Local History: XLIV - Borough of Bethlehem - Part I : Davis's 1877 History of Northampton Co, PA
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HISTORY
OF
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
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192
THE BOROUGH OF BETHLEHEM.
MORAVIAN HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM.
BY BISHOP E. DE SCHWEINITZ, S. T. D.
THE early history of Bethlehem is peculiar, and constituted, it, in many
respects, the most interesting town in Northampton nearly. It wall founded
by the Moravians. In the summer of 1740, a little company of them, the
remnant of a colony which had been planted in Georgia, but broken up again
after a few years, was engaged in building a school house for George
Whitefield, on the site of what is now the borough of Nazareth. Toward the
end of November, the Rev. Peter Boehler, their leader, who subsequently
became a distinguished Bishop of the Church, repaired to Philadelphia to
report progress to Whitefield. The result was unfortunate, Doctrinal
differences, came to light in the course of the consultations between the
two divines, and Whitefield grew so heated that he dismissed the Moravians
from his employ, and peremptorily ordered them to leave his land forthwith.
THE FOUNDING OF BETHLEHEM AND ITS EARLIEST HISTORY-1740-42.
In this juncture, Bishop David Nitschmann opportunely arrived from
Europe, on the fifteenth of December, commissioned by the Church to begin a
Moravian settlement in Pennsylvania. Accordingly he entered into
negotiations with Nathaniel Irish for the purchase of land in the Forks of
the Delaware, the name by which the territory now embraced within the
limits of Northampton county was then known, Irish was an agent for William
Allen, of Philadelphia, a large dealer in lands, and referred the case to
his employer. The latter, on the second of April, 1741, sold five hundred
acres, lying at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Monocacy Creek,
to Henry Antes, of Falkner's Swamp, now Frederick township, Montgomery
county, who acted for Bishop Nitschmann.
Meanwhile the settlers at Nazareth, presuming that this tract would pass
into their hands, had begun to fell its timber. The first tree was cut down
about the time of the shortest day (December 21st, 1740), by David
Nitschmann, Sr., or Father Nitschmann, as he, was commonly called, an uncle
of the bishop, with the assistance of Martin Mack.1 A deep snow, in which
the settlers "often stood leg-deep," covered the ground. In the beginning
of the new year (1741), they built a cabin, of hewn logs, 40 x 20 feet in
dimension, with it peaked gable and far-projecting roof.
This structure was the first house of Bethlehem. It stood on Rubel's
alley, in the rear of the, Eagle Hotel, and was removed in 1823. In it lived
Bishop Nitschmann
Father Nitschmann
Christian Froehlich
Rev. Anthony Seiffert
David and Anna Zeisberger, and their son David
Matthew Seybold
Martin Muck
George Neisser
Hannah Hummel
Benjamin Sommers
James -
These thirteen settlers constituted the first inhabitants of Bethlehem.
They proposed calling the place "Beth-lechem" or House on the Lehigh.
Bishop Nitschmann, whose fathers had belonged to the Ancient Brethrens
Church, was born at Zauchtenthal, in Moravia, on the twenty-seventh of
December, 1696. After suffering persecutions, for the sake of the gospel,
in his native land, he fled to Herrnhut, in Saxony, in 1724. In 1732, he
went to St. Thomas as one of the first two missionaries of the Moravian
Church. On the thirteenth of March, 1735, he was consecrated a bishop, at
Berlin, by Bishop Daniel Ernst Jablousky. The next thirty years of his life
he spent mostly in journeys, superintending the missions of the Church and
founding settlements. He undertook more, than fifty sea voyages labored in
Germany, Livonia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Wales, Georgia, North
Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and the West Indies; and died at
Bethlehem, on the eighth of October, 1771.
His uncle, David Nitschmann, Sr., was born on the twenty-ninth of
September, 1676, at Zauchtenthal, Moravia, and uttered very cruet
treatment, and a rigorous imprisonment, on account of his faith. In 1725,
he escaped from his dungeon in a manner almost miraculous, and found a
refuge at Herrnhut. He came to Pennsylvania in company of his nephew; was
the "friend and joy of all men," says his biographer; and lived and labored
at Bethlehem until his death, April 14th, 1758.
Christian Froehlich was born at Felsburg, in Hesse Cassel,
August 19th, 1715, and came to Pennsylvania in Bishop Nitschmanns party.
Subsequently he labored as a missionary among the Indiana, and in the West
Indies. In 1753, he took charge of Livingston's large sugar refinery, in
New York City, and managed it for twenty years. He died at Bethlehem,
April 5th, 1776.
Anthony Seiffert, born August 15th, 1712, at Thrulich, in Bohemia,
emigrated to Herrnhut in 1728, and to Georgia in 1735, whence he came to
Pennsylvania in 1740. He was the first Moravian clergyman ordained in
America, on the twenty-eighth of February, 1736, at Savannah, by Bishop
Nitschmann. In 1745 he returned to Europe, where he labored in England,
Ireland, and Holland, dying in the country last named, June 19th, 1785.
David and Anna Zeisberger were from Zauchtenthal, whence they fled to
Herrnhut in 1726. They emigrated to Georgia in 1736; and came to
Pennsylvania in 1740. They both died at Bethlehem; the former,
August 5th, 1744; and the latter, February 23d, 1746. Their son, David,
born April 11th, 1721, at Zauchtenthal, became the most distinguished
missionary of the Moravian Church among the Indians, to whose conversion he
devoted more than sixty years of his life, laboring in New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Canada. He died at Goshen, Ohio, November
17th, 1808, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years
Matthew Seybold was a native of Wurtemberg, and emigrated to Georgia,
whence he came to Pennsylvania in 1739 He returned, eventually, to Europe,
and died in 1787.
Martin Mack, born April 13th, 1715, at Leysingen, Wurtemberg, emigrated
to Georgia, in 1735, and to Pennsylvania in 1740, became a celebrated
missionary among the Indiana and the negroes of the Danish West Indies. In
1762, he was appointed Superintendent of the Mission in those islands, and
in 1770, consecrated a bishop. He died on Santa Cruz, January 9th, 1784.
George Neisser, born at Sehlen, in Moravia, April 11th, 1715, emigrated
to Herrnhut, and, in 1735, to Georgia, whence he came to Pennsylvania in
1740, where he entered the ministry of the Moravian Church in 1748, and
died in Philadelphia in 1784.
Hannah Hummel was a native of Purysburg, South Carolina; while Benjamin
Sommers and James were two boys whom the Moravians had adopted.
At the time that this hand of pioneers built the first house of Bethlehem,
there were only three other settlements of white men in their neighborhood,
These were all situated on the south bank of the Lehigh. The first was the
Jennings farm, now the property of the Geisinger family, about one rule
above Bethlehem; the second, the Irish farm and mill, occupied by Nathaniel
Irish, at the mouth of the Saucon Creek, now Shimersville; and the third,
the Ysselstein farm, the property of Isaac Ysselstein, now marked, in part,
by the mills of the Bethlehem Iron Company and their adjacent shops the
country to the north was a primeval wilderness all the way to the Blue
Mountains. Here and there appeared an Indian hamlet.
The foundations of Bethlehem, were laid, in the name, and to the glory of
God. It was to be the centre of missionary operations and a sanctuary for
the gospel. The work of reclaiming the wilderness was consecrated by prayer
and instinct with praise. On the twenty-seventh of June, the Lord's Supper
was administered, for the first time, by Bishop Nitschmann. The following
day, preparations were made for building a second house; and, early in the
morning of the twenty-eighth of September, its foundation-stone was laid by
Bishop Nitschmann, assisted by Andrew Eschenbach, an evangelist of the
church. George Neisser prepared an inscription on parchment, which,
together with the names of the settlers, was inclosed in a tin box and put
into the stone, The stone was laid at the southeast corner of the house,
193
The building itself was two stories high, and constructed of hewn logs,
chinked with clay and straw. It, dimensions were 45 x 30 feet, and,
originally, the angles, of its peaked roof were truncated at the gables. In
the following year, an addition was built at the east end, and completed in
1743, This structure, whose front, in its enlarged form, was lengthened to
ninety-three feet, is still standing at the corner of Church and Cedar
streets, and known as the Gemein Haws. After the settlement had somewhat
increased, it became the residence of the bishops and clergy, and continued
to be occupied by them for many years. It contained, moreover, the first
chapel, in the centre of the building, on the second floor, comprising
roams now in possession of the Rev. Lawrence, Carter and Mrs. Angelica Lehman.
Intelligence having reached the settlers that Count Zinzendorf was
coming to visit them, they hastily completed two apartments in the
second-story of the new house, at the west end, for his use. At the present
time, they are occupied by the Rev. Lawrence Oerter and Mrs. Lydia Rice.
The rest of the building was not inhabited until the following summer.
Nicholas Lewis, Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendurf, born on the twenty-
sixth of May, 1700, at Dresden, died on the ninth of May, 1760, at
Herrnhut, was of a very ancient line, and, through his wife, a Countess
Reuss, connected with several royal houses of Europe, Queen Victoria, on
the maternal side, is directly descended from the father of the Countess
Zinzendorf, The Count having offered an asylum, on his estate of
Bertheldorf, to the persecuted descendants of the Ancient Brethrens
Church, the town of Herruhut, in Upper Lusatia, was built by them, and
became the centre of the Renewed Brethrens, or Moravian Church. Zinzendorf
relinquished all his worldly honors and prospects, and identified himself
with its interests, became in, leading bishop, and stood at its head until
his death.
He arrived at the settlement on the Lehigh, on the twenty-first of
December 1741, accompanied by his oldest daughter, the Countess Benigna,
and his secretary, Jacob Mueller, as also by David Bruce, subsequently a
missionary to the Indians, Abraham and Judith Meinung, Henry Mueller, a,
printer, and Rosina Nitschmann, wife of the bishop. On Sunday, the
twenty-fourth of December, this company, together with the original
settlers, assembled in the first house, celebrated the Holy Communion, and
kept the vigils of Christmas Eve. At the close of this latter service,
between nine and ten o'clock at night, the Count, led the way into the
adjoining stable, and began to sing, with deep emotion, a German hymn, in
which occurred the following lines:
"Nicht Jerusalem, sondern Bethlehem, aus dir kommet was frommet."
(Not from Jerusalem, but from Bethlehem, comes that which benefits my
soul). This incident gave to the settlement its present name.
In the course of the next year (1742), the population of Bethlehem was
increased by the arrival from Europe of a body of fifty-six immigrants,
known as the "First Sea Congregation," under he leadership of George
Piesch, the Rev. Peter Boehler, being their chaplain. They sailed from
London, March 15th, in the snow Catharine, Captain Thomas Gladman, and
reached Philadelphia on the seventh of June.
The following roll sets forth their names and nationalities:
Michael and Anna Joanna Micksch, whose descendents are still living at
Bethlehem
Michael and Anna Rosina Tanneberger
George Schneider, and Matthew Wittke, all from Moravia
David and Ann Catharine Bischoff, descendants at Bethlehem
Rev. Peter and Elizabeth Boehler
John Brandmiller
John and Mary Barbara Brucker
Dr. Adolph Meyer, Joachim and Ann Catharine Senseman, descendents at Nazareth
George and Elizabeth Harten
David and Mary Elizabeth Wahnert
John George Endter
John C. Heyedecker
John C. Heyne
John M. Huber
George Kaske, descendants near Nazareth
Jacob Lischy
John P. Meurer
Joseph Moeller
Christian F. Post, afterward the celebrated missionary and government,
messenger among the Indians
Gottlieb Pezold
John R. Renner
Leonard Schuell
Nathaniel Seidel
Christian Werner, and Gen. Wiesner, all from Germany and Switzerland
Rev. Paul D. and Regina D. Pryzelius, from Sweden
Henry and Rosina Almers
Robert and Martha Hussey
Samuel and Martha Powell
Joseph and Martha Powell
Owen and Elizabeth Rice, descendants at Bethlehem
John and Elizabeth Turner
Thomas and Ann Yarrell
Hector Gambold
John and William Okely, and Joseph Shaw, all from England and Wales; and,
finally, Andrew, a negro, the first convert of the church in St. Thomas.
While at Bethlehem, he married Magdalene, of the same island, returned to
Europe in 1743, and died the following year. His Portrait appears in a
historical painting called the "First Fruits," representing the earliest
Moravian converts from heathenism, and preserved in the Bethlehem Archives.
The German-speaking portion of these immigrants came to Bethlehem on
Thursday, the twenty-first of June, on the following Monday, the day after
the festival of the Trinity, June 25th, the inhabitants were formally
organized as a Moravian Church, A month later, July 24th, the English-
speaking part of the newly-arrived settlers were sent to Nazareth, and
organized as a second church.
At the time of its organization, the church at Bethlehem consisted of
eighty members. It was divided into two parts, The first was the so-called
"Home Congregation," whose members remained in the settlement and labored
for its good; the other the "Pilgrim Congregation," whose members
itinerated as missionaries among the white settlers and aborigines of
Pennsylvania and other colonies. Some weeks after this organization-July
15th the work of the Pilgrim Congregation was more fully developed, and its
members received the name of "fishers," from the words of our Lord,
addressed to Peter and Andrew "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men."(Matt. iv: 19).
In addition to these arrangements, a peculiar system was introduced
called "the Economy." The inhabitants of Bethlehem and Nazareth, as also
of Gnadenthal-now the Northampton county Almshouse-Christian-spring, and
Friedensthal, settlements subsequently founded on the Nazareth tract,
formed an exclusive association in which prevailed a communism, not of
goods, but of labor. Such a communism was not binding upon the settlers,
but left to the free will of each one to adopt or reject, while those who
had property of their own retained the full control of it, and were not,
required to sacrifice it in any way. All that the members of this
association gave was their time and the work of their hands. In return they
received the necessaries of life and the comforts of home. The Economy
existed only for twenty years, and was abrogated, by mutual consent, in
1762. While in force, it defrayed the expenses of the various immigrations
from Europe, gave, the Moravian colony a comfortable support, and
maintained the mission among the Indians, was also the itinerancy among the
white settlers. Bethlehem was the centre of the Economy. This system was
nowhere else introduced among the Moravians, except, for a few years, in
their first settlement in North Carolina.
Another peculiar principle, adopted by the church at large, and retained
in its American settlements, was the use of the lot, according to the
precedent set by the apostles at the election of Matthias. The church was
deemed to be a sort of theocracy, and the will of God was to be ascertained
in all important affairs. Hence the let was employed in the appointment of
ministers and the admission of members, as also in the contraction of
marriages. Its use, in the case last named, has been frequently
misunderstood, and still more frequently ridiculed, There is no cause
whatever for ridicule. On the contrary, Moravian marriages, by lot,
constitute one of the most noble instances of devotedness to the service of
Christ known in the history of His church. For, they were introduced,
first, in order that the work of the gospel, as carried on by the Moravian
Brethren, especially in heathen lands, might not be hindered through any of
the relations of this life, in particular, through early engagements; and,
second, because the members of the church wanted God absolutely to direct
them in forming what constitutes the holiest union on earth, and to
establish their families by an immediate revelation of His will. Such
marriages, however, were not contracted in an offensive or oppressive way.
Men and women were not indiscriminately coupled, without, their knowledge,
and contrary to their wishes. A man proposed a woman to the authorities of
the church, or, if he had no proposal to make, asked them to suggest, a
woman. The authorities submitted the proposal to the decision of the lot,
and, if it was sanctioned, made the woman an offer of marriage in the name
of the man, which offer she was at perfect liberty to reject, if she
thought proper. The lot bound the authorities to make the offer, but not
the woman to accept it if she refused, or if the proposal was negatived by
the lot, the man made another. The fact that the young of both sexes, at
Bethlehem, lived, in " classes," in the so-called Brethrens and Sisters
Houses, and bad scarcely any social intercourse with each other, throws
additional light upon such marriages. Ass soon as faith in theta began to
wane, they were abolished, nearly sixty years ago.
194
The first marriage at Bethlehem took place on the eighth of July 1742, the
parties being John William Zander, it missionary to Surinam, S. A., and
Joanna Magdalena Mueller, of Germantown. Bishop Count Zinzendorf performed
the ceremony, in the chapel of the Gemein Haus. The first baptism was that
of Anna, daughter of the Rev. Paul D. Pryzelius and his wife, Regina
Dorothea, nee Schilling, administered by Bishop Count Zinzendorf, on the
sixteenth of July, 1742, the birthday of the child. The first ordination
took place on the ninth of August, 1742, when the Rev. John William Zander
was ordained a presbyter of the Church, by Bishop Count Zinzendorf,
assisted by Bishop Nitschmann. The first death was that of John Mueller, a
young man from Rhinebeck, N. Y., and occurred on the 26th of June, the day
after the organization of the church. His remains were buried on the
following day. After the interment, the congregation assembled in the
chapel, where Count Zindendorf delivered an address on the words: "But
when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle,
because the harvest is come." (Mark iv: 29).
BETHLEHEM, UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION-1743-74.
Toward the end of the year 1743, another body of immigrants arrived from
Europe, known as the "Second Sea Congregation," and numbering one hundred
and seventeen souls. They crossed the Atlantic in the "Little Strength,"
Captain Nicholas Garrison,"1 sailing from Cowes, on the twenty-seventh of
September, and reaching New York on the twenty-sixth of November. The
majority of them settled at Bethlehem; the rest at Nazareth. Such
immigrations continued to the end of the century. In order to facilitate
them, the authorities at Bethlehem had a vessel built at New York, called
the "Irene," which was in use for ten years, from 1748 to 1758. In the
latter year, it was taken by a French privateer, and lost off Cape Breton.
>From the year 1743 to 1769, nearly six hundred immigrants reached
Bethlehem, In 1749, one hundred and thirty-five arrived in it body, All
these immigrants were, members of the Moravian Church. No others were
allowed to settle at Bethlehem.
Additional land was purchased for the Economy at an early day. George
Whitefield's entire tract of five thousand acres, at Nazareth, had been
sold to the Moravians in 1741. And now (1743) they bought two hundred and
seventy-five acres, on the south side of the Lehigh, known as the "Simpson
Tract," of John Simpson, of London, through his attorney, William Allen, of
Philadelphia, the deed being drawn on the third of June, 1746. Three years
later (1749), Widow Ysselstein sold them her farm, consisting of two
tracts, the one embracing one hundred and seventy-eight acres, together
with an island of ten acres-now the property of the Bethlehem Iron Company,
and the second, seventy-five acres, due east of the first. This enlarged
domain was rapidly improved. In the first thirteen years of the settlement,
from 1742 to 1755, five hundred acres were brought under cultivation; in
the year last named, two hundred acres were cleared. On the sixteenth of
July, 1742, the first wheat was cut; and, on the twenty-seventh of the same
month, the first oats. In the course of time, a number of new houses and
public buildings, as they may be called, were put up, which will be
described in another connection, A bird's-eye view of Bethlehem, drawn in
1755, shows that the town had increased to more than twenty buildings, a
number of which must, however, have been stables and barns. The population
was augmented, not only through immigration, but also by the union with the
Church of a number of settlers from different parts of Pennsylvania and Now
York. Various trades were introduced, and carried on by skillful mechanics
from Europe. About the year 1758, there existed a blacksmith shop,
locksmith shop, nailsmith shop, a pottery, tannery, cabinetmaker and turner
shop, an oil-mill, grist-mill, sawmill, a soup boiling establishment, and a
weaving establishment.
In the, time, of the Economy, with the exception of three years, when
Bishop John Nitschmann took his place, there stood at the head of the
Church and the community, the Right Rev. Augustus G. Spangenberg, A.M., who
was known among Moravians as "Brother Joseph".2 He was an extraordinary
man, a learned divine, an eloquent preacher, and a ruler whose admirable
executive ability constituted all element without which the Economy would
leave been a failure, and the Church greatly hampered in its work. Born,
July 13th, 1704, at Klettenberg, in Prussia, a graduate of the University
at Jena, and, subsequently, a professor in that of Halle, he joined the
Moravian Church in 1733, was consecrated bishop in 1744, and presided over
it, American branch for nearly eighteen years. He died at Berthelsdorf, in
Saxony, September 18th, 1792. He undertook numerous journeys into the
Indian country, was greatly respected by the native, and, in 1745, formally
adopted by the celebrated sachem Shikellmy, into the Iroquois tribe of the
Oneidas, and the clan of the Bear, receiving the name of Tgirhitontie (a
row of trees). During five years of his administration, from 1746 to 1751,
he was assisted by the Right Rev. John Christoph Frederic Cammerhof, an
enthusiastic and very talented young man, who had been consecrated a bishop
in 1746, when only twenty-five years of age. Cammerhof was deeply interested
in the Indians, visited the capital of the Six Nations, and undertook
numerous journeys to other parts of their domain. They respected and loved
him. The Iroquois adopted him in 1748, and gave him the name of Gallichwio
(a good message). He baptized eighty-nine natives, of various tribes, with
his own hands. More than a quarter of century after his death, which
occurred April 28th, 1751, at the early age twenty-nine years, Zeisberger
met with warriors in the Western country who mentioned the name of
Cammerhof with reverence, and called him a great man.3
Bethlehem soon attracted the notice of the people of Pennsylvania other
colonies, and many came to visit the settlement. As early as 1745 not less
than four hundred such visitors arrived in the course of the year. At the
same time, the itinerancy, established in 1742, was carried on with the
utmost zeal. More than two hundred missionary tours were sometimes
undertaken in a single year.
The Indian Mission, in particular, prospered greatly, and Bethlehem came
famous throughout the hunting-grounds of the natives. Many of them visited
the town, and not a few were baptized in its chapel. The first baptism of
this kind, took place on the sixteenth of September, 1742, when the
Mohicans, David and Joshua, were baptized by Bishop Count Zinzendorf 4 and
the Rev. Gottlob Buettner; the last baptism occurred on the sixth January,
1763, when Bishop Boehler baptized Salome, a Delaware girl. One hundred and
thirty-four Indians, in all, were baptized at Bethlehem, in this period.5
In 1746, an Indian hamlet was built near the town, and received the name
of Friedenshuetten. It was situated on the hill now crowned with the Gas
Works, and at its base, stretching into the grounds of the Seminary for
Young Ladies. Here lived a body of converts from Shekomeko, in Dutch,
county, New York, whence they had been driven by the persecutions of white
settlers. These converts subsequently removed to Guadenhuetter flourishing
mission which the church established on the site of Lehigh and Weissport,
near Mauch Chunk.
Interesting Indian visits occurred in 1751 and 1752. In the former year a
band of over one hundred Nanticokes and Shawanese, were hospitably
pertained, and instructed in the Christian religion; in the latter, eighty-
representatives of the same tribes together with fifty-five Mohicans and
Delawares, arrived at Bethlehem, so that there were one hundred and thirty
Indians in the town. The Nanticokes and Shawanese came in a body
(July 20th), and were met at the Monocacy by Owen Rice, Joseph Horsfield,
Burnside. At the fence inclosing the town plot, Bishop Spangenberg received
them. They marched in single file, led by a chief, who sang a song of
friendship. Having been welcomed by the bishop, they proceeded thru the
town, a corps of trombonists greeting them with solemn chorals, and took
up their quarters in the huts of Friedenshuetten. Two formal councils held
with them and, on the twenty-third of July, the baptism of Anna, a
Delaware woman, took place in their presence. Two days afterwards, they
left Bethlehem, and spread its fame all through the Indian country.
Such negotiations with the Indians, although they had in view so the
advancement of the gospel, were misconstrued, and a report arose the
Morvanians were in league with the French. It was disproved, in a fearful
manner, in the course of the French and Indian War, on the twenty-fourth of
November 1755, when one of the Mission Houses at Gnadenhuetten was attacked
by a troop of French Indians, and ten members of the mission family, men,
women, and children, were murdered, while woman, Susanna Nitschmann, was
dragged to Tioga as a prisoner, where she, soon after, died in great misery.
Times of danger and distress now began at Bethlehem, The border
settlements were deserted. Their inhabitants fled in dismay before the
tomahawks of the savages. The two Moravian towns of the county, Bethlehem
and Nazareth, were left exposed to their fury. Strong in the that God was
with them, the inhabitants resolved to hold these settlements at all
hazards, but, inasmuch as the bearing of arms was, at that time contrary to
their creed, not to use them except in self-defence. In no case
___________________________________________________________________________
1. Nicholas Garrison, born Staten Island in 1701, began life, as a sailor,
In his twelfth year, and subsequently commanded various vessels, and
sailed to many parts of the world. In 1748 he became the commander of
the Moravian Immigrant ship, he died at Bethlehem, September 24th, 1781.
2. This name was given to him because, in a time of war and scarcity, he
cared for his brethren, as Joseph cared for his brethren in the time of
famine in Egypt. Spangenberg accepted this name, and used it even in
official documents. His ecclesiastical title was "Vicarius Generalis
Episcoporum in America."
3. He was born near Magdeburg, Prussia, July 28th, 1721, and graduated at the
University of Jena. He reached America in 1747.
4. Zinzensdorf was, adopted by the Iroquois, or Six Nations, in 1742, and
called Johanan.
5. On the twenty-eighth of February 1867, after the lapse of one hundred
and four years, an Indian baptism again took place at Bethlehem, when three
grandchildren of late Hon. John Russ, Chief of the Cherokees, were baptized
in the old chapel, by the writer this article.
195
they attacked the savages. If, however, the savages would attack them, they
would fight for their-wives and children. Accordingly, the exposed portions
of Bethlehem were stockaded, watch-towers built, and guards stationed, by
day and night.1 Such measure, were taken to prevent an assault, an proved
to be eminently successful. A few days after the massacre at Gnadthuetten,
in the night of the twenty-eighth, of November, a war-party actually
approached the town, without being detected. The accidental discharge, of a
gun, however, in the hands of one of the guards, occasioned a general
&farm, and induced the Indians to turn back. Similar experiences were often
made. No blood was shed; but Bethlehem remained safe and constituted one of
the most important posts north of Philadelphia-an eye-sore to the savages,
all asylum for the fugitive settlers. The town was full of them, in the
years 1756 and 1757. At the close of the former, there were seven hundred
and forty-one souls at Bethlehem, of whom, at least two hundred must have
been white refugees, while Seventy of them were Indian converts; at the
close of the latter, there were six hundred and forty-one white, people,
and one hundred and fifty-one Indians.
The Indians bad been brought from Gnadenhutten, and constituted
representatives of the Mohican nation.2 For nearly two years they were
quartered in the so-called Indian House, on the west bank of the Monocacy
Creek, standing in what is now the barn-yard of Mr. Levin J. Krause. A
log structure, containing a chapel, was erected near by. In 1758, after the
pacification of the Western, tribes, they built a village, called Nain
about two miles front Bethlehem, in what, is now Hanover township, Lehigh
County.3 While living at Bethlehem, they were supported, in part, by the
Colonial Government, to whose generosity they had appealed, because they
were prevented from hunting.
Five years, later, in the Pontiac conspiracy, Bethlehem passed (1763)
through the same experience as those which had marked the French and
Indian War. The savages made incursions into the county, and murdered
several settler, and an officer not far from the town. It was again, in
part, palisade, and watches were set as before. Two hundred fugitives from
Allen and Lehigh, found shelter within its defences. And yet there
prevailed great excitement about the Moravians and their Indians,
throughout, the county. The latter were most unjustly accused of being in
league with Pontiac's warriors, and at last, had to be removed to
Philadelphia for the safe-keeping. A pitiful act of undeserved vengeance
against the former was the destruction of the Bethlehem oil-mill, to which
some angry white man applied the torch, in the night of the eighteenth of
November (1763).
Such animosity, however, soon died out. At the close of the Pontiac
conspiracy, the Indian converts were removed to Bradford county. After
that, Bethlehem, as a town, was no longer prominently connected with
aboriginal history.
In other respects, too, great changes took place about this time. The
Economy was given up, by common consent, in 1761. Each citizen could
now work for himself and family, and carry on business in his own name.
Some enterprises, however, were still conducted by the church; and
Bethlehem remained all exclusively Moravian settlement. Only members of the
church were allowed to hold real estate. At the close of the year, the
population numbered six hundred and four souls; and, in addition to those
trades which have been mentioned in another connection, the following
existed: a dyeing and fulling establishment, a butcher shop, all organ
factory, an apothecary shop, a shoemaker, tailor, hatter, and cooper shop,
a worsted and stocking weaving establishment, a brick kiln, a millwright
shop, a saddlery, bakery, bell foundry, and a house carpenter
establishment.
The arrangements which were now made for the government of the church and
the town, as also for the holding of the ecclesiastical property, were
peculiar and interesting.
The spiritual interests of the community were intrusted to a body of
clergymen, at whose head stood the presiding Bishop of the American
Moravian Church, Bethlehem being the, seat of its government, The temporal
interests and the municipal government of the town were in the hands of a
deacon, who bore the title of Warden, and with whom was associated a board
of lay "overseers," elected by the adult male population. On occasions of
importance, relating to financial or municipal affairs, a council of all
the adult male members was convened. The entire real estate, including that
which belonged to the Moravian Church at large, was held, in their own
names, by "Proprietors," and administered by "Administrators." The same
man was often both Proprietor and Administrator; whenever this was not the
case, the former gave the latter a power of attorney, which enabled him to
act. The Administrator had the original sale of town lots exclusively in
his hands, and issued the deeds in the name of the Proprietor. Both the
offices controlled property which, in the course, of time, grew to be very
valuable, and involved vast trusts, that were, at all times, sacredly kept,
without the slightest guarantee.
The first Proprietor, after the abrogation of the Economy, was the Right
Rev. Nathaniel Seidel, the presiding bishop. In the latter office, he had
succeeded Bishop Peter Boehler in 1764, who had, in turn, succeeded Bishop
Spangenberg in 1762. Seidel had been a distinguished evangelist, laboring
in North and South America, to the West Indies, in Germany and England. He
was Consecrated to the episcopacy in 1758, and settled permanently in
Bethlehem in 1761, where he, died, May 17th, 1782. The first Administrator
was the Rev. John Christian Alexander de Schweinitz (born in 1740, on his
fathers estate of Nieder Leuba, in Saxony, died at Herrnbut, in 1802), who
came to Bethlehem in 1770, and, for twenty-seven years, exercised a quiet
but marked influence in the church and the community, especially in the
time of the Revolution, when he advocated submission to the new order of
things. His second wife, whom he married at Bethlehem, in 1779, was a
Baroness de Watteville, and a grand-daughter of Count Zinzendorf. At the
time of his arrival in America, a division of the ecclesiastical estates
was consummated; one part being given to the Moravian Church in this
country, and the other being held by him for the Moravian Church at, large.
The first warden was the Rev. Ferdinand Philip Jacob Detmers who succeeded,
in 1771, by the Rev. Jeremiah Deticke. He remained in office until 1785.
The first lay Overseers whose names are recorded, were:
Huebner
Beckel
Boehler,
Stiener
Borhek
Horsfield
Huber
Oerter
BETHLEHEM, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION TO THE END OF
THE EXCLUSIVE SYSTEM, 1775 TO 1844.
In the time of the Revolution, Bethlehem constituted a prominent centre.
For the first six years of the war it was a thoroughfare for troops; twice
it was the seat of the Continental Hospital; for three months it, was
occupied by the heavy baggage and munitions of war of the army of the
North; and, for a short time, it was the refuge of a part of the American
Congress. Many of the most distinguished patriots and generals, moreover,
frequently came there in order to snatch a few days of rest from their
arduous toils. Its inhabitants, still advocated the principles of
non-combatants, and the older portion undoubtedly regretted the war. But
they were not tories. On the contrary, they merely claimed their right to
remain neutral, arid were prepared at once to submit, in case the Colonies
gained their independent.
Among the younger portion, however, consisting mostly of native
Americans, their prevailed a decided and outspoken sympathy with the cause
of freedom. Hence complications arose, which might have grown serious, if
the Right, Rev. John Frederick Reichel, a member of the Executive Council
in Europe, had not paid an official visit to Bethlehem, and succeeded in
restoring harmony. The leaders of the Revolution respected the principles,
and recognized the honest intentions, of its people. And while it did not
contribute any fighting men, it fulfilled its duty to the country by
faithfully caring for her sick and wounded, and that, too, at, great,
inconvenience and pecuniary loss. In the last, three months of the year
1777, for instance, the town sacrificed £1,500 for the American army.
Exorbitant fines, moreover, were paid in default of military service.
At the beginning of the struggle, in 1775, the authorities issued the
following, statement: "It is our desire to live at peace with all man. We
wish well to the Country in which we dwell. Our declining to exercise, in
the use of arms is no new thing, nor does it proceed from certain
consideration,4 being rather a fundamental principle of the Brethrens
Church, a point of conscience which our first settlers brought with them
into this province. We never have, nor will we ever act inimically to this
country. We will do nothing against its peace and interest, nor oppose all)
civil rule or regulation in the province or country wherein we dwell. On
the other hand, we will submit ourselves in all things in which we call
keep a good conscience, and not withdraw our shoulders front the common burden."
_______________________________________________________________________
1. Benjamin Franklin, who at this time took charge of the frontier, and
assembled his companies at Bethlehem, has given a very one-sided
account of such defences in his Autobiography. Bishop Spangenberger
explained to him the position of the Brethren, but he seem not of have
understood him. That position is fully set forth in Spangenberger's
letter to friends in New York, published in the Memorials of the
Moravian Church, page 204.
2. The Delaware converts were domiciliated at Nazareth.
3. This village stood on what is now known as the Geisinger farm.
4. That is, tory proclivities.
196
In the same year in which this statement was published, bodies of
militia, from Maryland and Virginia, on their way to the siege of Boston,
began to pass through Bethlehem. Among them was a company of mounted
riflemen, under Captain Morgan, subsequently a Brigadier-General, and the
hero of The Cowpens, who spent two days in the town, These were followed,
in the beginning; of 1776, by large numbers of the prisoners taken by
General Montgomery, in Canada, many of whom brought their families along,
and arrived on foot, or in sleighs. In the summer of the same year,
detachments of militia from various parts of Pennsylvania, frequently
arrived, on their way to the "flying camp," established at Amboy, in New
Jersey. Many of these troops attended divine worship in the chapel. Then
occurred the repulse of the Americians at, Brooklyn Heights, the evacuation
of New York City, and Washington's retreat through New Jersey to the
Pennsylvania side of the Delaware. Those movements affected Bethlehem very
severely. The Continental Hospital, with two thousand sick and wounded,
was, at that time, located at Morristown. Its removal to some point in the
interior became a necessity. Accordingly, on the third of December, Dr.
Baldwin brought the following order:
To the Committee of the Town of Bethlehem, others whom it may concern:
GENTLEMEN:-According to his Excellency General Washington's orders, the
General Hospital of the army is removed to Bethlehem; and you will do the
greatest act of humanity by immediately providing proper buildings for
their reception; the largest and most capacious will he the most
convenient. I doubt not, Gentlemen, you will act upon this occasion as
becomes men and Christians. Doct'r Baldwin, the gentleman who waits upon
you with this, is sent upon the business of providing proper accommodations
for the sick. Begging, therefore, that you will afford him all possible
assistance.
I am Gentlemen,
your most obedient humble Servant,
JOHN WARREN,
Gen'l Hospit'l Surg. &, Direct
Hanover Gen'l Hospit., Decem. 1, 1776 1
On one day following the receipt of this order, two hundred and fifty of
the sick and wounded arrived, and were quartered in what is now the middle
building of the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies.
PICTURE OF MORAVIAN SEMINARY APPEARS HERE
The hospital remained there until the twenty-seventh of March 1777. In
that period, one hundred and ten of its inmates died. The clergy of
Bethlehem and particularly, the Rev. John Ettwein, faithfully ministered to
their spiritual wants.
Ettwein was the pastor of the church, and the assistant of Bishop Seidel,
whose health was failing. He was, himself subsequently elevated to the
episcopacy. A self-made man born in 1721, in Wurtemberg, immigrated in
1754, to Pennsylvania, he devoted all his energies to the work of the
gospel, which he preached in twelve of the original thirteen colonies,
among white settlers, and Indians. He succeeded Seidel, in 1782, as
Presiding Bishop, and stood at the head of the Church until 1802, in which
year he died. In the time of the Revolution, he was very active at
Bethlehem, and negotiated with the Government in the name of the Church. He
was intimately acquainted with leading Revolutionary characters, and formed
a close friendship with Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, in particular.
His correspondence with this statesman is preserved in the Bethlehem Archives.
Soon after the hospital had been removed to Bethlehem, General Gates
arrived with a detachment Of his command (December 17th), and the following
day, General Sullivan, with Lees Division, numbering 4,000 men. Lee,
himself, had before captured, a few days previously, by some British cavalry.
The new year (1777) was again marked by stirring events. Troops
continued to pass through Bethlehem almost weekly; Generals Armstrong,
Fermoy, Gates, Schuyler, Mifflin, Green, Knox, and other prominent officers
were there; on the second of September, two hundred and sixty prisoners of
war, arrived under a strong guard; and, soon after the battle of Brandywine
September 11th), Baron de Kalb, with a corps, of French engineers, in order
to select a position in the vicinity of the town for the entire army,
where, if necessary, it could unlike another stand against General Howe.
Subsequent movements of the British, however, changed this programme, and
kept the main army away from Bethlehem. But its military stores were
brought thither, and, toward the end of the month, more than nine hundred
army-wagons were in camp a short distance beyond what is now Broad street.
General Washington's baggage, with a guard of forty men was kept at the
brick-kiln, on the Monocacy, near what is now Unangst's mill, until the end
of the year. The Continental Hospital, moreover, was again brought to the
town.
On the nineteenth of September, Dr. Jackson delivered the following order
addressed to Ettwein:
My DR. SIR:-It gives all great pain to be obliged, by order of Congress,
to send my sick and wounded soldiers to your peaceable village-but so it
is. Your large building must be appropriated to their use. We will want
room for 2,000 at Bethlehem, Easton, Northampton, &c., and you may expect
them on Saturday or Sunday.
I send Dr. Jackson before them that you may have time to order your
affairs in ye best manner. These are dreadful times, consequences of
unnatural wars, I am truly concerned for your Society, and wish sincerely
this stroke could be averted, but tis impossible I beg Mr. Hasse's
assistance Love and compliments to all friends, from,
my dr. Sir,
Your affectionate humb, serv't.
W. SHIPPEN
D. G.
Trenton, Sept, 18, 1777.
On the twentieth of September, the sick and wounded began to arrive.
Among the latter was General La Fayette. He remained at Bethlehem for a
month, until healed of his wounds, and lodged in the house of Frederick
Beckel, which stood on the site of Rausch confectionery store on Main
street. The centre building of the Young Ladies Seminary was again vacated
for the rest of the invalids, of whom there were seven hundred by the end
of the year. Nearly three hundred of them died in the course of the winter.
Simultaneously with the arrival of the hospital, came a number of the
most influential members of Congress, who had fled from Philadelphia at the
approach of Howe's army. In the course of their stay, they visited the
Sisters and Widows Houses, which buildings the surgeons proposed to seize
for the rise of the hospital. Ettwein took occasion to represent the great
distress to which, in case this were done, the inmates would be subjected.
Thereupon the delegates furnished him with the following paper, written by
Richard Henry Lee:
BETHLEHEM, September the 22d, 1777
Having here observed a humane and diligent attention to the sick and
wounded, and a benevolent desire to make the necessaries provision for the
relief of the, distressed as far as the power of the Brethren enables them.
We desire that all Continental Officers may refrain from disturbing the
persons or property of the Moravians in Bethlehem, and, particularly, that
they do not disturb or molest the houses where the women are assembled.
Given under our brands at the time and place above mentioned,
NATHAN BROWSON
JAS. DUANE
JOS. JONES
NATH'L FOLSOM
RICHARD HENRY LEE
JOHN ADAMS
RICHARD LAW
WM. DUER
HENRY MARCHANT
JOHN HANCOCK
CORN'L HARNETT
WM. WILLIAMS
SAMUEL ADAMS
HENRY LAURENS
ELIPH'T DYER
BENJ. HARRISON
Delegates to Congress
In the spring of the following year, April 15th, 1778, the hospital was
removed from Bethlehem, but troops continued to pass through the town, and
it was visited by a constantly growing number of notable men. Among these were
Ethan Allen
Gouverneur Morris
Baron Steuben
General Pulaski,
and many others. Pulaski, while recruiting his legion,
came to Bethlehem twice, in April and May. On the seventeenth of the latter
month, he attended divine service with a part of his command. The banner
embroidered for him by the inmates of the Sisters' House was, in all
probability, made in order. There is not the slightest reference, in any of
the old records, to a presentation such as Longfellow has embalmed in
verse1
________________________________________________________________________
1. [NOTE BY THE PUBLISHER.]-Longfellow's poem, alluded to by the Bishop, is
given below. it is entitled:
HYMN OF THE MORAVIAN NUNS, AT BETHLEHEM, PA., AT THE
CONSECRATION OF PULASKI'S BANNER.
I.
"When the dying flame of day
Through the chancel shot its ray,
For the glimmering tapers shed
Faint light on the cowled head,
And the censer, burning, swung,
Where, before the Altar hung,
That proud banner, which, with prayer
Had been consecrated there,
And the nun's sweet hymn was heard, the while,
Sung low in the dim, mysterious aisle.
II.
"Take thy banner! may it wave
Proudly o'er the good and brave,
When the battles distant wail
Breaks the Sabbath of our vale,
When the clarions music, thrills
To the hearts of these lone hills,
When the spear, in conflict snakes,
And the strong lance, shivering, breaks,
III.
"Take thy banner! and beneath
The battle-clouds encircling wreath
Guard it! till our homes are free
Guard It! God will prosper thee.
In the dark and trying hour,
In the breaking forth of power,
In the rush of steeds and men,
His right hand will shield thee, then.
IV.
"Take thy banner! but when night
Closes round the ghastly fight
If the vanquished warrior bow,
Spare him! by our holy vow
By our prayers and many tears,
By the mercy that endears,
Spare him! he our love hath shared,
Spare him! as load would'st be spared,
V.
"Take thy banner! and if e'er
Thou should'st press a soldiers bier,
And the muffled drum should beat
To the tread of mournful lost,
Then this crimson flag shall be,
Martial cloak ad shroud for thee
And the warrior took that banner proud,
And it was his martial cloak and shroud."
In a published account of the supposed "presentation," and of the
subsequent history of the color, it is related that: "It was during this
time that Count Pulaski was complimented for his gallantry, by the
presentation of a banner, embroidered by the Single Sisters, as a token of
their gratitude for the protection he had afforded them, surrounded as they
were, by rough and uncouth soldiery. The banner was made of crimson silk.
On one side the capitals U. S. are encircled by the motto Unitas Virtus
fortior; on the other side, the All-seeing Eye, in the midst of thirteen
stars of the Union, is surrounded by the motto, 'Non alius regit.' These
designs were embroidered with yellow silk, the letters shaded with green. A
deep green bullion fringe ornaments the edges; the size of the banner was
twenty Inches square. It was attached to a lance, when borne to the field.
The banner was received by Pulaski with grateful acknowledgments, and be
bore it gallantly though many a martial scene, till he fell in the attack
on Savannah, in the autumn of 1779. His banner was saved by his first
lieutenant (who received fourteen wounds), and delivered to Captain
Bantalon, who, on retiring from the army, took the banner home with him to
Baltimore. It was used in the, precession that welcomed LAFAYETTE to that
city in 1824, and was then deposited in Peale's Museum. On that occasion,
it was ceremoniously, received by several young ladies. In 1844, Mr. Edmund
Peale presented it to the Maryland Historical Society in whose possession
it now is," The following letter, explaining the origin of the poem, was
written by the author of it to Gen. W. E. Doster, of Bethlehem, twenty
years ago.
"CAMBRIDGE, January 11th, 1957.
DEAR SIR: The 'Hymn of the Moravian Nuns', was written in 1825, and was
suggested to me by a paragraph in the North American Review, vol. ii, p.390.
The standard of Count Polaski, the noble Pole, who fell in the attack on
Savannah, during the American Revolution, was of crimson silk, embroidered
by the Moravian Nuns, of Bethlehem, Pa.
"The banner is still preserved you will find a complete account of the
matter in Losing's Field Book of the Revolution.
"The last line is figurative. I suppose the banner to have been wrapped
about the body, as is frequently done.
"Truly yours,
"HENRY W. LONGFELLOW,
In the account, first quoted, of Pulaski and his banner, it seems to be
taken for granted that he, the commanding officer, carried the flag with
his own hand, as he led his troopers to the charge; but that, when he fell,
it was with difficulty saved from the enemy. Both fee narrative and the
poem are excellent; but It is hard to say, which is more amusing, the
picture of the "glimmering tapers," "cowled heads, "censers" and "dim,
mysterious aisles" of the Sisters House, at Bethlehem, or the Idea of
shrouding the body of the dead hero in a piece of silk only a trifle more
than half a yard square.
___________________________________________________________________________
1. The original Of the above letter, as also the originals of the other
letters introduced into this narrative, are all preserved in the Bethlehem
Archives, and are here given verbatim. In the other publications in which
some of them have appeared, they are abbreviated.
197
In the autumn of the same year a very distinguished character, Monsieur
Gerard, the French Ambassador, visited Bethlehem, His coming was
formally announced by the following letter from the President of Congress
to Ettwein:
MY DEAR FRIEND: Mons. Gerard, the Minister Plenipotentiary of France, will
be provided be meets with no obstruction on the Road, at Bethlehem on the
25th inst., about mid-day. This worthy character merits regard from all the
citizens of these States. An acquaintance with him will afford you
satisfaction, and I am persuaded his visit will work no evil or
inconvenience to your community. Don Joan de Miralles, a
Spanish Gentleman highly recommended by the Governor of Havana, will
accompany Mr. Gerard. The whole suite may amount to six Gentlemen, and
perhaps a servant to each. I give this previous information in order that
preparation suitable to the occasion may be made by Mr. Johnson (Jansen),
at the Tavern, and otherwise, as you think expedient. My good wishes
attend you all I beg Mr. Okely will forbear with a few days longer. I
consider him as a merciful creditor, arid when an opportunity present I
will pay him more in one Act than all my words are worth.
Believe me, Dear Sir, to be with sincere respect & very great affection
Your friend & most humble servant,
HENRY LAURENS,
PHILADELPHIA, 23 Novem.,1778.
The Rev. Mr. Ettwein, Bethlehem
Monsieur Gerard spent several days at Bethlehem, and was delighted with the
place.
On the fifth of January, another party of distinguished foreigners arrived,
consisting of Baron Riedesel, the commander of the Brunswick mercenaries,
his wife, and three children; his chaplain, the Rev. John Augustus Milius;
and Major-General Philips, of the British army, The two generals were
prisoners of war, who had fallen into the hands of the Americans, on the
occasion of Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga; and the whole party was on
its way to, Virginia, whither it bad been ordered, by Congress, on parole.
The baroness presented the following letter, addressed to Ettwein:
BOSTON, Nov'r, 1778.
DEAR SIR:-This letter will be delivered to you by Madden Reidesel, the
Lady of Major-General Reidesel, to whom I entreat you will shew every Mark
of Civility & Respect in our Power.
Wise Reasons have determined Congress to direct the March of the Army
under the Convention of Saratoga to Charlottesville in Virginia. General
Reidesel, his Lady, and little Family, accompany the Troops of their
Prince.
It is a painful & fatiguing Journey at this Season of the Year. I doubt
not your Hospitable Disposition will render it its pleasant as possible,
and that without my Recommendations, You naturally would indulge the
Sentiments which influence the Gentleman and the Citizen of the world.
I am,
Dear Sir,
Your affectionate,
Humble Servant,
HORATIO GATES.
After the return of this party, from Virginia, in the autumn of the same
year, they spent six weeks in Bethlehem, at the Sun Inn.
PICTURE OF SUN INN APPEARS HERE.
The baroness, in a work which she wrote describing her visit to America,
entitled Die Berufs Reise nach America, Berlin, 1801, p. 243, complains
bitterly of the exorbitant charges, as she thinks, made by the landlord of
the inn.
Passing over many other interesting visit, and incidents in the
Revolutionary period, we bring its history to a close with a brief account,
of General and Lady Washington's stay at Bethlehem.
The latter arrived on the fifteenth of June 1778, accompanied by Generals
Sullivan and Maxwell, and all escort. She was waited upon by the clergy,
and shown the objects of interest in the town, especially in the Sisters
House, and, in the evening, attended divine worship in the chapel. In the
morning of the sixteenth, she left for Virginia.
Four years later, on the twenty-fifth of July 1782, General Washington
himself came to Bethlehem, on his way to headquarters at Newburgh. He
arrived quite unexpectedly says the record, and very quietly, without an
escort, or parade of any kind, accompanied only by two aid-de-camps. The
clergy of the town, and many citizens, waited on him at the inn. After
dinner, he visited the Sisters, Brethrens, and Widows Houses; the mills and
shops, the water-works, and whatever else of interest there was in the
town; and in, the evening attended divine service in the chapel, where
Ettwein delivered a discourse on the words: "But in fill things approving
ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in
necessities, in distresser."-2 Cor. vi,: 4. Washington spent the night at
the Still Inn, where the room is still pointed out which he is said to have
occupied; and, on the morning of the twenty-sixth, proceeded to Easton,
accompanied part of the way by Ettwein.
Several years prior to this visit, when the idea was entertained of
establishing the Continental Hospital at Litiz, a Moravian settlement in
Lancaster county, Ettwein had written to him and asked him, if possible, to
prevent this. General Washington returned the following noble reply,
characteristic both of his humanity and his patriotism:
HEADQUARTERS, 28th March, 1778.
SIR:-I have received your letter of the 25th instant, by Mr. Hasse setting
forth the injury that will of done to the inhabitants of Letiz, by
establishing a General Hospital there. It is needless to explain how
essential an establishment of this kind is to the welfare of the Army, and
you must be sensible that it cannot be made anywhere, without occasioning
inconvenience to some set of people or other. At the same thus it is
ever my wish and aim that the public good be effected with as little
sacrifice as possible at individual interests, and I would by no means
sanction the imposing of any burthens on the people in whose favor on
remonstrate, which the public service does not require.
The Arrangement and distribution of Hospitals depends intirely on Doctor
Shippen, and I am persuaded that he will not exert the authority vested in
him unnecessarily to your prejudice. It would be proper however to
represent to him the circumstances of the inhabitants of Letiz, and you may
if you choose it, communicate the contents of this letter to him.
I am, Sir,
your most obed't serv't,
G. WASHINGTON
The history of Bethlehem, subsequent to the Revolution, to the end of the
exclusive system, can be summed up in a few words.
The succession of the presiding Bishops, was the following Bishop Seidel
was succeeded by John Ettwein, in 1782, who could not be consecrated until
two years later, when Zinzendorf's son-in-law, Bishop Baron John de
Watteville, arrived on an official visit from Europe
Ettwein was followed by the Right Rev. George H. Loskiel, in 1802
Loskiel by the Right Rev. Charles G. Reichel, D. D., in 1811
Reichel by the Right Rev. Christian G. Hueffel, in 1818
Huefiel by the Right Rev. Daniel Anders, in 1828; and Anders by the Right
Rev. Andrew Benade, in 1836, who remained in office until 1849.
198
In the office of Administrator of the ecclesiastical estates, the first
incumbent, John Christian Alexander de Schweinitz was followed, in 1798, by
the Rev. John G. Cunow; Cunow, in 1822, by the Rev, Lewis D. de Schwemitz,
Ph.D., a son of the first Administrator; Schweinitz, in 1834, by the Rev.
Philip H. Goepp, During his incumbency, the exclusive system was given up,
and the finaacial system wholly changed. The church at Bethlehem was
incorporated, and thereafter held its property in its own name.
Of these Administrators, the Rev. Lewis D. de Schweinitz, (born at
Bethlehem, February 13th, 1780, died at the same place, February 8th, 1834)
who was, at the same time, the senior pastor of the church, deserves to be
particularly mentioned on account of his high scientific standing. He was
one of the leading American botanists of his day, published a number of
works, and described nearly fourteen hundred new species of plants of which
more than twelve hundred were of North American fungi, previously little
studied. He collected an herbarium which, at the time of his death, was the
largest private collection of the kind in the United States.
The Wardens, superintending the municipal affairs of the town, next after
Dencke, were
the Rev. John Schropp,1 from 1790 to 1805
the Rev. John Youngberg, from 1805 to 1808
the Rev. John F. Stadiger, from 1808 to 1836
the Rev. John C. Brichenstein, from 1836 to the time of the abolition of
the office.
The following clergymen, other than the Bishops, engaged in ministerial
work, from 1742 to 1844:
Anthony Seiffert
Daniel Pryzelius
John C. Pyrlaeus
Christian H. Rauch
Samuel Krause
John M. Graff
Amadeus P. Thrane
John A. Huebner
John A. Klingsohr
Jacob Van Vleck
Christian F. Schaaf
Charles F. Seidel
John F. Frueauff
Lewis D. de Schweintz
John G. Herman, and
George F. Bahnson.
The town slowly increased in the early part of the new century. Its
population, in 1800, was five hundred and seventy-eight. After the opening
of the Lehigh Canal, in 1829, its progress was more rapid; and the
exclusive system gradually became a burden. Accordingly, after numerous
preliminary consultations, this system was abrogated, on the eleventh of
January, 1844, by the voting members of the church in council assembled. In
the following year, 1845, on the sixth of March, Bethlehem was incorporated
as a borough. Its population at that time must have been upward of 1,000
The first Burgess was Charles Augustus Luckenbach.
the first Council consisted of
Rev. Philip H. Goepp
Benjamin Eggert
Ernst F Bieck
John M. Micksh
Christian Luckenbach
Charles L. Knauss
the first Treasurer, was Christian Weber
the Clerk, Samuel Brunner
the Supervisors, Matthew Brown and Augustus Milchsack
High Constable, Charles W. Rauch.
THE EARLY TOPOGRAPHY OF BETHLEHEM2-
CHURCH EDIFICES.
The first chapel, in the second-story of the Gemein. Haus, was used until
1751. On the tenth of July of that year, a new chapel of unhewn stones, its
walls supported by massive buttresses, and its roof covered with tiles, was
consecrated by Bishop John Nitschmann. It was built in three months. The
tiles being deemed too heavy, shingles were substituted in 1753. On the
ground floor a large apartment, laid with square tiles, was subsequently
constructed as a dining-hall for the heads of the families of the town,
where they took their meals in common. This chapel still stands, and forms
the West side of the Moravian Row on Church street. It had two doors, one
leading into it from the Gemein Haus, and the other from the little square
inclosed by the Row. The pulpit, consisting of a platform with a table and
desk, stood on the west side; the walls were adorned with paintings from
the pencil of the Moravian artist, Valentine Haidt,3 representing incidents
in the Saviour's life; the gallery, furnished with a small organ, was on the
south side; while hard benches, not fastened to the floor, formed the seats
for the congregation. For nearly fifty-five years, from 1751 to 1806, this,
chapel, which constituted the second place of public worship at Bethlehem,
remained in use, and within its walls the Revolutionary characters,
mentioned in another connection, worshiped. In 1856, it was again devoted
to religious purposes; and, the interior having been entirely renovated in
1864 and 1865, it is now set apart for services in the German language.
The third place of public worship at Bethlehem was the large church at
the corner of Church and Main streets. Its erection was superintended by
a committee consisting of John G. Cunow, Andrew Benade, John Schropp, and
Matthias Eggert. In October of 1802, the young men of the town dug the
foundation gratuitously. On the sixteenth of April 1803, the cornerstone
was laid by Bishop Loskiel, at the southeast corner of the main building.
The stone contained a lead box, in which was placed a memorial document,
and a list of the inhabitants of the town, as also of the young "misses" of
the boarding school. In 1804, the building was under roof and the steeple
erected, and in July, of the same year, a large organ (now in the chapel of
the parochial school) was begun by John Gelb, of New York. On the
eighteenth of May 1806, the edifice was consecrated by Bishop Loskiel. Its
original cost was about $70,000. At the time of its erection, this church,
which extends one hundred and forty-five feet on Church street, and seventy
feet on Main street, its audience-room being 90 x 60 feet, and the distance
from the floor to the top of the arch being thirty-four feet four inches,
was looked upon as one of the wonders of the county, and even of the State.
Originally the main building only had a slanting roof, the roof of the
western and eastern wings was flat, surrounded by a railing, with a low
turret in the centre. In 1867, the interior was entirely renovated.
BELLS.
The first bell at Bethlehem was put up July 6th, 1742, on a tree in front
of the Gemein Haus. Joachim Senseman was appointed to ring it. He began at
5 o'clock A. M. striking the hours until 9 o'clock P. M., when the night
watch was set.
In the summer of 1746, the belfry of the newly completed turret crowning
the Moravian Row on Church street was furnished with a ring of three bells,
cast by Samuel Powell, of Philadelphia, weighing forty, seventy, and one
hundred and sixteen pounds, respectively. When struck for the quarters
and the boom, they sounded in succession the fifth, the third, and the
first tones of the chord G. On the twenty-fifth of July 1776, the largest
of them was recast, at Bethlehem, by one Tommerop, a bell-founder, assisted
by Anthony Schmidt, Jr., a smith, who reached an advanced age, and is well
remembered by citizens now living, This centennial bell, which weighed
two hundred and twenty-eight pounds, and which was rung, for the first
time, on the twenty-seventh of July, is still in its place. Its ringers,
down to modern times, were all women, Their names have been preserved, to wit:
Molly Isles
Mary Fritsche
widow Kitschelt
Barbara Buehler
widow Borhek.
A new bell was procured, for the large church, from London, where it was
cast, by Thomas Mears, in 1804. On its arrival at Bethlehem, it was, first
of all, hung on the site of Professor Schulze's house, on Cedar street, and
there rung, to the astonishment of crowds of people who flocked in from the
country to hear it. This bell was supplanted, in 1868, by the one now
hanging in the steeple, cast at Troy, and weighing fourteen hundred and
seventeen pounds.
THE TOWN CLOCK.
The first clock at Bethlehem, the work of Augustine Neisser,4 at
Germantown, was put up in the belfry of the Moravian Row, probably in 1746.
It was a thirty-hour clock. In 1806, it was removed to the steeple of the
large church, where four new dials were constructed by John Samuel Krause.5
The late Jedidiah Weiss greatly improved it, and changed it into a three
find a half day clock. At the time of writing, it is being altered into an
eight-day clock. by Levin F. Giering.
_________________________________________________________________________
1 Born in 1758 in Nazareth, son of the Rev. Matthias Schropp, who came to
Bethlehem in 1743, and served the church for twenty-four years. John
Schropp who was the Warden for twenty years at Nazareth and Bethlehem, was
the grandfather of Abraham Schropp, secretary of the Bethlehem Iron Company.
2. Much of the information under this head is based on memoranda of the
late Rev. W. C. Reichel, extracted from the papers in the Archives.
3. Born at Daniz, in 1704; educated at Berlin, and learned painting at
Rome; came to America, in 1754, where he served as an itinerant preacher,
but devoted himself, also to painting. Died at Bethlehem, in 1780.
4. The great-grandfather of Squire B. F. Neisser, of Bethlehem.
5. The grandfather of J. Samuel Krause, of the hardware firm Krause & Luckenbach.
199
THE BRETHREN'S HOUSE.
The first Brethren's House, the site for which had been selected by Count
Zinzendorf in 1742, was built and dedicated in 1744. It is still standing,
at the southeast corner of the Moravian Row, on Church street; a massive,
stone building, two stories high, with a sort of Mansard roof; the halls on
the first floor being still laid with the large square tiles which were put
down in 1744, and the sun-dial, which was devised at that time, between two
windows of the second story, remaining intact. This was the home for the
unmarried men, or the "Single Brethren," as they were called, of the
settlement, who formed a distinct brotherhood, at whose head stood a
superintendent. Such of the inmates as were destined for the ministry
engaged in their studies; the rest in various trades, carried on for the
benefit of the establishment. A warden managed its financial interests it
had a dining-hall, where the brethren took their meals in common, and a
chapel, where daily morning and evening services were held. Their was
nothing monastic in the character of this brotherhood, and its members were
bound by no vow. In 1748, a new and larger Brethren House was opened at
the southern end of Main street, now the middle building of the Young
Ladies Seminary. At that time it had only, one door on the, north, and
another as the south side. Above the latter were a large gilt star and an
inscription. In 1815, the brotherhood gave up their house and
establishment but remained a distinct class of the membership of the
church, under the special supervision of their superintendent.
THE SISTERS HOUSE.
The house vacated by the unmarried men, in 1748, was, at once, occupied by
the unmarried women, or the "Single Sisters," as they were called, and thus
become the Sisters House. Its north wing was added in 1751-52, and an
extension, at the eastern end, built in 1773. The sisterhood, occupying
this edifice, was constituted like the brotherhood, having a deaconess for
its superintendent, and another woman to manage its financial affairs.
These prospered greatly. Beautiful embroidery and other needle-work, as
also substantial knitting were done, and orders came in from far end near.
Moreover, the sale of dried-apples was extensive, the Sisters House owning
a large orchard. A separate building, known as the "Schnitz House," and
still standing was used for preparing the apple. The Sisters is now a
tenement building. Its financial economy was given up about 1840.
THE WIDOWS HOUSE
This was a home for widows, conducted on the same plan as the Brethrens
and Sisters Houses, except that the inmates did not take their meals in one
dining-room, but received them from a common kitchen. The corner-stone of
the building, which stands on Church street, opposite the Moravian Row, was
laid on the twenty-seventh of April, 1767, and it was occupied on the
eleventh of September 1769. A large part of the original cost of this home
was voluntarily contributed by members of the church, both in America and
Europe. In 1794 and 1795, an addition was put up at the east end. This
structure is now a home for the widows of Moravian clergymen, its former
financial economy was relinquished about 1840.
HOTELS
The first inn at Bethlehem was "The Crown," built of logs in 1745, on the
south side of the Lehigh. It stood at the southeast corner of what, is now
the Union Depot. The first landlord was Samuel Powell; the last, George
Schindler, The inn was closed in 1794, and became a farm house. In 1857, it
was removed to make way for the track of the North Pennsylvania Railroad.
The second inn was "The Sun," a large, two-story stone
and occupied in 1760, its first landlord being Peter Worbas.
PICTURE OF SUN HOTEL APPEARS HERE.
In this inn the Revolutionary characters, and, before them, distinguished
men of colonial times, were wont to lodge.
The third house of entertainment was the "Eagle Hotel," built for the
purposes of a store, in 1793, and changed into a hotel in 1823. Charles D.
Bishop was its first landlord.
THE FERRY AND FIRST BRIDGE.
On the twenty-fifth of January, 1743, a site for a ferry across the
Lehigh was selected, its southern terminus being a group of sycamores,
immediately above the railroad bridge. It was opened on the eleventh of
March. The first ferryman, whose name is recorded, was Adam Schaus,
Ferriage for a horse and rider was 3d. In 1744, the tolls amounted to
£2, 11s, 2d; in the following year, the ferry was made free for all such as
belonged to Bethlehem or dealt there, while travelers were, expected to
pay, if able, but were "not to be constrained." In 1750, wharves were
constructed, and, in 1758, a rope was introduced, which greatly facilitated
the passage across the river. The first bridge was erected in 1794, John
Schropp, the warden, having been empowered, by an Act of Assembly, to
undertake the enterprise, and to associate stockholders with himself. This
bridge was uncovered, built of hemlock timber, and opened for travel on the
nineteenth of September. It cost $7,800. In 1816 it was removed, and a more
durable one put up, also uncovered, resting on four piers, furnished with
ice-breakers. The first carriage passed over it on the nineteenth of
October. In April of 1827, the present "Bethlehem Bridge Company " was
organized and incorporated by charter. In 1841, the second bridge was
carried away by a freshnet, whereupon the present covered one was
constructed, which had to be partially rebuilt after the freshet of 1862.
THE WATER-WORKS.
Bethlehem was originally supplied with water by carriers, who obtained
it from the copious and unfailing spring-it has never been dry since the
town exists-in Water street. In 1754, Hans Christopher Christiansen
Dane, from Holstein, erected the first water-works, which forced the, water
by a pump, made of lignum vitoe, through bored hemlock logs up the hill to
a reservoir, on the site of the Moravian Church. The machinery was placed
in a frame building, east of the oil-mill. In, 1761, a stone structure
(still standing)was erected for new machinery, consisting of three single-
acting iron force-pumps geared to the shaft of an undershot water-wheel,
and put into operation on the sixth of July, 1762. The distributing
reservoir was a wooden tower, on the site of the church. Numerous
improvements, were, introduced, in the course of year. In 1803, the water
tower was removed to Market street, above Cedar, where it stood until 1832;
in 1813 a large reservoir was constructed on the same street; while, in
1832, a new and more powerful pump was procured, the works were removed to
the building where they may still be found, and a more capacious reservoir
was made on Broad street. In 1846, the "Bethlehem Water Company" was
incorporated, which, after, having introduced-in 1868-steam as a pumping
agent, sold the works to the borough in 1871. They are the oldest
water-works in Pennsylvania, and, probably, the oldest in the United
States.
CEMETERIES.
The first, burying-place at Bethlehem was that historic ground, on Market
and New streets, which the settlers laid out in 1742, and which has been
used ever since, The first interment occurred on the twenty-seventh of July
of that year, and was that of John Mueller, whose, death has been mentioned
in another connection. About 2,350 subsequent interments have taken place.
Fifty-six converted Indians, seventeen negro converts, one Malabar convert,
from Ceylon, eleven bishops, more than seventy other clergymen, and a large
number of the early settlers and prominent citizens are buried, in rows,
with flat and unostentatious tombstones in this ground.
A second burying-place was laid out, at an early day near the
intersection of what are now Second and Ottawa streets, in, South
Bethlehem. Here only seventeen were interred, as far as is known. The
Revolutionary soldiers were buried, to the number of more than four
hundred, on the brow and slope of the Allentown Hill, beyond the Monocacy.
A new and beautiful Moravian cemetery was opened on Nisky Hill in 1865. A
part of it is reserved as church ground; the rest is sold in lots.
200
A SURVEY OF BETHLEHEM ABOUT 1762.1
Beginning on the north side of Church street at the Sister's House we
find its corner building, as also its buttressed wing. The latter connects
with the north side of the Moravian Row, which side consists, of three
contiguous buildings: the central one erected in 1745 and 1746, and crowned
with a turret, whose gilt vane, an Agnus Dei, represents the device on the
episcopal seal of the church;2 the eastern extension, put up in 1748; and
the western extension, finished in 1749. The first and second of these
buildings were, originally, "family-houses." When the third had been
completed, they were thrown into one, and used as a Girls Institute. The
middle house had a balcony above the front door. Connecting with the west
end of the Institute, we find the chapel, and at the south end of the
chapel, the Gemein Haus. On a line with its front, going west eighty feet,
is a large two-story log house, with it kind of Mansard roof on Main
street, eighty feet from the Boarding School corner, another log house,
similar to the first. Both these structures are "family-houses," and stand
within the wall and railing which now inclose the Moravian Church.
Continuing our way up Main street, on the east side, we come to Doctor
Otto's house, built in 1752, a one-story stone structure, covered with
tiles, on the site of the apothecary establishment of Simon Rau & Company.
A short distance above it is the Doctors laboratory.3 The next building, on
the site of the Moravian publication office, is the Boys Institute, a
three-story stone house erected in 1754, originally for families, but
afterward used for school purposes.
Having reached the junction of Main and Market streets, we find,
fifty-five feet from the corner of the latter, and standing out into the
street, a watch-house; while up Market street, immediately opposite the
burying-ground, is seen the store, opened in July of 1753, and removed only
a few years ago. Adjoining it is the residence of Squire Horsfield, which
is still standing, and occupied by Mrs. Oerter. Retracing our steps to Main
street, we come, four hundred and ninety feet due north of the Boys
Institute, to the horse stable, 112 x 36 feet, about the site of Walp &
Company's establishment; and, two hundred and twelve feet due north of this,
to the Sun Inn.
Crossing to the other side of Main street, there is, almost in a line
with the lower end of the horse stable, but farther back than the street,
the cooper shop; and, going south, we find, inclosed by what is now
Goundie's alley, and the street which leads from its western end to Charles
W. Rauch's house, first, a large cattle yard, the original log cabin built
by the earliest settlers being the dwelling of the herdsman; second, five,
stables, for horses, news, and hogs; and, third, a commodious barn, on the
site of the Eagle Hotel.
Taking our way to Water street, we see the gristmill, built in 1743
(first grist ground June 28th), rebuilt in 1751,
PICTURE OF D & A. LUKENBACH FLOUR MILL APPEARS HERE.
burned and rebuilt in 1869, the property of David and Andrew Luckenbach;
and crossing the Monocacy, the Indian House, erected in 1752, with a log
chapel near by.
Turning back to the mill, and going south, we pass the butcher house, the
spring house, the leather house, the tannery buildings, three in number,
the water-works, and reach the oil-mill, on the site of the present
water-works. In this mill, which was built in 1745, and rebuilt in 1765,
linseed oil was manufactured (for the first time on the twelfth of
February, 1745), bark ground for the tanner, and hemp rubbed.
Beyond the mill, on the bank of the Lehigh, we finally arrive at the
Brethren's Wash House. Returning thence, by way of the Monocacy Hill, we
reach the Brethrens House, facing Main street. In it are a number of shops
and factories.
Proceeding up the street, on the west side, we come to the joiners and
turners shop, back of Mrs. Abbott's house, next to the pottery (Mrs. Henry
Bishop's house), where the stoves are made, next to the blacksmith shop and
locksmith shop (Frank Krause's house), with a path between it and the
pottery leading to the mill, and, finally, to the hat makers and wagoners
shops, and to the lodging house for strangers. Back of these buildings-the
row from Frank Krause's house to Charles W. Rauch's-are the coal house and
the nail-smith shop. We end our survey by going back to the Sisters House,
whence we set out. There we find a path leading through what is now the
Widows House property, first south, and then southeast, to the Monocacy
passing Shober's house, on the slope, of the hill, two flax houses at the
foot of it.
Crossing the creek on a bridge, and bringing its to the saw-mill, which
still stands. It was erected in 1744, and the first logs were awed on the
twenty-sixth of June. Due south of it is the soap boilery, and to the
southwest, on the bank of the Lehigh, the Sisters Wash House. The Sand
Island Consists of three separate islands, the middle one being by far the
largest.
THE EARLY SCHOOLS OF BETHLEHEM.
Bethlehem has always been celebrated for its schools. For the first forty
years of its existence, however, only the children of the Church were
admitted to them. In this period there existed a Boys Boarding School, or
Institute, from 1744 to 1759, when it was transferred to Nazareth Hall;
and also a Girls' Boarding School, in the middle building of the Moravian
Row, begun on the fifth of January, 1749, and continued to the second of
October, 1785. On that day it was changed into a public Boarding School for
Young Ladies, which still exists, which is probably the oldest school of
the kind in the United States, and which has educated more than six
thousand young ladies from all parts of America, as also a number from the
West Indies and other countries.
This school was opened in the middle building of the Moravian Row. In
1790 and 1791, a new structure was erected for it on the site of what is
now the Parochial School; and, in 1815, it was transferred to what had been
the Brethrens House. This building is still occupied, but flanked by new
and larger structures on either side, with a chapel and gymnasium in the
rear. Until 1851, this school was, at the same time, the day school for the
daughters of Moravian families at Bethlehem. In that year they were
organized into a school of their own, After the removal of the Boys
Institute to Nazareth, there was a Boys Day School at Bethlehem, which was
held in various houses, until the erection of a special building, the one
now occupied by Colonel Bear. In 1857, the present large Parochial School
house was put up and the Boys and Girls School were combined into one
Parochial School, under the superintendence of a principal, and nine
teachers. It numbers about two hundred and thirty pupils.
In 1838, the Moravian Theological Seminary was transferred from Nazareth
to Bethlehem. It occupied three houses on the north side of Broad street,
below New; in 1851, it was again moved back to Nazareth; but, in 1858, the
building on Church street, in which it is now located was purchased, and
the Seminary was permanently settled at Bethlehem.
EARLY POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS AND FIRE DEPARTMENT.
In July, of 1742, the first postal arrangements were made at Bethlehem,
They were altogether private, but very complete.
George Neisser was constituted postmaster
Henry Antes had charge of the post horses
Abraham Bueninger, "Andrew, the negro," Christian Werner, and George
Schneider, were postillions.
They left Bethlehem every Monday morning, and rode as far as Frederic township,
Montgomery county; on Tuesday, they proceeded to Germantown; on Wednesday morning
to Philadelphia, returning the same day to Germantown; on Thursday to Frederic
township; and on Friday to Bethlehem. All through the colonial period, the town
depended upon such private enterprises. There was no government post.
In 1763, George Klein introduced a weekly stage-wagon to Philadelphia,
and, in the following year sold the concern to John Francis Oberlin. How
long it continued, does not appear; but this enterprise was the beginning
or the numerous stage lines which subsequently came to Bethlehem until the
opening of the railroads.
The postal system was developed more and more, until 1792, when the first
United States Post Office was opened at Bethlehem, under the administration
of Washington.
Joseph Horsfield was the first Postmaster, appointed on the twelfth of
June. He was succeeded, on the thirteenth of February, 1802, by George
Huber; Huber, on the twentieth of February, 1803, by Francis C. Kampman;
Kampman, on the twenty-fourth of January, 1816, by Joseph Rice; Joseph
Rice, on the seventeenth of May, 1820, by Owen Rice, Jr.; Owen Rice, on the
tenth of July, 1833, by William Rice; William Rice, on the twenty-second of
December, 1838, by Charles C. Tombler; Tombler, on the third of May, 1841,
by Jacob Kummer; Kummer, on the second of March, 1848, by Charles 6.
Tumbler, again; Tombler, on the eighth of May, 1849, by James A. Rice, and,
upon his death, by his widow, Mrs. Josephine Rice; Mrs. Rice, on the
twenty-sixth of May, 1853, by William F. Miller; Miller, on the twelfth of
August, 1856, by Charles A. Luckenbach; Luckenbach, on the sixteenth of
October, 1860, by William A. Bush; and Bush, on the third of April, 1861,
by Robert Peysert, the present incumbent.
The first regular fire department was organized in May, 1762, it was
originally under the supervision of the Warden and Overseers, and supplied
with buckets and ladders only. The first fire-engine-the-Perseverance-now
in the Museum of the Young Men's Missionary Society, was built by Brooks, in
London, England, in 1698, and was purchased there by Captain Christian
Jacobson, for the American Moravian Church, for £77 12s. 2d., brought over
by him in the ship "Hope," at an expense of £6 18s 3d, and delivered in
Bethlehem, December 10th, 1763. It was tried for the first time in that
year. It occupied a conspicuous position in the Firemen's Centennial
Parade, at Philadelphia, in 1876. From the best information that can be
obtained, it is the first fire-engine ever used in America.
__________________________________________________________________________
1. This survey is based upon a draft in the Bethlehem Archives, without
date, but evidently draw about 1762.
2. This device was proposed for vane by Bishop Cammerhof.
3. John Matthew Otto born in Meiningen, in 1714, graduated at Augsburg
immigrated to Bethlehem in 1750, and was for forty-six years the physician
and surgeon of the Moravian settlement in Northampton county, He died
August 9th, 1786, and was succeeded by Dr. Eberhard Freytag, from whom
Simon Rau purchased the Apothecary shop.
201
The second fire-engine-The Diligence-was imported from Neuwied, on the
Rhine, in 1792. About 1808, two fire companies were organized. The
unmarried men constituted the one, and tool, the Perseverance; the married
men the other, and took the. Diligence, which was greatly improved by
Bethlehem mechanics.
EARLY SOCIETIES AT BETHLEHEM-THE WIDOWS' SOCIETY.
In 1771 the "Widows-Society of Bethlehem" was founded, having in view the
partial support of the widows of the Church. It was a sort of beneficent
insurance company, the first of the kind in the country, and still exists.
The good which it has done, in a quiet way, cannot be overestimated. In
1821 it was incorporated. Its operations are not confined to Bethlehem. Any
member of the Moravian Church can buy a share in it.
THE SOCIETY FOR PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL AMONG THE HEATHEN.
This society was organized on the twenty-first of September, 1787, and
incorporated fit the following year. Its object is the foreign missionary
work of the church, and it now holds a large capital, willed to it by the
late Godfrey Haga, of Philadelphia.
THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.
Music was cultivated at a very early day, and an orchestra existed in
1780. The first Philharmonic Society was called the Collegium Musicum.
Out, of this grew the present Philharmonic Society, about the year 1806.
The Bethlehem Band was organized in 1809. Soon after the Revolution the
people of Bethlehem discarded the principles of non-combatants, and about
1831, a military company was formed, under the late Captain Woehler in the
same year.
THE BETHLEHEM LIBRARY COMPANY.
Was organized, which, in 1868, gave its library to the Young Men's
Christian Association. This latter society grew out of the Young Men's
Missionary Society, organized in 1841.
end Part I