It is my intention to develop the general theme that the 1709 emigration from Germany was influential on the later emigrations, especially the 1713 and 1717 emigrations, which pertain to the Germanna Colonies. We have known there were connections between the 1709 emigration and those who came later. This was brought out Sunday during a visit to the Conrad Weiser homestead here in Pennsylvania.
(John) Conrad Weiser, in " The Autobiography of John Conrad Weiser (1696 - 1760) ", tells us that he was married in 1720 by John Frederick Häger, Reformed pastor. This Frederick Häger was the son of Rev. Henry Häger of the Germanna Colonies.
First, this reminds us that a very near relative of a member of the First Colony did leave Germany in 1709 (and arrived in New York in 1710).
Conrad Weiser's statement is interesting because he identifies Frederick Häger as Reformed, and not as an Anglican. We know that Frederick Hager studied theology with the intent of becoming a Reformed pastor; however, he was never ordained as a Reformed pastor, though he was licensed to preach. He then decided to join the emigration of 1709, and, while he was in London, he asked, with support from some other Germans, for support from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) , which required him to be ordained in the Anglican faith. They did and he was. We believe that the only faith in which he was ordained was Anglican. He received support from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to minister to the Germans in New York and to convert them to the Anglican faith.
His letters to the SPG emphasize that he is trying to establish the Anglican faith among the Germans; however, he did have some difficulty in obtained the promised funds from the SPG.
The question is whether, in 1720, he was acting as a Reformed pastor among the Germans, or whether he was truly trying to instill Anglican principles among the Germans. Perhaps the latter was the case but the Germans still saw him as a Reformed pastor. Perhaps he had become disillusioned with the SPG and the Anglicans over their lack of (financial) support and reverted to calling himself, and thinking of himself as, Reformed.
His exact status has always been a problem, but it does seem that he was ordained only as an Anglican. Still, his German parishioners may have thought of him as Reformed. So was he Anglican or Reformed? One can quote contemporary sources to say that he was both, but technically he could not have been both at the same time.
(15 Jun 04)
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.