srafft  Dcg9JiunDetf  Innci  UnniunDigfiw  nj 

ont  furftlict  ju  iriDcrlfjcn  /  \<V\ 


5^:5?^: 


ur  in  cmf  c 

fcnbSBortern 

f!2Barrcf  fhcr  tct^iUtcii/  uno  (rc()  wfct 
■^eii  criiincrn  mag : 
auct) 

[)  t»ie  ^cber  ^c^  (Bciffe^  ©Ottc^  iinb  aUcr 

\^n?rtt)rcii-I^o|]6/X>ainb(?  nub  acn.ta'  \m\t 

rtcnbahrunfl  3Sfii  (Il)rt|lrnn  3obanne(!/  mit  Orr  ctftrii 

d  !!I!"^"  '^''^1^^""'^"  tff '3nrL-odi('i|ctfn  ©tern  •  ®ci|tc«e/ 

[u  frfcJiemrn  fommt  in  ^cm 
i<:r-C.Jltfcrunt»SpM(Dm/ 


4cob  «3^ug, 


Anno  \yn. 


Fac-similh  of  Title  Page  (reduckd),  original  in  Library  of  the  Writer. 


294  T^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

as  the  writer  seeks  to  prove  by  one  thousand  examples  the 
existence  of  a  mutual  relation  between  the  three  languages. 
In  addition,  however,  he  introduces  a  number  of  mystical 
charts  and  occult  problems  bearing  upon  the  Trinity,  the 
Incarnation  of  Christ  and  the  i\pocalypse.  Regarding  the 
latter,  Koster  touches  upon  an  entirely  new  and  unique 
theory, — one  that  he  would  here  gladly  communicate  to  the 
world  at  large,  if  such  were  possible.  Upon  the  title  page 
he  calls  himself  "  a  disciple  of  the  complete  counsel  [of 
the]  Logos, — Alpha  and  Omega." 

In  the  main  he  leans  toward  those  who  receive  the  Apo- 
calypse as  a  portrayal  of  the  destiny  of  the  church  of  Christ. 
Yet  in  his  divisions  of  the  periods  and  explanation  of  the 
scenes  described  he  differs  from  all  other  expounders. 

A  number  of  hymns  of  a  mystical  character  are  also 
introduced  in  the  latter  part  of  the  work,  showing  him,  in 
addition  to  his  other  accomplishments,  to  have  been  a  poet 
of  no  mean  order.  This  book  was  thought  worthy  of  a 
special  mention  in  the  '•''  BibliotJieqiie  raisonnee.''^  The 
reference  will  be  found  upon  page  59  of  volume  xviii.^"* 

Rathelf,  in  speaking  of  his  (Koster's)  poetical  powers,^"^^ 
mentions  that  he  held  in  special  reverence  St.  Bernhard's 

hymn, — 

"  lesu  dulcis  niemoria, 
Dans  cordi  vera  gaudia, 
Sed  super  mel  et  omnia 
Eius  dulcis  praesentia. " 

This  he  paraphas'ed  and  published  as  a  decacJwrdon  or 
hymn  of  ten  chords,  in  the  Latin,  Hebrew,  Greek,  German, 

304  i<  Yel  a  ete  encore  Henri  Bernard  Koster,  qui  dans  nn  autre  tivre 
attemand,  imprime  a  Berteboiirg  en  1724,  promettoit  de  demontrer,  par 
des  calcnls  d' arithmetique  et  de  geonietrie,  les  mysCeres  de  la  trinite,  de 
I' incarnation y  etc.,jusqua'u  ceiix  de  P Apocalypse.'" 

^"^  Rathelf,  page  5.0. 


The  Mystery  of  the   Triad. 


295 


oipr 


Ic^einungauftemljetligen 

^Cl(]C/ 

flemdg  tern  ©teDangcl/  hioion  auc& 

cttt)fl6  bci;  Korrcro  fin  Sfofan^ 

ju  feben. 

!^r  obere  *5:heil  De^  ^Ipba  A ,  ber  Sreuatioef/ 
bie  ^leDemigc^crcimgungteDet  ^eifonen  ^c^  gotl^ 
Itctiett  SS}(f(n^  mitemqnDer. 


Fac-simile  of  Mystic  Chart  in  Kostek's  "  Harmonib 


296  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


French,    English,    Dutch,  Sclavonic,   Arabic   and  Persian 
tongues. 

The  three  standard  Lutheran  h)'mns :  "  l^oin  Himinel 
hoch  da  koni  ich  /ler  ;''''  ''''  Eine  festc  Burg  ist  unser  Gott ;'''' 
and  "  Bella  It  nns  Herr  bei  deinein  Wort^^''  were  also  para- 
phrased by  him,  and  published  in  the  same  manner  in  the 
following  tongues  :  German,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  French, 
Swedish,  Danish,  Sclavonic,  English  and  Dutch. 

After  Koster,  for  some  unk;iown  reason,  became  tired  of 
Berleburg,  he  went  successively  to  East  Friesland  and 
Holland,  back  to  East  Friesland  again,  and  thence  to  Bre- 


men ;  and  finally, 
to  Hanover,  where 
son  of  Pastor  Bus 
the  languages.  As 
phist  became  weak 
Magistral  gave 
Lutheran  Orphan 
gradually  feebler 
his  wants  were  care 
Notwithstand- 


Arms  of  thk  City  of 
Hanovkr. 


in  1735,  he  came 
he  instructed  the 
chen  and  others  in 
the  old  Theoso- 
er,  the  Hanoverian 
him  a  living  in  the 
age.  Becoming 
in  body  and  mind 
fully  provided  for. 
ine  the  encroach- 


ments of  age,  he  still  stoutly  maintained  that  he  had  solved 
the  problem  of  life,  and  that  he  would  not  undergo  a  physi- 
cal death, — a  claim  which  certainly  seemed  to  gain  credit 
as  the  lamp  of  his  life  continued  to  flicker  until  the  century 
mark  was  almost  in  view. 

"  This,"  continues  his  friend  and  biographer,  Rathelf 
(1739),  "is  the  life  of  our  old  Herr  Koster,  a  man  who  is 
familiar  with  most  of  the  languages  of  this  world,  and  who 
not  only  understands  them,  but  can  speak  them.  To  give 
an  example  :  his  custom  is  to  repeat  his  daily  prayers  in' 
the  Hebrew,  Greek,  Bohemian  and  German  languages, 
which  he  considers  to  be  the  four  holy  tongues." 


r  I 

c-  m 

c 

m 

z  > 

m  c 

i  H 

H  ^ 

I  o 

m  C 

>  S 

CO  m 

m  m 


Burial  of  K'dster.  297 

However,  the  best  proof  of  this  is  his  iiutnerous  writings, 
both  those  printed  and  those  still  in  manuscript.  Besides 
the  works  already  enumerated,  the  following  title  is  known  : 

"  De  Uitlcgging  der  22  lettj^es  dcs  hciligau  Hebi^ewiscJien^ 
en  der  24  letters  dcs  heiligen  Grieksc/ten^  en  des  daarmede 
overeenkonimendcn  BoheemiscJicn  Hoogh-en  NcderdiiitscJien 
Aiphabeetsy     Printed  at  Amsterdam  in  octavo. 

Koster,  notwithstanding  his  physical  infirmities,  con- 
tinued to  teach  languages  and  to  expound  his  mystical 
deductions  until  the  end  of  his  eventful  life. 

For  a  short  time  he  seems  to  have  been  an  inmate  of  the 
Breitenhaupt  institution  in  the  ancient  Hanoverian  city  of 
Nordheim :  a  charitable  riTJ'^lljv  home  which  had  been 
founded  by  the  celebra  ^^ifS^J  ted  Senior  Breitenhaupt, 
with  whom  we  became  ^^^p^  acquainted  in  the  earlier 
chapters  of  this  narra  /(^^fc^j^^^l,  tive.^'"'  He  finally  re- 
turned to  Hanover,  /'^^5^^^^^^^C  where  he  ended  his 
days  in  the  year  1749,  vS^^^^S^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^P^  ^^^  ^S^  ^^ 
eighty-seven  years.^'"'  "^1^^^^^^  Tradition  tells  us  that 
the  old  Mystic  was  buried  ^^^^^as  was  then  the  custom,  by 
torchlight,  according  arms  of  the  an-  to  the  Lutheran  ritual, 
within  the  precincts  ^'nord^h'eJ'm°'^  of  the  old  God's  acre 
that  formerly  surrounded  the  Aegidien  Kirche  in  Hanover. 

Resting  far  away  from  the  scenes  of  his  early  struggles 
and  triumphs  in  the  western  world,  though  ridiculed  by 
contemporary  writers'^"^  and  forgotten  by  his  kin  in  the 
Fatherland,  his  memory  still  lives  in  the  history  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Germans. 

Hermit  Spring  and  Hennit  Lane,  within  the  bounds  of 


306  Page  54,  foot  note  69,  ibid. 

^^'' ^"^ Ziivetidssige    Nachrichien    voji   Jiingstvcrstorbcncn     Geh'hricn." 
Schmersahl,  Zelle,  I75r. 

308  Adelung,  "  Geschichic  der  i)icnschliche7i  Narrheit^''  vol.  vii,  p.  86, 
et  seq. 

38 


298  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

one  of  the  finest  natural  parks  in  the  world,  still  refer  to 
the  band  of  mystic  philosophers  who  settled  here,  of  whom 
the  subject  of  our  sketch,  Henrich  Bernhard  Koster,  was 
once  a  leader.  The  congregation  of  Christ  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  in  the  establishment  of  which  he  was  so 
prominent  a  factor,  even  at  the  present  writing  is  celebrating 
its  bi-centennial. 

Pfrtl  87,  J.  6. 

55if  9}?uttct  ©ion  witD  fagf n :  <Jiti  ?'}?fnfcl)  un^ 
fin  ^crtfd)  ifi  in  ibv  gcbDl)ren/  unDcr  felbfl/  Dcr  Jo5cD* 
jk/bQt  flc  gcQtunDft.  3«l)0t)al) ivttD  c^  in Dcr^cbvifjt 
fcei  ifQierenDfrt  <^6lcf«  unD  ^^crren  naci)  f  ncn 
^iCci^lieit^^B^Jjlff^  au<?(}cvcc^net  cvjaf)i(n ;  Dever  ntni; 
lid)  Die  in  \\)\  gebobi'f  n  fmD. 

k  liff?  (^tif  mem  v^cri?  /  un&  frbau  6ott6tf»  I 

f  on  j(uc>a  Stamm  itnO  Xcid)  bct'Annr 
(£rfd)oIIr  ms  grofc  ^jtmmels  -  .CtinO ! 

2.  -^mauf/  PA  Jtvrtit  an&  Wonnc  blmrf  t/ 
jDabin  5cr  rc^hre  2ftlfgauat  UMticf  f/ 
jDa  >Scmm^amad>b3  *£rc>c  blufyr/ 
jDaTJap^ftb  mit  Vrtcfltarubf ! 

3.  ■jumiicbetis' (Sieg!  ^m-Srcu^o'' '^Vclt! 
■Sum  gtilDncn  ^cbixieior  imptacbt- (UejcJti 
£<:nuecfter(?5ei|7;  ncupafi'd-  ilartim! 
iDes  rtcucn  Sa(f ms  (Dlanr,  'J>iam. 

A.  i)es  ^ftfP'^"*^'^'' bcfprcnc;tc2ui 
iTtit  fcincrn  trciten  (B^pplnV -2M."iU  » 
<£ro)fnet  Pir  Dein  -^crc,crxr> '  ■»j!iVt 
f*cl  tkrfburiiii ;  Der  ^HIcs  ivirC". 
f.  itr£.M09al(cr  Xcid)e?\ci(b 

inAdnSionsOlvmcij  irabrlkb  rci'd)! 
■^rieiiier  KeD,  in  einetn  Wort/    . 
hx[)c.U  ef  all  3  /  Oci-  trciic  vJorr. 
i.  2::>citii  ^mc  iSxnnbc  Rcb'ii/  f  r  ifT  / 

i£r  tvsr  iinO  fonimt/  ji'^ftu".  Ocv  (TbrifT  ,' 
3m  li^fTcnbabvurga  --  21  unb  t> : 
Znma(bl)  Per  ^(ufgang  mad;t  ima  fio(,u 
?3S         €^ 
5roIub  bir  jdi  d(e  SfunDcn/ 
rolIt'iiTrofr  imO  ber^Iicbfrob/ 
ttJeil  trb  babe  Ocr;  gefunOctr  / 
JDerOas  2lIpbai|?uM5  1^ 
jDer  Ocn  Sd^lulTeT  iDariOs  bat  / 
Ur»&  miv  5ei3t  0e5  ^^immcU  Pr>9- 

Fac-Simile  of  one  of  Koster's  Hymns  in  the  "  Harmonie." 


'j<:iicy 


Dx\NlEL    FALKNER. 

i^ec  ITJitf  ampftenbe/  mttley^en« 
&e/  \xr\^  tT)ic(>off<n5e  an  bent 
Hcibe  3f5ru  /  eirjgepflanQte 
tTJitf  nect?c  /  erwartenO  me£* 

IDerlangcn 

©amel  Safcfner  /  aur^e  r  unt) 
^Pilgrim  iti  Pcnfyivanieti  ta 


/yV  EXT  to  Kel- 
(ILpiiis  and 
Vmi/  Koster,  Dan- 
iel Falkner  (Falck- 
ner)  was  the  most 
prominent  c  h  a  r  a  c- 
ter  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  Brother- 
hood  in  America. 
He  was  not  only  one 
of  the  leading  spirits 

From  Falkner's  Missive  to  Germany,  1694.  of  the  movement  in 

Europe,  under  whose  auspices  the  Chapter  of  Perfection 
for  the  New  World  w^as  organized,  but  he  was  also  after 
their  arrival  in  Pennsylvania,  the  executive  and  financial 
head  of  the  party,  and  upon  him  devolved  the  arduous 
task  of  locating  the  Community  and  providing  for  their 
shelter  and  sustenance. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  1694,  he  thus  gives  his  impres- 
sion of  the  social  and  religious  condition  of  the  Province.^*-* 

''  It  is  a  country  that  supports  its  laborers  abundantly  : 
there  is  plenty  of  food.  What  pleases  me  most  is  that  one 
can  be  peasant,  scholar,  priest  and  nobleman  all  at  the  same 
time  without  interference,  which  of  all  modes  of  livine  has 


Sendschrieben,  August  7,  1694. 


300  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

been  found  to  be  the  best  and  most  satisfactory  since  patri- 
archial  times.  To  be  a  peasant  and  nothing  else,  is  a  sort 
of  animal  life  ;  to  be  a  scholar  and  nothing  else,  such  as  in 
Europe,  is  a  morbid  and  self-indulgent  existence ;  to  be  a 
priest  and  nothing  else,  ties  life  to  blunders  and  responsi- 
bilities ;  to  be  a  nobleman  and  nothing  else,  makes  godless 
and  riotous. 

"  The  religion  most  generally  professed  in  this  Province 
is  that  of  the  Quakers,  who  have  their  name  from  quaking 
or  trembling.  Having  in  their  collective  body  been  active 
for  a  long  time  in  holding  up  to  the  kings  and  nations  of 
Europe  the  signal  of  contrition,  they  now  must  themselves 
passively  confirm  the  truth  of  this  signal  on  account  of  the 
pride  and  foolish  arrogant  ignorance  of  their  members." 

After  making  mention  of  the  Keithian  schism,  he  con- 
tinues :  "  Here,  then,  there  is  an  opening  for  a  great  har- 
vest, which  the  Lord  opens  for  us  wider  and  wider,  giving 
us  strength  to  make  his  Philadelphic  Word  a  foundation  on 
which  Jerusalem  can  descend  from  above. 

"  Ye  European  Churchwomen,  consider,  unless  you  put 
off  your  soiled  garments  of  religion  you  cannot  enter  into 
the  Philadelphia  which  the  Lord  awakens  anew  out  of  a 
little  pebble  and  a  paltry  mustard  seed,  rather  outside  of 
your  European  Babylon  than  within  it,  as  the  future  will 
show." 

Our  knowledge  of  Daniel  Falkner  has  thus  far  been 
mainly  based  upon  certain  defamatory  entries  and  epistles 
made  by  Daniel  Francis  Pastorius,  who  was  his  bitter 
opponent. 

That  the  founder  of  Germantown  may  have  had  some 
cause  for  his  enemity  towards  some  of  the  Theosophical  en- 
thusiasts who  established  themselves  upon  the  borders  of 
his  bailwick  may  be  assumed,  as  upon  the  very  day  of  their 


Character  of  Daniel  Falkiier.  301 

arrival  they  commenced  regular  Church  services  iu  opposi- 
tion to  the  gatherings  patterned  after  the  Quaker  meetings 
and  presided  over  by  Pastorius. 

Then  followed  the  bitter  controversy  between  Koster  and 
the  Friends,  wherein  Pastorius  acted  as  champion  for  the 
latter.  Now,  even  before  the  wounds  had  healed  that  were 
inflicted  upon  him  by  the  bold  and  impetuous  Koster,  Falk- 
ner  returns  to  America,  and  without  any  preliminary  notice 
to  Pastorius  supercedes  him  as  agent  for  the  Frankfort 
Company,  and  asks  him  to  account  unto  him  for  his 
stewardship. 

The  old  strife  between  Pastorius  and  the  Mystics  on  the 
Wissahickon  was  now  renewed  with  all  its  acrimony  on  the 
part  of  the  former,  and  as  Kelpius  refused  to  be  drawn 
into  the  controversy,  Pastorius  aimed  the  darts  of  his  fiery 
temper  at  Daniel  Falkner  who,  however,  like  his  fellow- 
mystic  Koster,  was  equal  to  his  opponent. 

That  the  Saxon  Theosophist  was  by  far  the  abler  poli- 
tician and  diplomat  of  the  two,  and  that  Pastorius  was  out- 
generaled by  his  opponent,  has  already  been  fully  set  forth 
in  these  pages,  and  will  be  still  further  illustrated  in  the 
following  sketch. 

It  will  also  be  shown  that  Daniel  Falkner  was  not  quite 
so  dissolute  a  character  as  Pastorius  would  make  him  appear. 
The  facts  here  given  are  based  upon  various  official  docu- 
ments and  Church'  records,  most  of  which  have  been  undis- 
turbed for  more  than  a  century,  and  were  unearthed  by  the 
writer  only  after  a  long  and  tiresome  search  upon  both 
continents. 

"  Daniel  Falkner,  Citizen  and  Pilgrim  in  Pennsylvania 
in  North  America.  The  fellow-struggler  Compassionate 
and  expectant  of  the  body  of  Jesus.  A  transplanted  fellow- 
servant,  awaiting  the  Arch-shepherd  and  King  of  Heaven 


302  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pemisylvania. 


with  ardent  longing."     Thns  the  pious  pilgrim  signs  him- 
self during  his  visit  to  Europe. 

The  two  Falkner  brothers,  Daniel  and  Justus,  were 
Saxons  from  Langen-Reinsdorf  (formerly  known  as  Lan- 
gen-Rehnsdorf,  and  Langeramsdorf ),  near  Crimmitschau, 
Diocese  of  Zwickau,  situated  in  that  part  of  Saxony  for- 
merly known  as  the  Markgravate  of  Meissen,  and  they 
were  scions  of  an  old  Lutheran  family.  Their  ancestors 
on  both  sides  had  been  ordained  Lutheran  ministers. 

Their  grandfather  Christian  Falkner,  (died  November 
5,  1658),  as  well  as  his  son  Daniel  Falkner  (died  April  7, 
1674),  father  of  the  subjects  of  our  sketch,  were  both  pas- 
tors of  Langen-Reinsdorf  The  latter  left  four  children, 
viz.:  Paul  Christian,  born  February  2,  1662  ;  Daniel,  born 
November  25,  1666  ;  a  third  child  of  which  we  have  no 
record;  and  Justus,  born  November  22,  1672. 

All  the  sons  were  educated  with  the  same  object  in  view, 
and  were  eventually  ordained  to  the  holy  ministry.'^'"  It  is, 
however,  an  open  question  whether  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  was  ordained  prior  to  his  depar- 
ture to  America  in  1693  or  during  his 
visit  to  Germany  in  1698-1700.  But 
it  is  more  likely  that  it  was  during  the 
latter  period. 

Daniel  Falkner's  connection  with 
the  Pietistical  movement  in  Germany 
dates  from  its  introduction  into  the 
ancient  city  of  Erfurth,  where  he  was 
a  licentiate,  and  presumably  attended 
or  taught  at  the  University,  and  we  find  him  not  only  second- 
insf  Diaconus  AuQfUstus  H.  Francke  in  the  formation  of  the 


Arms  of  Erfurth. 


^"'  According  to  the  Berkenmeyer  papers  there  can  be  no  doubt  what- 
ever as  to  Daniel  Falkner's  regular  ordination. 


The  ExcomnnL)iicalio)i  by  Kostcr. 


303 


local  Collegium  Pietatis^  but  also  a  believer  in,  and  s}m- 
pathizer  with,  Anna  Maria  Schuckart,  alias  "  the  Erfurth 
Prophetess."  This  woman  was  the  ecstatic  servant  of  Licen- 
tiate Johann  Gottfried  Schmaltz  (not  "■  Lieutenant,"  as  erron- 
eously stated  on  p.  21  supra)^  who  was  also  proscribed  as  a 
Pietist.  She  attracted  much  attention  by  hei  ex- 
travagant utterances  while  m  an  ecstatic  con- 
dition. Among  other  prophe- 
cies, she  foretold  the  future 
greatness  of  Prancke  and 
the  success  of  the  Ameri- 
can enterprise. 

She  becomes  of  import- 
ance in  our  narrative  from 
the  fact  that  Kelpius,  in 
his  Diary,  mentions  the 
excommunication  by  Kos- 
ter  of  both  Falkner  and 
the  Erfurth  Prophetess 
upon  the  very  day  that  the 
*'  Sara  Maria  "  passed  into 
the  Capes  of  Virginia. 
This  entry  in  the  Kelpius 
Diary  has  always  been  '*'"''  °'-°  university  at  erfurth. 
somewhat  of  a  conundrum  to  students  of  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man history,  and  has  led  at  least  one  writer  to  suppose  that 
the  woman  was  among  the  passengers  on  the  ship.  There  is 
nothing,  however,  to  give  color  to  this  assumption,  or  that 
she  ever  left  Germany. 

Spener,  in  a  letter  to  Francke  dated  May  8,  1693,  writes 
that  Falkner  had  confessed  to  him  that  he  awakened  the 
religious    ecstasy  in    Anna    Maria  Schuckart  throuoh  an 


Cramer,  Beitrugt\  p.  302. 


304  T]ie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Intensa  imaginatio  in  divine  matters.^"  Here  we  may  find 
the  solution  of  the  conundrum  in  Kelpius'  Diary. 

There  can  be  but  little  question  that  Falkner,  during  the 
voyage,  repeated  this  confession  or  statement,  and  when  it 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  austere  Koster,  who  acted  as 
the  chaplain  or  spiritual  director  of  the  party,  the  latter 
publicly  read  the  ban  of  excommunication  to  Falkner  who 
was  present,  and  in  abscntio  over  the  Erfurth  Prophetess  in 
Europe. 

[There  were  a  number  of  woman  who  became  identified 
with  the  Mystical  and  Pietistic  movements  of  that  day. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  in  the  course  of  this  work 
of  Jane  Leade,  Johanna  von  Merlau,  and  Rosamunde  von 
Asseburg  (p.  61  siipra).'^^''  Francke  mentions  three  maid- 
servants in  connection  with  his  work  at  Erfurth  who  were 
subject  to  trances,  ecstasies  and  visions.  He  designates 
them  as  "beautiful  examples  of  God's  mercy."  ^'^  They 
were  Katharine  Reinecke,  servant  to  Oberkommissar  Pra- 
torius  in  Halberstadt ;  Magdalena  Elrichs,  servant  to  Pas- 
tor Sprogel  in  Quedlinburg ;  and  Anna  Maria  Schuckart, 
servant  to  Licentiate  Schmaltz  in  Erfurth. 

The  last-named  prophesied  in  1691  that  the  city  of 
Erfurth  would  suffer  great  misfortune  for  the  banishment  of 
Francke.  She  further  claimed  to  have  the  power  to  dis- 
tinguish devout  from  wicked  persons  by  the  mere  sense  of 
feelinof. 


^1'^  Rosamurida  Juliane  von  der  Asseburg,  born  1672,  was  the  most  cele- 
brated of  the  ecstatic  women  of  that  period.  Her  alleged  visions  of 
Christ  and  the  Deity  were  credited  by  a  number  of  leading  divines, 
notably  Dr.  Peterson  and  his  followers. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  she  was  a  desce  ndant  of  the  Countess  von  Asse- 
burg, whose  picture  is  shown  in  the  Cathedral  at  Magdeburg,  and  who, 
according  to  the  old  legend,  returned  to  life  after  her  burial  during  an 
attempt  at  grave  robbery  by  the  sexton. 

^1^  Cramer,  Beitrage,  p.  162  ;  Sachsse,  Ursprung,  etc.,  p.  241. 


Anna  Maria  ScJmckart. 


305 


After  Francke's  expulsion 
followed   him   to   Halle,  and 
writes  :    "As   I   prayed   with 
extasies,  and  in  this  condition 
in  the  regular  cadence  of  the 
elegant  action  of  her  hands  ; 
than  anything  I  had  thus  far 
short  time    before   I   had 
about  such  of  her  fail 
were    known    to    me, 
well  from  me."     Upon 
sion  he  writes  :    "  With 
more  wonderful  things 
at  Erfurth.      Upon  dif 
in   the   presence  of 
exuded 


from  Erfurth  ■"■'  the  woman 

in  a  letter  to  Spener^''  he 

them,  Anna  Maria  fell  into 

lecited  many  lovely  verses 

strophe,  and  with  a  right 

which    moved    me    more 

heard   or   seen.      But    a 

poken  to  her  privately 

ings    {gcbrechen)    as 

which  she  received 

a  subsequent  occa- 

Anna    Maria    still 

have  happened  than 

ferent  occasions  here, 

man}-  witnesses,  she 

',v^  blood  from  her  fore- 

and  hands, 

so    that   it 

streamed 

from    her. 

The    blood 

was  not  only 

3  seen    upon 

pri  her,  but  was 

iikl  distinctly 

noticed   to 

exude  from 

her  skin  like 

perspiration. 

As    various 

^  persons  were 

present  who 


Street  View  in  Old  Erfukth. 


39 


3o6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

expressed  some  doubt  as  to  the  actual  circnmstances  {be- 
schaffenheit)^  they  were  now  convinced  by  their  own  evi- 
dence. Yesterday  she  sang  a  hymn  continuously  for  two 
hours,  during  which  time  a  number  of  peculiar  matters 
took  place." 

In  the  year  1692  a  book  was  published  laudatory  of  these 
three  ecstatic  women,  under  the  signature  of  Francke, 
"  Eigentliche  Nachricht  voji  Begeisterten  M'agdcn,  i6<)2y 
A  year  later,  after  Francke  became  connected  with  the  new 
University  at  Halle,  he  repudiated  this  work  together  with 
any  endorsement  of  the  ecstatic  visionaries.] 

When  Daniel  Falkner  returned  from  Europe  it  was  with- 
out doubt  his  intention  to  resume  his  interest  and  activity 
in  the  Theosophical  Community  which  had  been  established 
by  his  instrumentality.  In  addition  to  the  power  of 
attorney,  empowering  him  to  act  for  the  Frankfort  Com- 
pany and  Benjamin  Furly,  as  before  mentioned,  Falkner 
brought  a  deed  of  gift  for  4000  acres  of  land  from  Catherina 
Elizabeth  Schutz,  widow  of  Jacob  van  der  Walle,  who  was 
one  of  the  original  purchasers  of  the  German  tract. 

This  indenture,  dated  the  first  of  March,  1700,  sets  forth 
that  she  hereby  gives  her  share  of  land,  consisting  of  4000 
acres,  unto  some  pious  families  and  persons  (by  which  no 
doubt  the  Community  is  intended)  who  are  already  in  Penn- 
sylvania, or  intend  to  go  thither  this  year,  as  likewise  unto 
such  as  shall  follow  them  in  time  to  come ;  among  whom 
Daniel  Falkner,  who  hath  settled  there  already,  and  Mr. 
Arnold  Stork,  who  dwells  at  present  at  Duisburg,  but  will 


^"  Vide,  Acta  des  Magistrals  zu  Erfurth.  Acta  der  Stadt  Archiv,  Erfurth, 
Abtheilung  X.  A  I.,  No.  13.  Untersuchung  gegen  die,  den  Pietismus 
anhengenden  Personen  abt.  X.  A.  I.,  No.  15.  Francke  returned  to  Er- 
furth, June  17,  1695,  to  attend  the  trial  of  Christina  Hirshhausin.  Records 
examined  by  writer  August,  1894. 

^'^  Cramer,  Beitmge,  263. 


A    CJiaritable  Bequest.  307 

shortly  transport  himself,  shall  be  constituted  and  apppinted 
as  attorneys,  as  well  for  themselves  and  their  families,  to 
take  part  thereof  as  also  according  to  their  good  pleasure 
and  conscience  to  cause  to  participate  other  pious  families, 
especially  the  widows  among  the  same,  viz.,  the  widow 
Zimmermann,'"*^*"'  and  other  two  widows  with  their  children 
being  of  Duisburg,  etc. 

It  also  contains  the  following  provision  :  "  Forasmuch  as 
I  also  understand  that  George  Miiller  of  Friedrichstadt  is 
resolved  to  transport  himself  with  his  family  unto  Penn- 
sylvania, my  will  is  that  he  with  his  family  shall  be  one 
participant  of  this  donation."  This  deed,  according  to  the 
records,  was  presented  in  open  court,  on  the  i6th  day  of 
the  1 2th  month,  1702-3. 

p      _^        (lc~^ri         4        — --  ^^   have   here 

/^  JWW^  ^ckm  t^  jkM^erCh  the  first  effort,  so 

^^ ^^df^f/V^^'^   ^  ^^^  ^^  known,  looking 

^^  r\'  ( y  f^)t^^___,^      toward    the    establish- 

^^r^i^clj  i^ni^ *^/f^^^cJ''  ""^ent  of  a  trust  for  the 

/7     ^     ^    y^/7  ^^^  °^  indigent  widows  in 

ydbUlii/   J^AyCCJi'IlCr^    Pennsylvania.     Just     what 

^  ^  „  benefit,   if  anv,   the   intended 

From  an  old  Deed  in  the  Penny-  '  -■  ' 

PACKER  Collection.  beneficiarics  derived  from  the 

gift  cannot  be  told.  That  the  charitable  scheme  miscarried, 
however,  was  no  fault  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  When, 
towards  the  end  of  August,  1700,  Daniel  Falkner  arrived 
in  Germantown,  together  with  his  brother  Justus  and  his 
companions  (among  whom  were  Johann  Jawert  and  Arnold 
Stork),  the  former  at  once,  in  the  name  of  the  Frankfort 
Company,  demanded  from  Pastorius  an  account  of  his 
stewardship  and  a  delivery  of  the  company's  property. 

''"'  The  widow  of  Magister  John  Jacob  Zimmerniann,  vide  page  47, 
stipm. 


3o8  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  only  after  a  considerable  demnrrer  upon  the  part 
of  Pastorius,  nominally  on  account  of  Kelpius'  refusal  to  act, 
that  the  transfer  was  made  to  Falkner  and  Jawert.  This 
property  consisted  of  the  land,  houses,  crops  in  and  above 
ground,  horses,  cattle,  household  goods,,  farming  utensils, 
and  other  property,  besides  arrears  in  rent  and  other  good 
debts  due  and  payable  to  the  said  company,  amounting  to 
over  two  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  sterling.'^^"  Falkner 
at  once  took  vigorous  hold  of  the  tangled  affairs  of  the 
company  and  attempted  to  straighten  them  out.       He  also 

'^a.tuiJ  PoAtcL  ykfiaruu 


Autograph  of  Pastorius. 


took  a  lively  part  in  the  civil  government,  all  of  which 
tended  to  sever  the  fraternal  ties  that  once  bound  him  to  his 
former  companions. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  stated  that  Falkner's  power  of 
attorney  from  Furly  was  void,  as  a  similar  document  had 
been  given  to  Reynier  Jansen,  which  antedated  the  former's. 
The  truth  is  that  the  Jansen  authority  had  been  revoked 
by  Furly,  but  by  an  oversight  the  fact  was  not  mentioned 
in  Falkner's  document.  This,  however,  was  subsequently 
rectified.  In  August,  1702,  a  new  letter  was  sent  by  Furly 
to  the  Falkner  brothers,  and  in  the  accompanying  letter 
of  explanation  we  read  : 


^"  Pennypacker's   Colonial   Cases ;   Pastorius   MSS  ;    Penna.    Papers  ; 
Archives  S.  P.  G  ;  London  Letter  Book,  xii,  folio  206. 


Ftirly  to  Falkiier, 


309 


"  That  my  last  letter  of  Attorney  sent  you,  is  owned,  at 
last,  as  sufficient  tlio  not  signed  by  2  there  willing,  tho  the 
things  were  too  generally  therein  mentioned,  nor  my  letter 
of  Attorney  to  Renier  Jansen  were  not  therein  revoked. 
*  *  *  I  told  you  finally  that  I  would  have  sent  you  a  Letter 
of  Attorney,  in  the  manner  of  the  Governours  to  Me,  but 
that  I  had  no  skill,  nor  time  to  do  it.  But  should  take  care 
to  have  it  done  in  England  Authentikely  and  now  having 
received  from  England  a  copy  of  a  Letter  of  Attorney  so 
ample  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  possible. 

"  In  which  all  care  is  taken  to  obviate  all  objections,  & 
to  give  you  all  power,  as  i,  all  former  letters  of  Attorneys 
are  revoked,  in  so  far  as  they  have  not  been  executed  & 
confirmed  in  so  far  as  anything  by  Virtue  thereof  has  been 
leeallv  done,  etc."^^^ 


U/^-^f>'^^^^ 


Fac-simile  of  Heading  and  Signature  of  the  Original  Letter. 


'^*  Letter  in  full,  "  Pennsylvania  Magazine,"  vol.  x,  pp.  474-5. 


3IO 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  document  that  all  the 
charges  made  by  Pastorius  and  others,  in  reference  to  the 
invalidity  of  Falkner's  right  to  act  for  Benjamin  Fnrly, 


^4  Fi^li>>43\r^^ 


are  without  any  foundation.  Pastorius  intimates  that  after 
Falkner's  accession  to  wealth  and  power  he  entered  upon 
a  life  of  dissipation.     As  many  of  Falkner's  acts,  together 


Falkticr  as  a   Citisen.  311 

with  his  efforts  to  recover  the  company's  property,  are 
matters  of  record,  it  is  well  to  receive  these  statements  with 
some  allowance. 

The  immediate  cause  for  the  final  rupture  between  F'alk- 
ner  and  his  former  companions  in  no  manner  reflects  upon 
the  former.  It  happened  within  a  year  or  two  after  his 
return  to  America,  when  he  renounced  his  profession  of 
celibacy,  married,  and  evidently  settled  down  to  become  a 
farmer  and  a  useful  citizen.'*^''  There  seems  to  be  no  record 
of  his  marriage  or  who  his  wife  was.  The  first  positive 
information  upon  this  episode  in  his  career  is  the  memo- 
randum found  in  Pastorius'  writing,  among  the  Frankfort 
papers,  which  states  that  "  his  own  wife  desired  others  to 
look  for  him  in  the  woods,  where  it  was  thought  he  might 
have  killed  himself,  he  being  above  a  week  from  home  and 
nobody  knowing  where  to  find  him." 

So  much  for  Pastorius.  In  our  sketch  of  the  Community, 
the  civil  career  of  Daniel  Falkner  was  traced  down  to  the 
year  1704,  when  the  last  mention  of  his  name  appears  in 
connection  with  the  local  affairs  of  Germantown.  That 
he  still  remained  in  the  Province  and  j^ressed  the  claims  of 
his  principals  in  Europe,  for  whom  he  acted  as  attorney,  is 
shown  by  the  official  records  of  the  land  office. 

In  a  previous  chapter  extracts  were  given  from  the 
records  to  show  how  energetic  Falkner  was  in  settling  the 
tangled  affairs  of  the  Frankfort  Land  Company,  which  had 
evidently  been  overlooked  or  neglected  by  Pastorius.  The 
Furly  claims  were  also  vigorously  pushed,  as  is  shown  by 
the  old  minute  book  "  G,"  where  we  find  several  entries 
bearing  upon  the  subject. 


^'^  According  to  the  court  records,  October  14th,  1704,  he  was  fined  6s. 
for  having  bad  fences. 


312  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Early  in  the  year  1705,  Daniel  Falkner,  together  with 
Jawert,  who  in  the  mean  time  had  also  married,  made 
another  effort  to  recover  the  land  company's  property.  To 
counteract  the  continual  charges  by  Pastorius  that  the 
power  of  attorney  given  to  Falkner  was  void,  on  account 
of  the  refusal  of  Kelpius  to  act  (as  the  document  called  for 
three  persons  to  act  jointly  and  not  severally),  the  two 
remaining  persons,  upon  legal  advice,  on  March  29,  1705, 
substituted  one  George  Lowther,  a  Philadelphia  attorne}', 
in  the  place  of  Kelpius. 

On  the  22nd  of  the  8th  month,  1705,  Daniel  Falkner 
went  before  the  "  Board  of  Property,"^""  and  "by  order  of 
Benjamin  Furly,  Informs  that  by  the  said  Benjamin's  letter 
he  finds  the  Prop'ry  had  Promised  him  2  lotts  in  the  City 
Philad'a,  for  his  2  sons,  Jno.  and  Arent  Furly,  and  gave 
him  an  Expectation  that  he  had  wrote  to  the  Sec'ry  about 
it,  y'rfor  by  his  Petition,  Requests  the  said  lotts,  but  the 
Sec'ry  nor  any  Other  Person  haveing  Rec'd  any  Orders 
about  them  'tis  referred  till  such  Orders  arrive." 

That  the  substitution  of  Lowther  as  the  third  attorney 
did  not  meet  with  entire  success  is  shown  by  Pastorius' 
sworn  report  to  the  land  company  in  Gennany,^"^  where 
he  states  that  in  November,  1705,  Jawert,  who  by  this  time 
had  located  permanently  on  the  Bohemia  Manor  in  Mary- 
land, returned  to  Germantown,  and  upon  the  ninth  of  that 
month  affixed  a  public  proclamation  against  the  Court- 
house door,^"  by  which  he  notified  all  persons  not  to  pay 
any  rent  or  other  debt  unto  the  said  Daniel  Falkner  on  the 
company's  account. '^^^ 

Notwithstanding  the  above  manifesto,  George  Lowther, 


*^"Penna.  Archives,  second  series,  vol.  xix,  p.  465. 

■^^'  Pennsylvania  Papers,  S.  P.  G.,  London,  Book  12,  folio  206. 

'^'■^  Another  account  states  it  was  the  meeting  house  of  the  Friends. 


JoJiaiDi  Jazvcrt. 


313 


four  months  later,  March  26,  1706,  notified  all  tenants  to 
meet  him  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Coulson,  on  Friday,  April 


5th,  and  make  settlement  of  the  debts  due  the  compau}-. 

^^3  An  explanation  of  this  action  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Jawert 
had  become  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  then  joined  forces 
with  Pastorius  against  Falkner,  who  adhered  strictly  to  his  Lutheran 
faith. 

40 


314  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  lot  of  the  German  tenants 
was  not  a  happy  one ;  neither  was  the  position  of  Falkner 
a  sinecure. 

The  continuous  opposition  of  Pastorius  to  Falkner's 
administration  and  the  challenging  of  his  authority  to  act, 
culminated  about  this  time  in  a  letter,  inspired  by  Pastorius, 
from  the  Bailiff  and  Burgesses  of  the  town,  asking  the 
company  to  dismiss  Falkner  and  restore  Pastorius  to  his 
former  position.  This  missive  failed  to  accomplish  its  pur- 
pose. For  the  next  year  or  two,  as  Pastorius  himself  states, 
matters  were  quiet ;  Falkner  doing  the  best  he  could  under 
the  adverse  circumstances. 

In  the  meantime  a  new  condition  arose  to  complicate 
still  more  the  affairs  of  the  land  company.  The  property 
belonging  to  this  organization  during  the  past  years  had 
steadily  increased  in  value.  The  unsettled  condition  of  its 
affairs  in  the  Province,  for  which  Pastorius  was  mainly 
responsible,  attracted  the  attention  of  various  persons  who 
wished  to  possess  themselves  of  this  now  valuaVjle  franchise. 
A  conspiracy  was  the  result,  the  chief  actors  in  which  were 
Johann  Heinrich  Sprogel,  David  Lloyd,^"^  and  Thomas 
Clark,  the  last  acting  as  attorney  for  Sprogel. 

In  the  investigation  of  this  celebrated  case  the  finding  of 
the  Provincial  Council,  March  i,  1708-9,  was  that  "it 
appeared  that  David  Lloyd  was  principal  agent  and  con- 
triver of  the  whole,  and  it  was  affirmed  that  he  had  for  his 
pay  a  thousand  acres  of  Benjamin  Furly's  land,  which  he, 
the  said  Benjamin,  was  .so  weak  as  to  intrust  Sprogel  with 
the  disposal  of.""^"' 

Sprogel,^"''  who  was  the  son  of  the  well-known  theolo- 


^^*  For  biographical  sketch  of  David  Llo5'd,  see  "  Penna.  Magazine,"  vol. 
V,  pp.  187-8. 

^■^■^  Minutes  of  Prov.  Council,  Col.  Rec.  ii,  p.  432. 


Pcj-Jidity  of  Sprogcl.  315 

gian  of  the  same  name,  appears  in  anything  but  an  enviable 
light.  From  certain  correspondence  between  Benjamin 
Fnrlv  and  others  which  has  lately  come  to  light,  it  appears 
that  Sprogel  was  a  schemer  of  the  first  order,  and  an)thing 

Autograph  of  John  Henry  Sprogel. 

but  a  man  of  honor,  character  or  principle.  In  fact,  Fnrly 
accuses  him  not  only  of  forgery,  but  of  larceny  as  well.^"^ 
Sprogel  came  to  America  either  with  the  Falkner  brothers 
or  shortly  afterwards,  as  his  name  appears  upon  the  public 
records  as  early  as  i8th  11  mo.,  1702.^"*^ 

The  climax  of  the  conspiracy  for  which  Daniel  Falkner 
has  thus  far  been  blamed  occurred  on  the  13th  of  January, 
1708-9.'"^  According  to  Pastorius,'^*'  "the  said  Falkner 
appeared  in  an  adjourned  court  held  for    the  County  of 


■^'■^^John  Henry  Sprogel,  was  born  February  12,  1679.  His  father,  an 
eminent  author  and  clergyman  of  the  same  name,  was  teacher  of  the  semi- 
nary at  Quedlinburg.  His  mother,  Susanna  Margaretta,  was  a  daughter 
of  the  celebrated  composer  of  music  Michael  Wagner,  and  the  Church 
historian  Godfried  Arnold,  who  wrote  the  ''Kirchen  and  Ketzer  Historice" 
married  his  sister.  Sprogel  was  naturalized  in  1705,  and  for  a  time 
figured  as  a  shipping  merchant  and  became  quite  a  land  owner,  as  in 
addition  to  the  Frankfort  Company  lands  he  acquired  several  large  tracts 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  He  died  at  his  home  at  the  mouth  of  Spro- 
gel's  Run  at  Manatawney,  which  was  a  part  of  the  land  to  the  present  suit, 
wherein  he  had  subsidized  all  the  lawyers  who  were  then  in  the  Pro- 
vince, viz.:  David  Lloyd,  George  Lowther,  Thomas  Clark  and  Thomas 
MacNamara. 

The  borough  of  Pottstown  is  now  upon  a  part  of  this  land. 

'^'"  Furly's  letters  in  the  collection  of  the  Penna.  Historical  Society. 

■^•■^»  Minute  Book  G. 

^'-*  A  full  account  of  this  case  will  be  found  in  the  report  of  Colonial 
Cases,  by  Hon.  Samuel  W.  Pennypacker. 

■'■'"  Archives  of  S.  P.  G.,  London,  Letter-book  xii,  p.  206. 


3i6  Tlie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Philadelphia,  where  it  is  said  he  swore  that  the  Frankfort 
Company  was  many  hundred  pounds  in  his  debt,  and  that 
he  therfore  must  sell  their  land  to  Ditto  Sprogel ;  to  whom 
the  said  court  immediately  granted  an  ejectment.  When 
as  neither  Johannes  Jawert  nor  the  aforsaid  Pastorius  had 
the  least  knowledge  of  it,  and  the  tenants  in  possession 
never  were  summond  to  any  court. 

"The  24th  of  January,  1708-9,  the  sheriff,  by  virtue  of 
a  writt  signed  Joseph  Growden,  Esq.,  delivered  unto  the 
said  Sprogel  possession  of  the  said  company's  house  &.  land 
in  Germantown  and  Atturned  unto  him  the  said  Sprogell 
some  of  the  Ten'ts  in  the  German  Township.  The  greatest 
part  then  refusing  to  acknowledge  him  for  their  Land  Lord, 
who  never  the  Less  were  afterwards  successively  persuaded 
so  to  do. 

"  Thereupon  the  said  Jawert  and  Pastorius,  Petitioned 
the  Hona'ble  Gov^ern'r  Charles  Gookin  Esq.  and  Councill, 
Anno  1709  for  to  assign  a  Lawyer,  in  Order  to  have  the 
wrong  redressed,  for  as  much  as  the  said  Sprogel  had  feed 
most  of  them,  if  not  all  &  However  Thomas  Clark 
affirming  before  the  Hona'ble  Board,  That  when  he  did 
Rise  in  the  above  said  Court,  he  was  promised  40  shillings 
But  never  had  the  same  paid  to  him,  he  was  to  do  the  Com- 
pany's business.  Now  in  what  manner  he  acted  the  said 
Johannes  Jawert  who  gave  him  a  Tenn  pounds  Fee,  Can  tell 
best  and  Judge  Growdon  Then  owned  at  the  said  Board  that 
the  court  had  been  surprised  by  the  Lawyers. "  •^■^' 

Now  the  true  facts  of  the  case  are  that  Sprogel,  by  virtue 
of  forged  letters,  he  together  with  David  Lloyd  imposed 
upon  Falkner,  actually  had  him  imprisoned  in  the  common 
goal,  and  released  him  only  upon  conveying  the  Frankfort 


^^^  Minutes  Prov.  Council,  March  i,  170S-9,  Col.  Rec.  ii,  430. 


Captain   Vining's  Report.  317 

claims  to  them,  as  is  shown  by  his  own  declaration  to  the 
representative  of  the  Governor.'''" 

Some  years  later  the  survivors  of  the  old  Frankfort  Com- 
pany, owing  to  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  their  affairs 
in  Pennsylvania  and  the  lack  of  any  returns  from  their 
investments  there,  offered  to  give  all  of  their  lands  in  Penn- 
sylvania to  the  Venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,'''''  which  had  been  formed  in  Lon- 
don. This  offer,  it  appears,  was  accepted  and  an  attempt 
was  made  by  the  society  to  recover  the  same. 

In  connection  with  the  investigation  that  followed,  a 
report  was  made  by  Captain  Vining,  who  was  deputed  to 
look  up  the  matter  and  report  the  true  facts  of  the  case  to 
Governor  Gookin.     In  this  report  he  states  :  ™ 

"  I  have  waited  on  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius,  Severall 
times  but  he's  x-lpprehensive  of  his  own  ill  Administration, 
and  others  have  forbid  him  whose  Circumstances  are  as  bad 
as  his,  I  have  herewith  sent  an  Exemplification  of  22377 
acres  in  Mannatanny  with  the  survey  of  it  from  the  sur- 
veyor General's  office,  also  an  exemplification  (here  follows 
a  list  of  the  Company's  property)  But  by  Dan'l  Falkner 
was  this  day  informed  that  Pastorius  sold  all  that  (land) 
but  gave  no  titles,  the  said  Faulkner  further  saith  that  he 
sold''^^  the  22377  acres  of  land  to  Sprogell  by  force  being 


'32  Records  S.  P.  G. 

3*^  The  credit  for  the  discovery  of  these  valuable  documents,  stored  in 
the  archives  of  the  London  Society,  is  due  to  the  Rev.  Roswell  Randall 
Hoes,  Chaplain  U.  S.  N.  Rev.  Mr.  Hoes,  who  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  thorough  investigators  and  geneologists  of  the  early  Dutch  settlers, 
is  best  known  by  his  publication  of  the  Baptismal  and  Marriage  Registers 
of  the  Old  Dutch  Church  of  Kingston,  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  formerly 
named  Wiltwyck  and  familiarly  called  Esopus.     New  York,  1891. 

'•"  Archives  S.  P.  G.  Letter-book  xiii,  Penna.  Letters,  folio  2S1. 

^■'^  This  should  read  surrendered,  as  Falkner  received  no  consideration 
whatever  for  the  transfer  of  the  property. 


3i8  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

sued  and  in  Goal,  and  many  years  after  Jawert  and  Kelpius 
had  renoun'd  acting  and  that  he  knew  himself  weak  and 
of  no  power  to  sell  but  was  poor  and  forced  to  do  it  by 
David  Lloyd  and  Tho'  Clark,  SprogelPs  Attorney  he  Adds 
that  lOO  acres  of  Liberty  lands  was  laid  out  Between  the 
Two  Ferrys  Rocks  and  benjamins,  w'ch  he  sold  to  Dr. 
Sober  also  120  acres  do  Land  near  Derby  which  he  sold  to 
John  Ball  which  he  now  lives  on  but  observe  that  in  all  the 
sales  of  Land  he  sold  it  was  by  his  own  power  of  and  no 
joint  power  of  Jawert,  Kelpius,  and  the  Falkner  the  records 
do  not  afford  a  copy  of  the  power  of  Attorney  by  which 
these  men  acted,  or  at  least  I  cannot  come  at  them  however 
Mr.  Pastorius  assures  me  that  he  often  saw  the  power 
granted  to  Jawert,  Kelpius  and  Falkner  and  that  they  were 
to  act  jointly  together,  but  severally  not  at  all.  The  same 
did  this  Daniel  Falkner  confess  to  me  this  day  but  is  poor 
and  believe  could  be  got  for  a  small  gain  to  discover  the 
whole  plott  and  in  the  presence  of  Edward  Farmer  Esq. 
promised  he  would." 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  Falkner  profited  little 
or  nothing  by  his  attorneyship,  and  that  in  the  end  he  was 
a  victim  of  Sprogel's  machinations  ;  further,  that  whatever 
loss  resulted  to  the  parent  company  was  due  to  Sprogel, 
who  remained  in  possession  of  the  property. 

Sprogel,  in  the  year  17 13,  sold  1000  acres  of  this  land  to 
Rev.  Evan  Evans,  then  rector  of  Christ  Church  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  who  was  the  most  active  clergyman  within  the 
Province.  Six  hundred  acres,  deeded  July  10,  11  of  above 
year,  were  to  be  known  as  Rhyd  y  Carw  (the  Deer's  Trail). 
The  remaining  400  acres  adjoining  the  above,  conveyed 
July  29,  30,  17 13,  were  named  by  Evans  "  Trcfeglwys^''  or 
Churchtown.  The  consideration  being  ;^i8o  lawful  silver 
money  of  America,  in  addition  to  the  usual  quit  rent.     The 


Falk/icr  Swamp.  319 

latter  tract  is  in  CaeriiJirvoii  Township,  Lancaster  Connty. 
Here  an  Episcopal  preaching  station  was  established  by 
Evans,  which  is  still  known  as  Christ  Chnrch,  Chnrch- 
town.^^" 

The  Frankfort  Conipan)-,  in  view  of  the  new  evidence 
that  has  come  to  light,  certainly  seems  to  have  been  nnfor- 
tnnate  in  the  selection  of  its  official  representatives  in 
America.  Daniel  Falkner  seems  to  be  the  only  one  of  the 
three  who  retired  poor  at  the  expiration  of  his  stewardship. 

The  title  of  the  Frankfort  Land  Company  to  the  Mana- 
tawney  tract  of  22000  acres,  confirmed  October  25,  1701, 
is  supposed  to  have  been  settled  by  Germans  as  early  as 
1700,  emigrants  who  came  over  with  Daniel  Falkner  npon 
his  return.  The  development  of  this  tract,  which  still 
partly  bears  his  name  "  Falkner's  Swamp,"  ^^'  occupied 
much  of  the  time  and  energy  of  the  German  Mystic,  and  as  a 
result  he  gradually  lost  his  interest  in  Germantown  civil 
affairs,  as  well  as  in  the  Community  he  had  been  instru- 
mental in  establishing  upon  the  Wissahickon. 

The  earliest  direct  evidence  of  this  congregation  known 
to  the  writer,  is  a  Swedish  account  of  a  visit  made  to 
Manatawney  by  Pastor  Sandel  in  company  with  Daniel 
Falkner  in  the  autumn  of  1704,  wherein  it  is  stated  that 


336  yi(ic^  Historical  Collections  of  American  Church,  vol  ii,  p.  73. 

^•"  According  to  Henry  S.  Dotterer,  the  boundaries  of  Falkner  Swamp 
may  be  given  in  a  general  way  as  follows  :  on  the  north  are  the  South 
Mountains,  on  the  south  are  the  Stone  Hills,  on  the  west  the  Fox  Hills, 
and  on  the  east  the  ridge  rising  from  the  left  bank  of  Society  Run. 
Swamp  Creek,  having  as  its  tributaries  Society  Run,  Spack  Run,  Minis- 
ter Creek  (the  old  Pfarrer's  Bach),  Schlegel's  Run  and  Goshenhoppen 
Run,  flows  in  a  winding  course  through  the  Valley.  The  first  official 
name  given  to  any  portion  of  the  Swamp  Creek  Valley  of  Falkner's 
Swamp  was  Hanover  Township.  Afterwards  Frederick  Township  was  set 
up,  and  later  Douglass  Township,  and  still  later  Hanover  was  cut  up  into 
New  Hanover  and  Upper  Hanover. 


320  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

the  former  assisted  Falkner  at  the  Church  services  on 
Sunday,  October  15th.'"'     One  of  the, first  things  he  did  in 

Autograph  of  Rev.  Andrkas  Sandel. 

the  new  settlement  was  to  organize  a  congregation,  build  a 
church,  and  hold  services  according  to  the  Lutheran  ritual. 

This  humble  structure,  a  mere  rude  log-cabin,  without 
any  attempt  at  ornamentation  or  architectural  beauty,  with 
its  sparse  congregation  and  enthusiastic  preacher,  has  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  regular  German  Lutheran 
Church  and  organized  congregation  in  the  Western  World. 
It  served  the  congregation  until  172 1,  when  a  more  pre- 
tentious building  was  erected,  also  of  logs.  In  17 19  the 
church  was  endowed  with  50  acres  of  land  for  church  and 
school  purposes  by  Sprogel,  who  succeeded  Falkner  to  the 
land. 

[The  circumstances  connected  with  this  interesting 
gift  are  as  follows  i"'*^  In  the  latter  year  John  Henry  Spro- 
gel requested  Henry  Pannebecker  to  lay  out  and  survey 
fifty  acres  for  the  purpose,  which  survey  was  completed 
April  17,  17 19,  and  George  Boone,  to  prepare  a  deed,  but 
through  some  neglect  this  important  paper  was  never  exe- 
cuted. The  Lutherans  entered  into  possession,  raised  a 
contribution  among  themselves,  built  a  church  and  a  school- 
house,  and  had  them  completely  finished  in  1721.  About 
the  same  year,  becoming  more  numerous  and  the  congre- 


^^'  Corroborative  evidence  appears  in  Sandel's  Diary. 
'^^  Henry  S.  Dotterer  in  the  "  Perkiomen  Region,  Past  and  Present," 
vol.  i,  pp.  4-5. 


Tlic  Falkncr  Sicaiup   Congregation.  321 

gatioii  being  to  large  for  the  building,  they  raised  another 
contribution  and  erected  a  larger  church  and  school-house 
"far  preferable  to  the  former."  In  1746  they  awoke  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  Sprogel  was  dead,  and  that 
"  owing  to  the  Sloath  and  Neglect  of  the  Elders  and  Church 
wardens"  they  had  no  title  except  it  was  shown  by  Spro- 
gel's  conveyance  of  other  lands  described  as  adjoining 
those  of  the  church.  Henry  Pannebecker,  Valentine  Gei- 
ger,  George  Jerger,  Johanna  Christiana  Sprogel,  widow  of 
John  Henry  Sprogel,  Jr.,  John  Frederick  Richards  and 
Anna  Elizabeth  Hoppin,  sister  of  Spogel  and  a  widow, 
February  10,  1746,  united  in  a  certificate  of  these  facts,  and 
appearing  before  John  Potts,  one  of  his  Majesty's  justices, 
declared  they  were  "Real  Truth."  Upon  this  paper  the 
title  depends.  ] 

It  may  be  well  to  state  here  incidentally  that  Justus 
Falkner  was  not  ordained  at  Wicacoa  as  pastor  of  this 
church,  nor  did  he  ever  serve  or  preach  here  after  his 
ordination.  How  long  Daniel  Falkner  continued  his 
interest  in  either  this  tract  or  the  church  is  not  known  to 
a  certainty,  but  it  could  not  have  been  long  after  he  was 
dispossessed  of  the  property  by  Sprogel,  as  is  recited  at 
length  elsewhere  in  this  sketch. 

[The  next  German  preacher  of  whom  we  have  any 
record  as  ministering  to  the  Falkner  Swamp  congregation 
is  Gerhard  Henkel  '^'^^  who  served  the  congregation  for 
several  years  after  his  arrival  in  1717.'^*^*  Froni  IMarch,  1720, 
to  October,  1723,  the  church  was  served  by  Rev.  Samuel 
Hesselius,  the  Swedish  pastor  at  Wicacoa,  after  which  time 
the  congregation  was  served  by  various  preachers  at  irregu- 


•"■'  It  is  a  question  whether  Gerhard  Henkel  was  ever  ordained.      ]ldc^ 
Rev.  J.  W.  Mann,  "Annotations  Hallische  Nachrichten,"  vol.  i. 
MO  M  Halleische  Nachrichten,"  p.  831. 

41 


322  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

lar  intervals  until  they  united  with  the  congregations  at 
Trappe  and  Philadelphia  in  an  urgent  call  to  Europe,^^^ 
which  was  responded  to  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior 
Miihlenberg  in  1742.] 

Daniel  Falkner,  now  thoroughly  disheartened  and  bereft 
of  all  his  property  by  the  conspiracy  of  Sprogel  and  Lloyd 
and  the  continuous  opposition  of  Pastorius  and  his  followers, 
and  seeing  that  the  Brotherhood,  after  the  death  of  Kelpius, 
was  in  a  state  of  disintegration,  determined,  at  the  first 
opportunity,  to  bid  farewell  to  the  scenes  of  his  struggles 
and  disappointments.  He  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  as 
his  brother  Justus  asked  his  assistance  in  ministering  to 
the  Germans  who  were  scattered  over  a  large  territory  in 
East  Jersey,  and  had  started  several  congregations  on  the 
Raritan  and  its  tributaries.  The  records  of  this  are  to  be 
found  upon  the  old  register  of  the  New  York  congregation, 
where  they  were  entered  by  Dominie  Justus  Falkner  (1703- 
1723),  as  a  part  of  his  notitia  parochialis. 

According  to  an  extended  investigation  lately  published'^^^ 
relative  to  the  German  Lutherans  in  New  Jersey,  it  appears 
that  the  earliest  known  local  record  of  any  act  of  service 
by  a  German  Lutheran  pastor  in  that  colony  was  a  bap- 
tism held  August  i,  17 14,  at  the  house  of  "  Ari  van  Guinea" 
a  Christian  negro  on  the  Raritan,  upon  which  occasion  was 
baptized  a  child,  born  March  25,  of  John  Peter  Applemann 
and  his  wife  Anna  Magdalena. 

Unfortunately  the  chronicler  neglects  to  give  the  entry 
verbatim^  or  even  to  name  the  pastor  who  performed  the 
sacred  function,  or  where  the  original  record  is  to  be  found. 
Which  of  the  two  Falkner  brothers  officiated   upon  this 


341  "The  Old  Trappe  Churcli,"  Kretschmann,  1S93,  p.  5. 
3^'^  "  The   Early  Germans  in   New  Jersey,"   by  Theo.   Freylinghausen 
Chambers. 


Ari  van   Guinea. 


323 


occasion  is  an  open  qnestion.  It  was  most  probably  Daniel, 
as  Dominie  Justns  wonld  have  entered  the  fact  upon  his 
own  register  in  New  York, 

Then  again  Ari  and  his  wife  Jora,  both  negroes,  were 
originally  from  New  York,  and  in  the  entry  of  the  baptism 
of  their  child  in  1705,  Dominie  Falkner  calls  them  both 
Christian  members  of  his  congregation.^^^  After  their 
removal  to  the  Raritan  Valley,  they  remained  true  and 
steadfast  to  their  Christian  profession  according  to  the 
Lutheran  doctrine,  which  is  further  instanced  by  the  facts 
of  their  humble  home  being  selected  for  the  administration 
of  the  sacred  ordinance,  and  that  the  name  of  their  son, 
"  Ari  van  Guinea,  Jr.,"  subsequently  appears  upon  Falk- 
ner's  subscription  list  as  a  contributor  towards  the  re-building 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  New  York. 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  it  was  shortly 


after  the  interview  men 
ing  that  we  find  Dan 
ed  as  the  regular 
more    c  o  n  g  r  e  g  a 
ley  of  the  Raritan, 
permanently  set 
sey,  where  two  of 
eventually  married 
lie    married   Wilhelm 


tioned  by  Captain  Vin- 

iel  Falkner  install- 

pastor  of  two  or 

tions  in  the  val- 

and  his  fam  il  y 

tied  in  New  Jer- 

his  daughters 

parishioners;  Mol- 

Dern,  a  brewer,  and 


the  other  married  Jo  sealof  wkst  jkrsey.  hannes  Kasner,  who 
was  a  farmer.  Both  were  active  men  in  their  respective 
congregations. 

From  now  onward  the  history  of  Daniel  Falkner  becomes 
a  part  of  the  Lutheran  Church  record  of  New  Jersey  and 
New  York.     The  congregations  served  b)'  him  were  known 


Vide,  extracts  Baptismal  Register, — sketch  of  Justus  Falkner. 


324  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

as  Rai'eton  (Raritan),  Ini  Gcbirge  (in  the  Highlands),  MiiJil- 
stein.,  Uylekil.^  Remrepug/i.,  (Wallkill)  or  Rainapo^^^^  (Rem- 
merspach),  Hanover.^  and  Racheway. 

\_Rackeway.,  now  Rockaway,  originally  Rahazvaich^  the 
Indian  name  of  a  tributary  of  the  Raritan  in  Hunterdon 
County.  It  was  upon  the  east  bank  of  this  river,  two  miles 
west  of  the  present  New  Germantown,  that  the  small  log 
church  of  the  Racheway  congregation  was  built.] 

Of  these  stations  at  the  time  of  Falkner's  activity, 
according  to  the  old  records,  Miihlstein  must  have  been  the 
most  important  Lutheran  settlement  at  that  da3\  The  Rev. 
E.  T.  Corwin,  D.  D.,  of  New  Brunswick,  who  lived  in  the 
Miihlstein  section  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  spent 
much  time  in  investigating  the  history  of  that  region,  states 
that  the  place  now  called  Harlingen  was,  from  1728-1788, 
called  Millstone  (Miihlstein),  because  it  was  op  de  Mill- 
stone (over  the  Millstone).  The  Millstone  River '^■'■''  is  said 
to  have  been  so  named  because  of  a  hollow  stone  on  the 
bank,  in  the  present  village  of  Millstone, ''^'^  where  the  In- 
dians pounded  their  corn.  The  reference  to  the  Raritan, 
according  to  the  same  eminent  authority,  means  the  country 
about  New  Germantown  in  Hunterdon  and  Warren  Counties. 


■'"'  Ramapo,  in  Bergen  County,  is  a  high  hill  on  the  river  of  the  same 
name. 

345  'pjjg  Millstone  River  rises  near  Paint  Island  Spring,  in  Upper  Freehold 
Township,  Monmouth  County,  and  flows  thence  by  a  northern  course  of 
about  five  miles  to  the  line  between  Monmouth  and  Middlesex  Counties, 
thence  N.  W.  about  14  miles  through  Middlesex  County  to  the  mouth  of 
Stony  Brook  ;  thence  N.'  E.  by  way  of  Kingston  into  Somerset  County, 
and  after  a  course  of  16  miles  empties  into  the  Raritan.  It  is  a  strong 
rapid  stream,  receiving  the  waters  of  an  extensive  country,  and  runs  in 
many  places  through  narrow  valleys  and  consequently  is  subject  to  sudden 
and  great  overflows. 

■'^•^  The  village  of  Millstone  is  in  Hillsboro  Township,  Somerset  County, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Millstone  River.  It  is  about  five  miles  south  of 
Somerville. 


Daniel  Falkiier  in  New  Jersey.  325 

According  to  late  investigation,'^''  the  congregation  "  Iin 
Gebirge^^''  i.  <:'.,  in  the  highlands  or  monntains,  also  called  in 
the  German  reports  the  Berg  Genieine  or  Hill  Congrega- 
tion, built  a  church  '^^'^  at  an  early  day  which  stood  about 
one  mile  east  of  Pluckamin.'**^  The  Rockaway  Church, 
according  to  the  same  authority,  was  in  Potterstown, •'*■'''  and 
is  spoken  of  in  a  deed  given  for  land  "  next  to  the  church  lot" 
by  Aree  van  Genee'"'^^  in  1741,  to  Matthias  Scharfenstein. 

x^s  to  the  Hanover  Church  there  seems  to  be  some  doubt 
and  uncertainty  about  its  identity.  Recent  investigations, 
however,  all  seem  to  point  to  the  locality  of  FucJisenberg  or 
Fox  Hill  as  the  one  here  alluded  to.'^'^  According  to  the 
Halle  Reports,  the  original  log  church  was  located  on  the 
northern  slope  of  this  tract  of  elevated  country,  and  was 
used  by  those  of  both  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  faith. '^''^ 

In  addition  to  the  above  enumerated  stations,  Daniel 
Falkner  for  a  time  served  all  the  congregations,  German 
and  Dutch  Lutheran,  between  Albany  and  Staten  Island. 
This  was  after  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Joshua  Kocherthal  in 
17 19,  and  of  his  brother  Justus  in  1723.  In  the  old  Kocher- 
thal Church  Register  appears  the  following  entry  in  his 
handwritinof : 


^*' Theo.  Freylinghausen  Chambers  in  "The  Early  Germans  in  New 
Jersey,"  Rev.  J.  W.  Mann  "  Annotations  Hallische  Nachrichten,"  vol.  ii, 
p.  227. 

■"''  This  church  was  replaced  in  1756  by  a  stone  one  built  in  Phickamin, 
upon  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Presbyterian  Church.     Ibid. 

^••^  Pluckamin  is  a  town  in  Bedminster  Township,  Somerest  County. 
It  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  foot  of  Basking  Ridge.  It  is  about  six 
miles  northwest  of  Somerville. 

350  potterstown  or  Pottersville  is  in  Hunterdon  County  on  the  road  lead- 
ing from  Somerville  to  Philipsburg. 

'■'•■'^  Ari  van  Guinea,  vide,  p.  323,  also  sketch  of  Justus  Falkner. 

•^■''■^  An  exhaustive  argument  upon  this  subject  will  be  found  in  the  pre- 
viously quoted  work  of  Mr.  Chambers. 

SK)  "Annotations  Hallische  Nachrichten,"  vol.  ii,  p.  226. 


326  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"  Anno  I"/ 2^  nliinia  Die  Mensis  Septenibr  beate  defnnc- 
toruni  et  Kocherthalii  et  Fratris  partes  exolvere  vocalics 
Baptisavi  Seqventes  Daniel  Falckner.  Past,  ad  Mnhlstein 
et  in  Montib.  prope  Jliiniem  Rare  ton. '''^ 

[In  the  year  1724,  on  the  last  day  of  September,  called 
in  the  place  of  the  saintly  deceased  Kocherthal,  and  my 
saintly  brother,  I,  Daniel  Falkner,  pastor  at  Miihlstein  and 
on  the  river  Raritan,  baptized  the  following.]  '^^^ 

In  this  extended  field  of  labor  did  the  German  Theoso- 
phist  serve  well  and  faithfully  until  the  arrival  from  Europe 
of  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Berkenmeyer,  nor  did  his  zeal  and  interest 
abate  in  the  New  York  congregations  after  the  arrival  of 
the  official  successor  to  his  deceased  brother.  For  when 
the  question  was  agitated  for  building  a  new  and  enlarged 
church  in  New  York  city,  and  the  enterprise  lagged  for 
want  of  funds,  the  now  aged  Pietist  and  pastor  personally 
interested  himself  and  others  by  collecting  money  from  his 
own  charges  in  New  Jersey.  It  was  largely  due  to  his 
influence  and  efforts  that  the  task  undertaken  by  the  strug- 
gling Lutherans  in  New  York  city  was  successfully  accom- 
plished. A  record  of  two  subscription  lists  from  the  Jersey 
congregations  has  fortunately  been  preserved,  and  both  are 
headed  by  Daniel  Falkner  personally.  Rev.  Berkenme)'er, 
the  pastor  in  charge,  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  both  lists 
in  the  church  records  under  date  of  June  23,  1727. 

"  On  the  23d  of  June  have  I  received,  at  Kalverak,  from 
Falkner,  on  the  second  Sunday  after  Trinity,  1727,^^''  *  *  * 
at  Raritans.  At  Miihlstein  they  have  for  the  building  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  caused  to  be  subscribed." 

A  fac-simile  of  the  original  entry,  with  the  names 
attached,  is  here  given.     This  interesting  record  was  photo- 


^^■^  List  of  names  missing. 
■^^»  Illegible. 


An  Ancient  Snbscriptio7i  List. 


327 


328  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

graphed  by  the  present  writer  from  the  original  which  is 
still  in  possession  of  the  New  York  congregation. 

Attention  is  here  called  to  the  fact  that  Rev.  Berken- 
nieyer,  who  was  a  great  stickler  for  ecclesiastical  ethics  as 
is  shown  in  his  controversy  with  Van  Diren,^^''  never  once 
questioned  the  validity  of  Daniel  Falkner's  ordination  or 
right  to  perform  the  sacred  functions.  This  fact  is  repeat- 
edly proven  by  his  numerous  entries  in  the  church  records 
as  well  as  by  his  correspondence. 

When  finally  the  Dutch  Lutheran  Church  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  Breit-iveg  and  Priester  Gasse^'"^  was 
completed  and  dedicated  to  its  pious  uses,  on  the  fourth 
Sunday  after  Trinity  (June  29,  1729),  and  named  after  the 
Holy  Trinity,  Daniel  Falkner,  the  former  Pietist  of  Erfurth, 
Theosophist  on  the  Wissahickon,  and  now  serving  as  a 
regular  ordained  pastor  in  East  Jersey,  was  one  of  the  most 
venerable  and  honored  clergymen  who  officiated  at  the  altar 
upon  that  festive  occasion.  Further,  the  warmest  thanks 
were  extended  to  Dominie  Falkner  at  the  time  by  Pastor 
Berkenmeyer  and  his  congregation  fot  the  assistance  the 
former  had  rendered  to  them. 

Strange,  indeed,  it  seems  that  this  should  be  the  same 
man  who  was  so  persistently  vilified  and  maligned  by  Pas- 
torius,  and  wTonged  by  Sprogel  and  his  co-partners.  Out- 
side of  the  accusations  in  the  Pastorius  MSS.  not  a  word  or 
line  can  be  found  to  corroborate  the  charges  against  this 
pioneer  missionary,  who  labored  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord  until  the  end  of  his  davs. 


^^•^  In  the  preceding  subscription  list  the  name  of  Arie  van  Guinea,  Jr. , 
will  be  noticed.  This  was  a  son  of  Ari  van  Guinea  and  Jora  his  wife, 
mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  book,  vide,  p.  323,  supra  and  sketch  of  Justus 
Falkner. 

5^'  Zenger,  172S. 

^^*  Broadway  and  Rector  Streets. 


Casper  Stcn'cr.  329 

As  Daniel  Falkner  j^rew  older  and  became  nna])le  to 
serve  his  widely  scattered  congregations  with  that  regu- 
larity which  had  been  his  custom,  he  requested  two  of  the 
congregations  to  secure  another  pastor.  Before  long  a 
candidate  presented  himself.  He  was  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  his  name  was  Casper  Stover.  He  was  willing  to  assume 
the  charges,  provided  Falkner  would  ordain  him  to  the 
ministry.  This  the  latter  refused  to  do,  after  hearing 
Stover's  trial  sermon.  Consequently  the  old  Theosophist 
remained  in  charge  for  about  two  years  longer,  acting  not 
only  as  clergyman  but  also  as  physician. 

A  letter  written  at  this  period  represents  Falkner  as 
ageing  rapidly  ;  but  he  was  still  bodily  active,  his  eyes 
were  clear  and  sharp,  and  did  him  good  service  in  gathering 
herbs  and  simples  for  curative  purposes.  He  was,  however, 
somewhat  eccentric,  and  upon  that  account  had  more  or 
less  trouble  with  some  of  his  parishioners.  The  discon- 
tented ones  finally  appealed  to  Dominie  Berkenmeyer,  the 
senior  in  New  York.  This  resulted  in  a  personal  visit  to 
Rockaway  on  Thursday,  September  9,  1731,  by  Berken- 
meyer, with  two  of  his  elders,  viz.:  Hannes  Lagrangie  and 
Heinrich  Schleydorn. 

An  interesting  account  of  this  journey  is  found  in  Berken- 
meyer's  Diary."''''  It  is  headed  :  ''IMiMANUEL— Relation 
von  der  Raretanner  Brief  \\  nacJi  Ha7nburg  \\  aus  nicinen 
diario  iind paquet  ip  der  Neu  Yorkische  Briefen  \\  in  diese 
Continuation  des  LooncnburgiscJien^  AlbaniscJie  ||  Protocol /i 
eingeruckty 

It  states  that  the  trio,  on  September  9,  1731,  went  by 
water  to  Elizabeth  Point,  where  they  were  met  by  mem- 
bers of  one  of  Falkner's  congregations.  Three  spare 
horses  were  furnished,  and  the  party  rode  until  nightfall. 


359  Archive  of  the  Lutheran  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  Penn. 

42 


330  The  Pietists  of  Proz'iucial  Pennsylvania. 

After  a  short  rest,  they  again  started  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  proceeded  on  their  jonrney,  as  the  cool  night 
and  the  bright  moonlight  was  preferable  to  the  torrid  heat 
of  the  snn. 

Arriving  at  the  end,  Berkenmeyer  first  went  towards 
Falkner's  house,  where  the  visitors  were  met  with  the 
unsatisfactory  statement  that  the  pastor  had  left  at  day- 
break and  had  gone  into  the  woods  to  gather  herbs,  also 
that  he  had  gone  on  a  fishing  excursion  with  his  son-in-law. 
A  servant  girl,  however,  was  sent  out  into  the  woods  to 
search  for  Falkner,  and,  as  she  did  not  return  for  some  time, 
Elder  Schleydorn  also  went  in  search  of  him. 

The  search  proving  unsuccessful,  Falkner's  daughter 
offered  to  go,  but  just  as  she  was  about  to  start,  her  father 
and  his  son-in-law  were  seen  approaching  leisurely  from 
the  woods,  whither  they  had  gone  in  search  of  medi- 
cinal herbs,  which  were  supposed  to  be  gathered  while  the 
dew  was  yet  on  them.  Falkner  greeted  his  visitors  cordi- 
ally, and  as  his  morning's  occupation  was  uppermost  in  his 
mind,  he  called  their  attention  to  some  differences  between 
similar  herbs  in  America  and  Europe.  Botany  and  cura- 
tive herbs  had  but  little  interest  for  the  three  strangers,  so 
they  at  once  broached  the  subject  of  their  visit.  To  their 
joy  the  old  Theosophist,  without  hesitation,  offered  to  re- 
sign any  of  his  charges  as  soon  as  a  successor  should  arrive, 
if  such  an  act  upon  his  part  would  lead  to  permanent 
harmou}'. 

From  the  hospitable  home  of  Dominie  Falkner  the  trio 
journeyed  to  Rockaway  (Whitehouse),  where  the  new 
church  building'''"  was  being  made  ready  for  service. 
They  arrived  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  (Friday,  Sep- 
tember lo,  1731),  and  found  their  intended  host,  John  Bal- 


At  Potterstown. 


A   Church  Dedication  in  Nezv  Jersey.  331 

fliazar  Pickel,  busily  engaged  in  aiTaiiging  the  pulpit  and 
seats  for  the  morrow. 

On  the  next  day  (Saturday,  September  11),  preparatory 
communion  services'""  were  held,  and  the  church  was 
solemnly  dedicated  to  its  pious  uses  according  to  the  Ortho- 
dox Lutheran  ritual.  Upon  the  following  day,  Sunday, 
the  Holy  Communion  was  administered  to  about  thirty 
persons,  at  which  service  both  Rev.  Berkenmeyer  and 
Daniel  Falkner  officiated. 

On  Monday,  September  13,  1731,  a  congregational  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  house  of  Peter  Kasner,  Im  Gebirge 
[in  the  hills  or  highlands]  at  which,  in  reply  to  an  address 
by  Dominie  Berkenmeyer,  the  venerable  Falkner  told  the 
strangers  "  How  much  pleasure  it  had  afforded  his  people 
as  well  as  himself  to  have  been  able  to  assist  them  in  the 
building  of  their  new  church  in  the  city." 

He  further  stated  "  that  he  acknowledged  that  city  to  be 
their  modern  Athens,  whence  their  help  and  succor  must 
come  in  the  future.  For  this  reason  he  had  pra}-ed  con- 
tinually and  fervently,  during  both  his  sainted  brother's 
lifetime  and  Kocherthal's,  that  they  would  not  neglect  the 
isolated  German  congregations  in  the  Jerseys.  In  conclu- 
sion he  thanked  the  Reverend  Senior  and  his  deputies  for 
their  trouble  and  offers  of  assistance  in  settling  any  con- 
gregational differences  that  existed  or  should  arise  at  any 
future  time.  iVs  to  his  own  personality,  he  declared  that, 
although  he  was  without  means,  he  was  perfectly  willing 
to  resign  any  or  all  of  his  charges  so  that  the  congregations 
should  be  served  better  and  more  regularly.  He,  however, 
cautioned  them  that  his  charges  were  precarious,  as  the 
congregations  were  apt  to  make  promises,  but  they  failed 
to  keep  their  obligations,  and  there  were  no  means  at  hand 


3G1  ]'or-beichte. 


332  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pe)insylvauia. 

to  ensure  sustenance  to  any  man  who  should  come  to  them 
from  some  distant  land." 

The  outcome  of  this  meeting  was  that  calls  to  London 
and  Hamburg  were  issued  and  transmitted  to  Europe. 
Both  of  these  documents  were  signed  by  Daniel  Falkner  as 
Pastor  loci.  Before  dismissing  the  Council,  Dominie  Berk- 
enmeyer  made  an  address,  in  which  he  extended  hearty 
thanks  to  Pastor  Falkner  for  his  love  and  charity  towards 
the  people  under  him.  He  then  proceeded  to  admonish  the 
assembled  church  officers  and  members  to  extend  all  due 
reverence  and  courtesy  within  their  power  to  Pastor  Falk- 
ner for  his  consideration  towards  them.  x\n  agreement 
was  also  drawn  up  on  this  occasion  and  signed  by  all  pres- 
ent. A.  facsimile  oi  it  is  here  reproduced  from  the  original 
draft  in  the  Berkenmeyer  Diary. 

It  was  well  toward  the  end  of  the  year  1734  before  the 
Rev.  John  August  Wolff  arrived  from  Europe  in  response 
to  the  two  urgent  calls  sent  out  at  the  above  meeting. 
During  this  interim  of  three  }ears  Pastor  Falkner  continued 
as  best  he  could  to  serve  his  numerous  and  scattered  con- 
gregations. The  selection  of  Pastor  Wolff  proved  a  most 
unfortunate  one,  and  it  was  not  long  before  direct  charges 
were  made  and  proven  against  the  new  pastor,  who  was 
thereupon  debarred  from  officiating  by  the  church  officials. 

During  these  troubles  we  again  find  the  old  Pietist  active 
in  supplying  the  congregations,  and  raising  his  voice  in  the 
interests  of  religion  and  morality  as  against  the  conduct  of 
Wolff".  Several  letters  written  by  Falkner  to  Dominie 
Berkenmeyer  and  Pastor  Knoll  upon  this  subject  are  still 
in  existence. 

The  last  trace  which  the  present  writer  could  find  of  the 
now  aged  and  venerable  Daniel  Falkner,  whose  years  were 
extended  beyond  the  scriptural  limit  of  three   score  and 


TJic  Nezv  Jersey   Council. 


333 


334  ^^^'^  Pietists  of  Pi-oz'incial  Pennsylvania. 

ten,  is  about  the  year  1741.  He  was  then  living  in  retire- 
ment with  his  daughter  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  New 
Germantown,  in  Hunterdon  County. 

Just  when  he  was  called  from  the  Church  militant  to 
join  the  Church  triumphant  is  not  ascertained.  Careful 
research  has  failed  to  disclose  records  which  would  give 
information  as  to  either  his  death  or  burial.  There  can  be 
but  little  doubt  that  he  died  in  full  communion  with  the 
church  of  his  forefathers  in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  resurrec- 
tion, as  did  most  of  his  former  brethern  of  the  Chapter  of 
Perfection  who  established  themselves  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Wissahickon. 

Fortunate,  indeed,  was  the  discovery  in  the  Berkenmeyer 
Diaries,  Trinity  Church  records  and  Furly  correspondence, 
of  the  references  to  Daniel  Falkner,  as  they  afford  us  a  true 
insight  into  the  life  and  character  of  this  Pietist,  Theoso- 
phist  and  student,  who  was  so  active  in  the  early  days  of 
Pennsylvania's  history,  and  whom  hitherto  we  had  known 
only  as  a  dissolute  character  from  the  scurrilities  of  Pas- 
torius.  There  is  no  evidence  whatever  to  show  that  Daniel 
Falkner  ever  revisited  Penns)-lvania,  or  took  any  interest 
in  the  affairs  of  either  the  land  company  or  such  of  his 
former  companions  as  remained  on  the  Ridge.  Nor  is 
there  any  evidence  to  show  that  he  profited  even  to  the 
value  of  a  single  shilling  by  his  attorneyship. 

Perhaps  at  some  future  day  additional  records  may  be 
found  in  connection  with  the  Frankfort  Company  which 
will  give  still  further  insight  into  the  life  of  this  pions  pil- 
grim :  "  a  fellow-struggler,  compassionate  and  expectant  of 
the  Body  of  Christ  aw-aiting  the  Arch-Shepherd  and  King 
of  Heaven  with  ardent  longing  "  no  longer,  but  now  a  par- 
taker of  the  rewards  due  to  the  faithful  servant  in  the 
realms  of  bliss. 


JOHANN    GOTTFRIED    SEELIG. 


EELIG,  who  for  a  short 
time  succeeded  Kelpiiis 
as  Magister  of  the  now 
greatly  diminished  Theosophi- 
cal  Brotherhood,  was  a  native 
of  Lemgo,  a  town  of  soine 
importance  in  Lippe-Detmold, 
where  he  was  born  in  1668. 
He  was  one  of  the  original  pro- 
akms  of  chur-bkaunschweig,  1694.  nioters  of  the  Chapter  of  Per- 
fection and  the  scheme  of  emigration  to  America.  In  all 
contemporary  accounts  his  name  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
principal  characters  of  the  Brotherhood.  Seelig  was  a  theo- 
logian as  well  as  a  scholar,  and  prior  to  his  connection  with 
the  Pietistical  movement  was  a  licentiate  or  candidate  for 
orders,  who  was  licensed  to  preach  and  teach  theology. 
Seelig  was  noted  for  his  examplary  piet}-  and  austere  man- 
ner, and  next  to  Kelpius  was,  so  far  as  our  knowledge  goes, 
the  most  gentle  and  lovely  character  among  the  Mystic 
Brotherhood. 

He  resisted  all  offers  to  return  to  the  world  and  its  temp- 
tations with  the  same  determination  as  his  Magister. 
Wealth  and  power  had  no  charm  for  this  devout  Mystic. 
Of  all  the  members  of  the  Fraternity,  he  was  the  nearest 


336  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Penjisylvania. 

to  Kelpiiis,  who  was  wont  to  speak  of  him  as  his  "  clear 
Seelig  "  {liebcr  Scelig). 

Even  the  honor  accorded  him  by  the  remaining  Theoso- 
phists  as  Magister  after  the  death  of  Kelpius  was  too  great 
for  him.  He  practiced  the  hnmilit}-  that  he  professed,  and 
said  he  would  rather  live  the  life  of  an  humble  recluse,  clad 
in  coarse  woolen  homespun  in  his  cheerless  anchorite  cell, 
than  be  clothed  with  any  show  of  worldly  authority  or 
power ;  a  condition  which  he  held  to  be  inconsistent  with 
his  profession. 

So  after  a  short  time  Seelig  renounced  his  right  of  suc- 
cession as  Magister  in  favor  of  Conrad  INIatthai,  clad  him- 
self in  pilgrim  garb,  and  retired  to  one  of  the  small  log 
cabins  that  were  on  the  tract,  where  he  spent  his  time  in 
mystical  speculations  and  devout  meditations,  in  which  the 
spiritual  bridegroom  bore  an  important  part. 

The  pious  ascetic,  however,  did  not  live  in  idleness,  but 
tilled  a  garden  for  his  support,  taught  school,  instructed 
adults  in  religion,  and,  as  he  was  an  expert  scrivener,  did 
much  of  the  early  conveyancing  about  Germantown.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  it  is  said  that  many  of  the  older  German- 
town  deeds  are  in  his  handwriting. 

Like  nearly  all  German  studiosi  of  that  period  he  had 
been  instructed  in  a  handicraft  in  his  youth.  In  his  case 
it  was  one  that  proved  itself  of  great  value  not  only  to  the 
old  recluse  but  also  to  the  community  at  large.  This  was 
the  bookbinder's  art,  and  he  had  brought  a  full  complement 
of  tools  with  him  to  this  country.  All  the  Jansen  imprints 
were  bound  by  him,  as  were  also  the  earliest  editions  of  the 
Saner  press.  Prominent  among  the  latter  was  the  edition 
of  the  Zionitisclier  VVeyrauchs  Hiigcl^  oder  Myrrhen  Bcrg^ 
a  hymn  book  of  over  800  pages,  printed  by  Sauer  for  the 
Ephrata  Community, 


Rev.  M'fiJiIciihcrg^s   Tribute.  337 

There  is  an  Ephrata  tradition,  which  is  nndonbtedly  cor- 
rect, that  Seelig  afterwards  instrncted  several  of  the  Zionitic 
Brotherhood '^''^  in  his  art,  and  tlms  introdnced  book-binding 
among  them  ;  so  that  Ephrata  for  a  time  became  the  most 
extensive  bindery  in  America.  Fnrther,  it  is  more  tlian 
probable  that  Seelig  had  some  knowledge  of  the  printer's 
art,  and  was  one  of  those  who  indnced  Reynier  Jansen  to 
assnme  the  responsibility  of  the  Friend's  press,''"''  and  after- 
wards assisted  him  in  its  management. 

Not  the  least  of  Seelig's  labors  was  the  giving  of  instrnct- 
tion,  religions  and  elementary,  to  the  yonng  of  both  sexes. 
That  his  efforts  in  this  line  bore  good  fruit  is  attested  by 
the  tribute  accorded  him  bv  the  Patriarch  Miihlenbersf,'^''* 
who  in  his  reports  to  Halle  writes :  *'"'  "  Several  years  ago 
an  inquiry  was  made  of  me  from  Germany  in  reference  to 
certain  caiididatii  theologian  who  came  to  this  country  some 
considerable  time  before  my  arrival.  In  the  first  years  of 
my  sojourn  here  I  met  one  of  them,  Herr  Seelig,  who  lived 
in  the  above-mentioned  vicinit}'  (Roxborough)  eight  miles 
from  the  city,'^'"'  after  the  manner  of  an  anchorite,  and 
instructed  the  children  of  the  vicinity. 

"  To  this  old  and  venerable  candidatus  our  fellow-sister '"''' 
went  to  school  in  her  tender  youth,  and  received  through 
his  instructions  gentle  impressions  of  true  piety." 


^^^  A  branch  of  the  Ephrata  Community. 

^^^  Vide  p.  105,  supra. 

'^'^^  The  Rev.  Heinrich  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  the  first  Lutheran  minis- 
ter sent  out  from  Halle.  He  is  usually  called  the  Patriarch  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  three  sons  who  were  all  ordained  in  the  ministry. 

^•^5  XIV  Continuation,  folio  1256. 

^'^  This  distance  was  computed  from  the  old  Court  House  at  Second  and 
Market  Streets,  up  Second  Street  and  Germantown  Road  to  Germantown 
was  five  miles  ;  thence  to  Roxborough,  as  the  roads  then  went,  three 
miles;  total  eight  miles. 

■^'^'  A  member  of  his  congregation.  Vide  ''  Merkwiirdige  Exevtpel,'' 
No.  1,  1769. 

43 


^^8  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

On  account  of  Seelig's  austere  mode  of  life  and  the 
coarse  pilgrim  habit  worn  upon  all  occasions,  he  became 
known  among  the  inhabitants  as  "  a'fr  Hcilige  Johannes^ 
As  the  devout  recluse  became  older,  and  the  inroads  of  age 
were  making  themselves  felt,  it  appears  that  he  left  the 
cabin  near  the  Wissahickon  and  took  up  his  abode  in  a 
somewhat  similar  structure  on  the  farm  of  William  Lever- 
ing, which  was  either  especially  built  for  him  or  else  placed 
at  his  disposal.  Trustworthy  traditions  in  the  Levering 
family,'^'"-  which  have  been  handed  down  for  generations, 
inform  us  that  this  cabin  was  in  the  valley  back  of  the 
present  Leverington  Cemetery  in  Roxborough,  and  was 
near  the  home  of  William  Levering. ^^^ 

What  the  precise  relations  were  that  existed  between  the 
mystic  recluse  and  William  Levering  is  not  known  at  the 
present  day,  except  that  they  were  those  of  intimate  friend- 
ship. The  same  traditions  tell  us  that  "  Seelig,  while  living 
on  the  Levering  farm,  predicted  men's  lives,  when  requested, 
after  the  manner  of  the  astrologers  of  the  middle  ages." 

WHien  the  old  recluse  verged  on  threescore  and  ten,  he 
became  so  feeble  that  he  was  frequently  confined  to  his 
cabin.  During  this  period  he  was  frequently  visited  by 
the  early  Moravian  evangelists,  Bohnisch,  Spangenberg, 
Nitschmann  and  Neisser.  He  was  well  known  to  the 
Count  Zinzendorf,  who  paid  him  several  visits.     Seelig  was 


3fiK  <<  Genealogical  Account  of  the  Levering  Family,"  page  19. 

.■s«9  William  Levering  was  the  son  of  Wigart,  the  emigrant.  He  came 
to  T'ennsylvania  with  his  father  in  1685,  when  he  was  eight  years  old  ; 
the  family  removed  from  Germantown  to  Roxborough  in  1692  ;  their 
plantation  or  farm  adjoined  that  of  the  Kelpius  Community.  The  Lever- 
ing family  sitbsequently  intermarried  with  the  Righters,  who  bought  the 
former  tract  after  the  disbandment  of  the  Community.  Wigert  Levering, 
the  emigrant,  died  February  2,  1744-45,  at  the  age  of  ninty-seven  years  ; 
his  son,  William,  died  in  the  fall  of  1746,  in  his  seventieth  year. 


Death  of  Seelig.  339 

one  of  the  two  "  Hermits"  whom  the  Count  could  not  per- 
suade to  join  forces  with  him  in  his  evangelistic  movement. 

There  is  a  tradition  connected  with  Seelig,  somewhat 
similar  to  that  of  Kelpius.  During  his  last  sickness,  when 
he  felt  that  his  end  was  approaching,  he  expressed  the 
desire  to  William  Levering  that  his  staff  {stab)^  a  peculiar 
cane  which  he  had  always  carried,  should  be  cast  into  the 
Schuylkill  immediately  upon  his  death.  This  request  was 
complied  with,  and  as  the  rod  touched  the  water  it  exploded 
with  a  loud  report.  His  death  is  thus  noted  in  the  Levering 
family  Bible:  "John  Sealy,  hermit,  died  April  26,  1745, 
aged  ']']  years." 

In  the  Ephrata  Manuscripts  it  is  stated  that  he"  was  buried 

on  the  farm.     But  whether  on  the  Levering  farm  ^""  or  beside 

Kelpius  and  others,  who  rested  under  the  shadow  of  the 

'Tabernacle  in  the  orchard  on  the  then  Righter  plantation, 

cannot  be  determined. 

From  the  old  record  we  further  learn  that  it  was  at  the 
close  of  a  bright  spring-like  day  that  the  small  cortege 
wended  its  way  from  the  humble  cabin  in  the  Levering 
valley  bearing  the  remains  of  the  devout  recluse  to  the 
grave.  The  mourners  were  sincere,  for  Seelig,  like  Kelpius, 
had  been  singularly  beloved  and  respected. 

Prominent  among  the  number  were  such  as  once  belonged 
to  the  Community  on  the  Wissahickon.  The  only  names, 
however,  that  have  come  down  to  us  of  the  latter  are  Con- 
rad Matthai,  who  conducted  the  services,  and  his  two  assist- 
ants— Daniel  Geissler,^''^  former  Famtdtis  to  Kelpius,  and 
Christopher  Witt,  now  "  Practitioner  of  Physic"  in  Ger- 
mantown.     As  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  gilded  the  horizon. 


^™  There  was  a  private  burying  ground  upon  the  Levering  farm  at  that 
time. 

^''  Daniel  Geissler  died  a  few  months  after  Seelig. 


340 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


the  relics  of  the  old  Theosophist  were  lowered  into  the 
grave,  the  mystic  incantation  thrice  repeated,  while  the 
released  dove  conrsed  in  wide  circles  through  the  air  until 
lost  to  view  in  the  distance. 

The  last  will  and  testament  of  Johann  Gottfried  Seelig 
bears  date  September  17,  1735,  and  in  it  he  is  described  as 
"John  Sehlee  of  Roxborough,  in  the  Connty  of  Philadel- 
phia, Gentlemen."  He  bequeathed  the  whole  of  his  estate 
to  his  "  fifriend  William  Levering  Senr  of  Roxborough," 
and  appointed  him  executor.  The  will  is  witnessed  by 
Matthew  Holgate,  John  Baldt  and  John  Gruber. 

The  inventory  of  his  estate  contains  the  following  items  : 
25  shirts,  4  coats,  2  jackets,  2  hats,  2  pairs  of  shoes  and 
slippers,  7  pairs  of  linen  drawers,  3  planes,  2  saws,  i  glue- 
pot,  54  glass  bottles,  5  book-binder's  presses,  i  Saddle  and 
bridle,  i  scale,  gold  and  silver  weights,  5  Bibles,  14  books, 
10  works  of  Jacob  Bohme,  120  Latin,  Dutch  and  Greek 
books. 


o 


J'U'ifiHS'TafcIiYL&r^ 


DOMINIE    JUSTUS    FALKNER. 

KUSTUS  FALKNER, 
I  born  Nov.  22,  1672, 
^^  was  the  fourth  son  of 
Pastor  Daniel  Falkner;^"  the 
Lutheran  pastor  at  Langen- 
reinsdorf,  Crimmitschau, 
Zwickau,  Saxony. 

He  was  the  younger 
brother  of  Daniel  Falkner, 
Arms  of  chur-sachsen  A.  D.  1694.  wlio  cauic  to  America  with 
Kelpius  and  Koster,  accompanied  him  upon  his  return  to 
Pennsylvania  in  the  year  1700,  and,  together  with  Jawert, 
Storch,  Sprogel  and  others,  reinforced  the  Community  on 
the  Wissahickon.  When  Justus  Falkner  left  Europe  he 
was  yet  in  his  diaconate,  and  a  candidate  for  orders  (Can- 
didal TheologicB).  Subsequently  he  had  the  proud  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  first  person  to  be  ordained  to  the  holy 
ministry  within  the  bounds  of  the  Province  of  Penn,  if  not 
in  the  New  World.  From  that  time  until  his  death  in  1723 
he  served  as  pastor  of  the  oldest  Ltitheran  congregation  in 
America.  •'^''■^ 

The  earliest    record  of  Justus    F^alkner,    found    by  the 
present  writer,  is  recorded  in  the  oldest  register  of  the  ven- 


^"-  Vide  page  302,  supra. 

■"■^  The  Dutch  Lutheran  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  New  York  City. 


342  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania, 


Justus  Falkner  as  a  Student,  from 

AN  OLD  SKETCH  AT  HALLE. 


Justus  Falkiicr  as  Student.  343 

erable  University  at  Halle,  Germany,  which  bears  the  fol- 
lowing title,  viz  : 

"  Catologiis  derer  Stiidiosorinn.,  so  auf  Jiiesiger  FRIED- 
RICHS,  Univei^'sitdt^  ininiatn'culij'et  ivorden.  Nach  Ord- 
muig  des  Alphabet's  Eingerichtet.     De  Anno  MDCXCIII." 

The  first  entry  npon  the  sixth  page  reads : 

•'FALCKNER,  Justy,  Langeramsdorf,  Miss." 
"P.  R.  Thomasius,  1693,  20  Jan." 

The  above  entry  shows  that  Justus  Falkner  was  one  of 
the  students  at  Leipzig  who  followed  Thomasius  to  Halle 
upon  the  latter's  expulsion  from  that  city. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  reason  why  Justus  Falkner 
was  not  ordained  in  Germany  was  that  the  young  deacon, 
upon  completing  his  theological  course,  felt  that  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  ministerial  office  in  the  German  Church 
of   that  time  was  too  great  for  him  to  undertake.     This 

statement  is  evidently  based  upon 
mn>  Du'3  .  ..... 

DissERTATio  GRADUALI5,  tlic  Latiu  notc  lu  Biorck's  "  DlS- 

r>t-> 

PLANTATIONE  sertatio  Gradiialis  de  Plautatione 

ECCLESL£  SVECANvE      Ecclesiae   svecanee   in  America,'''' 

AMERICA)    ^'^  "^^'^"^^  ^'^  ^^""^^^  • 

Qi'^^''  "  This  man  deserted  his  home 

Sujfrag^nte  Ampl.  Sen.itu  Philofofh.  m 

Kriw  upfai.  Mr„^o,  so  as  to  escape  the  burden  of  the 

PR/ESIDE,  -^  ,  ,         .  , 

i^'iRO  ^mpiofim  auiHc  cMemm,  Pastoratc,  yct  now  he  submitted 

Mag.     ANDREA  to  be  brought  to  himself  by  Rud- 

Etii.  &  Poiic.  Prof.  Reg.  &  orj.  uiauu,    Biorck    and    Sandel,    on 

yi„.  MDccxxxi.  JNovemoer  24,  1703. 

Tobias  E  B.oRCK.  With  the  exception  of  the  above 

AMERicANcDALtnAKLu;.  uotc,  tlic  prcscut  wrltcr  has  found 

nothing  whatever  to  substantiate 
this  presumption.  In  fact,  the  contrary  seems  to  have  been 
the  case,  and  that  he  took  an  active  interest  in  the  ministry 
after  his  course  at  the  University  was  completed. 


344  ^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

That  he  was  in  close  touch  with  Rev.  Fran  eke,  nnder 
whom  he  had  studied  the  Oriental  languages  at  the  Uni- 
versity,^'^ and  who  was  now  one  of  the  recognized  religious 
leaders  in  Europe,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  several  of  his 
hymns  were  incorporated  by  Francke  in  his  revised  hymn 
book  :   "  Geistreiches  Gcsang  Biick^^^  Halle,  1697. 

The  most  noted  of  Falkner's  hymns  is  the  one  com- 
mencing with  the  line:  '''•Aiiflihr  Christen.^  Christi glie- 
^^r,"  on  page  430  of  the  original  edition.'^''^  This  hymn 
is  a  stirring,  vigorous  composition  of  eleven  stanzas  of  six 
lines  each.  It  was  set  to  the  melod}-  "  Mcine  Hoffnung 
stchet  veste^'^  and  was  well  calculated  to  raise  the  religious 
fervor  of  the  worshippers. 

On  a  manuscript  copy  of  this  hymn,  Falkner  notes  two 
references  to  the  Scriptures  as  his  theme,  or  the  foundation 
of  its  composition,  viz.:  Eph.  vi,  10;   i  John  v,  4.'^''^ 

Originally  it  was  designated,  "  An  encouragement  to 
conflict  in  the  Christian  warfare,"  and  was  retained  by 
Freylinhausen  in  his  Gesang  Biich  of  1704,  but  it  was  sub- 
sequently relegated  to  the  Anhang  or  appendix.'^" 

From  the  very  outset  the  hymn  came  into  extended  use 
in  both  Europe  and  America.  It  became  a  favorite  revival 
hymn  with  the  so-called  Separatists,  or  dissenters  from  the 
orthodox  church,  and  was  incorporated  into  their  hymn 
books ;  a  prominent  instance  being  the  DavidscJie  Psalter- 


^'*  Rev.  A.  H.  Francke  was  not  called  to  the  theological  chair  of  the 
University  until  1699,  some  time  after  Justus  Falkner  had  left  the  institu- 
tion. 

*'^  Copy  in  archive  of  the  IVIoravian  Church  at  Bethlehem. 

^"®  Finally  my  brethern,  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his 
might  (Eph.  vi,  ro). 

For  whatsoever  is  born  of  God,  overcometh  the  world,  and  this  is  the 
victor}'  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith  (i  John  v,  4). 

^''  "  Geistreicher Lieder,''''  Halle,  1731.  Hymn  No.  634,  page  769.  Copy 
in  possession  of  the  writer. 


"  Atif  ihr  Christen.'''' 


345 


}9s.  tTTel.  mtxwz  ^o(f? 

QrUf,il)i-  ^))t\^i\\,  e{)ii|li 
<4  t^blieDa!  Die  i^r  nod) 
tauijt  an  Dcm  i?Qiipt;Quf! 
roac^t  auflermannt  end)  roie^ 
l)cr,  e{)  i()r  rcerbti  {)iti^traubt, 
<^^{m  bcut  (xx\.  ben  ^twit 
t{)n(]o  unt)  ber  €{)riflenl)ei{. 

2.  2Iuf!fo(gt  €()rifto,  eurem 
^elbc/  trniiet  feinem  (l^rcfen 
Slrot/  liegt  bcr  ®oton  gleid)  iu 
gelbcmitbein  gan(}en  ^oncn= 
©(tt^^rm :  I'tnb  bod)  btr  nod) 
!)lelincl)r,  bic  ba  (Ic^^  fmb  urn 
iin5  bcr. 

?.9^uraufe()ri|li35{n(qfir>.v 
flctmit  (Scbct  unb  2i3ad)fam: 
feit,bicfc^  macbet  unoerjaget, 
unb  re(t)t  tnpfrc  ^ricgc^--?ciU; 
€l)rlflf  ^\\\x  gi6t  un^  ^:9?utl) 
iDteber  aflc  5:cufclg--^rut. 
4-  <Jf)ri(ll  ^ecrcgCEreM^<5=5«&= 
nc/  fo  ba  roei^  unb  rotf)  gc; 
fprcngt/infd)on  auf  bemSiege^ 
^lanc  un^  jum  trojle  au^ge^ 
|)dngt;n)crbtcr  fricgt,nlc  er- 
liegt/  fonbern  unterm  Srcu^c 
ftegf. 

?.  Blcfen  ®ieg  l)flt  and)  cm> 
pfiinbcnBieler^ellgen  ^(xK^tx 
5Kut()/  ba  fie  baben  uberrounbc 
frolii  burd)  beg  fames  35hit. 
feolten  mir  bann  aQhier  (xwt^ 
't»id)tjlretreninit  ^eqier. 

6. 3Bci*  bi{  e<lautnt)  Huv  rie- 


bet,  5leifc^c^:^i!![)iinb6i(f)ff 
()eit,unbben£ii!ibenfift)er()te 
bet/  bee  t)at  a^mq  i^uft  3um 
©ti'cit;  ben  bic 3)act)t,i2a;Qns 
gj^ac!)!/ bat  it)tiiii  Den  6(t)iaf 
gebiac^t. 

7.  5ibern)cnbic2Ccisl)eiiiel) 
ret/  njas  bie  .'^icDbeti  tur  fin 
5:i)eil/bc|Tcni>eiijn!(^jDtifi(t) 
fef)ret,felncmancil)oct)fie^fi(, 
fud)t  aQeIn  obnc  Sdjein  etjrifil 
freocr  ^ned)t  \\\  \m- 

8.  3)ennDei'gniiq!aii(tiitioM 
ba6i?ebcn,fDbei'^rei)bciiiiiiVii: 
gelnmii&?5Ccrftd)(yDiiiii(t!i 
gan^  crgebcn,  bat  nur  5^i!i, 
?lng|l  unb  ^el:brll|;•;^cr,  ^t^ 
fncgt  red)t  pei^mi^t, trafvin 
I'ebenfclb  ft  befiegi. 

9.  Drum  an f!  la^tiin^iifcr: 
rcinben  \\\  bcm  Slute  j5|ij 
dbrill  unb  an 'Uiifre  6m 'U 
bmbenfeina5ort,focin?ei!otii^ 
i|l,  ba3  un-t  Decfi  iinD  ei-tDccft, 
unbnacb(^3otfe5Ptcbef*inccfi 

10.  Unfcri.'c&enfei)PcrbDigcn 
mitebri|lonKi)OitflUc!tU!if 
baf  roil  atnencin-D^oigeiiitiii 
ibtnoifenbar  and)  fci)n,  Da  t)oJ 

I'eibbleferBeitiPCitxtusicDiU 

lanter  ^reub. 

11.  2)a  C*iOtt  feiiicntiwi 
^ncd)ten  qcbcn  n)il•^  Ben  G)n'i- 
ben.{?obn,  unb  bie  -^;iricii^^«f 
(%red)ten)ltmmci  an  ben  ^le; 

fc^  od)aar  il)n  n>iiD  U'^tn 
iiumcxbfli'- 


Fac-Simile  of  Hymn  in  the  Zionitischer   Weyrauchs  Hugel. 


44 


346 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


ZIONITISCHER 


06er: 


Spiel  der  Kinder  Zions^  Berlenburg,   1718.     This  was  the 
first  distinct  hymnal  published  for  the  use  of  the  Sej^aratists. 

In  America  it  was  incorporated  in  the  celebrated  Zioni- 
tischer  Weyrauchs  Hiigel^  of  the  Ephrata  Commnnity  (Saner, 
1738,  hymn  395,  page  444);  also  \n  Der  Kleine  David ische 
Psalterspiel  der  kinder  Zions 
(Saner,  hymn  38,  page  41),  and 
a  number  of  other  early  Ameri- 
can hymn  books.  It  is  also  to  be 
found  in  the  Manuscript  Hym- 
nal of  the  Zionitic  Brotherhood, 
which  is  known  as  the  Para- 
diesische  Nadits  Tropffen^  ^734 
(hymn  11,  p.  6).^''*^  This  hymn, 
after  a  lapse  of  two  centuries,  is 
still  used  by  nearly  all  the  Pro- 
testant denominations  in  Ger- 
many, and  is  retained  in  their 
hymnology  in  America  as  well, 
the  latest  instance  being  its  re- 
tention by  the  Lutheran  Church  of  the  United  States  in 
their  new  German  Kirchen  BncJi^  wherein  it  is  h}-mn  331. 
Especial  attention  is  called  to  it  in  Stip's  Unverfalschter 
Liedersegen  (Berlin,  1851). 

Julian,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Hymnology,  mentions  the 
following  translations  into  the  English  language  :  "  Rise, 
ye  children  of  Salvation  "  (omitting  stanza  four)  in  Mrs. 
Bevans'  "  Songs  of  Eternal  Life,"  1858,  page  10.  Three 
centos '^"'^  have  come  into  use,  the  translations  of  stanzas, 
one,  three  and  nine,  in  Dr.  Pagenstecher's  collection,  1864 ; 


D(i    nod)  Slocrbttcr .  3tun|l  iu  bitiileiij 
9!au(^  -  'HJtrif  )u  tinDnt. 

Srt  allcrlfD  ?rebeS.'2Guicfun(3en  tier  in  fflOtX 

9ti)eiligitn€ttltn,  irilelitfiift  m  mdtr  unti  man(t(clt« 

9ii|lli(titn  unD  lirtliitiin  i'lrttrn  auijtWCci. 

ai*  twrinnm 

iDtr  Ic^tcKufp^u  bcm  abfitbrnabl  &<6  flrop 

fen  cetPtteo  auf  untcrfd>icMi*c  V»cife 

trctflid?  and  ge^^IlcfelJJR ; 

3iim  3itn[i 

X)fv  in  Sfm  2lbenD>  WnRifc^cn  ^c((  •- "ikil  al« 

bii)  btm  Unlergan9  Die  ®onnm    trrotiflcn    Jtiri6» 

(50ir«,  unB  iii  ilirtr  grinunKrimg  auf  ^ie 

?ffiitnrii(id)tin(  3ii'ii"lii  Hi*  SiiiuiigomS 

ori8  Cicbt  ijcgcberi. 

©(niionionja  ,    BfDtuiti  tieti  eijnllopl)  Saucr. 


^'®  Collection  of  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 
^'^  Cento,  a  composition  formed   by  verses  or  passages  from  different 
authors  disposed  in  a  new  order. 


Falknefs   Hymns.  347 

of  stanzas  one,  five,  nine  and  eleven  in  the  English  Pres- 
byterian Psalms  and  Hymns,  1867  i  ^'^^^  the  Temple  Hymn 
Book,  1867  ;  and  stanzas  one,  five  and  eleven  in  Lmidcs 
Domini,  N.  Y.,  1884. 

Another  is  :  "  If  onr  all  on  Him  we  venture,"  a  transla- 
tion of  stanza  three,  as  stanza  two  of  hymn  No.  1064  in 
the  supplement  of  1808  to  the  Moravian  Hymn  Book  of 
1801.^^'^'  Another  celebrated  hymn  attributed  to  Justus 
Falkner^*^"^  is  : 

O  Herr  der  Herrlichkeit, 

O  Glantz  der  Seligkeit, 

Du  Licht  vom  Lichte, 

Der  Miiden  siisser  Saft, 

Des  grossen  Vater's  Kraft, 

Sein  Angesichte. 

This  hymn  is  also  to  be  found  in  Sauer's  Psalterspiel 
(361)  and  in  the  IVeyranchs  Hiigel  (475,  p.  540). 

It  was  toward  the  close  of  the  young  student's  academic 
term  at  Halle  that  his  elder  brother  Daniel  returned  to  his 
native  land  as  an  emissary  from  America,  and  it  was  not  a 
very  difficult  matter  for  him  to  induce  his  younger  brother 
to  accompany  him  on  a  mission  having  for  its  main  object 
the  spreading  of  the  Gospel  in  the  "  Land  of  Darkness" 
[Abejid-land). 

The  next  official  record  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  we 
find  at  Rotterdam  in  Holland,  dated  x\pril,  1700,  where  the 
two  brothers  accept  from  Benjamin  Furly  a  power  of  attor- 
ney to  act  in  his  stead  in  America. 

As  has  been  before  stated,  the  two  brothers,  with  a  num- 
ber of  companions,  arrived  at  German  town  in  August, 
1700.  Shortly  afterwards  we  find  him  taking  a  more  or 
less  active  part  in  the  civic  affairs  of  the  German  Township, 

^^  Hymn  No.  509,  edition  of  1886. 

^^^  Some  credit  this  hymn  to  Dr.  Petersen. 


348  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

and  serving  a  term  as  Burgess.  Although  we  have  no 
direct  record  of  the  facts,  he  without  doubt  actively  sec- 
onded his  brother  in  organizing  and  ministering  to  the 
German  settlers  on  the  Manatawney  tract. 

According  to  the  old  minute-book  "G,"  before  quoted, 
he  appears  as  joint-attorney  with  his  brother  for  Benjamin 
Furly  of  Rotterdam,  and  was  so  acknowledged  by  William 
Penn  during  his  second  visit  to  the  Province  (1699-1701).^^ 
In  a  subsequent  entry,  on  the  19th  of  nth  month,  1701, 
Daniel  and  Justus  Falkner  appear  as  attorneys  for  the 
Frankfort  Land  Company,  and  produce  a  patent  for  some 
city  property.'^"*''  Upon  the  i8th  of  the  12th  month,  1701, 
both  brothers  again  figure  before  the  Land  Commissioners 
in  the  interests  of  Benjamin  Furly.  At  different  times 
after  the  above  entry  they  continue  to  press  the  claims  of 
their  clients. 

On  the  30th  of  the  6th  month,  1703,  Justus  Falkner 
appears  alone  before  the  Commissioners,  and  as  attorney  of 
Furly  produces  a  "  return  of  1000  acres  in  Chest'r  County, 
'said  to  be  in  Pursuance  of  our  Warr't  dat.  16,  12  Mo., 
'  1 701,  and  the  Same  Land  appearing  to  be  an  Encroachm't 
'  upon  the  Welch  Tract  within  their  Settlements,  and 
'  already  granted  to  David  Lloyd  and  Is.  Norris,  the  same 
'  is  Rejected  and  disapproved  of,  and  thereupon  'Tis 
'  Ordered  that  the  Same  be  Certifyed  by  Indorsement  On 
'  the  said  Return  under  Ye  Comm'rs  hands,  which  is  accord- 
'  ingly  Done." 

It  is  evident  from  the  above  official  minute  that  the  loss 
of  this  parcel  of  land  to  Furly  was  not  through  any  fault 
of  the  Falkner  brothers,  as  has  been  frequently  stated  by 
Pastorius.     The   charge  by  the  latter  that   they  sold  the 


^*^  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  xix,  243-44. 
■^^^  Ibid,  249-50. 


Ministjy  in  Pennsylvania.  349 

above  land  for  their  own  use  and  benefit  is  also  hereby 
shown  to  be  without  any  foundation. 

The  above  entry  is  the  last  notice  of  Justus  Falkner  upon 
the  official  records  of  Pennsylvania,  This  attempt  to 
recover  the  land  for  its  rightful  owner  was  evidently  the 
beginning  of  the  differences  with  Daniel  Lloyd  and  Isaac 
N orris,  which  ended  five  years  later  in  the  Sprogel  con- 
spiracy and  the  dispossession  of  Daniel  Falkner. 

That  Justus  Falkner,  during  his  sojourn  in  Pennsylvania, 
was  a  man  without  reproach  and  one  of  exemplary  piety, 
may  be  judged  from  his  subsequent  career  and  the  fact  that 
his  name  is  not  even  mentioned  by  the  splenetic  Pastorius, 
who  so  persistantly  vilified  the  elder  brother.  Just  what 
part  Justus  bore  in  the  organization  of  the  Lutheran  con- 
gregation at  Falkner's  Swamp  (New  Hannover,  Mont- 
gomery County,  Penna.),  the  first  German  Lutheran  con- 
ofreeation  org-anized  in  America,  or  how  often  he  was  wont 
to  visit  the  church  or  minister  to  his  fellow-countrymen, 
cannot  be  told  to  a  certainity ;  nor  can  his  sojourn  among 
the  Mystics  on  the  Wissahickon  be  traced  in  detail.  His 
intercourse,  however,  with  Kelpius,  Seelig,  and  the  Swedish 
pastors,  Rudman,  Biorck,  Sandel  and  Auren,  is  known  to 
have  been  frequent  and  intimate. 

An  important  historical  error  can  now  be  postively  cor- 
rected, viz. :  "  That  Justus  Falkner  was  ordained  for  the 
purpose  of  serving  the  German  congregation  at  Falkner's 
Swamp  on  the  Manatawney  tract."  It  appears  from  his 
own  memorandum  that  with  the  exception  of  a  possible 
farewell  sermon,  he  never  served  the  Manatawney  congrega- 
tion nor  any  other  one  in  Pennsylvania  after  his  ordination. 

We  now  come  to  what  is  to  us  historically  the  most  inter- 
esting episode  in  the  career  of  the  Saxon  Pietist  and  Penn- 
sylvania Theosophist,  and  one  in  which  he  was  the  central 


350  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


figure,  and  that  is  the  first  regular  Lutheran  ordination  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  The  circumstances  connected  with 
the  ordination  of  Justus  Falkner  at  Wicacoa  are  as  follows  : 

Andreas  Rudnian,  the  Swedish  pastor  at  Wicacoa,  had 
received  repeated  calls  for  help  from  the  distressed  Luth- 
erans in  New  York,  who  had  been  without  any  clergyman 
to  minister  to  their  wants  for  some  length  of  time.  Conse- 
quently, after  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Andreas  Sandel,  March 
lo,  1 70 1-2,  Magister  Rudman  gave  their  forlorn  condition 
his  earnest  consideration,  and  finding  their  case  as  bad  as 
had  been  represented  concluded  personally  to  take  charge 
of  the  extended  mission. 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolve  he,  on  July  5,  1702,  installed 
Sandel  as  rector  of  Wicacoa,  and  on  the  19th  of  the  same 
month  he  preached  his  valedictory  sermon.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  sermon,  he  embraced  the  opportunity  of 
making  public  Auren's  Sabbatarian  doctrine  and  implored 
his  parishioners  to  be  upon  their  guard  and  remain  true  to 
the  Lutheran  faith.  A  confessional  service  and  the  Eucharist 
closed  the  impressive  occasion.  ^^^ 

Early  on  the  next  day,  July  20th,  Rudman  started  for  New 
York,  accompanied  by  ^,,<s^?^2s^^  Mr.  Thomas,  a  school- 


master at  Christ 
deacon's  orders, 
for  England  to 
tion.  A  number 
Pastor  Sandel, 
Rambo  and  Eric 
panied   them  part 


Church,  who  was  in 

and  intended  tosail 

receive   ordina- 

of  Swedes,  led  by 

Matz  Keen,  Peter 

Keen,  also  accom- 

of  the  way. 

arrival  in  New  York,  at 


Rudman,  upon  his 
once  commenced  to  seal  of  east  Jersey,  gather  up  and  organize 
the  Lutherans  (Ger  man,  Dutch  and  Swe- 

dish) who  were  scattered  over  the  large  territory,  which,  in 


^**  MSS.  diary  of  Andreas  Sandel. 


Domiiiic  Rudiiian  in  Nctv   York.  351 

addition  to  the  einbr)-o  city  and  the  valley  of  the  Hndson, 
included  Long  Island  and  East  Jersey  as  far  west  as  the 
Delaware  River.'^^' 

After  Rudnian  was  well  established  in  his  new  field  of 
labor,  he  sent  to  Pennsylvania  for  his  wife  and  young 
family,  and  all  went  well  until  the  summer  of  the  following 
year,  when  the  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  the  citadel  and 
town.  In  the  latter  part  of  August  Dominie  Rudman  and 
his  family  were  prostrated  by  the  terrible  scourge,  and  upon 
the  death  of  his  second  son,  Anders,  he  wrote  to  Philadel- 
phia for  aid,  stating  that  both  he  and  his  daughter  were 
stricken  with  the  disorder.'^'*'' 

In  response  to  this  urgent  appeal,  Revs.  Biorck  and  San- 
del  at  once  made  arrangements  to  go  to  his  assistance  ;  but 
so  slow  were  the  imperfect  means  of  communication  at  that 
time,  it  was  not  until  September  13th  that  a  start  was 
made  from  Philadelphia  to  relieve  the  stricken  pastor. 
The  party  arrived  in  New  York  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
1 6th,  where  they  foutid  Dominie  Rudman  recovering,  but 
his  daughter  still  severely  ill.'^'*" 

Dominie  Rudman  never  entirely  recovered  from  this 
attack,  and  being  of  a  frail  constitution  he  realized,  after 
another  year's  trial,  that  on  account  of  the  rigor  of  the 
climate  he  could  not  continue  in  charge  during  another 
winter.  In  this  extremity,  not  wishing  to  leave  the  field 
uncovered,  he  bethought  himself  of  the  Falkner  brothers, 
and  finding  that  Daniel  had  married  and  was  occupied  with 


385  phillipsburg,  opposite  Easton,  was  the  most  westward  station. 

^*^*  Sandel's  Diary. 

•''*"  Sandel,  in  hisdiary,  notes  :  "  Sept.  17,  1702,  we  went  looking  abont 
the  town  that  day  and  saw  the  English  Church  and  also  the  Dutch 
[Reformed  ?]  both  of  them  edifices  of  beauty. 

Sept.  20.  "To-day  we  went  calling  on  all  who  profess  the  Lutheran 
creed  ;  there  are  very  few  here." 


352 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Aj/    Ordiiiatioji  at   Gloria  Dei.  353 

the  civic  affairs  of  the  Geniian  Township,  he  invited  the 
younger  brother,  October  27th,  1703,  to  come  to  New  York 
and  preach  a  trial  sermon.  This  was  followed  three  days 
later  by  a  formal  call  from  the  congregation  to  serve  them 
as  pastor. 

Justus  Falkner  acknowledged  both  letters  under  date  of 
November  3,  1703,  accepting  the  call,  but  refused  to  preach 
a  trial  sermon.  As  the  people  supported  him  in  this  refusal. 
Dominie  Rudman  forthwith  severed  his  connection  with 
the  New  V^ork  congregation  and  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  acted  as  suffragan  to  the  Archbishop  of  Upsala, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Eric  Biorck  of  Christiana,'^'^''  and  Andreas 
Sandel  of  Wicacoa. 

On  Wednesday,  November  24,  1703,  he  ordained  the 
deacon  [Caudidai  Thcologicr)^  Justus  Falkner,  to  the  holy 
priesthood,  according  to  the  ritual  of  the  Swedish  Orthodox 
Lutheran  Church.  The  ceremony  took  place  within  the 
consecrated  precincts  of  "Gloria  Dei"  (Old  Swedes)  at 
Wicacoa. 

It  was  a  solemn  ceremony  which  w'as  enacted  upon  that 
bleak  November  day  within  the  bare  walls  of  the  Swedish 
church  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  The  sacred  struc- 
ture, as  yet  bare  and  unfinished,  lacked  both  tow^er  and 
side  projections.  The  interior,  with  its  rough  walls  and 
exposed  roof,  earthen  floors  and  hard  benches,  well  matched 
the  unadorned  altar  within  the  recess  in  the  east,  separated 
by  a  rude  railing  from  the  body  of  the  church  and  its 
primitive  surroundings. 

Upon  this  occasion  no  pealing  organ,  with  a  multitude 
of  stops  and  pedals,  vestured  choir,  or  elaborate  music 
made  melody  for  the  service.      No  long  procession  of  robed 


^-^  Wilmington,  Delaware. 

45 


354  ^^^^  Pietists  of  P^'ovincial  Pennsylvania. 

clergy,  with  mitred  bishop  surrounded  by  acolytes  and  led 
by  the  Cross-bearer,  were  present  to  add  dignity  to  the  scene 
and  impress  the  beholder  with  awe. 

The  ceremony  of  ordination,  although  simple  and  devoid 
of  all  pomp  and  glitter,  was  none  the  less  solemn  and  im- 
pressive. This  was  greatly  due  to  a  number  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  Brethern  from  the  Ridge,  under  the  leadership  of 
Magister  Johannes  Kelpius,  who  had  come  down  from  the 
Wissahickon  to  give  i:clat  to  the  elevation  of  one  of  their 
number  as  Presbyter  in  the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Theosophical  Brotherhood,  partly  clad  in  the  habit 
of  the  German  University  student,  others  in  the  rough 
pilgrim  garb  of  unbleached  homespun,  occupied  the  front 
benches,  while  the  rear  of  the  church  was  filled  with  a 
number  of  Swedes  and  a  sprinkling  of  English  Churchmen 
and  Dissenters.  It  is  said  that  even  a  few  Quakers  and 
Indians  were  attracted  to  the  church,  and  enhanced  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  scene. 

The  service  was  opened  with  a  voluntary  on  the  little 
organ  ^-■'  in  the   galler}-   by  Jonas   the   organist,^^*^  supple- 


^^^  This  is  the  earliest  reference  to  a  church  organ  in  any  Protestant 
church  in  America.  It  is  not  known  to  a  certainty  just  where  or  when 
they  obtained  it.  If  it  had  been  sent  over  from  S\yeden,  that  fact  would  un- 
doubtedly have  appeared  upon  the  records.  There  is  a  strong  probability 
that  this  instrument  was  brought  over  by  Kelpius  and  his  party  in  1694, 
and  that  it  was  originally  set  up  in  the  Tabernacle  on  the  Wissahickon. 

The  present  writer  has  seen  a  letter  by  Kelpius  in  which  reference  is 
made  to  an  organ,  but  all  trace  of  this  paper  now  seems  to  be  lost. 
There  is  also  an  account  that  Dr.  Witt  and  others  of  the  Community 
built  an  organ  at  Germantown  or  Wissahickon  at  an  early  day.  Among 
the  musical  instruments  brought  over  by  the  Brotherhood  was  a  virginal 
(a  kej'ed  instrument,  something  like  a  pianoforte).  This  afterwards 
reverted  to  the  widow  of  Magister  Zimmermann,  and  appears  in  the 
inventor}'  of  her  effects. 

The  first  church  organ  introduced  into  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia, 
was  obtained  in  1728  from  Ludovic  Christian  Sprogell,  who  was  one  of 
the  survivors  of  the  Brotherhood  on  the  Ridge. 


Rnd))ia)i  as  Suffragan.  355 

merited  with  iiistrimiental  music  by  the  Mystics  on  the 
viol,  hautboy, ■^'''  trumpets  [Posaunen)  and  kettle-drums 
{Paukeii)}'^'^     After  this  they  intoned  the  Anthem  : 

Veni  Creator  Spiritus, 
Mentes  tuorum  visita, 
Imple  snperna  gratia, 
Quae  tu  creasti  pectora,  etc. 

While  this  was  being  sung,  a  little  procession  of  six 
persons  entered  the  church  by  the  west  portal.  First  came 
two  churchwardens,  then  the  candidate  for  ordination,  with 
Rev.  Andreas  Sandel  as  sponser  '^^'^  by  his  side  ;  lastly,  Revs. 
Erick  Biorck  and  Andreas  Rudman,  the  latter  as  sufifrag-an 
or  vice-bishop.^-'* 

As  the  little  procession  reached  the  chancel  rail,  the  two 
wardens  [Eldeste]  stood  on  either  side  of  the  railing,  while 
the  suffragan  and  the  two  priests  entered  within  the  chancel 
and  ranged  themselves  in  front  and  at  either  side  of  the 
altar,  upon  which  were  placed  a  crucifix  and  lighted  tapers. 
The  suffragan  was  robed  in  a  girdled  surplice,  with  chasu- 
ble ^^^  and  stole,  while  the  two  assistants  wore  the  black 
clerical  robe  '^'^^  {Schivarze  Taler).  The  candidate,  wearing 
the  collegiate  gown  of  the  German  University,  knelt  before 
the  rail,  upon  which  a  chasuble'"*"  {chor-heuid)  had  been 
previously  placed. 


^'"'  The  earliest  mention  of  Jonas  the  organist  is  in  Sandel's  diary,  under 
date  July  20,  1702,  as  one  of  the  number  that  accompanied  Pastor  Rud- 
man part  of  the  way  on  his  journey  to  New  York. 

^*'  Hautboy,  a  wind  instrument,  somewhat  like  a  flute  or  clarionette. 

^'^  Vide  Kelpius  Diary,  Falkner,  Sendschreiben  and  "Pennsylvania 
Magazine,"  vol.  xi,  page  434. 

'^^  Sandel  also  acted  as  secretary  of  the  Consistorium  on  this  occasion. 

^^*  Vide  "  Hallesche  Nachrichten,"  new  ed.,  pp.  441,  478;  also  W.  C. 
Berkenmeyer  vs.  Van  Dieren,  J.  Peter  Zenger,  New  York,  1728. 

^^^  This  garment  was  not  strictly  a  chasuble,  but  a  white  lace  garment 
similar  to  the  Roman  surplice. 

•^"^  Similar  to  the  one  still  worn  by  the  Lutheran  clergy. 


356  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Petinsylvania. 

The  anthem  being  ended,  the  suffragan,  standing  in  front 
of  the  altar  facing  the  congregation,  opened  the  services 
proper  with  an  invitation  to  pra\-er.  Then  turning  to  the 
east,  while  all  kneeled,  he  repeated  the  following  invocation. 

["  Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  himself  has  commanded  us  that  we  shall 
pray  for  laborers  in  thy  harvest,  we  pray  thy  unsearchable 
mercy  that  thou  wouldst  send  us  right-minded  teachers, 
and  give  thy  holy  and  wholesome  Word  into  their  hearts 
and  mouths,  so  that  they  without  error  may  both  correctly 
teach  and  perfectly  execute  all  thy  commandments,  in  order 
that  we  being  taught,  exhorted,  comforted  and  strengthened 
by  thy  holy  Word,  may  do  that  which  is  pleasing  unto  thee 
and  useful  to  us. 

"Grant  us,  O  Lord,  thy  Holy  Spirit,  that  thy  Word  may 
always  remain  among  us ;  that  it  may  increase  and  bear 
fruit,  and  that  thy  servant  may  with  befitting  courage 
preach  thy  Word,  so  that  tin-  holy  Christian  Church^''** 
may  be  edified  thereby,  and  may  serve  thee  in  steadfast 
faith,  and  forever  continue  in  the  knowledge  of  thee. 
Through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.      x\men."] 

The  suffragan  then  arose  and  turned  to  the  congregation, 
after  which  Rev.  Sandel,  acting  as  consistorial  secretary, 
advanced  to  the  chancel  rail  and  read  out  the  name  of  the 
candidate  and  the  charge  to  which  he  was  called. 

The  suffragan,  then  addressing  the  kneeling  candidate, 
said  :  "  Inasmuch  as  you,  Justus  Falkner,  are  called  to  the 
Holy  office  of  the  Ministry,  and  in  order  that  you  with  us, 
and  we  with  you,  may  rightly  understand  the  sacredness  of 
this  calling,  then  let  us  hear  the  promise  and  the  exhortation 


'®^  Also  known  as  a  "  Mess-hemd,"  a  short  white  garment  worn  over 
the  black  robe  when  officiating  at  the  altar. 
^'''*  Literally,  congregation, 


Tlic  Im'ocation.  357 

of  the  Word  of  God."  kX.  this  point,  Rev.  Biorck  stepped 
forward  and  read  out  the  following  parts  of  Scripture  : 

Matt,  xxviii,  18-20;  St.  John  ii,  15-17,  xx,  21-23;  Matt. 
X,  32-33  ;  2  Cor.  V,  17-20  ;  Jeremiah  xv,  19  ;  Matt,  v,  13-16; 
I  Tim.  iv,  7-8,  12-14,  16;  2  Tim.  ii,  15-16,  22-25;  ^  Peter 
V,  2-4. 

When  this  reading  was  concluded,  Vice-Bishop  Rudman 
advanced  and  said  :  "  May  God  give  you  grace  that  you 
may  faithfully  guard  these  sayings  in  your  heart.  May 
they  be  a  guide  for  your  conversation,  and  remind  you  of 
your  responsibility.  May  //  increase  }Our  watchfulness, 
uphold  your  zeal,  and  now  and  forever  consecrate  you  to  the 
service  of  Heaven. 

"  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  expects  of  you  that,  being- 
sensible  of  the  weight  of  the  ministerial  office,  you  your- 
self shall  consider  the  important  duties  which  this  office 
lays  upon  your  shoulders.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
expects  of  you  that,  in  believing  prayers  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  you  implore  God  for  grace  and  power  worthily 
to  exercise  it.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  expects  of  you 
that  you  fight  a  good  and  faithful  fight,  lay  hold  of  eternal 
life  and  make  a  good  confession.  Confess  therefore  )-our 
faith  before  God  and  this  congregation." 

Sandel,  as  secretary,  now  advanced  and  slowly  read  the 
Apostolic  Creed,  each  word  being  carefully  repeated  by  the 
candidate  before  the  next  following  one  was  uttered  by  the 
secretary.''^-'  When  this  important  feature  of  the  ritual  was 
concluded  the  suffragan  said  : 

"  May  the  Lord  God  grant  unto  you  grace  to  stand  fast 
in  this  faith  to  the  end,  and  to  strengthen  those  who  are 
your  brethern  in  the  faith." 


39')  -j^j^g  original  states  that  the  confession  was  spelled  out  letter  for  letter, 
word  for  word. 


358  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  PennsylvaJtia. 

Advancing  to  the  kneeling  candidate,  the  suflfragan  asked 
the  following  questions : 

"  Do  you,  Justus  Falkner,  declare  yourself  willing  to 
undertake  this  holy  ministerial  office  in  the  name  of  the 
holy  Trinity?" 

To  which  the  candidate  answered  a  clear  "  Yes." 

"  Will  you  solemnly  promise  that  this  office  shall  be 
worthily  and  rightly  administered  in  all  its  parts,  to  the 
oflorv  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls?" 

Again  the  same  clear  response  "Yes." 

"  Will  you  always  continue  in  the  pure  Word  of  God, 
flee  all  false  and  heretical  teaching,  preach  Jesus  Christ 
according  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  administer  the  Holy 
Sacraments  according  to  his  institution?" 

Response,  "  I  will." 

"  Will  you  so  regulate  your  life  that  it  may  be  an  example 
to  the  faithful,  and  shall  scandalize  no  one?" 

The  kneeling  man  again  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

The  suffragan  continuing,  said  : 

"  You  acknowledge  therefore  your  obligations.  You 
have  declared  it  to  be  your  purpose  to  fulfill  them.  Con- 
firm it  now  with  your  oath  of  office." 

The  obligation  was  then  administered  upon  the  Holy 
Evangels  by  the  acting  secretan,'.*'^" 

After  which  the  suffragan  continued  : 

"  May  the  Almighty  God  strengthen  you  and  help  }'ou  to 
keep  all  this,  and  according  to  the  power  given  to  me  in 
God's  stead  by  the  Church,  I  hereby  confer  upon  you  the 
ministerial  dignity  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father  and  the 
Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,     x^men." 

The  candidate  here  again  kneeled,  while  the  Brother- 


Text  of  oblisration  is  missino;. 


TJic   Consecration.  359 

hood  intoned,  to  the  soft  strains  of    instrnineutal   music, 

the  h}  inn  : 

"  Veni  Sancto  Spirit, 
Reple  tuorum  corda  fidelium." 

During  the  singing  of  this  hymn,  the  suffragan,  assisted 
by  the  two  clergymen,  invested  the  candidate  with  the 
chasuble  and  stole.  When  this  ceremony  was  completed 
and  the  hymn  sung,  the  suffragan  repeated  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  while  he  imparted  the  Apostolic  succession  ^"'  by 
the  laying  on  of  hands.  He  then  returned  to  the  altar,  and 
said,  "  Let  us  pray."  Then,  turning  once  more  to  the  east, 
he  read  the  following  invocation  : 

"  O  everlasting  merciful  God  ;  dear  heavenly  Father,  who 
through  thy  beloved  Son,  our  Lqrd  Jesus  Christ,  hast  said 
unto  us,  the  harvest  is  j^lenteous  but  the  laborers  are  few  ; 
pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  send  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest,  and  who  by  these  words  hast  made 
us  understand  that  we  cannot  procure  rightminded  and 
faithful  teachers  except  only  of  thy  merciful  hand  :  we 
pray  thee  therefore  of  our  whole  heart  that  thou  wouldst 
mercifully  look  upon  this  thy  servant  who  is  now  ordained 
to  thy  service  and  to  the  holy  office  of  thy  Ministry,  and 
give  him  thy  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  he  may  go  forth  under 
watching  and  be  strengthened  by  thy  Word,  and  be  able  to 
stand  fast  in  the  fight  for  thy  kingdom,  and  to  execute  thy 
work,  teach  and  reprove  men  with  all  humility  and  learning  ; 
in  order  that  thy  Holy  Gospel  may  continue  among  us  pure 
and  unadulterated,  and  bear  for  us  the  fruits  of  salvation 
and  of  eternal  life.  Through  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.      Amen." 

Here  the  sufragan,  turning  to  the  kneeling  postulant, 
said :  "  Bow  down  your  heart  to  God  and  receive  the 
benediction." 


This  was  according  to  the  Swedish  ritual. 


360  The  Pietists  oj  Provincial  Pcnusylvaiiia. 

After  this  was  given  the  impressive  liturgy  was  at  an 
end.  The  Theosophists  then  intoned  the  115th  Psalm: 
"  Non  Nobis  Dominie^'"  during  which  the  little  jDrocession 
reformed  and  as  the  last  verse  was  sung  slowly  left  the 
church,  and  the  solemn  and  impressive  ceremonial  which 
marked  the  first  regular  ordination  of  a  Protestant  clergy- 
man in  America  was  at  an  end. 

The  reader  may  ask  :  Did  the  newly  ordained  pastor  keep 
his  sacred  ordination  vows  ?  This  the  sequel  of  our  sketch 
^will  show.  It  may,  however,  be  permitted  here  to  say 
without  anticipation  that  no  more  active,  disinterested  or 
pious  clerg)-man  ever  labored  among  the  Germans  and 
Dutch  during  the  tr}-ing  Colonial  period  than  this  same 
Justus  Falkner. 

On  the  next  day,  after  the  certificate  of  ordination  had 
been  engrossed  in  due  form  by  Johann  Seelig,  it  was  laid 
upon  the  altar  before  which  the  ordination  had  taken  place, 
and  there  was  signed  by  the  three  officiating  clerg\-men. 


Signatures  of  the  Three  Officiating  Clergymen. 

It  was  dated  November  25,  1703,  and  bore  the  signature  of 
Andreas  Rudman  as  vice-bishop.*'- 


■'"■^  Rudman  and  Sandel. 


PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL   PENNSYLVANIA. 


GLORIA    DEI    (OLD   SWEDES)    WICACOA. 


AFIER    ETCHING    BY    LUDWIG    E.    FABER. 


The  Old  ''  Kcrckcn-boeck:'  361 

Thus  the  new  doniiuie  was  sent  out  to  minister  in  the 
adjoining  Provinces  ;  and  to  the  Orthodox  Lutheran  Church 
in  Pennsylvania  is  due  the  honor  of  having  ordained  and 
sent  out  the  first  man,  a  native  of  Saxony,  for  missionary 
purposes  in  the  Western  World  ;  who  was  to  labor,  not 
among  those  of  his  own  kith  and  kin,  but  among  people 
who  used  a  tongue  foreign  to  his  own. 

Pastor  Justus  Falkner  at  once  made  preparations  to  enter 
upon  his  new  field  of  labor.  He  arrived  in  New  York 
city  on  Thursday,  the  second  of  December,  or  just  eight 
days  after  his  ordination.  After  preaching  on  the  third  and 
fourth  Sundays  in  Advent,  he  was  accepted  as  their  regular 
pastor  by  the  oldest  Lutheran  congregation  in  America. 

The  first  record  made  by  him  in  the  Kercken-Bocck^ 
or  church  register,  shortly  after  his  arrival  sets  forth  the 
facts  of  his  call  in  Dutch,  with  a  short  prayer  in  classical 
Latin. 

[In  the  name  of  Jesus.  In  the  year  of  Christ,  1703,  on 
the  second  of  December,  I,  Justus  Falckner,  born  in  Saxony, 
Germany,  at  Langen-Reinsdorflf,  in  the  district  of  Zwickau, 
came  to  Philadelphia,  thence  to  New  York,  after  previous 
invitation.  On  the  third  Sunday  after  Advent  I  delivered 
two  sermons  in  the  Lutheran  Church  here.  I  did  the  same 
on  the  fourth  Sunday  after  Advent.  Thereupon  I  was 
received  by  the  Consistorium  of  the  Christian  Protestant 
Lutheran  Congregation  as  their  regular  pastor  and  teacher.] 

Then  followes  the  invocation  : 

"  Deus  Ter  Optiniiis  Maximo  qui  intrusit  me  hanc  in 
7nessem^  adsit  speciali  sua  gratia  mihi  operaw  abjccto  ct  ad- 
modiim  injirmo^  sine  qua  pereundum  mihi  est  siil)  mole  teiita- 
tionum^  quae  me  saepius  obrunt.  In  71",  Dbmine^  speravi^ 
non  sinas  me  confundi !  Redde  me  ad  vocationem  meant 
aptum ;  non  cucurri^  sed  misisti^  intrusisti ;  interim  quic- 

46 


362  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


i 

5 


'"r^     ?^1-i"^ '^^vs-s- 


Douiinic  Falkner.  363 

quid  in  me  inscio  corntpta  ndinisciierit  iiatiira  rcmitte  ;  da 
veniam  humiliter  deprecanti^  per  Domimnn  nostrum^  imo 
77iemn  Jesuni  CJiristum.     Amen.'''' 

[God,  the  Father  of  all  mercy,  and  Lord  of  great  majesty, 
who  hast  sent  me  into  this  harvest,  be  with  me,  thy  lowly 
and  ever-feeble  laborer,  with  thy  special  grace,  without 
which  I  should  perish  under  the  burden  of  temptation 
which  often  overcomes  me  with  its  might.  In  thee,  O 
Lord,  have  I  trusted  ;  let  me  not  be  confounded.  Strengthen 
me  in  my  calling.  I  did  not  seek  it,  but  thou  hast  sent  me, 
yea,  placed  me  in  the  office.  Meanwhile  wouldst  thou  grant 
remission  for  whatsoever,  without  my  knowledge,  a  corrupt 
nature  has  introduced  within  me,  and  forgive  and  pardon 
me  upon  my  humble  supplication,  through  our  Lord,  yea, 
my  Jesus  Christ.      Amen.] 

P^  facsimile  of  this  interesting  entry  is  also  reproduced  ; 
it  was  photographed  from  the  original  by  the  present  writer. 


Q   .(O 


Official  Signature  of  Dominie  Falkner. 

The  time  when  Pastor  Falkner  arrived  in  New  York  was 
far  from  being  a  propitious  one,  as  the  settlers  were  in  con- 
stant fear  of  attack  by  both  sea  and  land.^"-^ 

The  Hudson  Valley  from  one  end  to  the  other  was  men- 
anced  by  the  enemy.  All  residents  were  forced  to  be  con- 
stantly prepared  to  defend  their  life  and  property  bv  water 
as  well  as  land. 


^"^  This  was  during  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succession,  in  which  England 
was  engaged  against  France. 


364 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Two  members  of  the  church  council,  Church  Warden 
{Eldeste)  Jan  Hendrick  and  Vestryman  [Vorsteher)  Pieter 
van  Woglom,  with  whom  the  new  pastor  made  his  home, 
were  military  officers.  The  former  was  a  major  of  infantry, 
a  highly  respected  man,  who  well  appreciated  the  serious 
aspect  of  the  general  situation. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  Church  Warden  Andreas  van 
Boskerk  ;  /  orstehe?'  and  Overseer  {kirch-nieister)  Laur  van 
Boskerk  ;  the  sacristans  Hanns  La  Grangie  and  Joh.  Viet, 


with  Samuel  Beekman 
were  liable   to   mi 
occasion  required 

At   the    other 
ded     territory, 
were,  if  anything, 
ebb.   Pastor  Falk 
first    visit    to    Al 
congregation    there 
ded.     A  small  and  di 
called  by  courtesy  a 
bership  scattered  with 


Seal  of  Nf.w 
York,  a.d.  1703. 


reader  and  sexton,  all 
tary  duty  when  the 
their  services, 
endof  hisexten- 
church  affairs 
at  a  still  lower 
ner,  upon  his 
ban}-,  found  the 
rtually  disban- 
lapidated  house  was 
church,  and  the  mem- 
out  officers  or  ors^an- 


ization.  It  was  not  until  June,  1705,  that  he  succeeded  in 
effecting  a  permanent  organization. 

As  for  any  regular  stipend  in  either  place,  none  was  in 
prospect.  Church  finances  were  at  so  low  an  ebb  that 
bare  promises  were  not  even  made  looking  towards  the 
pastor's  sustenance.  A  reliable  account  that  has  come 
down  to  our  time  informs  us  that  the  situation  for  a  time 
was  even  worse  in  New  York  than  elsewhere. 

Dominie  Falkner  must  indeed  have  been  a  courageous 
man  as  well  as  a  pious  one  to  enter  upon  this  extended 
field,  which  he  eventually  enlarged  by  serving  all  the  Ger- 
mans along   the    Hudson    and   in   East  Jersey,    from   the 


The  Situation  in  New   York.  365 

Hackensack  in  Bergaii  Count)'  to  the  valley  of  the  Raritan, 
withont  any  prospect  of  renumeration.  Another  fact  to  be 
taken  into  consideration,  and  one  that  proves  more  than 
anything  else  how  earnest,  faithful  and  diligent  he  was,  is 
that  he  came  here  an  entire  stranger,  among  people  whose 
tongue  was  somewhat  different  from  his  own,  and  in  the 
face  of  the  direct  opposition  of  the  resident  Reformed 
clergy  and  laity,  who  where  then  numerically  in  the 
majority,  and  received  their  sustenance  from  the  Amster- 
dam Classis. 

One  of  the  first  things  done  by  our  pious  evangelist  was 
to  issue  a  call  for  a  meeting  at  the  house  of  his  landlord,  of 
the  "Protestant  Christian  Congregation*"*  adhering  to  the 
unaltered  Augsburg  Confession,"  ^'^  to  take  into  considera- 
tion the  dire  necessities  of  the  church.  At  this  meeting, 
after  some  desultory  discussion,  it  was  resolved  to  send  out 
circular  letters  asking  for  assistance.  These  letters  were 
signed  by  Falkner  and  the  church  officers.  Three  were 
sent  to  the  Swedish  Lutheran  brethern  in  the  South.*""  A 
fourth  circular  was  addressed  personally  to  Magister  Rud- 
man,  asking  his  intercession  in  their  behalf  with  the  Ger- 
mans and  English  in  Pennsylvania.  Still  later  a  similar 
circular,  with  special  reference  to  the  ruinous  condition  of 
the  church,  was  sent  to  the  Dutch  Lutherans  on  the  Island 
of  St.  Thomas  in  the  West  Indies. 

Subsequently  a  sum  of  money  was  received  in  response 
to  this  last  appeal,  but  unfortunately  with  the  proviso  that 
it  was  to  be  used  only  towards  building  a  new  church.*"^ 


*"''  Christliche  Protestaniischen  Gemeinde,  dcr  iingcundcyten  Augsburg- 
ischen  Confession  zugethan. 

*°^  Vide  page  66,  supra. 

•"'*  On  the  Delaware  river,  viz.,  at  Wicacoa,  Christiana  and  Penn's  Neck 
in  New  Jersey. 


2,66  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Here  a  new  complication  arose :  the  money  was  badly 
needed  for  congregational  purposes,  and  so  was  a  new 
church  building,  but  during  the  prevailing  financial  strin- 
gency there  was  no  way  of  suplementing  the  amount 
received  so  as  to  make  it  available. 

In  this  dilemma  another  congregational  meeting  was 
convened  by  Dominie  Falkner  at  the  house  of  Reader 
Beekman,  where  it  was  resolved  that  the  old  building 
should  be  made  tenantable  with  moneys  to  be  collected  by 
the  church-wardens,  while  the  St.  Thomas  funds  were  to 
remain  intact  and  be  kept  as  the  nucleus  of  a  building 
fund  for  a  future  church.^"* 

The  Dutch  Reformed  congregation  in  New  York  was  in 
far  better  shape,  and  at  first  it  seems  strange  that  no  assist- 
ance was  offered  by  them  to  the  Lutherans.  At  this  time 
there  was  considerable  friction  in  the  colony  between  the 
Dutch  Lutheran   and   Reformed   congregations.     The  es- 


*"'  The  first  Lutheran  church  in  New  York  was  built  outside  of  the  Cit- 
adel about  where  Bowling  Green  now  is.  When  New  York  came  once 
more  into  the  possession  of  the  Dutch,  this  building  was  razed  for  military 
reasons,  in  lieu  of  which  a  lot  was  given  the  congregation  at  what  is  now 
the  S.  W.  Cor.  Broadway  and  Rector  Street.  The  first  church  upon  this 
site  served  the  congregation  until  1729,  when  a  new  building  was  erected, 
partly  by  the  efforts  of  Daniel  Falkner. 

July  6,  17S4,  the  congregation  having  substituted  the  German  for  the 
Dutch  tongue,  united  with  the  German  Lutheran  Church,  known  as  the 
Swamp  congregation,  and  assumed  the  name  "The  Corporation  of  the 
United  German  Lutheran  Churches  of  New  York,"  the  services  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  church  at  Frankfort  and  William  Streets.  About  1826  the 
united  congregation  moved  to  Walker  Street  near  Broadway. 

By  a  special  act  of  the  legislature,  passed  March  29,  1866,  the  name 
was  changed  to  ' '  The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  St.  Mat- 
thew. ' '  A  spacious  church  was  secured  at  the  N.  E.  Cor.  of  Broome  and 
Elizabeth  Streets,  where  the  congregation  now  worship. 

40S  f  j^g  second  church  was  not  built  until  some  years  after  Justus  Falk- 
ner's  death,  and  then  onlj-  by  the  personal  efforts  of  his  brother  Daniel. 
Vide  page  326-7,  supra. 


The  First  LiitJwraii    Text  Book.  367 

trangement  was  partly  caused  by  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
Lutheran  pastor  and  his  close  adherence  to  the  unaltered 
Augsburg  Confession.'"'*  Discussions  were  indulged  in,  not 
only  by  the  rival  pastors,  but  by  the  individual  members 
as  well,  and  heated  arguments  often  resulted. 

To  place  his  people  in  a  position  the  better  to  uphold 
their  faith  and  controvert  the  arguments  of  the  Reformed, 
Dominie  Falkner  prepared  a  little  book  in  the  colloquial 
style  of  the  period,  in  which  he  attempted  to  fortify  his 
readers  by  quotations  from  the  Scriptures  against  what  he 
designated  "  Calvinistic  errors." 

This  book,  published  by  William  Bradford,  was  in  the 
low  Dutch  language,  and  was  the  first  Orthodox  Lutheran 
text-book  published  in  America.  Falkner  was  the  second 
Lutheran  clergyman  to  avail  himself  of  the  Bradford  press  ; 
his  predecessor  having  been  Heinrich  Bernhard  Koster, 
in  1695.^"' 

The  title  of  this  work  reads  as  follows : 

"  Fundamental  Instruction  ||  upon  ||  certain  chief  ||  promi- 
nent articles  of  the  ||  Veritable,  undefiled.  Beatifical  ||  Chris- 
tian Doctrine,  |1  founded  upon  the  basis  of  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets  of  which  j|  Jesus  Christus  ||  is  the  corner-stone,  || 
expounded  in  plain,  but  edifying  ||  Questions  and  Answers. 
II  By  II  Justus  Falckner,  Saxo  ||  Germanus,  Minister  of  the 
Christian  ||  Protestant  so-called  Lutheran  ||  Congregation  at 
N.  York  and  Albany.  ||  Printed  in  New  York  by  W.  Brad- 
fordt,  II  1708. 

h.  facsimile  of  this  title  page  is  also  reproduced.  The 
original  is  in  the  collection  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society. 

In  the  preface,  which  is  also  in    Dutch,   the    compiler 


^"^  l^ide  foot-note,  page  66. 
«o  pagg  266,  supra. 


368  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


GRONDLYCKE  OND£RRICHT 

VAN 

Sckcrc  Voornamc  Hoofd-ftacltcn,  dcr 
WAren^  Louccra,  Sali|mikend«ny 

Chriftelycken  Leere, 

Gcgrondet  op  den  Grondc  van  dc  Apo- 
flelcn  en  Prophcteo,  ddcr 

3tftts  Clj^iftus 

<lc  HOECK-STEEN. 

1  S, 

Angcwcfca  In  ccnvoudigc,  dog  ftlgtlycts; 

Vragen  ea  ^ntwoordcn^ 

Door 

JUSTUS   FALCKNER,   Sax»> 

G^rrtjanuSy  Miniftcr  dcr  Chnflclyckcn 
Pr*teftaatfcB  Gcnfiemtcn  Lctherrchca 

&c. 

Pfal.  li^-V.  1O4.    (jOod)  ft   Woort  marck.r  rat 
KUefk'y  4L§fram  hatt  tck  aUe  va/fcht  H^efei 

Gtdluckt  t»  Nicov»-Yorit  by  W.  Bradforeit^ 
f  708 


Title  ok  First  Luthekan  Text-Book  Printed  in  America. 


Falkner's  Orthodoxy.  369 

cotnniits  himself  absolutely  to  the  symbolisin  of  the  Luth- 
eran Church,  the  confession  of  the  Fathers  ;  "  which  confes- 
sion," he  continues,  "and  faith  by  the  grace  of  God,  and 
the  conviction  of  his  Word  and  Spirit,  lives  also  in  me, 
and  shall  remain  there  until  my  blissful  end." 

He  further  states  that  it  is  to  be  distinctly  understood 
that  the  contents  of  this  book  are  to  be  taken  in  strict  con- 
formity with  the  teachings,  confession  and  faith  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  to  which  his  parents  and  grandparents 
belonged.  He  continues  :  "Both  my  grandfathers,  paternal 
and  maternal,  as  well  as  my  father,  were  found  worthy  by 
the  grace  of  God  to  serve  in  the  holy  priesthood  of  his 
aggressive  church." 

The  body  of  the  book  consists,  as  before  stated,  of  a 
series  of  questions  and  answers.  The  last  two  pages  are 
taken  up  with  hymns.  The  first,  of  three  stanzas  of  ten 
lines  each,  is  a  Dutch  translation  of  Luther's  hymn,  "  Wir 
glauben  all  an  einem.  Gotty  This  is  followed  by  a  hymn  to 
be  sung  before  the  sermon,  which  has  four  stanzas  of  four 
lines  each.  The  last  one  is  a  hymn  of  two  stanzas  of 
twelve  lines  each.  These  are  evidently  of  his  own  com- 
position and  without  doubt  are  the  first  original  hymns 
published  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.^" 

The  whole  book  is  remarkable  for  its  orthodoxy,  and  it 
attracted  the  attention  of  leading  divines  in  Germany. 
The  celebrated  Loscher,  in  his  "Continuations"  for  1726, 
designates  this  text-book  as  a  "  Compendium  Doctrinae 
A  n  ti-  Ca  h  n'n  ia  n  urn. 

It  certainly  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Dominie  Falkner, 
with  his  widespread  field  of  labor,  that  he  should  have 
found  time  to  compile  the  above  book.     How  earnestly  he 


*^^  No  traces  of  these  hymns  are  to  be  found  in  the  older  Lutheran 
hymnals  accessible  to  the  writer. 

47 


370  Tlie  Pietists  of  Proinncial  Pomsylvania. 

Cn  grrft  enf  atnt*f!)trot  nta  lifer 

©tof  Die Rdtrfi  woiilit  eh  rcmtj  brief ut : 
|L«Et  Vto»o?l»t  toe?  iJ'objitn  't1)crt  tnstrni 
Cn  l?p!p  tins  JefB  na  uti»  bhrmapij,^ 

4.  ^rrr,  onf  (^otit  bobpit  a(  buiMn^ 
?n  ZJ?ie  ^rrfoftnc^  c^optnbtrtt; 
l2Hf  biliQen;El  tyftt'IffK  t'famen, 
XXii\^\\  Soc^  tits  onfe  bced' .'    2iartt> 

'Cppr  ColJtBfii  ttotitt  tnrt  K'na^*  brrlrrtf 

r->if  ong  He  ti»er^eiJt)t  leete ; 

®8  5tf ff  l)e?0anM.  Ijrrr,  n«,  ^wt  ^dl^ 

E^at  Ijrm  ted  ff1?itk  tfst  itBt»  p?fBi 

a!  opfe  Boprt  nt  Utftt ; 
Mat  ^nVrcB  marfj,  tat  frUjetew^tS 
ISHat  t>oo?Vrrtt  «iac!?,  nr  ftrff  bt^hsB*^ 

CEf  terten  nirt   ^«    fttt  fiAfI 

llafftcrm   oiifr  E^grU* 
tuft>t,  gMoof,  t>?rr!r,  brrtJet/rfu'et /nftioti 

,  ©at  toil  i^p  ntft  «i'flatttn» 

iSV^ofe  totT*I»  coci  trooto*I|tt  toind 

gl?  X>erf  u]pt  f?i»  3Patin?jrttrgl^(ri^ 

4[^a  ^ly  m,%  t^iiJ^  ^^  «^^ 

P"ac-simile  of  the  First  Original  Hymn  Printed  in  America. 


Exienl  of  the  Missionary  Field.  371 

felt  for  the  charges  under  his  care  is  shown  b)-  the  fact  that 
he  invited  his  elder  brother  Daniel  to  leave.  Pennsylvania 
and  take  charge  of  the  scattered  German  and  Dntch  ccni- 
gregations  in  East  Jersey. 

Although  the  chief  centers  of  his  activity  were  Albany 
and  New  York,  we  find  this  untiring  missionary  establishing 
preaching  stations  at  various  widely  distant  points  in  the 
Hudson  Valley.  Geographically  speaking,  his  charge  was 
divided  into  two  parts  :  one  south,  the  other  north  of  the 
Highlands  of  the  Hudson.  Falkner  was  wont  to  serve  the 
former  in  the  summer  season,  and  the  latter  during  the 
winter  months.  During  the  summer,  in  addition  to  his  city 
charge,  he  served  the  congregations  at  Hackensack,  Raritan, 
Remmerspach,  Piscataway,  Elizabethtown  and  Phillipsburg. 

In  the  north  his  activity  extended  from  Albany  to 
lyoonenburg  (Athens),  Klickenberg,  Four  Mile  Point,  Cox- 
sackie,  Kinderhook  and  Calverack.  Wherever  Dutch  Luth- 
erans settled  there  Dominie  Falkner  was  found  plying  his 
sacred  calling.  To  the  above  must  be  added  the  German 
congregations  founded  after  the  large  immigration  had  set  in 
during-  the  early  years  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  which  were 
served  in  their  native  tongue  by  the  zealous  evangelist. 

This  latter  duty  became  especially  onerous  during  the 
absence  of  the  German  Pastor,  Rev,  Josua  Kocherthal,  and 
his  subsequent  death  in  17 19,  when  the  German  Lutheran 
congregations  at  Quassaik,  Rosenthal,  Schawanggunk, 
Langen  Rack,  Newtown,  Tarbush,  Oueensbury,  Rhinebeck 
and  Schoharie  were  all  visited  by  Falkner  at  more  or  less 
regular  intervals. 

Among  the  papers  relating  to  the  Palatines,  published  in 
vol.  iii.  of  the  "Documentary  History  of  New  York,"  is 
found  the  following  notice  :   "  Litra  B.    In  the  Books  by 


372  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

our  Church/'"  Fol.  28,  is  to  be  found  that  our  then  minister 
Justus  Falkenier  has  baptized  Ao  17 10  Ye  19th  April  in 
the  house  of  one  of  the  Trustees,  of  which  Time  he  has 
continued  to  serve  the  People  there  every  year  without  any 
Profit  of  the  Glebe.'' 

That  these  stations  were  not  merely  small  hamlets  or 
isolated  farm-houses,  is  shown  by  the  entries  in  his  register, 
as  he  frequently  upon  the  same  occasion  baptized  five,  six, 
eight,  nine  or  ten  children.  A  personal  account  of  his 
ministrations  has  fortunately  been  preserved  tons  in  Biorck's 
Dissertatic  Gradualism  before  mentioned,  23ublished  in 
Sweden,  1731. 

Biorck  there  states:  "The  care  of  these  churches  [the 
Dutch  Lutheran  Churches  in  New  York]  was  therefore 
[after  the  illness  of  Dominie  Rudman]  committed  to 
Magister  Justus  Falkner,  a  German,  and  the  planting  of 
them  brought  forth,  after  some  time,  so  plentiful  a  harvest 
that  seven  churches  successively  ordained  in  the  same  way 
might  be  enumerated,  as  Falkner  intimates  in  a  letter  to 
Magister  Sandel,  dated  New  York,  September  28,  17 15. 

"  In  the  Jerseys,  there  I  visit  three  small  Lutheran  con- 
"  gregations  *'^  living  a  great  distance  one  from  the  other,  all 
"  these  three  consist  of  about  one  hundred  communicants, 
"  the  most  poor  people  and  poor  settlers. 

"  In  the  Province  of  New  York  I  serve  four  small  Luth- 
"  eran  congregations,  &  all  these  four  consist  in  all  of  about 
"one  hundred  constant  communicants,  besides  strangers 
"  going  &  coming  in  the  city  of  N.  York,  so  that  in  all  I 
"  have  seven  congregations,  whom  to  serve  I  must  yearly 
"travel  about  twelve  hundred  English  miles." 


*'^  On  Quassaik  Creek  in  Ulster  Conntj^ 

^^^  These  congregations  were  in  Bergen  County  along  the  Hudson,  and 
evidently  do  not  include  those  on  the  Raritan,  which  were  ministered  to 
by  his  brother  Daniel. 


The   Old  Onu'ch  Register,  2)12) 

Biorck  then  adds,  "  Thus  these  men  were  punctual 
enough  in  meeting,  although  scattered  far  and  wide. 
Moreover : 

"  Mr,  Kocherthal  resideth  as  yet  for  the  most  time  in  one 
place  on  Hudson's  River,  but  visiteth  two  places  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  where  particular  Lutheran  congre- 
gations meet.  He  has  been  as  yet  but  once  with  those 
Lutheran  Palatines  that  live  in  the  Mohacks'  country. 

"  We  have  brought  forward  these  things  so  much  out  of 
our  way,  in  order  to  make  it  clear  that  the  splendor  of  the 
Gospel  had  already  shone  in  such  various  places  of  America." 

To  reach  these  widely  separated  stations  was  a  serious 
question.  No  regular  conveyances  existed  ;  the  only  means 
of  intercourse  was  either  by  canoe  on  the  watercourses  or  on 
horseback  through  the  almost  trackless  forest,  unprotected 
from  the  elements  and  exposed  to  the  dangers  from  wild 
beasts  and  a  treacherous  savage.  Still,  even  these  dangers 
failed  to  deter  this  pioneer  missionary  from  his  path  of  duty. 

Great  as  was  this  widespread  field  of  his  ministrations, 
we  have  records,  that  he,  in  addition,  found  time  to  extend 
his  labors  and  spread  the  Gospel  among  the  negro  slaves 
in  the  colony,  as  well  as  the  Indians  who  still  remained  in 
the  vicinity. 

The  old  church  records  and  registers  of  the  venerable 
Trinity  Lutheran  Church  (now  St.  Matthew's  at  the  corner 
of  Broome  and  Elizabeth  Streets)  give  us  the  best  insight 
into  the  piety  and  untiring  energy  of  Justus  Falkner. 

It  is  indeed  fortunate  that  these  records  have  been  pre- 
served to  the  present  generation.  They  were  saved  from 
destruction  during  the  great  conflagration  in  1776  by  the 
heroism  of  the  pastor,  who  rescued  them  from  the  burning 
parsonage  at  the  peril  of  his  life ;  after  which  they  were 
securely  placed  in  the  cellar  of  the  new  church,  and  were 


374  '^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

forgotten  until  found  by  chance  a  few  years  ago ;  and  now 
by  the  courtesy  of  the  Reverend  John  Henry  Seiker,  the 
pastor  of  the  church,  they  have  been  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  present  writer. 

Dominie  Falkner  evidently  considered  the  Church  Book 
of  the  New  York  congregation  as  his  official  register,  and 
copied  his  ministerial  acts  upon  its  pages,  irrespective  of 
where  they  were  administered. 

This  interesting  relic  had  been  procured  some  time  pre- 
vious to  the  arrival  of  Dominie  Falkner,  as  is  shown  by  a 
memorandum  or  two  in  Pastor  Rudmann's  handwriting. 
No  effort  seems  to  have  been  made  by  the  latter  to  keep  a 
separate  record  of  his  ministerial  acts  in  New  York,  and 
they  were  without  doubt  entered  upon  the  records  of  the 
Wicacoa  church,  which  was  his  official  station. 

It  was  consequently  left  to  Justus  Falkner  to  open  the 
church  register  of  the  Trinity  Lutheran  congregation  in 
New  York.  This  book  is  the  oldest  systematic  Lutheran 
record  in  x'Vmerica,  and  is  in  the  unmistakable  handwriting 
of  the  pastor. 

On  the  first  page  it  states  that  "  this  is  the  Church  Regis- 
ter [Kercken-Boeck)  of  the  Christian  Apostolic  Protestant 
Lutheran  Congregation,  according  to  the  unaltered  Confes- 
sion of  Augsburg,  in  -New  York,  and  the  other  thereto 
belonging  places  in  America." 

Then  follows  a  brief  list  of  contents : 

"  An  inventory  of  books  and  papers  belonging  to  the  Church,  folio  3. 

"  Baptismal  Record  [Doop  Register),  folio  i^a. 

"  Register  of  such  persons  as  partook  for  the  first  time  with  our  Chris- 
tian Apostolic  Protestant  Lutheran  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Sacrament, 
folio  87*^. 

"  Register  of  such  as  have  been  dismissed  by  the  congregation,  folio 
109. 


Title  Page  of  tlie  Register. 


375 


376  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"  Register  of  such  as  were  married  by  the  pastors  of  said  congregation, 
folio  145. 

"  Burial  Register,  folio  185. 

"  Register  of  Church  Officers,  folio  316. 

"Justus  Falckner,  Saxo-Germano  nf.  Eccla.  Orthodox  Lutheran  Belvic 
Nov-Eboraci  in  America,  Pastor." 

To  the  historian  the  most  interesting  item  on  the  above 
page  is  the  reference  to  an  inventory  of  chnrch  papers,  then 
(1704)  in  possession  of  the  corporation.  They  consisted 
of  several  bundles  or  packages  of  documents,  and  were 
labelled  "Church  papers,"  Packet  I,  11,  etc.,  respectively. 
These  documents  have  long  since  disappeared  ;  the  only 
record  of  them  which  has  came  down  to  us  being  Falkner's 
inventory  in  the  Kercken-Boeck. 

Among  the  itemized  list,  Packet  No.    11  would  be  of 
exceeding  interest  if  it  were  still  in  existence,  as  it  con- 
tained, among  other  documents,  the  following : 
Ite7n  No.  5. — The  congregational  call  of  Justus  Falkner. 
"        6. — Rudmann's  letter  to  Falkner,  and  Falkner's 

reply  and  acceptance. 
"        8. — A  personal  report  from  Falkner  to  Rudmann, 
"        p.  — The  engrossed  certificate  of  ordination  granted 
to  Justus  Falkner,  and  signed  by  the  three 
Swedish    pastors   on    the    Delaware.       This 
document  was  deposited  by  Justus  Falkner 
with  the  congregation  upon   his  acceptance 
of  the  charge. 
The  body  of  the  book  is  divided,  as  the  table  of  contents 
indicates,  into  six  divisions.     Reference  has  "already  been 
made  to  Dominie  Falkner's  first  entry  and  votiim. 

The  first  ministerial  act  recorded  was  a  baptism  admin- 
istered in  the  barn  of  Cornelius  van  Boskerk  at  Hacken- 
sack  in  East  Jersey,  on  Monday,  February  27,  1704. 
Upon  this  occasion   were  baptized  three  children  after  a 


TJie  Doop  Register. 


Ill 


full  niorning  service.  On  April  17th,  following,  which  was 
Easter  Monday,  Falkner  baptized  a  daughter  of  Pieter  A. 
van  Boskerk  in  the  church  at  New  York.  These  four 
baptisms  were  enterecf  upon  the  register  at  the  same  time 
in  the  Low  Dutch  language,  with  the  following  z'o/idh  : 
"  O  Lord  !  Lord,  let  this  child,  together  with  the  three 


/^ 


\omi  !}^ai5ft^rr 


C\Ku^\t    OinI\dr^JU.^rdtftc,>vi{lck^^uM^nJliAjL^ 


fc 


4 


<^i>iV     J-^L^    x^.  i^<^^^    ^«^S<W  -^/zf^/ernAc^ 
<~aivr^^  jffyuxi,  ^oiyn  T/tvn  ^^-a^2<^rin4_0;a^^  ^*^/fiyn^ H-Vht 


I  —  ^  •  T^  fr^  ^v^^ 


Fac-simile  of  Earliest  Baptismal  Record. 

above    written    Hackensack  Children,  be  and  remain  en- 
grossed upon  the  book  of  life,  through  Jesus  Christ.    Amen." 
Almost  every  one  of  Falkner's  entries  closes  with  a  short 
prayer  or  votiim  for  the  future  welfare  of  the  person  men- 


48 


;^'/8  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

tioned  ;  showing  the  deep  interest  this  devout  shepherd 
took  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  flock,  irrespective  of 
their  nationality  or  social  position.  Dutch,  English,  Ger- 
man, negro  and  Indian  all  lost  their  individuality  with 
this  pious  evangelist,  whose  only  aim  and  object  it  was  to 
extend  the  Church  of  Christ  in  the  wilds  of  America, 
according  to  the  precepts  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

The  following  short  prayers  follow  the  respective  baptisms 
during  the  first  year  of  his  ministration  : 

"  O  God,  let  this  child  be  and  remain  a  child  of  salvation 
through  Christ.     Amen." 

"  Lord,  let  this  child  also  remain  forever  within  thy  ever- 
lasting grace  and  favor,  through  Christ.     Amen." 

"  O  God,  let  this  child  be  included  and  remain  in  thy 
eternal  favor,  through  Christ." 

"  O  L-ord,  we  commend  this  child  unto  thee,  for  both 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare,  through  Christ.  O  My  God, 
may  this  child  be  and  remain  a  member  of  thy  kingdom 
of  grace  and  glory,  through  Christ.     Amen." 

The  baptism  of  children  of  English  parents  was  usually- 
recorded  in  the  English  language. 

"  Baptized  d.  lo  Octobr,  1704  in  ye  House  of  Mr.  William 
Chambers,  Richard,  son  of  Mr.  William  Chambers  en  his 
wife  Sarah,  born  d.  10  ditto. 

"  Bless,  O  Lord,  this  child  also  with  everlasting  happi- 
ness, through  Christ  Jesus.     Amen. 

"Anno  1707,  the  i,Juni  [literal  transcript],  being  Whit- 
sunday, baptized,  in  our  Lutheran  Church  at  Albany, 
Elizabeth,  young  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Richard  Brewer 
&  Catherine  his  wife,  born  the  11  of  March  of  this  year. 
Godfather  was  Lieut:  Henry  Holland,  God  mother  Madam 
Elisabeth  Weems  and  Mrs.  Margareta  KoUnis. 

"  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  this  Childt  never  cast  away  the  grace 


Falkner^s  Entries.  379 

which  thou  has  Schwoni,  yea  given  by  the  Covenant  of 
Baptism  trough  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

Among  the  many  interesting  items  in  the  baptismal  regis- 
ter is  the  following : 

In  the  year  1705  were  baptized  a  daughter  of  Are  of 
Guinea,  a  negro,  and  his  wife  Jora,  both  Christian  mem- 

.>t7Y7VO    CMfll5TJ 
X  7  O  ^ 


yC    2^M^  ^  QtcK.nciju 


4. 


2.tchcJLyrt  fun  St  /y^i^C/n,    CUf^t^n  I  C/ 


Record  of  First  Communicants. 

bers  of   the  congregation.^'*     Falkner  concludes  with  this 
votiun  : 

"  Lord,  merciful  God,  who  lookest  not  ujdou  the  person, 
but  from  whom  different  creatures  that  fear  thee  and  do 
right  find  favor,  let  this  child  be  clothed  in  the  white  robe 
of  innocence  and  righteousness,  and  so  remain  through  the 
grace  of  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  all  mankind.     Amen." 


Vide,  pp.  323,  Supra. 


380  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  incidents  during  Dominie 
Falkner's  pastorate  in  New  York  occurred  on  Easter  Sun- 
day, 1708.  It  was  a  clear,  bright  April  day  with  the  har- 
bingers of  spring  singing  in  the  air,  and  the  warm  sun 
calling  all  vegetation  once  more  to  put  on  its  garb  of  ver- 
dure ;  indeed  a  typical  Paschal  day,  when  all  nature  seemed 
to  rejoice. 

The  church  was  decorated  with  budding  boughs  and 
spring  flowers.  The  Paschal  candles  burned  brightly  on 
either  side  of  the  crucifix  upon  the  altar,  all  indicative  of 
the  glorious  resurrection  to  be  celebrated. 

It  was,  however,  a  gala  day  in  the  church  independent  of 
its  being  one  of  the  most  joyous  festivals.  The  full  order  of 
morning  service  {Haupt-gottcsdeinst)  was  completed,  to  the 
reading  of  the  last  collect,  when  a  baptism  somewhat  out 
of  the  ordinary  course  was  administered.  The  candidate 
was  a  Carolina  Indian,  who  was  a  slave  held  by  Peter 
Woglam. 

When  the  former  first  expressed  a  wish  to  become  a 
Christian,  it  became  a  question  whether  if  he  were  admitted 
to  the  Church  he  could  still  be  held  in  bondage  and  treated 
as  a  slave.  The  master  naturally  objected,  in  the  fear  that 
he  might  lose  his  servant.  The  Indian,  however,  settled 
the  question  by  stating  that  he  was  willing  to  remain  in 
servitude  in  this  world,  provided  he  was  assured  that  he 
would  be  free  and  equal  in  the  skies  beyond. 

Dominie  Falkner,  when  he  heard  of  the  circumstances, 
examined  the  Indian,  found  him  sinqere,  and  concluded  to 
accept  him,  and  instructed  him  in  the  catechism  and  the 
tenets  of  the  faith. 

Upon  the  Sunday  in  question,  after  the  holy  Eucharist 
had  been  celebrated,  the  Indian  slave,  after  having  been 
duly  prepared,  was  called  up  before  the  altar  and  publicly 


Alt  Indian    Baptism.  381 

catechised  in  presence  of  the  congregation  by  the  pastor 
and  wardens.  He  was  then  asked  by  Dominie  F'alkner 
whether  he  solemnly  promised  before  the  omnipotent  Lord 
and  this  Christian  congregation  that  he  would,  after  he 
was  received  into  the  Church,  continue  to  serve  his  worldly 
master  and  mistress  as  faithfully  and  truly  as  if  he  were  yet 
in  his  benighted  state. 

Upon  the  Indian  giving  his  solemn  promise  that  he 
would,  Dominie  Falkner  proceeded  to  baptize  him,  after  he 
had  driven  out  the  spirit  of  evil  with  the  ancient  exorcism 
according  to  the  Lutheran  ritual :  "  Darum^  du  vermale- 
deyter  Tciifcl.^  crkenne  dein  urthcil.,  &c.''^ 

The  name  given  to  the  new  convert  was  "  Thomas 
Christian."  The  ceremony  closed  with  the  invocation  by 
the  Dominie  :  "  That  the  Lord  would  henceforth  cause 
this  unbelieving  TJionias  to  become  a  believing  Owislian^ 
The  morning  service  closed  with  the  benediction. 

History  is  silent  as  to  the  fate  of  this  poor  Indian  slave 
who  thus  voluntarily  embraced  the  Christian  faith.  Pre- 
sumably he  continued  to  serve  his  master  and  mistress, 
according  to  his  solemn  promise,  with  the  same  fidelity 
as  before.  Whether  his  bonds  were  ever  relaxed,  or 
whether  his  subsequent  treatment  was  worse  we  do  not 
know. 

A  somewhat  similiar  ceremony  was  performed  at  Albany 
four  years  after  the  above.  The  convert  in  this  instance 
was  a  negro  slave.     The  entry  in  the  old  register  reads : 

"Anno  1712,  January  27,  baptized  at  Loonenburg  in 
Albany,  Pieter  Christian,  a  Negro  and  slave  of  Jan  van 
Loons  of  Loonenburg,  about  thirty  years  of  age.  He  has 
promised  among  other  things  that  he  will  hereafter,  as  well 
as  he  has  done  before,  faithfully  serve  his  master  and  mis- 
tress as  servant. 


382  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"  Grant,  O  God,  that  this  black  and  hard  Negro-heart  be 
and  remain  a  Christian  heart,  and  may  he  be  numbered 
among  those  who  are  clothed  with  white  raiment  before 
the  throne  of  the  Lamb,  through  the  merits  of  the  Lamb 
of  God  who  bore  the  sins  of  the  world.     Amen." 

Under  date  of  28,  February  17 10,  Dominie  Falkner 
records  the  baptism  of  Louisa  Abigail,  daughter  of  Pastor 
Josua  Kocherthal  and  his  wife  Sibylla  Charlotta. 

Among  the  many  curious  entries  in  the  Baptismal  record, 
the  following  is  interesting  as  it  illustrates  the  orthodoxy 
of  the  Dominie.  It  appears  that  during  his  absence  two 
members  of  his  church  called  upon  the  English  Episcopal 
minister,  Rev.  John  Sharpe,  to  baptize  their  children. 
This  fact  evidently  pained  him  deeply,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  appended  votum  : 

"  Nov.  30,  17 12.  During  my  absence  Mr.  John  Sharpe*'^ 
baptized  the  young  daughter  of  Christian  Streit,  named 
Maria  Magdalena,  born  in  New  York,  &c. 

"  December  28,  1712.  Also  baptized  by  Mr.  Sharpe,  the 
young  daughter  of  Johann  Phillip  Tays,  named  Christine 
Elizabeth,  born  in  New  York,  &c. 

"  Lord,  Lord  God  !  Merciful,  gracious  and  forbearing,  of 
great  mercy  and  consideration,  which  thou  showest  unto 


"^  The  Rev.  John  Sharpe,  a  clergyman  of  character  and  ability,  was  one 
of  the  early  clergy  upon  the  rolls  of  the  Society  for  the  Propogation  of 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  His  chief  station  under  the  Society  was  in 
East  Jersey.  Prior  to  this  he  appears  to  have  been  stationed  in  Maryland, 
probably  under  orders  of  the  Bishop  of  London.  (Nichols  to  Stubs. — 
Perry's  Historical  Collections,  vol.  iv,  pp.  54,  349).  But  little  is  known  of 
this  clergyman.  Upon  the  rolls  of  the  Venerable  Society  he  is  entered 
as  having  been  sent  out  in  1704,  after  which  his  career,  so  far  as  the  Society 
goes,  seems  to  be  a  blank,  for  immediately  after  his  name  and  date  is 
entered  "  resigned  "  According  to  the  above  entry  by  Dominie  Falkner, 
he  was  still  performing  religious  rites  as  late  as  1712.  Another  account 
names  him  as  a  chaplain  at  New  York. 


Marriage  of  Dominic  FalJ<:ner. 


Z^Z 


us  in  a  thousand  ways  by  forgiving  us  our  offences,  tres- 
passes and  sin,  let  not  one  of  the  above  standing  names  be 
blotted  out  from  thy  book  [on  ac- 
count of  having  been  baptized  by 
a  minister  of  a  different  faith],  but 
let  them  be  therein  written  and  re- 
main there  through  Jesus  Christ,  th}'' 
beloved  Son,     Amen."  ^'^ 

In  the  marriage  record  the  follow- 
ing personal  announcement  is  per- 
haps the  most  interesting : 

Under  date  May  26,  1717.  "On 
Rogate  Sunday  did  Reverend  Wil- 
z  Ham  Vesey,  commissary  and  preacher 
of  the  English  church  in  New  York, 
on  a  license  of  his  Excellency  Robert 
tt?  -ytfi  3  S?W? -d  <  Hunter,  at  the  time  Governor  of 
^  ^^^3rfv^^^  K  this  Province,  Me,  Justus  Falkner, 
pastor  of  the  Protestant  Lutheran 
congregation,  in  my  house  in  little 
Queen  street  in  New  York,  marry 
and  consecrate  in  the  bonds  of  holy 
matrimony  with  the  honerable  vir- 
gin, Gerritge  Hardick,  born  in  the 
Province  of  New  York,  County 
Albany. 

"  I  leave  you  not,  you  bless  me 
then.     iVmen." 

Three  children  blessed  this  union  : 


*•*  Heere,  Heere  Gott,  Barmhertig  etide  Genadig  ende  Lanckniaedig 
ende  van  groote  Genade  ende  Trouioe,  die  Ghy  bewyst  in  duysent  leeden 
ende  vergeeft  misdaad,  oventreedinge  ende  Soude,  laat  dock  niet  een  van 
de  boven  staande  naame7i  uyi  u  Boek  iiytgedelgt  tvoordlen,  inaar  laat  se 
daarin  geschrcezvcn  syn  en  blyven  door  Jesum  Christum,  uwen  lieven 
Soon.     Amen. 


384  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Anna  Catherina,  born  in  New  York,  July  17,  1718;  bap- 
tized in  the  church  on  July  20 ;  and  Sara  Justa,  born  at 
Loonenburg,  May  5,  1720  ;  baptized  May  8  ;  married  Niclas 
van  Hoesan,  December  22,  1738  ;  Benedictus,  a  son,  born 
April,  1723;  baptized  at  Calverack,  April  nth. 

In  the  performance  of  the  arduous  duties  called  for  by 
his  widely  extended  field  of  labor,  the  Dominie  had  but 
little  time  for  rest  or  the  enjoyment  of  home  life.  Forced 
as  he  was  to  be  away  from  wife  and  babes  for  weeks  and 
months  at  a  time,  his  lot  was  by  no  means  a  sinecure,  and 
to  make  matters  worse,  so  beloved  was  he  that  the  people, 
wherever  he  happened  to  be,  were  loth  to  see  him  depart 
for  his  next  station,  and  would  exact  promises  for  a  speedy 
return. 

In  their  attempt  to  secure  his  services,  the  various  con- 
gregations even  went  further,  and  provided  glebe  houses 
that  should  be  ready  at  all  times  for  the  pastor  and  his 
famih'.  This  was  the  case  at  Loonenburg,  Calverack,  and 
other  outlying  points. 

That  notwithstanding  his  arduous  duties.  Dominie  Falk- 
ner  still  remained  in  touch  with  his  clerical  brethern  on 
the  Delaware  is  shown  by  correspondence  with  them,  and 
by  entries  in  the  Diary  of  Pastor  Andreas  Sandel.  The 
last  one  reads : 

"July  9,  17 18.  I  sent  same  day  by  mail  a  packet  to 
New  York,  enclosed  to  Pastor  Falkner,  to  be  forwarded  by 
the  first  vessel  bound  for  England."  This  letter  has  refer- 
ence to  Pastor  Sandel's  journey  to  Sweden. 

Dominie  Justus  Falkner's  married  life  proved  of  short 
duration.  We  know  but  little  of  his  movements,  except 
what  can  be  gleaned  from  his  official  entries,  which  show 
that  he  continued  to  cover  the  whole  territory  of  Eastern 
New  York,  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island. 


Death  of  Justus  Falkner.  385 

The  last  entry  found  in  his  private  diary,  and  copied  into 
the  old  church  register  by  Pastor  Knoll,  shows  that  he  was 
at  Phillipsburg-  early  in  September,  1723: 

"Sept.  4,  1723.  Baptized  at  Phillipsburg,  at  the  upper 
mill,  in  the  house  of  David  Sturm,  Johann  Peter,  born  in 
the  middle  of  June;  ibidem^  Father  Pieter  Hentz,  mother 
Maria,  Witness  Johann  Birger." 

After  this  his  history  becomes  a  blank,  the  only  docu- 
mentary notice  being  a  memorandum  made  b)'  Pastor  Knoll 
in  the  records  of  the  Lutheran  church  at  Newburgh : 
"  Pastor  Justus  Falknenier,  deceased.     Anno  1723." 

According  to  the  above  record,  which  is  no  doubt  correct, 
Justus  Falkner  died  at  the  early  age  of  51  years,  after 
having  faithfully  served  the  various  congregations  under 
his  charge  for  twenty  years. 

What  were  the  circumstances  of  his  sudden  end  cannot 
be  told.  Whether  he  died  alone  among  strangers,  or  amidst 
his  young  family,  is  an  unanswerable  question.  Not  even 
his  burial  place  is  know,  nor  whether  he  was  buried  with 
the  rites  of  the  church  in  consecrated  ground,  or  in  some 
unknown  corner. 

However,  should  any  record  be  found  to  shed  some  light 
upon  the  last  hours  of  this  devout  shepherd  in  the  fold  of 
Christ,  it  will  no  doubt  show  that  he  died  in  the  full  per- 
formance of  his  duty,  true  to  his  ordination  vows. 

As  to  his  family,  it  is  known  that  after  the  father's  death 
the  widow  with  her  three  young  children  took  up  their 
abode  at  Loonenburg,  where  the  latter  grew  up  in  the 
Lutheran  Church,  and  were  confirmed  and  married  according 
to  its  ritual. 

One  of  the  last  official  acts  recorded  by  Dominie  Berken- 
meyer,  prior  to  his  death  in  1744,  was  a  baptism  of  asecond 
son  of  one  of  his  church  officers, — Benedictus  Falkner,  a 
grandson  of  his  immediate  predecessor. 

49 


386 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Justus  Falkner  is  represented  by  all  accounts  as  a  lovely 
winning  character,  a  man  of  excellent  gifts,  good  educa- 
tion, fine  mind,  devout,  of  decided  Lutheran  opinions, 
active  and  of  great  endurance.  In  fact,  he  was  an  ideal  pas- 
tor, who  entered  into  his  office  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  without  God's  grace  nothing  could  be  accomplished. 
As  has  been  shown,  his  field  of  labor  extended  along  the 
Hudson  as  far  north  as  Albany  and  landward  to  Long 
Island  and  Raritan  in  New  Jersey. 

His  services,  nominally  confined  to  the  Dutch  and  Ger- 
mans of  the  Lutheran  faith,  were  extended  to  all,  irrespec- 
tive of  creed  or  color,  as  is  proved  by  the  mention  of  bap- 
tisms of  both  negroes  and  Indians  from  the  earliest  days 
of  his  ministry. 

Nothing  could  show  the  devout  and  sincere  mind  of 
Justus  Falkner  in  bolder  relief  than  the  entries  of  his 
official  acts  in  the  church  register,  a  votiim  being  added  in 
every  case. 

From  the  documentary  evidence  come  to  light  of  late, 


and  which  forms  the  basis 
pages,  it  is  shown  how 
Pietists  of   Provincial 
beyond  the  bounds  of 
extended  over  New 
seys.      No  matter 
causes    may    have 
the  Falkner  broth 
original    home    in 
factor  time   is  apt 
right  is  evidenced 
the   elder   Falkner 
sion  of  the  Pastori 


House  in  New  York, 
built  a.d.  1697;  de- 
molished 1828. 


of  the  majority  of  these 

the    influence    of    the 

Pennsylvania   spread 

'^^     that  Province  and 

1^    York  and  the  Jer- 

what  the  immediate 

been   that  induced 

ers    to    leave   their 

America,    how  the 

to  set    all    matters 

in    the    history  of 

and  the  controver- 

us  slanders. 


To  the  devout  and  pious  Justus  Falkner,  who  first  came 


In  Memoriani. 


3^7 


to  the  western  world  as  a  Pietist  and  mystical  Theosophist, 
with  the  avowed  intention  there  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
coming  of  the  Redeemer,  history  wnll  ever  point  as  one  of 
the  most  devout  and  sincere  missionaries  and  brightest 
characters  in  early  German-American  history. 

Although  for  years  almost  forgotten  by  the  present  gen- 
erations that  now  compose  the  congregations  formerly 
served  by  him,  their  very  existence  at  the  present  day,  after 
the  lapse  of  two  centuries,  and  the  fact  of  their  still  adhering 
to  the  Lutheran  faith  as  based  upon  the  unaltered  Augsburg 
Confession,  are  his  best  monuments.  They  are  living  me- 
morials, far  greater  than  either  shafts  of  granite  or  tablets 
of  bronze  made  by  the  hands  of  man. 

As  a  fitting  close  to  this  sketch  may  be  quoted  the  con- 
clusion of  the  ritual  formerly  used  by  the  Theosophical 
Brotherhood  of  which  at  one  time  he  was  a  member, — 

"  MAV    GOD    GRANT    HIM    A    BLESSED 
RESURRECTION." 


CONRAD    MATTHAI. 


f 


Arms  of  the  Chuk-Pfaltz,  1694. 


'OR  over  fort}'  years  one 
of  the  most  familiar 
figures  in  and  about 
Germantown  was  a  man  of 
well-knit  frame,  who  went 
about  clad  in  a  garb  of  coarse, 
uncolored  homespun,  while 
a  wide-brimmed  hat  covered 
his  head  with  its  wealth  of 
long  hair  and  shaggy  beard. 
In  front  of  the  hat  there  was  conspicuously  displayed  a 
small  shell,  such  as  are  found  on  the  banks  of  the  romantic 
Wissahickon.  In  his  hand  he  always  carried  a  long  staff 
or  alpenstock  ;  upon  his  feet  he  wore  a  mere  sole  or  sandal, 
and  in  winter  protected  them  with  heavy  woolen  stockings. 
The  whole  appearance  of  this  strange  character  was  such  as 
to  attract  the  attention  of  any  stranger  who  chanced  to 
meet  him. 

Such  was  Conrad  Matthai,  the  last  Magister  of  the  Her- 
mits on  the  Ridge,  or,  as  he  was  locally  called,  der  alte 
Matthai.  In  his  later  years  he  was  known  by  sight  to 
every  man,  women  and  child  in  the  German  Township  of 
Philadelphia  County.     He  was  respected  by  the  aged  and 


''  Dcr  Altc  Maith'ai:' 


389 


Conrad  Matthai,  1678-1748,  from  an  old  Etching. 


390  The  Pietists  of  Proviiicial  Peiuisyli'aiiia. 

reputable  citizen,  feared  by  the  frivolous  and  b}-  the  children 
and  superstitiously  inclined  was  avoided  as  a  supernatural 
being. 

After  the  death  of  Kelpius  in  1708,  and  upon  the  refusal 
of  Seelig  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  the  leadership  of 
the  Theosophical  Community,  Conrad  Matthiii  became 
recognized  as  the  Magister  of  the  Fraternity  on  the  Wissa- 
hickon,  and  after  the  disbanding  of  the  communal  organi- 
zation, he  was  still  recognized  as  the  Magister  or  Magus  of 
such  as  remained  upon  the  Vicaris  tract  and  vicinity  and 
lived  the  life  of  anchorites  or  hermits. 

The  hut  on  the  Hermitage  estate,  pointed  out  by  Phoebe 
Righter,  and  the  remains  of  which,  enlarged  and  improved, 
now  serve  as  a  tenant  or  farm-house,  was  undoubtedly  the 
one  inhabited  by  Conrad  Matthai  during  the  last  forty  years 
of  his  life.*'^ 

But  little  is  known  of  the  family  or  antecedents  of  this 
recluse  Theosophist,  except  that  he  came  to  the  Province 
in  1704,  with  others,  to  reinforce  the  Community  and  join 
the  Chapter  of  Perfection. 

According  to  some  accounts  he  is  said  to  have  been  a 

o 

Swiss  gentleman,  a  member  of  a  wealthy  and  influential 
family,  who  had  left  his  native  country  to  join  the  Mystics 
on  the  Wissahickon,  and  there  put  to  a  practical  test  the 
occult  theories  with  which  he  became  imbued  during  his 
academic  career. 

Another  old  record  examined  by  the  writer  intimates 
that  Conrad  Matthai  was  a  relative  of  the  noted  Georg 
Heinrich  Matthai,  who  was  an  instructor  at  the  Harburg 
(Haarburg?)  University  in  1695.  However,  be  this  as  it 
may,  that  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  a  student  of  note 
and  a  man  of  great  learning  is  shown  by  the  deference 
paid  to  him,  not  alone  by  the  various  religious  enthusiasts 

"6  Vide -p.  210,  supra. 


TJic  A  fag  us  on  the   WissaJiickon.  391 

who  came  to  these  shores,  but  also  by  the  leaders  of  the 
different  orthodox  denominations  within  the  Province. 

Upon  freqnent  occasions  his  advice  and  jndgment  were 
sought  in  the  various  religious  movements  in  which  the 
first  half  of  last  century  was  so  fertile. 

But  little  is  known  of  Matthai  during  the  years  immedi- 
ately succeeding  the  death  of  Kelpius,  except  that  the 
communal  system  was  abolished  and  that  of  the  Separatists 
or  Anchorites  adopted. 

The  evangelistic  and  educational  features  of  the  old  Com- 
munity, however,  were  retained  by  the  different  hermits,  as 
was  the  practice  of  astrology  and  medicine. 

The  first  definite  information  of  Matthai  is  found  in  the 
"  Chronicon  EpJiretense^^''  where  he  is  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  arrival,  in  the  fall  of  1720,  of  Conrad  Beissel, 
who  had  come  to  America,  together  wath  three  companions, 
with  the  avowed  intention  of  joining  the  Chapter  of  Per- 
fection which  they  thought  still  flourished  here.  Finding, 
upon  their  arrival,  that  the  Community  had  been  aban- 
doned, after  a  year's  sojourn  in  the  vicinity,  Beissel  and  his 
companion  Stuntz,  ui3on  the  advice  of  Matthai,  journeyed 
to  the  wilds  of  Chester  County  to  live  there  a  life  of  con- 
templation and  solitude.  The  intercourse  between  Matthai 
and  Beissel  during  the  latter's  sojourn  at  Germantown  was 
intimate  and  close,  and  tended  much  to  influence  the  latter's 
eventful  course  in  after  years. 

In  the  year  1725  the  population  of  Germantown  was  in- 
creased by  a  little  party  consisting  of  an  old  woman  and 
her  four  stalwart  sons.  She  was  the  widow  of  Michael 
Eckerling  of  Strasburg,  who  had  been  one  of  the  prime 
movers  in  combining  the  Pietistical  movement  with  the 
secret  mystical  organizations  of  the  day,  and  in  consequence 
had  suffered  great  persecution  in  his  native  city  from  both 


392  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

church  and  state.  He  was  by  trade  a  master  cap-maker, 
and  a  man  of  some  wealth/^^ 

There  is  no  written  record  as  to  what  interest,  if  any, 
Matthai  took  in  building  the  large  Community  house  or 
Monastery,  in  1738,  on  the  Wissahickon,  some  distance  up 
the  stream,  as  a  branch  of  the  Ephrata  Community  ;  nor  is 
there  anything  but  tradition  to  show  that  he  ever  visited 
the  Mystic  Community  on  the  Cocalico. 

The  Ephrata  traditions,  however,  lead  us  to  believe  that 
the  Swiss  Magus  was  not  an  entire  stranger  to  the  camp  of 
the  "  Solitary"  at  Ephrata.  He  certainly  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  Community  affairs,  as  is  shown  by  the  tem- 
porary estrangement  with  Beissel,  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Eckerling  brothers  in  1745,  where  Matthai  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  four  brothers. 

The  differences  thus  engendered,  however,  did  not  last, 
and  were  healed  prior  to  the  old  Theosophist's  death.  The 
final  reconciliation  between  the  two  leaders  was  effected 
during  a  pilgrimage  from  Ephrata  to  Philadelphia,  June 
12,  1747,  when  the  two  leaders  again  embraced  each  other. 
The  following  account  of  this  incident  appears  in  the 
"  Chronicon  Ephretensc  •''' 

"  On  the  journey  he  (Conrad  Beissel,  Father  Friedsam) 
visited  his  old  friend,  Conrad  Matthai,  not  far  from  German- 
town.  He  alone  was  left  of  a  venerable  society,  which  the 
celebrated  Johann  Kelpius  had  founded,  which,  after  his 
death,  however,  was  again  scattered,  as  has  been  mentioned. 
At  this  visit,  when  they  embraced  each  other,  a  difference 


*!'  In  the  "  Chronicon  Ephretense,''  p.  41,  Israel  Eckerling,  the  oldest 
of  the  brothers,  and  who  afterwards  became  the  Prior  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  Zion  on  the  Cocalico,  tells  us  how,  upon  the  advice  and  council  of 
Conrad  Matthai,  he,  together  with  his  mother  and  brothers,  in  the  year 
1727  left  those  regions  (Germanto'wn)  because  those  people  lived  in  vanity, 
and  he  came  to  the  Conestoga  country. 


White  Magic.  393 

which  had  existed  between  their  spirits  was  removed. 
They  had  formerly  been  good  friends,  bnt  after  the  Snper- 
intendent  (Beissel)  had  permitted  himself  to  be  instrumental 
in  the  new  awakening  in  Conestoga,  a  separation  of  their 
spirits  took  place,  which  was  healed  again  by  this  visit,  as 
just  mentioned.  Therefore  he  wrote  a  favorable  letter  to 
him  as  soon  as  he  returned  home,  and  likewise  exhorted 
Johannes  Wiister,  in  Philadelphia,  who  was  also  his  bene- 
factor, not  to  withdraw  his  hands  from  him."  *"* 

As  has  been  before  stated,  the  recluse  Anchorites  on  the 
Ridge,  according  to  popular  tradition,  in  addition  to  their 
Theosophical  speculations  and  religious  studies,  engaged 
in  "white  magic,"  such  as  casting  nativities,  exorcising 
spirits  and  the  practice  of  horoscopy  and  devination. 

Conrad  Matthai,  in  addition  to  the  above,  was  also  credited 
with  maintaining  communication  with  the  unseen  spirit- 
world,  and  with  the  ability  of  detaching  at  will  his  own 
soul  or  spirit  from  the  body.  Of  this  latter  power,  won- 
derful as  it  may  seem,  the  following  well-authenticated 
account  has  come  down  to  us : 

"In  the  year  1740  the  wife  of  a  ship  captain  living  in 
Philadelphia,  whose  husband  was  on  a  voyage  to  Africa, 
and  from  whom  she  had  been  long  without  tidings,  over- 
whelmed with  anxiety  for  his  safety,  upon  the  advice  of  a 
friend,  as  a  last  resort  journeyed  to  the  glen  of  the  Wissa- 
hickon  to  consult,  for  council  or  consolation,  "  old  Father 
Matthai."  The  latter  received  her  kindly  and  listened  to 
her  fears  and  story.  After  she  was  through,  he  bade  her 
remain  and  wait  where  she  was  for  a  short  time,  when  he 
would  bring  her  the  intelligence  she  sought  for.  He  then 
left  her,  going  info  the  back  room  or  closet  of  his  cabin. 


Chronicoii  Ephratense,  translation,  p.  204. 

50 


394  ^^^'^  Pietists  of  Pi'ovincial  Pemisylvania. 

which  was  separated  from  the  main  room  by  a  door  having 
a  small  cnrtained  sash  in  the  npper  half. 

"  Long  waited  the  sailor's  wife  for  the  Magician's  return  ; 
as  the  time  passed  slowly  by  minutes  became  as  hours, 
and  yet  no  movement  was  heard  or  came  from  the  other 
room.  At  last  her  impatience  became  so  great,  thinking 
that  the  old  hermit  had  perhaps  passed  out  of  another  door 
and  forgotten  her,  that  she  peeped  through  a  corner  of  the 
sash  which  was  not  covered  by  the  curtain,  and  there,  to 
her  surprise,  beheld  the  hermit  lying  on  a  rude  wooden 
pallet,  as  pale  and  motionless  as  if  he  were  dead. 

"  She  then  resumed  her  vigil.  Shortly  afterwards  the 
door  opened,  and  the  old  hermit  entered,  looking  pale  and 
wan.  He  told  her  that  her  husband  was  then  in  a  coffee- 
house in  London,  that  he  was  well  and  would  shortly 
return.  Further,  for  certain  reasons,  which  he  told  her, 
the  husband  had  not  been  able  to  send  her  any  letter.  With 
her  fears  thus  greatly  allayed,  she  left  the  cabin  of  the  old 
recluse  and  returned  to  her  home  in  the  city. 

"When  at  last,  after  a  lapse  of  three  months,  her  hus- 
band returned  to  Philadelphia,  she  learned  from  him  that 
the  cause  for  his  delay  and  unusual  silence  had  been  word 
for  word  as  was  stated  to  her  by  the  old  Hermit  on  the 
Wissahickon. 

"  The  curiosity  of  the  woman,  now  thoroughly  aroused, 
determined  upon  a  visit  to  Matthai  with  her  husband. 
Upon  the  arrival  at  the  cabin,  the  moment  that  the  captain 
saw  the  old  hermit  (who  was  entirely  unknown  to  him)  he 
told  his  wife  that  he  had  seen  this  very  man,  upon  such  a 
day  (it  was  the  very  day  that  the  women  had  made  her 
visit)  in  a  coffee-house  in  London,  and  that  he  came  to  him 
telling  him  how  distressed  was  his  wife  that  he  had  not 
written. 


School  at  JoJiii  BeditcPs.  395 

"He  then  told  him  why  he  had  not  written,  with  the 
reasons  why  his  return  was  delayed,  but  that  he  was  then 
upon  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  home,  after  which  the 
stranger  was  lost  sig.ht  of. 

"  x-lnother  account  of  this  strange  occurrence  describes 
the  hermit,  Conrad  Matthai,  a  man  of  retired  habits,  who 
spoke  but  little  ;  in  demeanour  grave,  benevolent  and  pious, 
with  nothing  against  his  character  except  that  he,  in  com- 
mon with  his  associates,  possessed  secrets  which  were 
accounted  not  altogether  lawful." 

How  intimate  the  relations  were  between  the  old  Theoso- 
phist  and  the  various  evangelists  and  missionaries,  has  been 
aready  told  in  a  previous  chapter. 

In  the  latter  years  of  his  life  the  old  recluse  became  too 
feeble  to  support  himself  by  his  own  manual  labor.  In 
these  days  he  found  a  firm  friend  in  Johannes  Wiister,  the 
Philadelphia  merchant,  who  lived  at  Germantown,  and  who 
befriended  him  until  his  death. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  earthly  sojourn,  Conrad  Matthai 
became  very  friendly  with  the  Moravian  Bretheren,  and 
even  in  his  advanced  age  continued  to  take  a  great  interest 
in  their  efforts  to  spread  the  Gospel  among  all  people,  and 
bring  about  a  union  of  all  Christian  denominations  as  well 
as  the  education  of  the  children.  So  great  was  his  interest 
in  the  educational  problem,  that  upon  the  opening  of  a 
Moravian  boarding-school,  in  John  Bechtel's  house,  on 
March  8,  1747,  the  first  to  send  greetings  to  the  Brethren 
is  old  Father  Conrad  Matthai,  "who,"  as  Bishop  Cammer- 
hoff  writes,  "  lives  a  few  miles  from  here  in  his  hut  as  a 
recluse."  ^'*' 

A  few  months  later,  May  22,   1747,  during  the  S}'nod 


"*  Bethlehem  Diaries. 


396  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

held  at  Germantown,  Brother  Martin  Mack  visited  Mat- 
thai,  at  his  cabin  on  the  Ridge,  accompanied  by  three  In- 
dian converts,  who  were  presented  to  the  old  Pietist  as  an 
living  evidence  of  the  Brethren's  snccess  in  spreading  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  among  all  people/"'' 

It  was,  indeed,  a  picturesque  sight  wherein  the  patriar- 
chial  anchorite,  with  his  snow-white  hair  and  flowing  beard, 
clad  as  he  was  in  his  rough  home-spun  pilgrim  garb,  formed 
the  chief  figure.  The  Moravian  Brethren,  in  direct  con- 
trast, with  their  long  hair,  smooth-shaven  faces  and  plain 
brown  garb,  brought  out  the  figure  of  the  old  Pietist  in 
in  even  bolder  prominence,  while  the  three  dusky  Indians, 
still  partly  robed  in  their  semi-barbarous  costume,  added 
yet  more  to  the  charm,  and  completed  the  composition,  as 
it  were, — the  background  of  which  was  formed  by  the  hut 
of  the  old  recluse,  with  its  surroundings  of  flowering  shrubs 
and  dark  foliage. 

It  was  a  happy  day  for  the  Moravian  Brethren  to  be  able 
to  present  their  "  first  fruits"  before  the  old  Magister,  and 
it  afforded  the  latter  no  less  pleasure  to  greet  these  practical 
evidences  of  the  Moravian  missionary  efforts. 

Conrad  Matthai  received  the  Indian  converts  very  kindly, 
and  exhorted  them  to  remain  steadfast  in  their  faith,  and  he 
finally  dismissed  them  with  his  blessing,  given  with  his 
hands  uplifted  and  his  face  turned  to  the  Orient.* 

It  is  recorded  that  this  interview  made  a  lasting  impres- 
sion upon  the  three  Indian  converts. 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  Conrad  Matthai,  together 
with  Brother  Jaebetz  (Rev.  Peter  Miller),  Prior  of  the 
Ephrata  Community,  attended  the  Pennsylvania  S}-nodal 
Conference  held  September  25,  1747. 


*-"  These  Indians  were  from  vShecomeco  and  were  baptized  by  Brother 
Ranch  at  the  Synod  held  at  the  house  of  John  de  Turck  at  Olney,  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1742. 


Moravian  Evangelists.  397 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  last  public  occasion  on 
which  he  was  present.  During  the  following  winter  his 
health  continued  to  fail,  the  old  man  getting  feebler  and 
feebler  as  the  months  rolled  by. 

When  his  helpless  condition  became  known  to  the  Mora- 
vian Brethren,  he  was  frequently  visited  by  their  evangel- 
ists, and  upon  a  report  of  Brothers  John  Wade  and  Ludwig 
Huebner,  who  came  from  Neshaminy  for  the  purpose  of 
visiting  him  in  the  summer  of  1748,  Brother  Richard 
Utley "'  was  sent  down  from  Bethlehem  to  remain  with 
him  and  minister  to  his  wants. 

Brother  Jasper  Payne  and  his  wife,  who  were  then  in 
charge  of  the  Moravian  school  at  Germantown,  also  attended 
to  his  wants,  and  occasionally  sent  some  of  the  children 
over  to  his  cabin  to  sing  for  him,  an  act  which  he  ever 
appreciated.  As  his  serious  condition  became  known  at 
Ephrata,  a  member  of  the  Zionitic  Brotherhood  was  at 
once  dispatched  to  the  Wissahickon  to  minister  to  him. 

This  action  upon  the  part  of  the  Ephrata  Community 
caused  more  or  less  friction  between  the  Moravian  and 
Ephrata  Brethren,  for  each  party  claimed  the  dying  Magis- 
ter  as  their  own.  This  peculiar  condition  was  aggravated 
still  more  by  the  fact  that  the  object  of  their  solicitation 
would  neither  renounce  the  one  nor  acknowledge  the  other 
faith. 


*-^  Richard  Utley  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  February  22,  1720. 
He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  received  into  the  Moravian  Church  in  1742  ; 
came  to  America  with  the  '^'^  2d  Sea  Congregation;''''  ordained  a  Deacon 
by  Spangenburg  at  Philadelphia,  August  14,  1746  ;  Pastor  at  New  York 
(twice),  Lancaster,  Philadelphia  (1749-52),  Graceham  (twice).  In  1766 
was  sent  to  N6rth  Carolina  and  served  in  congregations,  was  Warden 
at  Salem,  and  from  1772-75  member  of  Prov.  Helpers  Conference.  Died 
October  9,  1775.  "  He  loved  to  preach  much  better  than  to  attend  to  the 
duties  of  Warden  or  a  member  of  the  Conference." — J.  W.  Jordan. 


398  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

However,  toward  the  latter  part  of  August,  1748,  as 
Conrad  Matthai  felt  that  his  end  upon  earth  was  drawing 
near,  he  sent  a  request  to  Brother  Payne  at  Germantown 
that  the  children  at  the  Moravian  school  be  sent  over  to 
him.  When  they  arrived  he  asked  them  to  sing  for  him 
some  parting  hymns, — a  custom  which  was  then  in  vogue 
among  the  Germans  when  one's  end  was  approaching. 

The  hymn  which  pleased  him   most  and  gave  him  the 

greatest  comfort  was  the  peculiar  Moravian  hymn  of  the 

period,^" — 

"  Was  macht  ein  Kreuz-luft  vogelein 
Wann's  'naus  fliegt  aus  dem  Hiittelein?" 

After  the  singing  was  over,  Matthai  turned  toward  the 
East,  raised  up  his  hands  and  prayed  fervently ;  then  turn- 
ing once  more  to  the  children,  he  blessed  them  according 
to  the  ritual  of  the  Mystic  Brotherhood,  after  which  he 
dismissed  them. 

Two  days  later  he  departed  from  his  humble  recluse  hut 
on  the  Wissahickon  to  enter  into  the  glorious  palaces  of 
his  Redeemer  the  celestial  Bridegroom. 

Bishop  Cammerhofif,  in  his  diary,  notes,  in  reference  to 
the  death  of  Matthai,  that  "  at  his  ending  his  heart  was 
filled  with  love  and  tenderness  for  the  Lamb  and  His  con- 
gregation {Unitas  Fratrnni).  Though  the  enemies  (the 
Ephrata  Mystic  Community)  tried  their  utmost  to  turn 
him  against  the  congregation,  they  did  not  succeed  in 
diverting  him." 

After  the  death  of  the  old  Pietist,  both  parties  claimed 
the  body  for  burial,  and  the  Moravian  einlader  (invitor) 
went  from  door  to  door  in  Germantown  to  inform  the 
people  that  "  old  Father  Matthai"  was  dead,  and  when  he 
was  to  be  buried. 


Hymn  2251  Zugabe  to  the  xii  An  hang. 


Burial  of  Alattlmi.  399 

Notwithstanding-  this  somewhat  nnseenily  rivalr)-  between 
the  two  opposing-  orders,  in  the  end  a  compromise  was 
effected  by  which  both  parties  officiated  at  the  fnnerah 
This  happy  result,  it  is  said,  was  effected  by  Johannes 
Wiister,  who  bore  the  funeral  expenses. 

In  the  main  the  wishes  of  the  deceased  were  respected, 
at  least  in  so  far  that  his  grave  was  dug  at  the  feet  of  that 
of  his  former  Magister,  Johannes  Kelpius,  as  he  considered 
himself  unworthy  to  repose  by  his  side.  This  spot,  accord- 
ing to  Bishop  Cammerhoff,  was  but  a  short  distance  from 
the  hut  lately  inhabited  by  the  dead  Mystic. 

The  interment  took  place  on  Thursday,  September  i, 
1748,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people,  promi- 
nent among  whom  was  Dr.  Christopher  Witt,  now  the  last 
survivor  of  the  former  Community,  and  Johannes  Wiister, 
the  German  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  Although  the  ser- 
vices commenced  with  an  address  by  Brother  Timotheus 
(Alexander  Mack)  of  the  Zionitic  Brotherhood  of  Ephrata, 
the  ceremonies  virtually  ended  in  a  Aloravian  burial,  the 
chief  feature  of  which  was  the  reading  of  a  biographical 
sketch  of  the  deceased,  followed  by  a  sermon  by  Rev.  James 
Greening,  who  had  come  up  from  Philadelphia  expressly 
for  that  purpose,  and,  as  Bishop  Cammerhoff  writes,  "  por- 
tra}ed  to  all  present  the  Lamb  with  His  wounds  and  bloody- 
martyr  scene,"  after  which  the  body  was  consigned  to  the 
mother  earth  amidst  the  singing  by  all  present  of  the  hymn, 
"  Chris ii  bliit  und gerechtigkeit.''''  *"^ 


*-■'  This  hymn  is  still  in  use  by  the  Moravian  Church  throughout  the 
world.     The  English  translation,  hymn  302  in  the  new  Hymnal,  reads  : 
"  The  Saviour's  blood  and  righteousness 
M}'  beauty  is,  my  glorious  dress  ; 
Thus  well  arrayed,  I  need  not  fear, 
When  in  His  presence  I  appear." 


400  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pemisylvania. 

The  Chronicon  Ephretcuse^  commenting  upon  the  death 
of  the  old  Mystic,  states :  "  Conrad  Matthai,  after  he  had 
fulfilled  righteousness  among  men  by  works  of  love,  came 
to  live  a  life  of  faith,  whereupon  God  awakened  for  him 
a  rich  merchant,  by  the  name  of  Johannes  Wiister,  who 
served  him  with  his  possessions,  and  also  helped  to  bury 
him  by  the  side  of  Kelpius,  although  he  in  his  humility 
had  not  desired  to  lie  beside  him,  but  only  at  his  feet. 
May  God  grant  him  a  blessed  resurrection." 

Two  weeks  after  the  burial  of  the  last  of  the  Hermits 
who  remained  on  the  Ridge,  Christopher  Saner,  in  his 
paper  Pennsylvanische  Berichte^  September  i6,  1748,  pub- 
lished the  following  notice : 

"  Conrad  Matthai^  der  alte  Einsiedler  auf  der  Ritch^  ist 
den  isten  dieses  Monats  begraben  im  yo  Yahr  seines  Alters.'''' 

In  the  MS.  minutes  of  the  Br'iider-Synode.,  held  at  Beth- 
lehem from  October  12-23  -to  16-27,  i748>  appears  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  entry  relating  to  the  death  and  burial 
of  Conrad  Matthai.  On  account  of  its  quaintness  and  as 
an  illustration  of  the  peculiar  religious  literature  in  vogue 
in  Pennsylvania  at  that  period,  the  extract  is  reproduced 
verbatim  : 

"  Bei gelegenheit  der  Kinderanstalt  in  Germautouni  allwo 
geschivister  Payns  niit  ihren  gehi'ilfen  sind  wiirde  erzdhlet 
dass  unser  lieber  Bruder  Conrad  Matthai  der  auf  der  Ridge 
2wei  meilen  von  Germantown  gewohnet  vor  5  wochen  recJit 
selig  zum  lie  ben  Lanimlein  g  eg  an  gen  sei. 

'''■  Zii  seiner  krankheit  Jiaben  ihn  nnsere  geschivister  von 
Gerniantoivn  desgleichen  auch  brnder  Uttly  der  express 
dazu  von  BctJileheni  ans  abgeschickt  worden^  feissig  besiicht. 
Und  sonderlich  sind  die  Kinder  in  der  Gerniaiitown  anstalt 
seines  herze7is  lust  und  freude  gewesen^  die  iJin  auch  etwa  2 
tage  vor  seiner  heirnfarth  nocJi  einmal  bcsucht^  und  iJim  auf 


PIETISTS  OF   PROVINCIAL   PENNSYLVANIA. 


GROUP  OF  MORAVIAN  EVANGELISTS  WHO   LABORED  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 


1  Count  LuDwiG  VON  ziNZENDORF. 

2  Bishop  August  G.  Spangenberg. 

3  Bishop  David  Nitchmann. 


4  Bishop  J.  C    F.  Cammerhoff. 

5  Bro.  John  Martin  Mack. 

6  Bro.  Friederich  Martin. 


7  Bro.  Georo  Neisseh. 


FROM  THE  original  PORTRAITS  IN  THE  ARCHIVES  OF  THE  CHURCH  AT  BETHLEHEM.       BY  PERMISSION  OF  THE 
SESQUI-CENTENNIAL  memorial  COMMITTEE,  VIDE  FOOT-NOTE,   P.  7,  SUPRA. 


A  Moravian   Tribute. 


401 


bcsiicht^  iDid  iJivi  aitf  scincm  verlangeii  viel  zvundeii  itnd 
seiten-Jidlchens-versel  zimi  absdiied  gesuiigen  Jiaben. 

"  //(?/?2, — Sein  Seelchen  wird  sic/i  audi  einmal  aiis  seinem 
Huttlein  schwingcn. 

"  Da  cr  dann  seine  Hdnde  empor  gehoben  und  mit  eijietn 
hertzlidien  gebet  die  Kinder  gesegnet  und  ein  paar  tage 
darauf  redit  selig  ins  seiten-holdien  gefahren.  Sein  hertz 
ist  bis  an  sein  ende  voUer  Hebe  und  zartlidikeit  sum  Ldnim- 
lein  u  zu  seiner  Gemeine  geblieben^  und  alle  die  feinde  die 
ihr  auserstes  an  ihn  versudit  lun  iJin  gegen  die  Gemeine 
einzunehrnen  haben  ihn  nidit  zu  stohren  vermocht. 

"  Und  da  sein  Hiittlein  nahe  bei  den  alien  Baron  Kelpio 
zur  ruhe  gebradit  zvorden  so  hat  zuerst  Alexander  Mack 
dabei  eine  rede  gehalte7i  und  hernach  Bruder  Greening  das 
Ldtnmlein  und  seine  wunden  und  blutige  Martyrs  gestalt 
alien  anwesenden  vorgemaJilet.  IVie  dann  audi  in  den 
zeitunven  etwaz  davon  erzehlet  zvorden?'' 


fl^s. 


51 


DOCTOR    CHRISTOPHER    WITT. 


jOCTOR  Christopher 
Witt,  who  died  at  Ger- 
man town  toward  the 
close  of  January,  1765,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety  years, 
was,  so  far  as  is  known,  the  last 
survivor  of  all  the  Pietists,  philo- 
sophical students  and  religious 
enthusiasts  who,  during  the  life- 
time of  Magister  Kelpius,  had 
been  connected  with  the  Theo- 
sophical  Communit}-  on  the 
Wissahickon. 

It  was  ordained  for  him  to 
outlive  his  fellows,  to  soothe 
their  sufferings,  and  in  some  cases  to  close  the  e)-es  of  such 
as  remained  in  the  vicinity,  or  came  to  him  from  afar  in 
their  time  of  sore  distress,^-^  as  in  the  instance  of  Isaac  van 
Bebber/"^ 


Arms  of  Penn,  from  the  First  Pro- 
vincial Currency,  Printed  1723. 


^'■'*  Chronico7i  Ephretense ,  translation  p.  iS. 

*'^'^  This  Isaac  van  Bebber,  according  to  the  Chronicon,  was  a  young 
Hollander  and  an  early  companion  of  Beissel ;  he  was  a  nephew  or  rela- 
tive of  the  Isaac  van  Bebber  at  whose  house  Koster  instituted  the  Luth- 
eran services  upon  his  arrival  in  1694. 


(^-,:5^^/7/-er    q^J;ff^ 


CJu'istian   IVaj-mer.  403 

When  finally  it  came  to  the  time  for  Christopher  Witt 
to  leave  this  transitory  world  and  rejoin  his  former  com- 
panions, his  last  act  was  to  devise  the  bulk  of  his  property, 
together  with  the  house  in  which  he  lived,  to  Christian 
Warmer,  a  grandson  of  the  charitable  tailor  who  had  done 
so  many  acts  of  kindnes.s  to  Kelpius  and  his  fellow  Pietists 
during  the  times  of  sickness  and  adversity. 

Christopher  Witt,  or  DeWitt  as  he  is  sometimes  called, 
was  born  in  Wiltshire,  England,  in  the  year  1675;  ^^^  came  to 

America  in  the  year 
1 704,  and  at  once  join- 
ed the  Theosophical 

Autograph  of  Doctor  Christopher  Witt.  etlthusiasts    OU    the 

Wissahickon.  He  was  then  in  his  twenty-ninth  year,  and 
in  addition  to  being  a  thorough  naturalist  and  a  skillful 
physician,  was  well  versed  in  the  occult  sciences  and  in 
practical  astronomy. 

On  account  of  his  varied  accomplishments  he  was  per- 
haps, to  the  public  at  large,  the  most  valuable  man  of  the 
Mystic  Community,  and  from  the  very  outset  his  services 
as  a  physician  were  called  into  requisition,  not  only  by 
the  residents  of  the  immediate  vicinity,  but  also  from  out- 
lying districts,  his  fame  extending  even  into  the  adjoining 
provinces. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Kelpius  and  the  partial  dis- 
memberment of  the  Community,  Doctor  Witt,  together 
with  Daniel  Geissler,  the  former  famulus  of  the  Magister, 
removed  into  a  small  house  in  Germantown  upon  the  land 
of  Christian  Warmer.  Their  personal  wants  were  care- 
fully attended  to  by  the  Warmer  family,  which  then  con- 
sisted of  Christian,  the  emigrant,  Christiana  his  wife,  two 
sons,  George  and  Christian,  and  two  daughters,  Christiana 
and  Elizabeth. 


404  The  Pietists  of  Pro7.nncial  Pennsylvania. 

In  September  of  the  year  17 18,  Dr.  Witt  purchased,  for 
^60,  silver  currency,  from  John  Doeden  and  wife,  two 
tracts  of  land  containing  in  the  aggregate  125  acres;  loi 
of  which  were  located  within  the  inhabited  parts  of  the 
town,  the  rest  being  pasture  land  in  the  township.  The 
witnesses  to  this  conveyance  were  Matthias  Zimmermann  ^^"^ 
and  Daniel  Geissler. 

On  the  2ist  of  May,  1720,  Witt,  as  "  Doctor  of  Physic 
and  Chirurgene,"  deeded  the  whole  of  this  purchase  to 
Christian  Warmer,  "  Taylor,"  the  consideration  being  the 
same  amount  as  above.  This  deed  was  witnessed  by 
Daniel  Geissler,  Pieter  Keyser,  Phillip  Christian  Zimmer- 
mann and  Matthis  Melan. 

Christian  Warmer,  prior  to  his  death  in  the  spring  of 
1728,  made  the  following  provision  in  his  wnll  for  the  two 
Theosophists : 

"  And  as  Concerning  all  that  my  twenty-five  acres  of 
"  Land  well  I  Purchased  of  Daniel  Geissler  in  German  town*"'' 
"  sd  together  with  all  &  singular  the  Messauage  building 
"  &  appurtinances  part  in  the  possession  of  Doctor  W^itt,  I 
"  Give  &  Divise  the  same  unto  my  Daughters  Christiana 
"  &  Elizabeth  their  Heirs  &  assigns  for  ever,  in  equal  pro- 
"  portions  between  them  to  commence  on  &  immediately 
"  after  the  Determination  of  my  Wifes  Estate  as  afsd  and 
"  the  term  &  Estate  therein  of  the  afsd  Doctor  Witt  & 
"  Daniel  Geissler  their  lives  being  also  Expired." 

That  Doctor  Witt  still  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  now 
scattered  members  of  the  former  Community  is  shown  by 
the  Ephrata  records,  and  by  the  different  wills  upon  which 
he  fiofures  as  either  witness  or  executor. 


*'-'"  A  son  of  Magister  Zimmermann. 

*-"  This  land  was  a  part  of  the  tract  bought  from  Rej'nier  Jansen  the 
printer,  October  20,  1701.     "  Pennsylvania  Magazine,"  vol.  iv,  p.  37. 


The   Widow  Ziinmcrniann.  405 

A  notable  instance  of  the  latter  is  the  case  of  the  widow 
Zimmermann,  who  died  in  Germantown,  wife  of  Magister 
John  Jacob  Zimmermann,  who  originally  organized  the 
Community. 

Upon  this  occasion  Dr.  Witt  came  into  possession  of 
some  of  the  personal  belongings  of  the  late  Magister,  among 
which  were  : 

"  ^  sondry  sort  of  books,  2  Bibles  &  some  latin  Boocks, 
33  in  number  besides  the  latin  bocks." 

These  were  valued  at  ^^3-16-0. 

"An  old  Vorginall."'-' 

"  A  little  old  box,  with  some  brass  things,  and  an  old 
Cheinter." 

History  and  tradition  are  both  silent  as  to  what  became 
of  either  the  books  or  the  old  "  brass  things,"  which  were  no 
doubt  some  of  the  Magister's  philosophical  or  astronomical 
instruments. 

It  is  known  that  the  two  philosophers,  Witt  and  Geissler, 
continued  to  live  in  a  house  on  the  Warmer  lot  until  the 
death  of  Daniel  Geissler,  which  took  place  in  the  summer 
of  1745.  In  his  will,  proved  August  10,  1745,  he  gives 
and  bequeaths  "  all  his  moveables  or  personal  property 
estate,  wherewith  it  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  bless  his 
endeavours,  to  one  Maria  Barber  Schneiderin,  widow,  in 
Germantown." 

During  all  these  years  Geissler  attended  to  matters 
requiring  manual  labor,  such  as  the  cultivation  of  the 
medicinal  herbs  and  plants  for  the  use  of  the  doctor  in  his 
profession,  thus  leaving  the  latter  free  to  devote  himself  to 
his  practice  and  study. 

After    the    death  of    his    faithful    companion.  Dr.  Witt 


■*-*  This  was  without  doubt  the  first  Virginall  (a  kind  of  piano)  that  was 
brought  into  the  Province. 


4o6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

changed  his  quarters  to  the  large  mansion  house  *-^  which  had 
in  the  mean  time  been  built  by  Christian  Warmer  the 
younger,  and  when  the  latter  died  in  the  fall  of  1749/"" 
the  son,  like  unto  the  father  before  him,  left  an  ample 
provision  in  his  will  for  the  old  Theosophist,  who  was  now 
past  three  score  and  ten. 

"  9thly,  I  do  hereby  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  affection- 
'  ate  and  loving  friend  Christopher  Witt  with  the  full  free 
'  use  liberty,  and  Priviledge  of  any  fruits  or  garden  Erbs 
'  Growing  or  belonging  to  any  part  of  my  sd  lotts,  lands 
'  and  tenements  aforesd.  As  also  the  sowing,  planting 
'  such  trees  Quick  setts  &  Erbs  as  he  shall  think  proper 
'  and  shall  have  occasion  of  on  the  same  with  all  necessary 
'  use  of  ye  S.  E.  end  of  my  Mansion  house  diet  firewood, 
'  attendence  &  finally  all  that  he  may  or  shall  reasonably 
'  require  or  have  occassion  for  during  his  natural  life. 
'AH  which  my  sd  wife  children  &  their  Trustees  shall 
'truly  &  faithfully  fulfill  &  perform  as  aforesd." 

His  wife  Lydia,  together  with  Dr.  Witt,  are  named  as 
sole  executors. 

Dr.  Witt  was  a  skilled  botanist,  and  upon  his  removal  to 
Germantown  after  the  death  of  Kelpius,  he  started  a  large 
garden  for  his  own  study  and  amusement,  and  to  him  pro- 
bably is  due  the  honor  of  starting  the  first  botanical  gar- 
den in  America.  This  was  about  twenty  years  prior  to 
Bartram's  purchase  on  the  Schuylkill  for  a  like  purpose. 

Dr.  Witt  was  for  many  years  the  friend  and  correspondent 
of  the  celebrated  Peter  Collinson  of  London,  whose  letters 
to  some  of  the  leading  men  in  the  Province  all  mention 
the  high  esteem  and  regard  in  which  Dr.  Witt  was  held  by 


*2^  Tradition  seems  to  point  to  the  house  still  standing  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  Main  and  High  streets  as  the  homestead  of  the  Warmers  and 
of  Dr.  Witt. 

*^°  September  12,  1749. 


JoJin  Baj'iram.  407 

that  celebrated  English  naturalist  and  antiquarian.  In 
later  years  there  was  a  frequent  intercourse  between  I3r. 
Witt  and  John  Bartram.  The  following  letter  from  the 
latter  to  Peter  Collinson  gives  an  interesting  insight  into 
the  private  life  of  the  learned  Theosophist : 

"June  nth,  1743. 

"  Friend  Peter  : 

"  I  have  lately  been  to  visit  our  friend  Doctor  Witt, 
where  I  spent  four  or  five  hours  very  agreeably — sometimes 
in  his  garden,  where  I  viewed  every  kind  of  plant,  I  believe 
that  grew  therein,  which  afforded  me  a  convenient  oppor- 
tunity of  asking  him  whether  he  ever  observed  any  kind 
of  Wild  Roses  in  this  country,  that  was  double.  He  said 
he  could  not  remember  that  ever  he  did.  So  being  satis- 
fied with  this  amusement,  we  went  into  his  study,  which 
was  furnished  with  books  containing  different  kinds  of 
learning;  as  Philosophy,  Natural  Magic,  Divinity,  nay, 
even  Mystic  Divinity ;  all  of  which  were  the  subjects  of 
our  discourse  within  doors,  which  alternately  gave  wa}'  to 
Botany,  every  time  we  walked  in  the  garden.  I  could 
have  wished  thee  the  enjoyment  of  so  much  diversion,  as 
to  have  heard  our  discourse,  provided  thee  had  been  well 
swathed  from  hips  to  arm-pits.  But  it  happened,  a  little 
of  our  spiritual  discourse  was  interrupted  by  a  material 
object  within  doors  ;  for  the  Doctor  had  lately  purchased 
of  a  great  travellar  in  Spain  and  Italy,  a  sample  of  what 
was  imposed  upon  him  for  Snake  Stones,  which  took 
me  up  a  little  time  beside  laughing  at  him  to  convince 
the  Doctor  that  they  were  nothing  but  calcined  old  horse 
bones. 

"  Indeed  to  give  the  Doctor  his  due,  he  is  very  pleasant, 
facetious  and  plaint,  and  wall  exchange  as  many  freedoms 


4o8  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

as  most  men  of  his  years,  with  those  he  respects.  His 
understanding  and  judgement,  thee  art  not  unacquainted 
with,  having  liad  so  long  and  frequent  intercourse  with 
him  by  letters. 

"  When  we  are  upon  the  topic  of  astrology,  magic,  and 
mystic  divinity,  I  am  apt  to  be  a  little  troublesome,  by 
inquiring  into  the  foundation  and  reasonableness  of  these 
notions  which,  thee  knows,  will  not  bear  to  be  searched 
and  examined  into ;  though  I  handle  these  fancies  with 
more  tenderness  with  him,  than  I  should  with  many  others 
that  are  so  superstitiously  inclined,  because  I  respect  the 
man.     He  hath  a  considerable  share  of  good  in  him. 

"  The  Doctor's  famous  Lychnis,  which  thee  has  dignified 
so  highly,  is,  I  think,  unworthy  of  that  character.  Our 
swamps  and  low  grounds  are  full  of  them.  I  had  so  con- 
temptible an  opinion  of  it,  as  not  to  think  it  worth  sending, 
nor  afford  it  room  in  my  garden  ;  but  I  suppose,  by  thy 
account,  your  climate  agreeth  so  well,  that  it  is  much  im- 
proved. The  other,  which  I  brought  from  Virginia,  grows 
with  me  about  five  feet  high,  bearing  large  spikes  of  dif- 
ferent coloured  flowers,  for  three  or  four  months  in  the 
year,  exceeding  beautiful.  I  have  another  wild  one,  finely 
speckled,  and  striped  with  red  upon  a  white  ground,  and  a 
red  eye  in  the  middle,  the  only  one  I  ever  saw. 

"  Our  worthy  friend,  Colden,  wrote  to  me  he  had  received 
a  new  edition  of  Linnaeus's  Characteres  Plantarum,  lately 
printed.  He  advised  me  to  desire  Gronovius  to  send  it  to 
me.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  see  it.  The  first  I  saw,  was 
at  the  Doctor's,  and  chiefly  by  it  he  hath  attained  to  the 
greatest  knowledge  in  Botany,  of  any  I  have  discoursed 
with. 

John  Bartram." 


Dr.    JViH  the  Botanist.  409 

The  following  interesting  references  to  Doctor  Witt  are 
from  the  Bartram  papers  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Penn- 
s)lvania  Historical  Society  : 

PETER   COLLINSON   TO  JOHN   BARTRAM. 

"  London,  August  i6th,  1735. 
"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  Medlar  grows.     It  is  the  large  Neapolitan 
sort,  which  produces  a  large  fruit.     Doctor  Witt,  at  Germantown,  wants 
it  much.     I  sent  him  some  at  the  same  time  ;  but  whether  he  has  any 
luck,  I  can't  tell." 

"London,  September  20,  1736. 
"  But  on  the  other  side  of  the  question,  I  have  received  from  my  ingen- 
ious friends,  J.  Breintnall  and  Doctor  Witt,  very  particular  accounts  of 
the  power  it  has  over  creatures,  by  charming  them  into  its  very  jaws." 

"  London,  February  3rd,  1736-7. 
"  I  am  pleased  to  hear  thee  art  acquainted  with  Dr.  Witt,  an  old  cor- 
respondent of  mine,  and  has  sent  me  many  a  valuable,  curious  plant. 
But  I  am  afraid  the  old  gentlemen  has  been  too  cunning  for  thee.  Those 
fine  Lady's  Slippers,  which  make  my  mouth  water,  have  slipped  beside 
it.  The  Doctor  says  he  would  have  sent  them  me,  but  that  he  was  afraid 
they  were  spoiled  in  bringing  home,  for  want  of  proper  care  to  wet  the 
roots  by  the  way. ' ' 

"London,  December  14th,  1737. 
"This  we  call  the  small  mountain  Ranunculus,  as  it  really  is.     I  had 
it  formerly  sent  me,  by  Dr.  Witt,  but  I  should  be  glad  of  a  few  roots  more. 
It  is  a  pretty  plant,  and  keeps  a  long  while  in  flower." 

"  London,  January  31st,  1738. 
"The  pretty  white  Ranunculus  [Aaeinone  thalictroides,  L.)  that  Dr. 
Witt  sent  to  me,  some  time  agone,  is  a  neat,  delicate,  double  flower  ;  but 
I  never  knew  before,  it  was  a  Snake-root.  It  is  described  by  the  cele- 
brated Plukenet,  who  has  most  of  your  country  plants.  He  names  it — 
"Ranunculus  nemorosus,  Aquilegioe  foliis,  Virginianus,  Asphodeli 
radice. ' ' 

"  London,  April  6th,  1738. 
"  I  have  received  three  sorts  of  Jaceas  from  Doctor  Witt.     He  distin- 
guishes them  by  Early  Jacea,  Elegant  Jacea,  and  Gigantic  Jacea.     I  wish 
thee  could  find  them  out,  to  send  specimens  of  them,  as  they  grow  in 
your  country."' 

52 


4IO  The  Pietists  of  Pro7}iiicial  Pennsylvania. 

"  London,  January  26th,  1738-9. 
"There  is  a  small  packet  for  Doctor  Witt.     Pray,  somehow  or  other, 
convey  it  to  him.     Some  fine  Melon  seed  for  Thomas  Penn  ;  some  Bur- 
gundy Trefoil  (Medicago  sativa,  L.  or  Lucerne),  for  J.  Logan  ;  and  pray, 
where  there  is  sufficient,  let  him  have  a  share  of  the  other  seeds." 

"  London,  July  loth,  1739. 
"  It  differs  from  the  great  Marsh  Martogon,  for  that  will  not  flower  till 
the  middle  of  August,  and  another  sort,  I  had  formerly  from  Doctor  Witt ; 
but  that  was  a  smaller  sort,  and  never  had  but  four  or  five  flowers  on  a 
stalk." 

"  London,  July  loth,  1739. 
"The  pretty  Spiroea,  that  thee  sent  me  a  specimen  of  in  the  quire 
before  last,  that  I  doubted  if  it  was  of  your  natural  growth,  I  have  now 
a  plant  in  flower,  that  Doctor  Witt  sent  me,  which  shows  that  it  is." 

"  London,  July  22nd,  1740. 

"Doctor  Witts  hollow-leafed  Lavender,  is,  no  doubt,  the  Side-saddle 
flower  ;  but  what  relation  it  has  to  Lavender,  I  must  leave  to  him.  The 
plant  with  Tricolor  leaves,  I  amm  well  assured,  is  your  fine  Clinopodium. 
Our  late  severe  winter  has  carried  all  mine  off";  so  pray  send  me  some 
more  seed,  and  of  the  Lychnis  with  Crosswort  leaves. 

"The  doctor  did  not  carefully  distinguish,  or  observe,  the  fruit  he 
mentions,  which  I  take  to  be  no  more  than  an  excrescence  raised  by 
insects,  like  Galls  and  Oak-apples  ;  which  have  a  pulpy  substance  in 
them  of  a  beautiful  complexion." 

"  London,  October  20th,  1740. 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  thee  for  the  account  of  Dr.  Witt's  rarities. 
Thee  has  unravelled  the  whole  mystery." 

"London,  September  i6th,  1741. 
"  Pray  send  some  Ginseng  seed  ;  but  roots  will  be  better.     I  had  great 
expectation  I  had  this  rare  plant,  but  don't  find  it  proves  so.     The  young 
leaves  of  the  Prenanthes,  or  Doctor  Witt's  Snake-root,  I  took  for  it." 

"  London,  June  i6th,  1742. 
"I  have  a  Lychnis,  from  Doctor  Witt,  different  from  any  yet  that  I 
have  seen.  It  seems  to  be  the  King  of  that  tribe.  Its  stalk  is  near  as 
thick  as  my  little  finger  (which  is  but  small,  for  a  man).  It  is  now  about 
two  feet  high,  and  yet  no  flowers  appear.  The  stalk  is  most  finely  spotted, 
which  is  very  distinguishing  from  all  the  rest  that  I  have  seen." 


Mechanical  Ingenuity.  411 

"  London,  July  20th,  1759. 
"I  am  concerned  to  hear  poor  Dr.  Witt,  my  old  friend,  is  blind.     A 
well-spent  life,  I  doubt  not,  will  give  him  consolation  and  illuminate  his 
darkness.     I  must  conclude,  my  dear  John,  against  my  inclination. 

JOHN  BARTRAM  TO  PETER  COLLINSON. 

"JUI.Y    24th,   1744. 

"  Our  friend.  Doctor  Witt,  is  as  well  as  usual." 

"  May  22d,*i76i. 

"  Doctor  Witt  and  Alexander  went  on  purpose  and  fetched  seeds  and 
roots  ;  but  both  miscarried. ' ' 

"JuivY  19th,  1761. 

"  I  have  now  a  glorious  appearance  of  Carnations  from  thy  seed, — the 
brightest  colours  that  ever  eyes  beheld.  Now,  what  with  thine.  Dr.  Witt's 
and  others,  I  can  challenge  any  garden  in  x\merica  for  variety.  Poor  old 
man  !  he  was  lately  in  my  garden,  but  could  not  distinguish  a  leaf  from  a 
flower." 

Dr.  Witt,  it  is  said,  built  the  first  stone  house  in  German- 
town  (it  was  next  door  below  Andrew  Keyser's  house) ;  he 
was  also  an  ingenious  mechanic,  and  during  the  long 
winter,  when  botanizing  was  out  of  question,  he  constructed 
the  first  clocks  made  in  Pennsylvania,  if  not  in  America. 
One  of  these  he  made  for  his  own  use :  it  struck  the 
quarters,  and  was  quite  a  curiosity  at  that  early  day. 
These  timepieces  were  made  of  brass  and  steel,  they  were 
set  on  two  brackets  against  the  wall,  and  ran  for  thirty-six 
hours,  with  one  weight  and  an  endless  chain  ;  being  wound 
by  merely  pulling  the  chain,  which  would  raise  the  weight. 
The  long  pendulum,  as  well  as  the  weight  and  chain,  were 
exposed,  as  were  also  the  works  behind  the  dial  ;  the  bell 
on  which  the  hour  was  struck  was  placed  immediately 
above  the  works. 

At  that  time  these  timepieces  were  valued  at  from  15  to 
25  pounds  currency;  they  were  known  as  wall  clocks,  or 
IVand-uhren^    and    were   the   precursors  of  the    high-case 


412  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

clocks  so  common  in  the  early  years  of  the  present  century, 
many  of  which  are  still  preserved  as  heirlooms. 

With  his  other  accomplishments  Dr.  Witt  combined  that 
of  an  artist  and  musician.  He  possessed  a  large  pipe  organ, 
said  to  have  been  of  his  own  construction,  and  the  only 
instrument  of  the  kind  in  the  possession  of  a  private 
individual  in  America,  He  was  also  a  skillful  performer 
on  the  "  virginal,"  a  keyed  instrument,  of  one  string,  jack 
and  quill  to  each  note,  like  a  spinnet,  but  in  shape  resem- 
bling an  upright  piano.  Notwithstanding  his  mechanical 
and  extensive  professional  labors  and  scientific  researches, 
he  kept  up  his  studies  in  the  occult  sciences  as  well  as  the 
Theosophical  speculations  of  the  old  Brotherhood  long 
after  the  state  of  affairs  brought  around  by  the  growth  of 
the  new  country  had  scattered  most  of  his  former  associates, 
as  well  as  deprived  the  Quaker  element  of  its  supremacy. 
He  also  was  an  adept  in  astronomy,  having  a  fine  large 
telescope.  His  reputation  as  an  astronomer  was  of  a  high 
order,  and  his  deductions  were  generally  accepted  as  final 
by  the  various  scientists  of  the  day. 

A  good  illustration  of  his  observations  is  shown  by  his 
description  of  the  "great"  comet  of  1743,  and  it  is  by  far 
the  best  that  we  have  of  that  celestial  phenomenon. ^^'  His 
observation  was  made  through  his  eight-foot  telescope,  a 
few  days  after  the  comet's  appearance  on  Christmas  nigRt 
of  that  year  ;  it  then  appeared  as  large  as  the  planet  Jupi- 
ter.     Dr.  Witt  says : 

"  His  atmosphere  or  tail  is  not  long,  but  directing  itself 
to  the  S.  E. ;  his  motion  but  slow,  making  to  the  N.  W. 
He  rises  about  ^  past  10  in  the  mornirJg  in  the  E.  N.  E., 
and  passes  our  Meridian   ^  after  five  p.  m.  in  latitude  15. 


*^'  For  a  full  account  of  the  "  great  "  comet,  see  "  An  Ephrata  Legend," 
by  the  present  writer,  in  Christian  Culture,  Lancaster,  Penn.,  1891,  vol. 
i,  No.  II. 


The  Hcxen-meistcr  of  Germcmtozvn.  413 

30  N.;  and  sets  ->4  after  night  in  the  W.  N.  W.  His  lati- 
tude with  respect  to  the  eliptic  is  21  D.  30  m.  His  longi- 
tude from  Aries  14  D.  30  m." 

The  learned  Doctor  also  practised  horoscopy,  and  would 
as  the  occasion  required,  cast  nativities  according  to  the 
position  of  celestial  bodies,  and  he  was  wont  to  use  the 
hazel  rod  in  his  divination.  These  facts,  together  with  his 
wrinkled  features  and  bent  figure  in  his  later  years,  made 
him  an  object  of  fear  and  terror  to  the  naturally  supersti- 
tious Germans  of  the  settlement,  whose  favorite  occupation 
after  dark  was  the  telling  and  retelling  of  ghost  stories. 
Whether  sitting  in  front  of  the  fire  on  the  spacious  hearth, 
or  on  the  bench  under  the  stoop  in  front  of  the  house, 
spook-stories  were  always  the  favorite  theme.  In  many  of 
these  legends  the  hexen-meister^  as  Dr.  Witt  was  univer- 
sally known  among  the  Germans,  figured  as  the  chief  actor, 
The  doctor,  however,  minded  not  these  idle  tales  and 
rumors,  and  willingly  went  into  any  of  their  houses  to 
alleviate  their  suffering,  even  if  he  saw  them  making  three 
crosses  in  the  air  or  on  the  door-jamb  as  he  entered,  or 
knew  that  while  he  was  ministering  to  the  ailing  child,  the 
anxious  parent  was  saying  a  Vater  Unser  to  keep  off  the 
Evil  One.  To  make  matters  worse  for  the  local  gossips, 
on  one  occasion  Dr.  Witt  returned  from  Philadelphia  ac- 
companied by  a  slave  whom  he  had  purchased  there.  This 
man  was  a  mulatto  with  a  sharp,  piercing  black  eye,  light 
skin  and  curly  hair,  and  was  known  as  Robert.  He  became 
the  trusty  servant  and  companion  of  his  master,  and  when- 
ever Dr.  Witt  went  out  after  dark  Robert  invariably  pre- 
ceded him  with  a  lantern.  It  was  not  long  before  it  would 
have  been  hard  to  say  whether  master  or  servant  inspired 
the  most  fear  with  the  simple-minded  Germans ;  some  of 
whom  honestly  believed  that  Robert  was  really  a  familiar 


314  T^^^(^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

spirit,  sent  from  the  regions  below  at  the  request  of  his 
master.  Robert,  however,  proved  a  reliable  and  trust- 
worthy servant,  competent  to  wait  on  the  table,  curry 
horses,  clean  knives,  boots  and  shoes,  lay  a  table,  shave 
and  dress  wigs,  and  carry  a  lantern  ;  and  in  addition  to 
these  multitudinous  accomplishments,  being  of  a  mechanical 
turn  of  mind  he  soon  mastered  the  science  of  clockmaking. 

Doctor  Witt  accumulated  considerable  property,  and,  as 
before  stated,  about  the  middle  of  the  century,  after  the 
death  of  Geissler,  took  up  his  abode  in  the  large  stone 
house  which  had  been  built  by  Christian  Warmer  (2d). 
The  old  house,  however,  was  not  rented,  but  was  used  by 
the  doctor  as  a  workshop  or  laboratory,  and  in  the  course 
of  time  became  an  object  of  dread  to  all  passers  by  after 
dark.  The  many  gruesome  tales  connected  with  this  old 
house  were  only  equalled  by  those  told  in  connection  with 
the  old  Hexen-meister  and  his  Teiifcls-biu'sche.  The  mys- 
terious sounds  and  lights  said  to  have  been  heard  and  seen 
there  frequently  during  the  long  winter  nights,  if  probed, 
no  doubt  would  have  been  found  to  emanate  from  Robert's 
turning-lathe,  or  the  Doctor's  brazier,  as  he  was  preparing 
some  of  the  medicaments  used  in  his  profession. 

When  the  Doctor  was  eighty  years  old  his  eyesight  failed 
him,  and  this  in  a  few  years  resulted  in  total  blindness. 

During  the  years  of  his  affliction  he  was  tenderly  cared 
for  by  his  slave  Robert,  who  not  only  proved  his  devoted 
servant,  but  acted  as  his  agent. 

Before  his  eyesight  had  entirely  failed  him,  he  sent  for 
three  friends  in  whom  he  had  the  fullest  confidence,  viz., 
Hugh  Neile,  Charles  Witherholtz  and  John  Knorr,^^-  and 


■'^■^  John  Knorr  was  a  son-in-law  of  Ludwig  Biedermann,  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  original  Community.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Ludwig 
Biedermann,  and  her  mother,  Maria  Margaretta  Beidermann,  was  a 
daughter  of  Magister  Zimmermann,  who  died  at  Rotterdani. 


Curious  Burial  Custom.  415 

in  their  presence  he  made  and  executed  his  last  will  and 
, — —p,  }     L  (j         /  /7    testament,   Novem- 

\    AT  /  LJ     ^^^  7'    ^761-      He 

^ /         could  then   hardly 
J  see    to    write  his 

Signature  to  Will.  name    tO    the    docu- 

ment. He  appointed  Richard  Johnson  and  Christian 
Warmer  (3d)  as  his  executors. 

But  few  particulars  are  known  of  the  end  of  this  old 
mystic  and  philosopher,  or  even  the  exact  date  of  his 
death.  It  appears  from  some  fragmentary  documents  that 
it  was  in  the  latter  part  of  January,  1765,  and  that  the  last 
offices  were  performed  for  him  by  the  third  generation  of 
the  Warmer  family. 

"His  remains, — wrapt  in  a  spotless  linen  sheet  and  resting 
upon  the  shavings  made  in  planing  the  boards,^'"'  in  the 
plain,  unvarnished  deal  coffin,  without  lining  or  ornament, 
made  by  Robert  for  his  late  master, — were  buried  in  the 
family's  private  ground,  situated  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
behind  the  Warmer  homestead,  and  which  is  fully  described 
in  the  next  chapter.  At  his  request  his  remains  were 
lowered  into  the  ground  just  as  the  winter  sun  sunk  beneath 
the  horizon. 

The  old  magus  had  outlived  all  of  his  former  associates 
and  friends.     In  the  three  score  years  that  he  had  passed  in 


^•''■^  This  custom  has  survived  until  of  late  years  and  is  still  occasionally 
insisted  upon  in  the  burial  of  decendants  from  the  early  Sabbatarians  in 
Pennsylvania.  Poplar  wood,  however,  is  usually  used  in  place  of  pine. 
The  superstition  about  the  shavings  made  in  building  a  coffin  is  an  old 
one.  It  was  believed  that  in  case  that  a  shaving  from  a  coffin  would 
find  its  way  into  any  house  death  would  result  in  the  near  future.  Both 
shavings  and  sawdust  were  therefore  always  carefully  swept  up  by  the 
cabinet-maker  and  placed  in  the  coffin  before  he  delivered  it.  A  modern 
instance  of  this  custom  is  described  by  the  writer  in  the  Philadelphia 
Times  of  August  3,  1893. 


3i6  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Geniiaiitowii,  he  had  witnessed  probably  greater  changes 
than  ahnost  any  one,  and  the  tradition  may  be  a  true  one 
which  tells  us  that  the  sincerest  mourner  at  the  funeral  was 
the  trusty  slave  Robert.  The  following  obituary  appeared 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette.,  No.  1885,  February  7,  1765: 

"  Last  week  died  at  Germantown  Dr.  Christopher  De 
Wit  a  Gentleman  long  and  well  known  throughout  this 
and  the  neighbouring  provinces  for  his  great  services  and 
abilities  in  his  profession  of  a  physician." 

AlthouR-h  Doctor  Witt  lived  and  died  in  the  home  of  the 
Warmer  family,  it  appears  that  he  was  not  without  kinship 
in  this  country,  as  he  had  a  nephew,  William  Yates,^^  living 
in  Germantown.  Just  how  great  the  intimacy  was  between 
these  two  men  is  difficult  to  surmise,  as  all  that  is  known 
about  the  latter  is  gleamed  from  a  deed  of  gift  to  Yates, 
and  the  reference  to  him  in  Witt's  last  will. 

From  the  former  it  appears  that  when  Dr.  Witt  felt  that 
he  was  approaching  the  end  of  his  earthly  career,  he  gave 
to  his  relative  a  stone  house  and  tenement  with  a  lot  of 
ground  containing  543/^  perches,  fronting  on  the  northeast 
side  of  the  main  street.  This  gift,  for  such  it  was  (as  the 
consideration  was  only  a  nominal  one)  was  evidently  in  lieu 
of  all  and  any  claims  Yates  might  eventually  make  against 
the  estate  of  his  uncle.  The  conveyance  is  dated  Novem- 
ber 2,  1758,  and  is  recorded  in  Deed  Book  H,  11,  page  186. 

It  sets  forth  that,  "  For  and  inconsideration  of  the  natural 
love  and  affection  which  the  said  Christopher  Witt  hath 
and  doth  bear  unto  and  towards  his  said  nephew  William 
Yates  and  for  his  the  said  William  Yates  better  and  more 
comfortable  subsistance  in  this  world  and  for  divers  other 
good  causes  him  the  said  Christopher  Witt  (as  uncle)  there- 

«4  William  Yates  was  a  wheelwright  by  profession,  and  was  a  son  of 
Witt's  sister. 


ll^illiain    Yates.  417 

imto  especially  inooving,  as  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of 
Five  Shillings  lawfnll  money  of  Pennsylvania  nnto  him 
the  said  Christopher  Witt  well  and  duly  in  hand  paid  by 
his  said  Nephew  William  Yates,  &c." 

A  tradition  that  the  writer  has  thus  far  not  been  able  to 
verify  intimates  that  the  house  given  by  Witt  to  Yates 
formerly  stood  upon  the  site  now  known  as  5073  Main 
Street.  It  is  described  as  having  been  a  quaint  little 
building,  and  subsequently  for  a  time  served  as  the  local 
post-office. 

After  De  Witt's  death,  when  the  will  was  admitted  to  pro- 
bate, February  4th,  it  was  found  that  after  a  bequest  to  "  Wil- 
liam Yeats,  commonly  called  my  relative,"  of  "  One  English 
shilling,"  he  manumits  his  trusty  servant  Robert  (Clay- 
more) absolutely  ;  further  giving  him  tlie  lot  on  which  the 
old  house  stood,  describing  it  as  "  the  certain  tract  of  land 
in  the  Township  of  Germantown,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
lane  commonly  called  Keyser's  and  bought  of  Adam  Holt." 
He  further  gives  him  "  all  tools,  instruments  and  utensils 
belonging  or  appertaining  to  the  making  of  Clocks,  also 
the  feather  bed  and  bedstead,  a  bolster-pillow  and  other 
furniture  ;  also  my  great  Clock  which  strikes  the  quarters, 
also  all  household  goods  belonging  to  me  which  shall  be 
found  in  my  old  house,  where  I  formerly  lived  next  door 
below  Andrew  Keyser's  alias  Pistorius.  That  is  to  say  2 
chairs,  a  Black  walnut  table.  Chest  of  drawers,  a  press  cup- 
board, with  all  that  is  contained  in  the  same.  Also  all 
other  goods  and  effects  of  mine  which  shall  be  found  in  the 
same  old  house  at  the  time  of  my  decease." 

After  thus  liberally  providing  for  his  trusty  servant,  he 
bequeaths  ^60  cash,  then  in  the  hands  of  one  Leonard 
Frelich,  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital  in  Philadelphia,  an 
institution  then  in  its  infancy,  "  the  said  legacy  to  be  for 

53 


41 8  The  Pietists  of  Proinncial  Pennsylvania. 

the  use  of  the  poor  in  said  Hospital."  *'^"  After  a  few  minor 
bequests,  he  leaves  the  rest  of  his  estate,  including  the 
large  house  in  which  he  lived,  to  his  friend  Christian 
Warmer  (3d),  the  grandson  of  the  emigrant/'^'' 

Thus  Doctor  Christopher  Witt,  the  Rosicrucian  Mystic 
of  Germantown,  the  last  of  the  Kelpius  community,  lived 
and  died  charitable  even  unto  death,  not  only  rewarding  his 
trusty  slave  with  his  liberty,  and  his  old  benefactors,  the 
Warmer  family,  with  a  home  and  fortune,  but  leaving  a 
legacy  for  the  alleviation  of  human  misery  for  ages  to 
come.  Comparatively,  his  bequest  to  the  Hospital  will 
prove  a  more  enduring  monument  to  his  worth  and  memory 
than  perishable  stone  or  corroding  brass. 

■'^^  This  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  legacies  left  to  the  embryo 
institution.  In  the  Hospital  records  the  estate  of  Dr.  "  Wilt "  is  credited 
with  1 1 60. 00. 

*■'*  His  personal  property  was  appraised  at  a  total  of  ^314,  5s,  od. 
Among  the  items  we  find  : 

Telescope ^i-io-o 

Maps  and  Pictures, 1-5-0 

Organ, 40-0-0 

Virginal, 1-15-0 

Belongings  to  apothecaries  and  Doctor's  way,  60-0-0 

Two  Clocks, 30-0-0 

One  Clock, 15-0-0 

Clockmaker's  tools, 3-0-0 


THE    ROMANCE    OF    SPOOK    HILL. 


ijVHRISTlAN  WARMER 
if  V  and  his  wife  were  not 
only  solicitous  for  the 
bodily  welfare  of  the  indivi- 
dual members  of  the  Theoso- 
phical  Community,  and  ten- 
derly cared  for  such  as  were 
sick  or  distressed  in  the  early 
days  of  the  experiment  on  the 
Wissahickon,  but  they  went 
even  further,  and  set  apart  a 
piece  of  their  land  in  German- 
town^^'  as  a  burial-place  for 
themselves  and  such  Theoso- 
phical  Brethern  as  should  die 
in  the  vicinity.  This  cemetery,  within  the  very  heart  of 
Germantown,  has  for  some  reasons  thus  far  escaped  the 
notice  of  antiquarians  and  local  historians.  It  is  located 
upon  the  high  ground  within  the  square  bounded  by  High 
and  Haines  Streets,  and  Morton  and  Hancock  Streets,  and 


One  of  the  Warner  Tombs  on 
Spook  Hii.l.*38 


*^''  A  seemingly  well-founded  tradition  indicates  that  the  ground  was 
originally  set  aside  for  burial  purposes  by  Dr.  Witt,  who  held  title  to  the 
same  for  two  years  before  he  conveyed  it  to  Warmer.     See  page  404  idid. 

**^  The  name  of  the  Warmer  family  about  the  middle  of  last  century 
was  Anglicized  to  Warner,  vide  signature  of  emigrant,  page  245,  supra. 


420  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


Entrance  to  the  old  Warner  Ground. 


Is  itciclitd  eitliei  h\  the  old  lane 
kadini;  fioih  Haiiics  vStreet  into 
Altchainc  Sticet,  now  called  Col- 
well  vStiect,'^'  or  b\  the  path  be- 
tween St  ]\Iicluiel\  Cluirch  and 
the  parsonage 

\\  ithin  the  naiiow  bounds  of 
tlrs  plot  rest, 
so    far   as    is 
^  known,    at 
least  fonr 
,  genera- 
Jr  tions  of 
the  War- 
mer family; 
sides  there- 
5^g^mains  of  Dr. 
"    Christopher 


Witt,  his  mu- 
latto   servant 
Robert  Cole- 
man,  Daniel 
(jeissler,   the 
famulus 
of    Kel- 
pius,  and  sev- 
eral other  mem- 
bers of  the  original 
Kelpius  part}'  who 
died  in  German- 
town. 

A  complete  list 
of  the  burials  with- 
in this  little  Fried- 


GJwslly  Legends.  421 

hof  was  still  in  existence  a  few  years  ago,  and  not  only 
contained  a  list  of  all  who  rest  within  its  bonnds,  but  also 
a  short  synopsis  of  the  ceremonial  with  which  they  were 
committed  to  the  earth. 

Unfortunately  for  our  purpose  this  list  cannot  now  be 
found.  The  writer  has  during  the  past  two  years  made 
untiring  efforts,  without  avail,  to  trace  and  obtain  this 
document,  but  although  four  persons  have  at  different  times 
seen  and  examined  the  list,  all  trace  of  it  now  seems  to 
have  been  lost. 

This  piece  of  ground  on  the  hill-top  in  Germantown  was 
originally  forty  feet  square,  stepped  out  and  consecrated 
according  to  the  mystic  ritual.  Many  are  the  vicissitudes 
that  have  passed  over  this  little  plot  during  the  past  two 
centuries.  For  a  number  of  years  it  was  merely  known  as 
a  private  burial  ground,  such  as  was  set  apart  by  John 
Bechtel  from  his  own  ground  upon  the  west  side  of  the 
Main  Street  opposite  Fisher's  Lane  ;  in  later  years  for  the 
use  of  the  Uniias  Fratmm  or  Moravian  Brethren. 

From  the  very  day  when  the  first  body  was  interred 
within  this  enclosure  on  the  hill,  the  spot  was  assumed  to 
be  haunted  by  the  credulous  German  population.  This 
was  probably  on  account  of  the  mystic  ceremonies  with 
which  the  last  rites  were  performed. 

As  the  time  passed  and  additional  interments  took  place, 
the  gossip  as  to  uncanny  sights  and  sounds  increased,  as 
did  also  the  belief  in  their  re-occurrence  at  certain  intervals. 
Many  were  the  strange  tales  told  by  the  honest  Germans 
as  tiiey  sat  upon  their  hearth-benches  {o/en-bank)  during 
the  long  winter  nights,  all  about  this  quiet  spot,  now  sur- 
rounded by  a  low  stone  wall.  Brave  indeed  would  even  a 
strong  man  have  been,  when  crossing  the  fields  after  dark, 
to  have  cast  his  ey^s  toward  the  haunted  spot. 


*^'  As  the  order  now  stands,  Colwell  Street — Mechanic  Street. 


422  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylva7iia. 

An  old  legend  is  to  the  effect  that  frequently  during  the 
geister-stunde^  or  ghostly  hour  of  midnight,  shadowy  forms 
were  to  be  seen  flitting  about  in  the  dim  moonlight,  clad  in 
outlandish  attire,  some  being  robed  in  light,  and  others  in 
black  garb.  Upon  such  occasions,  it  is  stated  that  the 
shrivelled  and  bent  form  of  old  Dr.  Witt  could  be  seen 
slowly  toiling  up  the  hill-side  behind  his  house  to  the 
ghostly  spot  where  he  would  join  the  supernatural  visitors, 
until  the  clock  in  the  little  German  church  steeple  struck 
the  hour  of  one,  when  all  would  vanish  except  the  old  Mys- 
tic, who  would  then  slowly  retrace  his  steps  toward  his 
house,  being  met  at  about  half  the  distance  by  his  faithful 
servant.  It  was  mainly  on  account  of  these  weird  happen- 
ings that  the  spot  became  known  as  der  Spook-biiJiel  or 
Spook  Hill. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Witt,  in  1765,  and  his  burial 
within  the  enclosure,  the  fear  of  the  uncanny  spot  increased. 
Tales  were  told  which  have  survived  even  to  the  present 
time,  how  upon  the  night  following  the  burial  of  the  old 
Mystic,  spectral  blue  flames  were  seen  dancing  around  his 
grave,^'"*  which  it  is  said  continued  for  weeks. 

Another  matter  which  increased  the  mystery  was  the 
nocturnal  visits  made  by  the  dusky  Robert  to  his  late 
master's  grave.  The  latter,  however,  ceased  after  a  certain 
period,  when  the  place  was  rarely  visited  by  any  one, 
except  now  and  then  by  a  itmndcr-doctor  or  witch-doctor, 
who  went  to  gather  lichen  from  the  mossy  tombstones,  or 
certain  plants  plucked  from  a  grave,  to  be  of  service  in 
incantations  for  the  cure  of  persons  or  cattle  supposed  to 
have  been  bewitched,  or  in  some  cases  for  the  discovery  of 
hidden  treasures. 

After    the    battle  of  Germantown,    October   4,   1777,  a 


This  seems  more  strange  when  the  season  of  the  year  is  considered. 


A    Weird  Story.  423 

number  of  soldiers,  Eiig'lish  as  well  as  Hessian,  are  said  to 
have  found  their  last  resting-place  within  the  little  cemetery 
on  the  hill.  For  man}'  years  afterwards  a  weird  story  was 
current  in  addition  to  the  many  tales  connected  with  this 
gruesome  spot.  It  was  of  a  spectral  horseman,  dressed  in 
the  uniform  of  a  British  officer,  mounted  upon  a  grey 
horse,  who  upon  certain  nights  was  to  be  seen  riding  around 
the  enclosure,  and  motioning  as  if  rallying  his  men,  and 
after  encircling  the  wall  a  certain  number  of  times  he 
would  vanish  into  the  air. 

A  few  years  ago  there  were  yet  some  aged  persons  living 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  who  declare  that  not  only  did 
they  hear  of  these  uncanny  doings  and  sights  from  their 
parents  and  friends,  but  in  days  gone  by  saw  them  upon 
different  occasions  when  passing  the  spot. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  last  century  and  in  the  early 
part  of  the  present  one,  the  Warmer  estate  was  gradually 
divided  into  lots  and  sold,  and  as  the  adjoining  ground 
changed  ownership  and  the  family  which  was  immediately 
interested  in  its  maintainance  left  the  vicinity,  the  old 
graveyard  became  neglected  and  overgrown  with  noxious 
weeds  and  brambles,  and  it  almost  seemed  as  if  the  gener- 
ations of  Warmers,  together  with  the  dead  Mystics  and 
Theosophists,  buried  there  were  left  to  care  for  themselves. 

While  the  ground  was  in  this  condition,  the  weird  ghost 
stories  connected  with  it  lost  nothing  by  being  repeated 
over  and  over,  but  on  the  contrary  multiplied  among  the 
naturally  superstitious  inhabitants,  where  every  well-regu- 
lated household  had  a  spook  or  two  of  its  own.  Conse- 
quently the  place  was  avoided  more  than  ever  after  nightfall. 
Eventually  it  became  a  mere  receptacle  for  rubbish,  and 
on  account  of  its  wretched  condition  the  name  by  mutual 
consent  was  changed  to  "  Mount  Misery." 


424  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

In  all  the  sales  and  conveyances  of  the  snrronnding 
ground  care,  however,  was  taken  by  some  interested  parties 
to  preserve  the  old  cemetery,  as  well  as  to  make  a  provision 
for  the  narrow  lane  that  formed  an  approach  to  it. 

In  the  conveyance  recorded  in  Deed  Book  D  56,  page 
231,  Lydia  (Powell)  Warmer,  widow  of  Christian  Warmer 
(2d)  and  her  daughter  Elizabeth,  December  7,  1776,  convey 
to  John  Bringhurst  a  part  of  their  land,  in  which  they 
reserve  for  "  themselves,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever  one 
perch  or  sixteen  foot  and  one-half  in  breath  along  one  side 
of  said  premises,  along  Jacob  Keysers  lot  or  land  in  his 
possession,  said  reserved  perch  of  land  or  breadth  across 
the  said  lot  of  land  to  be  for  a  road  for  the  use  and  behoof 
of  the  said  Lydia  Warmer  and  Elizabeth  Warmer  and 
their  Heirs  and  Assigns  forever."  This  is  the  reservation 
for  the  lane  leading  to  the  cemetery. 

In  his  will  dated  September  28,  1793,  Jonathan  Warner,"^ 
son  of  Christopher  (who  was  the  godson  of  Dr.  Witt,  son 
of  Christian  (2d),  and  great  grandson  of  the  emigrant), 
charges  his  mother  Elizabeth,  the  widow  of  Dr.  Chris- 
topher Warner,  who  had  intermarried  with  one  Leibert, 
with  the  special  care  of  "  forever  hereafter  upholding  and 
maintaining  the  Graveyard  and  Graveyard  wall  or  fence 
adjacent  to  Germantown,  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  Warner's  Graveyard." 

Jonathan  Warner,  who  was  also  a  "  Doctor  of  Physic," 
died  quite  young,  and  was  unmarried.  He  left  all  his 
property  to  his  mother,  and  she  and  his  step-father  were 
appointed  his  executors. 

The  writer  has  been  further  informed  by  trustworthy 
persons,  who  have  lived  all  their  lives  within  sight  of  the 
old  ground,  that  Dr.  Christopher  Witt  had  ordained  that 


*"  Vide  note  438,  supra. 


o 

I 

H     CO 

c 

T3      "0 

n 

°  ;! 

o    > 
<    Z 


m 

CO 

o 
O 

> 

r- 

O 

I 

c 

33 
O 

I 


A   Desolate  Spot.  425 

the  whole  top  of  the  hill  adjoining  the  enclosure  should  be 
given  free,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  meeting-house/" 
to  any  Christian  Protestant  denomination  that  should 
make  demand.  It  was  also  stated  that  this  bequest  was 
on  record.  Diligent  search,  however,  has  failed  to  discover 
any  documentary  evidence  which  would  substantiate  this 
tradition. 

i\.s  the  years  rolled  by  and  no  organization  claimed  the 
above  privilege  the  ground  became  more  neglected  than 
ever ;  a  stone-quarry  was  opened  just  outside  the  soutlieast 
corner  of  the  walls  and  encroaching  upon  its  bounds,  one 
angle  of  the  wall  fell  in  and  was  carted  away  for  building- 
stone.  It  now  became  known  as  "  Vinegar  Hill,"  and  was 
only  used  for  the  occasional  burial  of  a  negro.  It  is  stated 
that  the  last  one  of  that  race  buried  there  was  a  servant  in 
the  Leibert  household. 

But  when  the  little  piece  of  consecrated  ground  seemed 
to  be  in  its  most  neglected  condition,  with  graves  sunken, 
tombstones  broken  and  crumbling  wall,  a  turn  was  reached 
in  its  history.  Together  with  the  surrounding  property  it 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  Morris  family,  and  eventu- 
ally of  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Morris. 

In  the  course  of  events  a  condition  of  affairs  arose  which 
Avas  destined  to  redeem  this  plot  of  consecrated  ground 
from  its  neglected  and  desolate  state,  and  to  fulfill  the 
alleged  wishes  of  the  old  Pietist  and  philosopher,  as 
expressed  in  the  foregoing  tradition.  It  came  about  in  the 
following  manner : 

A  few  years  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  a 
spirit  of  religious  revival  arose  in  the  ancient  village  of 
Germantown  which,  at  that  time  incorporated  as  a  part  of 


«2  Wording  according  to  an  old  deed  examined  by  the  Rev.  J.  K.  Mur- 
phy, D.D. 

54 


426  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  PoDisylvania. 

the  consolidated  city/^^  had  become  the  most  fashionable 
suburb  of  Philadelphia.  Then  the  desire  arose  among  the 
new  residents  from  the  city,  as  is  usually  the  case  under 
similar  circumstances,  to  form  congregations,  institute  new 
parishes  and  build  churches. 

Amonof  these  new  congregations  was  one  under  the  leader- 
ship  of  the  Rev.  J.  Pinckney  Hammond,  who  secured  a  lot 
on  Coulter  Street  near  Wayne,  and  proceeded  to  build  a 
church.  Its  corner-stone  was  laid  with  considerable  cere- 
mony December  5,  1858,  by  Bishops  Bowman  and  Doane, 
and  it  was  called  "the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross." 

This  act  upon  the  part  of  the  new  congregation  gave 
rise  to  a  serious  complication  with  the  adjoining  parish  of 
Calvary,  which  had  erected  a  church  in  the  vicinity.*^ 
This  trouble  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  location  by  the 
new  organization,  whose  services  were  once  more  trans- 
ferred  to  the  Town  Hall. 

The  promotors  of  the  new  enterprise  in  nowise  dis- 
heartened ^t  once  looked  about  for  a  new  location, — one 
that  would  be  suitable,  and  at  the  same  time  would  not 
interfere  with  any  existing  parish.  This  coming  to  the 
knowledge  of  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Morris,  she  extended  an 
offer  of  that  part  of  her  land  adjoining  and  including  the 
old  cemetery  to  Rev.  Mr.  Hammond,  provided  a  church 
were  erected  in  union  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
and  to  be  free  from  pew-rents  forever. 

When  the  parties  interested  went  to  view  the  proffered 
land  it  was  found  to  be  as  desolate  a  spot  as  could  well  be 
imagined.  Its  surface  covered  with  rubbish  and  overgrown 
with  rank  briars  and  weeds,  it  looked  anything  but  a  favor- 


■"^  Philadelphia  city  and  county  was  consolidated  in  1S54. 
*"  Manheim  and  Pulaski  Avenue.     The  late  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Conrad, 
D.  D. ,  was  the  first  rector. 


SL  MichaePs   Church.  427 

able  spot  for  a  church.  The  ground  fronted  on  High  Street, 
and  was  on  the  high  ground  about  two  squares  east  of  the 
main  street."''  The  most  prominent  object  upon  the  church 
lot,  which  was  to  be  150  feet  front  on  High  Street,  with 
a  depth  of  125  feet,  was  a  large  spreading  mulberry  tree 
{niorus  multicalus),  while  here  and  there  among  the  growth 
of  briars  was  to  be  seen  a  leaning  or  broken  tomb-stone,  to 
indicate  that  the  spot  was  one  of  sepulture.  The  name  by 
which  this  tract  was  locally  known  was  well  chosen  : 
"  Mount  Misery."  The  proffered  gift,  however,  was  ac- 
cepted with  its  provisions  by  the  parties  interested,  and 
preparations  were  made  forthwith  to  erect  a  neat  church. 

The  first  piece  of  sod  was  turned  on  the  i8th  day  of 
April,  1859;  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month  the  corner- 
stone was  laid  by  Bishop  Bowman,  and  so  diligently  was  the 
work  prosecuted  that  just  five  months  later,  on  September 
29th,  St.  Michael's  Day,  the  first  service  was  held  within 
the  walls,  when  it  was  named  after  the  day,  "  St.  MichaeVs." 

In  planning  the  church  it  so  happened  that  the  chancel 
extended  over  a  part  of  the  old  cemetery,  and  in  digging 
the  trench  for  the  foundation,  traces  of  interments  were 
found.  Care  was  taken,  however,  not  to  disturb  any  of  the 
graves  more  than  could  possibly  be  avoided.  As  a  result 
the  remains  of  the  elder  Warmer,  Geissler  and  Dr.  Witt, 
members  of  the  original  band  of  Pietists  and  m>stic  philoso- 
phers, now  repose  beneath  the  chancel  of  the  church,  with 
an  altar  erected  over  them  at  which  prayers  are  read  daily, 
anthems  sung,  responses  chanted  and  the  Gospel  preached 
according  to  established  forms  of  Christian  worship,  which 
their  Community  was  so  instrumental  in  establishing  within 
the  Province."" 


"^  Now  known  as  both  Main  Street  and  Germantown  Avenue. 


428  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Outside  the  church  a  part  of  the  original  enclosure  can 
yet  be  traced  by  the  foundations  of  the  old  wall.  Within 
the  bounds  of  the  enclosure,  to  the  south  of  the  church, 
are  still  to  be  seen  the  tombstones  of  father  and  son,  the 
third  and  fourth  generations  of  the  Warner  family.  The 
inscriptions  are  as  follows  : 

"  Doctor  Memory 

Christopher  Warner  Doctor 

Who  departed  this  life  Jonathan  Warner 

February  17th  1783  Who  departed  this  life 

Aged  39  years  &  4  months  December  24,  1793 

Agfed  22  vrs  &  i  month  " 


*♦''  After  the  consecration  of  St.  Michael's  at  Germantown,  September  29, 
1859,  it  continued  i:nder  the  rectorship  of  its  founder,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ham- 
mond, until  his  resignation  of  the  parish  on  the  8th  of  August,  1861,  to 
accept  the  position  of  chaplain  in  the  U.  S.  Army.  After  an  interval  of 
a  year,  the  Rev.  Levi  Ward  Smith  was  called  as  rector,  he  also  became 
chaplain  in  the  army,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  at  the  Cuyler  General 
Hospital,  Germantown.  He  held  both  positions  until  he  was  prostrated  by 
a  nervoiis  disease,  and  "met  his  death  at  midnight,  December  23,  1863, 
aged  43."  He  was  a  good,  gentle,  lovable  clergyman,  and,  strange  to  say, 
made  an  attempt  to  have  a  burial  vault  made  at  the  rear  of  the  chancel  of 
the  church,  alongside  the  Warner  grave-yard,  for  the  temporar}-  reception 
of  the  remains  of  soldiers  who  died  under  his  sympathetic  ministrations. 
The  ground  was  too  stony  to  allow  the  work  to  proceed.  After  another 
year  of  vacancy,  the  Rev.  Edward  Hyde  True  was  called,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  December  9,  1864  ;  he  resigned  December  31,  1867.  The 
following  day  (New  Year's  Day,  1868),  the  present  rector,  the  Rev.  John 
K.  Murphy,  D.  D. ,  assumed  the  position,  having  been  elected  to  the  office 
upon  Mr.  True's  resignation.  Mr.  Murphy  has  continued  in  uninter- 
rupted charge  for  nearly  28  years.  He  has  had  a  united  and  prosperous 
congregation. 

A  large  lot  has  been  secured  to  the  east  of  the  plot  of  land  laid  off  by 
the  will  of  Dr.  Witt  "  for  the  use  of  any  society  of  Christians  who  would 
build  a  meeting  house  upon  it,"  and  so  the  sacred  spot  of  his  burial  is  now 
more  guarded  from  intrusion  than  ever.  A  beautiful  and  commodius 
rectory  thus  protects  it  on  the  north,  and  a  large  and  handsome  stone 
parish  building  has  been  constructed  to  the  south  of  it.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  the  grave-yard  need  never  be  disti;rbed  as  it  is  completely  pro- 
tected by  the  group  of  buildings  now  surrounding  it. 


The    Old  Mulberry    Tree. 


429 


The  elder  of  the  two  was  a  grandson  of  the  emigrant,  and 
was  named  after  Dr.  Witt ;  the  other  was  his  son. 

There  are  also  a  few  rongh  unlettered  stones,  such  as  it 
was  the  custom  to  place  at  the  head  and  foot  of  graves  to 
prevent  any  interference  in  the  future. 

These  remains  of  the  old  cemetery  are  overshadowed  by 


the   wide-spreading 
berry  tree,  before    { 
planted  there  by  Dr 
Philadelphia    phys: 
worm  excite 
ago.       The  - 
not  covered  b 
eel  is  now  i 
within  the 
lawn,    and 
sodded  and'f'ii 
order.    The 
a  few  decades! 
desolate  and 
ted,  is  now 
beauty  '^ 
traction,  and 


branches  of  the  mul- 
mentioned,  which  was 
Ph)sic,  a  well-known 
Clan,  during  the  silk- 
ment  half  a  century 
ground 
the  clian- 
eluded 
church 
refull y 
kept  in 
spot,  but 
ago   so 
ne  glee- 
one   of 
and   at- 
upon  the 
red  and 


very  ground  once 

avoided  can  now  fre        ^  ^  ^^  ^^  quentlv  be  seen 

A  Colonial  Doorway  t 

worshippers    of   the  '''  gkrmantown.  church  strolling 

over  the  velvety  sward  or  sitting  upon  the  benches  under 
the  shadow  of  the  old  mulberry,  enjoying  the  beauty  and 
peacefnlness  of  the  scene. 

The  lands  surrounding  the  cemetery,  which  but  a  few 
years  ago  were  nothing  but  worn-out  pasture  fields,  are  now 
crossed  by  regular  streets,  lined  with  ornate  mansions  and 
costly  improvements ;  the  church  and  its  parsonage  being 
a  picturesque  feature. 


430  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

While  Kelpiiis,  Seelig  and  Matthai  rest  in  the  place  of 
their  selection,  now  unmarked ;  Koster  sleeps  within  the 
consecrated  precincts  of  Lutheran  ground  in  the  Father- 
land ;  the  Falkner  brothers,  in  unknown  graves  in  differ- 
ent provinces ;  and  while  even  the  sepulchre  of  Pastorius 
remains  a  matter  of  conjecture,  it  was  appointed  by  destiny 
that  at  least  such  as  were  gathered  within  this  ancient  Fj^icd- 
hof  on  the  hillside  were  to  have  erected  over  them,  after  the 
lapse  of  two  centuries,  so  glorious  a  monument  as  a  Christian 
temple  of  worship. 

It  may  be  argued  that  this  fact  was  merely  accidental, 
and  so  it  may  be.  The  ways  of  good  providence,  however, 
are  inscrutable,  and  the  fact  still  remains  that  under  the 
chancel  of  St.  Michael's  in  Germantown  repose  the  ashes 
of  some  of  the  German  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania, 
whose  influence  in  the  early  days  of  our  province  was  so 
widespread,  and  whose  labors  were  exerted  in  the  interests 
of  piety,  their  chief  aim  being  once  more  to  establish  relig- 
ious services  according  to  orthodox  church  forms  within 
the  bounds  of  Penn's  domain. 

St.  Michael's  Church  is  a  fitting  monument  to  the 
memory  of  these  early  pioneers.  Ma}'  its  career  upon  old 
"  Spook-Hill  "  be  a  long  and  active  one ;  and  may  the 
truths  taught  within  its  sacred  walls  take  root  and  bring 
forth  fruit  as  plentifully  as  did  the  efforts  of  the  old  Pietists 
who  flourished  here  in  days  gone  by,  and  whose  history, 
tradition  and  legends  have  formed  the  subject  of  these 
pages. 


t^HBTTO  iMUANOKUn 


APPENDIX. 


This  picture  representing  an  early  meeting  of  the  Quakers, 
has  of  late  years,  been  claimed  to  represent  a  meeting  held  at 
the  "  Bull  and  Mouth  "  in  London,  at  which  William  Penn  and 
the  Duke  of  York  (afterwards  James  11)  were  said  to  have  been 
present.  There  is  no  evidence  whatever  to  support  this  theory, 
and  almost  conclusive  proof  that  the  picture  represents  a 
Quaker  Meeting  in  Holland  ;  for  while  the  costume  of  two  prin- 
cipal figures  would  seem  to  show  they  were  Englishmen,  they 
were  certainly  not  of  the  same  nationalit}'  as  the  others  present. 

From  information  received  from  the  authorities  at  the  British 
Museum,  the  original  was  a  painting  by  Egbert  Hemskirck  the 
3^ounger,  ( 1645-1704)  and  was  engraved  for  the  Dutch  market  by 
J.  Gole. — It  was  lettered  : 

E.    HEMSKIRCK    PINX.  J.    GOLE,    SCUI.PSIT. 

"  DE  OUAAKERS  VERGADERING." 

Subsequent  to  the  year  1727,  the  well  worn  plate  21x15^ 
inches  was  bought  by  J.  Bowles,  a  print  seller  of  London,  who 
had  the  Dutch  inscription  obliterated  and  re-lettered 

E.  HEMSKIRCK   PINX.  I.  BOWLES  EXC. 

THE  QUAKERS'   MEETING. 

LONDON,    SOLD    BY   J.    BOWLES   AT    MERGER'S    HALL   IN   CHEAPSIDE. 

The  reproduction  is  from  one  of  the  latter  impressions  in  the 
collection  of  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  Prints 
even  from  this  condition  of  the  plate  are  extremely  scarce. 

According  to  the  best  European  authorities  the  scene  repre- 
sented is  laid  in  Benjamin  Furl3''s  house  in  the  Wynstraat  in 
Rotterdam.  The  principal  portraits  are  said  to  be  those  of 
William  Penn,  George  Fox  and  Benjamin  Furly,  which  would 
indicate  one  of  the  meetings  mentioned  in  Fox's  Journal,  held 
between  July  28  and  October  20,  1677.  An  opinion  which  is 
without  doubt  correct. 


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BENJAMIN    FURLY. 


'ENJAMIN  FURLY, 
the  friend  of  William 
Penn  and  promotor 
of  the  first  German  emigra- 
tion to  America,  was  a  native 
of  Colchester,  E  n  g  1  a  n  d, 
where  he  was  born  April  13, 

RovAL  Arms  OF  Holland,  A. D,  1694.         1636/^''       He  began    life   aS    a 

merchant  there,  and  became  identified  with  the  early 
Quakers.  Subsequent  to  the  year  1660  he  immigrated  to 
Amsterdam,"*^  but  afterwards  made  Rotterdam  his  permanent 


"'According  to  a  Dutch  account  (Unger,  in  "  Rotterdanisch  Jaar- 
boekje,"  1890,  p.  1141,  he  was  born  at  Rotterdam,  of  English  parentage. 
There  is,  however,  nothing  to  substantiate  the  above  claim,  as  the  learned 
writer  evidently  confuses  Benjamin  Furly  with  his  son  Benjohan. 

UH  >i  Gerhard  Croesens  Quaker  Historic,  von  deren  Ursprung  bis  auf 
jiingsthin  entstandene  Trennung."  Berlin,  bey  Johann  Michael  Rudiger, 
1696,  p.  644.  The  title  of  the  English  edition  reads,  "The  General 
History  of  the  Quakers  &c.  Being  written  originally  in  Latin  by 
Gerard  Croese."     London,  1696. 

Two  editions  were  printed  in  Latin, — "  Gerardi  Croesi  Historia  Quaker- 
iana,"— viz.,  Theodore  Boom,  1695,  and  Amstelodamie,  anno  M.DC.IVC. 
Copies  of  all  editions  are  now  in  the  library  of  the  writer,  also  vide  pp. 
43,  el  seq.  Supra. 


55 


434  ^^^^  Pietists  of-Pro7)incial  Pennsylvania. 

home,  where  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  and  shipping 
business,  his  first  establishment  being  in  the  Seheepmaker- 
shaven^^^ 

Although  an  Englishman  by  birth,  he  soon  became  iden- 
tified with  the  land  of  his  adoption,  and  married  "  Dorothe 
Graigne,"  a  Dutch  maiden.  His  eldest  child  by  this  mar- 
riage was  a  son  Benjohan,  born  January  6,  1681.  Furly, 
by  his  honesty  and  industry,  became  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  merchants  of  Rotterdam,  and  removed  his  residence 
and  warehouse  to  the  Haaringvliet^^^^  then  the  chief  com- 
mercial centre  of  the  city.  He,  however,  did  not  confine 
himself  exclusively  to  his  commercial  life  and  to  the  accumu- 

y^yn  lation  of   wealth, 

<J^  ^ ^  but  continued  his 
^^^^"^^  ^  *^ ''^^ (yj[)  ^^i:^^^  interest  in  literary 
^  ^  pursuits,    and,    as 

Croese  intimates,^'*  "  to  thoroughly  perfect  himself  in  the 
various  branches  of  learning,"  he  cultivated  the  society  of  the 
leading  critics  and  scholars  of  the  period,  and  subsequently 
became  a  patron  of  letters. 

His  house  became  the  rendezvous  of  such  learned  men  as 
Leclerc,  Limborch,  Algernon  Sidney,  Edward  Clarke  and 
Locke,  and  his  library,  with  its  w^ealth  of  manuscripts  and 
rare  imprints,  was  one  of  more  than  local  reputation,  being 
frequently  quoted  and  consulted  by  litterateurs  from  different 
parts  of  Europe,  two  notable  instances  of  which  were  the 


**■'  From  the  records  at  Rotterdam  it  appears  that  down  to  1672  he  lived 
in  the  Scheepinakersliaven  ;  from  1672  to  1693  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Wynstraat ;  1693-1709  on  the  Wynhaven,  whence  in  1709  he  removed  to 
the  large  house  wherein  he  died  on  the  Haaringvliet,  and  which  is  still 
standing.     Present  number  48. 

4511  'j'j^g  K  Haaringvliet  "  is  one  of  the  numerous  basins  or  canals  that 
form  the  harbor  of  Rotterdam. 

431  "Quaker  Historia,"  p.  645. 


Zeal  for  Quakerism.  435 

visits  of  Ludolph  Kiister  and  Zacharias  von  UfFenbach, 
accounts  of  which  have  been  preserved.  Benjamin  Fnrly 
also  took  an  active  interest  in  the  religious  questions  of  the 
da}',  taking  the  side  of  the  Separatists,  as  opposed  to  the 
established  churches,  and  his  home  in  Rotterdam  upon 
frequent  occasions  was  the  scene  of  devotional  meetings  at 
which  George  Fox^  Keith,  William  Penn  and  others  were 
prominent  participators. 

At  an  early  age  he  became  convinced  of  the  Quaker  doc- 
trine, and  became  one  of  the  most  active  champions  of  that 
Society  upon  the  Continent.  He  was  a  prolific  author, 
writing  with  equal  facility  in  English,  German,  Dutch  and 
French. 

His  zeal  in  the  doctrine  he  had  embraced  is  attested  by 
the  publication  of  his  numerous  controversial  writings, 
together  with  those  of  Fox  and  Penn,  which  were  trans- 
lated by  him  and  printed  at  his  expense. 

Furly  afterwards  became  the  chief  agent  of  William  Penn 
on  the  Continent  for  the  sale  of  his  newly  acquired  lands 
in  America.  His  wife  having  died  in  1691,  he  married,^^" 
on  December  10,  1693,  Susanna  Huis,  the  widow  of  one 
Jacobus  van  der  Lijt.^'^ 

Benjamin  Furly  died  March,  1714,  in  the  seventy-eighth 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried,  as  befitted  a  man  of  his 
standing  and  wealth,  in  a  tomb  (No.  175)  in  the  centre 
aisle  of  the  St.  Laurentius  or  Groote  Kerk,  formerly  the 
cathedral  church  of  Rotterdam.*'^'*    Four  children  are  known 


*^^  Benjamin  Furly  was  married  both  times  at  the  Stadhiiis  or  town  hall 
of  Rotterdam.  The  banns  for  both  marriages  vere,  however,  read  in  the 
Groote  Kirk  by  permission  of  the  clergy  prior  to  the  ceremony. — Church 
Records  of  the  Gemeente,  Rotterdam. 

453  0  Archief  der  Gemeente,"  Rotterdam. 

154  <«  Rotterdamsch  Jaarboekje,"  vol.  ii,  p.  114. 


436  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


to  have  survived  their  father, — Beiijohaii,  John,  x\rent  and 
a  daugliter  Dorothy  ;  all,  presumably,  issues  by  the  first 
marriage. 

It  has  been  questioned  whether  Benjamin  Furlv  became 

a  Quaker  before  or  after  his  settlement  in  Holland.     We 

.  know  that  he  was  a 

A  Battle-Door 

TEACHERS  'stVroFESSORS 


TO       L  EA-R   N 


man  of  marked  and 
peculiar  religious 
views,  and  that  from 
his  first  arrival  in 
Holland  he  was  in 
sympathy    with    the 

Wherein  is  flic*edfortfi  by  Grammar,  or  Scripture  Examples,  how  1 1      1    o 

fcveni  NJtions  and  People  have  made  a  dcftinftion  between  i>/.^»/dr  and  SO-Callcd    ScParatlStS* 

Hunt.     And  firft.  Id  the  former  part  of  this  Book,  Called  Iht  Englijt  '                            ' 

may  be  feen  how  fevcral  People  have  fpokcn  .„,./..  ,™f  ^^^^  fj-^jj-j  ^J^^  f^^^  ^|^^^ 

members  of  his  im- 
mediate family  in 
England  were  among 
the  earl}'  followers 
of  George  Fox,  it  is 
probable  that  he  was 
convinced  prior  to 
his  immigration  to 
Holland. 

According  to  a 
Dutch  account,  it 
would  appear,  how- 
ever, that  he  did  not 
join  the  Society  of  Friends  until  after  his  residence  in  Rot- 
terdam. If  this  be  true,  it  must  have  been  prior  to  the 
years  1659-60,  as  in  those  years  he,  together  with  John 
Stubs,  assisted  in  the  compilation  of  George  Fox's 

"  Battle-door  for  Teachers  &  Professors  to  learn  Singular 
&  Plural  :  You  to  Many,  and  Thou  to  One  :  Singular  One, 
Thou  ;  Plural  Many,  You." 


Singular  &  Plural , 

ToH  to  Many^  and  Thou  to  One .    Sin^lar  One,  Thou 

plural   Mjjiy,  Yom 


Battle  D§or,  may  be  feen  how  fevcral  People  have  fpokcn  Siit^uUr  an^ 
rlxrtl;  Kithc  Afhsrfilhkiter,  thr  Tarfehlt),  the  /tf/i^rliin,  the  Arett 
vitei,  the  iahjlontt/tSy  the  Sufinchitet^  the  Dtbavnti,  the  EUmilti,  tht 
TemaHitejy  (he  NaoKrilts^  the  Shutter^  the  iu-Litft,  ihc  Mailntrj,  the  fit- 
vttu,  the  Edomilts,  the  PttiliJIinej,  Che  AmaUk^nrt^  the  Saetfmittt,  it* 
Htttttts,  the  MiduTiites,  ^r- 

Alfo,  In  this  Book  is  fct  forth  Examples  of  the  SingtiUrii\d  Flural 

«faouI  t4»«,  and  Ton,  in  feveral  Language?,  dinded  into  diltinfl  B^ttlt 
Dtorty  or  Former  or  Enamplc?  i  Etiglijh,  Lstime,  It^h^ii^  Grttk.,  Hitrtw 
Ctldec,  Syitek^  Arttiti^  rcrflMci,  Ethiipici.  StmtriiM„,  CtfticA.,  or 
Egy flick,  Arminisn,  Saxsx,  Ifilrh,  Mtytcr,  Carnijh,  Frtnih,  Sfanifh, 
rtrlMfal ,  Hifh-DMtcl),  LuP-Dnlcli ,  Dtnijh ,  tihcmiin  ,  S/avonia/i 
And  how  Empctors  and  others  have  ufed  the  Singular  word  lo  One,  and 
how  the  word  Ttmtlimc  fitft  from  the  Pope 
Likewifcfome Examples,  in(he  raloHtan,  Lilhvtitun,  Injbsnii  Etli-lnJun, 
together  with  the  Singular  and  Plural  words,  theu  and  ytn,  m  Swttdtjh, 
Tmrkffi,   Mnfcevitn,    and  Curluidiait,    tongues. 

the  Utter  pan  of  this  Book  arc  contained  fevcrall  bad  unravoury  Wordj, 
gathered  forth  of  certain  School-Books,  which  have  been  taught  Boycsin 
EniUnd,  which  It  a  Rod  and  a  Whip  to  the  School  MaOers  m£/r^/.»rf«nd 
elfewhcre  who  teach  Euch  Books 


Gtorgt,  ftx.      "Jobt  SiHii.      Bcti/tmin  TarUy 


ire  to  be  fold  at  hw  Shop  it  'fi 
Si6neoflhcs;«fA.-'SF'"'-E'i'««ad  Wmdmitxa  I4,rlm,  It  Cr.i-d.  '«** 


LONDON,   Printed  for  Riktrt  tfitfo 
;'caad 


Fac-simile  of  the  Title  Page  of  George 
Fox's  ■'  Battle-Door." 


"  Voii  to  Afa/i)\   and  Thou  to   Onc^  437 

It  was  a  folio  of  fifty-seven  sheets,  printed  in  thirty  lan- 
guages, of  which,  among  others,  his  grandson  says  that  the 
Chaldee,  Syriac,  Welsh,  and  French  portions  were  written 
by  Furly. '■"'■'''  Croese,  in  his  "  Historia  Quakeriana,"  distinctly 
states  that  "  Benjamin  Furly  had  this  clever  and  ingenious 
work  printed  at  great  expense,  and  that  Fox,  although  he 
knew  of  these  thirty  tongues  but  a  single  one,  yet  poses  as 
the  author."  George  Fox,  in  his  journal,  mentions  that 
this  work  was  finished  in  1661,  and  that  Benjamin  Furly 
took  great  pains  in  compiling  it. 

During  the  next  fifteen  years  Benjamin  Furly  published 
a  number  of  controversial  works  in  the  interest  of  the 
Quakers,  prominent  among  which  may  be  named  the 
following : 

"  De  Eere  des  Werelds  ontdekt,  en  om  desselfs  onnuttig- 
heids  ende  onprofijtelyksheid  wille  verworpen,  Ende  de 
Eere,  die  van  God  alleen  komt,  bevestigt,  en  un't  werk 
gestelt.  Ofte  Eenige  Redenen,  waarom  het  Volk  Gods, 
Quakers  genaamt,  verzaken  het  gewoonlyke  Eerbewys, 
ende  de  Groetingen  des  Werelds  ....  Door  een  Vriend 
der  Waarheid,  dewelke  geen  Aannemer  der  Persoonen  is. 
B.  F(urly)  Genaams  en  een  Quaker  .  .  .  Rotterdam  by 
Henricus  Goddaeus  .  .  .   1662." 

"Die  Sache  Christ  und  seines  Volks."  (German.)  (The 
Cause  of  Christ  and  His  People  Justified.)  By  W.  Ames. 
The  large  preface  is  by  B.  Furly.     4to,  1662. 

"The  Light  upon  the  Candlestick."  By  W.  Ames.  The 
English  translation  is  by  Furly.      4to,  1663. 

"  The  World's  Honor  detected  &c.  By  a  Friend  to  Truth 
who  is  no  respecter  or  regarder  of  persons,  called  a  Quaker." 
B.  F[urly].     4to,  1663. 


"Original  Letters,"  etc.     Preface,  p.  79. 


438  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvatiia. 

"John  Philley's  Arraignment  of  Cristendome."  Printed 
and  published  by  B.  Furly.     4to,  1664. 

"  Eine  Beschirmunge  d'unschuldigen,"  etc.  (Dutch.)  By 
Wm,  Caton,  with  a  postscript  by  Benjamin  Furly.   4to,  1664. 

"  Copye  van  eenen  Brief:  geschreven  aen  seeckeren 
Vriend,  over  syn  Ghevoel  en  Oordeel,  Dat  alle  de  gene,  die 
niet  en  gebruycken  de  uytterlycke  Instellingen  van  Doop 
ende  Avondmael,  Kerck-gang  &c.  niet  en  zyn  geleyd  door 
den  Geest  Gods,  maer  door  eenen  Dwael-geest  .  .  .  Door 
B.  F(urly)  Gedruckt  voor  den  Autheur,  in't  Jaer  1666." 

"  A  Recantation  by  Benjamin  Furly.  Given  in  Rott[er- 
dam]  in  1669."  (This  is  in  relation  to  the  hat  controversy.) 

"  Anthoniette  Bourignon  ontdeckt,  door  B.  Furly,  ende 
haeren  Geest  geopenbaert  uyt  haere  Druckten,"  etc.  (Dutch) 
4to,  167 1.*'*' 

"  The  Universal  Free  Grace  of  the  Gospel  asserted,"  etc. 
By  George  Keith.     (Part  by  B.  Furly.)     4to,  167 1. 

"  A  Letter  to  George  Whitehead,  about  the  Hat  Contro- 
versy."    8vo,  1673. 

"  Forderung  der  Christenheit  fiir  Gericht,  den  weder- 
legger  wederlegt  door  B.  Furly,  "*^^     n.  d. 

"  Copye  van  een  Missive  uyt  London,  geschrievan  door 
William  Penn.  Aen  Burgermeesteren  en  Raadt  der  Stad 
Embden.  En  haar  in  de  Latynsche  en  Duytsche  Talen 
in  Geschrifte  toegesonden  (in  d.  24  Dec.  1674).  En  nu 
tot  Opmerkinge  van  alle  menschen,  sonderling  de  Mach- 
ten  der  Aarde,  en  de  Predikers,  door  den  Druckgemeen 
gemaakt  Ten  eynde  by  haar  eens  sonde  mogen  werden 
overwogen  het  schadelyke  gevolg  van  die  Gronden  diemen 
leyt  tot  vervolginge  van  andere  menschen,  om  de  saken  van 


456  ^  second  edition  is  noted  in  the  ' '  Bibliotheca  Furliana, ' '  p.  84.  No.  932. 
*■"  Title  from  "  Bibliotheca  Furliana." 


Appeal  to  the  Burgomasters.  439 

den  Gods-dienst,  eiiz  Rotterdam,  Pieter  van  Wynbrugge  .  .  . 
1675."  ^^'^     12  biz. 

"  Met  een  voorrede  van  den  vertaler,  Benjamin  Furly, 
gedagt  Rotterd.      18,  Febr.  1675." 

In  the  Archives  of  Rotterdam  there  is  preserved  a  docu- 
ment written  in  Hollandese,  in  which  Furly,  together  with 
Symon  Jansz  Vettekeiicken,  makes  the  following  appeal 
to  the  burgomasters  and  regents  of  Rotterdam  for  the 
protection  of  the  Quakers  who  were  then  holding  meetings 
in  that  city.  This  interesting  document,  in  the  handwriting 
of  Benjamin  Furly,  is  dated  July  8,  1675,  and  was  photo- 
graphed by  the  writer  during  the  past  summer, — 1894. 

TRANSLATION. 

"  To  the  Burgomasters  and  Regents  of  the  City  of  Rotterdam: 
"  The  people  of  God,  mockingly  called  Quakers,  who 
have  taken  up  their  residence  in  this  City,  cannot  refrain 
from  making  known,  with  christian  respect,  unto  you,  as 
Magistrates  of  this  City,  that  now  twice,  to  wit ; — yesterday, 
within  and  without  their  regular  meeting  place,  where  they 
come  tog^ether  to  wait  in  silence  upon  the  Lord, 

Psalm  62,  2.  ^  ,         "T      ,        .  ,       . 

they  have  been  treated  and  handled  with  vio- 
lence and  annoyance  by  divers  sort  of  men,  not  only  young 
but  also  of  greater  age,  which  is  so  publicly  known  that 
the  thrown-in  window-panes  and  the  broken  doors  and 
benches  are  clear  witnesses  thereof.  All  the  which  they 
make  known  unto  you  not  so  much  for  anxiety  for  their 
persons  and  goods,  as  they  well  know  that  the  same  God  is 

living^  yet,  and  shall  live  unto  eternity,  who 

Job  38.  II.  >s    J       •>  ^         J^i 

hath  set  limits  to  the  sea  and  hath  said  hitherto 
shalt  thou  come  but  no  further,  and  who  can  prevent  the 


*^^  A  missive  by  William  Penn.     Translation,  with  a  large  preface  and 
conclusion,  by  Benjamin  Furly.     4to,  1675. 


440  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

raging  of  the  people  when  it  pleases  him  :  but 

to  avoid  thereby  the  blame,  such  things  having 

befallen  them,  of  not  having  made  known  the  same  to  you, 

for  vour  discretion,  and  above  all  for  the  mani- 

Malt:  6.  2.  12.  '     , 

festation  of  God  in  your  consciences  which 

dictates  to  every  one  to  do  unto  others  as  he  would  have 

others  to  do  unto  him,  because  with  what  meas- 

Eccles:  10,  8,  g. 

ure  he  metes,  it  shall  be  measured  to  him  again. 
In  the  name  of  all  signed  by  us 

"  Benjamin  FFurly 

"  Symon  Jansz  Vettekeucken 

"  At  Rotterdam  the  8th  day 
of  the  Month  which  one 
callesjuly,  1675." 

When,  two  years  later,  Penn,  accompanied  by  Robert 
Barclay,  George  Fox,  Keith  and  others^'^  made  his  cele- 
brated tour  through  Germany  and  Holland,  it  was  this  same 
Benjamin  Furly  who  met  them  upon  their  landing. 

George  Fox  records  that  the  party  was  becalmed  when  a 
league  from  the  shore,  and  that  William  Penn  and  Robert 
Barclay,  understanding  that  Benjamin  Furly  was  to  come 
from  Rotterdam  to  the  Briel  to  meet  them,  got  two  of  the 
sailors  to  lower  a  small  boat  and  row  them  ashore ;  but 
before  they  could  reach  it,  the  gates  were  closed,  and  there 
being  no  house  without  the  gates,  they  were  forced  to  lie  in 
a  fisher's  boat  all  night.  As  soon  as  the  gates  were  opened 
in  the  morning  they  entered  and  found  Benjamin  Furly, 
who  brought  them  to  Briel,  where  the  Friends  received 
them  with  "  o^reat  eladness."  *"" 


45'j  'j^jjg  party,  in  addition  to  the  three  named,  consisted  of  John  Furly, 
a  brother  of  Benjamin  Furly,  of  Rotterdam,  G.  Watts,  William  Tailcoat, 
Isabella  Yeomans  and  Elizabeth  Keith. — Join'tial  of  Williain  Penn. 

460  Penn  in  his  Journal  mentions  Aaron  Sonneman,  S.  Johnson  and 
[Symon  Jansz?]  Veltekeiicken  as  being  among  the  number,  vide  "  Penna. 
Mag.,"  vol.  ii,  p.  249. 


Penii's    Visit  to  Holland. 


441 


The  party  arrived  at  Rotterdam  on  the  same  day,  Satur- 
day, July  28,  1677.  The  next  day — First  day  (Sunday) — 
two  religious  meetings  were  held  at  the  house  of  Furly, 
who  them  lived  in  the  Wynstraat,  the  latter  and  John  Clans 
acting  as  interpreters.  The  next  fortnight  was  spent  in 
visits  to  various  towns  in  Holland.  On  the  7th  of  August 
the  company  divided  up 
into  two  parties,  when 
Keith,  Barclay  and  Penn 
left  the  others  at  Amster- 
dam and  set  out  towards 


Het  CHRISTENRIJK 

O  O  R  D  EEL 

gedagvaart. 

Germany,     where,    as    Fox     EeniederebefoekingemdeLreHeGods^aanallediegene 

die  een  begeerte  hebbenomGodte  kennon    enhemin 

Waarheyd  en  Opregtigheyd  aan  le  bidden,  van  war 

Sdie .  of  foort  van  Codiiiitnfi  de  felvc  zouden 

niogen  vvefen 


states  in  his  journal,  "they 
traveled  many  hundred 
miles,  and  had  good  ser- 
vice for  the  Lord,"  Benja- 
min Furly  going  with 
them  and  acting  as  inter- 
preter for  the  party,  and 
upon  that  occasion  was 
largely  instrumental  in  in- 
fluencing the  Germans  in 
favor  of  Penn.  It  is  fur- 
ther a  matter  of  record 
that  Furly  remained  with 
Penn    and    Keith    durinor 

o 

their  entire  stay  on  the  Continent.  Towards  the  close  of 
this  memorable  pilgrimage,  four  tracts  of  an  exhortative 
character  were  written  by  Penn,*''^  designed  for  distribution 
among  the  Separatists  in  Germany  and  Holland.  These 
tracts  were  revised  and  translated  by  Benjamin  Furly,  and 
printed  at  his  expense  after  Penn's  departure.  The  German 
titles  are  as  follows  : 


EenMifTiveaan  alle  die  gene.  die.  ondcrdebe(yders  der  Chfi 

ftelijklieyd.afgefondenzijnvandefichibitf  5tflni. 

en  uyierli)kf  Gemeenteii. 

E  N 

E<n  Mifliveaanal  die  gene  .  die  gcvoelig  zi)n  vai> 

den  dag  hirer  befoekinge 

■^Hts  m  d  En^tlfi'Tilt irf(h>titrt      dtt* 

WILLIAM    PENN. 

Endaaruyt  oveigefei. 


Toe     ROTTtRDAM 

CedtuKt  voor    JAN   PIETERSZ    GROlNVJfOUT, 
Botkv«rkooptr ,  won«ndeophetSp«uy      167^ 

Fac-simile  of  the  Dutch  Title-Page 
OF    Renn's    Tracts,     Original    in 

THE      "  ArCHIEF      der      GEMEENTE," 

Rotterdam. 


*^''  "Penn.  Mag.,"  vol.  ii,  p.  276. 


56 


442  The  Pietists  of  Pro7)iucial  Pejinsylvania. 

"  Forderung  der  Christeiilieit  fiir  Gericlit."  (A  Call  to 
Christendom,  etc.) 

"  Eine  Freundliche  heimsuchimg  in  der  Liebe  Gottes." 
(x\  Tender  Visitation  in  the  Love  of  God.) 

"  An  alle  diejenigen  so  unter  den  Bekennern  der  Chris- 
tenheit,"  etc.     (To  all  Professors  of  Christianity,  etc.) 

"  An  Alle  diejenigen  welche  empfinden,''  etc.  (Tender 
Counsel,  etc.) 

The  above  were  also  published  collectively  in  Dutch 
under  the  general  title,  "  Het  Christenrijk  Ten  Oordeel 
Gedagvaart,"  etc.     Rotterdam,  1678.     4to. 

Two  of  the  above  tracts — "  A  Call  to  Christendom,"  and 
"Tender  Counsel" — were  printed  separately  at  the  time  in 
English.^"" 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  friendship  between  John 

Locke,    who   had   been   introduced    to    Furly   by   Edward 

-  Clarke,  of  Chipley,^''^  ripened  into  in- 

JJ 0^^  <yoC^  timacy,  and  the  correspondence  which 
^^  ^-^  ensued  lasted  until  the  death  of  Locke. 
Algernon  Sidney  and  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  were  also 
frequent  visitors  at  the  Furly  «  homestead,  and  the  former, 
at  his  death,  bequeathed  ^^--^'^.-^^^^^ to  Furly  a  large  silver 
goblet,  which  is  still  in /'^^^r^^S.  possession  of  his  de- 
scendants.*" When  /^^^=^==;^^;:;=:;======^^  the  grant  to  Wil- 
liam Penn  was  consu  V^::;;::::; -rr:::^  mmated,  and  there 

became  a  likelihood  \       „„ „„„„,„„„„-      /  of  a  large  German 

and  Dutch  immigral  '"iMtii,i,„i(,„i/n''  /  tion  to  Pennsyl- 
vania,    Penn    submit  \  /      ted   to   Benjamin 

Furly  the  drafts  of  sev  JL. Jt        eral    instruments 

which  he  proposed  to  ^^J^^^^-^^  make  the  basis  for 

the  laws  and  govern  ^TLGKRNX'smNE?To  "^ent  of  his  Prov- 
ince. Furly 's  com  benjamin  furlv.  u^ents  on  these 
papers,  in  his  handwriting,  entitled, — 


Furiys  Siig^i^estions  to  Penn.  443 

"  For  the  Sf.curitv  of  forreigners  who  may  in- 
cline TO  PURCHASE  LanD  IN  PENNSYLVANIA,  BUT  MAY 
DY  BEFORE  THEY  THEMSELVES  COME  THEIR  TO  INHABIT." 

These  papers  are  among"  the  "  Penn  Mannscripts"  in  the 
collection  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
thein  he  suggests  the  protection  of  the  interests  of  the  Ger- 
man and  foreign  settlers  who  it  was  expected  would  immi- 
grate to  Pennsylvania,  and  makes  a  number  of  criticisms 
on  the  laws  which  Penn  proposed,  suggesting  in  some 
instances  the  usages  followed  in  Holland. 

This  interesting  document,  never  before  published,  is 
reproduced  in  its  entirety  at  the  end  of  this  paper,  as  origin- 
ally published  in  the  "  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  Biography 
and  History,"  vol.  xix,  pp.  277-305,  and  it  deserves  the 
careful  consideration  of  every  student  of  Pennsylvania- 
German  history,*^''  for  it  will  be  noted  that  Benjamin  Furly 


^"^  Whiting's  "  Catalogue  of  Friend's  Books,"  London,  1708, pp.  119,  120. 

*''^  Edward  Clarke,  Esq.,  of  Chipley,  near  Taunton,  was  one  of  the 
burgesses  for  that  borough  in  seven  Parliaments,  from  the  first  of  King 
William,  which  met  in  1690,  to  the  third  held  by  Queen  Anne,  which 
was  dissolved  in  17 10. 

*''*  A  drawing  of  this  cup  forms  the  frontispiece  to  the  second  edition  of 
"Original  Letters  of  John  Locke,  Algernon  Sidney  and  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury," London,  1847. 

^"^  Fredk.  D.  Stone,  Litt.  D.,  the  learned  librarian  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Penns3'lvania,  in  commenting  upon  these  suggestions,  states  : 
"The  following  paper,  in  the  handwriting  of  Benjamin  Furly,  is  among 
the  "  Penn  Papers"  in  possession  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  is  endorsed  "  B.  F.  Abridgm'  out  of  Holland  and  Germany. 
Laws  of  Gov'  Pense."  It  contains  a  series  of  criticisms  called  forth  by  a 
comparison  of  the  "  Frame  of  Government  Signed  by  Penn  April  25  1682, 
together  with  The  Laws  Agreed  upon  in  England  May  5,  1682,"  and  a 
paper  called  "  The  Fundamentall  Constitutions  of  Pennsylvania,"  a  copy 
of  which  is  also  among  the  ' '  Penn  Papers. ' '  This  last  is  a  form  of  govern- 
ment that  Penn,  after  considerable  deliberation,  had  decided  upon  as  a 
suitable  one  for  the  government  of  his  pro\  ince,  V)ut  which  was  abandoned 
for  what  we  know  as  the  "  Frame  of  Government."    This  action  does  not 


444 


The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 


was  not  alone  concerned  abont  the  religious  and  civil  liberty 


CrAOf^^ 


f: 

09^ 


of  the  prospective  im- 
migrants, but  of  their 
personal  rights  as  well. 
This  is  instanced  in  the 
clause  granting  immu- 
nity from  arrest  and 
fine  to  such  persons  as 
choose  to  labor  upon  the 
First  day  of  the  week/'^'' 
— a  sus:s:estion  that  was 
made  in  the  interest  of 
the  Sabbatarian  move- 
ment which  was  then 
attracting  considerable 
attention  in  both  Eng- 
land and  Holland. 

Then,  again,  his  sug- 
gestions and  advice  to  Penn  as  to  the  course  to  pursue  in 
regard  to  a  possible  attempt  to  introduce  negro  slavery  into 
the  Province  ^''^  is  of  great  interest,  as  the  first  public  pro- 


Fac-simile  of  Anti-Slavery  Clause  in 
Furly's  Suggestions  to  Penn. 


appear  to  have  been  approved  of  by  Furly,  and  hence  his  criticisms.  As 
Furly's  comments  were  made  upon  the  "Frame  of  Government"  as 
finally  published,  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  Penn  was  influenced  by  Furly 
in  drafting  his  "  Frame,"  unless  it  was  through  a  correspondence  of  an 
earlier  date.  There  is,  however,  little  doubt  that  the  21st  section  of  the 
"Frame  of  Government,"  included  in  the  act  of  settlement  passed  at 
Philadelphia,  March  i,  1683,  which  provides  for  the  protection  of  the 
estates  of  aliens,  was  the  result  of  Furly's  suggestion,  and  a  further  ex- 
amination of  that  instrument,  with  Furly's  criticisms,  might  indicate  an 
influence  in  other  sections.  The  paper  is  interesting  as  showing  how 
widely  and  earnestly  Penn  sought  assistance  in  drafting  the  fundamental 
laws  for  his  province,  and  the  attention  that  was  given  to  the  subject." 

*^®  XIX. — The  26"^  Ivaw  enjoyning  all  to  abstain  from  Ivabour  on  y^  first 
day  may  prove  a  vile  snare  to  y^  conscience  of  many  in  this  day,  who  do 
not  look  upon  that  day  as  of  any  other  then  human  institution,  &  may 


First  Protest  against  Slavery.  445 

test  against  negro  slavery  in  America  was  made  at  German- 
town  in  1688  by  some  of  the  German  pioneers  who  came  to 
Pennsylvania  under  his  auspices  and  bounty. 

Subsequent  to  the  grant  Benjamin  Furly  became  Penn's 
most  active  and  useful  agent  on  the  Continent  for  the  sale 
of  his  lands. 

Pastorious  in  his  autobiographical  memoir  in  the  "  Bee- 
hive" ""^^  states :  "  Upon  my  return  to  Frankfort  in  1682,  I 
was  glad  to  enjoy  the  company  of  my  former  acquaintances 
and  Christian  friends,  assembled  together  in  the  house  called 
the  Saalhof,  viz.  :  Dr.  Spener,  Dr.  Schutz,  Notarius  Fenda, 
Jacobus  Van  de  Walle,  Maximilian  Lerfner,  Eleonora  von 
Merlau,  Maria  Juliana  Bauer,  etc.,  who  sometimes  made 
mention  of  William  Penn  of  Pennsylvania,  and  showed  me 
letters  from  Benjamin  Furly,  also  a  printed  relation  con- 
cerning said  province,"  etc. 

How  great  a  factor  Furly  was  in  bringing  about  the  ex- 
tended German  immigration  is  a  matter  of  history.^"^  It 
was  he  who  negotiated  the  first  land  purchase  of  the  Cre- 


be  pressed  in  spirit  (whether  right  or  wrong  is  not  the  question)  some- 
times to  work  upon  that  day,  to  testify  agt  that  superstitious  conceit  that 
it  is  of  divine  institution,  &  is  the  Christian  sabbath. 

Onely  thus  far  there  may  a  service  be  in  Setting  Servants  at  libertj- 
from  the  oppressions  of  grinding,  covetos  masters  &c — that  it  be  declared 
that  no  master  shall  compell  his  servant  to  labor  on  that  day  because  its 
fit  y'  y^  very  body  of  man  &  beast  should  have  some  rest  from  their  con- 
tinuall  labor. 

'"''  XXIII. — Let  no  blacks  be  brought  in  directly.  And  if  any  come  out 
of  Virginia,  Maryld.  -or-sise-'wh^sr-c  in  families  that  have  formerly  bought 
them  else  where  Let  them  be  declared  (as  in  y''  west  jersey  constitutions) 
free  at  8  years  end. 

''^  Francis  Daniel  Pastorious  his  Hive,  Beestock,  Melliotrophium  Alvear 
or  Rusca  Apium.  Begun  Anno  Domini  or  in  the  year  of  Christian  Acc't 
1676.     M.S.  Folio. 

469  "  penna.  Mag.,"  vol.  ii,  pp.  237-282. 


446  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania.        ' 

felders/'"  and  the  deeds  were  dated  and  delivered  by  him. 
It  was  also  through  his  efforts  that  passage  to  America  on 
the    -Concord,"    Captain  Een  koft  Bericht 

William  Jeffries,  was  pro-  Van  de  TroVmtte  ofte  LanJfchaf, 

cured    for   the   thirteen  p£]sj]sg_  5  YLVA  N  I A 
pioneer    families,    consist-  genacmt,   Icggcndc  in 

ing  of  thirty-three  German     A     "xr  f?    1)     T  /'^     A 
emigrants,  who  were  met  ^^   ^^^   ^^  ■*-^   -*■  ^^^  •ix' 


Nu  onlangs  onder  het  groote  Zegel  vanEngeland 

and  welcomed  upon  their  gegeven  aan 

•     1  I      u  ^t    o  A     WILLIAM    PENN.    &;c. 

arrival  by  both  Penn  and  mitsc^vej^s 

Pastorius/^'  Vandc-Privilegien,  erideMachtom 

To    encourage    further  hct  fclvewcl  tc  R^eeren. 

immiirration   of  Germans    ~"c;.ri,  Boekvc,koop.r,nGcc=,g.Y=,JLoa>i«rdnrec,.,63. 

^  DDoct  bp  nu  ocbacgt  i$i  Qt  J)otifi;ari(  ban  H'  honinefplaccacU 

Qiirl    HTnllonrlprQ      tn      Ppiin-       in  oaK  ti«nCi»ni  *v:'' i^Si.njaatlnneOctfgfmuoajBise 
ciuu   ii<.>uaui.icis      tu     1  ciiii  guntBoonottst  ban  PENN.SYLVANiA,  titlafttooju 

syivania,  ruriy  naci  prin-  ^fttnaax»m'0oa'tictncux^.ueti)<'o;(3mtn. 

ted    in    English,   soon   after    p.Copyevare.nBnefbfdert'vcnW.P.gerchrevenaap 

it  appeared,  a  German  and     ''^::;^^:;Z:6:.S^X&^ 
Dutch    translation    of    

UC  A  fffi  Tot  7(^0  T  T  E  K7)  ^  M . 

OOme     Account     01       tne       CeJruVibyl'iETER  VANWYNBRUGGE.Botk-DruVkrrmdr 
„  .  r    T-.  1  •  Ueuweftrau,  indeWeieldVol-Druk.  ^M»  i«.8i. 

Province  or  Pennsvlvania 

Fac-similh  of  the  Dutch  Title-page. 

ill  America  "  published  in        from  the  original  in  carter  brown 

'       ^  Library,  through  courtesy  of  John 

London,    1681.  Nicholas  Brown. 

Three  years  later  this  was  followed  by 
"  Beschreibung  der   in   America    neu-erfunden    Provinz 
Pensylvania."     4to,  32  pp.     Hamburg,  1684. 


*'°  Ibid,  vol.  ii,  p.  280. 

iTi  -When  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius  came  to  Rotterdam  prior  to  his  de- 
departure  for  Pennsylvania  in  1683,  he  took  lodgings  at  the  house  of 
Mariecke  Vettekeuken,  the  widow  of  Symon  Jansz,  the  signer  of  the  pro- 
test on  page  439.  It  is  stated  that  it  was  at  this  house  where  the  final 
arrangements  were  consummated  between  Pastorius  and  Furly  relative  to 
the  settlement  of  the  Frankford  Company's  tract  near  Philadelphia,  vide 
"  Penna.  Mag.,"  vol.  ii,  p.  250. 


Landed  Interest  in  Pennsy/z'ania.  447 

A  translation  into  French  was  pnblislied  at  the  Hague 
in  the  same  year/'"" 

A  religious  work  was  also  published  about  the  same  time 
in  Dutch  and  German.     It  was  entitled 

"Die  alte  Wahrheit  erhohet."     B.   Furly  &  W.   Penn. 
4to.     n.  d.     [Evidently  1684.] 

*'  De  Oude  waarheid  ontdeckt  door  Verscheide  Vrienden 
der  Waarheid."     Rotterdam.      1684. 

The  landed  interest  of  Benjamin  Furly  in  Pennsylvania 
originally   consisted   of  five  erne 

thousand  acres  of  land,  ob-     l^^lXr  ^^  iS,^  ^^ 

tained  from  William   Penn,       „      ^f^'!'^'.^??'^.  ^    , 

,     ,1     ,   r       1-    ^       ,  PENNSILVANIA 

shortly  before  his  departure  ^^ 

for  America,  under  Deeds  of  A    "V/f    p    "D    T  i^    A 
Lease  and  Release,  dated  at  xo.ic6t 

Rotterdam,  nth  and  12th  of  Sun^ftcn. «m«6rm ©tcirm e.c9« 

August,  1682.  €  2?  ©  €  2  2  a  57  © 

From    letters    and    docu-    William  Pc  11 D-,  &C. 
ments  in  the  Lawrence  ^o^- ^sxs&iim'SxiX)Woxm^^x'ma^tiSoynbtmitt 
lection  of  the  Historical  So-  ■''"''"I'4':SSt""'''^ 

ciety  of  Pennsylvania  it  ap-    3umUn(frri(6timr/ro((n)an6«Krtsf<ioc3eii/  tuxmh 
pears    that    in    later    years  '"''*r.r";.D;^-?rtr«'''""'' 

tllGrc      was      a.     Wdl-*^r0linded  tlutt^fnunLcmdonqelrucflcmunballtflrBtoBenjaminClafrlf 
^  9^Uf^^aBMt^r^lnC.eolgf-YartiLo^ibeTd-flt^cl  btfiul^h(^*m 

cause   lor  clissatislaction   on      >Ti,t*,(i!,<rs._«.8t<i"<DtHiai,,.m,m..<s7i3<.t'9«btuLn 
the  part  of  Furh'  as  to  Penn's 
agents  in  Pennsylvania,  not- 
withstanding    Penn's     per-      Fac-simile  of  Gkrman  title-page.*'-' 

sonal  efforts  in  his  favor.  For  this  reason  Furly  gave  to 
Reynier  Jants  (Jansen),  to  whom  he  had  previously  sold 
some  land,^""^  a  power  of  attorney  to  act  for  him  in  Penns\l- 
vania  upon  his  arrival. 


'^'(lirib«ib<«ol«rrr'hiit(n  WiH.  Penni- 


311  ^Imlltrtoiii '  3»tiruthl«n  Chrifleff  Conndc*. 


■*"  An  English  version  of  this  rare  work  was  printed  in  the  "  Penna. 
Mag.,"  vol.  vi,  p.  321. 


448  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

This  document  was  subsequently  revoked  in  favor  of  a 
similar  one  granted  to  the  brothers  Daniel  and  Justus 
Falkner,  prior  to  their  departure  for  America  in  1700. 

William  Penn's  personal  interest  in  the  protection  of 
Benjamin  Furly's  claims  is  shown  by  his  letter  of  instruc- 
tion to  James  Logan  prior  to  his  departure  from  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1 701,  wherein  he  commands  him  to  prepare  a 
warrant  for  four  thousand  acres  of  land  for  Benjamin  Furly. 
It  appears  in  the  record  of  a  session  of  the  Commissioners 
held  at  Philadelphia  the  12th  of  nth  month,  1701/'^^ 

vSubsequent  action  of  the  Commissioners  appears  as 
follows,  the  1 6th  of  12th  month,  1701  : 

"  Signed  a  Warrant  of  Resurvey  and  Survey  of  5000  acres  to  Ben.  Furly, 
Ordered  12th  Ult." 

Two  days  later,  i8th  of  12th  month,  1701,  it  was  resolved  : 

"  Daniel  and  Justus  Falkner's,  attorneys  to  Benja.  Furly,  claim  the 
Common  proportion  of  Lib'ty  Land  in  Right  of  his  Purchase  of  5000  acres. 
Mentioned  pa.  59,  But  that  being  none  of  the  First  hundred  purchasers  it 
cannot  be  now  granted.  Yet  they  insisting  on  it  as  his  certain  Right,  'tis 
Ordered  that  thej'  have  Liberty  to  pitch  upon  Some  Convenient  Tract  of 
a  Sufficient  Number  of  acres  within  the  Liberties,  which  shall  be  reserved, 
and  in  Case  the  said  Benjamin,  in  18  Months,  make  good  his  Claim  from 
the  Proprietary,  it  may  be  granted  ;  Ordered  also  in  their  Request  a  New 
Warrant  for  the  said  Benjamin's  Lott  already  Survey'd  to  him." 


473  0  Prefatory  note  to  the  German  edition. — The  translator  to  the  indul- 
gent reader. — How  difficult,  I  will  not  say  almost  impossible,  it  is  to  ren- 
der the  actual  meaning  and  certain  expressions  which  appear  in  the  old 
Laws  and  usages  of  a  foreign  Land,  and  its  language  into  High  German, 
so  as  to  translate  them  intelligently,  has  been  fully  experienced  in  the 
present  instance. 

"  Therefore  I  have  here,  not  to  be  incommodious,  conceived  the  plan  to 
add  in  several  instances  the  English  words,  with  a  short  explanation,  in 
the  hope  that  the  indulgent  reader  will  not  chide  me,  but  rather  accept 
them  in  the  same  spirit  as  by  me  intended." 

*'*  Deed  July  17,  1685.  Acknowledged  before  a  notary  in  Holland. 
Minute-Book  "H,"  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Second  Series,  vol.  xix, 

P-  598- 

47d  ii  Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Second  Series,  vol.  xix,  p.  219. 


THE    PIETISTS    OF    PROVINCIAL    PENNSYLVANIA. 


WILLIAM    PENN. 


PORTRAIT    BY   GODFREY   VON    KNEILER. 


Thomas  Lawrence.  449 

1st  and  2d  i2t]i,  month,  1702, — 

"  Ordered  a  Patent  to  Benj.  Fiirly  on  looo  Acres  in  Bucks,  and  Patents 
on  2900  Acres  More  in  Philadelphia  Comity." 

5th  and  6th,  2d  month,  1703, — 

"  Dan'l  and  Justus  Falkner  Producing  D.  Powell's  return  of  a  Warrant 
for  50  a's  Lib.  Land  Survej^ed  to  Benj.  Furly.  Ordered  a  Patent  there- 
upon when  examined  in  the  Office  together  with  an  High  Street  Lott  of 
132  foot  as  it  fell  in  the  Draught." 

8th  month,  22d,  1705, — 

"  Dan'l  Falkner,  by  Order  of  Benjamin  Furly,  Informs  that  by  the  said 
Benjamin's  Letter  he  finds  the  Prop'ry  had  Promised  him  2  lotts  in  the 
City  Philad'a,  for  his  2  sons,  Jno.  and  Arent  Furly,  and  gave  him  an  Ex- 
pectation that  he  had  wrote  to  the  Sec'ry  about  it,  y'rfore,  by  his  Petition, 
Requests  the  said  lotts,  but  the  Sec'ry  nor  an}^  Other  Person  haveing 
Rec'd  any  Orders  about  them  'tis  referred  till  Such  Orders  arrive." 

nth  month,  20th,  1708, — 

"  There  haveing  been  a  tract  of  1000  a's  Surv'd  To  Benj'n  Furly  in  the 
Welch  tract,  which  has  been  granted  since  to  D.  Lloyd,  and  Is.  Norris,  in 
behalf  of  Thomas  Lloyd's  Estate,  Jno.  Henry  Sproegle,  to  whom  Dan'l 
Falkener,  as  attorney  To  said  Benjamin,  by  Virtue  of  a  power,  dat.  23d 
Apr.,  1700,  recorded  in  Philad'a,  Book  D.,  2,  Vol.  5,  pa.  17,  &c.,  Granted 
his  right  to  all  the  said  Land,  as  also  grant'd  1000  acres  more  in  Bucks, 
and  50  a's  more  untaken  up,  of  the  whole  5000  a's,  by  Deed  dat.  30,  6  mo. , 
1708,  req'ts  a  warrant  to  take  up  the  s'd  lOOo  acres.     Granted." 

A  number  of  letters  from  Furly,  addressed  to  Justus  and 
Daniel  Falkner,  have  also  been  found  among  the  Lawrence 
papers  before  mentioned  ;  ^"''^  the  latter  was  for  a  time  the 
mercantile  correspondent  of  Furly  in  America,  and  of  the 
.sons  Benjohan  and  John  after  their  father's  death. 

In  some  of  these  letters  Furly  expresses  his  unbounded 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  two  Falkner  brothers,  in 
others  he  characterizes  a  prominent  person  in  Pennsylvania 


^"^  Thomas  Lawrence  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  by 
the  Common  Council,  October  i,  T72S. 


57 


450  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

as  a  forger  and  embezzler,  and  charges  him  with  defrauding 
him  out  of  his  lands  in  Pennsylvania. 

With  the  exception  of  a  tract  of  land  sold  to  Jacobus 
Van  de  Walle,  the  deed  for  which  is  recorded  in  Deed  Book 
E,  2,  pp.  80-82,  it  does  not  appear  that  Furly  ever  derived 
any  profit  from  his  lands  within  the  Province,  as  for  some 
reason  the  claim  became  a  matter  of  litigation,  which  ended 
in  an  almost  total  loss  to  him,  notwithstanding  the  strenuous 
efforts  made  by  his  attorneys,  Daniel  and  Justus  Falkner,  to 
maintain  his  claim,  as  has  been  shown  in  previous  pages  of 
this  work.^'^'' 

He  appears  even  to  have  had  some  trouble  with  his  mer- 
cantile correspondents  in  Philadelphia,  as  is  shown  by  the 
letter  of  attorney,  recorded  in  Deed  Book  E,  2,  p.  277,  under 
date  of  1 2th,  5th  mo.,  1694  : 

"  Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  That  I,  Benjamin  Furly  of  Rotter- 
dam in  the  province  of  Holland  Merch't,  have  made  Constitiited  &  Ap- 
pointed and  by  these  prs'ts  doe  make  Constitute  and  app't  Thos.  Lloyd 
of  Philadelphia  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  Gentleman,  Samuel 
Carpenter  &  John  Delavall  of  ye  same  place  Mch't  my  true  &  Lawfull 
Attorneys,  giving  them  or  either  of  them  jointly  or  severally  full  power 
&  authority  for  &  in  my  name  to  aske  &  demand  of  ye  heirs  Executors 
or  Adm'rs  of  James  Claypool  late  of  ye  same  place  Mch't  all  such  debts, 
dues,  sum  or  Sums  of  Money  as  were  due  unto  me  the  S''  Benjamin  Furly 
at  the  time  of  the  decease  of  the  S'd  James  Claypool  for  any  goods  or  mer- 
chandize by  him  Sold  for  My  aco't,  an  acco  of  Sales  to  demand  the  same, 
to  examine  &  debate  or  approve  &  acquiece  in  all  goods  that  may  be  yet 
unsold  to  receive  &  of  the  same  to  dispose  for  my  use  the  moneys  received 
for  what  was  sold  to  receive  acquittances  in  due  forme  of  Law  to  give  for 
all  sums  of  money  or  goods  which  they  shall  receive.  And  further  all 
other  Acts  Deeds  &  things  to  doe  w'ch  I  myself  if  I  were  there  personally 
ye  .  .  .  or  could  doe  in  the  Premisis.  Promising  by  these  p'sents  to  ap- 
prove, ratify  &  confirm  all  w'soever  my  said  x-\ttorney  or  Attorneys  shall 
lawfully  doe  or  cause  to  be  done  in  the  premisis. 

"In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  sett  ni}-  hand  &  Seal  this  i6th  Sbr 
in  Rotterdam  Anno  Domini  1693. 

"Signed,  Sealed  &  Delivered 
in  the  p'sence  of  us 

"Peter  Soumans,  ■  Benjamin  ffurly." 

"Joseph  Lacy. 


Correspondence  with  John  Locke.  451 

But  little  has  tliiis  far  been  written  or  published  of  the 
private  life  and  character  of  Benjamin  Fnrly,  who  was  so 
important  a  factor  in  organizing  the  German  immigration 
to  Pennsylvania,  and  in  procuring  for  the  immigrants  the 
necessary  transportation,'"''  except  that  he  was  an  eccentric 
person  of  peculiar  religious  views.  His  correspondence, 
however,  with  Locke,  Sidney,  Lord  Shaftesbury  and  others, 
whose  letters  to  him  were  privately  printed  some  fifty  years 
ago,*"^  shows  that  Benjamin  Fnrly  was  a  man  whose  literary 
attainments  were  of  no  mean  order,  and  that  he  was  upon 
intimate  terms  with  manv  of  the  leadinof  scholars  and  states- 


*'''  Among  the  list  of  purchasers  known  as  the  "  Old  Rights"  appear  the 
following  parcels  of  land  in  the  name  of  Benjamin  Furly  : 

"No.  775,  Furley,  Benjamin,  return,  1900  acres. 

"No.  776,  Furlow  Benjamin,  return,  1000  acres. 

"No.  779,  Furly,  Benjamin,  warrant,  1000  acres,  19th  10  mo.,  1684. 

"No.  777,  Furly,  Benjamin,  warrant,  6th  gth  mo.,  1685. 

"No.  778,  Furly,  Benjamin,  war't  resur'y,  on  all  his  lands,  i6th  12 
mo.  1 70 1. 

"  No.  780,  Furly  Benjamin,  2  returns,  967  and  501  acres,  see  11  Philad'a 
W,  23  December,  1735  and  5th  March,  1735-6. 

"No.  781,  Furley,  Benjamin,  warrant,  1000  acres,  19th  loth  mo.  1684. 

"No.  782,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return,  1000  acres,  3d  12th  Mon.,  1684. 

"No.  783,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  resurvey,  1000  acres. 

"  No.  784,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  warrant,  city  lott,  3d  12  mo.,  1684. 

"No.  785,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return,  1048  acres,  25th  4  mo.,  1703. 

"No.  786,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return,  1900  acres,  i8th  12  mo.,  1702. 

"  No.  858,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return,  50  acres,  L.  Land,  22d  i  mo.,  1703. 

"No.  859,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return.  Res.,  rooo  acres,  i6th  12  mo.,  1703. 

"  No.  860,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return,  1900  acres,  i8th  12  mo  ,  1703. 

"No.  861,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  warrant,  50  acres  L.  L.,  26th  ir  mo.,  1702. 

"  No.  862,  Furlow,  Benjamin,  return,  50  acres  L.  L.,  5th  2  mo.,  r703." — 
"  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Third  Series,  vol.  ii,  p.  704,  et  seq. 

*'*A  notable  instance  of  his  liberality  is  shown  in  the  case  of  Kelpius 
and  his  band  of  German  Pietists,  who  left  Rotterdam  in  1693.  Vide 
Croese-,  "  Historia  Ouakeriana,"  pp.  539  et  seq.;  also  pp.  44-46.  supra. 

479  It  Original  Letters  of  John  Locke,  Algernon  Sidney  and  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury," London,  1847. 


452  The  Pietists  of  Pro7iincial  Peiinsyli'ania. 

men  of  the  period  who  labored  incessantly  to  establish  civil 
and  religious  liberty  in  Europe. 

It  further  appears  that  Locke  spent  much  of  his  time  at 
Furly's  house,  and  as  he  was  particularly  fond  of  children, 
one  of  his  chief  amusements  while  there  was  pla)ing  with 
the  young  folks/*^ 

Although  usually  classed  among  the  leading  Quakers  of 
that  period  on  the  Continent,  and  notwithstanding  his  purse 
and  pen  were  at  their  disposal  and  used  in  their  interests,  it 
appears  that  his  connection  with  them  was  not  one  of  unin- 
terrupted harmony.  Croese,^-'  states  that  "  Benjamin  Furly 
was  an  English  Merchant,  first  at  x\msterdam,  then  at  Rot- 
terdam, who,  together  with  his  merchandize,  had  addicted 
himself  to  the  study  of  learning,  and  in  his  favor  of  these 
men  [Quakers]  wrote  several  little  Tracts  in  Divers  Lan- 
guages. But  yet  refrained  himself  from  exercising  the 
office  of  a  Teacher  or  Minister  amongst  them,  alledging 
this  reason  for  it,  that  he  could  safely  enough  be  taught  at 
all  times,  but  could  scarce  be  a  Teacher  himself  without 
danger.  Altho'  as  time  and  age  teach  Men  many  things, 
this  same  man  afterwards  found  fault  with  and  went  off 
from  many  things  in  the  doctrine  and  Manners  of  the 
Quakers."  Just  what  these  differences  between  Furly  and 
the  Quakers  were,  and  when  the\-  took  place,  is  unknown 
to  the  writer.  Joseph  Smith,  in  his  catalogue,  classes  him 
among  such  as  were  disunited,  and  returned,  but  are 
believed  to  have  again  left  the  Society. 

In  later  years  he  is  credited  with  being  the  author  of  the 
following  works : 

"  Ene  Wonderlike  voorsegginge  tot  Rome,"  etc.  (Dutch.) 
Folio,  1689. 


**"  Original  Letters,"  etc.,  Preface,  p.  74. 
^'*'  English  edition,  Book  III,  p.  208. 


"  Copie  Van  een  oiide  prophetic,"  etc.  (Dutch.)  Folio, 
16S9. 

"  Aiiwysiiioe  tot  de  ware  Kirke  Gods,  met  Aniiotatieri 
door."     B.  Fiirly  (1690). 

"  A  Prophecy  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr"  (from  MSvS.  of 
Algernon  Sidney).      1709. 

"  Discernement  des  Tenebres  d'avec  la  Lumiere." 
(French.)     8vo,  17 10. 

"Eclair  de  Lnmiere  decendcnt,"  etc.  (French.)  8vo, 
1711. 

"  The  Approaching  Judgments  of  God  upon  the  Roman 
Empire,"  etc.  Translated  out  of  high  Dutch  by  B.  Furly. 
8vo,  171 1. 

"Spiegel  der  Leevaren,  om  zig  te  kennen,  of  zy  ware 
Herders  der  Zielen  zyn  of  niet,  uyt  het  Frans  vertaalt 
door."     B.  Furly  17 13.     8vo. 

"  The  divine  Remedy  for  all  Evils,  both  Soule  and  body." 
Written  in  French  by  Moses  Caron  and  Englished  by  B. 
Furly.     4to.^''- 

It  can  matter  but  little  whether  or  not  Benjamin  Furly 
lived  continuously  and  died  within  the  fold  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,^*^  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  to  him  more  than  any 
other  person  is  due  the  credit  of  materializing  the  dream  of 
Penn,  so  far  as  the  German  element  is  concerned,  for  he  not 
only  encouraged  them  with  advice  and  counsel,  but  with 
more  substantial  means  in  the  shape  of  concessions  of  land, 
transportation  and  loans  of  money. 

The  only  trustworthy  personal  description  of  Benjamin 
Furly  and  his  peculiarities  that  has  come  down  to  us  is  the 
interesting  account  given  in  the  Memoirs  of  Zacharias  von 


482  "  Biblotheca  Furliana,"  p.  324,  No.  33. 

*f*3  Prom  the  fact  of  his  burial  within  the  walls  of  the  chief  orthodox 
church  at  Rotterdam,  it  would  appear  that  he  had  renounced  Ouakerisni 
prior  to  his  death. 


454  ^'^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Uffenbach/*^^  who  visited  Rotterdam  in  the  year  17 lo;  he 
had  been  a  classmate,  at  Halle,  of  Justus  Falkner,  one  of  the 
early  German  Pietists  in  Pennsylvania,  and  later  was  an 
attorney  for  P'urly/'*^     He  writes  : — 

"  On  the  morning  of  November  21,  we  went  Op-Te  Haar- 
ing  Vliet.,  to  visit  Benjamin  Furly,  an  English  Merchant, 
who  was  the  chief  of  the  Quakers  in  Holland,  and  posesses 
a  curious  stock  of  Books,  mainly  snspectce  fidei.  He  lives 
in  a  very  fine  house,  and  is  a  man  of  about  seventy  years  of 
age,  and  of  peculiar  actions.      [Sonderbarem  wesen.  ] 

"  We  were  ushered  into  his  comptoii'  as  it  was  called,  but 
this  appeared  more  like  a  library  or  Museum  than  a  mer- 
cantile counting  house,  as  the  walls  were  shelved  and  cov- 
ered with  books,  to  the  number  of  at  least  four  thousand. 
They  were  mostly  on  theological  subjects,  of  the  siispectis 
fidei  order,  and  appear  to  be  well  suited  to  Mr.  Benjamin 
Furly's  taste,  who  is  a  paradoxial  and  peculiar  man,  who 
soon  gave  us  to  understand  that  he  adhered  to  no  special 
religion. 

"  Unfortunately  we  were  not  permitted  to  examine  any  of 
his  books  except  the  original  manuscript  of  the  '  Libri  In- 
quisitionis  Tolonsanse,'*^*'  edited  by  Limborch,*^^''  and  this 
work  only  after  earnest  and  repeated  solicitation. 


*®*Zacharias  Conrad  von  UfFenbach,  born  at  Frankfort,  February  22, 
1683.  From  his  youth  he  was  known  as  a  lover  and  collector  of  books. 
He  first  attended  the  University  at  Strasburg,  later  at  Halle,  where  he 
graduated,  after  which  he  made  a  tour  through  Northern  Europe,  Holland, 
and  England  in  search  of  rare  imprints  and  manuscripts.  He  thus  ac- 
cumulated one  of  the  most  valuable  private  libaries  in  Germany,  which 
contained  many  works  on  early  American  history. 

His  Memoirs  were  published  at  Ulm,  in  1753,  and  contain  many 
notices  of  books  and  persons  not  to  be  found  elsewhere.  A  partial 
printed  catalogue  of  this  library  may  be  seen  at  the  Philadelphia 
Library  :  "  Bibliotheca  Ufifenbachiana,"  etc. 

i»5  Vide  supra. 


Bibliotheca  Furliana.  455 

"  It  proved  to  be  a  Codex  nicmbranaceiis  in  folio  conslans 
foliis  203,  and  was  neatly  and  plainly  written. 

"  This  was  indeed  a  great  curiosity,  especially  as  it  was 
found  in  the  possession  of  a  non-Catholic.  This  was  further 
instanced  by  the  actions  of  the  former  Bishop  of  Utrecht, 
who  upon  that  account  doubted  its  authenticity,  and  sent  a 
clerical  to  compare  Limborch's  edition  with  this  original. 
Mr.  Furly  would  not  permit  this  examination  until  the 
above  clerical  assured  him  that  if  he  found  the  two  works 
to  agree,  he  would  so  certify  to  the  fact  officially  over  his 
hand  and  seal,  which  was  done,  and  it  is  now  pasted  on  the 
cover  of  the  volume. 

"  Mr.  Furly  complained  that  Limborch  failed  to  mention 
that  he  had  obtained  the  original  Codex  from  him. 


*^®The  L,atin  title  of  this  work  is  given  in  the  catalogue  of  the  "  Bib- 
liotheca Furliana."  Translated  it  reads  as  follows  :  "  Book  of  Maxims  ; 
beautifully  written  on  parchment,  and  bound  between  two  wooden 
leaves ;  the  autograph  itself  is  written ;  and  everywhere  it  is  sub- 
scribed in  the  hand  of  the  clerks  of  the  Inquisition  ;  beginning  only 
with  the  year  of  Christ,  1607,  [and  going]  as  far  as  1622  ;  and  by  un- 
doubted indications  it  is  agreed  to  be  the  original  manuscript,  derived 
from  the  archives  of  the  Inquisition  of  Toulouse.  The  Maxims  them- 
selves, as  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the  resemblance  of  the  hand- 
writing, are  written  in  the  hand  of  Peter  of  Clav  .  .  .  down  to  the 
eighth  discourse,  which  begins  fol.  97.  The  remainder  of  the  book, 
down  to  the  end,  is  in  the  hand  of  William  Julian  ;  James  Marquette 
has  written  beneath  the  Maxims  almost  throughout ;  [it  is]  the  rarest 
book  of  all  rarest  ones,  and  of  the  highest  possible  price." 

The  original  manuscript  was  bought  in  by  John  Furly  at  the  sale  of 
his  father's  library,  and  afterward  sold  to  Archbishop  Seeker,  who  pre- 
sented it  to  the  British  Museum,  where  it  now  remains.  It  was  trans- 
lated into  English  and  published  by  Samuel  Chandler,  London,  173 r. 
A  copy  of  this  translation  can  be  seen  at  the  Ridgway  branch  of  the 
Philadelphia  Library. 

^"^  Philippus  Limborch  was  a  learned  divine,  born  at  Amsterdam,  1633. 
He  embraced  the  tenets  of  the  "  Remonstrants,"  and  first  appeared  as  a 
public  preacher  at  Haarlem  in  1655.  He  was  an  able  annotator  and  an 
esteemed  writer,  as  is  shown  by  the  tributes  paid  him  by  Locke  and  Tillot- 
son.     He  died  in  171 1. 


456  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"This,"  continues  Uffenbach,  "seemed  the  more  strange 
to  me  as  it  would  have  added  to  the  value  of  Limborch's 
edition  if  he  had  made  mention  where  the  original  of  this 
curious  work  could  be  seen,  as  the  Catholics,  in  time,  would 
throw  doubt  upon  the  facts,  as  it  was  a  thorn  in  their  eyes 
and  a  bitter  conviction  of  their  spiritual  tyranny.  As  we 
began  to  touch  upon  this  subject,  Furly  complained  that 
the  same  spiritual  tyranny  was  also  still  in  vogue  among 
the  Protestant  denominations. 

"  When  I  reminded  him  that  in  Holland  religious  liberty 
prevailed,  he  denied  emphatically  that  this  assumption  was 
true,  and  he  became  quite  excited  over  the  procedure  of  the 
local  magistrates  against  the  so-called  English  New-prophets. 

"  He  admitted  that  he  not  only  harbored  their  tenets  and 
had  printed  their  writings  with  a  preface  of  his  own,  but 
had  defended  them  as  well  before  the  Magistrates,  and  en- 
deavored to  shield  and  protect  them,  yet,  notwithstanding- 
all  his  efforts,  these  innocent  people  had  been  expelled  from 
the  country. 

"  He  related  all  that  had  happened  to  these  people,  here  as 
well  as  at  the  Hague.  This  he  did  not  only  in  a  general 
way,  but  he  read  to  us,  word  for  word,  a  long  relation  of 
the  facts,  .that  he  had  just  written  to  Herr  Gronovium. 
This  lasted  for  over  two  hours. 

"  I  thought  that  I  should  die  from  impatience,  and  although 
I  repeatedly  referred  to  the  subject  of  his  books,  and  begged 
him  to  show  us  some  of  the  rarest  and  most  curious  of  the 
collection,  the  man  was  so  excited  that  he  failed  to  notice 
my  request. 

"  Thus  he  continued  to  complain,  over  and  over  again, 
how  badly  these  people  were  treated,  especially  Herr  Facio, 
whom  he  characterized  not  only  as  a  devout  man,  endowed 
with  many  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  but  also  as  a  learned  man 
and  an  excellent  mathematician. 


PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


A   SCENE    IN    OLD    ROTTERDAM. 


NEGATIVE    BY    J.     F.    SACHSE, 


Personal  Appearance.  457 

"  He  declared  that  they  were  pious  and  innocent  persons  ; 
against  whom  no  accusations  could  be  truly  brought,  except 
that  their  prophecy  of  a  personal  return  of  Christ  at  a 
specified  time  had  not  been  fulfilled. 

"  He  stated  that  the  clericals  had  used  the  following 
quotations  of  Scripture,  viz.  :  Deuteronomy  xviii,  v,  21,  22, 
against  them,  and  had  attempted  to  convict  them  as  false 
prophets  and  deceivers. 

"  We  were  astounded  that  this  man,  a  merchant,  should 
be  so  well  versed  in  Latin,  Hebrew,  &c.,  the  more  so  as  he 
formerly  had  no  means  at  his  disposal,  and  had  only  ac- 
quired them  here  of  late.  We  complained  that  on  account 
of  his  extended  discourse  we  had  failed  to  obtain  an  insight 
to  his  literary  treasures,  but  even  this  hint  failed  and  proved 
of  no  avail. 

"  As  we  were  leaving,  the  honest  patriarch  led  us  into  a 
kind  of  a  Cabinet,  that  gave  us  an  unsurpassed  view  of  the 
river  Mass.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  objects  on  the 
walls  of  this  room  was  a  large  framed  map  of  Pennsylvania." 

At  the  subsequent  sale  of  Furly's  effects  this  map  was 
described  as  follows : 

"  Enn  seer  nette  Landkaard  van  Pensylvania  met  alle  den 
Rivieren,  Bayed  &c.  Konstig  met  die  Pen  op  Parkement 
getrokken,  en  fraai  ofgesezt,  in  een  Swarte  Lyst. " 

According  to  the  memorandum  by  Benjohan  Furly  it  was 
bought  at  the  sale  for  four  florins  by  Fritsch  &  Bohm  the 
Dutch  printers. 

"In  his  personal  appearance,"  continues  Uflfenbach, 
"  Benjamin  Furly  is,  as  we  had  pictured  him  to  be,  an  old, 
tall,  lean,  serious  man  who,  although  it  was  already  cold 
and  chilly,  went  about  in  a  thin,  threadbare  gray  coat ; 
around  his  head  he  wore  a  band  of  black  velvet,  as  he  stated 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  his  hairs  from  coming  in  his 
face  when  writing." 

58 


458  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

After  the  death  of  Benjamin  Fnrly,  his  great  library  was 
catalogued  and  sold  at  auction  October  22,  17 14.  The 
following  is  the  title  of  the  catalogue : 

"  Bibliotheca  Furliana  sive  Catalogus  Librorum,  Hon- 
oratiss.  &  Doctriss.  Viri  Benjamin  Fnrly,  inter  quos  excel- 
lunt  Bibliorum  Editiones  Mystici,  Libri  proprii  cujuscum- 
que  Sectae  Christianse,  &  Manuscriptii  Membranei.  iVuctio 
fiet  die  22  Octobris  17 14,  in  ^^dibus  Defuncti  in  Platea 
Vulgo  dicta.  Haringvliet.  Roterodami,  Apud  Fritsch  et 
Bohm.     8vo,  1714."^''' 

Benjamin  Furly's  two  elder  sons  succeeded  their  father 
after  his  death  as  merchants  and  shippers  at  Rotterdam, 
and  also  for  a  time  pressed  claims  for  lands  in  Pennsyl- 
vania/"*-'  Benjohan,  the  eldest  son,  married  Martha  Wright,^** 
a  young  woman  from  London,  who  died  in  17 13.  She  was 
buried  September  i8th  ;  a  few  weeks  later,  October  9th,  her 
babe  was  laid  b)-  her  side.  Twenty-five  years  afterwards, 
August  7,  1738,  Benjohan  Furly  was  buried  in  the  family 
vault  in  the  St.  Laurentian  Kerk,  beside  his  wife,  child  and 
parents.  Of  John  Furly  nothing  is  known,  except  that  he 
became  a  leading  merchant  of  Rotterdam  and  London,  and 
left  a  family. 

Arent  Furly,  the  youngest  son,  who  was  a  great  favorite 
of  Locke  and  Lord  Shaftesbury,  entered  the  military  service 
of  England,  and  went  with  Charles,  Earl  of  Peterborough, 
to  the  West  Indies  in  1702-03,  and  in  1705,  as  his  secretary, 
to  Spain,  where  his  patron  was  General  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  Her  Majesty's  forces.     Several  of  the  orders  dated 


*'^*  Benjohan  Furly's  priced  and  named  copy  of  this  catalogue  is  now  in 
the  British  Museum.     It  is  catalogued  No.  11901,  An. 

4S9  II  Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Second  Series,  vol.  xix. 

*•'"  From  the  fact  that  this  marriage  was  also  consummated  at  the  Staiii- 
hitis  it  would  appear  that  Benjohan  was  also  either  a  Quaker  or  Separatist. 


Tomb  of  Fiirly 


459 


in  the  camp  before  Barcelona  in  1705  are  countersigned 
by  Arent  Furly.  According  to  a  letter  from  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury to  Benjamin  Furly,  he  died  during  this  expedition, 
early  in  the  year  1712/^^     He  was  unmarried. 

Benjamin  Furly's  daughter  Dorothy,  born  July,  17 10, 
married  Thomas  Forster,  of  Walthamstow,  England,  and 
it  was  his  grandson,  Thomas  Ignatius  Maria  Forster,  who 
published  the  volume  of  letters  of  Locke,  Sidney  and 
Shaftesbury  so  frequently  quoted  in  this  sketch. 

There  are  but  few  of  the  hundreds  of  iVmerican  tourists 
that  annually  visit  the  Groote  Kerk  in  Rotterdam,  and 
wander  through  its  broad  aisles,  who  know  that  in  the 
centre  aisle  in  the  nave  rest  the  remains  of  Benjamin 
Furly  and  his  kin,  the  man  who  was  so  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  the  first  German  immigration  to  America 
and  in  securing  for  the  immigrants  '  equal  rights  and 
privileges. 


"  Original  Letters,"  etc.,  p.  205 


0  si^i^^-^K^. 


MAGISTER   JOHANN   JACOB    ZIMMERMANN. 


on 


Arms  of  Wurtemberg,  a.d   it 


AGISTER  JOHANN 
Jacob  Zimmermann, 
whose  name  figures  so 
frequently  upon  the  preceding 
pages,  and  who  was  one  of  the 
chief  instigators  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  experiment  on  the  Wis- 
sahickon,  was  a  native  of  the 
Duchy  of  Wiirtemberg,  born  in 
the  year  1644,  in  the  little  ham- 
let of  Vaihingen  on  the  Entz. 
From  earl}-  childhood  he  evinced  a  remarkable  talent  for 
learning,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  taken  into 
the  Ducal  service/"^  He  was  subsequently  sent  to  the 
university  at  Tiibingen,  where  he  graduated  in  1664  with 
the  title  of  Magister  dcr  Philosophie.  He  was  at  once 
appointed  instructor  of  mental  arithmetic  {IVicdcrholiDigs- 
leJirer). 

Subsequently  he  was  admitted  into  the  ministry,  became 
a  Lutheran  clergyman  and  in  167 1  was  appointed  Diaconus 
of  the  church  at  Bietigheim,  a  town  adjacent  to  his  birth- 


^^'^  V\sch\e\n,  Memoria  Theologor'uni  Wirtenbergensium.      Ulmac,  1710. 
Supplementa  ad  Mem.  Theol.  Wirt.  pp.  2jo. 


Expulsion  from   Wiirtemberg.  461 

place.  Here  he  served  until  1684,  when  he  was  deposed 
for  his  outspoken  views  upon  the  coming-  millennium. 

Zimmermann,  after  leaving  Wiirtemberg,  was  called  to 
the  chair  of  mathematics  at  Heidelberg  University,  which 
he  filled  for  the  next  five  years.  Upon  becoming  involved 
still  deeper  in  his  mystical  speculations,  he,  in  1689,  lost 
his  professorship  and  went  to  Hamburg,  where  he  became 
"  corrector"  or  proof-reader  for  Brandt,  the  Hamburg  pub- 
lisher, who  then  printed  many  of  the  Mystical  and  Theo- 
sophical  works  of  that  period  which  were  not  strictly  ortho- 
dox, and  known  as  '"'•  Sicspecia  FideV  It  was  here  that 
Zimmermann  came  into  personal  contact  with  such  men  as 
Horbius,  Spener,  Furly  and  others  of  like  convictions,  and 
where  the  plan  was  perfected  for  putting  to  a  practical  test, 
in  the  Western  World,  some  of  the  theoretical  speculations 
of  the  Theosophists. 

Heretofore  but  little  has  been  known  of  the  history  of 
this  noted  philosopher,  except  that  he  was  the  leader  of  the 
band  of  Pietists  that  started  for  America,  and  that  he  died 
just  prior  to  their  embarkation  at  Rotterdam. 

But  he  deserves  a  prominent  place  in  the  religious  history 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  it  was  mainly  upon  his  astrological 
deductions  and  calculations  respecting  the  near  approach 
of  the  millennium  that  the  organization  of  the  emigrants 
was  consummated. 

Now,  after  the  lapse  of  two  centuries,  it  has  become 
possible  to  present  a  sketch  of  this  eminent  philosopher 
and  scientist ;  a  result  which  has  been  brought  about  only 
by  a  long  and  persistent  search  after  material  extending 
over  both  continents,  a  search  pursued  with  great  difficulty 
and  much  expenditure. 

The  first  direct  clue  to  Zimmermann  was  found  in  a 
fragmentary  title  of  one  of  his  books  printed  at  Hamburg 


462  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

shortly  before  his  death.  From  this  the  long  search  was 
kept  up  through  Germany  until  Bietigheim  was  reached, 
where  on  account  of  missing  records  little  or  no  information 
was  to  be  had. 

When  almost  ready  to  give  up  further  enquiry  an  active 
co-worker  was  found  in  Stuttgart/'''^  who  introduced  the 
writer  to  Professor  D.  Th.  Schott,  the  Royal  BibliotJickar 
in  that  capital.  This  librarian  instituted  a  search  for  traces 
of  Zimmermann,  and  found,  among  the  musty  archives  of 
the  Royal  Free  Library,  four  scientific  works  of  his,  the 
titles  of  which  were  photographed  and  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  writer. 

A  further  search  by  Professor  Schott  among  long-forgot- 
ten legal  proceedings  stored  within  the  Royal  Archives  at 
Stuttgart,  brought  to  light  once  more  the  charges  under 
which  the  Magister  was  tried  and  convicted. 

From  these  data  it  appears  that  Magister  Zimmermann, 
in  addition  to  being  an  erudite  theologian,  was  one  of  the 
best  astronomers  and  mathematicians  of  the  day,  and  that 
he  received  acknowledgment  as  such  from  the  Royal  Society 
of  England.  He  was  also  a  prolific  writer  upon  theosophical 
as  well  as  astronomical  and  mathematical  subjects,  both 
under  his  own  name  and  the  pseudonyms  of  Anibrossii 
Sehmanni  and  Johannis  MattJiaeiis.  He  was  also  some- 
thing of  a  poet  and  hymnologist. 

From  the  old  records  in  the  archives  at  Stuttgart  it 
apj)ears  that  while  Zimmermann  was  officiating  at  Bietig- 
heim he  was  stricken  with  a  dangerous  fever.  His  physi- 
cian was  the  celebrated  Ludwig  Brunnquell,  who  was  also 
a  great  admirer  of  Jacob  Boehme.  The  acquaintance  thus 
commenced  between  patient  and  doctor  ripened  into  friend- 


Otto  Schaettle,  Esq. 


Erudition  of  tJic  Magister.  463 

ship,  and  ended  in  the  ph)sician  convincing  his  cliarge  of 
the  correctness  of  Boehnie's  speculations. 

Zimmermann,  who  during  this  time  actively  pursued  his 
study  of  the  heavens  from  his  observatory,  which  tradition 
states  was  upon  the  old  church  tower  at  Bietigheim,  now 
combined  Boehme's  speculations  with  his  astronomy,  and 
in  1684  issued  the  unique  work  wherein  he  prophesies 
amelioration  of  the  times  prior  to  the  year  1694.  These 
deductions  were  based  upon  the  appearance  of  the  comet 
of  1680.  The  title  of  this  book,  which  was  to  have  so 
peculiar  an  effect  upon  social  and  religious  affairs  in  Penn- 
sylvania was  : 

'"''  Ahciidus  Coperiiizaiis  ;  lingua  vernactda.  Mitthmassige 
Zeit-Bcstinimtuig  bevorstehcnde  Gcrichten  Gottes  uber  das 
EiiropaeiscJic  Babel  iiiid  Jiierauf  crfolgeitden  Anfaiig  dess 
Reichs  CHRIST!  aiif  Erden.  Unter  den  nahmen  AM- 
ROSII  SeJimann  de  Caminicz^  Anno  1684.     8voy 

In  this  work  he  desires  written  information  from  the 
Consistory  upon  the  four  following  general  questions  : 

"(i)  The  downfall  of  Babylon  in  Europe. 

"  (2)  The  millennium  of  the  pious,  and  universal  con- 
version of  Jews,  Turks  and  Gentiles. 

"  (3)  True  prophets  existing  even  now. 

"  (4)  Certain  doubts  concerning  the  Augsburg  Confession 
and  Apology." 

The  answer  of  the  Consistorium  not  being  to  his  liking, 
he  publicly  denounced  the  Established  Church  as  a  Babel. 
This  gave  rise  to  considerable  disturbance,  which  was 
increased  still  more  by  another  book  from  Zimmerman,  viz., 

''''Bey  nahe  gants  aiifgedecJitcr  Anti-Oirist  oder  nnvor- 
greiffi.  Redencken  iiber  die  /rage:  Oh  die  Evangelische 
Kirchc  mit  rechl  Babel  nnd  Anti-Christisch  zii  schelten  von 
ivelche  auszugehen  seye  ?     Nach  Grund  der  Heil.     Schrifft 


464  The  Pietists  of  Pi'ovincial  Pennsylvania. 

aufgesetst^  viit  Beantivortiing  aiiderer  dieser  Materia  vcr- 
wandteji  N'ebenfragen.     Anno  i6S^^  ^toy 

The  Consistorium  at  once  ordered  Ziminermann's  books 
to  be  refuted,  which  was  done  by  Schellenbaur  and  Haber- 
lein.  Zimmermann,  nothing  daunted,  followed  with 
another  work  : 

"  Oi'tJiodoxia  TJieosophiae  Bolmiianae  contra  Holsbusiiim 
Defensa.,  oder  Christliche  Untcrsiichungen  der  Holtzhaiisis- 
chen  Anmercktingen  i'lberundzviederj.  Bolmtens  Aiiroranty 
Franckfiirt  und  Leipzig.,  Anno  i6gi. 

This  work  was  issued  under  the  name  of  Johannes 
Matthai.  In  the  appendix  he  sarcastically  scores  Erasmus 
Franciscus  for  his  "  Counter-Ray  to  the  Aurora"  and 
"Arrows  of  Calumny  of  Ishmael  and  Simeus  Shivered." 

One  of  the  most  curious  charges  brought  against  Zim- 
mermann was  that  he  sought  to  elevate  Jacob  Boehme  over 
the  Apostles.  This  was  founded  upon  the  fact  that  he  had 
written  under  Boehme's  portrait  the  following  epigram  : 

"  Waan  Petrus  Juden  fischt, 

Der  Weber  wirbt  die  Heyden. 
Beginnt  der  Schuster  jetzt 

Sie  beiderseits  zu  weiden. 
Weil  Er  die  Heil'ge  Schrifft 

Mit  der  Natur  verfasst, 
Doch  ist  Er  eine  last 

Die  Amasias  hassti" 

[  If  Peter  fishes  Jews,  the  weaver  enlists  Gentiles.  Now  the  cobbler 
commences  to  feed  them  both,  because  he  combines  Holy  Writ  with  nature, 
and  becomes  a  power  which  Ananias  detests.] 

After  Zimmermann  had  become  so  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  teachings  of  Jacob  Boehme,  he  at  various  times 
gave  utterance,  in  the  pulpit,  to  expressions  defamatory  of 
the  Established  Church  of  which  he  was  a  Presbyter.  As 
he  professed  to  be  able,  by  aid  of  his  astronomical  observa- 


TJie  Old  Church  at  Bietigheim. 


465 


The  old  church  at  Bietigheim,  Wurtemberg,  from  the  tower  of  which 
Magister  Zinimermann  made  his  astronomical  observations,  and  which  led  to 
the  establishment  of  the  '"  Woman  in  the  Wilderness"  on  the  Wissahickon. 


59 


466  The  Pietists  of  Proinucial  Peimsylvania. 

tions,  to  foretell  the  exact  time  of  the  millenium,  he  became 
the  leader  of  that  class  of  mystic  philosophers  and  their 
followers  who  then  believed  the  great  catastrophe  to  be 
impending. 

When  this  period  passed  withont  confirming  his  calcnla- 
tions,  he  still  continued  in  his  denunciations  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical establishment.  After  repeated  admonitions  he  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  Ducal  Consistorium  ;  was 
tried,  convicted  of  heresy,  and  ordered  to  leave  the  Duchy 
within  a  certain  time. 

This,  the  deposed  clergyman  did  with  a  bad  grace,  and  it 
appears  that  he  indulged  in  prophesying  all  sorts  of  dire 
disasters  for  his  native  country  and  its  rulers  as  a  chastise- 
ment for  the  fancied  injustice  done  him. 

He  also  issued  a  brochure  in  which  he  charged  that  he 
was  persecuted  solely  on  account  of  a  notice  of  him  written 
by  Breckling  and  published  by  Gottfried  Arnold.  The 
Duchy  being  invaded  and  devastated  by  the  French  about 
this  time,  Zimmermann  boldly  claimed  that  this  terrible 
misfortune  was  nothing  more  nor  less  that  the  fulfillment 
of  his  predictions  of  a  Divine  retribution,  and  that  still 
greater  calamities  were  in  store  for  the  land  of  his  birth 
unless  he  should  be  reinstated. 

The  publication  of  these  pamphlets  and  the  fact  of  his 
adherents  in  Wiirtembercr  crix-ingr  them  credence,  induced 
the  authorities  to  set  forth  a  counter-statement  or  apology, 
printed  partly  in  Latin  and  partly  in  German,  with  the  facts 
of  the  case  from  the  government  standpoint.  This  curious 
document  reads  as  follows  : 

"CAROLUS"  IVirtenbcrgische,  Unschiild  Act:  Ulm, 
lyoS^  ^to^     Page  jO^  article  z: 

"  Proceedings  of  the  Ducal  Government  of  Wiirtemberg 
versus  Magister  Johann  Jacob  Zimmermann  : 


Astrology  and  Magic.  467 

"(Section  i). — Even  as  it  was  the  duty  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Wiirtemberg  to  censnre  and  proceed  against  M. 
Ludwig  Brnnnqnell,  so  must  the  same  proceedings  be  en- 
acted against  ]\I.  Joh.  Jac.  Zimmermann  if  the  facts  are  as 
mentioned  in  Breckling's  catalogue,  which  were  embodied 
by  Arnold  in  the  preface  to  his  notable  work,  viz.  : 

"  '  M.  Joh.  Jac.  Zimmermann,  a  profoundly  learned  astro- 
loger, magician,  cabbalist  and  preacher,  expelled  from  the 
Wiirtemberg  Domain  (shortly  before  its  devastation  by  the 
French)  hath  written  under  the  name  of  Ambrose  Sehmann 
of  Caminicz,^^*  many  profound  and  learned  writings  of  the 
truths  of  philosophy,  astrology  and  of  comets,  as  well  as 
of  chronology  and  the  computation  of  time ;  and  because 
he,  in  these  deductions,  agreed  with  Jacob  Boehme,  he 
was  discharged  from  his  position  at  Bietigheim.  He  after- 
wards boldly  defended  his  position  against  Hincklemann 
and  Holtzhausen.' 

"  (Section  2). — That  this  Magister  Zimmermann  has  far 
excelled  many  others  in  the  astrological  sciences  is  willingly 
conceded.  But  of  what  service  he  was  to  the  church  is  a 
vital  question,  as  he,  by  virtue  of  his  sacred  office,  intro- 
duced his  theories  of  astrology,  magic  and  cabbalism  into 
his  teachings. 

"  Then  again  the  charge  boldly  made  and  published  in 
large  type,  that  his  dismissal,  in  a  measure,  was  one  of  the 
great  national  sins  which  called  forth  such  terrible  retribu- 
tion as  the  subsequent  devastation  by  the  French  of  several 
cities  and  large  tracts  of  the  country,  is  both  blasphemous 
and  malicious. 

"  The  fallacy  of  his  prognostications,  too,  as  to  the  time 
of  divine  judgment,  published  under  an  assumed  name,  has 
been  publicly  proven  and  established  by  the  late  Dr.  Haber- 

*^*  Evidently  old  Comines  in  Belgium. 


468  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvajiia. 

lin  in  his  published  work.  The  extraordinary  zeal  with 
which  Zimmermann  endeavored  to  elevate  Jacob  Boehme's 
writings  and  impart  to  them  divine  inspiration  is  well 
known.  With  what  amount  of  justice  he  has  sought  to 
maintain  his  position  against  Hincklemann  and  Holtz- 
hausen,  all  who  are  competent  may  judge  for  themselves. 

"  (Section  3). — That  his  removal  from  the  diaconate  at 
Bietigheim  was  due  to  the  Breckling  report  as  quoted  by 
Arnold,  and  wherein  he  is  said  to  have  sanctioned  the 
computation  of  time  in  accordance  with  the  writings  of 
Boehme ;  or  that  any  one  should  charge  the  forcible 
removal  of  Zimmermann  from  office,  and  his  banishment, 
merely  to  the  above  allegation,  which  is  in  itself  meager, 
is  entirely  erroneous.  The  true  facts  of  the  case  are  in 
short  as  follows  : 

"  M.  Zimmermann  was  a  great  admirer  of  Ludwig 
Brunnquell,  and  was  by  the  latter  seduced  into  all  manner 
of  superstitution,  as  is  clearly  shown  from  the  passage  in 
Arnold  which  states  that  '  Zimmermann  was  awakened  by 
Brunnquell.' 

"Therefore,  the  Lutheran  Church  must  have  been  an 
abomination  to  the  man  :  he  regarded  her  as  anti-Christian, 
and  used  to  call  her  nothing  but  Babel.  He  opposed  our 
symbolical  books,  with  which  he  found  great  fault,  although 
when  entering  upon  his  ministry,  he  subscribed  to  them  as 
perfectly  consonant  with  the  Word  of  God. 

"  He  became  greatly  interested  in  the  writings  of  Jacob 
Boehme,  sought  curious  divine  mysteries  therein,  praised 
them  highly,  both  orally  and  in  writing,  strove  to  popu- 
larize them  with  the  people,  and  circulated  the  books 
among  them.  He  did  not  confine  to  himself  these  teach- 
ings wherein  he  deviated  from  our  doctrine,  but  promul- 
gated them  wherever  opportunity  offered,  and  courted  the 


Accusations  of  Heresy.  469 

favor  of  such  as  gave  him  an  audience.  But  herein  he, 
for  the  most  part,  acted  covertly,  for  he  feared  the  light, 

"  Therefore  he  used  a  pseudonym  for  his  writings  ;  first 
that  of  Ambrose  Sehmann,  and  afterwards  that  of  Johannes 
Mattheus  "'^^  (without  knowing,  perhaps,  that  the  Haarlem 
Anabaptist  prophet,  who  confused  the  minds  of  the  people 
about  A.D.  1534,  bore  the  same  name).  He  could  not  con- 
ceal his  mystic  speculations,  and  some  of  his  heresy  soon 
appeared  in  his  sermons.  Hence  he  was  closely  watched, 
and  several  times  amicably  admonished,  and  when  it  was 
ascertained  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  alleged  compu- 
tation of  time,  by  promulgating  which  he  violated  in  vari- 
ous ways  the  fundamental  laws  of  this  Duchy,  he  was 
summoned  in  regular  manner,  and  sufficient  time  granted 
him  to  prepare  a  defence. 

"  Whereupon  he  defended  himself,  and  even  ventured  to 
vindicate  his  erroneous  views,  rejecting  what  was  adduced 
against  him  from  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  doctrine  based 
thereon  ;  and  persisted  in  scattering  his  pernicious  seed, 
nor  did  he  desist  therefrom  in  despite  of  all  commands,  and 
the  pains  that  were  taken  to  set  him  aright.  All  was  in 
vain.  Therefore,  finally,  a  prominent  minister  of  State, 
who  had  heretofore  been  his  special  patron,  now  no  longer 
interested  himself  in  his  behalf,  but  suffered  him  to  be 
degraded  from  his  position. 

"  Though  he  seemed  quite  happy  after  his  dismissal,  he 
nevertheless  acted  after  the  manner  of  common  people, 
complaining  greatly  of  the  dire  persecution  he  was  forced 
to  endure.  He  maligned  the  Ducal  Consistory,  and  talked 
much  concerning  divine  judgments  which  would  overtake 
the  country  upon  his  account.     As  an  illustration  he  would 


^"^  A  copy  of  E.  Francisci's  answer  to  Johannes  Mattheus  is  in  British 
Museum,  No.  3907,  A5. 


470  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

quote  the  misfortunes  and  death  of  his  former  Superior. 
His  allegations,  however,  consisted  partly  in  a  demonstrable 
falsehood,  and  partly  in  the  fallacy  of  a  non-cause  as  a 
cause  {^fallacia  non  causae  nt  causae^.  Yet  he  was  so  auda- 
cious as  to  maliciously  circumvent  people  in  high  life,  both 
in  and  out  of  the  country,  partly  by  himself,  partly  through 
some  adherents. 

"  (Section  4). — It  would  therefore  have  been  a  fallacy 
not  to  get  rid  of  such  a  man :  for  with  what  disposition  he 
served  our  church  may  easily  be  inferred.  He  could 
neither  serve  a  congregation  of  our  confession  with  a  good 
conscience,  nor  could  such  a  communion  retain  him  as 
their  teacher,  for  he  held  our  doctrine  and  confession  des- 
picable and  our  church  as  anti-Christ. 

"  Should  a  man  who  desires  to  lead  the  people  from  the 
Lutheran  doctrine  still  desire  to  be  called  a  Lutheran 
presbyter  ? 

"Should  he  want  to  be  considered  an  'Anti-Christian 
servant  of  Babel  ? '  Moreover,  should  a  Christian  congre- 
gation continue  a  teacher  in  office  among  them  who  is 
unwilling  to  adhere  to  their  confession,  which  is  founded 
upon  the  Word  of  God  ? 

"  Shall  she  be  united  with  one  who,  as  a  shepherd, 
declareth  the  Church  to  be  a  congregation  of  Babel  ? 

"  Let  it  only  be  considered  what  has  been  written  (I  will 
not  say  by  our  theologians),  but  in  order  that  Arnold  may 
have  less  chance  to  take  exception  to  what  has  been  writt-n 
by  Herr  von  Puffendorft",  the  Christian  statesman,  and 
endorsed  by  Seckendorflf. 

"  It  will  possibly  be  better  in  such  cases  to  judge  in  con- 
sideration of  the  above  circumstances,  briefly  touched 
upon,  whether  M.  Zimmermann  of  Wiirtemberg  was 
treated  justly  or  unjustly  by  being  discharged  from  his 
sacred  office. 


Bibliography.  471 

"  The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  Zimmermann's 
writings  : 

"  Theoriae  Sccondorinn  Aloh ilium  Pcj'fectae^''  etc.  Tiib- 
ingae,  1664.      4to. 

^''  AmpJiitheatriini  Orbis Stellarumi'''  Tiibingen,  1669.  4to. 

"  Differetitia  Latioiidiiuim^^''  etc.     Tiibingen,  1669.     4to. 

"  Calc/idaria^  i)i  auiios  comphiresy    Stuttgart,  1675.    4to. 

"  ProvroiuiLs  biceps  co}ivo-elliplicat\^''  etc.  Stuttgart, 
1679.     4to.^"'' 

'■'■  Subslniclio  Tabulanim  TJicoricariim^^''  etc.  Stuttgart, 
1679.     4to.^"'^ 

"  Cometoscopiai'''  etc.     Tubingen,  16S1.      4to. 

"  Comctolgia^^''  etc.     Tiibingen,  1682.     4to. 

"  Portendcns  gravia  X  agiulane  future  Cometes^^'^  etc. 
Stuttgart,  1682.     8vo.'''' 

'''' Muiidus  Coper nisans^''''  etc.  Ambrosii  Sehman,  1684. 
8vo. 

'■'•  Beynahe  gajits  aufgedeckter  Anti-Oirist^''  etc.  16S5. 
4to. 

^'' Jovis  per  timbrosa^'*'' &tc.     Norimbergia,  1686.      4to. 

'''•  PJiilalethae  Exercitatio^''''  Q.\.Q..     Hamburg,  1689.      4to. 

^"^  Scriptura  Sacra  Copeniizans''^  etc.  Francof.,  1690; 
Hamburg,  1704.     4to. 

"  Orthodoxia  TJieosopJiiae  BoJwiianae^^''  etc.  Frankfurt 
and  Leipzig,  1691. 

"  Logistica  Astro7iomica  LogaritJimica^''  etc.  Hamburg, 
1 69 1.      8vo. 

"  Theoria  sacra  Telluris — Biblische  BetracJituiig  dcs 
Erdreichs — Von  T.  Burnett  in  Latein  herausgyeben  in 
Hoch-Deutsche  ubersitzf  (2  ed),  1703.^-'^ 


*^  Copy  in  British  Museum,  No.  532,  f.  31  (2) 
*"'  Copy  in  British  Museum,  No.  532,  f.  31,  (i) 
^'*  Copy  in  British  Museum,  532,  E  43. 
*""  Copy  in  British  Museum,  4374,  c. 


472  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

"  ConiglobiuTn  noctiirnale  Stelligerum^''  etc.  Tub.,  1704; 
Hamb.,  1704;  German,  Tub.,  1706  and  1729.   Svo.'"^' 

According  to  the  certified  copy  of  the  old  church  record 
of  Beitigheim,  the  Zimmermann  pair  had  six  children  : 

(i)  A  daughter  (stillborn)  December  14,  1671. 

(2)  A  son,  Johann  Jakob,  born  January  10,  1673.  Died, 
February  25,  1697. 

(3)  Maria  Margaretha,  baptized  October  10,  1675. 

(4)  Phillip  Christian,  baptized  February  18,  1678. 

(5)  Matthaus,  baptized  June  25,  1680. 

(6)  Jakob  Christoph,  baptized  May  14,  1683. 

The  four  living  children  accompanied  the  mother  to 
Pennsylvania,  where  shortly  after  their  arrival  the  daughter 
Maria  Margaret  married  Ludwig  Christian  Biedermann,  a 
candidate  of  theology,  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
Chapter  of  Perfection,  who  was  the  a  first  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  party  to  break  his  vows  of  w\  celibacy.  The 
three  sons  all  settled  in  the  vicinity  ^  ((  ))  of  Germantown 
and  survived  their  mother,  as  is 
shown  from  the  will  of  the  widow 
Zimmermann,    probated  July    29, 

1723- 

Ludwig  Biedermann  left  a 

daughter,  Hannah  Ludwig  Bieder 
maun,  who  intermarried  with  one 
John  George  Knorr  and  set- 
tled   in    Bristol    Township 
Decendants  of  this  couple  are  still  living 
in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey. 


Copy  in  British  Museum,  No.  531,  f.  25. 


PIETISTS  OF  PROVINCIAL  PENNSYLVANIA. 


•Hl:;>Tl>l),!)!;';fi':.li!, 
l(iu"'i\-i-;Vil('tliMfr.'._ 


■•ir-^ 


III  Wt.-lii  Kliil'i.ur.V 


♦    . 


■■z-' 


A    PAGE   OF    ROSICRUCIAN    THEOSOPHY. 


FAC-SIMILE  (reduced)  OF  ORIGINAL   MA 
IN   POSSESSION  OF  THE  WRITER 


DOMINIE    ANDREAS    RUDMANN. 


^ 


'^''"^.. 


,OMINIE  ANDREAS  RUDMANN, 

who  will  always  rank  as  one  of  the 
most  active  and  devout  clergymen 
in  the  early  church  history  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  adjoining  prov- 
inces where  he  preached  to  the  Swedes, 
Dutch,  English,  German  and  Welsh,  was 
a  native  of  Gevalia,  in  the  province  of 
Gestrickland,  one  of  the  eastern  divisions 
of  Sweden.  He  was  born  in  the  year 
1668,  and  after  receiving  a  liberal  educa- 
op'AxBLOxKNsxIlRN.tion  was  sent  to  the  University  of  Upsal, 
where  he  attracted  the  attention  of  Prof.  Jesper  Svedberg,''"' 
and  became  a  scholar  in  the  latter's  Homiletic  Seminary. 

When  finally  King  Charles  XI  consented  to  give  heed 
to  the  repeated  petitions  of  the  Swedish  Lutherans  on  the 
Delaware,  the  subject  was  laid  before  the  Consistorium  at 
Upsal  by  Archbishop  Olof  Swebilius,  February  18,  1696. 
In  the  discussions  that  followed,  Andreas  Rudmann's  name 
was  the  first  that  was  presented,  his  cause  being  championed 
by  no  less  a  personage  than  his  former  tutor.  Dr.  Svedberg. 
After  his  selection  the  young  clergyman  was  summoned 


501  Page  93,  ibid. 


60 


474  '^^^^  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

before  that  august  body,  and  as  the  matter  was  an  entire 
surprise  to  him,  he  asked  for  time  to  consider  the  proposi- 
tion. After  a  lapse  of  several  days  he  again  appeared 
before  the  Consistorium,  and  stated  his  willingness  to 
accept  the  call  to  the  western  wilderness ;  with  the  proviso 
that  the  royal  promise  be  extended  to  him,  "  that  provided 
God  spared  his  life  he  should  be  recalled  in  a  few  years 
and  advanced  to  some  charge  of  honor  and  profit  in  his 
native  land." 

This  was  granted  him  without  hesitation  by  the  King. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  Pastor  Rudmann,  devout  and  sin- 
cere as  he  was,  by  making  this  apparently  reasonable 
request,  unwittingly  established  a  precedent  which  was 
taken  advantage  of,  and  followed  by  every  succeeding 
Swedish  missionary  who  qame  to  America.  The  effect  of 
this  was  eventually  to  make  the  American  mission  a  mere 
stepping-block  for  clergymen  who  were  ambitious  for  sub- 
sequent home  preferment,  and  it  was  just  this  unfortunate 
circumstance  which  in  the  course  of  time  alienated  the 
Swedish  Lutheran  Church  in  America  from  the  faith,  and 
landed  both  church  and  congregations  within  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  fold. 

However,  it  is  not  intended  that  the  above  statement  of 
facts  should  in  any  manner  be  taken  as  a  reproach  to  Rud- 
mann, for  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  reflect  in 
the  least  upon  that  devout  missionary.  The  circumstance 
is  merely  mentioned  as  a  historical  fact  not  generally  known 
— one  that  has  thus  far  escaped  most  of  the  writers  of 
early  church  history,  whose  effect  upon  the  religious  situa- 
tion in  Pennsylvania  during  the  provincial  period  was  of 
more  than  ordinary  importance,  and  which  has  extended 
even  down  to  the  present  day. 

After  Pastor  Rudmann  had   accepted   the  call,  he  was 


Gift  of  the  Sivedish  King.  475 

asked  to  select  two  clergymen  as  his  assistants.  Upon  his 
refnsal  to  do  this,  Dr.  Svedberg  proposed  Eric  Tobias 
Biorck  of  Westnianland,  who  was  then  living  with  him  as 
tutor  to  his  children,  while  the  King  named  Jonas  Auren 
from  Wermeland. 

The  King  thereupon  presented  Rudmann  with  500,  and 
the  other  two  with  400  guilders,  wherewith  to  discharge  / 
their  debts  and  prepare  for  the  voyage.       Moreover,  the^ 
King  issued  an  order  to  send  with  them,  securely  packed 
for  the  use  of  the  congregations  in  America,  the  following 
books : 

"  30  folio  Bibles,  10  printed  by  Vankis  and  20  by  Keiser. 

"  6  books  of  Homilies  [Postil/eji) ;  2  Cabinets  of  Treasure  ; 
2  of  Moeller's ;  2  of  Luther's. 

"  150  Manuals. 

"  100  religious  treatises  of  different  kinds,  among  which 
were  12  by  Kellingius,  and  a  number  of '  Paradics  Gartlcin.'' 

"  100  Swedish  hymn  books. 

"  Ecclesiastical  Acts  {Agendeii). 

"  2  Church  Regulations. 

"  100  Catechisms  {Szvcbilins). 

"  300  Smaller  Catechisms. 

"  400  A.  B.  C.  books,  bound  in  strong  wooden  covers. 

"  500  copies  of  Campanius'  Indian  Catechism." 

The  last,  a  special  contribution  from  the  King,  were  by 
his  orders  handsomely  bound,  and  intended  for  the  Indian 
missions  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America. 

Before  the  clergymen  started,  the  King  granted  them  a 
personal  audience,  and  appropriated  three  thousand  guilders 
toward  their  expenses  and  passage.  In  dismissing  them, 
he  gave  them  his  hand  and  said  : 

"  Go  now  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  to  the  place  whither 
I  send  you.     God  be  with   you,  and  prosper  your  under- 


476  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

taking.  If  any  adversity  or  opposition  befall  you,  return 
home,  and  I  will  remember  you." 

From  Sweden  the  trio  went  to  England,  where  they 
remained  until  the  following  February  (1697),  when  they 
embarked  on  the  ship  "Jeffreys,"  Captain  James  Cooper. 
It  was  not  until  June  24,  that  they  dropped  anchor  at  the 
Bohemia  Landing  on  the  Chesapeake. 

More  or  less  mention  has  already  been  made  in  the  course 
of  this  work  of  the  labors  of  Dominie  Rudmann,  setting 
forth  some  of  his  labors  and  trials  down  to  the  time  of  his 
return  to  the  Delaware  from  New  York  in  1703.'^"^ 

During  his  absence  in  the  adjoining  province  the  religious 
situation  had  changed  somewhat  in  Pennsylvania.  Rud- 
mann prior  to  his  departure  for  New  York,  had  installed 
Sandel  as  Pastor  loci  at  Wicacoa.  Biorck  was  still  at 
Christiana,  while  Auren  was  serving  the  churches  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  newly  organized  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  parts  at  London,  had  in  the  meantime 
supplied  clergymen  for  most  of  the  embryo  parishes  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  adjoining  provinces ;  a  condition  which 
virtually  left  Rudmann  without  any  charge. 

He,  however,  by  direction  of  George  Keith,  began  at 
once  to  minister  to  the  outlying  English  and  Welsh  con- 
g-reo-ations  in  connection  with  the  indomitable  Evan  Evans, 
as  well  as  supplying  his  place  at  Christ  Church  when  the 
latter  was  absent.  ^''^ 


^^  Page  347,  et  seq. 

503  <<  October  5,  1704,  Mr.  Andrew  Rudmann,  late  Swedish  Minister,  by 
the  direction  of  Mr.  George  Keith  serves  there  (Oxford)  now  in  hopes 
of  encouragement  from  the  Honorable  Society  ...  At  Germantown  in 
the  same  County  the  people  are  numerous,  they  want  both  Church  and 
Minister." — Evan  Evans. — M.  S.  recordsofthe  Church  General,  Archives 
of  S.  P.  G.,  London. 


Religions  Intollerancc.  477 

It  was  mainly  on  account  of  these  services  among  the 
Welsh  at  Radnor  and  Oxford  that  the  Swedish  Lntlieran 
clergyman  became  particularly  obnoxious  to  the  Quakers, 
and  various  were  the  plans  made  by  the  dominant  party  to 
rid  the  Province  of  such  an  active  missionary,  who  had 
been  so  signally  successful  in  leading  the  Welsh  residents 
from  Quakerism  back  to  the  church  of  their  fathers,  and 
who  was  now  recognized  as  in  the  employ  of  the  Propaga- 
tion Society  of  London. 

The  first  open  breech  occurred  when  the  Quaker  author- 
ities again  attempted  to  prevent  both  pastor  and  laymen 
from  crossing  the  Schuylkill  on  Sundays  to  attend  public 
worship.  Orders  were  given  to  prevent  the  clergymen  from 
being  ferried  over  the  river.  This  led  to  much  dissension 
between  the  parties,  and  ended  by  the  Churchmen,  who 
knew  from  their  previous  experience  "^"^  the  uselessness  of 
appealing  to  the  Council,  obtaining  a  boat  of  their  own  to 
ferry  themselves  and  parishioners  across  the  river  as  occa- 
sion demanded. 

This  action  at  once  caused  a  protest  from  the  Quakers, 
and  culminated  in  an  "  Information  "  being  lodged  against 
Pastors  Rudmann  and  Sandel.  This  was  presented  to  the 
Provincial  Council,  May  4,  1704,''"''  by  Benjamin  Cham- 
bers '"^^  proprietor  of  the  ferry  : 


504  Page  264,  supra. 

505  <<  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Council,  Colonial  Records,"  vol.  ii,  page 

137- 

506  Benjamin  Chambers  was  one  of  the  passengers  with  Penn  on  the 
"Welcome"  and  a  man  of  powerful  physique.  As  early  as  16S3  he  was 
appointed  to  keep  order  among  the  public  houses  in  the  growing  city  ; 
after  serving  a  term  as  High  Sheriff,  was  licensed  to  operate  a  ferry  below 
that  of  Philip  England  before  mentioned.  Tradition  tells  us  that  this 
privilege  was  granted  him  with  special  reference  to  the  trouble  with  the 
Swedes.  The  King's  road  to  Darby,  etc.,  v/as  afterwards  laid  out  so  as  to 
pass  over  this  ferry,  and  it  is  still  known  by  the  name  of  Chambers'  suc- 
cessor :  "  Gray's  Ferry." 


47 S  TJie  Pietists  of  Provincial  PeiDisylvania. 

"  Benja.  Chambers  presented  an  Information  to  y*  Board,  upon  an 
apprehension  of  another  ferry  boat,  being  intended  to  be  sett  up  on  his 
ferry  Landing  place,  by  two  swedes  ministers,  setting  forth  y'  he  had  been 
at  very  great  charge  &  Trouble  in  erecting  y^  sd  ferry  for  y^  Publick  Good, 
that  by  his  Diligence  &  Expenses  he  had  cut  through  y'^  Rocks,  made 
long  Causeys  through  y*  mudd,  &  for  y^  accomodation  of  y^  Countrey,  at 
whose  instance  he  had  first  sett  it  up  ;  he  had  made  such  conveniences 
as  y'=  like  had  never  been  known  before  in  these  parts,  and  therefore 
requested  that  his  merits  might  be  considered,  &  no  other  persons  suffered 
to  enter  upon  his  Labours  by  oppression,  to  bereave  him  of  that  small 
benefit  wch  thought  reasonable  should  accrue  to  him,  &  was  far  short  of 
what  those  who  endeavoured  to  take  part  with  him  imagined." 

In  the  minutes  of  Council,  held  on  May  27,^"''  following, 
we  find  : — 

"The  case  of  Andrew  Rudman  &  Andrew  Sandel,  Clerks,  &  their 
answers  to  y^  Informations  exhibited  to  this  board,  by  Benjamin  Chambers, 
relating  to  y^  Scuylkill  ferry,  was  read.  Ordered  thereupon,  that  notice 
be  given  to  both  y«  sd  parties,  to  appear  at  this  Board  next  Council  day." 

A  month  later,  June  23,  1704:^"^ 

"  Andrew  Rudman,  y'^  Swedish  Minister,  &  Benja.  Chambers,  appear- 
ing according  to  y<=  Ordr  of  y*'  last  Council  before  y*'  Board,  &  their  several 
applications  being  again  read,  B.  Chambers,  in  answer  to  y^  Swedes, 
ofiFer'd  a  long  Paper,  wch  proving  too  tedious,  &  ordered  to  be  changed 
in  y<=  Direction.  It  was  referr'd  to  y"^  afternoon,  &  y'^  Council  adjourned 
to  four  of  y^  Clock. ' ' 

In  the  afternoon  session  of  the  Council :  ™^ 

"The  Paper  of  Benja.  Chambers,  in  answer  to  the  Swedes  ministers 
offered  in  the  morning,  was  read,  &  both  Parties  called  in  &  heard,  & 
the  Consideration  of  it  was  deferred,  &  the  Council  adjourned  to  8  in  the 
morning." 

Here  all  record  of  the  case  stops.  What  the  final  dis- 
position of  the  matter  was  does  not  appear,  as  the  minutes 
of  the  succeeding  meetings  are  silent  upon  the  subject. 


^^'  Ibid  page  147. 
^***  Ibid  page  149. 
"^  Ibid  page  150. 


Trials  of  the  Eaidy  Missionary.  479 

When  Dominie  Rudmann,  who  was  physically  frail,  first 
took  charge  of  the  Oxford  and  Radnor  congregations,  he 
walked  to  and  from  the  city,  stopping  at  the  houses  by  the 
wayside,  no  matter  of  what  nationality  the  inmates — 
whether  English,  Welsh,  Swedish  or  German — catechising 
in  some,  reasoning  in  others,  and  often  administering  con- 
solation in  the  hour  of  sorrow  ;  while  in  some  cases,  where 
the  occupants  were  too  strongly  imbued  with  Quakerism 
to  heed  his  discourse,  he  would  meet  with  a  rebuflf  strong- 
enough  to  cause  him  to  obey  the  scriptural  injunction — "  To 
shake  the  dust  from  off  his  feet  and  pass  on." 

On  these  lonely  pilgrimages  he  would  frequently,  when 
his  strength  was  exhausted,  sink  down,  faint  and  weary  on 
a  rock  or  stump  of  a  tree,  pray  for  both  bodily  and  spiritual 
strength,  and  after  thus  refreshing  himself  again  start  upon 
his  journey,  singing  a  few  verses  of  the  good  old  rhythmi- 
cal prayer  of  the  Fatherland  : 

"  Liebster  Jesu,  gnadensonne, 
Meines  herzens  zuversicht," 

to  cheer  him  on  his  wav  while  toilina:  wearilv  throuo-h  the 

forest,  over  hill  and  dale,  to  his  distant  charges. 

He  was  frequently  overtaken  upon  these  journe}s  b}-  the 
sudden  storms  so  common  in  our  country,  with  no  protection 
but  such  as  was  afforded  by  the  trees  of  the  forest  which 
happened  to  be  near  the  road-side. 

When  he  realized  that  his  frail  constitution  would  no 
longer  sustain  such  exposure  and  fatigue,  he  tried  to  hire  a 
horse  in  Philadelphia,  but  soon  found  that  his  slender  means 
would  not  bear  so  great  an  outlay.  Consequently  there 
was  no  other  remedy,  when  the  weather  permitted,  but  to 
continue  his  ministrations  on  foot. 

It  was  not  until  Dominie  Rudmann  had  thus  served  the 
congregations  for  three  years  that  he  was  notified  by  Mr. 


480  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Cliamberlain  that  he  had  been  granted  a  gratuity  by  the 
Society  in  London.  This  amounted  to  a  total  of  £(^2 
sterling,  from  which  he  paid  Mr.  Club  15  pounds  Pennsyl- 
vania currency  for  his  services  at  Radnor,  and  ^^5,  7  shil- 
lings, to  remove  an  old  debt  for  ceiling  Oxford  church.  He 
also  bought  a  horse  so  that  he  could  supply  his  distant 
charges  with  more  certainty. 

During  Mr.  Evans'  absence  in  England,  while  he  was  in 
charge  of  Christ  Church,  a  misunderstanding  arose  between 
the  two  ministers  in  relation  to  a  bill  of  exchange,  which 
induced  Pastor  Rudmann  to  resign  the  care  of  Oxford  to 
Mr.  Club,  the  Welsh  schoolmaster  at  Christ  Church.  This 
he  reported  to  the  Society  in  a  letter  dated  August  26,  1708, 
which  proved  his  last  communication  thereto.  He  suc- 
cumbed to  his  zeal  on  September  17,  1708,  as  foreshadowed 
in  his  letter : 

"  I  am  a  sickly  man,  and  now  for  seven  weeks  together 
in  consumption,  I  have  buried  lately  one  of  my  daughters, 
and  most  that  come  to  see  me  give  me  up  for  a  dead  man, 
which  I  do  believe  also.  If  I  should  die  this  time,  what 
a  miserable  family  I  should  leave  behind  me — a  helpless 
widow,  and  two  poor  small  children  who  cannot  procure  a 
farthing."  •'"' 

On  the  day  following  his  death.  Dominie  Rudmann, 
according  to  an  old  record,  was  attended  to  his  last  resting 
place  in  Wicacoa  church  by  a  long  procession  of  mourners — 
Swedes,  Hollanders,  Englishmen  and  Germans — where  his 
colleague  and  fellow-laborer  Biorck  tendered  him  the  last 
service  and  buried  him  in  front  of  the  altar  of  the  church 
which  he  had  built.  He  delivered  a  funeral  sermon  in 
English  on  the  text  selected  by  Rudmann  himself;  Psalm 
73-  24. 


Pennsylvania  Records  S.  P.  G. ,  London. 


Persecution  of  Szvcdish  Lutherans. 


481 


All  nationalities  present  followed  with  blessings  the 
faithful  laborer  who  had  understood  how  to  give  in  abund- 
ance to  so  many. 

Dominie  Rudmann  had  lived  in  America  eleven  years, 
and  in  the  world  not  quite  forty  years,  and  left  behind  him 
his  wife,  who  was  one  of  the  Mattson  family,  and  two 
dauofhters,  Gertrude  and  Anna  Catherina  Rudmann.  His 
tomb  bears  the  following  inscription  : 

"  MORS    MIHI    VITA    IN    COELO    QUIES    EST. 

"  This  marble  covers  the  remains  of  the  Rev.  Andreas 
Rudmann.  Being  sent  hither  from  Sweden,  he  first  founded 
and  built  this  church  ;  was,  a  constant  faithful  preacher, 
eleven  years,  in  this  country  where  he  advanced  true  piety 
by  sound  doctrine  and  good  example.  He  died  17,  Sep- 
tember 1708,  aged  40  years." 

Since  the  year  1840  the  stone  over  his  grave,  together 
with  other  tombs  within  the  church  and  chancel,  have  been 
hidden  from  view  by  the  flooring  then  put  into  the  church. 
The  arrangement  of  the  pews  was  also  changed,  the  wide 
aisle  up  the  centre  being  replaced  by  the  two  side  aisles. 
The  baptismal  font,  the  two  gilt  cherubim  and  the  tablet 
in  front  of  the  organ-loft  are  really  all  that  remain  at  the 
present  day  of  the  original  church,  except  the  walls. 


Autograph  of  Gustavus  Adolphus. 
61 


482  The  Pietists  of  Provincial  Pennsylvania. 

Shortly  after  Pastor  Rudmann's  death,  the  old  trouble 
between  the  Quakers  and  the  Swedish  Lutherans  broke 
out  anew,  when  it  appears  that  forbearance  upon  the  ^^art 
of  the  Swedish  Lutherans  ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  Sandel 
who,  it  seems,  was  a  muscular  Christian,  attempted  to  take 
the  law  into  his  own  hands,  as  is  shown  by  the  minutes  of 
Council,  August  11,  1709:^" 

"  A  Petition  &  Complaint  from  Benjamin  Chambers  to  the  Board, 
was  read,  setting  forth,  that  pursuant  to  his  Covenants,  formerly  entered 
into  with  this  Govmt. ,  at  y'^  first  erecting  of  his  ferry  over  Skuylkill  River, 
being  employed  in  Repairing  y^  long  Causey  leading  to  the  ferry  on  this 
side  the  said  River,  he  was  attacked  by  Andrew  Sandal,  minister  of  the 
Swedish  Church  in  the  County  of  Philadia.,  &  by  Violence  drove  from  his 
work  thereon  ;  Whereupon,  'Tis  Ordered,  that  the  said  minister,  Andrew 
Sandal,  attend  this  board  the  i6th  Instant,  about  Eleven  in  the  forenoon, 
to  render  an  acct.  of  the  said  act,  and  the  reason  of  his  Interrupting  a 
person  employed  in  the  Queen's  High  Way,  in  the  necessary  repairs 
thereof." 

At  the  next  meeting  of  Council,  five  da}'s  later,  August 
16,  1709,  the  accused  clergyman  appeared  in  his  own 
behalf  :^'^ 

"Andrew  Sandal,  the  Swedish  minister,  according  to  order,  appeared 
and  the  Petition  and  Complaint  of  B.  Chambers  being  read  to  him,  he 
desired  a  Copy  of  it,  and  that  he  might  have  time  to  answer  it,  being  now 
new  to  him,  for  that  he  had  not  notice  to  appear  at  the  board  till  last 
night. 

"  Ordered,  that  he  have  time  till  the  first  Council  day  next  week." 

In  obedience  to  this  order  Pastor  Sandel  again  appeared 
before  Council,  x\ugust  23,  1709,^'^  with  the  following 
result : 

"Pursuant  to  an  Order  of  the  i6th  Instant,  the  Swedish  minister, 
A.  Sandel,  appeared  by  an  address  to  this  Board  in  writing,  gave  his 
answer  to  the  Petition  &  Complaint  exhibited  against  him  by  B.  Chambers, 

^"  "Colonial  Records,"  vol.  ii,  pp.  477-8. 
512  Ibid  page  478. 
5"  Ibid  page  484-5, 


Persecution  of  SzvedisJi  LiitJiermts. 


483 


which  being  read,  it  appeared  that  the  said  minister,  claimed  a  right  to 
erect  a  fferry  there  on  this  side  of  Schuylkill,  because  the  road  &  Cause- 
way leading  to  the  ferry  is  laid  out  thro'  his  land  ;  &  further  Charged 
B.  Chambers  with  a  violation  of  his  contract,  with  making  spoil  of  the 
timber  on  the  Land  which  he  had  taken  of  the  owners  thereof  on  this 
side  of  the  River,  with  Divers  other  allegations  in  his  own  defence. 

"But  the  Govr.  and  Council  taking  into  Consideration,  that  Roads 
when  once  laid  out  for  the  Publick  Service  according  to  Law,  are  no 
longer  the  propertj'  of  any  particular  person,  but  belong  wholly  to  the 
Publick,  &  the  Road  leading  from  Philadia.  to  the  said  ferry,  being  gen- 
erally called  the  Queen  s  Road,  is  therefore  wholly  under  the  Cognizance 
of  this  Board  ;  and  further,  considering  that  all  ferries  upon  such  Publick 
Roads  are  a  Privilege  of  the  Proprietor,  only  by  Virtue  of  the  Royal 
Grant  to  him  &  his  heirs.  It  is  therefore  unanimously  y'=  opinion  of  the 
Govr.  and  Council,  that  neither  the  said  minister,  Andrew  Sandel,  nor 
any  other  person  claiming  a  Right  or  Interest  in  the  Land  through  which 
the  said  Road  is  laid  out,  has  any  better  right  to  y-  Road  or  y*  adjoyning 
ferry  than  any  other  of  the  Queen's  Subjects  has  or  can  claim  to  the 
same,  and  that  no  person  under  any  pretence  whatsoever  ;  shall  be 
allowed  to  erect  a  Publick  ferry  over  the  River  Skuylkill,  or  any  other 
water  in  such  Roads  as  aforesaid,  but  by  special  Grant  of  the  Proprietor 
&  this  Board.     Adjourned." 

Thus  end  the  official  records  of  this  controversy,  which 
stands  out  in  such  bold  contrast  to  the  "  Great  Law"  pro- 
mulgated by  William  Penn  at  Chester  on  the  ytli  day  of 
loth  Month,  called  December,  1682,  and  which  was  in- 
tended to  assure  religious  liberty  to  every  resident  of  the 
Province. 


INDEX. 


Abo  University,  141. 
Acrelius,  69;  quoted,  126. 
Advice  for  all  Professors  (Koster), 

278  ;  extracts  from,  279. 
Aerial  apparition,  152. 
Aegidian  Kirche,  297. 
Agonius,  Brother  (Michael  Wohl- 

farth),  198. 
Alchemy,  148. 
Allen,  William,  sailing  instructions, 

19,  20,  21  ;  autograph,  21. 
Alliance,  Evangelical,  200. 
Almanac  (D.  Leeds),  no. 
Alpha  and  Omega,  43. 
Amazone,  Baron  de,  291. 
American    darkness,    the    second, 

271. 
American    Philosophical    Society, 

113,  115,  118. 
Amsterdam,  Consistory  of,  69. 
Amulets,  astrological,  120. 
An  armed  escort,  22. 
Ancient  lamp,  99. 
Anchorite  cell  (Kelpius),  212. 
Andrews,  Simon  (recorder),  175. 
Anglican  faith,  the,  233. 
Anhangsel,  120, 
Anti-Pietists,  135. 
Anti-slavery  clause,  444. 
Apocalypse,      Broadside    of,     82 ; 

quoted,  112. 
Apparatus,  astronomical,  194;  phil- 
osophical, 194. 
Appelmann,  John  Peter,  322. 
Arcanum  e.xplodes,  247. 


Arndt's  "  Wahres  Christenthum," 
3  ;  note  on,  3  ;  "  Paradies  Gart- 
lein,"  3. 

Ari  van  Guinea,  322,  325. 

Ari  van  Guinea,  Jr.,  323. 

Arnold,  Gottfried,  51,  54;  quoted, 
289,  315,  466. 

Arrowsmith,  I.,  286. 

Artabel,  a  charm,  122. 

Asseburg,  Rosamunda  von,  61,  304. 

Auf  ihr  Christen,  344  ;  fac-simile, 

34.S. 
Augsburg  Confession,  66. 
Augustus  (Old  Trappe)  Church,  57. 
Auren,  Rev.  Jonas,  94  ;  sketch  of, 

126,   127  ;  missionary  among  the 

Indians,  128;  married,   129,   142, 

144,  349,  475. 
Austin's  dictionary  quoted,  138. 


Baal,  Priests  of,  185. 
Babelonish  coasts,  46. 
Backus,  quoted,  136. 
Baldt,  John,  340. 
Ball,  John,  318. 
Baus,  Christopher,  6. 
Baptist  Congregation,  30. 
Baptism,  public,  by  Koster,  274. 
Baptists'  services,  140. 
Barbadoes  Plague  in  1699,  138. 
Barclay,  Robert,  440. 
Barber-chirurgeon,  117. 
Baron  Kelpio,  224. 
Bartram,  John,  407. 
Basel  Bible,  42. 


486 


Index. 


Baster,  Roger,  137. 

Baumgartner,  Paul,  223. 

Baur,  Maria  J.,  445. 

Bechtel,  John,  school,  395  ;  bury- 
ing-ground,  421. 

Beekmann,  Samuel,  364. 

Beerens,  Catherine,  a  pious  virgin, 
18. 

Behmen's  Aurora,  73. 

Behmists,  47. 

Beissel,  Conrad,  5,  19S,  201,  391. 

Behagel,  Daniel,  168;  heirs  of,  169. 

BeTI  Lane  Church,  136. 

Benezet  MSS.,  179. 

Bericht  aji  alle  Bekenner,  87. 

Berkenmeyer,  Rev.  W.  C,  326; 
appeal  to,  329;  diary,  329.  331,  332, 
334  ;  autograph  letter,  333,  385. 

Besprechen,  122. 

Bethlehem,  Moravians  at,  5. 

Bibles,  scarcity  of,  68  ;  bought  by 
Koster,  261. 

Biblioiheca  Fiirliana,  438,  453,  455. 
458. 

Bibliotheqiie  raisonnee,  quoted  294 

Biedermann,  Ludwig,  39  ;  marries, 
85,  156,  258,  472. 

Bietigheim,  old  church,  465. 

Biorck,  Rev.  Eric  Tobias.  32,  226; 
greeting  to,  227  ;  fac-simile  of 
letter,  228,  94,  95  (Di.ssertatio, 
12S),  128,  129,  142,  144,  158;  title 
Disertatio  Gradualis,  343,  372, 
349.  353.  355  ;  autograph,  360, 
372.  373.  475.  480. 

Birger,  Johann.  385. 

Bitter  Sweet  Night  Ode   (hymn), 

239- 
Black  Alice,  288. 
Blue  Anchor  Tavern,  28. 
Blumen,  V.  Schwalenberg,  254. 
Blutige  Schauplatz,  93. 
Board  of  Property,  312. 


Boehme,  Jacob,  writings  of,  15 ; 
sketch  of,  48,  464. 

Bohm,  Johann,  printer,  31, 

Bohnisch,  George,  lands,  6,  198, 
338. 

Bohemia  Landing,  Kelpius  lands  at, 
27;  "Sara  Maria"  drops  anchor 
at,  )2. 

Bohemia  Manor,  4,  312. 

Bone,  Andreas,  197. 

Books,  legend  of,  195. 

Books,  mystical,  194  ;  titles  of,  195, 
196. 

Boone,  George,  320. 

Boskerk,  Andreas  von,  364. 

Boskerk,  Cornelius  von,  376. 

Boskerk,  Laur  von,  364. 

Botanical  garden  in  America,  first, 
406. 

Bowles,  J.,  432. 

Bowman,  Rt.  Rev.  Bp.,  426. 

Bownas,  Samuel,  162,  163. 

Bowyer,  Thomas,  267. 

Bradford,  Wm.,  75,  88  ;  press,  men- 
tion of,  105,  108  ;  prints  book  for 
Biorck,  128;  prints  "Protesta- 
tion," 272  ;  imprint,  278. 

Brandenburg,  Arms  of,  251. 

Bray,  Rev.  Thomas,  285. 

Breitenhaupt,  Rev.  Dr.,  54,  55 

Breitenhaupt  Institution,  297. 

Brethern  in  America,  87,  96. 

Brick-kiln  claimed  by  Falkner,  168 

Bridegroom,  Celestial,  71. 

Bringhurst.  John,  424. 

Brinton,  Dr.  Daniel  G.,  40. 

Brotherhood,  Mystic,  205. 

Brunnquell.  M.  Ludwig,  223,  468. 

Burlington  Meeting,  picture  of,  269. 

Burlington,  Yearly  Meeting  at,  267. 

Burgstaller,  an  Alchymist,  57. 

Burroughs,  Ed.,  quoted,  268. 

Bush-hill,  34. 


Index. 


387 


c. 

Cabbala,  doctrines  of,  92  :  mention 

of,  1 1 2. 
Calov,  Rev.,  231,  232. 
Calovians,  232. 
Calvinists,  67. 

Cammerhoff,  Bishop,  39S,  9. 
Camp  of  the  Solitary,  392. 
Canterbury,  Archbishop  of,  285. 
Carpenter,  Joshua,  buys  ground  for 

church  purposes,  262,  263,  284. 
Carpenter,  Samuel,  450. 
Cassel,  A.  H.,  234. 
Casselberg,  Frederick,  147. 
Catechism,  Keith's  title  of,  75. 
Cathari,  37  ;  sect,  38. 
Cattle   stamped  with   Magic  Seal, 

124. 
Celestial  phenomena,  lookout  for, 

71. 
Celestial  Eve,  80. 
Chamberlain,  Secretary,  479. 
Chapter  of   Perfection,    organized, 

299,  390- 

Charles  XI,  93,  473. 

Chambers,  Benjamin,  477  ;  inform- 
ation against  Swedish  Lutherans, 
478  ;  renews  trouble,  481. 

Chester  County,  Furly  claims,  174, 

Chew,  Col.  Benjamin,  210,  212. 

Chiliasm,  131,  132. 

Chiliasts,  37. 

Christi  blut  iind  gerechkeit,  399. 

Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  30, 140, 
202,  library,  194;  founding  of,  261; 
ground  secured  for,  262  ;  size  of 
lot,  262 ;  indenture  for  ground, 
262-3.  277  ;  building  erected,  285  ; 
dedication  of,  287  ;  vestry  organ- 
ized, 287  ;  description  of,  288 ; 
named,  288 ;  bi-centennial,  298. 

Chronicoti  Ephratetise,  translation 
of,  5  ;  quoted,  197,  391,  3,  400,  402. 


Church  dedication  in  New  Jersey, 

331- 
Church  of  England,  96. 
Church     services,    established    by 

Koster,  253. 
Churchtown,  Penna.,  318. 
City  lots  claimed  by  Falkner,  168, 

173- 
Civitatis  Erffurtensis,  quoted,  55, 

148. 
Clarke,  Rev.  Dr.,  136,  163. 
Clark,  Thomas,  314,  5,  18. 

"       Edw.,  434,  442,  443. 
Claus,  John,  441. 
Claymore,    Robert,    slave  of   Dr. 

Witt,   413 ;    attends  his   master, 

413  ;  carries  lantern,  414  ;  acts  as 

agent,    constructs    clocks,    414; 

performs  last  offices  for  Dr.  Witt, 

415 ;    manumitted  and   receives 

legacy,  417. 
Clayton,  Rev.  Thomas,  arrives  in 

Philadelphia,  96  ;  appointed,  2S5, 

rector  of    Christ    Church,    287 ; 

death  of,  289. 
Claypool,  James,  450. 
Clocks  and  tools,  417,  418. 
Club,  Rev.  John,  480. 
Colloquini  of  the  Soul  (hymn),  239. 
Collegia    Pietatis,   49,    57,    59 ;    in 

Erfurth,  21,  223,  303. 
Comet   Stern,  tieuer,  by   Zmimer- 

mann.  118. 
Cometo-Scopio,  119. 
Comet  of  1743,  412. 
Community,  new  formed,  87. 
Compendium      Anti-  Calvinianum, 

369- 

Compton,  Dr.  Henry,  Bishop  of 
London,  285  ;  portrait,  286. 

Conestoga,  missionary  to,  142. 

Conjuration  of  burns,  122;  trans- 
mission of,  123. 


488 


Index. 


Conrad,  Rev.  T.  K.,  426. 

Cooper,  Capt.  James,  476. 

Corwin,  Rev.  E.  T.,  324. 

Cotweis,  John  Conrad,  Recorder, 
172. 

Crandall,  Joseph,  163  ;  visits  Penn- 
sylvania, 163. 

Creed,  Pietistical,  by  Hochenau,  54. 

Crefeld  (Germany),  35. 

Crisheim,  70. 

Croese,  Gerard,  43,  44,  54-67. 

Croese  Quakeriana,  quoted,  38,  43  ; 
sketch  of,  44,  61. 

Croese,  titles,  433,  434,  437- 

Cummings,  Rev.  A.,  194. 

Curieuse  Nachricht  von  Pennsyl- 
vania, 98 ;  eolation,  99. 

Curious  burial  custom,  415. 

D. 

Dankers,  Jasper,  4. 

Davidsche  Psalterspiel,  344;  kleine, 

346  ;  Sauer's,  347. 
Davis,   William,    86,    159 ;  trouble 

about,  163  ;   letter  of,  164  ;  book 

by,  164  ;  title  of,  165  ;  sketch  of, 

166,  263,  267,  270,  277. 
Decretum  Senatus  against  Pietists, 

59- 

Deichmann,  Henry  Jacob,  secre- 
tary, 16.  17S,  226. 

Deli,  Michael,  221,  223. 

Denndorf,  221. 

De  Quaaker's  Vergadering,  432. 
.  Dern,  Mollie  (Falkner),  323 

Dern,  William,  323. 

De  Resurrectione  Imperii,  88  ;  eo- 
lation, 99 ;  fac-simile,  90. 

De  Rudder,  Nicholas,  Spanish  Ad- 
miral, 22. 

Descartes,  Ren^,  255. 

Devotional  exercises,  177. 

De  Watteville,  mention  of,  22. 


Disconsolate  Soul,  the  (hymn),  241. 

Divination,  practice  of,  413. 

Divining  Rod,  112,  113,  109. 

Doane,  Rt.  Rev.,  426. 

Dock  Creek,  28. 

Documentary  History  of  New  York 

371- 
Doop  Register,  374. 
Dotterer,  H.  S  ,  quoted,  319. 
Downs  (roadstead),  18;  letter  sent 

from,  18. 
Drost,  Herman,  197. 
Dunkers,  mention  of,  4,  197. 
Dutch  Lutherans,  69. 

E. 

Early  printing  in  Philadelphia,  108. 

Ebeling,  quoted,  32. 

Ebner  von  Eschelibach,  223. 

Eckerling  family,  198;  Israel,  201, 
392  ;  Michael,  widow  of,  391. 

Ecstatic  women,  304. 

Edicts,  Royal,  against  Pietists,  54, 
58. 

Education  neglected,  70. 

Educational  movements,  83. 

Edwards,  Humphry,  174. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Morgan,  277. 

Egyptian  burdens,  189. 

Einsiedler-hiitte,  212. 

Elect,  prerogatives  of,  187. 

Elixir  Dulcis,  large  sale  of,  iii,  112. 

Elixir  of  Life,  in,  112. 

Elrichs,  Magdalena,  304. 

Emblem,  Hermetic,  91. 

Emigration  to  Pennsylvania,  198. 

Endt,  Theobaldt,  synod  at,  200. 

Engestromska-Samlung,  156. 

England,  Phillip,  prevents  Luth- 
erans from  attending  church,  265, 

Enthusiasts,  Theosophical,  37. 

Epitome,  Rosicrucian,  63  ;  explana- 
tion of,  64. 


Index. 


489 


Episcopal  services  at  Philadelphia, 
68. 

Ephrata  Community,  a  mystical 
.sect,  5  ;  mention  of,  7  ;  relics,  7  ; 
5^7  MSS.,  70,  73,  79,  80;  symbol  of, 
77  ;  MSS.,  115  ;  MSS.,  126  ;  MSS., 
151  ;  cloister,  books  at,  195  ; 
hymn  books,  198;  MSS.,  203; 
MSS.  quoted,  248;  MSS.,  339; 
camp  at,  392. 

Erfurth,  seal  of,  49  ;  Collegium  at, 
258 ;  Prophetess,  303. 

Eschenbach,  Andrew,  6. 

Esopus,  church  at,  317. 

Essenes,  symbol  of  37,  38  ;  de- 
scribed, 38. 

Essenism,  62. 

Essentia  dulcis,  57. 

Eucharist  administered  by  Koster, 
277. 

Evans,  Rev.  Evan,  160  ;  arrival  of, 
289  ;  Churchtown,  318,  319;  estab- 
lishes church  at,  476,  480. 

Evans,  Gov  John,  proclamation  by, 
107,  108. 

Exorcism  of  the  Devil  and  the 
Quaker  Spirit,  276. 


Fabricius,  Dr.  J.  J.,  51  ;  Magister, 
178,  222,  226  ;  letter  to,  229. 

Fabritius,   Jacobus,   30-69;    pastor 
on  the  Delaware  (note),  252. 

Facio,  Herr,  456. 

Fahnestock,  MSS.,  70. 

Fairhill,  35. 

Fairman,  Thomas,  70,  205,  206. 

Fairmount,  34. 

Fairmount  Park,  202,  206,  215. 

Faiths,   allegorical   representations 
of,  182. 

Falkner,  Anna  Catherina,  384. 
"  Benedictus,  384,  385. 


Falkner,  Benedictus  (2),  385. 
"  Rev.  Christian,  302. 

Falkner,  Daniel,  Sendscfireiben 
13  ;  fac-simile  of  title,  15  ;  efficacy 
of  prayer,  17  ;  excommunication 
by  Koster,  27  ;  invocation  by,  27; 
Sendschreiben,  35  ;  mention  of, 
39 ;  describes  services,  68,  74 ; 
Gajus,  79,  85,  87,  88 ;  sent  to 
Europe,  97  ;  Curieuse  Nachrichl, 
title,  98 ;  visits  Holland,  99 : 
publishes  book,  99 ;  returns  to 
America,  139,  145,  146,  147,  157, 
194,  214,  215  ;  chosen  bailiff,  169; 
attorney,  173  ;  burgess,  175  ;  com- 
mitted, 175  ;  marriage,  176,  177, 
207,  258  ;  impressions  of,  299 ; 
Keithian  schism,  300 ;  defamed 
by  Pastorius,  300  ;  character  of 
Falkner,  301  ;  parentage  and  birth 
of,  302  ;  attends  University  at 
Erfurth,  303  ;  communicates  with 
Spener,  304;  the  ecstatic  maidens, 
304 ;  explanation  of  his  excom- 
munication by  Koster,  304  ; 
Francke  and  the  Erfurth  pro- 
phetess, 305;  receives  a  deed  of 
gift  from  Catherina  Schutz,  306  ; 
autograph,  307  ;  return  to  Penn- 
sylvania, 307 ;  demands  an  ac- 
counting from  Pastorius,  308 ; 
Furly  to  Falkner,  309  ;  Pastorius' 
accusation,  310 ;  tries  to  settle 
affairs  of  Frankfort  Company, 
311  ;  acts  as  attorney,  312;  Jo- 
hann  Jawert,  313 ;  the  Sprogel 
conspiracy,  315;  Capt.  Vining's 
report,  317:  Falkner  Swamp,  319; 
Andreas  Sandei,  320 ;  the  first 
German  Lutheran  Church  in 
America,  321  ;  called  as  pastor 
to  New  Jersey,  322  ;  first  German 
Lutheran  baptisms  in  Jersey,  322  ; 


62 


490 


Index. 


Ari  van  Guinea,  323  ;  pastor  at 
Millstone,  324  ;  Hanover  Church, 
325  ;  Rev.  VV.  C.  Berkenmeyer, 
326 ;  fac-simile  of  subscription 
list,  327 ;  dedicates  Lutheran 
Church  in  New  York  City,  328  ; 
Casper  Stover  asks  ordination, 
329 ;  refused  by  Falkner,  329 ; 
visit  by  Berkenmeyer,  330 ;  a 
church  dedication,  331  ;  supplies 
Kocherthal's  congregations,  331  ; 
Rev.  John  A.  Wolff,  332  ;  old  age 
and  retirement,  334,  448,  449. 

Falkner,  Justus,  arrival  in  America, 
145  ;  burgess  of  Germantown, 
146,  158,  169,  173,  174,  177,  178; 
birth  of,  302-307  ;  agent  for  Furly, 
309,  321,  322,  323,, 325  ;  earliest 
record  of,  341 ;  as  student  at  Halle, 
543  ;  portrait,  342  ;  Biorck's  note 
on,  343  ;  as  hymnologists,  344 ; 
Aufihr  Christen,  345;  general  use 
of  his  hymns,  346  ;  O  Herr  der 
Herrlichkeit,  347  ;  attorney  for 
Furly,  348,  449  ;  claims  land,  348  ; 
ministry  in  Penna.,  349;  ordination 
at  Wicacoa,  350 ;  call  to  New 
York,  353  ;  a  solemn  service,  354  ; 
arrival  in  New  York,  361  ;  the  old 
Kerckcn-Boeck,  361  ;  the  Latin 
votiDH,  362  ;  official  signature, 
363 :  the  vestry,  364 ;  church 
meeting,  365  ;  an  appeal  for  aid, 
365  ;  publishes  first  Lutheran  text 
book  in  America,  367  ;  title  page, 

'  368  ;  Falkner's  orthodoxy,  369  ; 
fac-simile  of  first  original  hymn 
printed  in  America,  370  ;  extent 
of  missionary  field,  371  ;  Biorck's 
account,  372 ;  the  old  Church 
Register,  373  ;  interesting  entries, 
376;  Doop  Register,  377  ;  prayers, 
378 ;   baptises  a  negro,    379  ;   an 


Indian  baptism,  381  ;  marriage, 
383  ;  children,  3S4  ;  corresponds 
with  Swedish  ministers,  384  ;  last 
entry,  385  ;  notice  of  death,  385, 
386,  448  ;  correspondence,  449. 

Falkner,  Paul  Christian,  302. 
"  Sara  Justa,  384. 

Falkner's  Swamp,  177,  349  ;  bound- 
ries  of,  319. 

Fatherland,  parting  from,  11. 

Farmer,  Edw.,  318. 

Faustus,  Dr.,  sees  Macrocosm,  133. 

Fight  at  Sea,  23. 

Finland,  142. 

First  Century  of  German  Printing, 
102. 

Fletcher,  Governor  Benjamin,  30, 
31,  32,  265. 

Flower,  Enoch,  74. 

Flowertown,  ore-bed  at,  113. 

Flushing,  L.  L,  179. 

Foraging  parties  seize  books,  195. 

Forster,  Thos.  Ig.,  459. 

Forster,  Thomas,  459. 

Four  boasting  disputers,  278  ;  title, 
281. 

Fox  Hill  (Fuchsenberg),  325. 

Fox,  George,  mentions  of,  262,  435, 

436,  437,  440.  441- 

Frame  of  Goverment,  Penn's,  443. 

Frailey,  Dr.,  124. 

Franciscus,  Erasmus,  464. 

Franck,  Count  Valentine,  221,  223. 

Francke,  Rev.  A.  H.,  51  ;  diaconus, 
54  ;  excommunicated,  54  ;  expel- 
led, 55  ;  composes  a  hymn,  55  ; 
biographical  sketch  of,  55  ;  pastor 
at  Glaucha,  59  ;  Stephanus,  79  ; 
97,  103,  III,  302,  304,  5  ;  Begeis- 
terden  Mdgden,  306,  344. 

Frankfort  Land  Company,  60,  145, 

173,  306,  307,  311.  3i9>  334,  348. 
Franckfort  a.  O.  University,  255. 


Index. 


491 


Franklin,  Benjamin,  prints  Arndt's 

works,  3,  115. 
Frelicli,  Leonard,  417. 
Presenilis,  quoted,  200. 
Freylinghausen'sG^t'^a«^j5'«f/i,  344. 
Friedsam,  Gottrecht,  5  (see  Biessel) 
Friends,    English,    147 ;    library  at 

Philadelphia,    105  ;  meetings   of, 

65. 

Friends  of  God  {Gottesfreunde),  a 
sect,  52. 

Friends'  printing  press,  337  ;  yearly 
meeting,  105. 

Frommen  Lotterie,  der,  102. 

F"undaniental  constitutions,  443. 

Furly,  Arent  436,  458,  459. 

Furly,  Benjamin,  47,  106,  145,  167, 
171.  173  ;  claims  land  in  Chester 
County,  174,  177  ;  258,  259,  306, 
8,  10,  314;  autograph,  309,  312, 
347,  348,  432;  sketch  of,  433; 
marries,  434  ;  leader  of  Quakers, 
438 ;  death  of,  435 ;  publis+ies 
Fox's  Battle-door,  436  ;  contro- 
versial works,  437  ;  translates 
Penn's  missive,  438 ;  appeals  to 
Burgomasters,  439;  receives  Penn 
and  Fox,  440  ;  accompanies  Penn 
through  Germany,  441;  translates 
Penn's  tracts,  442  ;  makes  sug- 
gestions to  Penn,  443 ;  anti- 
slavery  clause,  444 ;  becomes 
Penn's  agent,  445 ;  promotes 
German  emigration,  446 ;  trans- 
lates Penn's  account,  446 ;  ap- 
points Jansen  attorney,  447  ; 
revokes  in  favor  of  Falkner,  448; 
letters,  449 ;  trouble  with  cor- 
respondents, 450 ;  correspon- 
dence with  Locke,  451  ;  status  as 
Quaker,  452  ;  bibliography,  453  ; 
personal  description,  453  ;  library, 
454:  sale  of  library,  458;tomb,  459. 


Furly,  Benjohan,  434,  458. 
"       Dorothy,  436. 
John,  436,  458. 


Gronovium,  Herr,  456. 

Garrett,  Mary,  marries  Able  Noble, 
126. 

Geiger,  Valentine,  321. 

Geissler,  Daniel,  buys  land,  108, 
115  ;  chosen  crier  of  the  court, 
170;  crier,  172,  196;  autograph 
of,  246  ;  mention  of,  246  ;  famtc- 
lus  to  Kelpius,  247,  339,  404,  405, 
420,  427. 

Geistreiches  Gesaiig  Bach,  344. 

General  Assembly  at  Philadelphia, 
31- 

Gerber,  Elizabeth,  226 ;  letter  to, 
162. 

Gerichtsbuch,  Germantovvn,  146. 

German  Baptists,  mention  of,  4. 

German  students,  30. 

German,  Seventh  Day  Baptists, 
231. 

German  Society,  seal  of,  249. 

Germantovvn  (Germanuple),  35  ; 
township,  history  of,  146  ;  battle 
of,  422. 

Ghostly  legends,  421. 

Gichtelians,  47. 

Giostason,  Hans,  129. 

Glaucha,  sketch  of,  59. 

Gtaubens  Gespr'dche  mitt  God,  61. 

Gloria  Dei,  31;  in  1700,  138;  in 
1895, 143  ;  consecrated,  144  ;  loca- 
tion of,  140  ;  ordination  at,  353. 

Gnostic  Heresies,  62 

God  Loving  Soul,  the  Contented  of  , 
the,  81. 

Gole,  J.,  432. 

Gookin.  Gov.  Chas.,  316. 

Gottesfreunde,  52. 


492 


Index. 


Graef,  Abraham,  op.  de.,  172. 
Graigne,  Dorothe,  434. 
Greening,  Rev.  James,  399. 
Grondlycke  Onderricht,  367  ;  title, 

368  ;  fac-simile  of  hymn,  370. 
Growden,  Joseph,  316. 
Gruber,  John,  340. 
Gud's  Ahra's  Huus,  144. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  69;  autograph, 

481. 

H. 

Hackensack,  baptism  at,  376 ;  fac- 
simile of  entry,  377. 

Halberstadt,  rally  at,  258. 

Halle  Orphanage,  55,  57. 
"      University,  jubilee  of,  97. 

Hallische  Nachrichten,  quoted,  5, 
30. 

Halwegen,  220,  221. 

Hammond,  Rev.  J.  P.,  426. 

Hanover  (Germany),  orphanage  at, 
296  ;  arms  of,  296. 

Hanover,  N.  J.,  Church,  324,  325. 

Hardick,  Gerritge,  383. 

Hark,  Rev.  J.  Max,  mention  of,  5. 

Hartmann,  Dr.  Frantz,  quoted,  37. 

Hartmann,  Magister-buch,  223. 

Hartwig,    Rev.    J.    A.    Christoph, 
mention  of,  3. 

Herbs,  medicinal  cultivated,  75. 

Helmstadt,  150. 

Hendrick,  Gerhardt,  149. 

Hendrick,  Jan,  364. 

Henkel,  Gerhard,  321. 

Hentz,  Pieter,  385. 

Hermit  Lane,  203,  206,  215. 

Hemskirck,  Egbert,  432. 

Hermitage,  the,  205,  210,  211,  215. 

Hermit  Spring,  203,  212,  297. 

Hermit  Run,  214. 

Hermetic  arts,  109,  iir. 

Hessian  camp,  213  ;  soldiers,  423. 


Hesselius,  Rev.  Samuel,  32 r. 
Hexenmeister,  121,  413,  414. 
Hexenstab,  113. 
Hildeburn,  Chas.  R.,  mention  of, 

162. 
Hiscox,  William,  137,  163. 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania, 

13  ;  mentioned,  95. 
Historia     Civitatis      Erffurtensis, 

quoted,  21. 
Hochenau,  Hochmann  von,  51,  54. 
Hoes,  Rev.  Roswell  Randall,  317. 
Hoesan,  Niclas  von,  384. 
Holgate,  Matthew,  340,  206. 
Holy  Lamp,  91. 
Holt,  Adam,  417. 
Holt,  James,  263. 
Hoppin,  Anna  E.,  321. 
Horbius,  J.  H.,  51,  60,  25S. 
Horologium  Achaz,  114,  194. 
Horoscope,  an  old,  155,  109,  112; 

cast  for  Swedish   Church,    116; 

practiced  by  Dr.  Witt,  413. 
Horremann,  Hugo,  112. 
Houlgate,  Mathew,  206. 
House  of  Peace,  87. 
Hubbard,  Samuel,  137. 
Huebner,  Ludwig,  397. 
Huis,  Susanna,  435. 
Hutchison,  George,  268. 
Hymnal,  manuscript,  Zionitic,  346. 
Hymn  book,  Kelpius,  234. 
Hymns,  P'alkner's,  347. 

I. 

Indians,  conversion  of,  83;  converts, 

396- 
Illumanati,  37. 

Im  Gebirge,  church  at,  324,  25,  31. 
Innocents'  Day,  174. 
Inquisito,  an  Ethiciis,  etc.,  222. 
Irenia,  87. 
Isaacs,  Jacob,  66;  (see  VanBebber). 


Index. 


493 


J- 

Jaarboekj'e,  Rotterdamsch,  433,  435. 

Jabetz,  Prior  (Rev.  Peter  Miller),  5  ; 
248,  396. 

Jawert,  Balthasar,  169. 

Jawert,  Johann,  145,  146 ;  chosen 
recorder,  170;  attorney,  173,  171; 
recorder,  172,  307,  312;  auto- 
graph letter,  313. 

Jansenites,  105. 

Jansen,  Tiberius,  Joseph,  Imitry 
and  Alice,  loS. 

Jansen,  Cornelius,  105. 

Jansen,  press  at  Amsterdam,  106. 

Jansen  (Johnson),  Tiberius,  11 1. 

Jansen,  Reynier,  100,  102,  105,  108, 
162,  164,  308,  9,  337,  404,  447. 

Jeffries,  Capt.  William,  446. 

Jennett,  John,  206,  207. 

Jennings,  Samuel,  280. 

Jerger,  George,  321. 

Jewel  caskets  of  moral  verses,  100. 

John  of  Saxony,  67. 

Johnson,  Richard,  415. 

Jonas,  organist  at  Wicacoa,  354. 

Jones,  Horatio  Gates,  30,  77. 

Jones,  Griffith,  262. 

Julian  Hymnology,  346. 

K. 

Kabbala,  quoted,  62. 

Kabbalistic  Philosophy,  account  of, 
62. 

Kabbala  Detiudata,  235. 

Kalverak,  church  at,  326. 

Kasner,  Johannes,  323. 

Kasner,  Peter,  331. 

Keen,  Matz,  350. 

Keith,  George,  67,  75  ;  catechism, 
75,  85,  86.  159,  164,  260;  sketch 
of,  273  ;  directs  Rudmann  to  as- 
sume charge,  476. 

Keithians,  67,  68. 


Keithian  controversy,  85  ;  congre- 
gation under  Koster,  126;  meet- 
ings decline,  164 ;  Quakers,  277. 

Kelp,  Pfarrer  George,  220,  221. 

Kelp,  George,  221  224  ;  sketch  of, 
224. 

Kelp,  Johannes,  221. 

Kelp,  Martin,  221,  223,  224. 

Kelp  von  Sternberg,  219,  224. 

Kelpius,  Johannes,  mention  of,  4,  6; 
returns  thanks,  12;  reports  to 
Royal  Commissioners  of  Mary- 
land, 12  ;  diary  of,  13  ;  fac-simile 
of  first  page,  14;  corresponds 
with  Deichmann,  16;  has  an 
inward  prompting,  17  ;  holds 
thanksgiving  services,  18 ;  sends 
letter  to  Germany,  18  ;  sails  from 
Deal,  19;  writes  to  Licentat 
Schmaltz,  and  friends  in  Ger- 
many, 21  ;  asked  to  abandon  his 
project,  21  ;  refuses  advice,  22  ; 
writes  life,  on  shipboard,  22  ; 
diary  quoted,  24,  25,  27  ;  lands 
at  Bohemia  landmg,  27  ;  mention 
of,  39,  54,  66,  69  ;  "  Woman  in  the 
Wilderness,"  78;  attempts  to 
bring  about  an  evangelical  union, 
78  ;  Philologus,  79  ;  educational 
movements,  83 ;  peacemaker,  84  ; 
disagrees  with  Koster,  87,  88,  95, 
loi,  102  ;  letter  to  Mumford,  129  ; 
Journal  quoted,  129,  136,  138 ; 
educational  labors,  140,  142  ; 
estrangement  with  Penn,  150,  153; 
deceived,  157,  158  ;  now  deceased 
192,  200;  cave  of,  207,  211,  212, 
213,  214;  autograph,  219;  arms, 
219;  antecedents  of,  221;  enters 
school,  221  ;  Thesis,  221  ;  Magis- 
ter,  221  ;  Scylla  Theologica,  222  ; 
Ifiquisiio,  an  Et/iicus,  222  ;  meet 
Zimmermann,  223  ;   Baron,  224  ; 


494 


Index. 


Journal,  225 ;  Diarium,  226 ; 
Biorck  letter,  228 ;  Fabricus 
letter,  229  ;  illness  of,  245  :  Muh- 
lenberg's account  of  death,  246  ; 
curious  legend,  247 ;  burial  of, 
247  ;  eulogy  of,  249  ;  refuses  to 
act,  170  ;.  renunciation,  171;  re- 
fuses honors,  177  ;  piety  of,  166, 
178  ;  writes  hymns,  179  ;  taken 
to  Warmer's  house,  1 79  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  243  ;  affection  of  eyelid, 
243;  refused  to  enter  controversy, 
301,  308,  336  ;  Wicacoa,  354,  392, 

399.  430. 

Kelpius'  Cave,  description  of,  244. 

Kemler,  Johannes,  169. 

Kercken-Boeck  of  N.  Y.  church, 
361  ;  first  entry  in,  362  ;  Falkner 
autograph,  363,  374;  title,  375; 
first  communicants,  379 ;  marri- 
age of  Falkner,  fac-simile,  383. 

Keurlis,  Peter,  172. 

Keyser,  Andrew,  417. 

Keyser,  Jacob,  424. 

Keyser,  Peter,  175. 

Keyser,  Pieter,  404. 

Kintika,  an  Indian  feast,  150,  230. 

Kirchen-buch,  Lutheran,  346. 

Kirchen  (2f  Ketzer  Historia,  315. 

Kirchweih,  at  Wicacoa,  144,  145. 

Klever,  Peter,  108. 

Klinken,  Aret,  Bailiff,  172,  175. 

Knoll,  Rev.,  385. 

Knorr,  John  George,  414,  472. 

Knorr  von  Rosenroth,  235. 

Knozv  thyself,  motto,  249. 

Kocherthal,  Rev.  Josua,  325,  331, 
371,  373,  382  ;  Sybilla  Charlotta, 
382  ;  Louisa  Abigail,  382. 

Konig,  Simon,  198. 

Koster,  Henrich  Bernhard,  excom- 
municates Falkner,  27  ;  mention 
of,    39 ;     Croese,    45,    46 ;    holds 


Lutheran  services,  16  ;  copy  of 
Augsburg  Confession,  66  ;  trans- 
fers English  services  to  Philadel- 
phia, 68  ;  sends  for  Bibles,  68,  69; 
frequent  services,  79  :  extends  his 
ministrations,  85,  86 ;  disagrees 
with  Kelpius,  87 ;  brethern  in 
America,  87;  Irenia,  87  ;  adheres 
to  Lutheran  doctrine.  87  ;  De 
Resurrectiorie  Imperii,  88  ;  title, 
90  ;  quotation  from,  92  ;  departs 
for  Europe,  143,  159  ;  biographi- 
cal sketch  of,  251  ;  mention  of, 
164  ;  parentage,  254  ;  education, 
255  ;  as  a  pedagogue,  255  ;  en- 
gages with  Baron  Schwerin,  255  ; 
studies  Walton'' s  Polyglot,  256  ; 
translates  the  Old  Testament,  257 ; 
joins  Collegia  Pietatis,  258;  rallies 
at  Magdeburg,  258 ;  erudition, 
259  ;  orthodoxy  of,  259  ;  remark- 
able memory  of,  260 ;  spiritual 
director  of  pilgrims,  260  ;  foun- 
ding of  Christ  Church,  261 ; sends 
to  England  for  Bibles,  261  ;  "the 
brethern  in  America,"  266;  "true 
Church  in  Philadelphia,"  266; 
prints  the  first  German  book  in 
America,  266,  279 ;  the  Yearly 
Meeting  at  Burlington,  267  ;  Kos- 
ter's  account,  267  ;  arraignment 
of  the  Quakers,  269,  270  ;  exhor- 
tation, 271  ;  leaves  the  meetings 
271  ;  publishes  his  History  of 
the  Protestation,  272  ;  baptizes 
the  Keithians,  275  ;  exorcism  of 
the  Quaker  Spirit,  276  ;  adminis- 
ters the  Eucharists,  277 ;  de- 
nounces Pastorius,  278  ;  chal- 
lenges the  Quakers,  279 :  com- 
poses Latin  thesis,  284  ;  organizes 
Christ  Church  congregation,  286; 
Society  for  the   Propagation   of 


Index. 


495 


the  Gospel,  286 ;  preaches  in 
Enghsh  and  German,  288;  ad- 
vises and  coaches  Clayton,  287  ; 
returns  to  Europe,  289  ;  arrives 
at  London,  290;  publishes  a 
book  against  the  Quakers,  290 ; 
upholds  Oliver  Pauli,  291 ;  publish- 
es his  Latin  thesis  in  Lemgo,  291  ; 
his  travels  through  Europe,  291-2; 
Berleburg,  292 ;  publishes  his 
greatest  work,  293  ;  fac-simile  of 
title,  293  ;  the  Alpha  and  Omega, 
294  ;  poetical  powers,  294 ;  the 
mystery  of  the  Triad,  295  ;  enters 
the  Orphanage  at  Hanover,  296  ; 
solves  the  problem  of  human  life, 
296 ;  retires  to  Nordheim,  297  ; 
death  of  and  burial,  297  ;  fac- 
simile of  hymn,  298  ;  controversy 
with  Quakers,  301,  304,  430. 
Kretchmann,  Rev.  E.  T.,  quoted, 

57- 
Kiister  family,  the,  254. 

"        Johann,  254. 

Ludolph,  254,  259,  435. 
Kunders,  Dennis,  172. 
Kundert  Tennis,  65. 
Kurtze  anleitung  ztini  Gebei,  102. 

L. 

Labadists,  a  sect,  4. 

Ladiver,  Elias,  224. 

Lagrangie,  Hannes,  329. 

La  Grangie,  Hanns,  364. 

Lameniinj^  Voice,  the,  236. 

Lapis  Philosophoruni,  iii. 

Laurea,  153,  244. 

Lauterbach,  Tob.  Ad.,  letter  to,  18, 

22. 
Lawrence,  Thomas,  449. 
Leade,  Jane,  15,  304. 
Le  Brun,  Joh.,  169. 
Leclerc,  434. 


Leeds,  Almanac  for  1700,  127. 

Legend,  a  curious,  151  ;  an  inter- 
esting, 195. 

Leibert,  Wm.,  234. 

Leibert  family,  424. 

Leibnitz,  61. 

Lerfner,  Maxmillian,  445. 

Lesher's  Inn,  65. 

Levering  family,  106. 

Levering  Wigert,  338. 

Levering,  William,  338,  339,  340. 

Leverington  Cemetery,  338. 

Liberty  lands  claimed,  173. 

Library,  Royal  Wiirtemberg,  no. 

Lidenius,  Rev.  Abraham,  129. 

Liederseo;en,  Unverfdlschfer,  346. 

Limborch,  Phillipu.s,  434,  454,  455. 

Lippard,  George,  note  of,  71. 

Lloyd,  David,  174,  314,  315,  316, 
318.  348,  349. 

Lloyd,  Governor,  32. 

Locke,  John,  442,  451,  452. 

Lock,  Rev.,  69,  252. 

Longfellow  quoted,  116. 

Loonenburg,  371  ;  baptism  at,  381. 

Lovelace,  Gov.  Francis,  252. 

Loving  Moan  (hymn),  241. 

Lowther,  George,  312. 

Liitke,  Daniel,  39. 

Luther,  Martin,  67. 

Luther's  hymns,  369. 

Lutheran  congregation  at  Falkner 
Swamp,  177  ;  oldest  in  America, 
178. 

Lutheran  ritual,  68 ;  records.  New 
Jersey,  323  ;  services  held,  66 ; 
Swedish,  252 ;  Quaker  opposi- 
tion to,  263  ;  as  bad  as  heathens, 
264. 

M. 

Madai,  Prof.,  112. 
Mack,  Alexander,  399. 
Mack,  Martin,  396. 


496 


Index. 


Mac  Namara,  Thomas,  315. 

Macrocosm,  132  ;  appears  to  Dr. 
Faustus,  133. 

Magdeburg,  rally  at,  258  ;  arms  of, 
258. 

Mahomed,  187. 

Manuscripts,  Pastorius,  157. 

Manatawany  tract  located,  177,  317; 
settlement  of,  34S,  349. 

Manayunk  bridge,  207. 

Mann,  Rev.  J.  W.,  mention  of,  5. 

Markham,  Gov.  Wm.,  30,  31,  32,  94. 

Martin,  Frederick,  6. 

Maryland,  report  to  Royal  Com- 
missioners, 12. 

Mastricht,  Gerhard  von,  169. 

Matrix,  universal,  86. 

Matthai,  Conrad,  112,  147,  196,  197, 
199,  200,  201,  214,  234,  336,  339; 
a  conspicuous  figure,  388  ;  Magis- 
ter,  388  ;  portrait,  389  ;  anchorite 
hut  of,  390;  counsels  Biessel  and 
widow  Eckerling,  391  ;  visits  to 
Ephrata,  392  ;  estrangement  with 
Beissel,  392  ;  reconciliation,  392  ; 
practices  white  magic,  393  ;  com- 
munication, with  spirits,  393  ; 
trance  and  claravoyance,  394 ; 
visits  Moravian  School,  395  ;  In- 
dian converts,  396  ;  solemn  inter- 
view, 396 ;  visited  by  Moravian 
evangelists,  397 ;  ditto  Mystics 
from  Ephrata,  397 ;  wos  macht 
ein  Kreutz  luft  Vbgelein,  398 ; 
death,  399  ;  burial  at  feet  Kelpius, 
399  ;  Christopher  Sauer,  400  ;  a 
Moravian  tribute,  401,  430. 

Matthai,  George  Henrich,  390. 

Matthaeus,  Johannes,  462. 

Maul-Christen,  150. 

Maxon,  Bro.,  164. 

Mazdeism,  62. 

Meels,  Hans  Gerry,  175. 


Meetings,  silent,  65. 
Meerkamp,  mention  of,  22. 
Mehls,   Johann    Henry,    172,    173 ; 

justice,  175. 
Meine  Hoffnu7ig  stehet  veste,  344. 
Melan,  Matthis,  404. 
Melanchton,  Rev.  Phillip,  67. 
Memorial,    Moravian    Sesqui-Cen- 

tennial,  6. 
Menonite  services,  65,  197,  200. 
Menno,  Simon,  140. 
Mennonites  first  in  Pennsylvania,  4. 
Menstrum  universale,  iii. 
Merlau,  Johanna  von,  51,   60,   6r, 

304,  445- 
Mess-hemd,  356. 
Metemptosis,  233. 
Meyer,  William,  91. 
Mid-Summer  day,  156. 
Millennium,  233. 
Miller,  Heinrich,  105. 
Miller,    Rev.   Peter,   5  ;  (see   Prior 

Jaebetz),  396. 
Millstone,  324. 
Ministering  Friends,  action  of,  280  ; 

extract,  281. 
Minute  Book  "G,"  145. 
Miracles  and  signs,  185,  188. 
Mithraic  symbol,  83. 
Moiinos,  Miguel  de,  131,  52. 
Momford,  Stephen,  letter  to,    129, 

136,  137,  138. 
Monad,  description  of,  39. 
Monastic  names,  79. 
Monastery  on  Wissahickon,  71,  201, 

213,  392. 
Moravians,  come  to  Pennsylvania, 

5;  missions  of,  6;  visits  from,  396; 

evangelist,    397  ;     diary    extract 

from,  400-1  ;   first  evangelist,  6 ; 

church,  7  ;  early  in  Pennsylvania, 

117  ;  records,  201. 
Morris,  Elizabeth  C,  425-6. 


Index. 


497 


Morris  family,  425. 

Moore,  John,  263. 

Moses  in  tiie  Wilderness,  185. 

Mount  Misery,  423,  427. 

Miihlstein,  church  at,  324. 

Miiller,  George,  of  Duisberg,  307. 

Muhlenberg,  Rev.  Henry  Melchior, 
57;  mention  Seelig,  75,  148;  men- 
tion of,  194  ;  account  of  Kelpius' 
death,  246,  322,  337. 

Mumford,  Step.,  226. 

Murphy,  Rev.  J.  K.,  425,  8. 

Musical  Services,  71. 

Mystical  theology,  Molinos',  131. 

Mystics,  37. 

Mystic  fires,  152  ;  numbers,  theory 
of,  39. 

Mystics  on  the  Wissahickon,  127. 

Mystic  Seal,  the,  121. 

Mysterious  casket,  the,  247. 

N. 

Natales  Saxotimn,  224. 

Nativities,  casting  of,  113. 

Neile,  Hugh,  414. 

Neisser,  Geo.,  6,  338;  portrait,  401. 

New  Castle,  Del.,  arrival  at,  12. 

Neu-geborene,  a  sect,  5. 

New  Hanover,  319. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  church,  136,  137. 

New  Prophets  (Adventists),  456. 

Nicholai,  hymn,  283. 

Nicholson,  Gov.  Francis,  127,  284. 

Nitschmann,  338;  portrait,  401. 

Nitschmann,  Bishop  David,  6. 

Noah's  Dove,  127. 

Noah's  Dove,  a  counter  pamphlet, 

128. 
Noble,  Able,  sketch  of,  126. 
Noble,  William,  Richard,  Able,  125. 
Nordheim,  297. 
Norris,  Issac,  174,  348,  349. 
Nothing  (no-thing),  64. 


O. 

Oath  of  Allegiance  taken,  31. 

Obituary,  Dr.  Witt,  416. 

Occult  ceremonies,  120  ;  rites,  7. 

Old  Shrunk,  124. 

"Old  St.  David's,"  160. 

Old  Swedes  Records,  Wilmington, 

31,  32. 
Organ    in    Gloria    Dei,   354  ;    Dr. 

Witt's,   418;    organist    "Jones," 

354- 
Orphanage  at  Hanover,  259. 
Orthodox  Friends,  85,  86. 
Oxford,  164;  church,  277. 

P. 

Pallmer,  Hesther,  191  ;  epistle  to, 
179,  226. 

Palmer,  Joseph,  179. 

Pannebecker,  Henry,  320. 

Paradiesische  Nadits  Tropfen,  346. 

Paradox  ajid  Seldotn  Cotitenttnent 
(hymn),  239. 

Parasang  (a  measure),  227, 

Paschal  Lamb,  mention  of,  6. 

Pastorius,  Francis  Daniel,  35,  60, 
69  ;  sketch  of,  88,  96  ;  old  papers, 
145  ;  manuscripts,  157  ;  deposed, 
168;  corporation  clerk,  172; 
quoted,  266,  267 ;  denounced, 
278  ;  answers  Koster,  280 ;  Re- 
buke printed,  282  ;  petition  to, 
283  ;  counsels  forbearance,  283, 
307  ;  autograph,  308  ;  fac-simile, 
310,  315  ;  report  against,  317,  328  ; 
Bee  Hive,  445,  446. 

Patents,  for  land  claimed,  174. 

Payne,  Capt,  Mathew,  125. 

Payne,  Jasper,  397. 

Pemberton,  John,  105. 

Pemberton,  MSS.,  44. 

Pemberton,  Phineas,  260 ;  account 
of  controversy,  272. 


63 


498 


Index. 


Pennepack,  Baptist  congregation, 
30  ;  Sabbatarians  at,  164. 

Pennypacker,  Hon.  S.  W.,  quoted, 
4,  13,  66,  79  ;  mention  of,  108  ; 
map,  208  ;  quoted,  308,  315. 

Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History , 
quoted,  4,  35,  74. 

Pennsylvania  Gazette,  416. 

Pennsylvania  Hospital.  417. 

Pennsylvania  Pilgrim,  poem,  250. 

Pennsylvatiische  Berichte,  400. 

Pefin  Manuscripts,  443. 

Penn,  William,  28,  32,  47,  145,  146, 
147,  176,  171,  206,  230,  407,  435, 
439,  441,  445  ;  visit  in  1701,  150, 
151  ;  preaches  in  Germantown, 
149 ;   mention   of,    262 ;  portrait, 

432- 
Penns-neck,  142. 
Penny-Pot  House  Landing,  275. 
Perfect  number,  the,  40. 
Perfection,  Chapter  of,  37,  38,  60. 
Perry's      Historical      Collections, 

quoted,  287. 
Peterborough,  Earl  of,  458. 
Peterson,  Elias,  79. 
Petersen,  Joh.  Wil.,  51,  60,  146,  169; 

hymn,  347. 
Petschaft,  magic,  123. 
Philadelphianism,  131,  132. 
Philadelphic  Society,  97. 
Philadelphiac  love,  232. 
Philadelphiac  word,  264. 
Philadelphists  in  England,  15. 
Philosophers,  stoic,  quoted,  248. 
Philosophical  Society,  London,  230. 
Phipps,  William,  138. 
Phlelotomy,  116. 
Physick,  Dr.,  429. 
Pickel,  John  Balthazer,  331. 
Pietists,     37 ;      Chapter     of,     43 ; 

described,  47;  movement  spreads, 

58 ;   crusade  against,  95  ;   labors 


of,  96,  131,  132,  148;  arrive  from 

Halle,  141. 
Pieter,  Christian,  baptized,  381. 
Pilgrims,  ba'nds  of,  11. 
Plymouth,  Eng. ,  142. 
Polyglot,  JVallofi's,  256,  259. 
Potts,  John,  321. 
Potts,  Jones,  sherifiT,  172. 
Power  of  attorney  to  Falkner,  145  ; 

to  Kelpius,   Falkner  and  Jawert, 

167. 
Presbyterian  services,  140. 
Price,  Jeremiah,  263. 
Prima  Materia,  defined,  37  ;    sym- 
bol, 84. 
Process  of  Love  (hymn),  237. 
Proclamation    against   immorality, 

107. 
Propagation    Society,    documents, 

quoted,  315,  317. 
Prowattain,  Evan,  205,  210. 
Providence,  a  vessel,  22  ;  joins  in 

pursuit,  23. 
Provincial  Council,  30. 
Puritans,  37,  38. 
Pusey,  Caleb,  106. 

Q. 

Quaker's  meeting,  the,  432. 
Quakers,  in  Holland,  43  ;  Christian, 

67. 
Quarry,  Col.  Robert,  284. 
Quietists,  52. 
Quietism,  131,  132. 

R. 

Rabbis  Kabbalistic,  40. 
Racheway  (Rockaway),  324,  25,  30. 
Racoon  church  in  N.  J.,  127,  128,  129 
Radnor  congregation,  477. 
Radnor,  Welsh  tract,  160;  church 

at,  160. 
Rambo,  Peter,  350. 
^  Raritan  church,  324. 


Index. 


499 


Rathelf,  Rev.  Ernst  Ludwig,  quoted 
68,  87,  259,  260,  273,  286,  2S7,  277, 
294. 

Ratkungs  Hook,  129. 

Ranch,  Christian  Henry,  6. 

Records,  Moravian,  215. 

Records,  Sabbatarian,  quoted,  105. 

Reformed  services,  66 ;  German,  67. 

Reinecke,  Katherine,  304. 

Religious  services,  67  ;  English  and 
German,  67  ;  English  transferred 
to  Philadelphia,  68 ;  earliest  in 
Pennsylvania,  69  ;  described,  78  ; 
frequent,  79. 

Remmersbach,  church  at,  324. 

Reproduction,  photographic,  212. 

Restitution  of  All  Things,  doctrine 
of,  231  , 

Richards,  John  F.,  321. 

Richardson,  John,  journal  of,  150. 

Ridge,  70  ;  house  built  on,  70. 

Righter,  (Richter)  Daniel,  210. 

Righter  Ferry,  207. 

Righter  (Richter),  Michael.  206,  207. 

Righter  (Richter),  Peter,  207,  210. 

Righter  (Richter),  Phoebe,  210,  390. 

Rock  House,  the,  149. 

Rocksborrow,  191. 

Rocksbury,  200. 

Rodgerines,  161. 

Rodgers,  John,  visit  of,  162,  163. 

Rosicrucians  in  Philadelphia,  4 ; 
philosophy,  7 ;  secret  symbols, 
7,  37  ;  community,  38  ;  true,  62  ; 
epitome,  63  ;  fraternity,  71  ;  sym- 
bolism, 71  ;  symbol,  71  ;  theos- 
ophy,  76,  77  ;  MSS.,  83. 

Rosicrucian  speculations,  252. 

Ross,  Rev.  George,  155. 

Rotterdam,  arms  of,  258  ;  shippnig 
lists,  193. 

Royal  Public  Lib'y,  Stuttgart,  223. 

Royal  Society  of  London,  118. 


Roxborough,  337. 

Rudmann,  Rev.  Andreas,  94  ;  first 
service,  94  ;  visits  Germantown, 
95,  126,  127,  144  ;  testimonial  to, 
155,  156,  158,  226,  343,  349,  350; 
autograph  letter,  352  ;  ordains 
Justus  Falkner,  353  ;  autograph, 
360  ;  as  Suffragan,  355  ;  appealed 
to,  365,  473  ;  birth,  473  ;  selected 
by  the  Consistorium  for  the 
American  missions,  474 ;  accept- 
ance, 475 ;  presents  and  well 
wishes  from  the  King,  476  ; 
arrival  at  Wicacoa,  476  ;  serves 
Christ  Church,  476  ;  Radnor  and 
Oxford,  477  ;  intolerance  of  au- 
thorities, 477  ;  proceedings  before 
council,  478  ;  trials  and  sufferings, 
479  ;  last  letter  to  England,  480  ; 
death  and  burial,  481. 

Rudmann,  Gertrude,  481. 

Rudmann,  Anna  Catherina,  48). 

Rutter,  Thomas  (Pastor),  126,  159, 
267,  277,  278. 


Sabbath  kept,  83. 

Sabbatarian  doctrine,  126;  move- 
ment, 125  ;  New  England  records, 
105;  tendencies,  129;  in  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut,  129  ; 
visits  of,  161,  163. 

Sabbatarians  in  Pennsylvania,  415. 

Sabbath  keepers,  159. 

Sacraments  Verachter,  148. 

Sacred  numbers,  origin  of,  39. 

Saltonstall,  Gov.,  162. 

Sandel,  Rev.  Andreas,  129;  diary 
of,  129,  153,  158,  319;  autograph 
of,  320,  343,  349,  350  ;  Sabbatarian 
doctrine,  350,  351,  353,  355,  356  ; 
autograph,  360,  384,  476,  7,  478, 
481,  182. 


500 


Index. 


Sara  Maria,  ship,  1 1  ;  enters  Chesa- 
peake bay,  12,  J5,  30  ;  Capt.  Tan- 
ner, 16  ;  runs  on  a  sand  bank,  17  ; 
floats,   17  ;  mention  of,  179,  259, 

303- 
Satan's    Harbinger   Encoutitered, 

106. 
Saner,  Christopher,  prints  Paradis 

Gdrtlein,  3  ;  pietistical  creed,  54, 

79,  105,  130 ;  almanac,  130. 
Schadeus,  John  L.,  54. 
Schaffer,  Peter,  141  ;  schoolmaster 

at  Wicacoa,  142. 
Schatz  kastlein,  100  ;  fac-similes  of, 

lor,  102. 
Scharfenstein,_Matthais,  325. 
Schertzer,  Rev.,  231. 
Schissler,  Christophus,  115. 
Schley dorn,  Henry,  329,  30. 
Schmaltz,  Joh.  Gott.,  licentat  (not 

Lieut)  of  Erfurth,  21  ;  death  and 

burial,  21;  303,  304. 
Schmidt,  F.  W.,  220. 
Schnitzler,  M.,  224. 
School,  early,  74. 
School-room,  71. 
Schotte,  Dr.,  79. 

Schott,  Prof.  Dr.  Th.,  no,  119,  462. 
Schrifftinassige  Anweisung,  103. 
Schuckart,  Anna  Maria,  excommu- 
nicated, 27,  303,  304. 
Schumacher  House,  149. 
Schumacher,  Peter,   burgess,    172 ; 

judge,  175. 
Schultz  (in),  Cath.  Eliz.,  146,  169, 

173,  174,  306. 
Schutz,  Johann  Jacob,  146. 
Schutz,  Dr.,  445. 

Schuylkill  Ferry,  trouble  about,  478. 
Schwartzenauer  Dunkers,  197. 
Schwenkfelders,  a  sect,  5  ;  exiled, 

6,  200. 
Schwerin,  Baron  Orten  von,  255,259. 


Sciopii,  Caspar,  195. 

Scriptura  S.  Copernizans,  no. 

Scylla  Theologica,  222. 

Sealy,  John,  "  Hermit,"  339. 

Secret  Love  (hymn),  237. 

Sect  People  of  Pennsylvania,  i,  2. 

Sects,  religious,  in  Pennsylvania, 
Mennonites,  4 ;  Labadists,  4 ; 
Rosicrusians,  4;  Pietists,  4;  Dun- 
kers, 4 ;  German  Baptists,  5  ; 
"  Neu-geborenen,"  5;  "  Stillen 
im  Lande,"  5  ;  Ephrata  Commu- 
nity, 5  ;  Schwenkfelders,  5  ;  Uni- 
tas  Fratrum,  or  Moravians,  5. 

Sehmanni,  Ambrossii,    462,  467. 

Seidensticker,  Dr.  Oswald,  transla- 
tion by,  15,  66,  102. 

Selig,  Johann,  visits  Deal,  18. 

Seelig,  Johann,  39,  75  ;  Pudens,  79, 
87,  158,  106 ;  (Johann  Gottfried), 
171;  Magister,  196,  199,  214  ;  post- 
script, 226,  234  ;  becomes  Magis- 
ter, 248  ;  birth  of,  335  ;  refuses  all 
honors,  336  ;  declines  in  favor  of 
Conrad  Matthai,  336  ;  works  at 
bookbinding,  337  ;  instructs  the 
youth,  337  ;  austerity,  337  ;  retires 
to  cabin  on  Levering  farm,  338  ; 
visited  by  Moravian  Evangelist, 
338 ;  death  and  burial,  339  ;  last 
testament,  340,  430. 

Setidschreiben,  by  Daniel  Falkner, 
13  ;  title,  15  ;  quoted,  35,  68,  74. 

Separatists,  161,  197,  199,  344. 

Septuagint  translation,  new,  257. 

Services,  pubHc,  67. 

Settlers,  renew  their  fealtj\  253. 

Seventh  anniversary,  151. 

Seventh  Day  Baptist  Church,  in 
America,  137 ;  memorial  Phila- 
delphia, 140  ;  atSquan,  N.  J.,  166. 

Shaftesbury,  Lord,  451,  458. 

Sharpe,  Rev.  John,  382. 


Index. 


501 


Shippeii,  Edward,  141  ;  Rebecca, 
141. 

Shipping  li?ts,  old,  193. 

Shoemaker,  Isaac,  149. 

Shoemaker,  T.  H.,  65. 

Sidney,  Algernon,  443,  451. 

Sievert,  Nachrichten,  220. 

Slate-roof  House,  151. 

Sluyter,  Petrus,  4. 

Smith,  Mathew,  vs.  Falkner,  174. 

Smith,  Rev.,  155. 

Solomon,  seal  of,  125. 

Sommerhausen,  70. 

Sonnen-rad,  a  symbol,  72. 

Sonnenwend  feuer,  34,  120. 

Song,  Cotnfortable  and  Encour- 
aging, 191. 

Sophar,  89. 

Spangenberg,  Rev.  Joseph,  6,  199, 
338. 

Spener,  Rev.  P.  J.,  49,  60,  61,  303, 

305,  445- 
Spook  Hill,  422,  430. 
Springer,  Charles  Christopher,  264; 

holds  services,  265. 
Sprogel,  Pastor,  304. 
Sprogel,  John  Henry,  145,  171,  194, 

314 ;  sells  land  to  Evan  Evans, 

318,    320,    328,   341  ;    autograph, 

315- 
Sprogel,  J.  H.  Jr.,  321. 
Sprogel,  Johanna  Christiana,  321- 
Sprogel,    Ludovic    Christian,    194 ; 

sells  organ,  354. 
Sciuare  and  triad,  152. 
Standerwick,  Samuel,  at  Deal,  18. 
Sternberg  family,  224. 
Stern warte    on    Wissahickon,    71  ; 

vigils  in,  no;  abandoned,  177. 
Stiefel,  Johann  George,  19S. 
Stillen  im  Lande,  a  sect,  5. 
St.  John's  Day,  35  ;  natal  days,  36. 
St.  John's  eve,  services  upon,  34  ; 


ceremonies  on,  120;  the  seventh, 

151- 
St.  Matthew's  Church,  New  York, 

366,  373- 

St.  Michael's  Church,  Philadelphia, 
57  ;  remedies  sold  at,  57. 

St.    Michael's  P.  E.   Church,  Ger- 
mantown,  427,  430. 

St.  Thomas,  petition  to,  365. 

Stone,    Fdk.    D.,    Litt.    D.,    com- 
ments, 443. 

Stoltze,  Prof.,  112. 

Storch,  Arnold,   145,  173,  174,  341,^ 
306,  307- 

Story,  Thomas,  Journal  of,  151. 

Stos,  Pfarrer,  255. 

Stover,  Casper,  329. 

Strepers,  William,  Burgess,  172. 

Streit,  Christian,  382  ;  Maria  Mag- 
dalena,  382. 

Stubs.  John,  436. 

Stuntz,  Jacob,  198. 

Stuntz,  Johann,  391. 

Sturm,  David,  385. 

Subscription     list,     fac-simile     of, 

327- 
Suggestions  to  Penn,  443. 
Sunday  legislation,  pernicious,  8. 
Superstitions,  local,  120  ;  English, 

153- 
Svedberg,  Rev.  Jesper,  93. 
Swebilius,  Archbishop  Olof,  473. 
Swedes  and  Finns,  142. 
Swedish  Lutherans,  persecution  of, 

265. 
Swedish  pastors,  155. 
Swert,  Cornelius,  Bailiff,  172. 
Symbol,  Ephrata,  93. 
Symbol,  Esoteric,  86  ;  Rosicrucian, 

87. 
Symbolism,  Esoteric,  71. 
Synod,  first  Pennsylvania,  199. 
Synod,  Germantown,  396. 


502 


Index. 


Tabernacle,  services  at,  78  ;  conse- 
cration of,  85;  visitors  at,  126: 
school  at,  140,  151  ;  celebration 
at,  155,  213;  picture  of,  204;  loca- 
tion of,  205. 

Talbot,  Rev.  John,  160. 

Tailcoat,  William,  440. 

Tanner,  Captain  of  "Sara  Maria," 
16,  17. 

Tauler,  Johannes,  51;  sketch  of,  52. 

Taylor,  Jacob,  almanac,  iii. 

Tays,  Johann  Phillip,  382;  Chris- 
tine, Eliz.,  382. 

Tetragranmiaton,  40. 

Teufels-bursche,  414. 

Teutonists,  47. 

Thanksgiving,  a  Pietistical,  95. 

Theosophical  light,  77. 

Theologies  Naturalis,  221. 

Theosophical  Sophia,  148. 

Third  State,  the,  189. 

Thomas,  an  Indian  slave,  380;  bap- 
tized, 381. 

Thomas,  Gabriel,  288. 

Thomas,  Schoolmaster,  350. 

Thomasius,  P.  R.,  343. 

Three-fold  Wilderness  State,  226. 

Tolstadius,  156. 

Timotheus,  Brother,  399. 

Transylvania,  220. 

Trappe,  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa.,  57  ; 
church,  97. 

Trewalla,  James,  263. 

Triad,  explanation  of,  40. 

Trinity  Church,  Wilmington,  cor- 
ner-stone laid,  a  28. 

Trinity  Church,  Oxford,  159. 

Trinity  (N.Y.)  Church  Records,  334. 

Tritheim  zettel,  122. 

True  Church  of  Philadelphia,  87,  88. 

Tucher,  Joh.  C,  223. 

Tubingen,  school  at,  221. 


U. 

Ufifenbach,  Zacharias  von,  115  ;  me- 
moirs of,   224,  259,  435,  453,  456, 

457- 
Ulhegius,  141. 
Ulstadius,  141. 

Unschuld  Act,  Wiirtemberg,  466. 
Unitas  Fratrum,  5,  200,  398. 
University  at  Erfurth,  303. 
University  at  Halle,  59  ;  sketch  of, 

59,  343- 
Utley,  Richard  Rev.,  397. 
Uylekil,  church  at,  324. 


Valley  of  the  Hudson,  155. 

Van  Bebber,  Jacob  Isaac,  35  ;  Luth- 
eran services,  66  ;  Jacob  Isaacs, 
66,  198,  252,  402. 

Van  der  Looft,  Gottlieb,  147. 

Van  de  Walle,  Jacobus,  445,  450. 

Van  Diren  controversy,  328. 

Veins,  described,  117. 

Veller,  Prof,  quoted,  130. 

Vesey,  Rev.  William,  marries  Falk- 
ner,  383. 

Vettekeiicken,  Symon  Jansz,  439, 
440 ;  Mariecke,  446. 

Vicaris,  Richard,  206. 

Vicaris,  Robert,  206. 

Vicaris,  Thos.  B.,  206. 

Viet,  Joh.,  364. 

Vinegar  Hill,  425. 

Vinning,  Capt.,  323. 

Vining,  Captain,  report  to  Gover- 
nor, 317. 

Virginal,  Dr.  Witt's,  418. 

Vital  religion  promoted,  70. 

Vogelsang,  Pastor,  254. 

Voice   of  Hidden   Love,    (hymn), 

237- 
Vohmt    in    New    York     Register, 

378. 


Index. 


503 


w. 

Wade,  Rev.  John,  397. 
Wat!;ner,  Michael,  315. 
Waldenfield,  Samuel,  18. 
Walle,  Jacob  van  de,  168 ;  widow 

of,  169,  306. 
Walle,  Maria  van  de,  169. 
Walton,  Brian,  sketch  of,  256. 
Walton's  Polyglot,  256,  259. 
Warmer,  Christian,^  178,  403,  404, 

will,  404,  419  ;  family,  244  ;  auto- 
graph of,  245. 
Warmer,  Christian,'-  406,  414,  424, 

428. 
Warmer,  Christian,*  415,  418. 
Warmer,  Christiana,  403,  404. 
Warmer,  Elizabeth,  403,  424. 
Warmer,  George,  403. 
Warmer,  Lydia  (Powell),  424. 
Warmer,  Christopher,  424. 
Warmer,  Jonathan,  424,  428. 
Warner,  vide  Warmer,  419. 
Water  baptism,  183. 
Watson,  J.  F.,  quoted,  65,  102. 
Webster,  Geo.  S.,  map  of,  209. 
Wees,  William  de,  SherifT,  175. 
Weib  in  der  Wiiste,  (Woman  in  the 

Wilderness),  81. 
Welser  von  Neunhofit,  223. 
Welsh  tract,  174. 
Welsh    services,     261  ;     prevented 

from  attending  church    services 

264. 
Westerly  Church,  R.  I.,  163;  records 

of,  163  ;  conference,  164. 
Whitpain  House,  34. 
Whitpain,  Robert,  32. 
Whitefield,  Rev.  George,  6. 
Whitehead,  George,  438. 
Whittier,  quoted,  250. 
Wicacoa,  Swedish  block-house  at, 

30;  church,  69;  meaning  of,  94; 

foundation  stone  laid,   116,    140, 


157;  sciioolmaster  at,  142  ;  church 
at,  178 ;  church,  202. 

Widow,  a  devout,  75. 

Widow,  two  lonesome,  191. 

Wierd  tales,  7. 

Wiegner,  Christopher,  6. 

Wright,  Martha,  458. 

Wilderness  State,  the  Threefold, 
180;  Barren  State,  180,  183;  Fruit- 
ful State,  181,  183;  Everblessed 
State,  184. 

Wilderness  of  the  elect  of  God,  184. 

Wilderness  time,  191. 

William  and  Mary,  32. 

Wingohocking,  70. 

Wissahickon,  meaning  of,  70,  72, 
74 ;  Swedish  Pastors  visit,  95 ; 
community  on,  157. 

Wister,  Chas.J.,  234. 

Witchcraft  in  Germantown,  124. 

Witherholtz,  Charles,  414. 

Witt,  Dr.  Christopher,  102,  115,  124, 
147,  196,  339,  399,  402;  autograph, 
403  ;  retires  to  Germantown,  403  ; 
purchases  land,  404 ;  deeds  it 
to  Christian  Warmer,  404 ;  exe- 
cutor of  Widow  Zimmermann, 
405 ;  death  of  Geissler,  406 ; 
bequest  of  C.  Warmer,  (2),  406; 
established  first  botanical  garden 
in  America,  406  ;  intimacy  with 
John  Bartram,  407  ;  Peter  Collin- 
son,  409  ;  correspondence,  409, 
410,  411  ;  builds  first  stone  house, 
411  ;  botanizes,  411  ;  constructs 
ingenious  clocks,  412  ;  owns  large 
organ,  412;  Virginal,  412;  as- 
tronomical research,  412;  ob- 
serves Comet  of  1743,  413  ;  prac- 
tices horoscophy,  413;  buys  a 
slave,  413  ;  accumulates  property, 
414  ;  becomes  blind,  414  ;  signa- 
ture, 415  ;  death  and  burial,  415  ; 


■>4      /     /-^ 


504 


Index. 


obituary,  416 ;  last  will,  417  ; 
bequest  to  Wm.  Yates,  417;  be- 
quests to  Pennsylvania  hospital, 
417;  inventory,  418;  tradition  of, 
419,  420 ;  visits  graveyard,  422, 
424,  427. 

Wolff,  Rev.  John  August,  332. 

Woglom,  Pieter  von,  364,  380. 

Wohlfarth,  Michael,  (Welfare),  198. 

Woman  in  the  wilderness,  the,  78, 
80,  8r,  84 ;  explained,  130. 

Wiirtemberg,  arms  of,  44. 

Wiister,  Johannes,  234,  393,  5,  399. 

Wulff,  Paul,  172. 

Wunder-doctor,  422. 

Wunder-sigel,  122. 


Yates,  William,  416. 
Yearly  Meeting,  extracts  from  min- 
utes, 105. 
Yeomans,  Isabella,  440. 
York,  Duke  of,  125. 

Z. 

Zabanius,  Johann,  221,  223. 
Zenger,  J.  Peter,  355. 
Zimmermann,  Johann  Jacob,  44,  45, 
46,  47,  60  ;  death  of,  61  ;  MSS.  of, 


109,  no,  119,  223,  258,  259,  472; 
Magister,  354  ;  biography,  460  ; 
prophecies  millenium,  467 ;  de- 
nounces Christian  Church  as  Ba- 
bel, 468  ;  accused  of  heresy,  469  ; 
malignes  Consistory,  469;  charges 
and  counter  charges,  470 ;  bibli- 
ography, 471  ;  decendents,  472. 

Zimmerman,'^  John  Jacob,  472. 

Zimmermann,  Maria  Margaretha, 
marries,  85,  472. 

Zimmermann,  Mary  Margaret,  wid- 
ow, 62;  Mary  Margaret,  daughter, 
62  ;  Mathew,  62  ;  Jacob  Christo- 
pher, 62,  472. 

Zimmermann,  Phillip  Christian,  62, 
472. 

Zimmermann,    Maria    Margaretha, 

Zimmerman,  Mathias,  404. 

Zimmermann,  Matthaus,  472. 

Zimmermann,  Widow,  307,  405. 

Zinzendorf,  Count  Ludwig,  6,  199, 
200,  201,  338. 

Zionitic     Brotherhood,     397,     398, 

399- 
Zionitischer  Weyrauchs  Hugel,  336; 
fac-simile  page,    345 ;  title,  346, 

347- 
Zoroastrian  doctrine,  62;  cultus,  62. 


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