The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740

hwenkf

rum, were a company of Schwenkfelders. Their sojourn on his estate was comparatively brief, and their association with the Moravian Churc

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

estigation, 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 emi

r-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 Ame

should foment the trouble at home, he sent his first co

cumstances 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 peo

an, on his p

true to the Prince, the Protestant Succession, and Parliament in everything relating to the estates he may receive in this countr

er, and to assume only such jurisdiction over them a

is establishment in Georgia, and moreover, as soon as the property is in goo

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 i

f these things the

ted 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

on it shall be silent in regard to the circumstances and his personality,

ritten agreement, guarant

receive enough la

ons, and for about a h

a trade or profe

uild up t

nts shall be given

ies for t

be taken directly t

e agr

ent shall have certai

removal to Georgia, th

ady to embark in Engl

rate of interest having

rgia being given for

for the building of a

furnished them,-but as a

colonists who will g

, they being neither p

his dependents sho

correct them, but leave

dgment; on the other ha

of his depende

cendents shall be take

h Nation if t

ed to choose whether he w

to set his affairs in o

ive shall receive th

have been a

is colonists who wish

allowed to do so; and

ious freedom a

ndents in Georgia shall

which the independent

poral

erty shall be at the

ither he nor his depend

in lieu whereof he

ouble w

ere 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 Schwenkf

f Georgia by a Mr. Lorenz. Who this gentleman was does not appear, but a man bearing that name was one of the German

nel the answer of the

Lor

y 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

most

t J. V

appropriated by Parliament as intended for the Salzburgers alone, is immaterial. Perhaps Zinzendorf's v

vania. 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 retai

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

accepted an offer of free transportation to Pennsylvani

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, settl

inary

nse 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

ck 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

known among the heathen has found a satisfaction in the blessed Greenland, St. Thomas and Lapp work, but without appeasing my hunger.

n, 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, n

in America to which they might all retreat if the persecution in Saxony waxed violent; but early in the year 1734, the question "Sha

nhut plan, was not allowed to ruin the project. Zinzendorf wrote again to the Trustees, an

r a tract of five hundred acres, and that ten men should be sent over to begin

vertures 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 Davi

gerode, "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 pl

ly: "Your Highness' resolution to accommodate yourself to your superiors would be known by us al

agreeing to take the Moravians with him to Georgia without consulting them, and reiterating the statement th

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 Bohemi

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

ay, but even before Reck reached his decision Spangenberg had started for E

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 Fr

e 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 Feb

an 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 emigra

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,

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 m

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' le

irst C

r", "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

, Zinzendorf's

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aschke,

aberland,

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h Riedel

ndicrafts as to render them largely independent of outside assistance in the settlement which they prop

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

he day whe

and no mor

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ill my pro

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h joys divin

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harts for

y Lord and

mine my li

newed Unitas Fratrum, and had been to England in 1728 to try to establish relations with the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, though

y XXIX, Count Reuss, Countess Zinzendorf's brother, gave them a letter of recommendation to any whom

l. 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 O

avor. 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

e 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 impr

orrectly. See the a

r in Chapter I

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 w

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 voyag

ould 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 t

forwarded to Savannah with instructions that they should be supplied with cattle, hogs and poultry to that amount. Oglethorpe further instructed Messrs. Toojes

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

the "terribly great city", where they were regarded with much interest, an

nversations 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 preferr

d 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

eculiar 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 wit

ly by, and the ship was ready