How long did the Germanna community last? Let’s put it this way, the first time that a Communion Service at the Lutheran Church was held in English was about 1814. Or putting it another way, this was almost ninety years after the Germans moved to the Robinson River Valley. They held on to the old ways for quite a while.
A story that is told, when Rev. William Carpenter was the pastor (1787 to 1814), was that he had suggested to the elders that he preach some of the sermons in English. Emphatically, they told him to use only German, not only in his sermons, but outside the church in the community also. Apparently, before his pastorate ended, he did preach some in English. Whether the story is true or not, there was a conflict over what language was to be used.
There were two groups that favored the continued use of German. There were several new arrivals about the time of the Revolution. These people had not learned English yet. The other group was the very conservative element from the original group. To take one man as an example, Zacharias Blankenbühler, the son of John Nicholas, was born in Germany. He died only after Madison County was formed. Toward the end of the Eighteenth Century, there were individuals such as Zacharias who grew up on the German language. They taught their children to speak German. Some of these individuals were very conservative and they opposed change. They were in positions of power at the Church. Those who could speak English found a home in the Baptist churches which were springing up.
This was not an isolated case. Over in the Shenandoah Valley, the use of the German language continued for much longer. Newspapers were printed there in German until the middle of the nineteenth century (I believe). The conflict on which language was to be used nearly killed some churches. One side or the other was dissatisfied and often left. The remaining members, usually German speaking, were dying. And as they did so, the churches fell on lean times. The adage, that one must adapt to survive, was lost on them. Surely, they could see the handwriting. One of their major arguments was probably that there were members who could only speak German.
The conflict in the German churches was usually resolved in the following way. When it was decided to introduce English, it was tolerated on a once per month schedule. Then it would be that the two languages would alternate weeks. In a last gasp, German would be used only once per month.
The Lutheran Church advertised for a minister after Rev. Carpenter left; they asked for someone who could preach in both languages. Rev. Carpenter went to Northern Kentucky, where a group from the Robinson River Valley had already gone. I believe that he used the German language there.
(17 Feb 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.