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The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740

by Adelaide L. Fries · English · Gutenberg #570 · 382,003 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740

Author: Adelaide L. Fries


        
Release date: June 1, 1996 [eBook #570]
                Most recently updated: November 6, 2016

Language: English

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Credits: Produced by A. Light, and David Widger


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MORAVIANS IN GEORGIA, 1735-1740 ***




Produced by A. Light





THE MORAVIANS IN GEORGIA

1735-1740


by Adelaide L. Fries


(Note on text: Italicized words or phrases are capitalized. A few
obvious errors have been corrected. Many German names with umlauts have
had the umlaut replaced with an ‘e’ following the vowel (according to
standard form) due to the limitations of ASCII. These names are noted in
the Index.)



Winston-Salem, N. C.




Preface.


In the life of any individual, association, or nation, there will
probably be one or more occurrences which may be considered as success
or failure according to the dramatic features of the event and the
ultimate results. Of this the Battle of Bunker Hill is a striking
example. On the morning of June 17th, 1775, a force of British soldiers
attacked a small body of raw, ill-equipped American volunteers, who
had fortified a hill near Boston, and quickly drove them from their
position. By whom then was the Bunker Hill Monument erected? By the
victors in that first engagement of the Revolution? No, but by proud
descendants of the vanquished, whose broader view showed them
the incalculable benefits arising from that seeming defeat, which
precipitated the great struggle, forcing every man in the Colonies to
take a position squarely for or against the American Cause, convinced
the timid that only proper equipment would be needed to enable the
American army to hold its own against the foe, and taught the British
that they were dealing, not with hot-headed rebels who would run at
first sight of the dreaded “red coats”, but with patriots who would
stand their ground so long as a charge of powder remained, or gunstocks
could be handled as clubs.

Very much the same line of argument may be applied to the first attempt
of the Moravian Church to establish a settlement on the American
Continent. The story is usually passed over by historians in a few short
paragraphs, and yet without the colony in Georgia, the whole history of
the Renewed Church of the Unitas Fratrum would have been very different.
Without that movement the Moravian Church might never have been
established in England, without it the great Methodist denomination
might never have come into being, without it the American Moravian
provinces, North or South, might not have been planned. Of course
Providence might have provided other means for the accomplishment of
these ends, but certain it is that in the actual development of all
these things the “unsuccessful attempt” in Georgia, 1735 to 1740, played
a most important part.

In preparing this history a number of private libraries, the collections
of the Georgia Historical Society, the Congressional Library, the
British Museum, were searched for data, but so little was found that
the story, in so far as it relates to the Moravian settlement, has been
drawn entirely from the original manuscripts in the Archives of the
Unitas Fratrum at Herrnhut, Germany, with some additions from the
Archives at Bethlehem, Pa., and Salem, N. C. For the general history of
Georgia, of the Moravian Church, and of the Wesleys, Steven’s History of
Georgia, Hamilton’s History of the Moravian Church, Levering’s History
of Bethlehem, Pa., Some Fathers of the American Moravian Church, by
de Schweinitz, Strobel’s History of the Salzburgers, Tyreman’s Oxford
Methodists, and Wesley’s Journal have been most largely used.

The history of the Moravian settlement in Georgia falls into that period
when dates are much confused through the contemporaneous use of the old
style, or Julian calendar, and the new style, or Gregorian calendar. As
the latter is now current everywhere, except in Russia and the Orient,
it is here employed throughout, old style dates being translated where
they occur in the records.

Special thanks are due to Rev. A. Glitsch, Archivist at Herrnhut,
for courtesies extended while the author was examining the invaluable
collection of papers entrusted to his care, and also for his supervision
of the copying of such documents as were selected; to Mr. Isaac Beckett,
of Savannah, for information respecting the Moravian lands; to Mr. John
Jordan, of Philadelphia, for copies of deeds and other papers relating
to the settlement; to Mr. W. S. Pfohl, of Salem, for assistance with the
illustrations; and to Mr. John W. Fries for suggestion and inspiration
for the work, and the constant encouragement and sympathetic interest
without which the author’s courage would have failed during the tedious
years of gathering material for the book, which is now presented
to those who may find in it something of explanation, something of
interest, concerning the Moravian settlement in Georgia, and the broader
history which the story touches on every side.

                                                  Adelaide L. Fries.
August, 1904.



Table of Contents.


     Chapter I.  Antecedent Events.
       The Province of Georgia.
       The Salzburgers.
       Unitas Fratrum.
       Halle Opposition.

     Chapter II.  Negotiations with the Trustees of Georgia.
       The Schwenkfelders.
       Preliminary Steps.
       The “First Company”.

     Chapter III.  The First Year in Georgia.
       The Voyage.
       Making a Start.
       Aim and Attainment.

     Chapter IV.  Reinforcements.
       The “Second Company”.
       Four Journals.
       Organization.

     Chapter V.  The Second Year in Georgia.
       The English Clergymen.
       Work Among the Indians.
       The “Society”.
       Rumors of War.

     Chapter VI.  Disintegration.
       Spangenberg’s Visit.
       A Closing Door.
       Wesley, Ingham and Toeltschig.
       The Negro Mission.

     Chapter VII.  Conclusion.
       Later Attempts in Georgia.
       The Savannah Lands.
       Arrivals, Departures, Deaths.
       Summary.




THE MORAVIANS IN GEORGIA, 1735-1740.




Chapter I. Antecedent Events.



  The Province of Georgia.

It was in the year 1728 that the English Parliament was persuaded by
James Oglethorpe, Esq.--soldier, statesman and philanthropist,--to
appoint a committee to investigate the condition of the debtors confined
in the Fleet and Marchalsea prisons. The lot of these debtors was a
most pitiable one, for a creditor had power to imprison a man for an
indefinite term of years, and the unfortunate debtor, held within the
four walls of his prison, could earn no money to pay the debt that was
owing, and unless friends came to his rescue, was utterly at the
mercy of the oft-times barbarous jailor. The Committee, consisting of
ninety-six prominent men, with Oglethorpe as Chairman, recommended and
secured the redress of many grievances, and the passing of better laws
for the future, but Oglethorpe and a few associates conceived a plan
which they thought would eradicate the evil by striking at its very
root, the difficulty which many found in earning a living in the
overcrowded cities.

In 1663 King Charles II. had granted to eight “Lords Proprietors” the
portion of North America lying between the 31st and 36th degrees of
latitude, enlarging the boundaries in 1665 to 29 deg. and 36 deg. 30
min. By 1728 most of these Lords Proprietors had tired of their attempt
to govern the colonies they had established in “Carolina”, and in
1729 seven of the eight sold their interest to the English crown, the
district being divided into “North Carolina”, “South Carolina”, and a
more southerly portion, nominally included in the latter, which was held
in reserve.

To this unused land the thoughts of Oglethorpe turned, and he and his
friends addressed a memorial to the Privy Council, stating “that the
cities of London, Westminster, and parts adjacent, do abound with great
numbers of indigent persons, who are reduced to such necessity as to
become burthensome to the public, and who would be willing to seek a
livelihood in any of his majesty’s plantations in America, if they were
provided with a passage, and means of settling there.” They therefore
asked for a grant of land lying south of the Savannah River, where they
wished to establish a colony in which these unfortunate men might begin
life anew, and where Protestants, persecuted in some parts of Europe,
might find a refuge. They also offered to take entire charge of the
affair, and their petition, after passing through the usual channels,
was approved by the King, George II, a charter was prepared, and the
great seal was affixed June 9th, 1732.

This instrument constituted twenty-one noblemen and gentlemen a body
corporate, by the name and style of “The Trustees for establishing the
Colony of Georgia in America”, and in them was vested full authority for
the collecting of subscriptions and the expending of moneys gathered,
the selection of colonists, and the making and administering of laws
in Georgia; but no member of the corporation was allowed to receive
a salary, or any fees, or to hold land in the new province. The
undertaking was to be strictly for the good of others, not for their
own pecuniary benefit. The charter granted to them “all those lands,
countries, and territories situate, lying and being in that part of
South Carolina, in America” between the Savannah and Altamaha, gave them
permission to take over any British subjects, or foreigners willing to
become such, and guaranteed to each settler the rights of an English
subject, and full liberty of conscience,--Papists alone excepted. This
apparently pointed exception was natural enough, since from a political
standpoint the new colony was regarded as a valuable guard for the
Protestant English Colonies on the north, against the Indians and
Roman Catholic colonists to the south, who had been keeping the border
settlers in a continual state of uneasiness, even in times of nominal
peace. Moreover England had not forgotten the terrible experience of
the latter half of the preceding century, when it was war to the death
between Catholic and Protestant, and the latter party being the stronger
the former was subjected to great and unpardonable persecution, many
were executed, and all holding that faith were laid under political
disabilities which lasted for a hundred and fifty years.

The plans of the Trustees were very broad. They intended “to relieve
such unfortunate persons as cannot subsist here, and establish them in
an orderly manner, so as to form a well regulated town. As far as their
fund goes they will defray the charge of their passage to Georgia--give
them necessaries, cattle, land, and subsistence, till such time as they
can build their houses and clear some of their land.” In this manner
“many families who would otherwise starve will be provided for, and
made masters of houses and lands; * * * and by giving refuge to the
distressed Salzburgers and other Protestants, the power of Britain, as a
reward for its hospitality, will be increased by the addition of so many
religious and industrious subjects.”

Each of the emigrants was to receive about fifty acres of land,
including a town lot, a garden of five acres, and a forty-five acre
farm, and the Trustees offered to give a tract of five hundred acres to
any well-to-do man who would go over at his own expense, taking with
him at least ten servants, and promising his military service in case of
need.

But there was a commercial as well as a benevolent side to the designs
of the Trustees, for they thought Georgia could be made to furnish silk,
wine, oil and drugs in large quantities, the importing of which would
keep thousands of pounds sterling in English hands which had hitherto
gone to China, Persia and the Madeiras. Special provision was therefore
made to secure the planting of mulberry trees as the first step towards
silk culture, the other branches to be introduced as speedily as might
be.

Filled with enthusiasm for their plan, the Trustees proceeded to spread
abroad the most glowing descriptions of the country where the new colony
was to be settled.

     “The kind spring, which but salutes us here,
      Inhabits there, and courts them all the year.
     Ripe fruits and blossoms on the same trees live--
      At once they promise, when at once they give.
     So sweet the air, so moderate the clime,
      None sickly lives, or dies before his time.
     Heaven, sure, has kept this spot of earth uncurst,
      To shew how all things were created first.”

So wrote Oglethorpe, quoting the lines as the best pen picture he could
give of the new land, and truly, if the colonists found the reality less
roseate than they anticipated, it was not the fault of their generous,
energetic leader, who spared neither pains nor means in his effort to
make all things work out as his imagination had painted them.

The Trustees having, with great care, selected thirty-five families from
the number who wished to go, the first emigrant ship sailed for Georgia
in November, 1732, bearing about one hundred and twenty-five “sober,
industrious and moral persons”, and all needful stores for the
establishment of the colony. Early in the following year they reached
America, and Oglethorpe, having chosen a high bluff on the southern bank
of the Savannah River, concluded a satisfactory treaty with Tomochichi,
the chief of the nearest Indian tribe, which was later ratified in a
full Council of the chiefs of all the Lower Creeks. His fairness and
courteous treatment won the hearts of all, especially of Tomochichi and
his people, who for many years remained on the best of terms with the
town which was now laid out upon the bluff.


  The Salzburgers.

The Salzburgers, referred to by name in the proposals of the Georgia
Trustees, were, at this time, very much upon the mind and heart of
Protestant Europe. They were Germans, belonging to the Archbishopric of
Salzburg, then the most eastern district of Bavaria, but now a province
of Austria. “Their ancestors, the Vallenges of Piedmont, had been
compelled by the barbarities of the Dukes of Savoy to find a shelter
from the storms of persecution in the Alpine passes and vales of
Salzburg and the Tyrol, before the Reformation; and frequently since,
they had been hunted out by the hirelings and soldiery of the Church of
Rome, and condemned for their faith to tortures of the most cruel
and revolting kind. In 1684-6, they were again threatened with an
exterminating persecution; but were saved in part by the intervention
of the Protestant States of Saxony and Brandenburg, though more than a
thousand emigrated on account of the dangers to which they were exposed.

“But the quietness which they then enjoyed for nearly half a century
was rudely broken in upon by Leopold, Count of Firmian and Archbishop of
Salzburg, who determined to reduce them to the Papal faith and power.
He began in the year 1729, and ere he ended in 1732 not far from thirty
thousand had been driven from their homes, to seek among the Protestant
States of Europe that charity and peace which were denied them in the
glens and fastnesses of their native Alps.

“The march of these Salzburgers constitutes an epoch in the history of
Germany. * * * Arriving at Augsburg, the magistrates closed the gates
against them, refusing them entrance to that city which, two hundred
years before, through Luther and Melancthon and in the presence of
Charles V and the assembled Princes of Germany, had given birth to the
celebrated Augsburg Confession, for clinging to which the Salzburgers
were now driven from their homes; but overawed by the Protestants, the
officers reluctantly admitted the emigrants, who were kindly entertained
by the Lutherans.

“The sympathies of Reformed Christendom were awakened on their behalf,
and the most hospitable entertainment and assistance were everywhere
given them.” Only a few months after the signing of the Georgia Colony
Charter, the “Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge”
 requested the Trustees to include the Salzburgers in their plans. The
Trustees expressed their willingness to grant lands, and to manage any
money given toward their expenses, but stated that they then held no
funds which were available for that purpose.

In May, 1733, the House of Commons appropriated 10,000 Pounds to the
Trustees of Georgia, “to be applied towards defraying the charges
of carrying over and settling foreign and other Protestants in said
colony,” and over 3,000 Pounds additional having been given privately,
the Trustees, at the suggestion of Herr von Pfeil, consul of Wittenberg
at Regensberg, wrote to Senior Samuel Urlsperger, pastor of the Lutheran
Church of St. Ann in the city of Augsburg, who had been very kind to
the Salzburgers on their arrival there, “and ever afterward watched over
their welfare with the solicitude of an affectionate father.” On receipt
of the invitation from the Trustees, seventy-eight persons decided to go
to Georgia, and left Augsburg on the 21st of October, reaching Rotterdam
the 27th of November, where they were joined by two ministers, Rev. Mr.
Bolzius, deputy superintendent of the Latin Orphan School at Halle,
and Rev. Mr. Gronau, a tutor in the same, who were to accompany them to
their new home. In England they were treated with marked kindness, and
when they sailed, January 19, 1734, it was with the promise of free
transportation to Georgia, and support there until they could reap their
first harvest from the fifty acres which were to be given to each man
among them.

They reached Charlestown, South Carolina, the following March, and
met General Oglethorpe, the Governor of Georgia, who was intending an
immediate return to Europe, but went back to help them select a suitable
place for their settlement, they preferring not to live in Savannah
itself. The site chosen was about twenty-five miles from Savannah, on
a large stream flowing into the Savannah River, and there they laid out
their town, calling it “Ebenezer”, in grateful remembrance of the Divine
help that had brought them thither. Baron von Reck, who had accompanied
them as Commissary of the Trustees, stayed with them until they had made
a good beginning, and then returned to Europe, leaving Ebenezer about
the middle of May.


  Unitas Fratrum.

But while the Salzburgers received so much sympathy and kindness in
Germany on account of their distress, other exiled Protestants, whose
story was no less touching, were being treated with scant courtesy and
consideration.

On the 6th of July, 1415, the Bohemian Reformer, John Hus, was burned at
the stake. But those who had silenced him could not unsay his message,
and at last there drew together a little body of earnest men, who agreed
to accept the Bible as their only standard of faith and practice, and
established a strict discipline which should keep their lives in the
simplicity, purity, and brotherly love of the early Apostolic Church.
This was in 1457, and the movement quickly interested the thoughtful
people in all classes of society, many of whom joined their ranks.
The formal organization of the Unitas Fratrum (the Unity of Brethren)
followed, and its preaching, theological publications, and educational
work soon raised it to great influence in Bohemia, Moravia, and Poland,
friendly intercourse being established with Luther, Calvin, and other
Reformers as they became prominent.

Then came destruction, when the religious liberty of Bohemia and Moravia
was extinguished in blood, by the Church of Rome. The great Comenius
went forth, a wanderer on the face of the earth, welcomed and honored
in courts and universities, introducing new educational principles that
revolutionized methods of teaching, but ever longing and praying for the
restoration of his Church; and by his publication of its Doctrine and
Rules of Discipline, and by his careful transmission of the Episcopate
which had been bestowed upon him and his associate Bishops, he did
contribute largely to that renewal which he was not destined to see.

In the home lands there were many who held secretly, tenaciously,
desperately, to the doctrines they loved, “in hope against hope” that
the great oppression would be lifted. But the passing of a hundred years
brought no relief, concessions granted to others were still denied
to the children of those who had been the first “protestants” against
religious slavery and corruption, and in 1722 a small company of
descendants of the ancient Unitas Fratrum slipped over the borders of
Moravia, and went to Saxony, Nicholas Lewis, Count Zinzendorf, having
given them permission to sojourn on his estates until they could find
suitable homes elsewhere.

Hearing that they had reached a place of safety, other Moravians took
their lives in their hands and followed, risking the imprisonment and
torture which were sure to follow an unsuccessful attempt to leave a
province, the Government of which would neither allow them to be happy
at home nor to sacrifice everything and go away. Among these emigrants
were five young men, who went in May, 1724, with the avowed intention
of trying to resuscitate the Unitas Fratrum. They intended to go into
Poland, where the organization of the Unitas Fratrum had lasted for a
considerable time after its ruin in Bohemia, but, almost by accident,
they decided to first visit Christian David, who had led the first
company to Herrnhut, Saxony, and while there they became convinced
that God meant them to throw in their lot with these refugees, and so
remained, coming to be strong leaders in the renewed Unity.

Several years, however, elapsed before the church was re-established.
One hundred years of persecution had left the Moravians only traditions
of the usages of the fathers, members of other sects who were in trouble
came and settled among them, bringing diverse views, and things were
threatening to become very much involved, when Count Zinzendorf, who
had hitherto paid little attention to them, awoke to the realization of
their danger, and at once set to work to help them.

It was no easy task which he undertook, for the Moravians insisted on
retaining their ancient discipline, and he must needs try to please
them and at the same time preserve the bond of union with the State
Church,--the Lutheran,--of which, as his tenants, they were officially
considered members. His tact and great personal magnetism at last healed
the differences which had sprung up between the settlers, the opportune
finding of Comenius’ ‘Ratio Disciplinae’ enabled them with certainty to
formulate rules that agreed with those of the ancient Unitas Fratrum,
and a marked outpouring of the Holy Spirit at a Communion, August 13th,
1727, sealed the renewal of the Church.

     “They walked with God in peace and love,
      But failed with one another;
     While sternly for the faith they strove,
      Brother fell out with brother;
     But He in Whom they put their trust,
      Who knew their frames, that they were dust,
     Pitied and healed their weakness.

     “He found them in His House of prayer,
      With one accord assembled,
     And so revealed His presence there,
      They wept for joy and trembled;
     One cup they drank, one bread they brake,
      One baptism shared, one language spake,
     Forgiving and forgiven.

     “Then forth they went with tongues of flame
      In one blest theme delighting,
     The love of Jesus and His Name
      God’s children all uniting!
     That love our theme and watchword still;
      That law of love may we fulfill,
     And love as we are loved.”
                                    (Montgomery.)


At this time there was no thought of separating from the State Church
and establishing a distinct denomination, and Zinzendorf believed that
the Unitas Fratrum could exist as a ‘society’ working in, and in harmony
with, the State Church of whatever nation it might enter. This idea,
borrowed probably from Spener’s “ecclesiolae in ecclesia”, clung to
him, even after circumstances had forced the Unity to declare its
independence and the validity of the ordination of its ministry, and
many otherwise inexplicable things in the later policy of the Church may
be traced to its influence.


  Halle Opposition.

In 1734 Zinzendorf took orders in the Lutheran Church, but this, and
all that preceded it, seemed to augment rather than quiet the antagonism
which the development of Herrnhut aroused in certain quarters. This
opposition was not universal. The Moravians had many warm friends and
advocates at the Saxon Court, at the Universities of Jena and Tuebingen,
and elsewhere, but they also had active enemies who drew their
inspiration principally from the University of Halle.

The opposition of Halle seems to have been largely prompted by jealousy.
In 1666 a revolt against the prevailing cold formalism of the Lutheran
Church was begun by Philip Jacob Spener, a minister of that Church,
who strongly urged the need for real personal piety on the part of each
individual. His ideas were warmly received by some, and disliked by
others, who stigmatized Spener and his disciples as “Pietists”, but
the doctrine spread, and in the course of time the University of
Halle became its centre. Among those who were greatly attracted by the
movement were Count Zinzendorf’s parents and grandparents, and when he
was born, May 26th, 1700, Spener was selected as his sponsor.

Being of a warm-hearted, devout nature, young Zinzendorf yielded readily
to the influence of his pious grandmother, to whose care he was left
after his father’s death and his mother’s second marriage, and by her
wish he entered the Paedagogium at Halle in 1710, remaining there
six years. Then his uncle, fearing that he would become a religious
enthusiast, sent him to the University of Wittenberg, with strict orders
to apply himself to the study of law. Here he learned to recognize the
good side of the Wittenberg divines, who were decried by Halle, and
tried to bring the two Universities to a better understanding, but
without result.

In 1719 he was sent on an extensive foreign tour, according to custom,
and in the picture gallery of Duesseldorf saw an Ecce Homo with its
inscription “This have I done for thee, what hast thou done for me?”
 which settled him forever in his determination to devote his whole life
to the service of Christ.

Rather against his wishes, Count Zinzendorf then took office under the
Saxon Government, but about the same time he bought from his grandmother
the estate of Berthelsdorf, desiring to establish a centre of piety,
resembling Halle. The coming of the Moravian and other refugees and
their settlement at Herrnhut, near Berthelsdorf, was to him at first
only an incident; but as their industry and the preaching of Pastor
Rothe, whom he had put in charge of the Berthelsdorf Lutheran Church,
began to attract attention, he went to Halle, expecting sympathy from
his friends there. Instead he met with rebuke and disapproval, the
leaders resenting the fact that he had not placed the work directly
under their control, and apparently realizing, as he did not, that the
movement would probably lead to the establishment of a separate church.

In spite of their disapprobation, the work at Herrnhut prospered, and
the more it increased the fiercer their resentment grew. That they,
who had gained their name from their advocacy of the need for personal
piety, should have been foremost in opposing a man whose piety was his
strongest characteristic, and a people who for three hundred years, in
prosperity and adversity, in danger, torture and exile, had held “Christ
and Him Crucified” as their Confession of Faith, and pure and simple
living for His sake as their object in life, is one of the ironies of
history.

Nor did the Halle party confine itself to criticism. Some years later
Zinzendorf was for a time driven into exile, and narrowly escaped the
confiscation of all his property, while its methods of obstructing the
missionary and colonizing efforts of the Moravians will appear in the
further history of the Georgia colony.




Chapter II. Negotiations with the Trustees of Georgia.



  The Schwenkfelders.

Among those who came to share the hospitalities of Count Zinzendorf
during the years immediately preceding the renewal of the Unitas
Fratrum, were a company of Schwenkfelders. Their sojourn on his estate
was comparatively brief, and their association with the Moravian Church
only temporary, but they are of interest because their necessities led
directly to the Moravian settlements in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

The Schwenkfelders took their name from Casper Schwenkfeld, a Silesian
nobleman contemporary with Luther, who had in the main embraced the
Reformer’s doctrines, but formed some opinions of his own in regard
to the Lord’s Supper, and one or two other points. His followers were
persecuted in turn by Lutherans and Jesuits, and in 1725 a number of
them threw themselves on the mercy of Count Zinzendorf. He permitted
them to stay for a while at Herrnhut, where their views served to
increase the confusion which prevailed prior to the revival of 1727,
about which time he moved them to Ober-Berthelsdorf.

In 1732, Zinzendorf’s personal enemies accused him, before the Saxon
Court, of being a dangerous man, and the Austrian Government complained
that he was enticing its subjects to remove to his estates. The Count
asked for a judicial investigation, which was granted, the Prefect of
Goerlitz spending three days in a rigid examination of the affairs of
Herrnhut. The result was a most favorable report, showing the orthodoxy
of the settlers, and that instead of urging emigration from Bohemia and
Moravia, Zinzendorf had protested against it, receiving only those
who were true exiles for conscience’ sake. In spite of this the
Saxon Government, a few months later, forbade him to receive any more
refugees.

In April, 1733, a decree went forth that all Schwenkfelders were to
leave the Kingdom of Saxony. This, of course, affected those who were
living at Ober-Berthelsdorf, and a committee of four waited on Count
Zinzendorf, and requested him to secure a new home for them in the land
of Georgia in North America. Probably Zinzendorf, whose attention
had been caught by the attractive advertisements of the Trustees, had
unofficially suggested the idea to them.

Lest his opening negotiations with the English Company should foment the
trouble at home, he sent his first communication to them anonymously,
about the end of 1733.

“A nobleman, of the Protestant religion, connected with the most
influential families of Germany, has decided to live for a time in
America, without, however, renouncing his estates in Germany. But as
circumstances render it inadvisable for him to take such a step hastily,
he wishes to send in advance a number of families of his dependents,
composed of honest, sturdy, industrious, skillful, economical people,
well ordered in their domestic affairs, who, having no debts, will try
to sell such possessions as they cannot take with them in order to raise
the funds for establishing themselves in their new home.

“This nobleman, on his part, promises:

(1) To be governed by the King, and the English Nation, in all things,
matters of conscience alone excepted; that is, he will be true to the
Prince, the Protestant Succession, and Parliament in everything relating
to the estates he may receive in this country, and thereto will pledge
his life, and the property he may in future hold under the protection of
His Majesty of Great Britain.

(2) To be surety for the dependents that he sends over, and to assume
only such jurisdiction over them as is customary among English Lords on
their estates.

(3) To carefully repay the English Nation such sums as may be advanced
for his establishment in Georgia, and moreover, as soon as the property
is in good condition, to consider it only as rented until the obligation
is discharged.

(4) To assist the King and Nation, with all zeal and by all means in his
power, to carry out His Majesty’s designs for Georgia. He will bring to
that all the insight and knowledge of a man of affairs, who from youth
up has studied the most wholesome principles and laws for a State, and
has had personal experience in putting them into execution; but, on the
other hand, he has learned such self-control that he will meddle with
nothing in which his services are not desired.

“In consideration of these things the nobleman asks that--

(1) If more knowledge of his standing is desired he shall be expected to
give it to no one except a Committee of Parliament, composed of members
of both houses, appointed by his Britannic Majesty, or to a Committee of
the ‘Collegii directoriatis’ of America, who shall be empowered to grant
his requests; this in view of the fact that the petitioner is a German
Nobleman, whose family is well known, his father having been Ambassador
to England, and his kindred among the foremost statesmen of Europe.

(2) After the Committee has received sufficient and satisfactory
information it shall be silent in regard to the circumstances and
his personality, as he has weighty reasons for not wishing to subject
himself to criticism.

(3) He shall be given a written agreement, guaranteeing the following
things:

 a.  That he shall receive enough land for a household
 of fifty to sixty persons, and for about a hundred other dependents,
 most of whom have a trade or profession, and all able
 to help build up the country.

 b.  That his dependents shall be given free transportation,
 and supplies for the voyage.

 c.  That they shall be taken directly to the place mentioned
 in the agreement.

 d.  That he and his agent shall have certain sums advanced to him
 for the expenses of the removal to Georgia, the money to be given them
 only when they are ready to embark in England,--payment to be made
 several years later, a rate of interest having been mutually agreed on,
 and the estate in Georgia being given for security if necessary.

 e.  All that is needed for the building of a village for himself and
 his dependents shall be furnished them,--but as an interest bearing loan.

 f.  That he, and the colonists who will go with him, shall have
 full religious liberty, they being neither papists nor visionaries.

 g.  That if any of his dependents should fall into error
 no one should attempt to correct them, but leave him to handle the matter
 according to his own judgment; on the other hand he will stand surety
 for the conduct of his dependents as citizens.

 h.  That he and his descendents shall be taken under the protection
 of the English Nation if they request it.

 i.  That he may be permitted to choose whether he will go himself to Georgia,
 or send a representative to set his affairs in order, and if the latter,
 then the representative shall receive the courteous treatment
 that would have been accorded him.

 j.  That those among his colonists who wish to preach the gospel
 to the heathen shall be allowed to do so; and their converts shall have
 the same religious freedom as his colonists.

 k.  That he and his dependents in Georgia shall be given the privileges
 in spiritual affairs which the independent Lords of Germany enjoy
 in temporal affairs.

 l.  That all his property shall be at the service of the State
 in time of need, but neither he nor his dependents shall be called on
 for military duty, in lieu whereof he will, if necessary,
 pay a double war tax.”

From this document it appears that even at this early stage of the
negotiations Zinzendorf’s plans for the settlement in Georgia were well
matured. A town was to be built by his colonists, where they should have
all privileges for the free exercise of their religion; they, as thrifty
citizens, were to assist in the upbuilding of Georgia; they were to
preach the gospel to the heathen; they were NOT to bear arms, but in
case of war to pay a double tax. His careful avoidance of the plea
of religious persecution was caused by the fact that his own King had
ordered the exile of the Schwenkfelders, for Zinzendorf all his life
sought to pay due respect to those in authority, and even when his
conscience forced him to differ with them it was done with perfect
courtesy, giving equal weight to all parts of the commandment “Honor all
men; love the brotherhood; fear God; honor the King.”

The proposals of the Count were forwarded through Herr von Pfeil, and
were presented to the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia by a Mr. Lorenz.
Who this gentleman was does not appear, but a man bearing that name was
one of the Germans, living in London, who in 1737 formed a society for
religious improvement under the influence of Count Zinzendorf.

Through the same channel the answer of the Trustees was returned:

“Mr. Lorenz,

The proposals sent by Baron Pfeil from Ratisbon (Regensberg) to the
Trustees of Georgia have been read at their meeting, but as they see
that the gentleman asks pecuniary assistance for the establishment he
contemplates, they answer that they have absolutely no fund from which
to defray such expenses, but that in case the gentleman who suggests it
wishes to undertake the enterprise at his own cost they will be able to
grant him land in Georgia on conditions to which no one could object,
and which he may learn as soon as the Trustees have been informed that
he has decided to go at his own expense. You will have the kindness to
forward this to Baron Pfeil, and oblige,

     your most humble
                         servant J. Vernon.”

Whether this plea of “no fund” was prompted by indifference, or whether
they really considered the money appropriated by Parliament as intended
for the Salzburgers alone, is immaterial. Perhaps Zinzendorf’s very
proposals to consider any assistance as a loan made them think him able
to finance the scheme himself.

The Schwenkfelders, being under orders to expatriate themselves,
left Berthelsdorf on the 26th of May, 1734, under the leadership of
Christopher Wiegner (sometimes called George in Moravian MSS.) and at
their request George Boehnisch, one of the Herrnhut Moravians, went with
them. Their plan was to go through Holland to England, and thence to
Georgia, but in the former country they changed their minds and sailed
for Pennsylvania. In December of the same year Spangenberg was in
Rotterdam, where he lodged with a Dr. Koker, from whom he learned the
reason for their, until then, unexplained behavior. Dr. Koker belonged
to a Society calling themselves the “Collegiants”, the membership of
which was drawn from the Reformed, Lutheran, and various other churches.
Their cardinal principles were freedom of speech, freedom of belief, and
liberty to retain membership in their own denominations if they desired.
The Society was really an offshoot of the Baptist Church, differing,
however, in its non-insistance upon a particular form of baptism. Twice
a year the members met in the Lord’s Supper, to which all were welcomed
whose life was beyond reproach. In Holland they enjoyed the same
privileges as other sects, and had a following in Amsterdam, Haarlem,
Rotterdam, Leyden, etc.

It appeared that the Schwenkfelders had first addressed themselves to
these Collegiants, especially to Cornelius van Putten in Haarlem, and
Pieter Koker in Rotterdam, but when their need grew more pressing they
appealed to Count Zinzendorf. When he was not able to obtain for them
all they wanted, they turned again to the Collegiants, and were in
conference with them in Rotterdam. The Collegiants were very much
opposed to the Georgia Colony,--“the Dutch intensely disliked anything
that would connect them with England,”--and although Thomas Coram,
one of the Trustees, who happened to be in Rotterdam, promised the
Schwenkfelders free transportation (which had been refused Zinzendorf),
the Collegiants persuaded them not to go to Georgia. Their chief
argument was that the English Government sent its convicts to Georgia, a
proof that it was not a good land, and the Schwenkfelders were also told
that the English intended to use them as slaves.

Disturbed by this view of the case, the Schwenkfelders accepted an offer
of free transportation to Pennsylvania, where they arrived in safety on
the 22nd of September.

Spangenberg had wished to serve as their pastor in Georgia, thinking it
would give him opportunity to carry out his cherished wish to bear the
gospel message to the heathen, and he felt himself still in a measure
bound to them, despite their change of purpose, and at a somewhat later
time did visit them in their new home. There was some idea of then
taking them to Georgia, but it did not materialize, and they remained
permanently in Pennsylvania, settling in the counties of Montgomery,
Berks and Lehigh. Their descendents there preserve the customs of their
fathers, and are the only representatives of the Schwenkfelder form of
doctrine, the sect having become extinct in Europe.


  Preliminary Steps.

While the exile of the Schwenkfelders was the immediate cause which
led Zinzendorf to open negotiations with the Trustees of the Colony
of Georgia, the impulse which prompted him involved far more than mere
assistance to them. Foreign Missions, in the modern sense of the word,
were almost unknown in Zinzendorf’s boyhood, yet from his earliest days
his thoughts turned often to those who lay beyond the reach of gospel
light. In 1730, while on a visit to Copenhagen, he heard that the
Lutheran Missionary Hans Egede, who for years had been laboring single
handed to convert the Eskimos of Greenland, was sorely in need of help;
and Anthony, the negro body-servant of a Count Laurwig, gave him a most
pathetic description of the condition of the negro slaves in the Danish
West Indies.

Filled with enthusiasm, Zinzendorf returned to Herrnhut, and poured the
two stories into willing ears, for ever since the great revival of 1727
the Moravian emigrants had been scanning the field, anxious to carry the
“good news” abroad, and held back only by the apparent impossibility of
going forward. Who were they, without influence, without means, without
a country even, that they should take such an office upon themselves?
But the desire remained, and at this summons they prepared to do the
impossible. In August, 1732, two men started for St. Thomas,--in April,
1733, three more sailed for Greenland, and in the face of hardships that
would have daunted men of less than heroic mold, successful missions
were established at both places.

But this was not enough. “My passionate desire,” wrote Zinzendorf from
Herrnhut in January, 1735, “my passionate desire to make Jesus known
among the heathen has found a satisfaction in the blessed Greenland, St.
Thomas and Lapp work, but without appeasing my hunger. I therefore look
into every opportunity which presents itself, seeking that the kingdom
of my Redeemer may be strengthened among men.”

Nor did he lack ready assistants, for the Moravians were as eager as he.
“When we in Herrnhut heard of Georgia, of which much was being published
in the newspapers, and when we realized the opportunity it would give
to carry the Truth to the heathen, several Brethren, who had the Lord’s
honor much at heart, were led, doubtless by His hand, to think that it
would be a good plan to send some Brethren thither, if it might please
the Lord to bless our work among the heathen, and so to bring those poor
souls, now far from Christ, nigh unto Him. We tried to learn about the
land, but could secure no accurate information, for some spoke from
hearsay, others with prejudice, and many more with too great partiality.
But we at last decided to venture, in the faith that the Lord would help
us through.”

The needs of the Schwenkfelders gave a new turn to their thoughts, and
suggested the advantages that might accrue from a settlement in America
to which they might all retreat if the persecution in Saxony waxed
violent; but early in the year 1734, the question “Shall we go to
Georgia only as Colonists, or also as Missionaries?” was submitted to
the lot, and the answer was “As Missionaries also.”

The defection of the Schwenkfelders, therefore, while a serious
interference with the Herrnhut plan, was not allowed to ruin the
project. Zinzendorf wrote again to the Trustees, and they repeated their
promise of land, provided his colonists would go at their own expense.

After much consultation the decision was reached that Zinzendorf should
ask for a tract of five hundred acres, and that ten men should be sent
over to begin a town, their families and additional settlers to follow
them in a few months.

The next step was to find a way to send these men across the Atlantic.
Baron George Philipp Frederick von Reck, a nephew of Herr von Pfeil,
who had led the first company of Salzburgers to Georgia, was planning to
take a second company in the course of the next months. He was young and
enthusiastic, met Zinzendorf’s overtures most kindly, and even visited
Herrnhut in the early part of October, 1734, when, as it happened,
nine of the prospective colonists were formally presented to the
Congregation. Baron Reck was very much impressed, promised to take with
him to Georgia any of the Moravians who wished to go, and even sent to
David Nitschmann, who was to conduct the party as far as London, full
authorization to bring as many as desired to come, promising each
man who went at his own expense a fifty-acre freehold in Georgia, and
offering others necessary assistance when they reached London. This
paper was signed at Bautzen, October 22nd, 1734.

But Reck had failed to realize the force of the Halle opposition to
Herrnhut, and soon weakened under the weight of persuasion and command
laid upon him by those whose opinion he felt obliged to respect. On the
4th of November he wrote from Windhausen to Graf Stolberg Wernigerode,
“I have hesitated and vexed myself in much uncertainty whether or not I
should go with the Herrnhuters to America. And now I know that God has
heard our prayer at Halle and Wernigerode, and your letters have decided
me to stay in Germany this winter, in the first place because my
going would be a grief to my dear Urlsperger, whom I love as a father,
secondly because the English will send over a third transport of
Salzburgers in the coming spring and wish me to take them, and thirdly
because I wish to obey worthy and chosen men of God.”

He wrote to the same effect to Zinzendorf, and the Count, though
doubtless annoyed, replied simply: “Your Highness’ resolution to
accommodate yourself to your superiors would be known by us all for
right. You will then not blame us if we go our way as it is pointed out
to us by the Lord.”

A few days later Reck received a sharp note from the Trustees of
Georgia, reproving him for his temerity in agreeing to take the
Moravians with him to Georgia without consulting them, and reiterating
the statement that the funds in their hands had been given for the use
of the Salzburgers, and could be used for them alone.

The young man must have winced not a little under all this censure,
but while he yielded his plan to the wishes of the Halle party, he
held firmly to the opinion he had formed of the Moravians. He wrote to
Urlsperger and others in their behalf, declaring that they were a godly
people, much misunderstood, that it was a shame to persecute them and
try to hinder their going to Georgia, and he felt sure that if their
opponents would once meet the Moravians and converse with them freely,
confidentially, and without prejudice, they would come to respect them
as he did. He also suggested that there were many protestants remaining
in Bohemia, who would gladly leave, and who might be secured for Georgia
on the terms offered to the Salzburgers. The next year in fact, an
effort was made to obtain permission from the Austrian Government for
the emigration of these people, and Reck was authorized by the Trustees
to take them to Georgia, but nothing came of it.

Nor did his championship of the Bohemians and Moravians already in
Saxony have any result. Urlsperger was offended that the negotiations
from Herrnhut with the Trustees were not being carried on through him,
“the only one in Germany to whom the Trustees had sent formal authority
to receive people persecuted on account of religion, or forced to
emigrate,” and the Halle party were unable or unwilling to meet the
leaders of the Moravians “without prejudice”. The company of Salzburgers
therefore sailed for Georgia in November without Baron von Reck, and
without the Moravians, Mr. Vat acting as Commissary.

The Moravians, meanwhile, were not waiting idly for matters to turn
their way, but even before Reck reached his decision Spangenberg had
started for England to arrange personally with the Georgia Trustees for
their emigration.

August Gottlieb Spangenberg was born July 15th, 1704, at Klettenberg,
Prussia. In the year 1727, while a student at Jena, he became acquainted
with the Moravians through a visit of two of their number, which won
them many friends at that institution. Later, when he was Assistant
Professor of Theology at Halle, he was required to sever his connection
with the Moravians, or leave the University, and choosing the latter
he came to Herrnhut in the spring of 1733. He was one of the strongest,
ablest, and wisest leaders that the Unitas Fratrum has ever had, and
eventually became a Bishop of the Unity, and a member of its governing
board. He was a writer of marked ability, and in his diaries was
accustomed to speak of himself as “Brother Joseph”, by which name he was
also widely known among the Moravians.

Spangenberg left Herrnhut in the late summer or early fall of 1734,
bearing with him Zinzendorf’s Power of Attorney to receive for him a
grant from the Georgia Trustees of five hundred acres of land, and
to transact all other necessary business. He stopped for some time in
Holland, where he made a number of acquaintances, some of whom gave him
letters of introduction to friends in England and in America, and
others contributed toward the necessary expenses of the emigrants. From
Rotterdam he wrote to Zinzendorf, saying that he heard no ship would
sail for America before February or March, and that he thought it would
be best for the colonists to wait until he wrote from London, and then
to come by way of Altona, as the Holland route was very expensive. These
suggestions, however, came too late, as the party had left Herrnhut
before the arrival of his letter.

Spangenberg had a stormy voyage to England, and on reaching London,
rented a room in “Mr. Barlow’s Coffee House,” in Wattling’s street, near
St. Anthelius Church.” He found the outlook rather discouraging, and a
long letter written on the 10th of January, gives a vivid picture of
the English mind regarding the “Herrnhuters”. Spangenberg had called on
several merchants to see if he could arrange a loan for the Moravians,
for Zinzendorf’s means were already strained to the utmost by what he
was doing for the Church, and he did not see how it was possible to
provide the money in any other way. But the merchants declined to make
the loan, saying: “We can not take the land (in Georgia) as surety,
for it is not yet settled, and no man would give us a doit for it; the
personal security (of the emigrants) is also not sufficient, for they
might all die on the sea or in Georgia,--there is danger of it, for the
land is warmer than Europeans can bear, and many who have moved thither
have died; if they settle on the land and then die the land reverts
to the Trustees, so we would lose all; and the six per cent interest
offered is not enough, for the money applied to business would yield
twenty per cent.

Others objected to having the Moravians go at all, especially Court
Preacher Ziegenhagen, who belonged to the Halle party, and who,
Spangenberg found, had much influence on account of his good judgment
and spotless character. They claimed: (1) That the Moravians were not
oppressed in Saxony, and had no good reason for wishing to leave; (2)
that to say they wished to be near the heathen was only an excuse, for
Georgia had nothing to do with the West Indies where they had a mission;
(3) the Moravians could not bear the expense, and neither the Trustees
nor the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge would help
them; (4) they could neither speak nor understand English, and would
therefore be unable to support themselves in an English colony; (5)
their going would create confusion, for Herr Bolzius, the pastor of
the Salzburgers at Ebenezer, had written to beg that they should not be
allowed to come; (6) if they went it would involve England in trouble
with Saxony, and the Georgia Colony was not meant to take other rulers’
subjects away from them, only to furnish an asylum for exiles, and poor
Englishmen; (7) the Moravians could not remain subject to Zinzendorf,
for they must all become naturalized Englishmen; (8) the suggestion that
Zinzendorf’s land could be cultivated by the heathen was absurd, for
slavery was not permitted in Georgia and the Moravians could not afford
to hire them; (9) ten or fifteen men, as were said to be on the way,
would never be able to make headway in settling the forest, a task which
had been almost too much for the large company of Salzburgers.

Some of these statements dealt with facts, about which the critics
might have acquired better information, had they so desired, others were
prophecies of which only the years to come could prove or disprove
the truth, others again touched difficulties which were even then
confronting Count Zinzendorf’s agent; but in the light of contemporary
writings and later developments, it is possible to glance at each point
and see in how far the Halle party were justified in their argument. (1)
The treatment in Saxony, while not as yet a persecution which threatened
them with torture and death, had many unpleasant features, and the
constant agitation against them might at any time crystalize into harsh
measures, for those members of the Herrnhut community who had left
friends and relatives in the homelands of Bohemia and Moravia were
already forbidden to invite them to follow, or even to receive them if
they came unasked seeking religious freedom. (2) There was no idea of
associating the missions in Georgia and the West Indies, for the heathen
whom they wished to reach by this new settlement were the Creek and
Cherokee Indians with whom Governor Oglethorpe had already established
pleasant relations, bringing several of their chiefs to England, and
sending them home filled with admiration for all they had seen, much
impressed by the kindness shown them, and willing to meet any efforts
that might be made to teach them. (3) The money question was a vital
one, and it was principally to solve that that Spangenberg had come to
England, where with Oglethorpe’s help he later succeeded in securing the
desired loan. (4) That they could speak little English was also a real
difficulty; Spangenberg used Latin in his conferences with the educated
men he met in London, but that medium was useless in Georgia, and while
the Moravians learned English as rapidly as they could, and proved
their capability for self-support, the failure to fully understand or
be understood by their neighbors was responsible for many of the trials
that were awaiting them in the New World. (5) The protest of Bolzius was
only a part of the general Salzburger opposition, and to avoid friction
in Georgia, Zinzendorf had particularly recommended that the Moravians
settle in a village apart by themselves, where they could “lead godly
lives, patterned after the writings and customs of the apostles,”
 without giving offense to any; and he promised, for the same reason,
that as soon as they were established he would send them a regularly
ordained minister, although laymen were doing missionary work in other
fields. (6) In order to avoid any danger of creating trouble between
the Governments, the Moravian colonists carefully said nothing in London
regarding their difficulties in Saxony, or the persecutions in Bohemia
and Moravia, and instead of proclaiming themselves exiles for the Faith
as they might have done with perfect truth, they appeared simply as
Count Zinzendorf’s servants, sent by him to cultivate the five hundred
acres about to be given to him, and by his orders to preach to the
Indians. (7) A change of nationality would not affect the relation
between Zinzendorf and his colonists, for their position as his
dependents in Germany was purely voluntary, such service as they
rendered was freely given in exchange for his legal protection, and
his supremacy in Church affairs then and later was a recognition of
the personal character of the man, not a yielding of submission to the
Count. (8) That the Indians could not be employed on Zinzendorf’s estate
was quite true, not so much on account of the law against slavery, for
the Count intended nothing of that kind, but their character and wild
habits rendered them incapable of becoming good farmers, as the American
Nation has learned through many years of effort and failure. (9) Whether
the ten or fifteen men, reinforced by those who followed them, would
have been able to make a home in the heart of the forest, will never be
known, for from various reasons the town on the five hundred acre
tract was never begun. In short, while the Moravians were risking
much personal discomfort, there was nothing in their plan which could
possibly injure others, and the cavil and abuse of their opposers was as
uncalled for as is many a “private opinion publicly expressed” to-day.

Hearing of the many obstacles which were being thrown in their way, Mr.
Coram, who was a man of wide charities, and interested in other colonies
besides Georgia, suggested to Spangenberg that his company should go
to Nova Scotia, where the climate was milder, and offered them free
transportation and aid in settling there, but this proposal Spangenberg
at once rejected, and pinned his faith on the kindness of Gen.
Oglethorpe, whose return from Georgia the preceding July, explained the
more favorable tone of the Trustees’ letters after that date. Oglethorpe
asked him numberless questions about the doctrine and practice of the
Moravians, and their reasons for wishing to go to Georgia, and promised
to lay the matter before the Trustees, using all his influence to
further their designs.


  The “First Company”.

On the 14th of January, 1735, the first company of Moravian colonists
arrived in London. At their head was David Nitschmann,--variously
called “the III”, “the weaver”, “the Syndic”, and Count Zinzendorf’s
“Hausmeister”, who was to stay with them until they left England,
and then return to Germany, resigning the leadership of the party to
Spangenberg, who was instructed to take them to Georgia and establish
them there, and then go to Pennsylvania to the Schwenkfelders. The other
nine were

  John Toeltschig, Zinzendorf’s flower-gardener.
  Peter Rose, a gamekeeper.
  Gotthard Demuth, a joiner.
  Gottfried Haberecht, weaver of woolen goods.
  Anton Seifert, a linen weaver.
  George Waschke, carpenter.
  Michael Haberland, carpenter.
  George Haberland, mason.
  Friedrich Riedel, mason.

They were “good and true sons of God, and at the same time skillful
workmen,” with such a variety of handicrafts as to render them largely
independent of outside assistance in the settlement which they proposed
to make; and all but Haberecht were religious refugees from Moravia and
adjacent parts of Bohemia.

Nitschmann and Toeltschig were two of the five young men in Zauchenthal,
Moravia, who had set their hearts on the revival of the ancient Unitas
Fratrum. Toeltschig’s father, the village burgess, had summoned the
five comrades before him, and strictly forbidden their holding religious
services, warning them that any attempt at emigration would be severely
punished, and advising them to act as became their youth, frequent the
taverns and take part in dances and other amusements. They were sons of
well-to-do parents, and little more than boys in years, (Nitschmann
was only twenty), but their faith and purpose were dearer to them than
anything else on earth, so they had left all and come away, commending
their homes and kindred to the mercy of God, and singing the exile hymn
of the ancient Unitas Fratrum, sacred through its association with those
brave hearts who had known the bitterness and the joy of exile a hundred
years before.

  “Blessed the day when I must go
  My fatherland no more to know,
   My lot the exile’s loneliness;

  “For God will my protector be,
  And angels ministrant for me
   The path with joys divine will bless.

  “And God to some small place will guide
  Where I may well content abide
   And where this soul of mine may rest.

  “As thirsty harts for water burn,
  For Thee, my Lord and God, I yearn,
   If Thou are mine my life is blest.”

Though holding positions as Count Zinzendorf’s hausmeister and gardener,
both Nitschmann and Toeltschig were actively employed in the affairs of
the renewed Unitas Fratrum, and had been to England in 1728 to try to
establish relations with the Society for the Propagation of Christian
Knowledge, though without success. They were the better fitted,
therefore, to conduct the party to England, and to share in the
negotiations already begun by Spangenberg.

This “first company” left Herrnhut on the 21st of November, 1734,
traveling by Ebersdorf (where Henry XXIX, Count Reuss, Countess
Zinzendorf’s brother, gave them a letter of recommendation to any whom
they might meet on their way), to Holland, whence they had a stormy and
dangerous voyage to England.

The day after they reached London they called on Gen. Oglethorpe and
having gained admittance with some difficulty they were very well
received by him, carrying on a conversation in a mixture of English and
German, but understanding each other fairly well. Spangenberg coming
in most opportunely, the Moravian affairs were fully discussed, and the
new-comers learned that their arrival had been fortunately timed, for
the Georgia Trustees were to hold one of their semi-annual meetings two
days later, when Oglethorpe could press their matter, and a ship was to
sail for Georgia the latter part of the month. Oglethorpe was disturbed
to find that the colonists had failed to raise any money toward their
expenses, but promised to try and assist them in that also.

On the 18th the colonists were formally presented to the Trustees,
heard the lively argument for and against their cause, and had the
satisfaction of seeing the vote cast in their favor. It was contrary
to the custom of the Trustees to grant lands to any who did not come in
person to apply for them and declare their intention of going to
Georgia to settle, but Oglethorpe’s argument that the high rank of Count
Zinzendorf was entitled to consideration was accepted and five hundred
acres of land were granted to the Count and his male heirs.

The Indenture bore date of Jan. 10, 1734, Old Style, (Jan. 21, 1735,)*
and the five hundred acres were “to be set out limited and bounded in
Such Manner and in Such Part or Parts of the said Province as shall be
thought most convenient by such Person or Persons as shall by the said
Common Council be for that Purpose authorized and appointed,” there
being a verbal agreement that the tract should be in the hilly country
some distance from the coast, which, though less accessible and less
easily cultivated, lay near the territory occupied by the Indians. Five
pounds per annum was named as the quit rent, payment to begin eight
years later; and such part of the tract as was not cleared and improved
during the next eighteen years was to revert to the Trustees. The
Trustees also agreed that they would reserve two hundred acres near the
larger tract, and whenever formally requested by Count Zinzendorf,
would grant twenty acres each “to such able bodied Young Men Servants as
should arrive and settle with him in the said Province of Georgia.”


     * This IS written correctly.  See the author’s explanation
     of the calendar in Chapter IV.--A. L., 1996.--

In addition to the five hundred acres granted to Zinzendorf, fifty acres
were given to Spangenberg, and fifty acres to Nitschmann, although as
the latter was not going to Georgia, and the former did not intend to
stay, this alone was a departure from the custom of the Trustees.
Each of the fifty acre grants was in three parts, a lot in the town
of Savannah, a five acre garden, and a forty-five acre farm, and while
their acquisition had not been a part of the Herrnhut plan the colonists
readily yielded to the advice of their English friends, who pointed out
the necessity of having a place to stay when they reached Savannah, and
land that they could at once begin to cultivate, without waiting for the
selection and survey of the larger tract. In fact, though they knew it
not, these two grants, which lay side by side, were destined to be the
scene of all their experiences in the Province of Georgia.

The Trustees seem to have been pleased with the appearance of their new
settlers, and approved of their taking passage in the ship that was to
sail the latter part of the month. Since the vessel had been chartered
by the Trustees, they promised to make no charge for such baggage as
the Moravians wished to take with them, arranged that they should have
a portion of the ship for themselves instead of being quartered with
the other passengers, and offered Spangenberg a berth in the Captain’s
cabin. This he declined, preferring to share equally with his Brethren
in the hardships of the voyage. Medicine was put into his hands to
be dispensed to those who might need it, and he was requested to take
charge of about forty Swiss emigrants who wished to go in the same
vessel on their way to Purisburg in South Carolina, where they sought
better material conditions than they had left at home.

Land having been secured, Gen. Oglethorpe arranged that the Trustees
should lend the “First Company” 60 Pounds, payable in five years, with
the understanding that if repaid within that time the interest should
be remitted, otherwise to be charged at ten per cent., the usual rate in
South Carolina. Of this 10 Pounds was spent in London for supplies,
and 50 Pounds paid their passage across the Atlantic. The ten men
(Spangenberg taking Nitschmann’s place) pledged themselves jointly and
severally to the payment of the debt, the bond being signed on Jan.
22nd, (Jan. 11th, O. S.) the day after the grant of the land.

In addition to this Oglethorpe collected 26 Pounds 5 Shillings, as a
gift for the Moravians, 10 Pounds being presented to them in cash in
London, and the rest forwarded to Savannah with instructions that
they should be supplied with cattle, hogs and poultry to that
amount. Oglethorpe further instructed Messrs. Toojesiys and Baker, of
Charlestown, to honor Spangenberg’s drafts on him to the amount of 20
Pounds, so securing the settlers against possible need in their new
home.

The next day Gen. Oglethorpe presented Spangenberg to the Bishop of
London, who received him very kindly. Oglethorpe’s idea was that the
Moravians might ally themselves closely with the Church of England, and
that the Bishop might, if they wished, ordain one of their members from
Herrnhut. Spangenberg and Nitschmann were not authorized to enter into
any such agreement, but both welcomed the opportunity to establish
pleasant relations with the English clergy, and several interviews were
had which served as a good opening for intercourse in later years.

Until their vessel sailed, the Moravians found plenty to interest
them in the “terribly great city”, where they were regarded with much
interest, and where they were greatly touched by the unexpected kindness
they received.

They had interviews with the Trustees, with Mr. Vernon, and with Gen.
Oglethorpe, who gave them much information as to what to expect in their
new home, and many suggestions as to the best way of beginning
their settlement. Spangenberg was presented to the “Society for the
Propagation of Christian Knowledge”, was courteously received, offered
more books than he was willing to accept, invited to correspond with the
Society, and urged to keep on friendly terms with the Salzburgers, which
he assured them he sincerely desired to do. Conversations with Court
Preacher Ziegenhagen were not so pleasant, for a letter had come from
Senior Urlsperger inveighing against the Moravians and Ziegenhagen put
forth every effort to reclaim Spangenberg from the supposed error of
his ways, and to persuade him to stop the company about to start for
Georgia, or at least to separate himself from them, and return to the
old friends at Halle. Oglethorpe smiled at the prejudice against the
Moravians, and told them frankly that efforts had been made to influence
him, but he had preferred to wait and judge for himself. “It has ever
been so,” he said, “from the time of the early Christians; it seems
to be the custom of theologians to call others heretics. They say, in
short, ‘you do not believe what I believe, a Mohammedan also does not
believe what I believe, therefore you are a Mohammedan;’ and again ‘you
explain this Bible passage so and so, the Socinian also explains it so
and so, therefore you are a Socinian.’” As for opposition, he, too, was
beginning to find it since the Georgia Colony was proving a success.

Meanwhile new friends were springing up on every side of the Moravians.
A doctor helped them lay in a store of medicine, another gave them
some balsam which was good for numberless external and internal uses. A
German merchant, who had become an English citizen, helped them purchase
such things as they would require in Georgia, and a cobbler assisted
Riedel in buying a shoemaker’s outfit. Weapons were offered to all the
members of the party, but declined, as they wished to give no excuse to
any one who might try to press them into military service. They yielded,
however, to the argument that they would need to protect themselves
against wolves and bears, and sent Peter Rose, the gamekeeper, with Mr.
Verelst, one of the secretaries of the Trustees, to purchase a fowling
piece and hunting knives.

Letters of introduction to various prominent men in America were given
to them; and, perhaps most important of all in its future bearing,
people discovered the peculiar charm of the Moravian services. Reference
is made in the diaries to one and another,--from English clergyman to
Germans resident in London,--who joined with them in their devotions,
and seemed much moved thereby. Neither was it a passing emotion, for the
seed a little later blossomed into the English Moravian Church.

And so the month passed swiftly by, and the ship was ready to commence
her long voyage.




Chapter III. The First Year in Georgia.



  The Voyage.

In the year 1735 a voyage across the Atlantic was a very different thing
from what it is in this year of grace 1904. To-day a mighty steamship
equipped with powerful engines, plows its way across the billows with
little regard for wind and weather, bearing thousands of passengers,
many of whom are given all the luxury that space permits, a table that
equals any provided by the best hotels ashore, and attendance that is
unsurpassed. Then weeks were consumed in the mere effort to get away
from the British Isles, the breeze sometimes permitting the small
sailing vessels to slip from one port to another, and then holding them
prisoner for days before another mile could be gained. Even the most
aristocratic voyager was forced to be content with accommodations and
fare little better than that supplied to a modern steerage passenger,
and those who could afford it took with them a private stock of
provisions to supplement the ship’s table.

And yet the spell of adventure or philanthropy, gain or religion, was
strong upon the souls of men, and thousands sought the New World, where
their imagination saw the realization of all their dreams. Bravely they
crossed the fathomless deep which heaved beneath them, cutting them off
so absolutely from the loved ones left at home, from the wise counsels
of those on whom they were accustomed to depend, and from the strong arm
of the Government under whose promised protection they sailed, to work
out their own salvation in a country where each man claimed to be a law
unto himself, and where years were to pass before Experience had once
more taught the lesson that real freedom was to be gained only through a
general recognition of the rights of others.

On the 3rd of February, 1735, the Moravians arose early in their London
lodging house, prayed heartily together, and then prepared to go aboard
their vessel, “The Two Brothers”, Capt. Thomson, where the Trustees
wished to see all who intended to sail on her. A parting visit was paid
to Gen. Oglethorpe, who presented them with a hamper of wine, and gave
them his best wishes. After the review on the boat Spangenberg and
Nitschmann returned with Mr. Vernon to London to attend to some last
matters, while the ship proceeded to Gravesend for her supply of water,
where Spangenberg rejoined her a few days later. On the 25th of February
they passed the Azores, and disembarked at Savannah, April 8th, having
been nine and a half weeks on shipboard.

The story of those nine weeks is simply, but graphically, told in the
diary sent back to Herrnhut. Scarcely had they lifted anchor when the
Moravians began to arrange their days, that they might not be idly
wasted. In Herrnhut it was customary to divide the twenty-four hours
among several members of the Church, so that night and day a continuous
stream of prayer and praise arose to the throne of God, and the same
plan was now adopted, with the understanding that when sea-sickness
overtook the company, and they were weak and ill, no time limit should
be fixed for the devotions of any, but one man should pass the duty to
another as circumstances required!

Other arrangements are recorded later, when, having grown accustomed to
ship life, they sought additional means of grace. In the early morning,
before the other passengers were up, the Moravians gathered on deck to
hold a service of prayer; in the afternoon much time was given to Bible
reading; and in the evening hymns were sung that bore on the text that
had been given in the morning. Spangenberg, Toeltschig, and Seifert, in
the order named, were the recognized leaders of the party, but realizing
that men might journey together, and live together, and still know each
other only superficially, it was agreed that each of the ten in turn
should on successive days speak to every one of his brethren face to
face and heart to heart. That there might be no confusion, two were
appointed to bring the food to the company at regular times, and see
that it was properly served, the following being “the daily Allowance
of Provisions to the Passengers on board the “Two Brothers”, Captain
William Thomson, for the Town of Savannah in Georgia.

“On the four beef-days in each week for every mess of five heads
(computing a head 12 years old, and under 12 two for one, and under 7
three for one, and under 2 not computed), 4 lbs. of beef and 2-1/2 lbs.
of flour, and 1/2 lb. of plums.

“On the two pork days in each week for said mess, 5 lbs. of pork and
2-1/2 pints of peas.

“And on the fish day in each week for said mess, 2-1/2 lbs. of fish and
1/2 lb. of butter.

“The whole at 16 ounces to the pound.

“And allow each head 7 lbs. of bread, of 14 ounces to the pound, by the
week.

“And 3 pints of beer, and 2 quarts of water (whereof one of the quarts
for drinking), each head by the day for the space of a month.

“And a gallon of water (whereof two quarts for drinking) each head, by
the day after, during their being on their Passage.”

Another Moravian was chosen as nurse of the company, although it
happened at least once that he was incapacitated, for every man in the
party was sick except Spangenberg, who was a capital sailor, and not
affected by rough weather. His endurance was severely tested too, for
while the breeze at times was so light that they unitedly prayed for
wind, “thinking that the sea was not their proper element, for from the
earth God had made them, and on the earth He had work for them to do,”
 at other times storms broke upon them and waves swept the decks, filling
them with awe, though not with fear. “The wind was high, the waves
great, we were happy that we have a Saviour who would never show us
malice; especially were we full of joy that we had a witness in our
hearts that it was for a pure purpose we sailed to Georgia,”--so runs
the quaint record of one tempestuous day.

A more poetic expression of the same thought is given by Spangenberg in
a poem written during the voyage, and sent home to David Nitschmann to
be set to the music of some “Danish Melody” known to them both. There is
a beauty of rhythm in the original which the English cannot reproduce,
as though the writer had caught the cadence of the waves, on some bright
day when the ship “went softly” after a season of heavy storm.

     “Gute Liebe, deine Triebe
      Zuenden unsre Triebe an,
     Dir zu leben, dir zu geben,
      Was ein Mensch dir geben kann;
     Denn dein Leben, ist, zu geben
      Fried’ und Segen aus der Hoeh.
     Und das Kraenken zu versenken
      In die ungeheure See.

     “Herr wir waren von den Schaaren
      Deiner Schaeflein abgetrennt;
     Und wir liefen zu den Tiefen,
      Da das Schwefelfeuer brennt,
     Und dein Herze brach vor Schmerze,
      Ueber unsern Jammerstand;
     O wie liefst du!  O wie riefst du!
      Bist du uns zu dir gewandt.

     “Als die Klarheit deiner Wahrheit
      Unsern ganzen Geist durchgoss,
     Und von deinen Liebesscheinen
      Unser ganzes Herz zerfloss,
     O wie regte und bewegte
      Dieses deine Liebesbrust,
     Uns zu hegen und zu pflegen,
      Bis zur suessen Himmelslust.

     “Dein Erbarmen wird uns Armen,
      Alle Tage wieder neu,
     Mit was suessen Liebeskuessen
      Zeigst du deine Muttertreu.
     O wie heilig und wie treulich
      Leitest du dein Eigentum;
     O der Gnaden dass wir Maden
      Werden deine Kron’ und Ruhm.

     “Wir empfehlen unsre Seelen
      Deinem Aug’ und Herz und Hand,
     Denn wir werden nur auf Erden
      Wallen nach dem Vaterland.
     O gieb Gnade auf dem Pfade,
      Der zum Reich durch Leiden fuehrt,
     Ohn’ Verweilen fortzueilen
      Bis uns deine Krone ziert.

     “Unser Wille bleibe stille
      Wenn es noch so widrig geht;
     Lass nur brausen, wueten, sausen,
      Was von Nord und Osten weht.
     Lass nur stuermen, lass sich tuermen
      Alle Fluthen aus dem See,
     Du erblickest und erquickest
      Deine Kinder aus der Hoeh’.”

     (Love Divine, may Thy sweet power
      Lead us all for Thee to live,
     And with willing hearts to give Thee
      What to Thee a man can give;
     For from heaven Thou dost give us
      Peace and blessing, full and free,
     And our miseries dost bury
      In the vast, unfathomed sea.

     Lord, our wayward steps had led us
      Far from Thy safe-guarded fold,
     As we hastened toward the darkness
      Where the sulphurous vapors rolled;
     And Thy kind heart throbbed with pity,
      Our distress and woe to see,
     Thou didst hasten, Thou didst call us,
      Till we turned our steps to Thee.

     As Thy Truth’s convincing clearness
      Filled our spirits from above,
     And our stubborn hearts were melted
      By the fervor of Thy love,
     O Thy loving heart was moved
      Us Thy righteous laws to teach,
     Us to guide, protect and cherish
      Till Thy heaven we should reach.

     Without merit we, yet mercy
      Each returning day doth bless
     With the tokens of Thy goodness,
      Pledges of Thy faithfulness.
     O how surely and securely
      Dost Thou lead and guard Thine own;
     O what wonderous grace that mortals
      May add lustre to Thy throne.

     In our souls we feel the presence
      Of Thine eye and heart and hand,
     As we here on earth as pilgrims
      Journey toward the Fatherland.
     O give grace, that on the pathway,
      Which through trial leads to heaven,
     Without faltering we may hasten
      Till to each Thy crown is given.

     Though our path be set with danger
      Nothing shall our spirits shake,
     Winds may rage and roar and whistle,
      Storms from North and East may break,
     Waves may roll and leap and thunder
      On a dark and threatening sea,
     Thou dost ever watch Thy children,
      And their strength and peace wilt be.)


Before the vessel sailed the Trustees had followed up their request to
Spangenberg by requiring the forty Swiss emigrants to promise submission
to his authority, and consequently numerous efforts were made to be of
service to them. It was disappointing work, in a way, for attempts to
give them religious instruction were met with utter indifference, but
their material needs were many. There was a great deal of sickness among
them, and four died, being buried hastily, and without ceremony. The
Moravians themselves were not exempt, several being dangerously ill at
times, even Spangenberg was prostrated, from having, he supposed, stayed
too long on deck in the night air, tempted thereto by the beauty of a
calm night in a southern latitude. But having work to do among the Swiss
on the following day, he roused himself, and soon became better. Two of
the Moravians were appointed nurses for the sick Swiss, and by the use
of the medicine provided by the Trustees, supplemented by unwearying
personal attention, they were made as comfortable as possible.

Nor were the crew forgotten. From the day when the Moravians helped
lift the anchor as they sailed from the coast of Dover, they busied
themselves in the work of the ship, always obliging, always helpful,
until the sailors came to trust them absolutely, “even with the keys to
their lockers.” When the cook was suddenly taken sick they nursed him
carefully, and then appointed two of their number to carry wood and
water for him until his strength returned, and it is no wonder that such
accommodating passengers were well regarded.

Captain Thomson was disposed to favor them, but when they realized that
they were receiving a larger share of food and drink than went to the
Swiss, they courteously declined, fearing it would breed jealousy.
His kindly feeling, however, continued, and when Toeltschig was ill he
brought a freshly killed fowl from which to make nourishing broth, and
on another occasion, after a severe attack of sea-sickness, they all
derived much benefit from some strong beer which he urged upon them.

There were a few cabin passengers on the ship, and on one occasion
Spangenberg was invited to dine with them, but their light jesting was
distasteful to him, and the acquaintance was not pursued.


  Making a Start.

The vessel entered the Savannah River, April 6th, and the Captain,
taking Spangenberg and Toeltschig into his small boat, went ahead to
the town of Savannah, the capital of Georgia, now the home of about six
hundred people. Spangenberg had a letter of introduction to Mr. Causton,
who received him and his companion in a friendly fashion, entertained
them at supper, and kept them over night. Mr. Causton was one of the
three magistrates charged with all civil and criminal jurisdiction
in Savannah, and his position as keeper of the Store, from which all
provisions promised by the Trustees were dispensed, gave him such
additional power that he was really the dictator of Savannah, ruling
so absolutely that the people finally rebelled, and in 1738 secured his
dismissal from office. On his return to England in 1739, he found great
difficulty in trying to explain his accounts to the Trustees, was sent
back to Georgia to procure some needed papers, died on the passage
over, and was buried in the ocean. His treatment of the Moravians was
characteristic, for he was courtesy itself to the new-comers who had
money to spend, inconsiderate when hard times came, deaf to appeals for
settlement of certain vexing questions, and harsh when their wills were
opposed to his.

The next morning, before sunrise, Spangenberg and Toeltschig went apart
into the woods, fell upon their knees, and thanked the Lord that He had
brought them hither in safety. The day was spent in gaining information
as to the customs of the place, Mr. Causton again claiming them as his
guests at dinner, and in the evening they accepted the invitation of a
merchant to supper. As they ate, the report of a cannon announced the
arrival of their vessel, and Toeltschig went to spend the night aboard,
Spangenberg remaining on shore to push the preparation for the reception
of the company.

Early on the following morning, April 8th, he had their town lots
assigned, (Nos. 3 and 4 Second Tything, Anson Ward), in order that their
baggage might be brought directly to their own property, for he had
found that lodgings in the town were very dear, and decided that a small
cabin should be built at once and a house as soon as possible. Going
then to the ship he guided the company to their new home, and the entire
day was consumed in moving their belongings to the town, as it was some
distance, and everything had to be carried by hand to the little hut
which was hastily erected and roofed over with sacking. Evening came
before they had really finished the arrangement of their possessions,
but before they prepared and shared their evening meal, they humbly
knelt and thanked God for His mercies, discussed the Bible text for the
day, and joined in several familiar hymns. A New York merchant stopped
and asked them to sing one of his favorites, which was done, and an
Indian who had joined them near the river and followed them home, stayed
through the service, and at parting beckoned them to come and visit him.
Despite their fatigue, the “Hourly Intercession” was observed throughout
the night, their slumbers rendered more peaceful by the knowledge that
one and another in turn was watching and praying beside them.

On the following day two more Indians visited the Moravians. Their faces
were adorned with streaks of red paint, and they seemed very friendly,
rejoiced over the gift of two pewter mugs, and on leaving made signs
that some one should go with them, an invitation that could not then be
accepted.

The 10th of April, the first Sunday in America, Spangenberg attended
service in the English Church, and heard a sermon on the text, “Be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good,” well fitted to be the
watchword of the Moravian settlers in the trials that were before them.

No unpleasant presentiments, however, troubled them, as they went busily
about their work during the next weeks. Mr. Causton was very pleasant
to them, selling them provisions at cost, offering them credit at the
store, and promising Spangenberg a list of such Indian words as he had
been able to learn and write down. He also introduced him to Tomochichi,
the Indian Chief, and to John Musgrove, who had a successful trading
house near the town. Musgrove had married Mary, an Indian princess of
the Uchees, who had great influence with all the neighboring tribes. At
a later time, through the machinations of her third husband, she made
much trouble in Georgia, but during the earlier years of the Colony
she was the true friend of the white settlers, frequently acting as
Interpreter in their conferences with the Indians, and doing much to
make and keep the bond of peace between the two races.

On the 11th of April the five acre garden belonging to Spangenberg
was surveyed, and work was immediately begun there, as it was just the
season for planting corn. Nine days later Nitschmann’s garden was laid
out aside of Spangenberg’s. By the 14th the cabin on Spangenberg’s town
lot was finished. It was twenty feet long, ten feet wide, and fourteen
feet high, with a little loft where they slept, their goods, with a
table and benches being in the room below. At daybreak they rose, sang a
hymn, and prayed together, breakfasted at eight o’clock, the daily text
being read aloud, then worked until half past eleven, when they dined
and read the Bible. More work, an evening prayer service, and such
conference as was needed that each might engage in the next day’s labor
to the best advantage, prepared them for their well-earned repose.

With this simple program steadily carried out, much was accomplished.
A fence was built around a small kitchen-garden on their town property,
and a chicken-yard was enclosed, while the neighbors came to look on and
opine “that the Moravians had done more in a week than their people in
two years.” As the gardens (the five acre lots) lay at some distance
from Savannah, a hut was built there, to serve as a shelter against sun
and rain, a heavy storm having chased them home one day soon after their
arrival.

Either from the noonday heat, or other conditions to which they were not
yet acclimated, Gotthard Demuth and George Haberland became seriously
ill, causing Spangenberg much anxiety, for he did not feel at liberty to
send for a physician, as they could not afford to pay for medicine.
So resort was had to bleeding, then an approved practice, and to such
medicine as remained from their voyage, and Rose was fortunate enough
to shoot a grouse, which gave them some much needed palatable meat and
broth. Perhaps the most serious case was Gottfried Haberecht’s, who
suffered for several days with fever resulting from a cut on his leg.
Finally oak-leaves were heated and bound about the limb, which induced
free perspiration and quickly relieved him, so that he was able to
return to work!

A day was appointed on which Spangenberg and several others were to ride
out into the country to select the five hundred acre tract granted
to Count Zinzendorf, and the additional two hundred acres which the
Trustees had promised to hold in reserve, and grant to the Count’s
“servants” whenever he should request it, but there was rumor of a raid
by hostile Indians, under Spanish influence, so the expedition had to be
postponed, with the promise, however, that it should be made as soon as
possible.

By the close of the third week in Georgia the invalids were better, and
matters were in such a shape that the Moravians resolved “that on each
Saturday work should stop early, and every Sunday should be a real day
of rest.” As an immediate beginning, they on Saturday evening united in
a Lovefeast, where “we recalled much loving-kindness which God has shown
us hitherto; Toeltschig washed the feet of the Brethren; we remained
together until very late, and were truly blessed.”


  Aim and Attainment.

When the “first company” left Herrnhut for London and the New World,
they took with them Count Zinzendorf’s formal “Instructions” for the
conduct of their affairs:

“I shall not attempt to tell you what you are to do from day to day. I
know that in many ways Love will lead you, prepare the way, and point
out your path. I shall only bid you remember the principles and customs
of our Congregation, in which, if you stand fast, you will do well. Your
one aim will be to establish a little place near the heathen where you
may gather together the dispersed in Israel, patiently win back the
wayward, and instruct the heathen tribes.

“You have and will ask nothing more than the opportunity to attain this
end through your own labors, but you will request free transportation
for yourselves and those who will follow you,--if they receive your
present small number the Lord will send you more.

“If you should be tempted to injure any work of the Lord for my
sake, refrain from doing it, remembering that I am under a gracious
guardianship which nothing can disturb.

“You will take absolutely no part in the Spangenberg-Halle controversy;
you know the mind of the Congregation regarding it. If you find people
prejudiced against you leave it to Him who has bidden you go to Georgia.
Enter into no disputes, but, if questions are asked, give the history of
the Congregation, being careful not to censure our opposers, and saying,
which is true, that the Congregation at Herrnhut gives them little
heed. Entire freedom of conscience must be granted you, but there may be
points which you can yield without injuring the cause of Christ,--if so
you will find them in due time.

“You must live alone, establishing your own little corner, where your
customs will irritate no one; and as soon as you are settled an ordained
minister will be sent you, out of consideration for the scruples of
the Salzburgers, although our Brethren in other Colonies are served by
laymen, as permitted by our ancient constitution.

“God willing, I shall soon follow you, and only wait until He opens
the way for me. Our dear Elder (Spangenberg) will quickly return from
America, and in his absence I commit you to the mighty grace of God.

                         Your brother and servant,
                                   Lewis Count v. Zinzendorf.

“At this time one of the Elders at Herrnhut. November 27th, 1734.

  “‘He everywhere hath way,
  And all things serve His might, etc.’”

That these sensible and liberal instructions were not fully carried out
is at once apparent, especially in the two points of free transportation
and settlement in a quiet, secluded spot. The inability of the Trustees
to grant their request for the first, burdened the Moravian colonists
with what was, under the circumstances, a heavy debt, while the location
of Zinzendorf’s five hundred acre tract was responsible for their
failure in attaining the second.

When Gen. Oglethorpe planned the fortifications and defense of Savannah
in 1733, he decided to erect a small fort on the Ogeechee River, some
miles south, in order to command one of the trails by which the
Indians had been accustomed to invade Carolina. This “Fort Argyle” was
garrisoned with a detachment of rangers, and ten families were sent from
Savannah to cultivate the adjacent land. The tract selected in London
for Count Zinzendorf, was to lie on the Ogeechee, near Fort Argyle, an
excellent place from which to reach the Indians in times of peace, but
the worst possible location for noncombatants when war was threatening.

Spangenberg urged the survey of the five hundred acre tract as often
and as strongly as he dared, but from various causes, chiefly rumors
of Indian incursions, the expedition was deferred until Aug. 22nd, when
Spangenberg, Toeltschig, Riedel, Seifert, Rose, Michael Haberland, and
Mr. Johnson, the Trustees’ surveyor, prepared to start on their toilsome
journey, going by boat, instead of attempting to follow the circuitous,
ill-marked road across the country, impassable to pedestrians, though
used to some extent by horsemen.

At one o’clock in the morning of Aug. 23rd the seven men embarked,
taking advantage of the ebbing tide, and made their way down the
Savannah River. It was very dark, the Moravians were unaccustomed to
rowing, and Mr. Johnson, who steered, went to sleep time after time, so
when they accidentally came across a ship riding at anchor they decided
to stay by her and wait for the day. When dawn broke they hastened on
to Thunderbolt, where a fort had been built, and some good land cleared,
and there they found two Indians, who claimed to know the country, and
agreed to go with them as pilots. Toward evening they reached Seituah*,
where a stockade was being built as a protection against the Indians,
and the night was spent with a Captain Wargessen (Ferguson), who, with
several soldiers, was out in a scout boat watching the movements of the
Indians and Spaniards in that neighborhood.


     * On Skidaway Island, exact site unknown.--

The next day they made their way among the islands until they reached
the mouth of the Ogeechee, up which they turned, but night overtook
them, and they were forced to drop their anchor. The Indians had been
left behind somewhere, and with the return of day it became necessary to
retrace their course for some hours in order to learn where they were.
That night was spent at Sterling’s Bluff, with the Scotch who had
settled upon it, and the next morning they proceeded to Fort Argyle. As
they rowed up the river, a bear left one of the islands, and swam across
to the main land. “He was better to us than we to him, for Peter shot
at him twice when he came near us, but he left us in peace and went his
way!”

The following morning Spangenberg and Johnson, accompanied by the
Lieutenant from Fort Argyle and several of his rangers, rode out to
inspect the land selected for the Moravians. The horses were accustomed
to service against the Indians, and went at full gallop, pausing not for
winding paths or fallen trees, and the University-bred man of Germany
expected momentarily to have his neck broken, but nothing happened, and
after looking over the tract they returned to Fort Argyle.

Despite the exertions of the morning Spangenberg then manned his boat,
and started up the river to visit an Indian town, where he hoped to
find Tomochichi. Much floating timber rendered the trip dangerous and
tedious, and it was not until early Sunday morning that they reached
their destination, only to find the place deserted, as the band had
left a few days before for a hunting expedition, and, if fortune
favored them, for a brush with the Spanish Indians, with whom they had
a perpetual feud. Soon Johnson appeared, guided by some of the rangers,
who, after a hearty meal with the Moravians, returned to the Fort,
Johnson remaining behind.

Monday morning, August 29th, before the sun rose, the party repaired
to the Moravian tract, which Johnson surveyed, the Moravians acting as
chain-carriers. Spangenberg was much pleased with the tract. It had a
half mile frontage on the Ogeechee, extended two miles back into the
forest, and gave a good variety of land, some low and damp for the
cultivation of rice, sandy soil covered with grass for pasturage, and
dry uplands suitable for corn and vegetables. A rapid stream furnished
an abundance of pure water, and site for a mill, while the thick growth
of timber guaranteed a supply of material for houses and boats. Near the
river rose a high hill, where it had once been the intention to build a
fort, and a house had really been erected. This the Indians burned,
and later another site had been chosen for Fort Argyle, but the place
retained the name of “Old Fort”, and the hill would serve as the
location for the Moravian dwelling.

Indian tribes which were friendly to the English lived at no great
distance, and the trail to Savannah and Ebenezer led directly by Old
Fort, while the opening of two roads would bring both those towns within
a four hour’s ride of the settlement.

Well content, therefore, with their new acquisition, the Moravians
returned to Fort Argyle, whence Johnson rode back to Savannah, leaving
them to follow with the boat. At the mouth of the Ogeechee they
encountered a severe storm, against which they could make little
headway, try as they would. Their anchor was too light to hold against
the current, and there was a marsh on one bank and rocks on the other,
but at last, after night-fall, in the face of a terrific thunder storm,
they forced their way to a place where they could land, and where they
passed the rest of the night, enduring as best they could the heavy
rain, and the attack of insects, against neither of which they were
able to protect themselves. “This place takes its
name,--‘Rotten-possum’,--from an animal frequently found here, which
they call a Possum. I am told that it has a double belly, and that
if pursued it puts its young into one belly, runs up a tree until it
reaches a limb, springs out on that until it is among the leaves, and
then lays itself across the branch with one belly on each side, and
so hides itself, and saves its life!” The rest of the journey was
uneventful, and on Friday morning, September 2nd, they reached Savannah,
having been absent ten days.

It seems a great pity that the Moravians were unable to establish
themselves on this tract, where their industry would soon have made an
oasis in the wilderness, but one thing after the other interfered, and
the “second company” which arrived early in the following year, found
them still at Savannah.

In Savannah matters moved toward a fair degree of prosperity for the
Moravians. About four acres of Spangenberg’s garden were cleared in time
for the first summer’s crop of corn, which yielded them sixty bushels.
They also raised some beans, which came to maturity at a time when
provisions and funds were very low, so helping them greatly.

The two farm lots were laid out during the summer, Spangenberg assisting
with the survey. By the close of the year twenty-six acres had been
cleared,--on the uplands this meant the felling of trees, and gradual
removal of stumps as time permitted, but on the rice lands it meant far
more. The great reeds, ten to twelve feet high, grew so thick that a man
could scarcely set foot between them, and in cutting them down it was
necessary to go “knee-deep” below the surface of the ground, and then
the roots were so intertwined that it was difficult to pull them out.

Every acre of land that was cleared and planted had to be securely
fenced in, for cattle roamed in the woods, and ruined unprotected crops.
Indeed, the colonists in Georgia derived little benefit from their
cattle, which ran at large, and when a few were wanted for beef or for
domestic purposes, they were hunted and driven in. The Moravians had
to wait until midsummer before they could get their allotment, and then
they received a cow and calf, six hogs and five pigs, with the promise
of more. Before the others came the cows had again escaped to the woods,
and the swine had been drowned!

In July Spangenberg wrote to Herrnhut that he had given his fifty
acres of land, including the town lot, to the Moravian Congregation at
Savannah, and that he would at once apply to the Trustees to vest the
title in that body, and if he left Georgia before this was accomplished
he would give a full Power of Attorney to Toeltschig. From the first his
land had been used as the common property of the party, and he desired
that the nine men, who, with him, were bound to the repayment of the 60
Pounds, borrowed from the Trustees, should have the use of it until
that obligation was met, and then it should be used as the Savannah
Congregation thought best.

Nitschmann’s land seems to have been held in a different way, although
granted at the same time, and under similar circumstances. July 11th,
Spangenberg sent him a detailed description of the town and garden lots,
explaining the advantages and difficulties of cultivation, suggesting
several methods by which it could be done, and giving the approximate
cost, urging that instructions be sent as to his wishes. Later he wrote
that the company had decided not to wait for Nitschmann’s reply, but to
clear the garden on the terms usual in Georgia, e.g., that the man who
cleared a piece of ground held it rent free for seven years, when it
reverted to the owner. This had been done, and the garden was ready to
plant and fence, and if Nitschmann approved they intended to clear the
farm, and would build a small house on the town lot. Zinzendorf had
suggested that negroes be employed on Nitschmann’s land, but at that
time slavery was prohibited in Georgia, and any negroes who ran away
from Carolina were at once returned to their masters.

The two farms lay side by side about four miles from Savannah, the
gardens, also adjoining, were about two miles from town, so it was
necessary to build cabins at both places, as shelters from sun and
storm, which the settlers found equally trying. Two additional cabins
had been built in Savannah on Spangenberg’s lot, and by the end of the
year a house, thirty-four by eighteen feet in size, was under roof,
though not yet finished. This gave an abundance of room, not only
for themselves, but for the second company to whose arrival they were
looking forward with such eagerness.

When this reinforcement came they hoped to move to Zinzendorf’s tract,
and then, as soon as they could be spared, Demuth, Haberecht, Waschke
and the two Haberlands wished to claim the twenty acres apiece which the
Trustees had promised to the Count’s “servants”. Riedel was of the same
mind, but he did not live to see the arrival of the second company. Some
months after reaching Georgia, he was dangerously ill with fever, but
passed the crisis successfully, and recovered his full strength. He was
one of the party who went to survey Zinzendorf’s tract, but was taken
sick again three days after the boat left Savannah, and by the time they
returned he was obliged to go to bed, and soon became delirious. The
other Moravians were greatly distressed, but could do nothing except
nurse him carefully and pray for him earnestly, and toward the end his
mind cleared, though his body had lost the power to recuperate. He died
on the 30th of September, the first Moravian to “fall asleep” in the
United States, though others had given up their lives for the mission
work in the West Indies. His spiritual condition had at times caused
much concern to Toeltschig, who was especially charged with the
religious welfare of the first company, many of whom had been under his
care in Germany, but in the main he had been an earnest man, a willing
and industrious partaker in the common toil, and his death caused much
regret. The burial customs in Savannah included the ringing of bells,
a funeral sermon, and a volley of musketry, but learning that these
ceremonies were not obligatory the Moravians declined the offer of the
citizens to so honor their Brother, and laid him to rest in the Savannah
cemetery with a simple service of hymns and prayer.

As they were robing Riedel for his burial, a young man came to the
door, and asked if he could not make them some pewter spoons. In
the conversations that followed it developed that he was a native of
Switzerland, the son of a physician, and after his father’s death he
had sailed for Pennsylvania, intending there to begin the practice of
medicine. But his fellow-passengers stole his books and everything he
had, he was unable to pay for his transportation, and forced to sell his
service for seven years as a redemptioner. At the end of five years he
had become quite ill, and his master, having waited six months for his
recovery, heartlessly turned him out, to live or die as the case might
be. Instead of dying, his strength returned, and then his former master
demanded 10 Pounds Pennsylvania currency, for his unexpired term,
although only 5 Pounds had been paid for him, and he had served five
years. The young man was obliged to promise to pay this, and Spangenberg
encouraged him to push his spoon-making, in order to do it as speedily
as possible. Meanwhile the Moravians were so much pleased with his
appearance and speech, that they agreed to receive him into their
company for as long as he chose to stay, and John Regnier soon became an
important factor in their comfort. Spiritually he was somewhat at sea.
At one time he had desired to be a hermit, and then he had drifted from
one sect to another, seeking something which he could not find, but
acquiring a medley of odd customs. Spangenberg advised him to turn his
thoughts from men to God, learning from Him “what was better and higher,
Faith, Love, Hope, etc.”, and under the Moravian influence he gradually
laid aside his unwise fancies, giving them encouragement to believe that
he would eventually come into the clearer light, as they knew it.

In material things John Regnier was of great assistance, owing to his
ability to turn his hand to almost anything. The shoes of the party were
badly torn, but though they had brought leather and tools from England
none of them knew the cobbler’s trade. John Regnier had never made a
shoe, but he took it up, and soon provided for them all, and then he
mended their clothing, and added new garments. He also showed much
aptitude for nursing, and Spangenberg put him in charge of several
cases. A man from a neighboring village sent word that he had severed
an artery and could not check the bleeding, and asked for help. Regnier
went to him, and was so successful in his treatment that in two weeks
the man was entirely restored. Some one discovered a poor Scotchman,
dying with dropsy, lying utterly neglected upon the floor of a miserable
hut, and appeal was made to the Moravians to take him and care for him.
They did so, moving him to one of their cabins, where they made him a
bed, and Regnier nursed him until death ended his sufferings. Another
man had high fever, and no friends, and him also the Moravians took,
and cared for, the Trustee’s agent furnishing food and medicine for the
sick, but offering no recompense for the care they received.

Indeed, as the months passed by, the Moravians established a reputation
for charity and for hospitality. Not only had they kept free of dispute
with the Salzburgers, but the friendliest relations existed, and the
Moravian cabins were always open to them when they came to Savannah. Nor
were they slow to avail themselves of the kindness. Gronau and Bolzius
often lodged with them, and others came in groups of nine or ten to
spend the night. During the evening stories would be exchanged as to
their circumstances in the home lands, and their reasons for leaving
there, and then sometimes the hosts would spread hay upon the floor
for their guests, at other times give up their own beds, and themselves
sleep upon the floor.

With their nearer neighbors in Savannah, they were also upon cordial
terms, though they found few who cared for religious things. The Jews
were particularly courteous to them, inviting Spangenberg into their
Synagogue, and bringing gifts of meat and fish on several occasions
when help was sorely needed on account of the illness of some of their
number,--for Riedel was not the only one who was seriously ill, though
no others died. All the conditions in Georgia were so different from
what they were accustomed to in Germany that it took them some time
to adapt themselves, and longer to become really acclimated, and they
noticed that the same was true of all new-comers. All of the Moravians
were sick in turn, many suffering from frosted feet, probably injured on
the voyage over, but Spangenberg, Toeltschig, Haberecht and Demuth were
dangerously ill. Nearly all of the medicine brought from Europe was
gone, and what they could get in Savannah was expensive and they did
not understand how to use it, so they were forced to depend on careful
nursing and simple remedies. Turpentine could easily be secured from the
pines, Spangenberg found an herb which he took to be camomile, which had
a satisfactory effect, and with the coming of the cooler autumn weather
most of the party recovered their health.

Probably the food was partly responsible for their troubles, though
they tried to be careful, and cooked everything thoroughly. Rice and
salt-meat were their chief articles of diet, for bread cost so much that
they soon gave it up entirely, substituting cornmeal mush, and butter
was so dear as to be entirely out of the question. During the summer
months which preceded the harvest, they could get neither corn, rice
nor beans at the store, so lived on mush, salt-meat, and the beans they
themselves had planted. Fresh meat was a great treat, particularly when
it enabled them to prepare nourishing broth for their sick, and once
Rose shot a stag, giving them several good meals, but this happened so
seldom as to do little toward varying the monotony of their fare.

Drinking water was held to be responsible for the swollen feet and
nausea from which many of them suffered, so they made a kind of
sassafras beer, which proved palatable and healthful, and used it until
they had become accustomed to the climate, when they were able to drink
the water.

When the Moravians came to Georgia they brought with them a little ready
money, the gift of English friends, and their cash payments secured
them good credit at the Trustees’ store. Other merchants sought their
patronage, but they decided to run an account at one place only, and
thought Mr. Causton, as the Trustees’ agent, would give them the most
liberal treatment. Their hardest time financially, as well as regarding
health, was during the summer, when credit came to be accorded
grudgingly, and finally Spangenberg, personally, borrowed 15 Pounds
sterling, and applied it on their account, which restored their standing
in Mr. Causton’s eyes. On Feb. 8th, 1736, they decided to buy enough
corn, rice and salt-meat to last until harvest, having learned by sad
experience how very dear these necessities were later in the year. Very
little work had been done which brought in ready money, for their time
had been fully occupied in building their house and clearing the land,
but all things were prepared for the coming of the second company, with
whose assistance they expected to accomplish much. In February the
two carpenters were engaged to build a house for Mr. Wagner, a Swiss
gentleman who had recently arrived, and rented one of the Moravian
cabins temporarily, and this was the beginning of a considerable degree
of activity.

The intercourse of the Moravians with the other residents of Savannah
was much impeded by their ignorance of the English language, and it
occurred to Spangenberg that it might be a good thing to take an English
boy, have him bound to them according to custom, and let them learn
English by having to speak to him. About July a case came to his
knowledge that roused all his sympathies, and at the same time afforded
a good opportunity to try his plan. “I have taken a four-year-old
English boy into our family. He was born in Charlestown, but somehow
found his way to Savannah. His father was hanged, for murder I have
heard, and his mother has married another man, and abandoned the child.
A woman here took charge of him, but treated him most cruelly. Once she
became angry with him, took a firebrand, and beat him until half his
body was burned; another time she bound him, and then slashed him with
a knife across the back, and might have injured him still more if a man
had not come by and rescued him. The magistrates then gave him to other
people, but they did not take care of him, and hearing that he was a
bright child, I decided to offer to take him. The Magistrates gladly
agreed, and will write to his relatives in Charlestown, and if they do
not claim him he will be bound to us. He is already proving useful
to the Brethren, as he speaks English to them, and they are rapidly
learning to speak and to understand. I am sending him to an English
school, as I would rather he would not learn German, but being bright he
is learning a good deal of it from the Brethren.”

On October 31st a widow and her seven-year-old son were received into
their household. The woman was in destitute circumstances, and anxious
to work, so after four weeks’ trial she was installed as maid, and
promised $14.00 a year wages. She proved to be quiet and industrious,
but not very bright. On Dec. 17th another boy, six years old, was taken,
his mother being dead, and his father a day-laborer who could not care
for him.

Of the Indians the Moravians had seen a good deal, but no start had
been made toward teaching them, except that some of their words had been
learned. Spangenberg decided that the only way to master their language
would be to go and live among them, and this Rose professed himself
willing to do as soon as he could be spared. With Tomochichi they
were much pleased. “He is a grave, wise man, resembling one of the old
Philosophers, though with him it is natural, not acquired. Were he among
a hundred Indians, all clothed alike, one would point him out and say,
‘that is the king.’” When the Indians came to the Moravian cabins they
were courteously received, and supplied with food and drink, often
remaining as silent listeners at the evening service. In turn their
good will took the form of a gift of grouse or dried venison, which the
Moravians gratefully received.

The English were very anxious to keep the friendship of these Indians,
on whom much of their safety depended, and when one of the nations came
five or six hundred miles to renew a treaty with them, they planned a
spectacle which would at once please and impress them. All the settlers
were put under arms, and led out to meet them, saluting them with a
volley of musketry. With great pomp they were conducted into the town,
presented with guns, clothing, etc., and then, through an interpreter,
they were assured of the good will and faith of the English, and urged
to be true to the treaty, and protect the settlement against those
Indian tribes who were under French and Spanish influence.

Spangenberg was ordered out with the others, but excused himself on
the ground of weakness from his recent illness, and when the officials
offered to depart from their custom, and allow one of Zinzendorf’s
“servants” to take his place, he explained that the Moravians did not
understand English, and knew nothing of military manoeuvres. During
the first year the question of military service was not sufficiently
prominent to cause real uneasiness, but Spangenberg foresaw trouble,
and wrote to Herrnhut, urging that the matter be given serious
consideration.

When the Moravians passed through London they had fully explained their
position to Gen. Oglethorpe, who promised them exemption, but they had
no written order from the Trustees to show to the local officials, and
not even a copy of the letter in which reference to the subject was
made. As Count Zinzendorf’s “servants” nine of them were ineligible, but
Spangenberg, as a free-holder, was expected to take part in the weekly
drill, which he quietly refused to do.

All free-holders were likewise expected to take their turn in the
Watch, composed of ten men, who patrolled the town by night and day.
Spangenberg admitted that the Watch was necessary and proper, but
decided that he had better not take a personal share in it, other than
by hiring some one to take his place, which was permitted. As the turn
came every seventeen days, and a man expected fifty cents for day and
one dollar for night duty each time, this was expensive, doubly so
because the officers demanded a substitute for the absent Nitschmann
also. Twice had Spangenberg been before the Court, attempting to have
the matter adjusted, but he found that this, like many other things,
could not be settled until Gen. Oglethorpe came. “All men wait for Gen.
Oglethorpe, it is impossible to describe how they long for him.” The
Salzburgers especially wished for him, for they did not like the
place where they had settled, and wanted permission to move to a more
favorable location which they had chosen.

On the 14th of February, 1736, Capt. Thomson arrived, bringing letters
from England, and one to Spangenberg announced that the second company
of Moravians was on the way and might soon be expected. At three o’clock
in the morning of February 17th, the town was roused by the sound of
bells and drums. Thinking it meant fire, the Moravians rushed out, but
learned that Gen. Oglethorpe’s ship had reached Tybee, and the people
were awakened to welcome him. Full of interest to learn whether the
second company was with him the Moravians paused for a hasty meal
before going to meet the ship, when to their great joy Bishop Nitschmann
appeared before them, “and his face was to us as the face of an Angel!”




Chapter IV. Reinforcements.



  The “Second Company”.

Before David Nitschmann, the “Hausmeister”, left London, after the
sailing of the first Moravian company for Georgia, he presented to the
Trustees a series of propositions, the acceptance of which would open
the way for a large increase of Moravian emigration. The proposals were,
in brief, that the Trustees should give credit to the Moravians to the
extent of 500 Pounds sterling, which, deducting the 60 Pounds advanced
to the first company, would provide passage money and a year’s provision
for fifty-five more of Count Zinzendorf’s “servants”, the loan to be
repaid, without interest, in five years, and to bear interest at the
usual rate if payment was longer deferred. He also suggested that the
money, when repaid, should be again advanced for a like purpose.

In addition he requested that each man of twenty-one years, or over,
should be granted fifty acres near Count Zinzendorf’s tract.

The Trustees were pleased to approve of these proposals, and promised
the desired credit, with the further favor that if the debt was not
paid within five years it should draw interest at eight per cent. only,
instead of ten per cent., the customary rate in South Carolina.

During the summer, therefore, a second company prepared to follow the
pioneers to the New World. On the 5th of August, 1735, two parties left
Herrnhut, one consisting of three young men, and the other of thirteen
men, women and children, who were joined at Leipzig by Jonas Korte,
who went with them to London. On August 8th, five more persons left
Herrnhut, under the leadership of David Nitschmann, the Bishop, who was
to take the second company to Georgia, organize their congregation, and
ordain their pastor.

This David Nitschmann, a carpenter by trade, was a companion of David
Nitschmann, the “Hausmeister”, and John Toeltschig, when they left
Moravia in the hope of re-establishing the Unitas Fratrum, and with them
settled at Herrnhut, and became one of the influential members of the
community. When missionaries were to be sent to the Danish West Indies,
Nitschmann and Leonard Dober went on foot to Copenhagen (August 21st,
1732), and sailed from there, Nitschmann paying their way by his work
as ship’s carpenter. By the same handicraft he supported himself and
his companion for four months on the island of St. Thomas, where
they preached to the negro slaves, and then, according to previous
arrangement, he left Dober to continue the work, and returned to
Germany. In 1735, it was decided that Bishop Jablonski, of Berlin,
and Bishop Sitkovius, of Poland, who represented the Episcopate of the
ancient Unitas Fratrum, should consecrate one of the members of the
renewed Unitas Fratrum at Herrnhut, linking the Church of the Fathers
with that of their descendents, and enabling the latter to send to the
Mission field ministers whose ordination could not be questioned by
other denominations, or by the civil authorities. David Nitschmann, then
one of the Elders at Herrnhut, was chosen to receive consecration,
the service being performed, March 13th, by Bishop Jablonski, with the
written concurrence of Bishop Sitkovius.

The three parties from Herrnhut met at Magdeburg on August 13th,
proceeding from there to Hamburg by boat, and at Altona, the sea-port of
Hamburg, they found ten more colonists who had preceded them. Here also
they were joined by Christian Adolph von Hermsdorf, who went with them
to Georgia as “a volunteer”. Apparently Lieutenant Hermsdorf wanted the
position of Zinzendorf’s Agent in Georgia, for the Count wrote to him
on the 19th of August, agreeing that he should go with the Moravians, at
their expense, but saying that if he desired office he must first prove
himself worthy of it by service with and for the others, even as the
Count had always done. If the reports from Georgia justified it, the
Count promised to send him proper powers later, and to find a good
opportunity for his wife to follow him. Rosina Schwarz and her child,
who had come with them to Hamburg to meet her husband, returned with him
to their home in Holstein; and on account of Rosina Neubert’s serious
illness, she and her husband reluctantly agreed to leave the company,
and wait for another opportunity to go to Georgia. In 1742 they
carried out their intention of emigrating to America, though it was to
Pennsylvania, and not to Georgia.

The “second company”, therefore, consisted of twenty-five persons:

  David Nitschmann, the Bishop.
  Christian Adolph von Hermsdorf, a volunteer.
  John Andrew Dober, a potter.
  David Zeisberger.
  David Tanneberger, a shoemaker.
  John Tanneberger, son of David, a boy of ten years.
  George Neisser.
  Augustin Neisser, a young lad, brother of George.
  Henry Roscher, a linen-weaver.
  David Jag.
  John Michael Meyer, a tailor.
  Jacob Frank.
  John Martin Mack.
  Matthias Seybold, a farmer.
  Gottlieb Demuth.
  John Boehner, a carpenter.
  Matthias Boehnisch.
  Maria Catherine Dober, wife of John Andrew Dober.
  Rosina Zeisberger, wife of David Zeisberger.
  Judith Toeltschig, Catherine Riedel, Rosina Haberecht, Regina Demuth,
    going to join their husbands already in Georgia.
  Anna Waschke, a widow, to join her son.
  Juliana Jaeschke, a seamstress.*

    * Fifteen of these colonists were originally from Moravia
     and Bohemia.--

During an enforced stay of three weeks at Altona, the Moravians
experienced much kindness, especially at the hands of Korte and his
family, and Mrs. Weintraube, the daughter of a Mennonite preacher, who
had come from her home in London on a visit to her father. By this time
the Moravian settlement at Herrnhut was coming to be well and favorably
known in Holland, and every visit won new friends, many of whom came
into organic fellowship with them. A few years later, when the Unitas
Fratrum was confronted by a great financial crisis, it was largely the
loyalty and liberality of the Dutch members that enabled it to reach a
position of safety.

On the 9th of September, the company went aboard an English boat,
homeward bound, but contrary winds held them in port until the 13th,
and it was not until Sunday, Oct. 2nd, that they reached London, after a
long and stormy crossing, which gave many of them their first experience
of sea-sickness.

Nitschmann and Korte at once went ashore to report their arrival to
Secretary Verelst, and on Monday a house was rented, and the twenty-five
colonists and Jonas Korte moved into it, to wait for the sailing of Gen.
Oglethorpe’s ship, the General having offered them berths on his own
vessel. The General was out of town when they reached London, but called
on Monday evening, and showed them every kindness,--“Oglethorpe is
indeed our good friend, and cares for us like a father.”

Nitschmann found a good deal of difficulty on account of the language,
for he could not speak Latin, as Spangenberg had done, and knew no
English, so that all of his conversations with Oglethorpe had to be
carried on through an interpreter; nevertheless a number of important
points were fully discussed.

On the question of military service he could reach no definite and
satisfactory conclusion, and thought it a great pity that there had not
been a perfect mutual understanding between Zinzendorf and the Trustees
before the first company sailed. That Zinzendorf’s “servants” should be
free from military service was admitted by all, but Oglethorpe thought
three men must be furnished to represent Zinzendorf, Spangenberg and
Nitschmann (the Hausmeister), the three free-holders, and suggested that
Lieutenant Hermsdorf might take one place. Nitschmann said that would
not do, that the Moravians “could not and would not fight,” and there
the matter rested. Nitschmann wrote to Zinzendorf, begging him to come
to London, and interview the Trustees, but advised that he wait for
Oglethorpe’s return from Georgia some nine months later.

On this account the members of the second company agreed that it would
be better for them not to accept land individually, but to go, as the
others had done, as Zinzendorf’s “servants”, to work on his tract.
Oglethorpe suggested that an additional five hundred acres should
be requested for Count Zinzendorf’s son, and Nitschmann referred the
proposal to the authorities at Herrnhut. In regard to the five hundred
acre tract already granted, the General said that it had been located
near the Indians, at the Moravians’ request, but that settlers there
would be in no danger, for the Indians were at peace with the English,
there was a fort near by, and besides he intended to place a colony of
Salzburgers fifty miles further south, when the Moravians would be, not
on the border but in the center of Georgia.

Gen. Oglethorpe assured Nitschmann that there would be no trouble
regarding the transfer of title to the Georgia lands, for while, for
weighty reasons, the grants had been made in tail male, there was no
intention, on the part of the Trustees, to use this as a pretext for
regaining the land, and if there was no male heir, a brother, or
failing this, a friend, might take the title. (In 1739 the law entailing
property in Georgia was modified to meet this view, and after 1750, all
grants were made in fee simple.) He also explained that the obligation
to plant a certain number of mulberry trees per acre, or forfeit the
land, was intended to spur lazy colonists, and would not be enforced in
the case of the Moravians.

Nitschmann told Gen. Oglethorpe of the wives and children who had been
left in Herrnhut, and suggested the advisability of establishing an
English School for them, that they might be better fitted for life
in Georgia. Oglethorpe liked the idea, and, after due consideration,
suggested that some one in Herrnhut who spoke French or Latin,
preferably the latter, should be named as Count Zinzendorf’s Agent, to
handle funds for the English school, and to accompany later companies
of Georgia colonists as far as London, his expenses to be paid by the
Trustees. Of this the Trustees approved, and donated 40 Pounds sterling,
partly for Nitschmann’s use in London, and the balance,--about 4 Pounds
it proved to be,--for the Herrnhut school. An English gentleman also
gave them 32 Pounds, with the proviso that within four years they in
turn would give an equal amount to the needy, which Nitschmann readily
agreed should be done.

Various other gifts must have been received, for when the company
sailed, Nitschmann reported to Count Zinzendorf that, without counting a
considerable amount which Korte had generously expended on their behalf,
they had received 115 Pounds in London, and had spent 113 Pounds. “This
will seem much to you, but when you look over the accounts, and consider
the number of people, and how dear everything is, you will understand.”
 Unfortunately the colonists had left Herrnhut without a sufficient
quantity of warm clothing, thinking that it would not be needed, but
letters from Georgia gave them quite new ideas of the climate there, and
they were forced to supply themselves in London, though at double what
it would have cost in Germany.

In addition to these expenditures, the second company borrowed from the
Trustees the funds for their passage to Georgia, and a year’s provision
there, binding themselves jointly and severally to repay the money, the
bond, dated Oct. 26th, 1735, being for the sum of 453 Pounds 7 Shillings
6 Pence, double the amount of the actual debt. This included


     Passage for 16 men, 8 women and 1 boy,
     25 persons, 24-1/2 “heads”.            Pounds 122: 10: 0
     25 sets of bed-clothes.                         6:  5: 0
     1 year’s provisions in Georgia,
       being 12 bushels Indian Corn,
       100 lbs. Meat, 30 lbs. Butter,
       1 bushel Salt, 27 lbs. Cheese,
       per head.                                    64:  6: 3
     Advanced in London for necessaries.            33: 12: 6
                                            -----------------                                            Pounds 226: 13: 9

This was to be repaid in five years, drawing eight per cent. interest
after three years, further security to be given within twelve months if
requested by the Trustees or their Agent; and any provisions not used to
be credited on their account.

In the matter of forming new acquaintances in London, the second company
was far less active than the first had been, Spangenberg’s standing
and education having given him access to many people, attracting their
attention to his companions. The second company profited by the friends
he had made, Mr. Wynantz especially devoting himself to their service,
and while Nitschmann and his associates did not reach many new people,
they inspired the respect and confidence of those whom Spangenberg had
introduced to the Moravian Church, and so strengthened its cause. A
carpenter from Wittenberg, Vollmar by name, who was attracted to them,
requested permission to go to Georgia with them, although not at their
expense, and to this they agreed. A number of Salzburgers who were to
go to Georgia with General Oglethorpe, though not on the same ship, were
under the leadership of the young Baron von Reck with whom Zinzendorf
had corresponded during the early stages of the Moravian negotiations,
and the Baron called on the second company several times, offered to
assist them in any way in his power, and expressed the wish that the
Moravians and Salzburgers could live together in Georgia. Nitschmann
doubted the wisdom of the plan, but courteously agreed to refer it to
Zinzendorf, who, however, refused his sanction.

On the 12th of October, the Moravians went aboard Gen. Oglethorpe’s
ship, the ‘Simmonds’, Capt. Cornish, where they were told to select the
cabins they preferred, being given preference over the English colonists
who were going. The cabins contained bare bunks, which could be closed
when not in use, arranged in groups of five,--three below and two
above,--the five persons occupying them also eating together. The
Moravians chose their places in the center of the ship, on either side
of the main mast, where the ventilation was best, and there would be
most fresh air when they reached warmer latitudes. “The number of people
on the ship is rather large, for we are altogether one hundred and
fifty who are going to Georgia, but besides ourselves they are all
Englishmen.” “Many of them are like wild animals, but we have resolved
in all things to act as the children of God, giving offence to no one,
that our purpose be not misconstrued.”

After seeing his companions comfortably settled on the vessel,
Nitschmann returned to his numerous tasks in London. On the 24th,
he came back to the ship, accompanied by Korte, who bade them an
affectionate farewell. By the 27th all of the passengers, including Gen.
Oglethorpe, were on board, but it was not until the afternoon of October
31st, that the ‘Simmonds’ sailed from Gravesend.


  Four Journals.

On the ‘Simmonds’, as she sailed slowly down the Thames on her way to
Georgia, there were four Englishmen, with whom the Moravians were to
become well acquainted, who were to influence and be influenced by them,
and through whom a great change was to come into the religious history
of England. These were John and Charles Wesley, Benjamin Ingham and
Charles Delamotte. The Wesleys were sons of Samuel Wesley, a clergyman
of the Church of England, and while at the University of Oxford
they, with two companions, had formed a little society for religious
improvement, and by their strict and methodical habits gained the name
of “Methodists”; both brothers had taken orders in the English Church,
and were on their way to Georgia, John to serve as rector at Savannah,
and Charles as Gen. Oglethorpe’s private secretary. Benjamin Ingham was
born in Yorkshire, and met the Wesleys at Oxford, where he joined their
Methodist society. He, too, had been ordained in the English Church,
and now, at the age of twenty-three, had yielded to John Wesley’s
persuasions, and agreed to go with him “to the Indians”. Charles
Delamotte, the son of a London merchant, met the Wesleys at the home of
James Hutton, shortly before they sailed for Georgia, and was so much
impressed by them, and by their object in seeking the New World, that he
decided “to leave the world, and give himself up entirely to God,” and
go with them.

For the greater part of his life John Wesley kept a Journal, extracts
from which were given to the public from time to time, and Benjamin
Ingham’s account of the voyage to Georgia was also printed, so that the
story of those weeks is quite well known. Nevertheless, something of
interest may be gained by comparing these two Journals with the Diaries
kept by David Nitschmann, Bishop of the Moravians, and John Andrew
Dober, one of the second company.

To avoid confusion it should be noted that the difference of eleven days
in the dates is only apparent, not real, for the Englishmen used the
old style calendar, the Germans employed the modern one. In 46 B. C. the
Roman Calendar had gained two months on the actual seasons, and a more
accurate calculation resulted in the adoption of the so-called “Julian
Calendar” (prepared at the request of Julius Caesar), the two missing
months being inserted between November and December in that “year of
confusion”. By 1582, however, the Julian Calendar had fallen ten days
behind the seasons, so another calculation was made, and Pope Gregory
XIII abolished the Julian Calendar in all Catholic countries, dropped
the dates of ten days from that year, and established the “reformed”, or
“Gregorian Calendar”. This was adopted in Catholic Germany, in 1583, in
Protestant Germany and Holland, in 1700, but in England not until 1752,
by which time the difference had increased to eleven days. Following the
ancient Jewish custom the Year, for many centuries, began with the 25th
of March, but public sentiment came to favor the 1st of January as
the more appropriate date, and it was gradually adopted. In England,
however, the legal year continued to begin with March 25th, until 1752,
although many people were either using the newer fashion, or indicating
both, and a date might be correctly written in four ways, e.g. January
10th, 1734, old style, legal, January 10th, 1734-5, or January 10th,
1735, old style, popular, and January 21st, 1735, new style, the last
agreeing with the calendar now in general use.

Bishop Nitschmann gives the outline of their religious services on
almost every day, and in the translation which follows these are
generally omitted; in the same way some paragraphs are left out of the
Wesley Journal. Extracts from Dober’s and Ingham’s Journals are inserted
when they give facts not otherwise noted.


====== 24 Oct. 1735.

Nitschmann’s Diary. Oct. 24th, 1735.

   I went to the ship, (the ‘Simmonds’, Captain Cornish).
   My heart rejoiced to be once more with the Brethren.
   In the evening we held our song service.

(We have all given ourselves to the Lord, and pray that the Saviour may
comfort our hearts with joy, and that we may attain our object, namely,
to call the heathen, to become acquainted with those whom we have not
known and who know us not, and to worship the name of the Lord.--Letter
of Oct. 28.)


====== 25 Oct. 1735.

John Wesley’s Journal. Oct. 14th, 1735, (O. S.) Tuesday.

Mr. Benjamin Ingham, of Queen’s College, Oxford, Mr. Charles Delamotte,
son of a merchant in London, who had offered himself some days before,
my brother Charles Wesley, and myself, took boat for Gravesend, in order
to embark for Georgia. Our end in leaving our native country was not to
avoid want, (God having given us plenty of temporal blessings,) nor to
gain the dung or dross of riches or honor; but singly this,--to save our
souls, to live wholly to the glory of God. In the afternoon we found the
‘Simmonds’ off Gravesend, and immediately went on board.

(We had two cabins allotted us in the forecastle; I and Mr. Delamotte
having the first, and Messrs. Wesley the other. Theirs was made pretty
large, so that we could all meet together to read or pray in it. This
part of the ship was assigned to us by Mr. Oglethorpe, as being most
convenient for privacy.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 27 Oct. 1735.

Nitschmann. Oct. 27th.

Bled Mrs. Toeltschig and Mrs. Zeisberger. On deck one man was knocked
down by another, striking his head on the deck so as to stun him. In the
evening we held our song service at the same hour that the English had
theirs. I spoke with Mr. Oglethorpe and the two English clergymen, who
asked concerning our ordination and our faith. Mr. Oglethorpe said he
would be as our father, if we would permit it.

====== 28 Oct. 1735.

Nitschmann. Oct. 28th.

At our prayer-meeting considered Eph. 1, how our election may be made
sure; I also wrote to the Congregation at Herrnhut. Mrs. Zeisberger was
sick, and Mr. Oglethorpe concerned himself about her comfort.

----

Wesley. Oct. 17th.

I began to learn German in order to converse with the Germans, six and
twenty* of whom we had on board.

    * Twenty-five Moravians and the Wittenberg carpenter.--

====== 29 Oct. 1735.

Nitschmann. Oct. 29th.

Spoke with the Wittenberg carpenter concerning his soul.

====== 30 Oct. 1735.

Nitschmann. Oct. 30th.

We decided who should attend to various duties during the voyage,
and held our “Band” meetings. (The “Bands” were small groups, closely
associated for mutual religious improvement.) An English boy fell
overboard, but was rescued by a sailor.

====== 31 Oct. 1735.

Nitschmann. Oct. 31st.

In the afternoon we sailed twelve miles from Gravesend.

----

Wesley. Oct. 20th, Monday.

Believing the denying ourselves, even in the smallest instances, might,
by the blessing of God, be helpful to us, we wholly left off the use of
flesh and wine, and confined ourselves to vegetable food,--chiefly rice
and biscuit. In the afternoon, David Nitschmann, Bishop of the Germans,
and two others, began to learn English. O may we be, not only of one
tongue, but of one mind and of one heart.

====== 1 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 1st.

The English clergyman began to spend an hour teaching us English. In
the early service we read concerning new life in the soul; the preceding
night was blessed to me, and the Saviour was near. At the evening
service we spoke of earnest prayer and its answer.

(David Nitschmann, in the presence of all the members, formally
installed certain of our members in office,--David Tanneberger as
overseer, Dober as teacher and monitor, Seybold as nurse for the
brethren, and Mrs. Dober as nurse for the sisters.--Dober’s Diary.)

(We have arranged that one of us shall watch each night, of which Mr.
Oglethorpe approves.--Letter of Oct. 18th.) ----

Wesley. Oct. 21st.

We sailed from Gravesend. When we were past about half the Goodwin Sands
the wind suddenly failed. Had the calm continued till ebb, the ship had
probably been lost. But the gale sprung up again in an hour, and carried
us into the Downs.

We now began to be a little regular. Our common way of living was this:
From four in the morning till five, each of us used private prayer. From
five to seven we read the Bible together, carefully comparing it (that
we might not lean to our own understanding) with the writings of
the earliest ages. At seven we breakfasted. At eight were the public
prayers. From nine to twelve I usually learned German and Mr. Delamotte
Greek. My brother writ sermons, and Mr. Ingham instructed the children.
At twelve we met to give an account to one another what we had done
since our last meeting, and what we designed to do before our next.
About one we dined. The time from dinner to four, we spent in reading
to those whom each of us had taken in charge, or in speaking to them
severally, as need required. At four were the Evening Prayers; when
either the Second Lesson was explained (as it always was in the
morning,) or the children were catechised, and instructed before the
congregation. From five to six we again used private prayer. From six
to seven I read in our cabin to two or three of the passengers, (of whom
there were about eighty English on board), and each of my brethren to a
few more in theirs. At seven I joined with the Germans in their public
service; while Mr. Ingham was reading between the decks to as many
as desired to hear. At eight we met again, to exhort and instruct one
another. Between nine and ten we went to bed, where neither the roaring
of the sea, nor the motion of the ship, could take away the refreshing
sleep which God gave us.

====== 2 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 2nd.

We sailed further. In the early prayer service we considered Eph. 4, the
unity of the Spirit, and the means of preserving the bond of peace. In
the song service many points of doctrine were discussed with the English
clergyman, also the decline and loss of power.

====== 3 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 3rd.

A dense fog and unpleasant weather, so we lay still at anchor.

====== 4 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 4th.

I visited the other ship, (the ‘London Merchant’, Capt. Thomas) where
the so-called Salzburgers are. I spend most of my time studying English.


----

Wesley. Oct. 24th.

Having a rolling sea, most of the passengers found the effects of it.
Mr. Delamotte was exceeding sick for several days, Mr. Ingham for about
half an hour. My brother’s head ached much. Hitherto it has pleased God
the sea has not disordered me at all.

During our stay in the Downs, some or other of us went, as often as we
had opportunity, on board the ship that sailed in company with us, where
also many were glad to join in prayer and hearing the word.

====== 5 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 5th.

We prayed for the Congregation at Herrnhut, and also that we might be
one with it in spirit. In the evening we spoke of the Lord’s protection,
how good it is.

     There is no room for fear,
      The world may shake and quiver,
     The elements may rage,
      The firmament may shiver,
     We are safe-guarded.

====== 8 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 8th.

An (English) child died, and was buried in the sea at five o’clock.

====== 11 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 11th.

The text was “The Lord is with me, therefore I do not fear.”

----

Wesley. Oct. 31st.

We sailed out of the Downs. At eleven at night I was waked by a great
noise. I soon found there was no danger. But the bare apprehension of
it gave me a lively conviction what manner of men those ought to be, who
are every moment on the brink of eternity.

====== 12 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 12th.

(This afternoon we came near Portsmouth, and anchored. Today Dober began
to study English, and learned the Lord’s Prayer.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Nov. 1st, Saturday.

We came to St. Helen’s harbour, and the next day into Cowes road. The
wind was fair, but we waited for the man-of-war which was to sail with
us. This was a happy opportunity of instructing our fellow travellers.
May He whose seed we sow, give it the increase!

====== 13 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 13th.

Hermsdorf visits Baron von Reck.

====== 14 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 14th.

We lay at anchor at Cowes on the Isle of Wight, and some of us landed. I
went with Baron von Reck to Newport, one mile distant, it is a beautiful
place. I conversed with Baron von Reck about the Lord’s Prayer.

====== 18 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 18th.

A great storm. To me the time is precious, and passes too swiftly. It
is as though we were in the midst of wild beasts, which are bound and
cannot harm us. We know the Saviour stands by us, and strengthens us
through the Holy Ghost.

====== 20 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 20th.

One older and two young Englishmen were whipped for stealing.

====== 21 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 21st.

Conversed with Mr. Oglethorpe about our ordination, Baron von Reck
acting as interpreter. He was well pleased when I explained our view,
and that we did not think a Bishop must be a great lord as among the
Catholics. He offered to give us anything we wished, but I told him we
needed nothing.

====== 23 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 23rd.

The Man-of-war [‘Hawk’, Capt. Gascoine) joined us. A boy was beaten, and
sent away from the ship.

====== 25 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 25th.

Spoke with Mr. Oglethorpe about Boehner and George Neisser, who are sick
and must go ashore for treatment. Boehner has a sore arm, and Neisser
a sore foot. An English friend gave us a guinea to buy some things we
need.

====== 29 Nov. 1735.

Nitschmann. Nov. 29th.

In the evening I prayed for a good wind, since we do not wish to lie in
one place and be of no use.

====== 1 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 1st.

The wind was good, we thanked God and sailed about eight o’clock. Not
long after the wind fell, and we anchored, but I could not believe that
we were not to go. The wind rose again, and we sailed nine miles.

----

Wesley. Nov. 20th.

We fell down Yarmouth road, but the next day were forced back to Cowes.
During our stay here there were several storms, in one of which two
ships in Yarmouth roads were lost.

The continuance of the contrary winds gave my brother an opportunity of
complying with the desire of the minister of Cowes, and preaching there
three or four times.

====== 2 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 2nd.

About two o’clock we returned to Cowes.

====== 3 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 3rd.

The women went ashore to wash our clothes. The others went with them,
because we do not wish to annoy any one, and desired to be alone that we
might celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I could not leave the ship, but was
with them in spirit.

====== 4 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 4th.

(Nitschmann and Dober spoke with several of the Brethren concerning
their spiritual condition. In the evening a storm sprang up which
continued most of the night. Mr. Oglethorpe is ill, which reminds us to
pray for him, and the English preacher, John Wesley, has promised to do
the same. This preacher loses no opportunity to be present at our song
service; he spares no pains to perform the duties of his office and he
likes us. We wish we could converse freely with him, so that we could
more carefully explain the way of God to him.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Nov. 23rd, Sunday.

At night I was waked by the tossing of the ship, and roaring of the
wind, and plainly showed I was unfit, for I was unwilling to die.

====== 7 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 7th.

A great storm, and we thanked God that we were in a safe harbor.

====== 10 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 10th.

All hands summoned to lift the anchor. Mr. Oglethorpe called me, took
me by the hand, led me into the cabin, and gave me 1 Pound for the
Brethren. Later the wind was again contrary, and we had to lie still.

====== 18 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 18th.

We lifted the anchor at three o’clock, but as we got under sail the wind
changed again. We must stay still, but what the Lord intends we do not
know.

----

Wesley. Dec. 7th, Sunday.

Finding nature did not require such frequent supplies as we had been
accustomed to, we agreed to leave off suppers; from doing which we have
hitherto found no inconvenience.

====== 21 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 21st.

An east wind sprang up, and with the help of God we sailed at nine
o’clock from Cowes, where we had been for five weeks and three days.

When we reached the open sea many became sea-sick. There was so much to
be done that we could not hold our prayer-meeting, for our people help
in all the work, and therefore the sailors treat us well, no matter what
they think of us in their hearts. In the evening our song service was
much blessed.

(With us went two ships, the man-of-war, and that which carried Baron
von Reck and his Salzburgers. Two of the Salzburgers were on shore, and
were left behind when the ship sailed, whereat their wives and children
who were on board, were sorely grieved.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Dec. 10th, Wednesday.

We sailed from Cowes, and in the afternoon passed the Needles. From
this day to the fourteenth being in the Bay of Biscay, the sea was very
rough. Mr. Delamotte and others were more sick than ever; Mr. Ingham a
little; I not at all. But the fourteenth being a calm day, most of the
sick were cured at once.

====== 22 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 22nd.

The wind was east, and we sailed nine miles an hour, but were all very
sea-sick.

====== 23 Dec. 1735.

Wesley. Dec. 12th.

(In the forenoon we left the man-of-war, he not being able to sail as
fast as our ships.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 25 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 25th.

As this was Christmas Day we read Matt. 8 in our prayer service. The
wind had died down, everyone felt much better, and it was a beautiful
day.

====== 27 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 27th.

At midnight there was a great storm, and the waves broke over the ship;
the middle hatch was open, and the water poured in, running into our
cabin, so that we had to take everything out of them until we could dry
them.

====== 30 Dec. 1735.

Nitschmann. Dec. 30th.

The weather was again pleasant.

----

Wesley. Dec. 19th.

(Messrs. Wesley and I, with Mr. Oglethorpe’s approbation, undertook to
visit, each of us, a part of the ship, and daily to provide the sick
people with water-gruel, and such other things as were necessary for
them.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 1 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 1, 1736.

It was New Year’s Day, and Mr. Oglethorpe’s birthday.

(Br. Nitschmann asked us to select a number of verses, wrote them out
and presented them as a birthday greeting to Mr. Oglethorpe. It was a
beautiful day, warm and calm.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Dec. 21st, Sunday.

We had fifteen communicants, which was our usual number on Sundays.

(This being Mr. Oglethorpe’s birthday, he gave a sheep and wine to the
people, which, with the smoothness of the sea, and the serenity of
the sky, so enlivened them that they perfectly recovered from their
sea-sickness.

On Christmas Day, also, Mr. Oglethorpe gave a hog and wine to the
people.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 5 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 5th.

(To-day, according to the old style, Christmas was celebrated on our
ship. Br. Nitschmann spoke on the words, “Unto us a Child is born, unto
us a Son is given.”--Dober’s Diary.)

====== 9 Jan. 1736.

Wesley. Dec. 29th.

(We are now past the latitude of twenty-five degrees, and are got into
what they call the Trade winds, which blow much the same way all the
year round. The air is balmy, soft, and sweet. The ship glides smoothly
and quietly along. The nights are mild and pleasant, being beautifully
adorned with the shining hosts of stars,

  “Forever singing as they shine,
  The Hand that made us is divine.”
 --Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 10 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 10th.

(We have been running for several days with the Trade winds. Here
the day is two hours longer than it is in Germany at this season. The
sailors wished to adhere to their custom of initiating those who crossed
the Tropic of Cancer for the first time, but Gen. Oglethorpe forbade it.
The weak, the children, and the sick, are well cared for, so that
the nine months’ old child receives an egg and some goat’s milk every
day.--Dober’s Diary.)

====== 12 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 12th.

To-day, according to the old style, we celebrated the New Year.

====== 20 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 20th.

An English clergyman asked us how often we celebrated the Lord’s Supper,
saying that he thought it a sacrifice which consecrated and improved the
life. We told him our view; he said he would like to visit Herrnhut.

(We re-crossed the Tropic of Cancer.--Dober’s Diary.)

====== 21 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 21st.

(We are still in the Trade wind, and sail swiftly and steadily.)

We cannot thank God enough that we are all well, only Mrs. Demuth is
always sea-sick when the wind rises.

====== 23 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 23rd.

We saw a ship.

----

Wesley. Jan. 12th, 1736.

(I began to write out the English Dictionary in order to learn the
Indian tongue.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 26 Jan. 1736.

Wesley. Jan. 15th.

Complaint being made to Mr. Oglethorpe of the unequal distribution of
the water among the passengers, he appointed new officers to take charge
of it. At this the old ones and their friends were highly exasperated
against us, to whom they imputed the change. But “the fierceness of man
shall turn to thy praise.”

====== 27 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 27th.

(As there was little good water left the passengers were given poor
water, but when Oglethorpe heard of it, he ordered that all, in the
Cabin and outside, should be treated alike, as long as the good water
lasted. Mr. Oglethorpe and the preacher, John Wesley, are very careful
of the passengers’ welfare; the latter shows himself full of love for
us.--Dober’s Diary.)

====== 28 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 28th.

There was a great storm, the waves went over the ship, and poured into
it. Then many who knew not God were frightened, but we were of good
cheer, and trusted in the Lord who does all things well. Roscher and
Mack are good sailors and not afraid of anything.

----

Wesley. Jan. 17th, Saturday.

Many people were very impatient at the contrary wind. At seven in the
evening they were quieted by a storm. It rose higher and higher till
nine. About nine the sea broke over us from stem to stern; burst through
the windows of the state cabin, where three or four of us were, and
covered us all over, though a bureau sheltered me from the main shock.
About eleven I lay down in the great cabin, and in a short time fell
asleep, though very uncertain whether I should wake alive, and much
ashamed of my unwillingness to die. O how pure in heart must he be, who
would rejoice to appear before God at a moment’s warning! Toward morning
“He rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

====== 29 Jan. 1736.

Nitschmann. Jan. 29th.

We read the 13th chapter of Mark at our early prayer service. The
weather was a little better, but the wind was contrary. We also saw
a ship which was sailing northeast. In the evening we read the
ninety-eighth Psalm, the Lord was with us and we were blessed.

----

Wesley. Jan. 18th, Sunday.

We returned thanks to God for our deliverance, of which a few appeared
duly sensible. But the rest (among whom were most of the sailors) denied
we had been in any danger. I could not have believed that so little good
would have been done by the terror they were in before. But it cannot be
that they should long obey God from fear, who are deaf to the motives of
love.

====== 1 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 1st.

The weather was fine, and there was no wind until ten o’clock, when
it came from the right quarter. In addition to our usual allowance the
Captain sent us fresh meat, which he has done thrice already, and we do
not altogether like it, for we are content with what we have, and do not
desire more.

====== 3 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 3rd.

There was a great storm, which lasted all night.

----

Wesley. Jan. 23rd, Friday.

In the evening another storm began. In the morning it increased, so that
they were forced to let the ship drive. I could not but say to myself,
“How is it that thou hast no faith?” being still unwilling to die. About
one in the afternoon, almost as soon as I had stepped out of the great
cabin door, the sea did not break as usual, but came with a smooth
full tide over the side of the ship. I was vaulted over with water in a
moment, and so stunned, that I scarce expected to lift up my head again,
till the sea should give up her dead. But thanks be to God, I received
no hurt at all. About noon our third storm began.

====== 4 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 4th.

The storm lasted all day, and the waves often swept over the ship. The
storm rudder was lashed fast, and so we were driven.

====== 5 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 5th.

In the early morning we had a fairly good breeze, but about ten o’clock,
a storm rose, of such violence that the wind seemed to blow from all
four quarters at once, and we were in danger of being overpowered. The
waves were like mountains; the rudder was lashed fast, only one sail was
spread, and we drove on, only the Lord knew whither. But we did not let
it prevent us from holding our song service. The text given to us was
Psalm 115:14, which assured us that we were blessed of God,--may He ever
bless us more and more. During the service the ship was covered with a
great wave, which poured in upon us, and on the deck there was a great
cry that the wind had split the one sail which was spread. There was
great fright among the people who have no God; the English clergyman was
much aroused, ran to them, and preached repentance, saying among other
things that they could now see the difference. I was content, for our
lives are in God’s hands, and He does what He will; among us there was
no fear, for the Lord helped us.

(There was a terrible storm which lasted till midnight. During the song
service a great wave struck the ship with a noise like the roar of a
cannon. The wind tore the strong new sail in two; the people, especially
the English women, screamed and wept; the preacher Wesley, who is always
with us in our song service, cried out against the English, “Now man can
see who has a God, and who has none.” During the last eight days we have
had so much contrary wind, and so many storms that we could not approach
the land, though we were near it several times.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Jan. 25th, Sunday.

At noon our third storm began. At four it was more violent than before.
The winds roared round about us, and whistled as distinctly as if it had
been a human voice. The ship not only rocked to and fro with the utmost
violence, but shook and jarred with so unequal, grating, a motion, that
one could not but with great difficulty keep one’s hold of anything, nor
stand a moment without it. Every ten minutes came a shock against the
stern or side of the ship, which one would think should dash the planks
to pieces.

We spent two or three hours after prayers, in conversing suitably to the
occasion, confirming one another in a calm submission to the wise, holy,
gracious will of God. And now a storm did not appear so terrible as
before. Blessed be the God of all consolation!

At seven I went to the Germans; I had long before observed the great
seriousness of their behaviour. Of their humility they had given a
continual proof, by performing those servile offices for the other
passengers, which none of the English would undertake; for which they
desired, and would receive no pay, saying “It was good for their proud
hearts,” and “their loving Saviour had done more for them.” And every
day had given them occasion of showing a meekness, which no injury could
move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down, they rose again and
went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth. There was now an
opportunity of trying whether they were delivered from the spirit of
fear, as well as from that of pride, anger, and revenge. In the midst of
the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the
mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks,
as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming
began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of
them afterward, “Were you not afraid?” He answered, “I thank God, no.” I
asked, “But were not your women and children afraid?” He replied mildly,
“No; our women and children are not afraid to die.”

From them I went to their crying, trembling neighbors, and pointed out
to them the difference in the hour of trial, between him that feareth
God, and him that feareth Him not. At twelve the wind fell. This was the
most glorious day which I have hitherto seen.

====== 6 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 6th.

(The oldest sailors say they have never seen so fierce a storm as the
one we had last night. The wind came from all sides at once, lifted the
water from the sea, bore it through the air and cast it on the other
ship, where Baron von Reck and the Salzburgers were, and so flooded it
that twelve persons were kept at the pumps all night.--Dober’s Diary.)


----

Wesley. Jan. 26th.

We enjoyed the calm. I can conceive no difference comparable to that
between a smooth and a rough sea, except that which is between a mind
calmed by the love of God, and one torn up by the storms of earthly
passion.

====== 8 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 8th.

(There was a calm, and very fine weather, so that a boat could be
lowered to visit the other ship.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Jan. 28th.

(Being a calm day, I went on board the other ship, read prayers, and
visited the people. At my return I acquainted Mr. Oglethorpe with their
state, and he sent them such things as they needed.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 9 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 9th.

(The wind was again favorable to us, but there was much
lightning.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Jan. 29th.

About seven in the evening we fell in with the skirts of a hurricane.
The rain as well as the wind was extremely violent. The sky was so dark
in a moment, that the sailors could not so much as see the ropes, or
set about furling the sails. The ship must, in all probability, have
overset, had not the wind fell as suddenly as it rose.

====== 10 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 10th.

The whole day was stormy, and all night the waves broke over the ship.


----

Wesley. Jan. 30th.

We had another storm, which did us no other harm than splitting the
foresail. Our bed being wet, I laid me down on the floor and slept sound
till morning.

====== 12 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 12th.

(We were obliged to drift, because we did not know how far we were from
land. About noon we sighted three ships, sailed toward them, and saw
they were English; our sailors lowered the boat, we wrote in haste, and
sent letters to Herrnhut. The ships came from Charlestown, and told us
we were thirty hours’ run from Georgia.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Feb. 1st, Sunday.

(Three sails appearing, we made up toward them, and got what letters we
could write, in hopes some of them might be bound for England. One of
them, that was bound for London, made towards us, and we put our letters
on board her.--Ingham’s Journal.)

====== 13 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 13th.

To-day we had another storm, and twice saw the ocean not far from us,
drawn up like smoke, so that the water reached up to the clouds, and the
ship would have been in great danger if it had struck us.

====== 14 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 14th.

Soundings toward evening showed twenty-eight fathoms of water, and we
hope to see land to-morrow.

====== 15 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 15th.

About two o’clock we saw land. I climbed the mast, and poured out my
heart to God, thanking Him, and praying that He would care for us in our
new home. We anchored for the night.

----

Wesley. Feb. 4th, Wednesday.

About noon the trees were visible from the mast, and in the afternoon
from the main deck. In the Evening Lesson were these words, “A great
door, and effectual, is opened,” O let no one shut it!

====== 16 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 16th.

It was a beautiful day, and the land looked very fair. At two o’clock
we reached Tybee, and were all very happy. The song service was blessed,
and we thanked God with prayer and praise.

----

Wesley. Feb. 5th.

Between two and three in the afternoon God brought us all safe into the
Savannah River. We cast anchor near Tybee Island, where the grove of
pines, running along the shore, made an agreeable prospect, showing, as
it were, the bloom of spring in the depths of winter.

====== 17 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 17th.

I went on shore with Mr. Oglethorpe, and we together fell on our knees
and thanked God, and then took a boat to Savannah. I went at once to the
Brethren, and we rejoiced to meet again. I found the Brethren well, and
looked with wonder at what they had accomplished, went with Toeltschig
and Spangenberg to the garden, and also received letters from Herrnhut.
Spangenberg had to go immediately to Mr. Oglethorpe to discuss many
things with him.

----

Wesley. Feb. 6th, Friday.

About eight in the morning we first set foot on American ground. It was
a small, uninhabited island, (Peeper Island), over against Tybee. Mr.
Oglethorpe led us to a rising ground, where we all kneeled down to give
thanks. He then took boat for Savannah. When the rest of the people were
come on shore, we called our little flock together to prayers. Several
parts of the Second Lesson (Mark 6) were wonderfully suited to the
occasion.

====== 18 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 18th.

(About six o’clock in the evening, Br. Spangenberg came from Savannah to
us, which made us very glad and thankful. He told us of the death of Br.
Riedel, and held the song service, praying and thanking God for having
brought us together again.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Feb. 7th.

Mr. Oglethorpe returned from Savannah with Mr. Spangenberg, one of the
pastors of the Germans. I soon found what spirit he was of; and asked
his advice with regard to my own conduct.

====== 19 & 20 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 19th and 20th.

(We waited for the small vessel that was to come for us. Br. Spangenberg
held the prayer and song services.--Dober’s Diary.)

----

Wesley. Feb. 9th.

I asked Mr. Spangenberg many questions, both concerning himself and the
church at Herrnhut.

====== 21 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 21st.

(The small vessel came; we had much rain, and the wind was so strong
against us that we had to spend the night on the transport.--Dober’s
Diary.)

====== 22 Feb. 1736.

Nitschmann. Feb. 22nd.

(In the afternoon we reached Savannah, where we were lodged in the house
which the Brethren who came a year ago have built in the town. The
Lord has done all things well, and has turned to our good all that has
befallen us, even when we did not understand His way, and has laid His
blessing upon our journey,--thanks be unto Him.--Dober’s Diary.)

====== 27 Feb. 1736.

Wesley. Feb. 16th.

Mr. Oglethorpe set out for the new settlement on the Altamahaw River.
He took with him fifty men, besides Mr. Ingham, Mr. Hermsdorf, and three
Indians.

====== 6 Mar. 1736.

Wesley. Feb. 24th, Tuesday.

Mr. Oglethorpe returned. The day following I took my leave of most of
the passengers of the ship. In the evening I went to Savannah.

======


  Organization.

The arrival of the “second company” was a marked event in the eyes
of the Moravians already settled at Savannah. Hitherto all had been
preparation, and labor had seemed less arduous and privations less
severe because they were smoothing the path for those who were to
follow, and it was with well-earned satisfaction that wives and friends
were lodged in the new house, taken to the garden and the farm, and
introduced to acquaintances in the town. No doubt poor Catherine
Riedel’s heart ached with loneliness, and her tears flowed fast, when,
at the close of that long and stormy voyage, she heard of her husband’s
death, and stood beside his grave in the Savannah cemetery;--but there
was little time for grieving in the press of matters that required
attention, for Spangenberg’s long visit was now to end, Nitschmann was
to remain only until the organization of the Congregation was complete,
and there was much to be done before these two able leaders took their
departure.

Scarcely had Bishop Nitschmann greeted the members of the “first
company” in the dawn of Feb. 17th, 1736, when Spangenberg and Toeltschig
took him to the garden two miles distant, that they might have a private
and undisturbed conference. All too soon, however, word was brought
that Gen. Oglethorpe wanted to see Spangenberg at once, so they retraced
their steps, and Spangenberg received a hearty greeting from the
General, and many compliments on what he and his party had accomplished.
There is no record of the conversations among the Moravians on that day,
but they are not difficult to imagine, for the news from home and from
the mission fields on the one side, and the problems and prospects in
Georgia on the other, would furnish topics which many days could not
exhaust.

That evening Spangenberg again called on Gen. Oglethorpe, who gave
orders that a boat should take him next day to Tybee, where the ship
lay at anchor, with all her passengers aboard. He also told Spangenberg
about the English preacher whom he had brought over, and made inquiries
about Nitschmann’s position, asking that the explanation be repeated to
the English preacher, who was also interested in him.

The following day Spangenberg waited upon Gen. Oglethorpe to ask about
Hermsdorf, as he heard the General had promised to take him to the
Altamaha, where a new town was to be built. He also begged Oglethorpe
to help him arrange his departure for Pennsylvania as soon as possible,
which the General agreed to do.

About six o’clock that evening Spangenberg reached the ship at Tybee,
and was warmly welcomed by the Moravians, and at their song service he
met the much-talked-of English preacher, John Wesley. The two men liked
each other at the first glance; Wesley wrote in his Journal, “I soon
found what spirit he was of, and asked his advice in regard to my
own conduct,” while Spangenberg paralleled this in his Diary with the
remark, “He told me how it was with him, and I saw that true Grace dwelt
in and governed him.”

During the two days which elapsed before the transport came to take
the Moravians from the ship, Wesley and Spangenberg had several long
conversations, each recording the points that struck him most, but
without comment. These discussions regarding doctrine and practice
were renewed at intervals during the remainder of Spangenberg’s stay
in Savannah, and the young Englishman showed himself eager to learn the
Indian language so that he might preach to the natives, generous in his
offers to share his advantages of study with the Moravians, and above
all determined to enforce the letter of the ecclesiastical law, as he
understood it, in his new parish. He thought “it would be well if two of
the Moravian women would dedicate themselves to the Indian service, and
at once begin to study the language,” and “as the early Church employed
deaconesses, it would be profitable if these women were ordained to
their office.” He was also convinced “that the apostolic custom of
baptism by immersion ought to be observed in Georgia.” “He bound himself
to no sect, but took the ground that a man ought to study the Bible
and the writings of the Church Fathers of the first three centuries,
accepting what agreed with these two sources, and rejecting all else.”
 He requested the Moravians to use the Lord’s Prayer at all their public
services, “since this is acknowledged to have been the custom of the
early Church,” and since that early Church celebrated the Holy Communion
every day, he thought it necessary that all members should partake at
least on every Sunday. “He also had his thoughts concerning Fast days.”
 Spangenberg promised to lay these matters before the congregation, but
so far as Fast days were concerned, he said that while he would observe
them as a matter of conscience if he belonged to a Church which required
them, he doubted the wisdom of forcing them upon a Church in which they
were not obligatory.

On the 21st, the periagua (“so they call a rather deep, large boat”)
came to take the Moravians to Savannah, but it was necessary to call
at the other ship, as some of their baggage had been brought in that
vessel. Spangenberg went ahead, and found that for some reason the
baggage could not be taken off that day. He was pleasantly received by
“the younger” Reck, but the Baron was absent, having gone to see the
site to which the Salzburgers wished to move their settlement, Gen.
Oglethorpe having given his permission. About the time the periagua
arrived, a heavy rain came up, and fearing the effect on the new-comers,
Spangenberg obtained permission to take them into the cabin. When ten
o’clock came they decided to wait no longer, and started for Savannah,
with the result that they spent the entire night in the rain, in an
open boat, and then had passed but half way up the river! Early in the
morning Spangenberg took two men and his small boat and went ahead,
stopping at Capt. Thomson’s ship to get some things Korte had sent them
from London. They reached Savannah in the afternoon, and before daybreak
on Thursday, Feb. 23rd, the periagua at last landed its passengers at
Savannah.

That evening Spangenberg returned with Oglethorpe to the ship, that
various important matters might be more fully discussed. They agreed,
(1) that the five hundred acres already surveyed for Zinzendorf
should be retained, and settled, but that it would be wise to take an
additional five hundred acres of more fertile land nearer Savannah,
where it would be more accessible, the grant to be made to Christian
Ludwig von Zinzendorf, the Count’s eldest son; (2) that no Moravian
could accept a fifty acre tract without pledging himself to military
service, but land could be secured for a number of them at the rate
of twenty acres apiece, without this obligation. This land could be
selected near Zinzendorf’s estate, the town to be built on the Count’s
property. If any wished to leave the Moravian Congregation, he should
receive twenty acres elsewhere for himself. (3) Non-Moravians, like John
Regnier, might live with them on the same conditions. (4) If one of
the Moravians died without male issue, the Congregation should name his
successor in the title to the land. (5) The promised cattle should still
be given.

It was further arranged that Spangenberg should continue to hold the
title to his fifty acres, but with the understanding that it was in
trust for the Congregation; the same to apply to Nitschmann’s land, if
desired.

On the 25th and 26th, a number of Indians visited the ship, being
received with much ceremony. “King” Tomochichi, and others, Spangenberg
had often seen, and they were formally presented to Mr. Wesley, of whom
they had heard, and to whom they gave a flask of honey and a flask of
milk, with the wish that “the Great Word might be to them as milk and
honey.” Tomochichi told of his efforts to keep peace among the tribes,
in the face of rumors that the English meant to enslave them all, and
of his success so far, but he feared the Indians were not in a frame
of mind to give much heed to the Gospel message. Still he welcomed
the attempt, and would give what aid he could, advising that the
missionaries learn the Indian tongue, and that they should not
baptize,--as the Spanish did,--until the people were instructed and
truly converted.

On Feb. 27th, General Oglethorpe started for the Altamaha. His journey
to Georgia on this occasion had been principally to protect the southern
borders of the colony by establishing two new towns on the frontier, and
erecting several forts near by. One company, which sailed direct
from Scotland, had landed in January, and begun a settlement at New
Inverness, on the north bank of the Altamaha, and a second was now to
be established on St. Simon Island, and was to be called Frederica.
Oglethorpe had expected to take the Salzburgers who came on the ‘London
Merchant’, to the southward with him, but nearly all of them decided
that they preferred to join those of their number who were preparing to
move to New Ebenezer, and the General did not insist, contenting himself
with his English soldiers.

A periagua had been started a little in advance of the sloop which bore
the provisions, arms, ammunition, and tools, and in the evening Gen.
Oglethorpe followed in a swift, ten-oared boat, called,--from the
service in which it was often employed,--a scout boat.

With the General went Mr. Ingham, and Lieut. Hermsdorf. The latter
assured Spangenberg that he had really meant little more than to
compliment the General on the occasion when he remarked “that he would
ask nothing better than to follow him through bush and valley, and see
him carry out his wise designs,” that he did not know at that time that
Oglethorpe was going to the Altamaha, nor how far away the Altamaha was.
But Spangenberg gravely told him that Gen. Oglethorpe had taken his
word as that of an honest man, and that he would not attempt to hold him
back, only he wished him to so demean himself as to bring credit and
not shame to Zinzendorf and the Moravians, to whom he was at liberty to
return when he desired. Hermsdorf, therefore, went with Oglethorpe and
his fifty men, was made a Captain and was given a position of importance
in superintending the erection of the necessary fortifications on St.
Simon.

Benjamin Ingham’s visit to Frederica proved to be his first unpleasant
experience in the New World. Like John Wesley, he came with the
strictest ideas of Sabbath observance, etc., and as one said, in answer
to a reproof, “these were new laws in America.” The effect may be summed
up in his own words: “My chief business was daily to visit the people,
to take care of those that were sick, and to supply them with the best
things we had. For a few days at the first, I had everybody’s good word;
but when they found I watched narrowly over them, and reproved them
sharply for their faults, immediately the scene changed. Instead of
blessing, came cursing, and my love and kindness were repaid with hatred
and ill-will.”

Oglethorpe remained on the Altamaha but a few days, and then returned
to Savannah for the rest of his colonists. Meanwhile the Moravian
Congregation was being fully organized. During Spangenberg’s visit to
Oglethorpe on his vessel, the Moravians, including Bishop Nitschmann,
met together, and John Toeltschig was elected manager (Vorsteher),
Gottfried Haberecht, monitor (Ermahner), and Gotthard Demuth to perform
various minor duties (Diener). The name of the nurse (Krankenwaerter) is
not given, but he was probably John Regnier, who acted as physician, not
only for the Moravians, but for many of their poorer neighbors. Andrew
Dober was associated with Toeltschig in the management of the finances,
and all of these men were solemnly inducted into office, it being the
custom to give a kind of specialized ordination even for positions not
commonly considered ministerial.

Three “Bands” were formed among the men,--smaller companies associated
for religious improvement, each Band electing a leader charged with
special oversight of the members. There was one among the married men,
one among the unmarried men who were communicants, and another for
the unmarried non-communicants, Toeltschig, Seifert and Rose being the
leaders. The women were organized in like manner, though being few in
number there was probably but one Band among them, under Mrs. Toeltschig
who had been appointed Elderess before leaving Herrnhut. There is no
reference to the celebration of the Holy Communion by the first company
during their months of preparation in Savannah, nor had opportunity been
given to the second company since they left the English coast, but now,
with Bishop Nitschmann to preside, they were able to partake together,
finding much blessing therein. They resolved in the future to commune
every two weeks, but soon formed the habit, perhaps under Wesley’s
influence, of coming to the Lord’s Table every Sunday.

When Spangenberg returned to them, a conference was held each evening,
and on Sunday they had a Lovefeast, especially for those who had been
selected to superintend the material and spiritual affairs of the
Congregation.

On the 1st of March, John and Charles Wesley called on them, and on
the 6th, Charles Wesley came again, and “opened his heart” to them.
The Diary calls him “an awakened but flighty man,” who had come as Gov.
Oglethorpe’s secretary, and was now about to go to Frederica as pastor
of that turbulent flock. From him Spangenberg learned of Oglethorpe’s
return from Altamaha, and accompanied by Nitschmann went with him to
the ship, where the Wesleys were still living. Two days were spent with
Oglethorpe, who promised to give them ground containing a good bed of
clay, where they could make brick, which should be sold to the Trustees’
agent at 15 shillings per 1,000, two-thirds of the price to be applied
on their debt, and one-third to be paid them in cash. Moreover several
English boys should be apprenticed to them to learn the trade. Hemp
and flax seed should also be given them, and he urged them to weave the
linen, for they had men who understood the art, and cloth was scarce and
dear in Georgia. He also advised them to buy oxen to use in cultivating
their land; and said that they should have one-third of the grape-vines
he had brought over with him, another portion was to be given to
Tomochichi, the remainder to be planted in his own garden.

On the 8th, Spangenberg and Nitschmann returned to Savannah, and
with Andrew Dober and John Wesley, (who had now moved from the ship,)
proceeded up the river to Mrs. Musgrove’s, about five miles distant.
Wesley wished to select a site for a small house, which Oglethorpe had
promised to build for him, where he and his companions might live while
they were studying the Indian language, under Mrs. Musgrove’s direction.
Nitschmann wanted to visit and talk with the Indian “King”, Tomochichi,
and Dober was trying to find some clay suitable for pottery. The
following day they returned to Savannah, and Mr. Wesley and Mr.
Delamotte took up their abode with the Moravians, as Mr. Quincy,
Wesley’s predecessor in the Savannah pastorate, had not yet vacated
his house. Wesley writes, “We had now an opportunity, day by day, of
observing their whole behaviour. For we were in one room with them from
morning to night, unless for the little time I spent in walking. They
were always employed, always cheerful themselves, and in good humor with
one another; they had put away all anger, and strife, and wrath, and
bitterness, and clamor, and evil speaking; they walked worthy of the
vocation wherewith they were called, and adorned the Gospel of our Lord
in all things.” The impression thus made upon John Wesley was lasting,
and even during the subsequent years in England, when differences of
every kind arose between him and the Moravians, and his Journal is full
of bitter denunciations of doctrines and practices which he did not
understand, and with which he was not in sympathy, he now and again
interrupts himself to declare, “I can not speak of them but with tender
affection, were it only for the benefits I have received from them.”

An event which occurred on March 10th, is of more than local interest,
in that it is the first unquestioned instance of the exercise of
episcopal functions in the United States. Prior to this, and for
a number of years later, clergymen of the Church of England, and
English-speaking Catholic priests, were ordained in the Old World,
before coming to the New, remaining under the control of the Bishop and
of the Vicar Apostolic of London, while the Spanish Catholics were under
the Suffragan of Santiago de Cuba, and the French Catholics under the
Bishop of Quebec. Tradition mentions the secret consecration of two
Bishops of Pennsylvania before this time, but its authenticity is
doubted, and the two men did not exercise any episcopal powers.
Therefore when Bishop Nitschmann came to Georgia, and in the presence of
the Moravian Congregation at Savannah ordained one of their number to be
their pastor, he was unconsciously doing one of the “first things” which
are so interesting to every lover of history.

Whenever it was possible the Moravians spent Saturday afternoon and
evening in rest, prayer, and conference, and on this occasion four
services were held at short intervals.

At the first service the singing of a hymn was followed by the reading
of Psalm 84, a discourse thereon, and prayer. The second was devoted to
reading letters from Germany, and some discussion as to Hermsdorf and
his relation to the Congregation. The third service was the important
one, and the following account was recorded in the Diary. “When we
re-assembled the question: ‘Must not our Congregation have a Chief Elder
(Aeltester)?’ was presented for discussion. All thought it necessary,
and were unanimous in their choice of Anton Seifert, and no other was
even suggested. While his name was being considered, he was sent from
the room, and when he had been recalled, we sang a hymn, and Nitschmann
and Toeltschig led the Congregation in most earnest prayer. Then
Nitschmann delivered an earnest charge, setting before him the
importance of his office, which made him the foremost member of the
Congregation, especially in times of danger, for in the early Church,
as well as among our forefathers in Moravia, the bishops were ever the
first victims. He was asked if he would freely and willingly give up his
life for the Congregation and the Lord Jesus. He answered, ‘Yes.’ Then
he was reminded of the evil which arose when bishops, seeing their power
in a Congregation, began to exalt themselves, and to make outward show
of their pre-eminence. He was asked whether he would recognize as evil,
abjure, and at once suppress any inclination he might feel toward pride
in his position as Chief Elder, and his larger authority. He answered
with a grave and thoughtful ‘Yes.’ Then our Nitschmann prayed over him
earnestly, and ordained him to his office with the laying on of hands.
Nitschmann was uncommonly aroused and happy, but Anton Seifert was
very humble and quiet.” John Wesley, who was present, wrote “The great
simplicity, as well as solemnity, of the whole, almost made me forget
the seventeen hundred years between, and imagine myself in one of those
assemblies where form and state were not; but Paul the tent-maker, or
Peter the fisherman, presided; yet with the demonstration of the Spirit
and of power.”

Both Wesley and Benjamin Ingham refer to Seifert as a “bishop”, which is
a mistake, though a natural one. Wesley was present at the ordination,
and heard the charge, with example and warning drawn from the actions
of earlier bishops; while Ingham, in the course of several long
conversations with Toeltschig concerning the Moravian Episcopate and
Seifert’s ordination, asked “is Anton a bishop?” and was answered,
“yes, FOR OUR CONGREGATION.” This was in view of the fact that Bishop
Nitschmann, in ordaining Seifert, had empowered him to delegate another
member to hold the Communion, baptize, or perform the marriage ceremony
in case of his sickness or necessary absence. At that time the Moravian
Church was just beginning to form her own ministry, the ranks of Deacon,
Presbyter and Bishop were not fully organized, and the definite system
was only established by the Tenth General Synod of the Church in 1745.
The exigencies of the case required large powers for a man serving in an
isolated field, and they were given him, but strictly speaking, Seifert
was only ordained a Deacon, and never was consecrated Bishop.

The fourth and last service of the day was given up to song, a
discourse, and prayer.

On Sunday, March 11th, after morning prayers, Wesley went to Tybee for
an interview with General Oglethorpe. At a general gathering of the
Moravians later in the day, the second chapter of Acts was read, with
special reference to the last four verses, and the description of the
first congregation of Christ’s followers, when “all that believed were
together, and had all things common,” was taken as the pattern of their
“Gemeinschaft”. This plan, which had already been tested during the
first year, proved so advantageous that it was later adopted by other
American Moravian settlements, being largely responsible for their rapid
growth during their early years, though in each case there came a time
when it hindered further progress, and was therefore abandoned. In
religious matters, the organization of the Savannah Congregation had
been modeled after that at Herrnhut, so far as possible, but in material
things the circumstances were very different. At Herrnhut the estates of
Count Zinzendorf, under the able supervision of the Countess, were made
to pay practically all the general Church expenses, and many of the
members were in the service of the Saxon nobleman, Nicholas Lewis, Count
Zinzendorf, in various humble positions, even while in the Church he
divested himself of his rank and fraternized with them as social
equals. But the men who emigrated to Georgia had undertaken to support
themselves and carry on a mission work, and Spangenberg, with his keen
insight, grasped the idea that a common purpose warranted a community
of service, the labor of all for the benefit of all, with every duty,
no matter how menial, done as unto the Lord, whom they all, in varying
degrees, acknowledged as their Master. Later, in Bethlehem, Pa., with
a larger number of colonists, and wider interests to be subserved,
Spangenberg again introduced the plan, and elaborated it into a more
or less intricate system, which is described in a clear and interesting
manner in “A History of Bethlehem”, by Rt. Rev. J. Mortimer Levering,
which has recently been published.

Not only on account of its successor the “Oeconomie”, at Bethlehem,
and others copied therefrom, but in view of the various modern attempts
which have been and are still being made to demonstrate that the action
of the early Church at Jerusalem can be duplicated and made financially
successful, it is worth while to rescue the resolutions of the Moravian
Congregation at Savannah from the oblivion of the manuscript Diary, in
which they have been so long concealed, noting the claim that this was
the first time since Apostolic days, that a Congregation had formed
itself into such a “Society”,--a “Gemeinschaft”.

“In our gathering we read Acts 2, and spoke of the ‘Gemeinschaft’,
for we are planning to work, to sow and reap, and to suffer with one
another. This will be very useful, for many a man who has not understood
or exerted himself, will by this means see himself and be led to
improve. Others also will see from it that we love each other, and will
glorify the Father in Heaven. There has been no “society” like that at
Jerusalem, but at this present time it becomes necessary, for material
reasons. Were we only individuals all would fear to give one of us
credit, for they would think, ‘he might die’, but nothing will be denied
the ‘Society’, for each stands for the other. Each member must work
diligently, since he does not labor for himself alone but for his
brethren, and this will prevent much laziness. No one must rely on the
fact that he understands a handicraft, and so on, for there is a curse
on him who relies on human skill and forgets the Divine power. No one
will be pressed to give to the ‘Society’ any property which has hitherto
belonged to him.--Each person present was asked if he had any remarks
to make, but there were no objections raised. Moreover the brethren were
told that if one should fall so low that he not only withdrew himself
from the brethren, but was guilty of gross sin, he would be forced
to work for another master until he had earned enough to pay his
transportation here and back again, for we would not willingly permit
such a man to remain in the land as an offence to the Indians.”

It is interesting to observe that care for the poor Indians is the
argument given for the course to be pursued in dealing with a recreant
member! They had come to preach the Gospel to the Indians, and did not
propose that evil should be learned through fault of theirs.

At his earnest request, John Regnier was now admitted to the “Society”,
his presence among them so far having been without distinct agreement
as to his standing. This did not make him a communicant member of the
Church, simply put him on a par with the other non-communicants, of whom
there were quite a number in the Congregation.

In the evening Anton Seifert, so recently ordained Chief Elder,
or pastor, of the Congregation, officiated for the first time at a
Confirmation service, the candidate being Jacob Frank. He had been in
poor health when the second company left Germany, and Count Zinzendorf
had advised him not to go, but his heart was set on it, and he would not
be persuaded. He grew worse during the voyage and was now very ill with
dropsy, but in such a beautiful Christian spirit that no one could deny
his wish for full membership in the Church. Having given satisfactory
answers to the searching questions put to him, the blessing was laid
upon his head, and he expressed so great a desire to partake of the
Lord’s Supper that his request was immediately granted, the Elders and
Helpers (Helfer) communing with him. Two or three days later he asked
Spangenberg to write his will, and then his strength gradually failed,
until on March 19th, he “passed to the Lord”, leaving to his associates
the remembrance of his willing and happy departure.

The term “Helpers” was used to express in a general way all those, both
men and women, who were charged with the spiritual and temporal affairs
of the Congregation. Many of the words employed as official titles
by the Moravians were given a specialized significance which makes it
difficult to find an exact English equivalent for them, though they are
always apt when the meaning is understood. Perhaps the best example of
this is “Diener”, which means “servant”, according to the dictionary,
and was used to designate those who “served” the Congregation in various
ways. Until quite recently a Lovefeast, held annually in Salem, N. C.,
for members of Church Boards, Sunday-School Teachers, Church Choir,
Ushers, etc. was familiarly known as “the Servants’ Lovefeast”, a direct
inheritance from the earlier days. It is now more commonly called “the
Workers’ Lovefeast”, an attempt to unite “Helper” and “Diener” in a term
understood by all.

At a “Helpers’ Conference” held on March 13th, it was decided to have
nothing more to do with Vollmar, the Wittenberg carpenter, who had
crossed with the second company, had proved false and malicious, and had
now joined Herr von Reck’s party without the consent of the Moravians.
More important, however, than the Vollmar affair, was the proposed
departure of Spangenberg for Pennsylvania. Most faithfully had he
fulfilled his commission to take the first company of Moravians to
Georgia, and settle them there, patiently had he labored for and with
them during their days of greatest toil and privation, controlling his
own desire to keep his promise and go to the Schwenkfelders, who were
complaining with some bitterness of his broken faith; but now his task
was ended, the Savannah Congregation was ready to be thrown on its
own resources, Gen. Oglethorpe had provided him with letters of
introduction, and the “lot” said, “Let him go, for the Lord is with
him.”

Final questions were asked and answered, Spangenberg’s Commission was
delivered to him, and then Bishop Nitschmann “laid his blessing upon”
 him. In the Lutheran Church, to which he belonged before he joined the
Moravians, Spangenberg had been an accredited minister of the Gospel.
The Church of England refused to acknowledge the validity of Lutheran
ordination, because that Church had no Episcopate, but the Moravians,
influenced by Count Zinzendorf, himself a Lutheran by birth,
broad-minded, liberal, and devout, did not hesitate to fraternize wit

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