CHURCH: The Moravian Congregation and Cemetery at York, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Abby Bowman Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/york/ ________________________________________________ The Story of The Moravian Congregation at York, Pennsylvania By the Rev. S. C. Albright, M.A. The Maple Press Company, York, PA, 1927 Chapter V PIONEER LIFE IN YORK COUNTY KREUTZ CREEK The first settlement west of the Susquehanna River was made along a small stream that came to be known as Kreutz Creek. It was here, a few miles west of the river, that John Greist, in 1722, "squatted" on territory claimed by Lord Baltimore as a part of the Colony of Maryland. To the Germans, who subsequently found their way to this region, Greist's name suggested their German word for "cross," and so the stream came to be named Kreutz Creek. These early pioneers were considered "intruders;" and it was not until 1729, when John and James Hendricks were granted land rights, that the settlement was recognized by the Colonial Government. That emigration flourished to this new west country was indicated by the fact that the Government granted to John Wright, a charter to run a ferry across the river. None of these earlier settlers were Moravians, in fact, only one Moravian family in this period is known to have migrated west of the Susquehanna. When Jacob Lischy came to Kreutz Creek in 1744, he came as a Moravian evangelist, but not to minister to the Brethren, or to establish a Brethren's Church, he came signally to preach the Gospel to "Evangeliche" Germans, who were reported to be without religious ministrations. MIGRATION TO YORK COUNTY Until 1736, when the limit of Lancaster County was extended indefinitely westward, the region west of the Susquehanna had no political status. It was not until 1750 that York was formed into a distinct County. Its population at that time was said to be about 6,000. In this number there were three distinct groups of emigrants represented. The first group were the English, who found a temporary abode in the Pigeon Hills. As their numbers increased they gathered along the bank of the Codorus, eleven miles from the river. Many of the Quakers pressed into the northern section of the County, in what is now Newberry and Warrington Townships. The Germans, practically contemporary, were the second group of settlers. They were peasant farmers, and occupied the fertile valleys westward. Those who were tradesmen grouped together in what they called Freystown, about a mile east of the Codorus. This town received its name from Martin Frey, the earliest of the Germans to secure title to land at this place. The third group were the Scotch-Irish, the sturdy religionists, who sought in their new home relative isolation. This they found in "The Barrens," the almost desolate waste of hills that extended south to the Province of Maryland, and reminded them most of their native heaths. The patient toil of these strict Covenanters soon made the "desert to blossom as the rose," and now "The Barrens" is one of the most prosperous sections of York County. YORKTOWNE SURVEYED In 1749, Thomas Cookson was authorized by the Penns to plot a section of land on the east bank of the Codorus Creek, as an English settlement in 1747. The place was to become known as the Towne of York. The first individuals to take up lots, and build homes according to the stipulations of the title, were: John Bishop, Andrew Coaler, Christopher Croll (tavern-keeper), Hermann Bott, George Hoake, Samuel Hoke, Henry Hendricks, Jacob Hinsmann, Martin Eichelberger, Michael Laub, Jacob Greybill, Matthias Ovensant, Baltzar Spangler, (tavern keeper) Zachariah Shugart, Arnold Stuck, Nicholas Stuck, George Swope, Michael Swope and Jacob Welsh. Copious supplies of water could easily be secured within 16 ft. at the highest points of the town. The Lutherans, Reformeds, and Romanists made immediate application for lots on which to erect houses of worship, but the latter did not attempt to build until 50 years later. The growth of the settlement was somewhat disappointing to its founders, although by the year 1754 it embraced a population of 1,800 souls. The original borough plot extended from the Codorus eastward to what is now Queen St., and from the Codorus southward to Prince, now Princess St. Two main highways were surveyed through the town,--the one southward was called the Patapsco Trail and led to Baltimore, 48 miles distant. A second, named the Manocacy Trail led through Hanover, To Graceham, Md., and south. This was the trail followed by the Brethren in 1763, when they extended their labors to the Wachovia Tract in North Carolina. The highway eastward to Philadelphia, 90 miles distant was previously established. By 1754 recommendations were made for the extension of the Borough limits east of Queen St., and west of the Codorus. INDUSTRIES AND FAIRS Various industries flourished in York from its earliest days. Among the first industries mentioned was a saw-mill, a brewery, and a tannery. A number of trades, such as: printing, weaving, smithing, saddlery and cordwaining, flourished in the Borough. There were a number of charcoal and steel forges about York before the Revolution. York was the center of rich farm lands, and so farming engaged the attention of the greatest number of people. In the center of the Borough was a large square, and it soon became necessary to erect market sheds for the accommodation of the farmers, who regularly brought their products to town. These markets were open on Wednesdays and Saturdays of each week, and became quite an institution, which has flourished to the present. It was important then as now for the market-master to vigilantly prevent weighing and measuring abuses. Injunctions had to be issued against the Germans for buying and selling on Sundays. Before 1754 The York Fair was an established institution. There was a spring and autumn fair. The former was held in March, and was practically a great livestock sale, to which the farmers would come for miles and miles around. The fall fair was an elaborate Harvest Home Festival held in the Market House, and concerned the towns-folk as well as the rural people. The only thing it seemed to lack was the fortune teller, fakir, and games of chance. However, during the pastorate of John Molther in 1799 a complaint is registered about the "flood" of church members, who turned away from the sanctuary on the sabbath of the Fair days, to neglect their souls for the sake of a brute,--(an elephant which was to be on exhibition during the Fair). The custom of holding annual Fairs, and weekly markets has been continued without cessation since 1750. PUBLIC CONDITIONS IN YORK Economic life in York and vicinity was distinctive. Its very isolation from the early centers of population gave to it significant characteristics. The earliest legal authority in these parts was James Logan, Secretary of the Province, Chief Justice and Commissioner of Property. With the incorporation of the County and Borough a local administration was developed. The first County officers to be appointed were: Hance Hamilton, Sheriff; Nicholas Ryland, Coroner; George Schaabe, Walter Sharp and Patrick Watson, Commissioners; William Sinclair and Michael Laub, Poor Directors, George Stevenson, Prothonotary, Recorder, Registrar of Wills, Chief Ranger and Clerk of the Courts. The Treasurer was David McConaughy. The first election in York County was a literal riot. Hance Hamilton the Sheriff, with his Scotch-Irish supporters were driven by the German voters across the Codorus, and the election was declared void. The Governor of Province reappointed the first incumbents. This riot in 1750 may be accounted for by the fact that in the town there was a brewery and six taverns. It will also explain why a County "Gaol" became a necessity at so early a time. This vital institution was a small stone structure, built at the corner of King and George St. The whipping-post, temporary slavery and the pillory were punishments in vogue. A Court House authorized in 1749, was built in the center of the Square in 1756. The bell on the Court House was truly an Independence bell. It is now the property of St. John's Episcopal Church, York, and was one of the interesting exhibits at the recent Susqui-Centennial, Philadelphia. It was in this building that the Articles of Confederation were adopted by Congress, when its sessions were held in York from September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778. The Court House was adjoined to the west by the Borough Market, and to the east by the State House. This was practically the County Office Building, and played an important role during the time when York was the Capital of the United States. One block to the west of the Square, where the Bon Ton Department store now stands, was the Franklyn Press, that published "The Gazette," the official organ of Congress. Here was also housed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Commissioner of this Department of the Government was a prominent Moravian, Philip Rothrock, Sr. A bronze tablet laid in the pavement by the Daughters of the American Revolution marks the site of this building. The Treasury Building stood in the Square opposite the Market House, on the site of the present First National Bank. SCHOOLS IN YORK Whatever educational system there may have been in the formative days, contemporary to the founding of York, was religious in character; and was under a measurable supervision of the churches. Two Quakers, named Garretson and Underwood seem to have been the first to attempt locally a plan for the education of the children. There is a record of one Bartholomew Maul, teaching from house to house along the Codorus as early as 1735. He continued to serve as a Lutheran teacher for 35 years. Among other teachers of the first half of the eighteenth century were Ludwig Kraft, Frederick Wildbaum, David Candler, and Michael Schlatterer. These men were largely the preachers of their day, as well as teachers. This was particularly true of the last two named. Abraham Bueninger was the first "Kinder Eltern" in the service of the Moravian Church at York. In 1747 he conducted a Parochial School in the home of Leonard Immel, near Grantley. In 1749, when the services of the church were transferred to Crolls Tavern, the school was also transferred to that place, and continued there until it was again moved to the newly erected stone "Gemeinhaus" on Princess St., where it continued to function until 1828. This was the first school to be established within the precincts of what is now York, and may well be considered the forerunner of the Public School system in this City. Bueninger conducted a Sunday-school along the lines of the modern Sunday-school in York as early as 1747. This was almost 70 years before what is generally considered the beginning of the first Sunday-school in York, by Samuel Bacon, in 1817. CHURCH ORGANIZATION IN YORK Quakers were the first to settle where York now stands but they made no attempt to develope a congregation or construct a Meeting House until after 1760. The Evangeliche Germans were farmers, and until York was surveyed had no formal places of worship. More than a decade before any Moravian evangelist or settler came to these parts, these Germans were receiving the spiritual ministrations of Rev. Caspar Stoever, who conducted services in barns and farm houses, from the Susquehanna as far west as the Pigeon Hills. The establishment of congregations by the Episcopalians and Presbyterians as well as other Protestant bodies and even Romanists was later. THE LUTHERANS Pastor David Candler was the first resident Lutheran clergyman in York. He served the settlers for but a little more than a year, until his death in 1744. He gave permanence to his brief work by the construction of a log church on the site of the present Christ Lutheran Church. This was three years before the founding of York. His successor was Lars Nyberg, a surveyor, who had studied theology, and was ordained in Sweden, by the Lutheran Archbishop Benzelius. On his way to America he was thrown in touch with Bishop Spangenberg, and with Jacob Lischy. The latter was associated with Nyberg very intimately in their work on the west side of the Susquehanna. After serving the Lutherans for four years, and Lischy the Moravians, Nyberg cast in his lot with the Moravians, and Lischy reunited himself with the Reformed Church. John Helfrich Schaum, a student of the University of Halle followed Nyberg, who had gone to Lancaster, for a short service among the Moravians there, and then returned to Europe. John Samuel Schwerdfeger, George Ludwig Hochheimer, Lucas Raus, Nicholas Hornell, and John George Bager all succeeded with relatively brief pastorates. For more than one hundred and fifty years, this congregation has been served by but six pastors: John Nicholas Kurtz, 1770-1783; Jacob Goering, 1783-1807; John George Schmuker, 1809-1836; A. H. Lochmann, 1836-1880; George Enders, 1882-1920; Walter Traub from 1921. There are now ten flourishing Lutheran Churches in York. THE GERMAN REFORMED The first pastor of the German Reformed constituency at York was Jacob Lischy, who came to this region as a Moravian Evangelist, but who, in 1747, withdrew from the fellowship of the Brethren to accept the invitation of the Reformed adherents to establish a congregation at York. A block church had been erected in 1746, and this served as a Meeting House until 1763, when a large stone church was erected, where the Woolworth store is at present located. Lischy remained pastor until 1760, when various charges compelled his withdrawal. A century later, the English speaking members of this congregation separated, and built within 100 yards of the old church a splendid Romanesque structure, calling themselves Trinity First Reformed Church. The German section of the congregation retained the property, and became known as Zion Reformed Church. There are at present nine Reformed Churches in the city. ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL Until 1755, the Church of England settlers were served by the Moravian pastors. At that time Rev. Thomas Barton began to conduct regular services according to the ritual of the Church of England. Upon the arrival of his successor, Rev. John Andrews, in 1765, a movement was inaugurated for the erection of a church, which was effected the following year. The church was an unpretentious brick building constructed on Beaver St., near the Codorus Creek. Rev. Daniel Batwell, who succeeded to the pastorate in 1772, was an extreme loyalist, and failed to gain the favor of his parish. From the pastorate of Rev. John Campbell, 1784-1804, the congregation began to enjoy an unbroken period of steady growth and prosperity. It remains the only Protestant Episcopal Church in York City. It maintains a mission in the east end of the city. THE PRESBYTERIANS Before the Revolution the Presbyterians in York enjoyed gospel ministrations by clergymen of their own faith, but it was not until 1785, that any Presbyterian organization was consummated in York, and not until 1790 that there was any place of worship erected. The first Presbyterian pastor was the Rev. Thomas Cathcart. The work prospered, and there is at present three congregations of that denomination in the city. There is also one congregation of the United Presbyterian Church. ROMAN CATHOLIC As early as 1750 the Romanists sought to gain a foothold in York, but it was not until the year of the Declaration of Independence that any definite work was accomplished. A stone church was erected on S. Beaver St., but there was no settled pastorate before 1819. Since then there has been a steady growth, so that at the present the Catholic constituency is served by four churches. GERMAN BAPTIST BRETHREN German Baptist Brethren settled in York County as early as 1736, and congregations were forthwith established. There was, however, no attempt made to establish themselves in the Borough of York before the nineteenth century. OTHER DENOMINATIONS Other religious bodies established themselves in York, but none save those mentioned could be considered contemporary with the Moravians. The Methodists preached in York as early as 1781, but it was 1819 before any settled pastor was located in York, or that the denomination had a distinct place of worship. The United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical or Albright Church, both began to labor in York about 1840. Ten years later the Baptists entered the field. Another denomination to organize congregations in York was the Church of God, now serving its constituency with two churches. Subsequently the Old Mennonites established a church within the city limits. CHAPTER VIII THE MORAVIAN CEMETERY CONSECRATION OF THE "GOTTES ACRE" Immediately after the dedication of the church, George Soelle, the co-pastor was sent to Donegal, as the minister of that parish; but he was there only a month when he was recalled to officiate at the funeral of the infant daughter of the pastor George Neisser, and his wife Theodora. This death impressed upon the congregation the necessity for a church burial plot. Accordingly, the sections of land to the rear of the original lots facing Princess St., were purchased, and set apart as a "Gottes Acre." The entrance to the Cemetery was located on Water St., and extended the entire length of the lots westward. Due allowance was made at the corner of the property for the subsequent erection of a church edifice. The Cemetery was laid out in strict accord with Moravian custom. There were seven sections: the first for the married men and widowers, the second was for the single men, the third for male children, the fourth for married women and widows, the fifth for single sisters, a sixth for female children, and a seventh for "strangers". Burial was made according to the regulated Choir system, and not according to families. The "Gottes Acre" was solemnly consecrated on the occasion of the interment of little Anna Neisser, by George Soelle, Feb. 15, 1756. PREVIOUS BURIALS Prior to the consecration of the Burial Ground there were eight funerals conducted by pastors of this congregation on other cemeteries. The first of these was that of John Heckedorn, the first member of the congregation, whose remains were tenderly borne to the "Gottes Acre" at Bethel, Nov. 16, 1749, and laid to rest by Rev. Christian Heinrich Rauch. The others were three infant children of Franz Muehler and his wife Anna Maria, named: Felix, Johann and Catharine. These were buried on the "English" Cemetery. In 1754, an infant son of Jacob and Julianna Lanius was buried on the family plot at Kreutz Creek. Then followed the burials of Catharine Spittler on the "English" Cemetery, 1754, and that of Anna Maria, infant daughter of George Loess, who was buried in 1755, on her father's farm. In the same year Johan, the infant son of Ludwig and Anna Maria Protzmann was buried on the "German" Cemetery. Another burial prior to the consecration of the Church Cemetery was that of Margretha, widow of John Heckedorn, the spiritual mother of the congregation. She did not die at York. She had previously returned with four of her children to Hebron, now Lebanon, where she was laid to rest in 1754. She was in very truth "The Mother" of the York congregation, for it was she who cradled the embryonic congregation in her home for nearly two years; and it was her children who were the first fruits of the congregation. SOME OF THE INTERMENTS For twelve years all of those buried on the "Gottes Acre" were children. The first adult to be laid to rest was Catharine Heckedorn, the faithful wife of John Heckedorn Jr. She died Aug. 12, 1768, more than twelve years after the consecration of the Cemetery. The record of her obituary closes with the words that she was "a sister well rooted in the faith." The following year on Feb. 26, Julianna Lanius, the wife of Jacob Lanius was buried. The interment of Margretha, wife of George Ilgenfritz, April 6; and that of Rosina wife of George Gump, June 16th, followed, in 1770. Were the old Cemetery yet in existence such names could be found on the flat tombstones as: Brinkmann, Hoens, Lehr, Wolf, Feiser, Fischel, Schneider, Muehler, Schank, Hoenissen, Berot, Immel, Kuntz, Schlosser, Rothrock, Haller, Weller, Busch, Reuel (Riel), Hoffman, Eberhard, Frank, Bork (Burke), Perkins, Hoff, Beyer, Corell, Struebig, Buser, Pfaff, Shaller, Fahs, Beitzel, Huebener, Meyer, Anderson, Doerkes, Binckle, Weiser, Stoehr, Romig, Buehler, Seitz, Seib, Gutjahr, Schumacher, Wells, Tanneberger, Keller, Dehuff, Lanius, Roth and others. The last person to be buried on the Cemetery prior to the removal of the church to its new site on N. Duke St. was Anna Rebecca the twelve year old daughter of the pastor, the Rt. Rev. Henry Shultz, laid to rest, Nov. 25, 1866. It is significant that the burial of two daughters of ministers mark the span of time during which the Cemetery was actually used as a burial place for members of the congregation. For two years thereafter, there were no further interments made on the Cemetery. With the removal of the church in 1867, interest in the care of the "Gottes Acre" seems to have ceased, and it became necessary for several Councils of the congregation to provide specially for the care of the burial ground. Quite the last remains to be interred in the old Cemetery was that of Mary Baptist, the only colored person who had ever been a member of the Moravian Congregation at York. She was 98 years of age, and was a true type of all that was embodied in Moravian ecclesiasticism. It is a striking coincidence that the last person to sanctify this sacred "Gottes Acre" of the Brethren's Church, almost one hundred and fifty years after its consecration, should have been a direct descendant of that race of people to whom the Moravians manifested, through their missionaries, such sacrificial devotion. The final interment of this aged sister in Christ was made at the A. M. E. Cemetery, North York. One pastor finds a resting place in this hallowed place. After serving a double pastorate--the first time from 1784-1786 and the second from 1790-1791, the time of his death, John Roth was buried July 23, 1791. "He was greatly beloved," is the record of his life. THE ABANDONMENT OF THE CEMETERY After the removal of the Church to its more promising location in the center of the city, the problem of the Cemetery became very real to the congregation. With no one near to give it direct attention, the Cemetery suffered from the neglect of the members of the church, and desecration from those who did not regard the sacred associations of the place. In 1908, when an opportunity was afforded, which seemed to present a wise solution of their problem, the dead were removed; but the sale of the property did not materialize, and the burden of ownership became increasingly difficult. The transferral of the dead was made to a plot of ground which had been secured at Prospect Hill Cemetery. Here the bodies rest in as nearly the same order as possible as that in which they were buried originally. Thirty feet of the lot was later sold from the main property, but it was felt unwise to sell any further sections of it, until the entire property could be sold. In 1919 it was leased to the City, and is now used by the Recreation Board of the City as a playground for colored children. BURIAL CUSTOMS Nothing is so suggestive of the completely leveling process of time as the appearance of a Moravian Cemetery. The prostrate stone on the graves of the dead is the pall that forever hides the invidious distinctions and human inequalities of life. It becomes the rent vail of the temple that reveals to all saints, as members of a single family, the face of their heavenly Father; and thus realizes the last prayer of the Great High Priest, "that they all may be one." The desire to have the final rest be in family groups is pretty; but the Moravian idea foreshadows that Eternal condition, when there shall be no marriage or giving in marriage. In that realm of the blessed there will be a single family of the saints, no family circles. The customary notes of the trombone choir over the graves of the departed dead not only peals the triumph of the body over sin, death and grave; but it proclaims the union of the saints in their eternal service of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. Like the Lamb's Book of Life the Church Diaries have transcribed, through the generations, the evil and the good. There are times when the drab haze of iniquity and failure rests darkly upon this or that individual record; but there are other times when they glow with courage, love and hope. The pages of the Eternal Diaries at the resurrection morn will reveal in completeness the tale that mortal graves will never tell.