Forty-seven years later Brierly Allen settled in Savannah, the first minister there to represent the great denomination which grew from Wesley's later work in England, and the first Methodist Society in that city of his humiliation was organized in 1806.

During the preceding summer Zinzendorf had written to the Trustees, asking once more for (1) entire exemption from military service for the Georgia Moravians, for (2) permission for them to leave Georgia if this could not be granted, and (3) that at least four might remain among the Indians as missionaries.

In answer the Trustees (1) repeated their former decision regarding freehold representation, (2) gave consent for the Moravians to leave if they would not comply with this, and (3) refused to let them stay as missionaries. "The privilege of going among the Indians was given to your people out of consideration for Your Excellency, and also on account of their good conduct, they being citizens of this colony; but if they cease to reside there, this privilege will not be continued to any of them. To employ them as missionaries to instruct the Indians would be a reflection on our country, as if it could not furnish a sufficient number of pious men to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore your people may continue among the Indians, only so long as they are citizens of the colony."

This was the death-blow to the Moravian settlement in Georgia. Had the Trustees exemplified their much-vaunted religious toleration by respecting the conscientious scruples of the Moravians, there were enough members of the Savannah Congregation who wanted to stay in Georgia to form the nucleus of the larger colony which would surely have followed them, for while they were willing to give up everything except religious liberty, they were human enough to regret having to abandon the improvements which they had made at the cost of so much labor and self-denial. The Church at large shared this feeling, and for many years watched and waited for an opportunity to re-open the work in Savannah, but without result. If the Trustees had even permitted the Moravians to stay as missionaries it might have saved the settlement to Georgia, for within a decade the English Parliament passed an Act granting the Moravians the very exemption for which they now asked in vain, and had there been a promising work begun among the Indians during the intervening years it would inevitably have drawn more laborers, as it did in Pennsylvania. But the Trustees shut the door in their faces, other promising and more hospitable fields opened, and the Moravian efforts were thereafter given to the upbuilding of other commonwealths.

In the latter part of January, 1738, eight more of the Moravian colonists left Savannah,—Gotthard Demuth and his wife, George Waschke, his wife and mother, Augustin Neisser, Gottlieb Demuth, and David Jag, those who remained giving them money and provisions for their journey to Pennsylvania. Gotthard Demuth and wife settled in Germantown, later moving to Bethlehem and joining in the organization of that Congregation. In 1743 they were again living at Germantown, where Gotthard died the following year. Regina subsequently married David Tanneberger and moved once more to Bethlehem. Gottlieb Demuth lived at several places, but finally married, and settled in the Moravian Congregation at Schoeneck. Jag, who located at Goshenhopper, and the Waschkes and Augustin Neisser who went to Germantown, never rejoined the Church.

On the 28th of January, the Moravians in Savannah received an unlooked-for addition to their number. Toeltschig wrote to Spangenberg, "Yesterday two boys, who belong to Herrnhut, came unexpectedly to our house. They ran away from the Brethren in Ysselstein and went to Mr. Oglethorpe in London, begging him to send them to the Brethren in Georgia. He did so, but we will have to pay their transportation. One is Zeisberger's son David, about 17 years old, and the other John Michael Schober, about 15 years old. Both are bad boys." It appears that when Zeisberger's parents went to Georgia he was left in Herrnhut to finish his education. From there Count Zinzendorf took him to a Moravian settlement near Utrecht, Holland, where he was employed as errand boy in a shop. He was treated with well-meant but ill-judged severity, and finally after a particularly trying and undeserved piece of harshness in October, 1737, he and his friend Schober decided to try and make their way to his parents in Georgia. In this they succeeded, and though their story was received with disapprobation, they soon made a place for themselves. Schober did not live very long, but Zeisberger, from the "bad boy" of Toeltschig's letter, became the assistant of Peter Boehler in South Carolina, and later the great "apostle to the Indians".

During this Spring the Moravians strained every nerve to do an amount of work sufficient to balance their account with the Trustees. It took a little longer than they expected, but at last Toeltschig was ready for his journey to England, the lot having previously decided that he should go as soon as financial affairs made it proper. His wife remained in Savannah, it being uncertain whether he would stay in Germany or return to America. John Regnier took his place as financial agent of the Moravians.

On March 12th, Toeltschig went aboard a ship, bound for Charlestown, sailing from Tybee two days later. On the 18th, he reached Charlestown, whence he sailed April 1st, bearing with him the record of their account with the Trustees, and commissioned to tell the authorities at Herrnhut all about the Georgia colony. On the 30th of May, the vessel touched at Cowes, where Toeltschig landed, making his way overland to London which he reached on the 2nd of June.

On the 11th of June, Toeltschig, accompanied by Richter, went to present the account to the Trustees. They asked him many questions concerning Georgia, all of which he answered frankly, receiving most courteous attention. Three days later a settlement was reached. The written accounts showed that the Moravians were short 3 Pounds 5 Shillings 5 Pence, which Toeltschig offered to pay in cash, but the Trustees said they realized that the supplies provided for in the second bond had been rated at a higher price in Georgia than in England, and they were content to consider the obligations as fully discharged, interest included. Toeltschig answered "I am VERY glad," a short sentence which spoke volumes!

Wesley, Ingham and Toeltschig.

During the days which elapsed between his arrival in London and the meeting of the Trustees, Toeltschig had many interviews with those who had been "awakened" by the two companies of Moravian colonists, by Count Zinzendorf, and by Peter Boehler and George Schulius. The last two were even then at Portsmouth, on their way to America, and the interest caused by their visit was very manifest.

John and Charles Wesley had been particularly attracted to Boehler, the former especially finding great relief in laying his many spiritual perplexities before him. Wesley complained that when he conversed with Spangenberg in Georgia, and they could not agree on any point, Spangenberg would drop the subject and refuse to discuss it further, but in Boehler he found a clearness of argument, and power of persuasion which convinced without irritating him.

Having passed through many stages with the guidance, sympathy, and encouragement of Boehler, Wesley at last found the assurance of salvation he had sought for so many years, and three weeks after Boehler left London, he records that at a meeting of their society "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." A few days previously his brother Charles had made the same happy experience, and this gave to their religious life the warmth and fervor which, added to the zeal, industry and enthusiasm that had always characterized them, made their labors of so much value to England, and founded the denomination which has grown so rapidly in America, still bearing the name once given in derision to the little group of Oxford "Methodists".

But Wesley's mind was not one of those which can rest contentedly upon one vital truth, he must needs run the whole gamut of emotion, and resolve every point raised by himself or others into a definite negative or affirmative in his own life. Once settled in a position to his entire satisfaction, he was as immovable as a mountain, and this was at once the source of his power and his weakness, for thousands gladly followed the resolute man, and found their own salvation therein, while on the other hand the will which would never bend clashed hopelessly with those who wished sometimes to take their turn in leading. So he became an outcast from the Church of England, alienated from Ingham, Whitefield, and other friends of his youth, estranged from the Moravians, even while he was one of the greatest religious leaders England has ever produced.

At the time of Toeltschig's sojourn in London, however, he was in the early, troubled stage of his experience, rejoicing in what he had attained through Boehler's influence, but beset with doubts and fears. And so, as he records in his Journal, he determined "to retire for a short time into Germany, where he hoped the conversing with those holy men who were themselves living witnesses of the full power of faith, and yet able to bear with those that are weak, would be a means, under God, of so establishing his soul, that he might go on from faith to faith, and from strength to strength."

Ingham, meanwhile, informed of Toeltschig's arrival in London, had hastened "over one hundred and forty miles" to see his friend, a fact that seems to have touched Toeltschig deeply, and arranged to go with him to Herrnhut, as they had often planned while still in Georgia. John Wesley joined them, and the three young men sailed on June 24th, landing at Rotterdam two days later. Wesley's Journal does not mention Toeltschig by name, but on leaving Rotterdam he says, "we were eight in all, five English and three Germans," and there is no doubt that Toeltschig went with them to Marienborn to report to Count Zinzendorf, who was living there during his temporary exile from Herrnhut.

In Rotterdam, Dr. Koker showed the party much kindness, while at Baron von Watteville's in Ysselstein, they were received "as at home". At Amsterdam, they joined in the meeting of the "societies" established under Moravian influences, and from there proceeded to Cologne, and up the Rhine to Frankfort. Having neglected to supply themselves with passports, they experienced much difficulty whenever they reached a walled city, sometimes being refused admittance altogether, and at other times being allowed to enter only after much delay, which caused Wesley to "greatly wonder that common sense and common humanity do not put an end to this senseless, inhuman usage of strangers." When any of their number had an acquaintance in the city to which they had come they sent in a note to him, and he would arrange for their entrance, and at Frankfort they applied to Peter Boehler's father, who entertained them "in the most friendly manner."

On Tuesday, July 15th, they reached Marienborn, where Wesley remained for fifteen days, and Ingham for about seven weeks.

From Marienborn, Wesley went to Herrnhut, stopping at Erfurt, Weimar, Jena, Halle, Leipsig and Dresden on the way. He remained at Herrnhut twelve days, and then returned by the same route to Marienborn, and to England.

This trip to Germany has been given as the beginning of the breach between Wesley and the Moravians, but it is doubtful whether such was really the case. In the "Memoirs of James Hutton" it is stated that Wesley was offended because Ingham was admitted to the Communion at Marienborn, while permission was refused him, and that he secretly brooded over the injury, but Wesley himself does not mention the occurrence, and refers to Marienborn as a place where he met what he "sought for, viz.: living proofs of the power of faith," and where he stayed twelve days longer than he at first intended. The tone of his account of Herrnhut is also distinctly friendly, though he did not unreservedly accept two or three theological statements made to him, but the long conversations he records prove his joy at finding sympathy, and confirmation of what he wanted to believe concerning justification by faith, and the fact that a weak faith was still a real faith, and as such should be cherished and strengthened, not despised. He could not have been greatly influenced against the Moravians by his visit to Halle, for each time he stayed but one night, and on the first occasion Professor Francke was not at home, nor were their arguments new to him, that they should have impressed him deeply.

It frequently happens that when a controversy has arisen between friends, both parties look backward and read into former words and deeds a meaning they did not have at the time they transpired, and most probably this is what has happened in regard to the trip to Germany and its effect on Wesley.

Immediately on his return to England, Wesley began an active religious campaign, drawing such crowds of all kinds of people that the various churches in turn closed their doors upon him, and eight months later he followed Whitefield into open air preaching, after consultation with the Fetter Lane Society. This Society had been organized at the time of Boehler's visit to London, and was composed of members of the earlier Methodist societies, Germans residing in London, and English who had been interested in salvation by Zinzendorf and the Moravian companies bound for Georgia. It had met in the home of James Hutton until it outgrew the rooms, and was then transferred to the Chapel at 32 Fetter Lane. It was an independent Society, with no organic connection with the Moravian Church, and the religious work was carried on under the leadership of John Wesley, and, in his frequent absences, by James Hutton and others who leaned strongly toward the Moravians, some of whose customs had been adopted by the Society. The Hutton "Memoirs" state that Wesley made an effort to break off intercourse between the Society and the Moravians soon after his return from Germany, but failed, and matters continued to move smoothly until about the time that Wesley began his field preaching. During the subsequent months disputes arose among the members, largely on account of views introduced by Philip Henry Molther, who at that time had a tendency toward "Quietism". Molther was detained for some time in England, waiting for a ship to take him to Pennsylvania, he having received a call to labor in the Moravian Churches there, and being a fluent speaker he learned English rapidly and made a deep impression on many hearers.

Wesley was much hurt by the dissensions in his Society, and entirely opposed to Molther's views, and after several efforts to bring all the members back to his own position, he, on Sunday, July 31st, 1740, solemnly and definitely condemned the "errors" and withdrew from the Fetter Lane Society, adding "You that are of the same judgment, follow me." About twenty-five of the men and "seven or eight and forty likewise of the fifty women that were in the band" accepted his invitation, and with them he organized the "Foundry Society". Into the Foundry Society and the many others organized among his converts, Wesley introduced lovefeasts and "bands" (or "classes",) both familiar to him from the Fetter Lane Society, which had copied them from the Moravians. When his societies grew so numerous that he could not personally serve them all he selected lay assistants, and then "became convinced that presbyter and bishop are of the same order, and that he had as good a right to ordain as to administer the Sacraments." He, therefore, ordained bishops for America, and Scotland, and registered his chapels in order to protect them, according to the Act of Toleration. This gave the Methodist body a separate legal status, but Wesley always claimed that he was still a member of the Church of England, and would not allow the preachers of his English societies to administer the Sacraments, a right which was finally granted them by the Methodist Conference after his death.

When Benjamin Ingham returned from Georgia he commenced to preach the Gospel in Yorkshire, his native place, and at the time of his journey to Germany a promising work was begun there. From Herrnhut he wrote to Count Zinzendorf asking that Toeltschig be permitted to visit him in England, and the request was granted a few months later. Meanwhile Ingham's work prospered mightily, so that in June, 1739, he was forbidden the use of the churches, and forced to imitate Wesley and preach in the open air. Some forty societies were formed, and in November, Toeltschig went to him, making many friends among the people, repeating his visit at intervals during the following months.

The intimacy between Ingham and the Moravians became closer and closer, and in July, 1742, he formally handed over the care of his societies in Yorkshire and Lascashire to the Moravian Church, himself going into new fields, and then giving new societies into their keeping. It has often been stated that Ingham was a Moravian, but this is a mistake. During these years he worked with them shoulder to shoulder, but there is no record of his having been received into their Church as a member, nor did they reordain him into their ministry. The situation would be more strange to-day than it was then, for there was apparent chaos in England, the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters before "light shone, and order from disorder sprung," and the Moravians did not care to emphasize their independence of the Anglican Church lest it injure their usefulness. In 1744, when England was threatened with a French invasion, a number of loyal addresses were presented to the King, and among them one from the "United Brethren in England, in union with the ancient Protestant Episcopal Bohemian and Moravian church," a designation selected after long and careful discussion as to a true term which would avoid placing them among the Dissenters from the Church of England.

When the Moravians took over the Yorkshire Societies in 1742 they established headquarters at Smith House, near Halifax, but this not proving permanently available, Ingham, in 1744, bought an estate near Pudsey, where the Moravians planted a settlement which they called "Lamb's Hill", later "Fulneck". In 1746 and 1749 Ingham presented to the Moravians the ground on which the Chapel and two other houses stood, but for the rest they paid him an annual rent. The property is now held of Ingham's descendents on a lease for five hundred years.

In 1753 Ingham withdrew from his close association with the Moravians, and established a new circle of societies, himself ordaining the ministers who served them. These societies flourished for a while, but about 1759 Ingham became imbued with the doctrines of a certain Sandeman, and the result was the almost total wrecking of his societies. This broke Ingham's heart, and affected his mind, so that his last days were very sad. He passed away in 1772, and his societies gradually merged themselves into other churches.

John Toeltschig, Ingham's friend in Georgia and his co-laborer in Yorkshire, came to England in November, 1739, in company with Hutton, who had been to Germany to form a closer acquaintance with the Moravians. After the debt to the Trustees was paid, Toeltschig had eagerly planned new things for Georgia,—extension of work among the Indians, a settlement further up the Savannah River, the strengthening of the Savannah Congregation, from which missionaries could be drawn and by which they should be supported while laboring among the heathen tribes. He offered to return to America at once, ready for any duty, but requesting that he might not be sole financial manager again, as he had found it most difficult to attend to those duties, and at the same time share in the spiritual work.

The elders of the Church, after carefully weighing all the circumstances, decided not to send him back to Georgia, but that he should go to England, to labor in the Fetter Lane Society, and among its friends.

The first step was a visit to Ingham in Yorkshire, and the reception given him was so cordial and the field so promising that he went again, and yet again. Boehler and Spangenberg returned to England and traveled hither and thither in response to the calls that came from every side, other members aided as they could, and the societies under their direction grew apace. Fetter Lane Society was organized into a congregation in November, 1742, and the others followed in due time. The Moravian Church was introduced into Ireland, and took a firm hold there. In England its successes were paralleled with much opposition, and in 1749, after several years of preparation, an appeal was made to Parliament for recognition as a Protestant Episcopal Church, with full liberty of conscience and worship throughout Great Britain and her colonies. General Oglethorpe warmly championed their cause, and after a thorough investigation of Moravian history and doctrine, the bill was passed, May 12th, 1749, and the Moravian right to liberty of worship, freedom from military service, and exemption from oath-taking was unreservedly granted.

While not involved in these Parliamentary proceedings, Toeltschig played an important part in the development of the Moravian Church in England and Ireland. Although he had great success as a preacher, his especial talents were as an organizer, and as leader of the "bands", as might be expected of a man with a judicial mind, executive ability, and great tact. He was Elder of the "Pilgrim Congregation" formed at Fetter Lane in May, 1742, a congregation composed exclusively of "laborers" in the Lord's vineyard, and he was also one of the committee charged with the oversight of the general work.

In February, 1748, he went to Ireland, as superintendent of the societies there, some of which had been organized by Wesley, but now wished to unite with the Moravians. In 1752 he conducted a company of colonists to Pennsylvania, but the next year went back to Ireland, where certain troubles had arisen which he could quiet better than any one else.

After Zinzendorf's death in 1760, Toeltschig was one of that company of leading men who met in Herrnhut to provide for the immediate needs of the Moravian Church, whose enemies prophesied disintegration upon the death of the man who had been at its head for more than thirty years. These predictions failed of fulfillment, and "it was demonstrated that the Lord had further employment for the Unitas Fratrum."

Less renowned than many of his confreres, Toeltschig was a type of that class of Moravians who carried their Church through slight and blight into the respect and good-will of the world. Industrious and scrupulously exact in business affairs, courteous and considerate in his dealings with others, firm and fearless in matters of conscience, bold to declare his faith, and witness for his Master, energetic and "conservatively progressive" in promoting the growth of his church, he took little part in the controversies of his day, but devoted himself unreservedly to preaching the Gospel as it was read by John Hus, by the founders of the ancient Unitas Fratrum, by the renewers of that Church in Herrnhut, "Salvation by faith in Christ and real Christian living according to the precepts of the Bible."

The Negro Mission.

John Toeltschig had been the diarist of the Moravian Congregation in Savannah, as well as their treasurer and most able member, and after he left very little record was kept of the daily occurrences. A few stray letters have been preserved, but little of interest appears therein, beyond the facts that the summer of 1738 was hot and dry, and that the Moravians were not molested, although always conscious of the under-current of antagonism.

Some time during these months Matthias Seybold left for Pennsylvania, where he married, and was one of the company that established the settlement at Bethlehem. He returned to Europe in 1742, and died at Herrnhut in 1787.

In May, the Rev. George Whitefield reached Georgia, "authorized to perform all religious offices as Deacon of the Church of England, in Savannah and Frederica," in the place of John Wesley. The poverty of the people touched him deeply, he distributed to the most needy such sums as he had brought for their relief, and with James Habersham, who had come over at the same time, he agreed upon the erection of an Orphan House. Whitefield visited Ebenezer, and acquainted himself with conditions there and elsewhere, and then returned to England, in August, to raise funds for his Orphan House, Habersham meanwhile beginning to collect and instruct the most neglected children.

During his stay in Georgia, Whitefield lodged with Charles Delamotte, who was still carrying on the little school. During the winter Delamotte had boarded for a while with the Moravians, and when he returned to England in the autumn, he at once associated himself with the English members. Tyerman in his "Life and Times of John Wesley", says, "On his return to England, Charles Delamotte became a Moravian, settled at Barrow-upon-Humber, where he spent a long life of piety and peace, and died in 1790."

On the 16th of October, Peter Boehler and George Schulius arrived in Savannah, accompanied by the lad, Simon Peter Harper. They came as missionaries to the negroes of Carolina, the hearts of various philanthropic Englishmen having been touched by reports of the condition of these half wild savages recently imported from the shores of Africa to till the fields of the New World.

The plan originated during Count Zinzendorf's visit to London, in February, 1737, when it was suggested to him that such a mission should be begun by two Moravian men, under the auspices of "the associates of the late Dr. Bray".

Thomas Bray, an English divine, was born in 1656, made several missionary trips to America, and in 1697 organized a society for the propagation of the Gospel in the English Colonies. He died in 1730, but the work was continued by his "associates", many of whom were also interested in the Georgia Colony.

As this mission was to be under their direction, "the associates of the late Dr. Bray" wished to be very sure that the doctrine and rules of the Unitas Fratrum did not conflict with the Church of England, but being assured by the Archbishop of Canterbury that he considered them as agreeing in all essential points, they closed an agreement with Zinzendorf whereby the Count received 30 Pounds with which to prepare "two Brethren to reside for the instruction of the Negroes at such place in Carolina as the said associates shall direct." The missionaries, when they had entered upon their work, were to receive a salary, "not exceeding thirty pounds a year," from the "associates".

For this missionary enterprise, so much to his liking, Zinzendorf appointed "one of my chaplains, master Boehler," and "Schulius, a Moravian brother," who with Richter and Wenzel Neisser arrived in London, February 18th, 1738. At the house of their friend Wynantz, the Dutch merchant, they met John Wesley, who offered to secure them a pleasant, inexpensive lodging near James Hutton's, where he was staying.

Peter Boehler had been a student at Jena when Spangenberg was lecturing there, and was himself a professor at that seat of learning when he decided to accept Zinzendorf's call to mission work, and join the Moravians, with whom he had been for a long time in sympathy. Like Spangenberg he was a highly educated man, and an able leader, fitted to play an important part in the Church of his adoption. In December, 1737, he was ordained at Herrnhut by the bishops, David Nitschmann and Count Zinzendorf, and in later years he, too, became a bishop of the Unity.

On the 22nd of February, Boehler and his companions called on Gen. Oglethorpe, who at first supposed they were simply going over to join the Savannah congregation. Boehler explained that Richter, who spoke French as well as German, had come as the Agent of the Moravians, in accordance with the suggestion made by the Trustees to Bishop Nitschmann in 1736; that Wenzel Neisser was going on an official visitation to America, especially to the West Indies; and that he and Schulius were the missionaries promised by Count Zinzendorf for work among the negroes in Carolina. The General courteously invited them to confer with him further, either by letter or in person, and offered to take them with him, as he expected shortly to sail for Georgia with his regiment.

Later, when they wished to come to a definite agreement with Oglethorpe, who represented the "associates of Dr. Bray", they experienced some difficulty, owing to the fact that a letter of introduction Oglethorpe expected to receive from Count Zinzendorf had failed to arrive, but the exhibition of their passports, and Richter's explanation that Zinzendorf thought (from newspaper notices) that Oglethorpe had already left England, enabled Boehler and Schulius to establish their identity. So soon as Zinzendorf heard that his word was needed, he sent them a formal letter of introduction to Oglethorpe, which was gladly received as corroboration of their statements. The Moravians were at their own expense while waiting in London, but Oglethorpe promised that they should be provided with Bibles, grammars, and other things they might need for the negro school.

Being detained in London for three months, instead of three weeks as they expected, Boehler and his friend had ample opportunity to make acquaintances in the metropolis. They sent word of their arrival to those Germans who had learned to know Zinzendorf and the earlier Moravian emigrants to Georgia, and on the first Sunday "the brethren", (as they affectionately called all who, like themselves, were interested in living a Christian life,) came to them, and a series of meetings for prayer, conference, and instruction was begun. Boehler was a man of attractive personality, and convincing earnestness, and in spite of his slight knowledge of their language many English also became interested and formed a society similar to that begun by Zinzendorf, the two soon uniting in the Fetter Lane Society.

Ten days after Boehler reached London he accepted an invitation from the two Wesleys, and went with them to Oxford. There he was most kindly received, preached in Latin once or twice each day, and had many private conversations with inquirers. Among those with whom he became acquainted was the Rev. John Gambold, who later became a bishop in the Moravian Church, and many others were mightily stirred to seek the salvation of their souls.

Noting how little English Boehler and Schulius knew, Gen. Oglethorpe offered them a boy who was bright and intelligent, could speak both English and German, and understood some French, and they found him so serviceable that they asked and obtained permission to take him with them to Carolina.

Through Wesley, Boehler heard that Gen. Oglethorpe was much surprised at the speed with which he acquired English, and that he had asked whether Boehler would consent to serve as Minister of the Church of England in Savannah, if that Congregation remained without a pastor. Boehler expressed his willingness to preach at any time, but declined to administer the Sacraments for any denomination except his own, so the appointment was not made.

On the 28th of April, the baggage of the Missionaries was put aboard the 'Union Galley', Capt. Moberley, with instructions that Boehler and his companions should join her at Portsmouth. Neisser was to go with them to Georgia, and from there, as opportunity offered, to St. Thomas, but while the ship lay at Portsmouth other instructions reached him, and Oglethorpe kindly made no objection to his withdrawing his box and staying behind, though he did not quite understand it.

On the 15th of May, Peter Boehler, George Schulius, and the lad Simon Peter Harper, left London, but finding the ship not yet ready to sail, they, by Oglethorpe's instructions, went to Southampton where some of the vessels were lying.

Returning to Portsmouth they embarked on May 22nd, and soon found they were "to dwell in Sodom and Gomorrah" during their voyage. On the 30th the fleet sailed to Southampton for the soldiers, and when they came aboard four days later "Sodom and Gomorrah were fully reproduced." As the ships lay off Spithead a conspiracy was discovered,—the soldiers on one vessel had planned to kill their officers, take what money they could find, and escape to France. During the voyage there were several fights among the soldiers, or between them and the sailors, and in one drunken riot a soldier cut off a young girl's hand. "The Lord was our defense and shield, and we were among them like Daniel in the midst of the lions," wrote Boehler, for the quiet, Bible-reading Moravians found little to like in their rough associates, who cared for them just as little, and wished they could be thrown overboard.

The ships put to sea July 16th and reached the Madeiras on the 29th, where they were detained until the 8th of August. Boehler and Schulius went on shore a number of times, were courteously treated by the most prominent Catholic priest there, climbed a mountain for the exercise, and particularly enjoyed their escape from turmoil and confusion. The captain, who had taken a dislike to them, tried to prevent their leaving the ship, but Oglethorpe stood their friend, and ordered that they should have entire liberty. For Boehler, as for many who had preceded him, Georgia and Carolina were to be a school where great life lessons would be learned. Fresh from the University halls of Jena, he had met the students of Oxford on equal footing, quickly winning their respect and admiration, but these soldiers and sailors, restless, eager for excitement, rude and unlettered, were a new thing to him, a book written in a language to which he had no key. Later he would learn to find some point of contact with the unlearned as well as the learned, with the negro slave and the Yorkshire collier as well as the student of theology, but just now his impulse was to hold himself aloof and let their wild spirits dash against him like waves about the base of a lighthouse which sends a clear, strong beam across the deep, but has few rays for the tossing billows just beneath.

On the 18th of September land was sighted, and on the 29th the fleet anchored in the harbor of St. Simon's Island, and with grateful hearts the Moravians watched the landing of the soldiers. On the 4th of October they transferred their baggage to a sloop bound for Savannah, which sailed the 6th, but on account of head winds did not reach Savannah until the 16th. The Moravians still at Savannah came in a boat to welcome them, and take them to their house, but Boehler was anxious to see the scene of his future labors, and stayed in town only a few days, leaving on the 21st for a tour through Carolina. Schulius accompanied him all the way, and several others as far as the Indian town where Rose was living with his wife and child. Here they talked of many things regarding the Savannah Congregation, but on the following afternoon the missionaries went on their way, Zeisberger, Haberland, Boehner and Regnier accompanying them to Purisburg.

There Boehler and Schulius lodged with one of the Swiss who had come to Georgia with Spangenberg and the first company. His wife expressed the wish that the Moravians in Savannah would take her thirteen-year-old daughter the following winter, and give her instruction, for which she would gladly pay. Boehler took occasion to speak to the couple about salvation and the Saviour, and they appeared to be moved. Indeed this was the main theme of all his conversations. To the owners of the plantations visited, he spoke of their personal needs, and their responsibility for the souls of their slaves; while to the slaves he told the love of God, filling them with wonder, for most of them were newly imported from the wilds of Africa, and suspicious even of kindness. Many knew little of the English tongue, and the few who could understand his words had not yet learned that there was a God who cared how they lived or what became of them. Their masters, as a rule, thought the missionaries were attempting an almost hopeless task in trying to lift these negroes above the brute creation, but were quite willing to give permission and an opportunity to reach them, and on this tour Boehler found only one land-owner who refused his consent.

Purisburg had been named as the location of the negro school, but Boehler found there were very few negroes in the town, which had been largely settled by Swiss, who had not prospered greatly and had bought few slaves. The nearest plantation employing negroes was five miles distant, and only seven lived there, so the outlook was far from encouraging at that point.

Boehler and Schulius then made their way from one plantation to another, until they reached Charlestown. The Rev. Mr. Garden, to whom they had a letter of introduction, advised that the school should be begun in Charlestown, where there was a large negro population, perhaps a thousand souls. This was more than could be found on any single plantation in Carolina, and as the slaves were strictly forbidden to go from one plantation to another it would hardly be possible to find another place where so many could be reached at the same time. Boehler and Schulius were much impressed with the advantages offered, especially as Mr. Garden promised all the assistance he could give, and they debated whether Schulius should not stay and begin at once, while Boehler returned to report to Oglethorpe. The lot was finally tried, and the direction received that they should carefully study the situation but wait until later to commence work. Therefore on the 1st of November the two companions set out for Savannah, which they reached in eight days.

The following weeks were a sore trial for the missionaries. With a promising field in sight, and eager to commence work in it, they were obliged to wait for Oglethorpe's permission, and Oglethorpe was very busy on the frontier establishing the outposts for which his regiment had been brought over. When he did return to Savannah, it was only for a few hours, and he was in no frame of mind for a long argument of pros and cons. He told Boehler rather testily that they should not go to Charlestown with his consent; that if they were not willing to follow the plan for Purisburg he would have nothing more to do with them; and that if they wanted to talk further they must wait till he came again.

Boehler and Schulius wished themselves free to proceed without his consent, wished they had not entered into an agreement with "the associates of the late Dr. Bray", but under the circumstances felt themselves bound to give the work at Purisburg a fair trial. In December, Schulius went to Purisburg to look over the field, and make acquaintance with the people, while Boehler waited at Savannah for Oglethorpe, and finally, when his patience was quite exhausted, followed the General to St. Simons. Oglethorpe persisted in his intention to have the school at Purisburg, and when he learned that his wishes would be obeyed he gave instructions for the renting of a large house and two acres of ground, and for supplies to be furnished from the store at Savannah.

In February, 1739, therefore, Boehler and Schulius settled in Purisburg. Young Harper seems to have been with them in Purisburg on some of their earlier visits, but was sent temporarily to Savannah, and as he does not reappear in the records, he probably went back to his English home. David Zeisberger, Jr., joined Boehler and was his willing helper in many ways.

At first the outlook was rather more promising than they expected. There were very few colored children for the school, but "daily more were bought and born," there was some interest aroused among the older negroes, and the owners were disposed to be friendly, and allow the missionaries free access to their slaves. The German and Swiss settlers were unaffectedly glad to have the Moravians in their midst, and begged for religious services, and instruction for their children, so Boehler and Schulius agreed on a division of labor, the latter to devote himself to the white residents and their little ones, while Boehler spent most of his time visiting adjoining plantations.

But when the warm weather came Boehler was taken with fever, and from June to October he suffered severely. From time to time he was able to be up, and even to visit Savannah, but he was so weak and his feet were so badly swollen that walking was very difficult, and of course missionary tours were impossible.

On the 4th of August, George Schulius died, after an illness of eighteen days' duration. Boehler was in Savannah when he was taken sick, but returned in time to nurse him, to soothe him in delirium, and to lay him to rest amid the lamentations of the Purisburg residents. At his death the school for white children was given up, for Boehler was too weak to shoulder the additional load, and felt that his first duty was to the negroes. In September, Oglethorpe was in Savannah, and after much difficulty Boehler obtained speech with him, and succeeded in convincing him that a negro school at Purisburg was hopeless. He approved of Boehler's plan to itinerate among the plantations and promised that both his own and Schulius' salaries should be paid him, that he might be supplied for traveling expenses. In November, when his health was restored, Boehler wished to make his first journey, but the storekeeper declined to pay him any money until the expiration of the quarter year. When he went again at the appointed time the storekeeper refused to pay anything without a new order from Oglethorpe, except the remainder of the first year's salary, now long overdue. Boehler concluded that the man had received private instructions from Oglethorpe, and that his services were no longer desired by the representative of "the associates", so in January, 1740, he gave up further thought of obligation to them, and prepared to go on his own account. He planned to go by boat to Purisburg and from there on foot through Carolina to Charlestown, but on the way up the Savannah River the canoe was overtaken by a severe thunderstorm, and forced to land. Knowing that a sloop would sail in two days he returned to Savannah, meaning to go to Charlestown on her, but on trying the lot he received direction to wait for the present in Savannah.

While Boehler was making his attempt among the negroes, some changes were taking place in the Savannah Congregation. He had been very much distressed by the condition he found when he arrived, for owing partly to their many difficulties and partly to Seifert's absence among the Indians, no Communion had been celebrated for a year, and the "bands" had been dropped. The Bible and prayer gatherings were steadily observed, but it seemed to him there was a lack of harmony among the members, and they were by no means ready to take him at once into their confidence. Seifert, too, was not well, and had been obliged to leave the Indians, and return to Savannah.

The Indian work was most discouraging, for the men were careless and drunken, and in January, 1739, even Rose gave up, and moved back to Savannah with his family. In October, Tomochichi died, and was buried with great pomp in Percival Square in Savannah. The Moravians were asked to furnish music at the funeral, but declined, and it was hardly missed amid the firing of minute guns, and three volleys over his grave. After his death his little village was abandoned, and the question of further missionary efforts there settled itself.

During the winter John Regnier became deeply incensed at some plain speaking from Schulius, and decided to leave at once for Europe, the Congregation paying his way. He probably went to Herrnhut, as that had been his intention some months previously, and later he served as a missionary in Surinam. In after years he returned to Pennsylvania, where he joined those who were inimical to the Moravians.

Peter Rose, his wife and daughter left for Pennsylvania soon after their withdrawal from Irene. They settled in Germantown, and there Peter died March 12th, 1740. Catherine married John Michael Huber in 1742, who died five years later on a voyage to the West Indies. Being for the third time a widow, she became one of the first occupants of the Widows' House in Bethlehem, and served as a Deaconess for many years, dying in 1798. Mary Magdalena became the wife of Rev. Paul Peter Bader in 1763.

On August 10th, 1739, John Michael Schober died after a brief illness, the ninth of the Moravian colonists to find their final resting place beside the Savannah River.

In September, General Oglethorpe received instructions to make reprisals on the Spanish for their depredations on the southern borders of the Georgia Province. He rightly judged this to be the precursor of open hostilities, and hastened his preparations to put Carolina and Georgia in a state of defense. In October the British Government declared war on Spain, and November witnessed the beginning of fighting in the Colonies. Of course this meant a re-opening of the old discussion as to the Moravians' liability for service, a repetition of the old arguments, and a renewal of the popular indignation. Oglethorpe was fairly considerate of them, thought Zinzendorf ought to have provided for two men, but added that he did not want the Moravians driven away. Still the situation was uncomfortable, and the Moravians began to make arrangements for their final departure.

By this time Boehler had won his way into the confidence of the Savannah congregation, and had learned that he was not the only one who had the Lord's interests at heart. With Seifert again in charge of affairs, the religious services had taken on new life, and on October 18th, John Martin Mack was confirmed. Judith Toeltschig, however, gave them great concern, and her brother Michael Haberland sided with her, so that the company gladly saw them sail for Germany in the latter part of January, 1740. There Michael married, and returned to America in May, 1749, as one of the large company which came to settle in Bethlehem, where he died in 1783. Judith joined her husband in England, and in 1742 was serving as "sick-waiter" of the Pilgrim Congregation in London.

This left only six Moravians in Savannah, for John Boehner had already started for Pennsylvania on January 20th. He had a very sore arm which they hoped would be benefited by the change, and he was commissioned to try and gather together the members who had preceded him, and to make arrangements for the reception of the remnant which was soon to follow. He aided faithfully during the early days of the settlement at Nazareth and Bethlehem, and in 1742 went as a missionary to the island of St. Thomas, where he labored earnestly and successfully for the rest of his life, and died in 1787.

Nothing now remained for the members still in Savannah, but to so arrange matters that they might leave on the first opportunity. Oglethorpe had already bought their trumpets and French horns at a good price, but they needed to sell their rice and household furniture to provide sufficient funds for their journey. This was happily arranged on the 2nd of February, when George Whitefield, who had reached Savannah for the second time a few days before, came to see them, promised to buy all they cared to sell, and offered them free passage to Pennsylvania. This offer they gratefully accepted, receiving 37 Pounds for their household goods, and on April 13th, 1740, they sailed with Whitefield on his sloop the 'Savannah', Captain Thomas Gladman. Their land and improvements were left in the hands of an Agent, and the town house was rented to some of Whitefield's followers for a hospital.

With the Moravians went the two boys, Benjamin Somers and James ——, who had been given into their hands by the Savannah magistrates in 1735, and a young woman, Johanna Hummel, of Purisburg. The two lads gave them much trouble in Pennsylvania, and Benjamin was finally bound out in 1748, while James ran away. Johanna married John Boehner, and sailed with him to the West Indies in 1742, but died at sea before reaching there.

Boehler and his company expected to find Spangenberg and Bishop Nitschmann in Pennsylvania, and were much disappointed to learn that both were absent. They scarcely knew what to do, but Boehler held them together, and when Whitefield decided to buy a large tract of land and build thereon a Negro school, and a town for his English friends of philanthropic mind, and when the Moravians were offered the task of erecting the first house there, Boehler and his companions gladly accepted the work. Bethlehem followed in due time, and all were among those who organized that congregation. David Zeisberger, Sr., died there in 1744, his wife in 1746. Anton Seifert was appointed Elder, or Pastor of the Bethlehem Congregation, married, and took an active part in the Church and School work there and at Nazareth, the latter tract having been purchased from Whitefield in 1741. April 8th, 1745, he sailed for Europe, laboring in England, Ireland and Holland, and dying at Zeist in 1785.

John Martin Mack became one of the leaders of the Moravian Church in its Mission work among the Indians in New York, Connecticut and Ohio until 1760, when he was sent to the negro slaves on St. Thomas, preaching also on St. Croix and St. Jan, and the English West Indies. He was ordained to the ministry November 13th, 1742, and was consecrated bishop October 18th, 1770, during a visit to Pennsylvania, this being the first Episcopal consecration in the American Province of the Moravian Church. He was married four times, his last wife passing away two years before his departure. He died June 9th, 1784, and was buried in the presence of a great concourse of people,—negro converts, planters, government officers and the Governor-General.

David Zeisberger, Jr., lived a life so abundant in labors, so picturesque in experiences that a brief outline utterly fails to give any conception of it. "The apostle of the Western Indians traversed Massachusetts and Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, entered Michigan and Canada, preaching to many nations in many tongues. He brought the Gospel to the Mohicans and Wampanoags, to the Nanticokes and Shawanese, to the Chippewas, Ottowas and Wyandots, to the Unamis, Unalachtgos and Monseys of the Delaware race, to the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas of the Six Nations. Speaking the Delaware language fluently, as well as the Mohawk and Onondaga dialects of the Iroquois; familiar with the Cayuga and other tongues; an adopted sachem of the Six Nations; naturalized among the Monseys by a formal act of the tribe; swaying for a number of years the Grand Council of the Delawares; at one time Keeper of the Archives of the Iroquois Confederacy; versed in the customs of the aborigines; adapting himself to their mode of thought, and, by long habit, a native in many of his ways;—no Protestant missionary and few men of any other calling, ever exercised more real influence and was more sincerely honored among the Indians; and no one, except the Catholic evangelists, with whom the form of baptism was the end of their work, exceeded him in the frequency and hardships of his journeys through the wilderness, the numbers whom he received into the Church of Christ, and brought to a consistent practice of Christianity, and conversion of characters most depraved, ferocious and desperate." "Nor must we look upon Zeisberger as a missionary only; he was one of the most notable pioneers of civilization our country has ever known. * * * Thirteen villages sprang up at his bidding, where native agents prepared the way for the husbandman and the mechanic of the coming race." "He was not only bold in God, fearless and full of courage, but also lowly of heart, meek of spirit, never thinking highly of himself. Selfishness was unknown to him. His heart poured out a stream of love to his fellowmen. In a word, his character was upright, honest, loving and noble, as free from faults as can be expected of any man this side of the grave."*

* "Life and Times of David Zeisberger", by Rt. Rev. Edmund de Schweinitz.—

He died at Goshen, Ohio, Nov. 17th, 1808, having labored among the Indians for sixty years.

Like Spangenberg, Peter Boehler's story belongs to the whole Moravian Church, rather than to the Georgia colony. His time was divided between England and America, in both of which spheres he labored most successfully. Jan. 10th, 1748, he was consecrated bishop at Marienborn, Germany. After Zinzendorf's death he helped frame the new Church constitution, and in 1769 was elected to the governing board of the entire Unitas Fratrum. He died in London, April 20th, 1774, having been there for a year on a visitation to the English congregations of the Moravian Church.



Chapter VII. Conclusion.



Later Attempts in Georgia.

1740.

May 18th, 1740, John Hagen arrived in Savannah. He had come over intending to go as missionary to the Cherokees, and his disappointment in finding that the Moravians had abandoned Georgia is another example of the enormous difficulty under which mission work was conducted in those days, when the most momentous events might transpire months before the authorities at home could be apprised of them.

Hagen had become very ill on the way from Charleston to Savannah, and with none of his own people to turn to he bethought himself of Whitefield's offers of friendship, and went to his house. He was kindly received by those who were living there, and though he went down to the gates of death the portals did not open, and he rapidly regained his health.

Visiting Irene he found only a few Indian women, for Tomochichi was dead, and the men were all on the warpath. The opportunity of going to the Cherokees seemed very doubtful, for there were none living nearer than three hundred miles, and distances looked much greater in the Georgia forests than in his own populous Germany. So he concluded to accept the kind offers of Whitefield's household, and stay with them, making himself useful in the garden, and doing such religious work as he was able. Several Germans living in the town, who had learned to like the Moravians, asked him to hold services for them, to which he gladly agreed.

He was much pleased with the prospect for work in Savannah, where the people had been greatly stirred by Whitefield's preaching, and he wrote to Herrnhut urging that two married couples be sent to help reap the harvest, a request warmly seconded by Whitefield, who had returned to Savannah on June 16th. Whitefield reported the Moravians busily engaged in erecting a Negro school-house for him in Pennsylvania, and told Hagen he would like to have the two couples come to assist him in carrying out his large plans for Georgia.

But by the 14th of August this invitation had been withdrawn, Hagen had left Whitefield's house, and had been refused work on Whitefield's plantation, for fear that he might contaminate the Whitefield converts. The trouble arose over a discussion on Predestination,—not the first or last time this has happened,—and the two men found themselves utterly at variance, for Whitefield held the extreme Calvinistic view, while Hagen argued that all men who would might be saved. Hagen therefore went to the home of John Brownfield, who shared his views, and made him very welcome, and from there carried on his work among the residents of Savannah and Purisburg.

Whitefield returned to Pennsylvania in November, 1740, nursing his wrath against Hagen, and finding Boehler to be of the same mind, he peremptorily ordered the Moravians to leave his land. Neighbors interfered, and cried shame on him for turning the little company adrift in the depth of winter, and he finally agreed to let them stay for a while in the log cabin which was sheltering them while they were building the large stone house. The opportune arrival of Bishop Nitschmann and his company, and the purchase of the Bethlehem tract, soon relieved them from their uncomfortable position, and later the Nazareth tract was bought from Whitefield, and the work they had begun for him was completed for their own use.

Whitefield, in after years, rather excused himself for his first harshness toward the Moravians, but a letter written by him to a friend in 1742, is a good statement of the armed truce which existed among the great religious leaders of that day. "Where the spirit of God is in any great degree, there will be union of avail, tho' there may be difference in sentiments. This I have learnt, my dear Brother, by happy experience, and find great freedom and peace in my soul thereby. This makes me love the Moravian Brethren tho' I cannot agree with them in many of their principles. I cannot look upon them as willful deceivers, but as persons who hazard their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Mr. Wesley is as certainly wrong in some things as they, and Mr. Law as wrong also. Yet I believe both Mr. Law and Mr. Wesley and Count Zinzendorf will shine bright in Glory. I have not given way to the Moravian Brethren, nor any other who I thought were in the wrong, no, not for one hour. But I think it best not to dispute when there is no probability of convincing."

Hagen remained in Savannah until February, 1742, when he went to Bethlehem, accompanied by Abraham Bueninger, of Purisburg, who entered the Moravian ministry in 1742, and labored among the Indians, the white settlers, and in the West Indies.

Nine more residents of Georgia followed the Moravians to Bethlehem in 1745, John Brownfield, James Burnside and his daughter Rebecca, Henry Ferdinand Beck, his wife Barbara, their daughter Maria Christina, and their sons Jonathan and David, all of Savannah, and Anna Catharine Kremper, of Purisburg. All of these served faithfully in various important offices, and were valuable fruit of the efforts in Georgia.

John Hagen was appointed Warden of the Nazareth congregation, when it was organized; and died at Shamokin in 1747.

1746.

General Oglethorpe was much impressed by the industry of the Moravians in Savannah, and was sorry to see them leave the Province. In October, 1746, therefore, he proposed to Count Zinzendorf that a new attempt should be made further up the Savannah River. He offered to give them five hundred and twenty-six acres near Purisburg, and to arrange for two men to be stationed in Augusta, either as licensed Traders, for many Indians came there, or as Schoolmasters.

Zinzendorf thought well of the plan, and accepted the tract, which Oglethorpe deeded to him Nov. 1st, 1746, the land lying on the Carolina side of the Savannah River, adjoining the township of Purisburg, where Boehler and Schulius had made many friends.

No colonists, however, were sent over, and the title to the land lapsed for lack of occupancy, as that to Old Fort, on the Ogeechee, had already done.

1774.

Early in 1774, Mr. Knox, Under-Secretary of State in London, asked for missionaries to preach the Gospel to the slaves on his plantation in Georgia. He offered a small piece of land, whereon they might live independently, and promised ample store of provisions.

This time the plan was carried into execution, and Ludwig Mueller, formerly teacher in the Pedagogium at Niesky, with John George Wagner as his companion, went to England, and sailed from there to Georgia. They settled on Mr. Knox's plantation, and at once began to visit and instruct the slaves, and preach to the whites living in the neighborhood. "Knoxborough" lay on a creek about sixteen miles from Savannah, midway between that town and Ebenezer. The land had been settled by Germans, Salzburgers and Wittenbergers, and Mr. Knox had bought up their fifty acre tracts, combining them into a large rice plantation. The homes of the Germans had been allowed to fall into ruin, the overseer occupying a three-roomed house, with an outside kitchen. Mueller was given a room in the overseer's house, preaching there to the white neighbors who chose to hear him, and to the negroes in the large shed that sheltered the stamping mill. Wagner occupied a room cut off from the kitchen.

In February, 1775, Frederick William Marshall, Agent of the Unitas Fratrum on the Wachovia Tract in North Carolina, (with headquarters at Salem) visited Georgia to inspect the Moravian property there, accompanied by Andrew Broesing, who joined Mueller and Wagner in their missionary work. It had been suggested that the Moravians preach in a church at a little place called Goshen, near "Knoxborough", a church which had been built by subscriptions of Germans and English living in the neighborhood, and had been used occasionally by a preacher from Ebenezer.

At this time the Salzburgers were in a very bad condition. Bolzius had died in 1765, and Rabenhorst and Triebner, who shared the pastorate, were greatly at variance, so that the entire settlement was split into factions. Dr. Muehlenberg, "the father of Lutheranism in Pennsylvania", had come to settle the difficulties, and heard with much displeasure of the plan to have the Moravians preach at Goshen. He declared,—"I doubt not, according to their known method of insinuation, they will gain the most, if not all the remaining families in Goshen, and will also make an attempt on Ebenezer, for their ways are well adapted to awakened souls. I have learned by experience that where strife and disunion have occurred in neighborhoods and congregations among the Germans in America, there black and white apostles have immediately appeared, and tried to fish in the troubled waters, like eagles which have a keen sight and smell."

Dr. Muehlenberg was too much prejudiced against the Moravians to judge them fairly, for he belonged to the Halle party in Germany, and in Pennsylvania had clashed with Zinzendorf during the latter's residence there. The Lutheran Church was in no way endangered by the preaching of the missionaries, for their instructions were explicit: "If you have an opportunity to preach the Gospel to German or English residents use it gladly, but receive none into your congregation, for you are sent expressly to the negroes." "You will probably find some of the so-called Salzburgers there, with their ministers. With them you will in all fairness do only that to which you are invited by their pastor. You will do nothing in their congregation that you would not like to have another do in yours." Dr. Muehlenberg, therefore, might safely have left them free to preach the Gospel where they would, even to his own distracted flock, which was weakened by dissensions, suffered severely in the Revolutionary War, and gradually scattered into the adjoining country.

In accordance with his instructions, Mueller at once gave up all idea of using the Goshen church, and occupied himself with those who heard him gladly at Knoxborough. After a careful examination of the land, the Moravians decided not to build a house for themselves, but to continue with the overseer, who was kind to them, and gave Mueller the use of a horse for his visits to adjoining plantations.

James Habersham, who had come over with George Whitefield in 1738, was one of the most prominent men in Savannah at this time. In 1744 he had established a commercial house in Georgia, the first of its kind, to ship lumber, hogs, skins, etc., to England, and this business had been a success. He had taken a great interest in Whitefield's Orphan House, and had been active in governmental affairs, having served as Secretary of the Province, President of the Council, and Acting Governor of Georgia. For many years he had been the Agent in charge of the Moravian lots in and near Savannah, and now, in failing health, and a sufferer from gout, he asked that one of the missionaries might be sent to his three estates on the Ogeechee River, partly as his representative and partly to instruct the slaves. It was decided that Wagner should accept this invitation and go to "Silkhope", while Mueller and Broesing remained at Knoxborough, Mueller preaching at "Silkhope" every two weeks.

Marshall was much pleased with the reception accorded him and the missionaries, and hoped the time was coming for again using the lots in Savannah, but the hope again proved to be fallacious. The missionaries all suffered greatly from fever, always prevalent on the rice plantations in the summer, and on Oct. 11th, 1775, Mueller died. The outbreak of the Revolutionary War made Wagner's and Broesing's position precarious, for the English Act exempting the Moravians from military service was not likely to be respected by the Americans, and in 1776 Broesing returned to Wachovia, where the Moravians had settled in sufficient numbers to hold their own, though amid trials manifold. Wagner stayed in Georgia until 1779, and then he too left the field, and returned to England.

The Savannah Lands.

In January, 1735, fifty acres of Savannah land was granted by the Trustees of Georgia to August Gottlieb Spangenberg, who was going to Georgia as the leader of the first company of Moravian colonists. Spangenberg had the habit of speaking of himself as "Brother Joseph" in his diaries, and in the records he sometimes appears as Joseph Spangenberg, sometimes as Joseph Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg, and sometimes by his true name only. According to custom, the fifty acre grant embraced three lots,—Town Lot No. 4, Second Tything, Anson Ward, in the town of Savannah, Farm Lot No. 2, Second Tything, Anson Ward, in the township of Savannah, and Garden Lot No. 120, East. (Office of the Secretary of State of Georgia, Book D of Grants, Folio 208.)

A few days later a similar grant was made to David Nitschmann, "Count Zinzendorf's Hausmeister", generally known as the Syndic from his office in later years, who had conducted the first company from Herrnhut to London. This grant consisted of Town Lot No. 3, Second Tything, Anson Ward, in the town of Savannah, Farm Lot No. 3, Second Tything, Anson Ward, in the township of Savannah, and Garden Lot No. 121 East. (Office of the Secretary of State of Georgia, Book D of Grants, Folio 207.)

When the Moravians left Georgia in 1740, these lots were placed in the hands of an Agent, probably James Habersham, who was acting as Whitefield's assistant in his hospital and charity school, the Moravian house being rented for the former purpose.

When the Trustees of Georgia surrendered their Charter to the English Crown in 1754, it was found that no formal deeds had ever been made for many of the tracts granted by the Trustees, and it was decreed that any who could legally claim land under grant from the Trustees should have their rights confirmed by royal grant upon application to the Governor and Council of Georgia, within a specified time, the land otherwise to be considered forfeited. In June, 1761, Habersham wrote to Bethlehem that the time for entering claim had expired, but that he had asked for and obtained six months grace for the Moravians, who had previously sent him a full power of attorney, which had failed to reach him.

A new power of attorney was at once sent, and on September 7th, 1762, royal patents were issued to Nitschmann and Spangenberg, for the Town Lots and Farm Lots above mentioned. (Register's Office, Book D, Folios 207 and 208.)

Meanwhile the two Garden Lots had been sold to Sir James Wright for 10 Pounds, and deeds, bearing date of March 15th, 1762, were made to him by Spangenberg and Nitschmann. The deeds to the Town and Farm lots were deposited in Bethlehem, and the Agent took his instructions from the Manager there.

In 1765 Bishop Ettwein went from Bethlehem to Savannah to look after the property. He found that the large house on Spangenberg's lot had been condemned as ruinous and pulled down. Some one had built a small house on the other end of the same lot, and it was supposed to pay 4 Pounds a year ground rent, but the family living there was very poor, and Habersham had been unable to collect anything. By permission a poor woman had fenced in the Nitschmann lot, and was using it as a kitchen-garden, rent free. The title to the farm lots was in jeopardy, for a certain Alderman Becker in London claimed that the Trustees had given him a tract, including these and many other farms, but the settlers thereon were making a strong fight to hold their property, in which they were finally successful.

At the time of Frederick William Marshall's visit to Savannah in 1775, the two farm lots were reported to have some good timber, even if they were not of much use otherwise, and the town lots had increased in value with the growth of the town. Marshall thought the latter could again be used for residence, and as a centre for such missionary work as was already begun by Mueller, Wagner and Broesing, but the Revolutionary War put an end to their efforts.

At this point in the records appears a peculiar uncertainty as to the identity of the owner of the David Nitschmann lots. The fact that there were three David Nitschmanns in the active service of the Moravian Church during a number of years after its renewal in Herrnhut affords ample opportunity for confusion, but one would not expect to find it in the minds of their contemporaries. But even such a man as Frederick William Marshall wrote, "The Deeds to these two lots, Nos. 3 and 4, are kept in Bethlehem (one stands in the name of Brother Joseph, the other of Bishop D'd Nitschmann, who passed away in Bethlehem) and it would be well if something were done about them. I do not know what can be arranged with the son of the latter; but Brother David Nitschmann, who is now in Zeist, said when he was in America that he himself was the David Nitschmann in whose name the grant was made, because he was the one who had shared in the negotiations with the Trustees of Georgia." Bishop David Nitschmann had died in Bethlehem, Oct. 9th, 1772, where his son Immanuel lived until 1790. The David Nitschmann residing in Zeist was the Syndic, formerly Count Zinzendorf's Hausmeister, the leader of the first company to London, where he and Spangenberg had arranged matters with the Trustees, and had each received fifty acres of land in his own name. The Bishop had had nothing whatever to do with the matter, and this was the conclusion reached, for the title to the Town Lot No. 3 passed at the Syndic's death, March 28th, 1779, to his son Christian David Nitschmann.

June 14th, 1784, August Gottlieb Spangenberg and Christian David Nitschmann by deed transferred their title to the Savannah property to Hans Christian Alexander von Schweinitz, Administrator of the estate of the Unitas Fratrum in Pennsylvania.

The Revolutionary War had come and gone, and Von Schweinitz began again to investigate the condition of affairs in Savannah. Their Agent, James Habersham, had died in 1775, but his son James had kept up the taxes, so the title was intact. "But there is a matter," he wrote, "which it is necessary you should be made acquainted with. When the British Troops took possession of Savannah, they had occasion for a lot belonging to a Mr. George Kellar, for the purpose of erecting a fort on, it being situated in the outskirts of the town, and in order to satisfy this man they VERY GENEROUSLY gave him your two lots in lieu of the one they had taken from him, but very fortunately for you, our Legislature passed a Law rendering null and void all their acts during the time they held this country, and notwithstanding Mr. Kellar is perfectly well acquainted with this matter, he has moved a house on one of the lots, and on the other he has lately built another house, which he rents out, and holds possession—in defiance of me, as I am possessed of no power of attorney to warrant any proceeding against him." A power of attorney was at once sent Habersham, with instructions to evict the intruder, and rent, lease or sell the property.

A suit against the trespasser was won in 1794, but in 1801 his tenant was still in possession, poor, and refusing to pay rent. Habersham had meanwhile died, and John Gebhard Cunow, acting as attorney for Von Schweinitz, who had returned to Germany in 1798, requested Matthew McAllister to take charge of the matter; but McAllister, having made some inquiries, reported that the man named John Robinson, who lived on the premises, was likely to make trouble, and that as he himself was the only Judge in the district it would be better to put the case into the hands of some one else, and leave him free to hear it. Cunow therefore asked George Woodruff to act as attorney, to which he agreed, requesting that John Lawson be associated with him, which was done the following year.

Hans Christian Alexander von Schweinitz died Feb. 26th, 1802, the title to the Savannah Lots passing by will to Christian Lewis Benzien, of Salem, North Carolina, who however requested Cunow to continue to look after them.

The Agents had no light task in ejecting John Robinson and his wife from their abode, for he was "a foolish, drunken man," and she "a perfect 'virago', and the Sheriff is really afraid of her," but on July 5th, 1805, Lawson wrote to Cunow,—"I am happy to inform you that after great trouble and difficulty we have this day obtained possession of Mr. Benzien's lots."

Feb. 17th, 1807, Christian Lewis Benzien, by his attorneys Woodruff and Lawson, conveyed Town Lot No. 4, Second Tything, Anson Ward, to Charles Odingsell, the consideration being $1,500, one hundred dollars in cash, the rest secured by bond and mortgage, payable in one, two, and three years, with 8 per cent interest from date.

In the same manner Town Lot No. 3 was sold to Worthington Gale, March 14th, 1807, for $1,450.

Owing to "the distress of the times," payment of these bonds was slightly delayed, but by June, 1811, both were cancelled.

Although the two Town Lots thus brought $2,950, they had cost a good deal in taxes and attorney's fees, and it is doubtful whether the general treasury profited greatly by the investment, and certainly the men who had lived and labored and suffered in Georgia were in no financial way enriched thereby.

Christian Lewis Benzien died Nov. 13th, 1811, and the two Farm Lots were transferred by will to John Gebhard Cunow of Bethlehem, Pa., who in March, 1822, deeded them to Lewis David de Schweinitz of Bethlehem, Pa.

And here the two Farm Lots disappear from the records. They had never been available for farming purposes, and by degrees the timber was stolen from them, so that it became wiser to let them go than to keep up the taxes with no prospect of return. In course of time the title lapsed, and the land passed uncontested into other hands.

Arrivals, Departures, Deaths.

Arrivals in Georgia.

April 6th, 1735. August Gottlieb Spangenberg From Germany. " " " John Toeltschig " " " 7th, " Peter Rose " " " " " Gotthard Demuth " " " " " Gottfried Haberecht " " " " " Anton Seifert " " " " " Michael Haberland " " " " " George Haberland " " " " " George Waschke " " " " " Friedrich Riedel " " Oct. 11th, " John Regnier From Pennsylvania. Feb. 17th, 1736. David Nitschmann, (the Bishop) From Germany. " 23rd, " Christian Adolph von Hermsdorf " " " " " Henry Roscher " " " " " John Andrew Dober " " " " " Maria Catharine Dober, " " (wife of Andrew D.) " " " George Neisser " " " " " Augustin Neisser " " " " " David Zeisberger " " " " " Rosina Zeisberger, (wife of David Z.) " " " " " David Tanneberger " " " " " John Tanneberger, (son of David T.) " " " " " David Jag " " " " " John Michael Meyer " " " " " Jacob Frank " " " " " John Martin Mack " " " " " Matthias Seybold " " " " " Gottlieb Demuth " " " " " John Boehner " " " " " Matthias Boehnisch " " " " " Regina Demuth, (wife of Gotthard D.) " " " " " Judith Toeltschig, (wife of John T.) " " " " " Catharine Riedel, " " (wife of Friedrich R.) " " " Anna Waschke, (mother of George W.) " " " " " Juliana Jaeschke " " " " " Rosina Haberecht, " " (wife of Gottfried H.) Sept. 16th, 1737. Anna Catherina Rose, Maria Magdalena Rose, (daughters of Peter R.) Jan. 28th, 1738. David Zeisberger, Jr. From Holland. " " " John Michael Schober " " Oct. 16th, " Peter Boehler, From Germany. (missionary to negroes) " " " George Schulius, " " (assistant missionary) " " " Simon Peter Harper From England. May 18th, 1740. John Hagen From Germany. Autumn, 1774. Ludwig Mueller " " " " John George Wagner " " March 5th, 1775. Andrew Broesing From North Carolina.

Departures from Georgia.

March 15th, 1736. August Gottlieb Spangenberg To Pennsylvania. " 26th, " Bishop David Nitschmann " " Dec. 2nd, " John Andrew Dober To Germany. " " " Maria Catherine Dober " " March 9th, 1737. George Neisser To Pennsylvania. May 16th, " Christian Adolph von Hermsdorf To Germany. Oct. 16th, " David Tanneberger To Pennsylvania. " " " John Tanneberger " " " " " John Michael Meyer " " " " " Gottfried Haberecht " " End of Jan. 1738. Gotthard Demuth " " " " Regina Demuth " " " " George Waschke " " " " Juliana Waschke " " " " Anna Waschke " " " " Augustin Neisser " " " " Gottlieb Demuth " " " " David Jag " " March 12th, " John Toeltschig To Europe. Summer, " Matthias Seybold To Pennsylvania. Winter, 1738-39. John Francis Regnier To Germany. 1739. Peter Rose To Pennsylvania. " Catherine Rose " " " Maria Magdalena Rose " " " Simon Peter Harper Unknown. Jan. 20th, 1740. John Boehner To Pennsylvania. Jan., " Judith Toeltschig To Germany. " " Michael Haberland " " April 13th, " Peter Boehler To Pennsylvania. " " " Anton Seifert " " " " " John Martin Mack " " " " " David Zeisberger " " " " " Rosina Zeisberger " " " " " David Zeisberger, Jr. " " " " " Benjamin Somers " " " " " James —— " " " " " Johanna Hummel " " Feb., 1742. John Hagen " " " " Abraham Bueninger " " 1744. James Burnside " " " Rebecca Burnside " " 1745. John Brownfield " " " Henry Ferdinand Beck " " " Barbara Beck " " " Maria Christina Beck " " " Jonathan Beck " " " David Beck " " " Anna Catherina Kremper " " 1776. Andrew Broesing To North Carolina. May, 1779. John George Wagner To England.

Deaths.

Oct. 11th, 1735. Friedrich Riedel In Savannah. March 19th, 1736. Jacob Frank " " March 30th, " Henry Roscher " " June 17th, " Rosina Haberecht " " Oct. 3rd, " Matthias Boehnisch " " Sept. 30th, 1737. George Haberland " " (Nov.?) " Anna Catherina Rose " " Aug. 4th, 1739. George Schulius In Purisburg. Aug. 10th, " John Michael Schober In Savannah. Oct. 11th, 1775. Ludwig Mueller At Knoxborough.

Summary.

Arrivals.

From Europe 43 From Pennsylvania 1 Born in Georgia 2 From North Carolina 1 — 47

Deaths.

At Savannah 8 At Purisburg 1 At Knoxborough 1 — 10

Departures.

To Bethlehem, Pa. 18 To other Moravian Congregations in America 3 To Moravian Congregations in Europe 8 Scattered 8 — 37

——— 47

Following the Moravians from Georgia to Bethlehem 13



Index.

(The index is retained to allow readers to browse the subjects mentioned in this book. The bracketed numbers indicate how many mentions are made. A brief mention or 10 pages worth can both count as a single mention, so the numbers are sometimes deceptive.)



Act of Parliament (3) Aeltester (5) Allen, Brierly (1) Altamaha River (7) Anna (1) Anthony (1) Altona (3) Arrivals in Georgia (2) Associates of the late Dr. Bray (5) Augsburg (2) Augusta (1)

Bader, Paul Peter (1) Bands (6) Beck, Barbara (1) Beck, David (1) Beck, Henry Ferdinand (1) Beck, Jonathan (1) Beck, Maria Christina (1) Benzien, Christian Lewis (1) Berthelsdorf (2) Bethlehem (Penn.) (10) Bohemia (8) Boehler, Peter (10) (Bo"hler) Boehner, John (8) (Bo"hner) Boehnisch, George (2) (Bo"hnisch) Boehnisch, Matthias (2) (Bo"hnisch) Bolzius, Martin (6) Bray, Thomas (1) Broesing, Andrew (3) (Bro"sing) Brother Joseph (3) (see also Spangenberg) Brownfield, John (2) Bueninger, Abraham (1) (Bu"ninger) Burnside, James (1) Burnside, Rebecca (1)

Calendar (1) Calvin, John (1) Carolina (11) Causton, Thomas (9) Charles II (1) Charles V (1) Charlestown (9) (modern Charleston, S. C.) Cherokees (2) Chief Elder (see Aeltester) Christ Church (1) Church of England (9) Collegiants (2) Comenius, John Amos (1) Comfort (1) Committee for relief of Debtors (2) Confession of Faith, Moravian (1) Coram, Thomas (2) Cornish, Capt. (3) Creek Confederacy (1) Cunow, John Gebhard (2)

Deaths (2) Delamotte, Charles (10) Demuth, Gotthard (6) Demuth, Gottlieb (3) Demuth, Regina (4) Departures from Georgia (2) Diener (5) Dober, John Andrew (11) Dober, Leonard (1) Dober, Maria Catherine (4) Dunbar, Capt. (1) Duesseldorf (1) (Du"sseldorf)

Ebenezer, New (5) Ebenezer, Old (5) Ebersdorf (1) Ecce Homo (1) Ecclesiolae in ecclesia (1) Eckstein, John (2) Egede, Hans (1) Elders (1) England (see Moravian Activity in England) English School at Herrnhut (1) Ephrata (1) Episcopate of Unitas Fratrum (10) Ermahner (1) Ettwein, John (1) Exile Hymn (1)

Farm Lots (9) Fetter Lane Congregation (2) Fetter Lane Society (6) Fifty Acre Tracts (5) Financial affairs (34) First Company (5) Five Acre Lots (see Garden Lots) Five Hundred Acre Tract (see Old Fort) Five Hundred Acre Tract (2nd) (2) Five Hundred and Twenty-six Acre Tract (1) Florida (1) Foreign Missions (5) Fort Argyle (1) Forty-five Acre Lots (see Farm Lots) Foundry Society (1) Frank, Jacob (3) Frederica (9) Fulneck (1)

Gale, Worthington (1) Gambold, John (1) Garden Lots (11) Gascoine, Capt. (1) Gemeinschaft (8) George II (1) Georgia (25) Germantown (3) Gladman, Capt. Thomas (1) Goshen (2) Goshenhopper (1) Greenland (1) Gronav, Israel Christian (3)

Haberecht, Gottfried (7) Haberecht, Rosina (2) Haberland, George (5) Haberland, Michael (6) Habersham, James, Jr. (2) Habersham, James, Sr. (6) Hagen, John (1) Halle (7) Harper, Simon Peter (3) Hawk, The (4) Helfer (see Helpers) Helpers (2) Herbert, Henry (1) Hermsdorf, Christian Adolph von (9) Herrnhut (24) Holland (see Moravian Activity in Holland) Hourly Intercession (2) Household Affairs (15) Huber, John Michael (1) Hummel, Johanna (1) Hus, John (2) Hutton, James (5)

Indian School House (see Irene) Indians in Georgia (27) Indians in Pennsylvania (2) Ingham, Benjamin (22) Instructions (1) Ireland (see Moravian Activity in Ireland) Irene (4)

Jablonski (3) Jag, David (6) James (1) Jaeschke, Juliana (4) (Ja"schke) Jena (5) Jews (1) Johnson (1) Journal, John Wesley's (3)

Kellar, George (2) Knox, Mr. (1) Knoxborough (1) Koker, Pieter (2) Korte, Jonas (6) Krankenwaerter (1) (Krankenwa"rter) Kremper, Anna Catherine (1)

Laborers (1) Lamb's Hill (1) Lancashire (1) Land titles (5) Lawson, John (2) Leopold, Archbishop of Salzburg (1) London (7) London Merchant, The (5) Lords Proprietors (2) Lorenz (2) Lot, The (12) Lovefeasts (4) Lower Creeks (3) Lutheran Church (7) Luther, Martin (3)

Mack, John Martin (4) Marienborn (3) Marshall, Frederick William (3) Matrimonial affairs (4) McAllister, Matthew (1) Melancthon (1) Methodists (5) Meyer, John Michael (2) Military affairs (17) Moberley, Capt. (2) Molther, Philip Henry (1) Moravia (9) Moravian Activity in England (11) Moravian Activity in Holland (5) Moravian Activity in Ireland (3) Moravian Congregation in Fetter Lane (see Fetter Lane Society) Muehlenberg, Henry Melchior (2) (Mu"hlenberg) Mueller, Ludwig (2) (Mu"ller) Musgrove, John (1) Musgrove, Mary (3) Music (2)

Nazareth (4) Negro Mission (7) Neisser, Augustin (2) Neisser, George (5) Neisser, Wenzel (3) Neubert, Rosina (1) New Ebenezer (see Ebenezer, New) New Inverness (1) Nitschmann, Christian David (1) Nitschmann, David (Bishop) (23) Nitschmann, David (Hausmeister, Syndic) (16) Nitschmann, Immanuel (1) North Carolina (1) Nova Scotia (1)

Ober-Berthelsdorf (3) Odingsell, Charles (1) Oeconomie (1) Ogeechee River (6) Oglethorpe, James (49) Old Fort (16) Order of the Mustard Seed (1) Orphan House (2) Oxford (3)

Peeper Island (Cockspur) (1) Pennsylvania (20) Periagua (2) Pfeil, von (4) Pietists (1) Pilgrim Congregation (2) Poland (3) Port Royal (1) Potter, John (Archbishop of Canterbury) (2) Province of Georgia (see Georgia) Pudsey (1) Purisburg (6) Putten, Cornelius van (1)

Quincy, Samuel (2)

Ratio Disciplinae (2) Reck, George Philipp Frederick von (9) Reck, the younger (1) Regensberg (2) Regnier, John (10) Religious affairs (30) Reuss, Henry XXIX (1) Revolutionary War (5) Richter, Abraham Ehrenfried (3) Riedel, Catherine (3) (see also Rose, Catherine) Riedel, Friedrich (8) Robinson, John (2) Roman Catholics (6) Roscher, Henry (4) Rose, Anna Catherina (1) Rose, Catherine (Riedel) (5) Rose, Maria Magdalena (4) Rose, Peter (15) Rothe, John Andrew (2) Rotterdam (3) Rotten-possum (1)

Salem (2) Salzburgers (23) Savannah (20) Savannah Congregation (Moravian) (25) Savannah Cemetery (4) Savannah River (5) Savannah, The (1) Saxony (5) Schober, John Michael (3) Schoeneck (1) Schulius, George (4) Schwarz, Rosina (1) Schweinitz, Hans Christian Alexander von (2) Schweinitz, Lewis David de (1) Schwenkfeld, Casper (1) Schwenkfelders (10) Second Company (7) Seifert, Anton (17) Seituah (1) "Servants" of Zinzendorf (12) Seybold, Matthias (4) Shamokin (1) Sickness (13) Silkhope (1) Simmonds, The (3) Sitkovius (2) Skidaway Island (1) Smith House (1) "Society" (see Gemeinschaft) Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (4) Somers, Benjamin (1) South Carolina (5) Spangenberg, August Gottlieb (33) Spangenberg's Hymn (1) Spaniards (7) Spanish War (4) Spener, Philip Jacob (2) Sterling's Bluff (1) St. Simon's Island (4) St. Thomas (6) Swiss Emigrants (5)

Tanneberger, David (6) Tanneberger, John (2) Thomas, Capt. (1) Thomson, Capt. (5) Thunderbolt (1) Toeltschig, John (39) (To"ltschig) Toeltschig, Judith (8) (To"ltschig) Tomochichi (15) Town Lots (10) Trades (11) Triebner (1) Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia in America (27) Tuebingen (1) (Tu"bingen) Two Brothers, The (2) Two Hundred Acre Tract (3) Tybee (5)

Union Galley, The (1) Unitas Fratrum (18) Upper Creeks (1) Urlsperger, Samuel (4)

Vat, Mr. (1) Verelst, Secy (2) Vernon, James (3) Vollmar (3) Vorsteher (1) Voyages (9)

Wachovia Tract (2) Wagner, John George (4) Waschke, Anna (4) Waschke, George (6) Waschke, Juliana Jaeschke (3) (Ja"schke)) (see also Jaeschke, Juliana) Weintraube, Mrs. (2) Wesley, Charles (13) Wesley, John (30) Wesley, Samuel (1) West Indies (7) Whitefield, George (9) Wiegner, Christopher (George) (2) Wittenberg (2) Woodruff, George (1) Wright, Sir James (1) Wynantz (2)

Yorkshire (3) Ysselstein (2)

Zeisberger, David, Jr. (5) Zeisberger, David, Sr. (3) Zeisberger, Rosina (3) Ziegenhagen (2) Zinzendorf, Christian Ludwig von (1) Zinzendorf, Erdmuth Dorothea von (3) Zinzendorf, Nicholas Lewis von (Count) (29)

THE END