John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 2085

I am approaching this history of the Colony of 1717 in the way that Sherlock Holmes accused Dr. Watson of writing the exploits of Holmes.  I am going about it backwards.  This Note returns to the trip to England by Fleshman and Motz in the effort to obtain a preacher.  The community had sent several letters before the departure of Fleshman and Motz, as the Rev. Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen, the Lutheran Court Preacher at St. James Palace in London, acknowledged in a letter he wrote to Hermann Francke at Halle.  His letter [24 November 1724] reads in part:

"In particular I must inform your Honor, that some Lutheran families who live in America, that is in Spotsylvania, have written very moving letters here, in which they ask most pleadingly that one might want to send them a preacher, because for a long time they have not had any.  [...] they also mention that they live in very poor circumstances and would be able to give the preacher very little for his support; they could not bring up more than 30 pounds sterling for that.  I pity the poor people very much; if I only knew how to help them.  I considered Mr. Petzold who two years ago wanted to go there [to America], whether he could decide again to go and how he could establish himself with these people.  I don’t know, however, at what place the Mr. Petzold presently resides.  I ask your Honor 's opinion about this matter.  With this I recommend myself to the Grace of God and offer to my colleagues my most obedient greeting, and to you worthy House my humble regards [. . . ]."
About two years later, the search for a pastor had not been successful, and a new development occurred.  Ziegenhagen wrote on 20 September 1726 to Francke:
"Last week 2 persons from Spotsylvania arrived here as deputies of the Lutheran congregation.  A few years ago they had requested a preacher, of which I had notified Your Honor already 1 and ½ years ago, and they came for this, to pick up the preacher.  The claim to have answered well about 4 times to the first letter of Rev. Ruperti, my colleague, in which he desired a certain declaration and determination regarding the sustenance of the preacher, but no letter has arrived here.  And since they learned from the 2nd letter of Mr. Ruperti, which they received this past Easter, that their previous replies did not get to [him?], the congregation resolved to [send] these two deputies.  These deputies, however, bring neither copies of the previous letters or the slightest of the common writings, as it was prudently demanded by You, because otherwise one has to be in uncertainty and worried about the preacher’s salary.  They excuse this by saying: nobody presently among them can write [better?], and they had no paper or pen and ink which reasons, if true, excuse these people without doubt.  But one can judge the miserable condition of their external circumstances also, which is recognized enough by the torn and unclean clothing and great lack of money of the present."
[Taken from an article by Andreas Mielke in Beyond Germanna, Vol. 14, No. 5 (2002) .]
[to be continued]
(07 Apr 05)

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.