pastors. Many of these emigrants brought with them. the spirit of true piety; they also brought many devotional books, and often, for mutual edification, read Arndt's "True Christianity," and other similar works."

Churches or meeting-houses were as yet very rare in Pennsylvania. One of the oldest, if not the very oldest church of the Germans in Pennsylvania, was a small wooden edifice in New Hanover, Montgomery County.

In 1730 some Lutherans and German Reformed in Philadelphia rented an old log building on Arch Street which had been used as a barn or a carpenter-shop, and assembled there occasionally to listen to the reading of a printed sermon or to hear a short address, if anybody present was willing and able to officiate. For a time a certain J. Caspar Stiever (or Stover), whose ordination, by an imposter Schulz, seems very suspicious, acted as minister. Soon afterwards he visited Germany, and collected a considerable sum of money in aid of the American Lutheran churches, part of which, however, was expended for the purchase of a plantation and negro slaves in Madison County, Virginia, where he preached for a time. Later he returned to Pennsylvania and made disturbances in Tulpehoken.

In 1734 we find the name of J. Chr. Schulze as minister of the associate congregations of Philadelphia, New Providence and New Hanover. He seems not to have remained for any considerable length of time.

Hence the applications, addressed already in 1732 to Dr. Ziegenhagen, the German court-preacher in London, and to the theological faculties of Halle and Tübingen, to send suitable men, to feed them with the Bread of Life, were renewed again and again.

16 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 326. Hallische Nachrichten, p. 665.

"Living in a land," they said, "in which divisions in religious opinions are almost countless, being destitute of that food for our souls which we need, and unable to find ways and means in our own community to supply our wants, we pray God to show us through our friends abroad what may be done for us. The great body of our young people, bewildered by the multitude of opinions, and in absolute want of schools and religious instruction, will go astray, and be led into paths of error. The Lord, the Searcher of hearts and the Trier of the reins, alone knows how greatly we stand in need of the assistance of fellow Christians, and that in asking our friends to lift collections for us-we have nothing in view but the honor of God and the spiritual welfare and eternal salvation of our fellow-men. We do not ask for such contributions, as would enable us to build stately edifices and temples; no! we shall be fully satisfied if we can obtain sufficient aid to erect plain places of worship in different parts of the country, where we may meet for prayer and praise, and for the religious instruction of our youth. And we trust that a merciful God will not forsake us, but will excite the hearts of our fellow Christians to assist us in our great spiritual distress, and that Your Reverence will grant us that aid which we so much need."17

Years elapsed and these touching petitions seemed to have been uttered in vain, partly because no men could be found at the time, suitable for such a service (as Dr. Ziegenhagen repeatedly assured Count Zinzendorf 18 in 1737), partly because no certain salary could be determined upon.

For the present the Halle divines merely sent a supply

17 Hazelius' History, p. 37.

18 Zinzendorf's Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 207. Spangenberg's Life of Zinzendorf, p. 1360.

of Bibles, Testaments, hymn-books and prayer-books to Philadelphia; and fully ten years elapsed until the desired pastor arrived there.

Another Lutheran congregation had been formed in Tulpehoken by those Palatines who had removed thither from Schoharie in 1723. They also had no settled minister, but occasionally, at least once a year, Pastor Bernhard van Dueren, from Schoharie, came over to baptize their children and administer the Lord's Supper. Occasionally also Pastor Henkel, from Falkner Swamp, visited here and administered the Communion. According to his advice the Palatines in 1727 built a log meeting-house, in which a German Reformed minister, Peter Miller, preached for several years, after 1730, and also Caspar Stiever now and then.19

However, these Palatines, accustomed as they had been to regular church organizations and abhorring sectarianism which threatened to make inroads in their settlements, could not be satisfied with this state of affairs, and desired to see a regularly ordained minister settled in their midst as soon as possible. They therefore applied to Pastor Caspar Leutbecker, in Skippach, who had been ordained in London, and often visited them, and by his advice they sent a call to a minister in Germany in 1733. He accepted the call and the Palatines set about building a parsonage, under Leutbecker's direction. After a year's time, however, it was ascertained that the new minister had died at sea on his voyage from Germany, and in 1734 the Rev. Caspar Leutbecker was appointed and accepted the call as minister of the Tulpehoken church, which he served with great faithfulness, insisting on practical Christianity, and observing a strict conscientiousness in the administration of the

sacraments.

19 Kirchenbuch of Tulpehoken, in the Bethlehem Archives.

Having refused to baptize a child, whose father was intoxicated when making the request, the latter went to Caspar Stiever, who at that time stayed in Conestoga, and had the child baptized by him. Stiever made use of this opportunity to gain an entrance into this congregation, and at last succeeded in taking possession of the church and keeping Leutbecker out of it. After much quarreling and strife between the two parties, the whole matter was referred to William Webb, of Chester County, one of the attorneys20 of the proprietor of this land in England, by whose interposition an agreement was made September 15, 1736, according to which Stiever was permitted to preach there on every fourth Sunday. But he did not care much for this arrangement. Finding the church door locked, he did not break the lock, but had a new door sawed out of the logs and kept the communion the next day. Leutbecker, peaceful, old and infirm, patiently suffered this outrageous conduct of a brother minister and at last avoided the church altogether. But even in the parsonage he was not safe. Not only were stones thrown into his window, but an attempt was even made to demolish his home, while he was keeping a meeting there, by putting some wood filled with gunpowder into the fire, which, however, exploded without doing any damage. Leutbecker, sick and wearied, removed at last to the house of George Loesch, where he died in 1738. Brother Spangenberg, who had accidentally come there from Skippach shortly before his death, held his funeral service.

Stiever had now full sway in this congregation, until Count Zinzendorf came in 1742 and sent another minister.

The above narrative, showing the anarchical state of

20 The land—Manor of Plumton-containing 5165 acres, belonged to John Page, of Austin Friars, London.

Pennsylvania border-life more than a century ago, is taken from a German manuscript entitled, "Die Confusion von Tulpehoken," attested before Conrad Weiser, a Justice of the Peace, on August 16, 1742, by the trustees of the Lutheran Church at Tulpehoken."

A third Lutheran congregation we find at Lancaster about the year 1730. J. C. Schulze and C. Stiever visited there in 1731 and 1732. In later years some of the Swedish ministers paid occasional visits there, and in the name of this congregation applied to the Archbishop of Upsala, in Sweden, for an ordained German minister. Meanwhile old Pastor Valentine Kraft visited here occasionally. The first regular Lutheran minister in Lancaster was Laurentius Theophilus Nyberg, a native of Western Gothland and a graduate of the University of Upsala. Having been ordained by Archbishop Jacob Benzelius, he arrived in Lancaster in 1743.

4. THE GERMAN REFORMED.

THE destitution in a religious point of view and the lack of the means of grace among the Reformed "Kirchenleute" (church-people) were probably as great as among the Lutherans, though they may claim priority as regards the age of the first congregation in Montgomery County. The greater part of them came from the Palatinate, and therefore belonged to the German Reformed Church. While in New York and New England Dutch Reformed and Scotch Reformed or Presbyterian ministers, sent from Europe, had collected and organized congregations more than one hundred years before, there were thousands of the German Reformed immigrants of Pennsylvania for whose spiritual welfare nobody seemed to care. Without churches, without schools, without

21 Printed by Franklin, p. 8.