Daily Reports Of the Year 1751

JANUARY 1751

The 1st of January. With the new year, starting today, we at Ebenezer have also learned that the grace of God is everlasting and His mercy is new every morning. He has granted us new strength, a new and earnest intent to devote ourselves to Him alone, a new opportunity for edification, and a new enthusiasm for public worship. The weather was warm and pleasant and the listeners assembled in large numbers and piously at Jerusalem Church for prayer, sermon, and listening to the word of God as well as for singing melodious religious songs.

My fellow-minister went to Savannah yesterday morning to preach to the German people there and to administer the Sacraments. In the morning I preached to my dear, eager audience about Matthew 5:4, the way, nature, and happiness of Christians. In the afternoon we discussed the gospel according to Luke 2:21 about the comfort of Christians through the circumcision of Christ.

The 2nd of January. The little son of the upright Hanns Schmid had scabies and the purples that quickly vanished but after that he suffered from epilepsy for several days¹. Today the father informs me that his health improved after taking essentia dulcis². Kalcher, however, came up with sad news about the unexpected death of Adrian Krüsy, a well-behaved and upright young man, whose father (an old Swiss from Appenzell) had died a few years ago as a fellow believer.³ If a case of death, second only to that of our Samuel Leberecht,⁴ has grieved me, it is this one; therefore my heart bows down to God. It is not that I have any doubt or sorrow because of this young man’s state of grace or of his peaceful departure from this world, but that we now have to do without such a fine, skilful, diligent, and promising young man and worker in our community, Because (as I see it) he died of an apparently mild sickness, whereby the necessary medications were not used in time. Six days ago he worked outside with his horse on a cold, windy day, whereupon he caught a sore throat (which is a special sickness right now). For that he only used throat-wash from Mr. Meyer; and, when he asked for Mr. Thilo’s help, it was already too late.

He learned carpentry and rip-sawing from our most skilled master-carpenter Kogler; and before long he certainly would have been of good use. He was loved and held high in general esteem because of his sincere, simple, quiet, and serviceable character; and he was a great lover of the word of God and prayer. His late father, on his death-bed, recommended him to my spiritual and physical care. Later on he was prepared for Holy Communion and admitted to the Lord’s table on 6 June 1747 for the first time together with other children. The fourth Sunday of Advent he went together with our congregation to Holy Communion for the last time. Holy Christmas he also celebrated together with us. His legacy, including cattle, tools, and some money, will be safely kept for his relatives.

The 3rd of January—Last night my dear colleague, Mr. Lemke, came home in rainy weather but happy and healthy; and I heard from him that, by request of the Council,⁵ at the time the President was the Salzburgers’ friend, James Habersham. I should go down to them promptly because, before sending their letters to the Trustees, they want to discuss something with me, also matters concerning our community. Therefore, I have to travel this morning, though Sunday is near, which I would rather spend in Ebenezer than elsewhere. May God be with me and with my mouth—as He has promised by His word.

The 70-year-old schoolmaster Ortmann wrote to me from Vernonburg near Savannah, telling me that it seems as if Vernonburg will become a wilderness again and that he will have little opportunity to do his job as a schoolmaster there.⁶ Therefore he wants me to ask the favor of the Trustees to let him be the schoolmaster at Abercorn.

My journey to Savannah did not take place—even though it seemed important; but, if I had traveled, I would have endangered my rowers and myself to loss of health, for which I have no call or inclination.

This afternoon two babies were baptized: one of them was born here and the other one at Old Ebenezer. Because of the raw weather, the latter was later brought down here on horseback. The parents and friends suffered some burden rather than wait longer for Holy Baptism; all the more since they were already hindered by the rainy weather yesterday from bringing the baby down for baptism.

The 4th of January. During my absence some changes have taken place in our community. Several children were born, but one child and Mrs. Kocher died unexpectedly. She was an honest, quiet, and diligent worker. May God have mercy on her husband and their two delicate children.

A well-qualified young Englishman /Pickering Robinson/, who was sent to Savannah by the Lord Trustees, is well experienced in silk-manufacturing. He is supposed to develop it in this colony, too; and for this he possesses intelligence, skill, and activity. He has no lack of ability to exert himself through example and encouragement for others. He has delivered to me very friendly and pleasing letters from two Trustees, Mr. Cloyd⁷ and Mr. Vernon, and another one for Secretary Martyn, wherein the good intentions of this newly arrived gentleman were emphasized and I was asked to help him by word and deed. I answered these letters in Savannah because at this time the Council’s general packet was being sent to the Lord Trustees. In it there were some bundles with letters and diaries from me also, some of which have waited since August of last year for a safe opportunity to be sent to London.

I do not doubt that our Fathers and friends will understand it if our letters and news arrive out of sequence. If we lived nearer to Charleston, everything would be in better order. But thus we have to be patient when our friends in this country are not very diligent in the delivery of our letter parcels.

The 13th of January. After my journey I felt a little sick and had some motus febriles.⁸ God, however, has so strengthened me on this First Sunday after Epiphany that I could preach in the fore- and afternoon. My dear colleague held public worship at the plantations. Praise to God, who still acts mercifully toward us even though He visits us with all sorts of afflictions.

Today, it is six years since we buried our dear Israel Christian Gronau, my late assistant; and I have remembered him anew. I have praised God in public that He has granted me a period of grace until now.

The 14th of January. The shoemaker Zettler has earned so much money by making and spinning silk, for which his wife is especially qualified, that he bought a female Negro slave in Carolina last summer, who was brought down here pregnant and has now borne a little girl. The said married couple has asked me to let this baby have Holy Baptism, to which I readily consented, since the married couple, as the owners of mother and child, promised with mouth and hand at the ceremony of baptism to represent father and mother and to bring it up to all the good in the dogma of Christ and not to dismiss it from their care. They named it Sulamith, since the heavenly Solomon brought this heathen child, like Solomon his bride, from the heathen Egypt to the spiritual Jerusalem and the spiritual Zion.

Unfortunately most people in this country are only little concerned about children’s baptism, even less about the baptism of Negro children; yea, what is more, they have some unfounded and foolish objections against baptism: therefore I have informed the persons who brought the child to baptism that, by the dogma of Christ and the practice of the Apostles and first Christians, the baptism of children is as firmly grounded in the New Testament as circumcision is in the Old Testament.

Today the Assembly of the prominent inhabitants of this colony starts in Savannah, it being similar to a small parliament. Every place in the country sends off one or more formally elected deputies. Our Ebenezer has sent two honorable men at the direction of the Lord Trustees. May God bless their efforts.

The 16th of January. Today Johann Peter Schubdrein left, in the name of God, to bring his family to Ebenezer from Nassau-Saarbrücken, which is the birthplace of him and his two brothers /Daniel and Josef/.⁹ He is an honest man, well-liked by the whole community: therefore his farewell was accompanied with many tears and Christian wishes by other members of the community. Some people accompanied him up to the mill, others to the new milldam, and some as far as Abercorn.

The departure has been as hard for him as when he was separated from his parents, sisters, and brother in his fatherland! From myself and my dear colleague he has a good testimony, also some letters to the Lord Trustees, Court Chaplain Albinus, Senior Urlsperger, and Pastor Kleinknecht¹⁰ in which he and his project were accompanied with love. By many members of the community and the inhabitants of Goshen he received a whole pile of letters; and he promised to comply with their wishes and deliver them personally at the respective places, wherefore he will have to make a great roundabout trip. He is very serviceable. I hope he will be a good deputy of Christ and of our community.

Today in the fore- and afternoon I took time to visit our women now in childbed and other patients, to talk to them about the word of God and active Christianity, and to pray with them. Most of them like very much to be visited, edified, exhorted, and consoled by ministers. We are glad to hear their spiritual and physical concerns, which they present simply and confidentially. With our patients and lying-in women it becomes known what God has done to their souls in their healthy days and where they may have been faithless: therefore we get rich material to talk to them for a good purpose. Also wishing to visit a sick woman near the mill, I arranged to do some business at the mill and found out some things which caused great joy and praise of God:

1. All the mills were in full swing; and, although we had to shut down the gristmill, ricemill, and sawmill because of the inundation, the water was high for only a few days. Since this time they have always been able to grind, stamp, and saw, which was a great blessing for both residents and strangers.

2. The skilled Mr. /Johann Philip/ Paulitsch, who came to us with the last transport, has installed a new mechanism at one of the water courses so that it is now possible to roll barley or to make pearl-barley out of it, which has been our desire for a long time. In a few days he will make the test and show our diligent miller how common and fine pot-barley should be rolled and prepared at the mill. This will encourage our inhabitants to sow barley again. They have neglected it, since they had no possibility of brewing beer here and could not prepare it right for eating.

3. With our advance of money and food, the tanner Neidlinger, with his sons, is installing his workshop near the mill at a very well-situated place, and the whole arrangement, except the dwelling-house, is almost fully completed. He had a tanning mill built with three stamps, which are driven by water and which stamp the oak-bark almost as fine as dust or flour (as was demonstrated to me today). He did not even have such a thing in Germany, as he himself admitted. In this country and in Carolina the tanners break only the harshest barks with a wheel or hammer; therefore the leather is so bad and shoes are expensive. Not far away from this almost-completed and well-constructed tanning mill a spacious hut is being erected as his workshop, with leather pits and vats, which are manufactured from strong cypress boards. In front of the workshop he is building a long 14 or 16 foot wide bridge, constructed of piles, beams, and boards, out into the Mill River and over the dam, where the leather is being dressed.

In front of the bridge two piles are planted, on which hides are bound for softening. The mill channels or broad open gutters serve, if desired, for watering the skins after they are taken out of the chalk. The carpenters’ work will probably be finished this week, and after that the new mill building will be taken in hand again. It was interrupted for love of the tanner.

4. On the day that the sawmiller’s assistant died, a young, skilled, diligent, and pious journeyman-locksmith engaged himself as apprentice and assistant to the sawmiller for board-cutting; and we regard this as a remarkable testimony of God’s loving care, since good, young people who can do such work are rare and not to be got or held without great expenses. Our sawmill is being built very ingeniously and expensively by some engineers at the cost of the Lord Trustees in London; therefore, it is rather different from the simple machines of this kind in Germany. One needs skill and caution if no damage is to be done and if one is to saw with good success. The boards are becoming more beautiful all the time, so that ours are the best here and in the West Indies, as is confirmed by all experts on good boards.

Today I met the young man alone at the sawmill. In the absence of his master (who has accompanied the mentioned Schubdrein down to Abercorn) he has sawn such very fine and straight boards that I was astonished and delighted. He has been employed at the mill only since New Year. He has sense and ability and will be of good use in the future, too, especially when God presents us with the other sawmill.

5. Towards evening our skilled Rottenberger showed me the model of a light and simple sawmill, invented and constructed by him, according to which the new sawmill shall be built. It has pleased me very much, and I hope that we will attain our aim with little cost.

6. We have had many difficulties from the lack of qualified and steadily working day-laborers for preparing logs in the pine forest; therefore the sawmiller has been displeased and the boards have been damaged. Now, however, God has also helped us in this case in that, with the last transport, He has sent us a true and reliable servant, who does this work satisfactorily together with another man who has redeemed himself and is our permanent worker. Another servant, who was of no use before, is incited by their good example and Kalcher’s leadership to do a good job now with the carting and other mill activities, so that he, as I hope, will become a useful person to his own benefit.

7. Ever since the obliging Mrs. Kalcher came to the well-installed public house near the mill, bread is being baked and beer is being brewed from syrup from the West Indies and Indian corn etc. This is quite similar to Lobeginer and other sorts of white beer and is quite cheap and therefore refreshing to poor and sick people. There is nothing missing in this spacious house but a prayer-closet for the constantly praying woman, where she can hide and which will be built for her soon.

8. Formerly the round outside slabs at the sawmill had to be burnt with great effort, since nobody wanted them; but now the owners of the neighboring plantations will, according to our example, make them into garden fences and stalls; and they will not cost anything but for hauling them away. I had our great mulberry orchard fenced in with those slabs; and the fence around the kitchen-garden will also be made in the same manner. Thus we can find a better use for the good trees, from which we are accustomed to make stakes and shingles.

9. Respecting the tannery, I must bring up one more testimony of God’s care. Before the tanner’s arrival much oak-bark was peeled from the trees last spring on our advice and was stored safely at the mill, since two men were intending to learn this productive handicraft with an advance from us. For various reasons this did not work out, and therefore the bark and hides are already prepared for the tanner who has arrived so that he can start his trade right away. Otherwise, he would be unable to start before next spring for lack of bark. He is also a tawer. There is no want of alum in the country as well as of fish-oil, chalk, green and dry hides, and deer skins; and there is bark enough in our forests and for nothing.

10. Court Chaplain Albinus has done us a pleasant favor in advancing the traveling expenses for the young carpenter Fetzer, who is now doing a good job for the mills under the supervision of the reasonable and diligent Joseph Schubdrein. On the other hand, we do not know yet how to use the young Neidlinger, for whom the Court Chaplain in London also paid.

11. Near the mill we have the best possibility to plant mulberry trees, which we also need.

12. To ten families of the last colonists I have handed over some useful implements and farming utensils, which we think will be a great help for them. To six families, who paid for their own passage in London or for whom it was paid by Court Chaplain Albinus, the Lord Trustees have sent over such tools. For four other poor families, who came on shore as servants and are going to settle in the country (among them a well-mannered German boatman who came over free as a ship-hand) I have requested some urgently needed implements from the Councilmen.

The above-mentioned matters are indeed only physical and negligible things; but still they are testimonies of the divine care for all of us, and far be it from me to disregard something that concerns the mercy of God and His power and not to praise Him for it. The wisdom of God has found it necessary to include many outward and trifling things into the best book, the Holy Writ; and it wishes thus to give us a broad hint not to scorn anything that God doeth.

At the end of this report I wish to say something more about the second daughter of Mrs. Kalcher. She has been very sick several times over; but God has helped her up again, contrary to our expectations, and He has made true His dear words in her and her piously praying parents: “The prayer of faith shall save the sick.”¹¹ He has also shown great mercy to her soul, so that she is a pious girl now and is also becoming useful to her sisters.

Once she was lying down without feeling anything; her senses were (as she reported) turned to eternity, and she felt clearly that the gates to heaven and to hell were opened for her by an angel in order for her to see how it goes with the souls in heaven and hell. In heaven she saw many children from Ebenezer in ineffable grace; but also in the torments of hell she saw some (though surely fewer) children from our congregation. This made a deep impression on her and others, whom she told about it. Oh sweet Jesus Christ, born as a man, save us from hell!

While I was writing that, I heard that an honest and diligent young man will be transferred, for a certain amount of money, as a servant from his severe master at Purysburg to our pious miller, which is a great benefit for the young man and for the miller. Already sometime ago he wanted to come to our place, to his religion, and to his ministers. I did not, however expect his master to let him go. Our miller has so many duties with his plantation, his household, and the mill, which he cannot carry on alone; so this well-behaved young man will be of great help to him and our mills, which are running day and night. I believe our heartily pious miller has asked God to send him this helper.

The 17th of January. Valentin Deppe and his young wife /Maria Margaretha/ lead a peaceable and, for other people, exemplary married life. Since, however, much has intervened that is contrary to the beneficial teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, our true Savior has contributed, not only to him but also to her, a real purification and a greater seriousness in Christianity by means of grace and chastisement. A short time ago she was brought to child-bed under very difficult circumstances, and after that she became seriously ill with the purples and sore throat. There is also poverty and great unrest in her heart because of faithlessness committed against the grace of the Holy Spirit. She urgently admonishes her husband to take care of his salvation more than before and to fulfil his often-made pledge to the Lord.

She especially claimed that he is too shy to pray straight from his heart and with his own words together with her. The same claim I also heard yesterday from a man who said about his pious wife that he hears her praying alone heartily and diligently. However, when he prays together with her, she leaves the praying up to him alone. I have instructed both married couples. The remarkable verses I found this morning during my house prayer-hour in the third chapter of Proverbs I have made useful for some married couples: “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.”¹²

The 18th of January. This week, in the name of God, I have started, as a basis for the weekly prayers and the evening prayer hours, the often mentioned very beautiful and edifying confessional and communion booklet of the late Ambrosius Wirth and the therein contained examinations of the heart according to the Ten Commandments.¹³ I intend to acquaint my listeners with God’s wishes by every single point and to test their internal and external behavior in regard to them so that they may learn to know God, His revealed wishes, and their own spiritual condition for the benefit of real repentance and real blessedness. Every family in our congregation owns this golden booklet, therefore they can prepare for my sermon and easily repeat words they learn. The gospel or the grace-sermon of Christ will not be forgotten in any hour.

Christoph Rottenberger’s wife contracted the prevalent disease of the purples and swollen throat very badly the other day, but by God’s grace she was cured again. However, some days ago she had a severe attack again; and today we found her in a fit of epilepsy. The first time I visited her she did not recognize me from my person but by the manner of my speaking; and she probably understood my prayers for her with her and her family. When I came to her the second time I found her husband on his knees near her sick-bed praying with many tears so fervently and zealously that he did not hear me enter the room. Undisturbed, he prayed so very simply, innocently, and confidently that I prayed with him with surprise and joy. May God hear him and grant grace. He is drawing this man to Himself through great tribulation.

The 19th of January. Mrs. Schweiger took Holy Communion this forenoon in her lodging, because her constant weakness did not allow her to take it together with the congregation. She regretted very much that she had not esteemed the preaching of the word of God highly enough during the past years or that she had sometimes let herself be unnecessarily hindered from participating in public worship. Now she has a great desire for it but cannot share in it because of her sickness. She means well with God and His word; but something in her temper and habit makes her a burden to herself and others. I showed her from the example of the Savior and some Bible verses how her behavior in a certain point in her married state should be, if it is to please God and edify her neighbor.

A pious young man, Philip Ports, has a very good plantation at Goshen. Since, however, God has given him the grace of conversion during his period of indenture at our place, he feels on his own land away from Ebenezer, like a child that is weaned from its mother’s breasts. He will find no peace until he is again in our community and near to the word of God. He has bought a plantation here below the mill; and I found out today that he is well established and gives a good example to everybody by his diligence and good economy. The grace of God is with him and his work. In other respects a cross is laden on him; but I have consoled him from the word of God and from other examples known to me and prayed for him. It is said, as we shall hear tomorrow in the gospel story of the wedding of Cana: “verily, thou art a secret God,” etc.¹⁴ If he remains steadfast in his faith he will see the glory of God. Some years ago he did not wish to come to our place as a servant and had to be forced. Now he has known for a long why God did it.

The 20th of January. God has shown a new miracle of His grace and omnipotence to the mortally sick Mrs. Rottenberger and Mrs. Deppe by starting to release them both from their very dangerous sickness; and He has also had mercy upon their two very little children. They should remember the important verse: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits … he lays a burden upon us, but He saveth us from death.”¹⁵ I remembered the words in the Book of Wisdom 16:12: “It healeth neither herb nor poultice” (which as a gift of God is not to be despised either) “but only thy word, Lord, which healeth all. Because thou hast power, both upon life and death, and thou leadest down to the gates of hell and out again.”

The second Sunday after Epiphany I preached about the gospel of the hidden ways of God with His children; and I started with the words of Isaiah 45: “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.” Among other things I warned our new inhabitants not to take offence at the secret of the cross, by which our Savior shows that He is the hidden God, but also is our ally and Savior.

The 21st of January. I visited the sickly young Mrs. Arnsdorf, who has eaten salt at the orphanage as well as during her married state because of her irregular appetite and has thereby injured her health seriously. She shed tears at my remonstrance. Nobody in the community seems to be as bad off as Thomas Bichler because he feels not only very miserable with a consumptive fever, but also very poor and deep in debt. Therefore he has a bad conscience that bothers him much. In his healthy and well days he was vainglorious, imperious, and refractory; and he was not in good repute in our community and elsewhere. Since God has seen that he could not be won otherwise, He has brought him down from his former well-being to the astonishment of everybody. Now he is earnestly concerned about his salvation and warns others earnestly by his example.

Some of the last colonists understand much too little about farming and would accomplish only little on their own land, all the more since it is too late in the year. Therefore I have ceded them a large already-fenced field near the town, which they divided today among themselves for planting during the year. It belongs among the best pieces of land and has rested about ten years, so that, under the blessing of God, it can bear bountiful crops as a reward for their diligence. I intend to let them plow, one each day, and thus lighten their first difficult start. I will also allow some old inhabitants to plant close to these colonists so that they will learn the right way of planting from them and have some relief from watching over their crops. They may be safe from thieves but not from deer, bears, wild cats,¹⁶ and squirrels. I am glad that these new colonists like our arrangements, attach a great importance to our church and school, and take delight in everything.

The 22nd of January. Mr. Thilo’s wife has been sick in bed for many months, but now God is beginning to help her up again. He too, was very sick for a few days with febris acuta¹⁷ and their one little daughter is also quite frail. As a new proof of divine care for their better physical wellbeing, I remembered the dear edifying words of God, which were comforting to them, too, in their present affliction: “The vision as yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not be: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”¹⁸ The pious Mrs. Riedelsberger, who is often led on dark paths by her Savior, was also comforted by these verses. Likewise from: “The Lord hath spoken. He wishes to dwell in the dark.”¹⁹

The 24th of January. As much as Thomas Bichler was formerly prejudiced against me, so much is he now convinced that I mean well with him and seek his well-being. He thinks himself unworthy that I visit him as often as I can during his present consumptive sickness, talk to him about the word of God, pray with him, and also do some some physical service for him. Many a one among us has heaped, often without my knowledge, coals of fire upon his head, which shall encourage us to go on with this: “Let us not be weary in well doing.”²⁰

Gabriel Maurer had his house consecrated with the word of God and prayers before it was totally finished. Today she²¹ was very pleased at my visit because she had wished me to help her and her family, except her husband, who was at work at the new mill, to praise God for His mercy in her very comfortable living-room. She told me with tears of joy about the favor of the Holy Spirit upon her three-and-a-half year old child, who died a short time ago, softly and blessedly on her lap. It had learned short verses and liked to pray as soon as it was able to babble. As much as I now remember, one can see the grace of the Holy Spirit in even the smallest children if their parents bring them up in a Christian way and don’t let them see and hear any offences. We miss no opportunity to impress on the parents their duty from the word of God distinctly and clearly, as was also done on the Second Sunday after Epiphany both in the introit at the beginning and in the sermon in both the fore- and afternoon.

The 25th of January. In my solitude some days ago after the evening prayers I read the Formula Concordiae in our Libri Symbolici²² with great pleasure and edification of my heart; and I intend to go on with it as soon as I can for my own new strengthening in the evangelical truth, which is highly proved by the word of God. While I was reading this, a friend sent me back the journals of the well-known John Wesley that I had received a short time ago from him personally from London together with a friendly letter and which I had lent to this friend. By looking it through I also found something shocking in it quoad Doctrinam & Praxin.²³ Most of all I was deeply depressed about his crude and very hard opinion of God’s dear tool, our blessed Luther and his so very profound, edifying, and popular commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians and its preface.

He tells in said journal on the 15th of June, 1741, that during a journey from Markfield to London he had read, to his great embarrassment, the famous book, Martin Luther’s Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, since he had thought highly about it because it was praised by others and because he himself had read some excellent passages quoted from it. I will cite his own words on behalf of others who may perhaps admire this leader of the Methodists and his great activity:

But what shall I say, now I judge for myself? Now I see with my own Eyes? Why, not only that the Author makes nothing out, clears up not one considerable Difficulty; that he is quite shallow in his remarks on many Passages, & muddy & confused almost on all: but that he is deeply tinctured with Mysticism throughout, & hence often fundamentally wrong. To instance only in one or two Points: how does he (almost in the Words of Tauler)²⁴.…

Thus this witness of the truth is for him a thorn in his eye the same as the German Theology²⁵ of which he writes under the 7 November 1741,

O how was it that I could ever so admire the affected Obscurity of this unscriptural Writer? decay Reason, right or wrong, as an irreconcileable Enemy to the Gospel? Again how blasphemously does he speak of Good Works & of the Law of God? Constantly coupling the Law with Sin, Death, Hell, or the Devil? & teaching, that Christ delivers us from them all alike. Here (I apprehend) is the real Spring of the grand Error of the Moravians. They follow Luther for better, for worse. Hence their, “No Works, no Law, no Commandments.”

Under the date of 16 June he writes the following impudently and provokingly:

In the Evening I came to London, & preached on those Words, Gal. 5,6 “in Christo Jesu neither the circumcision etc.” After Reading Luther’s miserable Comment upon the Text, I thought it my bounden Duty openly to warn the congregation against that dangerous Treatise, & to retract, whatever Recommendation I might ignorantly have given of it.²⁶

Since he referred to no passage in this glorious treatise except the above-mentioned words of Galatians 5:6, I immediately consulted the interpretation of the same; and I found not only a clear and sufficient refutation of this hard accusation, as if our blessed Luther, along with the Herrnhuters or the so-called Moravian Brothers, thought little of good works, law, and commandments; for law and gospel, faith and commandments are so nervously and edifyingly differentiated that I cannot marvel enough about the blindness of this new reformer John Wesley. Since he so brazenly contradicts the doctrine of faith and love, which is stated here about the said dictum of the blessed Luther, and even warns his listeners against this Commentary, the circumstances of his theological system must be peculiar. May God have mercy on him and on all persons whom he confuses. He has started to correspond with me and I am not averse to remonstrate with him on my thoughts about his attitude.

The 26th of January. I have begun to read again the commentary of our blessed Luther on his Epistle to the Galatians, and in what I read I found such a great blessing and edification for my soul that I praise God with all my heart. However, I am also very much disturbed every day and night about Pastor Wesley’s wrong judgment about a thing he does not understand. If only he had kept to himself his opinion about the blessed author and his excellent commentary. However, he is warning his listeners (perhaps in all alleys and public places in and around London) against this book, accuses it of coarse errors, and has his unhealthy judgments about it printed and lets them appear here and there in his journal.

I can assure you that on a single page of this beautiful thorough, edifying, and almost inimitable commentary there is more wisdom, theological experience, and, for me, more edification than in all this journal, or in all journals of Mr. Wesley. I would gladly have suspended my judgment, through love for him and his nature (which do not concern me) if he had not sinned so vexingly against our blessed Luther, his commentary, Tauler, and the German Theology, consequently, against our Evangelical Church. Otherwise he has had a high opinion of Thomas a Kempis and his book of the Imitation of Christ (which he has published in Latin) and of our blessed Arndt’s True Christianity.²⁷ However, we might well assume that he cannot judge these authors and their blessed writings any better than Luther and Tauler, and that he will probably warn his hearers against them.

He came (as is written in one of his journals) to Halle on his return from Herrnhut. However, he must have looked at everything at the Academy and in the buildings of the Orphanage and have judged them in his heart as a man then tinged with Herrnhut principles, for he does not say a word about it in his journal, while elsewhere Jews and openly worldly people have looked at this work of God and the blessed arrangement in the Orphanage for advancing the kingdom of God among Christians, Jews, heathens, and Turks with amazement and made rational and knowledgeable judgments about them. While diligently reading the said journals, I observed whether he would mention a word about Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen; but there, too, there is an altum Silentium²⁸ concerning him. He is still only half or partly attached to the Herrnhuters and has remonstrated in these journals on some of their theoretical and practical errors.

The 27th of January. On this Second Sunday after Epiphany we had some rain and strong wind, yet nobody was deterred from participating in the public worship. Last week we again had some carpenters and other workers at the sawmill, who produced, in good weather, all the woodwork that is necessary for the mill and the millhouse. Praise to God, who always helps and gives us the ability to construct such an important building to secure our inhabitants’ subsistence. He will never leave thee nor forsake thee in the future.

A German married couple who work for the English preacher in Savannah²⁹ would like to come to our place, as others have done also, to earn enough to buy themselves out of their service. Their master is willing to let them go if they can offer competent bailsmen at our place who will pay six pounds Sterling for man and wife within three months. I warn, however, against this bail, since I fear, certainly not without reason, that we will get a burden and many inconveniences from these people, however well they may appear. He is a stocking-weaver and of the Catholic religion; she claims to be a Salzburg woman and has learned all sorts of bad practices as a canteen woman with the Imperial army. She also tried that in London, where she cheated charitable people by stimulating their interest through all kinds of pretence.

The wife of the shoemaker Valentin Deppe feels somewhat better; but the little child died at the age of fourteen days and Deppe also has the purples and a swollen throat. God visits this young married couple very severely, whereby He wishes to melt away all their frivolity and security³⁰ and win them to His side. They like us to visit them, tell them about the word of God, and implore to God together with them, which we do frequently. Both Mr. Thilo and Mr. Mayer are somewhat sick so they cannot take care of our patients as much as they would like to.

FEBRUARY 1751

The 3rd of February. This Septuagesima Sunday we held Holy Communion with fifty-five persons. Today in the introit of the forenoon sermon I remembered with joy my text at our first Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival at Old Ebenezer seventeen years ago, which was from Genesis 32:10; and after that I based my sermon on the mercy and loyalty of God toward us and our congregation. Those of us who still survive from the first transport and all others who have increased our congregation since then can and should now say with me and my dear colleague in recognition of their great unworthiness: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant.”¹

The 4th of February. This morning I had to travel to Savannah to tend to some very important business for the congregation and for a prominent gentleman in Germany. We had a very strong contrary wind, yet we still reached Savannah safely toward evening.

The 7th of February. After I had completed everything I returned from Savannah with my companion to begin answering the letters received from Europe. The river has risen exceptionally high and it caused heavy work for the rowers, so we could come no closer than to Abercorn. This morning I rode home with Mr. Mayer. To cover this route on foot now would be dangerous and injurious to health because of so much water. I had hardly arrived home before a German man informed me that an infant was to be baptized in Goshen, whither I must ride early tomorow morning. If I had known it in Abercorn, I could have baptized it today, because Goshen and Abercorn are located quite close together. In the past nights it has been unusually cold, which one feels especially on a trip.

The 8th of February. This morning I traveled to Goshen; and I did not return until evening because in the house in which the child was baptized a little flock of men, women, and children had gathered to hear the word of God, which I gladly preached to them concerning the beautiful verses: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth.”² They were all very contented and showed me much love. They also informed me simply of some scruples, which I explained to them.

The 9th of February. In Savannah I was asked whether I had any news of the Protestant people from Lucerne of whom the Lord Trustees’ secretary, Monsieur Martyn, wrote some time ago that they would soon follow the last transport from the Territory of Ulm to Georgia.³ Neither I, nor the gentlemen in Savannah, know anything about them, since they were not mentioned in the last letters. Perhaps they received an ugly idea of Georgia from the Swiss in London; and they have perhaps been persuaded to go to Nova Scotia. It is said to be a cold country, to be sure, but not unhealthy. Its fertility is not praised. Out of all the reports from Boston that I have read so far in the Charleston newspapers, I can see that the new colonists in Nova Scotia suffer much disquiet and danger from the French and French Indians and that many Germans have sickened and died. Their maladies are fever and dysentery. A good deal of money can be earned by preparing barrel staves and cypress shingles on the good land that lies near the rivers.

The 10th of February. This Septuagesima Sunday we have had warm weather and a gentle fruitful rain. The weather is right fertile, and the lasting frost has hindered the trees from sprouting leaves. At this time of the year the wild plum trees and the peach trees are usually already full of blossoms. Now they are standing without leaves and blossoms, just like broomsticks. This is very good because of the late frosts we are accustomed to have into the middle of March. It gives us hope for much fruit. Our gracious God has again given us much edification and blessing at our divine service through God’s word, song, and prayer. The congregation had this blessing both in the Jerusalem Church and also in the Zion Church.

I preached from the regular gospel, Luke 8, concerning righteous parishioners, what they should avoid and what they should do; and in the introit I contemplated the edifying words of Acts 10:33, “Now we are therefore all present before God, to hear . . . “, etc. At the evening prayer hour we sang the splendid song, Gott ist gegenwärtig, lasset uns anbeten from the Spiritual Flowergarden,⁴ which was sent to us some years ago in many copies by an unknown benefactor. During song and prayer we felt the gracious presence of God in Christ to our great comfort and encouragement and to the strengthening of our faith.

The 11th of February. Our two delegates have returned from the solemn assembly in Savannah, which is like a parliament; and they have told me that all the deliberations were begun, continued, and ended in good harmony. God be praised for this, since we had invoked Him privately and publicly for His blessing at this assembly.

The 12th of February. A very prominent gentleman in the German Empire, who holds a very important position, recently sent me a most friendly letter and asked for reliable answers to more than sixty questions concerning Carolina and Georgia. He feels a praiseworthy concern to provide physical sustenance for certain families in Carolina (or, if possible, in or near Georgia). I have answered everything as thoroughly and exactly as I could despite many other occupations. This report consists of several folios, which I sent yesterday with letters to the praiseworthy Society, to Mr. Verelst, and to several unknown prominent benefactors in England, and to our worthy Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen. May God let some profit occur from this work!⁵

The 15th of February. With the new moon we have had warm and wet weather, which is very beneficial for the European crops like wheat, rye, and peas. They now have a very beautiful and lively appearance, and they delight the eyes and minds of us all. We have also heard occasional thunder in the distance; and from that we assume that spring will finally come with might and main after a long, but not very hard, winter. Some peach trees and the wild plum trees are beginning to blossom. When I see these trees in full, lovely, and aromatic bloom, I recall what my late colleague used to say with joyful heart and mouth, “Sheer grace is blooming for us now.”⁶

The 16th of February. Among the last letters, we received a written narrative from Halle from the year 1748 as a dear treasure, which informed us of many edifying things from the Kingdom of God, for which we humbly praised our merciful God. I have read them today one after the other with much pleasure and to a great encouragement in my Christianity and ministry; and my dear colleague received the same blessing from it. How comforting and awakening it is to read such edifying news about the servants of God and their blessed work in the vineyard of the Lord at different places inside and outside of Germany. Nor do they lack tribulations and many adversities, which are caused by the flesh, the world, and its prince, mostly, however, by the worldly sect of Herrnhuters, who sneak around in a false spirituality.⁷

I know how much it hurts when souls are taken away from a righteous minister or corrupted but are seized by God and brought to an earnest achievement of their salvation. Praise be to God for preserving many of His children from this creeping plague, for confirming them in the truth, and for arming them with strength, skill, and joyfulness as witnesses of the truth among his servants to resist this evil both orally and in writing, as I see with joy from the said edifying reports. In a letter that came to our hands a short time ago, one of our dear Fathers fully expressed those people’s intent and manner of propagating their sect and greatly regretted that they had been allowed to deal as they wished with the souls in the Evangelical Church and had been able to take root here and there. Righteous ministers have allowed themselves to be tricked by their beautiful words and good appearance. I hope it will be useful to our friends if I quote here the judgments made by the said person from his own experience verbatim:⁸

The dear gentleman must not believe . . . that the Count⁹ is making no proselytes with his asseclis¹⁰ when we think him quiet, because it is then that he is making the most. It is a essential piece of the sect as well as its duty to win followers at all times; but it is a main method only to bore in at first and undermine everything like moles that throw up a little heap here and a little heap there but connect everything together at the end. This is what he has done in all of Germany. Thus I know him since 1722, and that is how he will continue. He is a great conjurer.

The important words of the Apostle Paul may be rightly applied to these seducers: 2 Timothy 3:8-9. These oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They are men of deranged senses and incapable of belief. But they will not practice it a long time, for their folly will become known to everybody, as in the case of the former.

The 17th of February. We prayed humbly together to our merciful God to let us live the blessed Passion time in peace and health again on this Esto Mihi Sunday, during which we have an occasion to contemplate publicly with our congregation the meritorious life and death of our most meritorious Savior, at which we made a beginning today with His help in the fore- and afternoon at Jerusalem Church. I preached on the gospel of Christ’s passion, and my dear colleague catechized on the 18th chapter of St. John concerning Christ’s willingness to suffer for us.

This year we will complete the passion-story according to the order of John the Evangelist. Our parishioners are great lovers of the passion contemplation, which they love to hear and to read. For this purpose they have been supplied for several years through our hands with edifying passion-contemplations by our friends and benefactors in Europe. Especially the Passion and Easter sermons of the blessed Arndt¹¹ are in all families of the old inhabitants of all four transports. We also serve non-resident people, at their request, with the same edifying books, as was done a short time ago for an industrious and eager man in Carolina and his housemates.¹² May the Lord now let us taste and see how friendly He is!

Some weeks ago a member of the Council in Savannah gave me the English sermon which Mr. Thomas Franklin had held the previous year before the solemn annual meeting of the Lord Trustees and which was printed at their order. Last night I had time to read it, and to my amazement I found a good testimony of our congregation, of which we need not be ashamed. Rather we will let it serve for our humility and encouragement; and I intend to make it useful for this purpose in our congregation. The English words in the sermon read as follows:

Persecution hath already driven many to Georgia, who deserved a better fate. It is marked to the Honour of the Salzburghers, that they live together in the utmost Harmony & Happiness; an amiable copy of the first Ages of the world; in Godly Love & mutual Charity towards one another; in that Simplicity of Life & Manners, so rarely to be met with in any Age, so very seldom in our own. This is surely a State, which kings might envy them. They have Reason to bless the Hand, which persecuted them, & to look on their Enemies, who drove them to such an Asylum, as their best Friends & Benefactors.

The 19th of February. Peter Schubdrein has sent his brothers a very Christian letter from Port Royal and has told them, among other things, that he will go to London on a ship for L 5 Sterling and hopes, according to the recommendations carried along, to get a tolerable treatment from the captain.¹³ He will now have been at sea for several days. May God be with him!

Zettler’s little son, who was born eight days ago, was suddenly afflicted with epilepsy on Sunday, which has made a piteous sight of the formerly healthy and strong child and did not let off until it gave up the ghost. The father and mother have had especial joy in this child; and a few hours before the attack the mother had complained that her love for this child was too great: God would have to lessen it. She is an upright person who righteously loves Christ and His gospel. She asked me to hold the funeral service in her house so that she might hear it and take part in the communal edification. I did it gladly, although in the small room, which was full of people, we had to do without the comfort that we have in the church. God sent us much edification and comfort. May he let fruit from it last into eternity!

Our almighty and merciful God has helped us so much that the new sawmill could be erected yesterday despite the high water. Because of the thick, long, and heavy timbers many people were needed for it. Our dear God has obviously kept great danger from the workmen and helpers at this dangerous work, for which we rightfully praise Him humbly. It is a large, durable, and impressive construction (as I was told today), which will be useful for our congregation and a thorn in the eye of our enviers and enemies. With these still-continuing high building expenses God has ordained, contrary to all our expectations, that a rather great quantity of cypress and pine boards have been requested by Col. Heron and Mr. Habersham as well as by some other people in Savannah; and these were sent down today in several rafts.

The high river water has fallen so much that both the buyers of our boards and our people could fulfil their wish and raft them down before the water, which is now beginning to rise again, overflows everything. Thus we gained new money to pay back a friend in Savannah who has advanced us credit; otherwise we would have had to borrow something for this purpose. If we had people as in Germany, the profit of a sawmill like ours would be very great. Praise be to God, who always helps us. My dear colleague has much trouble with the business at the old and the new sawmill, which he glady assumes for the sake of the congregation. He performs it promptly, and he noticeably enjoys God’s help and blessing. Now our boards are being requested in Charleston, too; but we do not engage in anything except with our friends and acquaintances in oder to avoid complications and loss. It is also our duty to promote, as much as we can, the trade in Georgia and the loading in the Savannah harbor of the vessels to the West Indies.

The 21st of February. The Savannah River is again so high that it is overflowing its low banks and preventing our mills from grinding and sawing. We are very glad that more than 12,000 feet of boards could be sent away on the waiting vessels before the water rose again. Now it would be impossible. In twice twenty-four hours the biggest rafts can be floated from the mill to Savannah.

Twelve days ago two knowledgeable men of our community were sent on horseback on a two-day journey to the so-called Briar Creek¹⁴ to inspect the land that was recommended by the gentlemen in Savannah for future cultivation by certain people from Germany. They returned a couple of days ago and do not care to praise the land. The earth is red sand mixed with good soil, has many red cliffs, lies very high, is poor, has trees which are, to be sure, thick, but unsuitable for fence posts and other wooden things. There is little grass for pasturage, and no rice land. It might bear wheat and rye for a few years and has some convenient places for building mills, but it is very remote from other cultivated places. I must pay these men twenty-four shillings for their effort, which they have well deserved. I hope it will be reimbursed to me by the prominent gentleman who, through me, is looking out for the mentioned people. As soon as it is possible, I shall also have some other regions inspected nearer Savannah; and when I receive sure news I shall not fail to write fully to said prominent gentleman, who is known to our dear Fathers in Europe.

The 23rd of February. We hope that the mulberry trees will soon foliate and that our inhabitants will apply themselves to silk-making, which they call their best harvest. This spring many young trees have again been planted, especially on the plantation by the sawmill.

Arnsdorf had me called to his sick wife, who is, to be sure, very miserable and weak in body but whose soul is glorious and selected before God according to witness of Holy Scripture. She will gladly die according to the will of God, since she knows for certain that her dear Savior has forgiven her all her sins. She is asking Him to reveal to her better and better her wicked heart and former sinful life and to grant her grace to cling always closer to her dear Savior. She shows herself very patient, considers herself unworthy of all benefactions, and worthy of all punishment. I prayed with her and others in the house. She injured her health by the disorderly eating of salt. Therefore, the last time I told her much about the fourth commandment.¹⁵

The 24th of February. On this Invocavit Sunday at both Jerusalem and Zion Church we took as a basis for the sermon and the afternoon catechism a piece of the passion-story from the gospel of St. John instead of the gospel. We will continue in this way during the entire lenten season.¹⁶ However, whenever the congregation is together in Jerusalem Church, we will preach in the morning from the gospel and in the afternoon from the passion text. It is probably the most important and edifying story, which should rightfully be treated with diligence, earnestness, and perseverance. From it we learn how much it cost for us to be redeemed.

The twenty-fifth of February. I had written to a Godfearing Christian Englishman, who is a good friend of mine, and asked him to look around for some good land for the recently mentioned families, since he has experience in distinguishing between good and bad soil. Yesterday I received an answer that he will serve me in this matter as much as he can, as soon as his domestic affairs will allow. He and other people are of the opinion that the recently inspected land at Briar Creek, which was described to me so badly, is one of the best and most fertile districts in the colony. However, these friends have never seen it but have only heard it praised by others who have passed by; and this does not satisfy me. Our two men, who have a good insight and were gone for six days, have brought me nothing but true information about the nature of the said land. There is better land on the Ogeechee River above Fort Argyle, which is also not far by land, rather only about a half day’s trip, from our place, as one can see from the special map of Georgia.

The 26th of February. Catherina Holtzer, who was brought up in our orphanage and later married the young Arnsdorf, died last night and was buried this evening. She was only twenty-five years of age and otherwise in good physical health; but she lost her health by improperly satisfying a disorderly appetite. Even though she did indeed refrain from it for some time, she seems to have so corrupted her whole nature that no means would take any effect. But I also fear that the medications were not properly taken. Our merciful God granted her grace for repentance and so assured her of the forgiveness of her sins that she died gladly. I laid as the basis of the funeral oration: “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.”¹⁷ This was not only a funeral sermon, but also a sermon of repentance and grace.

During the sermon I did not think only of the deceased woman (who, to be sure, brought herself into misfortune but also found salvation from and in Christ) but also of other kinsmen who have brought upon themselves all sorts of misfortunes to their bodies and to their livelihoods through violating divine laws, disobedience to the gospel, persistent impenitence (which is as great a sin as suicide is). They were all heartily asked in the name of Christ to step through true penitence from the way of misfortune and perdition and to turn truly to our friendly Lord, who says, “In me is thine help.” They heard this unexpected funeral sermon not without emotion. This Catharine Holtzer left no one but her young husband behind. Her mother, who came to this country as a widow, died already some years ago.

Since Thomas Bichler is not only an honest man but also a penitent sinner, he wishes to pay all his debts before he dies, if only his means will suffice. He told me his desire today, and he has made such arrangements with his horses and cattle that his honest wife and children will get something and several creditors will get something. His biggest debt is in Savannah, which the deceitful N. helped cause.¹⁸ I hear that this miserable person is in Philadelphia again. If our and the Council’s letters, accounts, and his own writings that he left behind, which were sent away last autumn, have not been intercepted, then he can be easily persuaded through legal measures that he owes a rather large sum of money to our congregation and to the said Bichler. Yet it is disturbing that, as long as he and his accomplice have been in Philadelphia, we have received no letters from Pastor Brunnholtz and Mr. Vigera in answer to ours, except once when he had just returned to England.

The 28th of February. For some weeks it seemed as if the mercy of God has taken away the purples and sore throats from our children. But now I hear the contrary, especially of the little ones of six or eight years. Kornberger’s little son just died, although we had hardly expected it. I had been at their house a little while before and prayed with the parents and children. I had hardly left before he called to the neighbor’s little girl and asked her to pick up the crown from the ground for him, and soon thereafter he died. His little sister and Riedelberger’s very well-behaved and clever little boy are also sick in this way. After the purples are cured, these and many other children have suffered a swelling and shortness of breath.

MARCH 1751

At the beginning of this month I had to go to Savannah for the sake of the Germans, to preach the word of God to them and to hold Holy Communion with some of them. On Saturday some of them had come in early from the country; and I spoke with them, to some privately and to some in a small group, concerning the inward nature of one’s heart before taking Communion. After sunset many people of both confessions assembled, for whom I preached a sermon concerning the words of Hoseah 13: “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself,” etc. I was weak in body; but our dear Lord strengthened me so that I could preach the law and the gospel to them. On Reminiscere Sunday in the afternoon and again in the evening during the repetition hour I treated the gospel of true faith. In the morning, from the well-known and very important words: “He that believeth not shall be damned”¹ I preached about disbelief as the cause of damnation. Each time I had diligent and attentive listeners; and I could see from the faces and gestures of some of them that the word had penetrated to their hearts.

For some years a young man has requested, through his wife and old mother, to receive Holy Communion; and he was given hope for it if he would learn the catechism and some Bible verses and would conform to Christian order. I tried to make everything as easy as possible for him; yet he learned little or nothing, while excusing himself because of his age, much work, and weak memory. Before the Communion service he came to me again with another² old man who presented a petition for him so that I would let him attend this time. He put on a good show, and I had to give in to his desire because I was afraid he would follow in the footsteps of his sister, who now respects neither church nor Communion. I showed him how he should properly apply his Sunday and use the word of God for his salvation. May our merciful God, for Christ’s sake, not blame me if I have sinned by giving in to this man!

Several years ago I did not wish to marry him because he had neither learned the catechism nor attended Holy Communion, but he had himself married by a Reformed minister. This is a dangerous land in which the ministers’ hands are tied, not as in many places in Germany, but in other ways. I told my listeners from God’s word what a cursed sin and source of other sins spiritual ignorance is and how necessary it is for them to rear their children to salvation through the recognition of truth if they did not wish to experience, too late, the irreparable damage and bring a heavy responsibility down upon them.

The young German people in all the English colonies in America (as is well enough known) degenerate entirely and fall into the most horrible errors; and such disorder is already beginning in our colony. Most of the German people are concerned only with their physical fortune (as they call it in their heathen way). Therefore they do not ask where the ministry and the word of God are, but where there is good land and good living. Afterwards the spiritual judgments come upon them and their children. Some of the Reformed people at Vernonburg and Acton are now moving to Augusta and are thereby plunging themselves and their children into complete spiritual perdition.

I have petitioned in writing for a fifty foot broad lot on the shore of the Savannah River next to the watch house in Savannah in order to build a wharf or storage place for our boards and other woodwork that has been prepared for sale. They willingly gave us for this purpose not fifty but eighty feet, indeed, at the place most convenient and safest because of the watch. Messrs. Habersham and Harris have their wharf next to it. The gentlemen of the Council were just about to send a packet to the Lord Trustees, and therefore I had a good opportunity to add to it the letters and diary that I had brought with me. My former packet, which contained my answers to the letter and questions of Mr. von N.,³ was still lying in Savannah and will now be forwarded, too.

The water in the rivers has been very high and has flooded all the low lands. Now it has fallen far enough for one of the mills to begin operating again. It is very good that we must do without the use of the gristmills once in the winter and another time in the summer for two or three weeks (for there is too much or too little water that often each year) so that we will not become too accustomed to this blessing, but rather heartily thank our merciful and almighty God for it as a worthy gift and pray for our dear benefactors who have loyally contributed their means for the building and maintenance of these important and most useful mills.

The 7th of March. I had an opportunity to say much good from God’s word to Mrs. Waldhauer (the former Mrs. Granewetter); and she herself acknowledged that she was not only accomplishing nothing with her worries and disquieted emotional state that had been awakened by this and that occurrence, but had also sinned and made evil even worse. I told her that our wise and good God had a salutary purpose with this distress also: she should humble herself, suffer, and in all her trouble seek refuge to Him in Christ. He can easily give counsel and help, I said, even if we cannot see it in advance. For He can do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think, anything that we can ask or understand.⁴

In his explication of the dear words of Christ in John 14:12–14, our blessed Luther presented very emphatically and convincingly how much a believing person can accomplish through prayer and how much profit he can effect in spiritual and physical matters for himself and for others. In church, while contemplating the infinite characteristics of God, we now sing the important, instructive, and edifying hymn, O meine Seel, erhebe dich, etc., in which it states in v. 7: “Thou art full of the highest wisdom, God, no one can fathom it. No matter how heavy our sorrow, Thou knowest to give counsel. Grant that I may remain true to Thee and throw my sorrows upon Thee,” etc.

For some time I have noticed in our schoolmaster, the young /Georg/ Meyer, a greater steadfastness and attention at our public divine services than previously. Today he called on me and told me with tears of joy that the Lord God had showed mercy to his soul. I rejoiced heartily at that and admonished him to watch and pray; and with him I praised the Father of all mercy in the name of Christ for the mercy that had been shown him, which is greater than if a kingdom had been given him. His wife /Magdalena/ is a Christian who has been tried by sorrow, a quiet and honest soul, who takes great joy in the conversion of this her young husband. She formerly had her sorrow with him because of his excesses, but now she has all the more joy and advancement in Christianity.

The 11th of March. This morning Thomas Bichler received Holy Communion on his sickbed. In his eyes he is a great sinner, who is heartily humbling himself before God and his Savior and is seeking His mercy with many tears. His penitent, humble, and grace-hungry behavior before, during, and after Holy Communion made no little impression on me and awakened me to joy and the praise of God. He let me sing to him the song Die Seele Christi heilige mich,, etc., during which he wept movingly, as he almost always does when he reads, or has read to him, of the great love of God in Christ for such a great sinner as he is.

Since her conversion to God, Mrs. Riedelsperger bears a heavy cross, because of which she is becoming ever more honest⁵ and sincere. She is always sickly, suffers many temptations⁶ and sometimes pangs of conscience. She also has a couple of tender, and at the same time sick, children, with whom she not only has little rest but also a great obstacle in visiting the public divine services, which she regards highly. For her comfort I told her that He who loves her soul is near her everywhere and accepts as a divine service the least practical business if it is performed in faith and obedience. It stands, indeed, in a lovely hymn: “Suffering is my gain. That is now our Father’s will; Him I worship soft and still, suffering is my divine service.”⁷

The 12th of March. A certain unknown benefactor in Germany has sent us a fine number of copies of an edifying and useful booklet whose title is: The Christian Praying in Time of Storm, Arranged according to the Popular Weather Booklet of the late Boniface Stölzlin⁸. In it, in large and legible print, there are contemplations and prayers concerning various occurring weather conditions and seasons, which are very useful for a simple and Christianly minded house father to use. Unfortunately, people get all too used to the various kinds of weather in which our great God reveals His majesty in an almost visible way; and therefore I am heartily pleased that such a booklet has been put into the hands of our inhabitants, through which they have received occasion and instruction to recognize the great works of the Allhighest, to understand His salutary final purpose in them, and to recognize their Christian duty in all sorts of occurrences.

May our loving and almighty God remember this worthy benefactor, who is known to Him, for this estimable benefaction and let new spiritual blessings always flow to him and his family as often as he sends us and our parishioners a blessing for our edification from the meditations, prayers, and hymns. Recently a German man from Purysburg, who sometimes visits our divine services, praised our merciful God in my study for having granted His word so abundantly in this land through the service of the ministers and in good books so that we have a noticeable advantage in this regard over thousands of our co-religionists not only in America but also in Europe. He knew from experience how rare good and edifying books were in his fatherland, and here we have them in superfluity through the rich kindness of God that we have been able to serve, and still serve, other Germans in Georgia and Carolina, both Lutheran and Reformed, with such useful writings as Bibles, testaments, catechisms, Arndt’s books of True Christianity, and many others.⁹

In this respect Ebenezer has been like a conduit to which our wise, merciful, and almighty God has let these and many other blessings flow from time to time so that not only our dear parishioners but also many other people near and far have been, so to say, watered and made fruitful. May God grant that all of us remember that, since much has been entrusted to us, much will also be demanded of us at some time.

The 13th of March. Today our loving God and Father gave us the pleasure that the chest from Halle, which had been sent already last year, was brought safely and undamaged into my house. May God be cordially and humbly praised for this very great blessing, in which our eyes and hands have been presented with edifying books for me, my dear colleague, and the members of the congregation, also with medications for our families and for Mr. Mayer. There was not the least damage to anything. An unknown and very worthy benefactor in Halle, who sincerely loves our congregation, has sent us in this same chest through the good offices of our fatherly-minded Pastor Majer all sorts of medicines and also seeds for our kitchen-garden with a detailed description of their planting and use, along with annotations concerning some points of our diary and some serviceable suggestions for the improvement of our subsistence, through which a very pleasing favor has likewise been done for us. It is only to be regretted that several vessels of serpentine earthenware containers and glasses were broken by the small iron instruments laid between them and that the seeds got mixed together.

That there is nothing lasting in the world, rather happiness and unhappiness, joy and sorrow alternate, I have experienced today, too; for, in the midst of the joy at the blessings we had received my dear colleague came home from the the new sawmill, to which he had been called with the master-builder and told me that, to be sure, the costly construction was completed and that everything had been arranged in the best possible way, but that the waterwheel (whose diameter is only four feet) is too small and too light for such a great quantity of water and that therefore an alteration will have to be made, which will consist of a high waterwheel and a proportionate camwheel or cogwheel, the last of which was also lacking.

Because of the expenditures we had had it was very necessary for us to be able to saw boards for sale in this mill also; but we must accept the wise counsel and providence of the allhighest Ruler of all things and await His goodness and help. He can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think¹⁰, and therefore He will be able to save us from our present trials, as He has formerly done according to His unlimited power, wisdom, and goodness. In expectation of boards from this mill and for the great expenses for construction, which we had not expected at first, we had to buy from a merchant in Savannah all sorts of necessary wares for our congregation, which amount to over a hundred pounds, in addition to what we had already paid with boards and money. We will entrust the sale of the boards to Riedelsberger. He is willing to accept it, and by this our work will be greatly lightened and many unkind judgments of unknowledgeable and malicious people will be averted.

As a rule I almost fear that I will arouse a disgust in some friends who read this with the so frequent accounts of our external circumstances. However, I consider them very necessary for our sake so that our worthy Fathers and patrons in Europe will know in detail how we are faring and to what difficulties our physical support is subjected and how much we need their intercession, good advice, and loving help. I have seen, both in former times and again at this time from the letters of our friends and patrons, that the reports of our external circumstances and well-being are not unpleasant but are too short rather than too long and that they can apply them to our advantage.¹¹

To be sure, I have no special permission at this time to borrow any money for our present needs with a bill of exchange; however, in past times our dearest Fathers and benefactors have given us permission in time of need to risk something, trusting in our almighty, omniscient, and merciful God and Father, as we shall do this time also in His name so that we will not be indebted in Savannah to the harm of our mills and congregation. The funds that must be expended for the construction of our new sawmill we look upon almost as alms for the poor members of our congregation and at the same time as God-given capital, from which in the future a great blessing will flow as an abundant interest to the congregation.

In our opinion it is better to establish certain useful public institutions with the money received than to distribute them as alms because the latter will be useful for only a short time and for the present inhabitants, while the former will be useful for many years and for our descendants; and even the poorest and weakest members of the community will have an occasion to earn something in money or in goods, which some find preferable to alms. The accounts that we have submitted from time to time show that the widows, orphans, and others who are suffering want are not left helpless; and we are giving them especial consideration with the construction of the mills and the establishment of our institutions. When the dear benefactors of Ebenezer visualize this, I hope they will not become tired in assisting us with word and deed. In due time they and we will harvest without cease.

The 14th of March. N.’s wife complained to me that her husband is still restless because of certain matters and cannot protect himself from such restless thoughts even in church. She asked me to speak with him; but I thought it better for her to speak with him as I would tell her. Now he has registered for Holy Communion and has thereby given me a calling and opportunity to speak with him about his continued unrest. He not only accepted this but also assured me that he was not angry with anyone but himself and that he was resolved to let this incident serve for his conversion and that, in the future, he will avoid all opportunity to sin. His sins and especially his often repeated disloyalty towards God’s word are causing him much unrest, and he was afraid he belonged among those whom God has left to their perverted minds.¹² I instructed him and prayed with him.

The 16th of March. The sick Bichler is sincerely pleased when I visit him, speak to him from God’s word, and pray with him. He is also in great need of encouragement and help in prayer. Today he complained to me very movingly that he had been overwhelmed during the night by a great physical weakness in which he saw himself close to death. At the same time he feels many doubts about the truth of his repentance or state of grace and of his salvation, and this arouses great fear in him. It suits his Savior well, he said, to reveal to him properly his sins and the great perdition of his heart and to give him faith and to bring him to a certainty of the forgiveness of sins. However, he feels, he said, no hearing; and this troubles and depresses him. It has also come to his mind that true Christians and believers have many temptations¹³; yet he knows nothing of this, and therefore his condition must be very serious.

I presented to him from God’s word the characteristics of a penitent person; and, when he testified that he felt that way, I showed him clearly from clear gospel verses that he could certainly believe in the forgiveness of those sins that Christ had exactly joined with repentance. He should not await and trust in feeling but merely hold to the word of the gospel as the infallible voice of Christ, then he would be entirely safe. The forgiveness of sins that one can feel will also come, I said, if God finds it right. I also explained to him the different kinds of those temptations, and I could convince him from his experience that he was not lacking therein. However, the fact that His Savior has spared him greater temptations is due to His pastoral loyalty that cares for each and every little sheep as is right, and which attacks and chastises each, as is right.

When I was praying with him after that, he almost dissolved in tears and became well contented in his heart. For me he is a new proof that Jesus has come to seek and save what has been lost. But this example is also teaching me to warn our parishioners loyally against the common, but at the same time dangerous, postponement of conversion to one’s sickbed or deathbed, since it is often difficult to come to a certainty of the forgiveness of sins and the state of grace, especially in places where the law and the gospel are preached in their order and with emphasis. Disloyalty finally slays its own master.

The 17th of March. On this Laetare Sunday in both the Jerusalem and Zion churches we preached to our parishioners penitence and preparation sermons from the Passion text in John 19: 1 ff. for the next day’s celebration, on which Holy Communion is to be held. Because the days have become long again, we are beginning to hold the Sunday prayer and preparation hour in the day, namely, from five to six o’clock, which is convenient also for those who live on the neighboring plantations. Tomorrow, Monday, we will hold our annual Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival, which is the seventeenth on this our pilgrimage. May God let us celebrate it in blessing to His glory and to our preparation for a blessed eternity, where we will celebrate an everlasting Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival, in communion with those who are perfectly righteous, for so many many spiritual and physical blessings, which our Triune God has shown us in this pilgrimage.

It was not without the counsel and providence of our omniscient and loving God that we arrived during the time of Passion in this land, first at Old, and two years later at New Ebenezer, and that consequently our Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival always falls in the edifying and blessed time of the Passion. Accordingly, this is the first main blessing for which we must humbly and sincerely praise our merciful God as always, and therefore also on this our joyful festival, our inestimable reconciliation with God through Christ’s suffering and active obedience, about which at this time all Passion sermons rightly treat. We never forget to show from the gospel, indeed we carefully instill, in what order (which is surely a wise, blessed and right convenient order for us fallen sinners) we should and can receive the reconciliation He has merited. And the second blessing that our God has shown us in this solitude is that He has established and so far maintained among us the office that preaches reconciliation and justification.

In the congregation we are supplied with almost an excess of good evangelical books for public and private use in churches, schools, and houses; and we receive more and more of them every year from the dear Augsburg, London, and Halle, as we did some months ago in a large chest from Augsburg and in a small chest from Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, and a few days ago in a chest from Halle. For using these useful and edifying books, our dear parishioners receive guidance enough in the sermons and prayer hours, which they attend gladly and regularly. Also, it is no small thing that our merciful God has strengthened both of us ministers in health and strength so marvelously all this year that we have been able to perform our office entirely unhindered with both adults and children and also to take the necessary trips to serve other members of our confession with our office. Whether our good Lord has let us work entirely without blessing is shown by the reports in the diaries from the last Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival until now.

To be sure, our schoolmasters have been somewhat afflicted with bodily weakness; but our dear Lord has again given them complete health and strength so that they can profitably perform their office with the children. The praiseworthy English society de promovenda Christi cognitione¹⁴ has been steadfastly inclined toward us so far through divine direction, as is sufficiently evidenced by the secretary’s friendly and edifying letters and also by the salaries for us two ministers and for the town schoolmaster, which they still continue to pay most willingly in advance. Our kind God has generously granted the salary for the schoolmaster on the plantations through our most worthy benefactors in Europe, for which blessings we rightfully praise Him.

Accordingly, we count among these divine and unmerited blessings 3)¹⁵ the still lasting life and the continuing affection of our dear Fathers and benefactors in England and Germany as well as the fact that our merciful God has graciously averted sad incidences of death and serious illnesses from them and their families, has strengthened their bodies and minds in their many works, sufferings, and tribulations and has granted them means and willingness to care for our spiritual and physical wellbeing. May He keep them for many more years in health, life, and blessing and keep us in their affection and trusting intercession. 4) We rightfully remember with grateful minds the noble physical peace and the complete freedom of religion and conscience which we have enjoyed in this land under the protection of God and his anointed, our most gracious king and also under the gentle and paternal government of our beneficent provincial authorities, the Lord Trustees. So far, our inhabitants have not been burdened with any taxes at all, nor have they had the least molestation from soldiers, Indians, Negroes, or other disorderly and wicked people. This, too, my Lord, comes from Thee.

5) We must also praise our merciful God for many other proofs of His gracious, wise, and mighty care over us, e.g., that He has let the harvest of both our European and local crops turn out well in the past year, has graciously protected our mills from all danger despite a double flood, and has let us use them for the great profit of both our inhabitants and of strangers more than in former years in that we have had continuous suitable water for grinding and for sawmilling. Also, according to His great kindness, He has granted our poor a right great opportunity, as well as time and strength, to earn a considerable sum of money for their and their families’ needs from the construction of the new sawmill.

To be sure, this new mill is not yet (as recently mentioned) in a condition to cut boards, as we migh wish; but, as far as the dam and major parts are concerned, it is so well and durably built and lies at such a convenient spot because of the abundant and beautiful lumber and the ease of transporting the boards that we promise ourselves a great advantage for advancing the support of our community down to our descendants with the blessing of God. The alteration that must be made with a larger waterwheel and camwheel will not, we hope, cost much. Among the specimens of divine providence also belong the silk culture that has prospered and increased so far with the increased growth of white mulberry trees.

The courage, experience, and skill of our female inhabitants are growing just like the beautiful trees, for which the worthy Lord Trustees have not failed to give encouragement. The weather is now as desired, the mulberry trees are sprouting powerfully, there is enough silkworm seed on hand this year, and therefore everything is favorable. Also, it is no little evidence of the fatherly care of our heavenly Father that He he has turned the affection of President and his Assistants to us more than ever before and turned their hearts to every possible assistance. Our inhabitants have through their care a beautiful fruitful district of land at Goshen and all the good land on the Blue Bluff, which will be very useful to them in time.

6) Our community has been increased this year with newcomers of our confession from the Territory of Ulm, who are honest and industrious people, who gladly conform to Christian order among us. The few servants whom we have received among them are the first who are as we wish them, the kind of whom we would like to have more. This would be useful not only for us but also for them. Those men and women servants whom we received almost a year and a half ago and were at first a great burden for us have changed greatly, have learned to love our place, and have accepted good instruction from God’s word for their improvement. May our merciful God continue to care for us!

The 18th of March. This Monday was a very comfortable day in the realm of nature and a joyful day in the realm of grace of our God, to whom we have celebrated our yearly Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival. At the same time Holy Communion was held for one hundred and twenty-one people. In the morning the introit verse was from Habakkuk 3:2, “When tribulation is there, think on mercy”¹⁶ and the text from Genesis 35:3, “And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.” During this we presented proof of God’s divine mercy in time of tribulation, I) the tribulation that occurs not only to others but also to us, II) the divine mercy, and with it III) our duty because of the divine mercy we have experienced.

On this occasion I was freshly reminded of the manifold tribulations that occurred to our congregation and, at the same time and chiefly, to my family last year through sickness and death. However, during this contemplation the Lord renewed His mercy in me, in my family, and I hope in others of the congregation so that we are assured that what has happened occurred not in wrath but in grace and for a very salutary purpose. In this pilgrimage we can look forward to nothing more certain than all sorts of tribulation, of which, however, we should not be afraid because our heavenly Father shows, in addition to many tribulations, also much mercy, as we very cleary recognized from the introit and the text and as we know and from our seventeen-year experience in this land. If our compatriots at other places in this or the neighboring colony boast that they do not have so many tribulations, sicknesses, deaths, etc. as we have in Ebenezer, then we can boast in return that the Lord has been with us in our tribulation and has shown much mercy in them and also many spiritual and physical advantages.

In the afternoon my dear colleague had as his introit Philippians 4:19, “May my God supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”;¹⁷ and for a text he had 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, etc.” and he presented the grace of Christ as the blessed source of all true wealth: 1) of what this grace consists, and 2) of what the true wealth flowing from it consists. In the application it was shown what most people in general seek, but especially what those seek who migrate from Europe to America, namely worldly wealth. It was also shown what God’s gracious purpose was in bringing so many people together from such different regions, namely, to acquaint them through the preaching of the gospel with the true wealth of Christ and to bring them into His order of grace. Praised be God for His help and assistance!

The 19th of March. Yesterday, Monday, we celebrated our Commemoration and Thanksgiving Festival with God’s help and with pleasure and blessing and desirable weather. I have given a short report of this in the diary that I sent off today so that our worthy friends and benefactors will know what great blessings of the Lord were the driving force for celebrating this joyful festival. To be sure, He has chastised us so that it still causes us pain; but He has also been good to us and refreshed us. Indeed, one might say, “His punishments, His blows, even though they are bitter for me, still, when I consider it rightly, they are signs that my Friend, who loves me, is thinking. . . . “¹⁸

It was all the more impressive for me, and will, God willing, remain steadfast in me that our marvelous God has guided the minds of both of us to such introit verses and texts that so well fit our circumstances, such as Habakkuk 3:2. “When tribulation is there, then thou thinkest,” etc., Genesis 35:3, Philippians 4:19, and Corinthians 8:9. I was driven by a certain need, of which I made some mention in the previous part of the diary, to write a letter to the worthy Court Chaplain Albinus and to send it, along with the diary from the 1st to the 18th of March and also with an essay about the lumber and board trade we are arranging, to Savannah for further forwarding to London. After my little packet had been readied for sending, I finally finished the answers to the questions and observations that an unknown patron in Halle recently sent me along with many kinds of seeds and other useful things.¹⁹ They fill six folios, but they were very easy to compose. May God lay a blessing on them! Such questions are useful for me, too; for they remind me of many works and blessings of God that I would not easily recall or that I would not consider so carefully.

The 20th of March. The sick Bichler is waiting for the salvation of God and is making himself more and more ready through his faith in Jesus for his departure from the world. He is very content with everything, if only his Savior will save him. Among other things I said to him, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth” and “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”²⁰ He again apologized with many tears, sobs, and reaching of his hand for everything he had done against me. In healthy days he was not my friend, even though I always exerted myself to seek his and his family’s spiritual and physical welfare. But all this has long since been forgotten. He also told me with great emotion that some people in the congregation have shown him much kindness and given him all sorts of things for his need and refreshment. He wished for me to give his thanks to them at his funeral sermon at his burial. He also asked whether we would pray for him in church, and he wished that many pious Christians might think of him in their prayers. On the other hand he finds it onerous when people visit him who bring no profit to his soul. He made a few more external arrangements, which concerned his wife and his daughter out of his previous marriage, and also a certain monetary debt.

Some months ago I had to write one of our prominent benefactors in Germany a detailed description of silk culture in our colony; and, because God has again let us live in the time of spring in which almost all the female persons are occupied with this pleasant and useful work, I have undertaken to enter here as a report for this above-mentioned gentleman and perhaps for other benefactors and friends the observations which I will make this year. I have already seen from several letters sent to me, both to shame me and to encourage me, that these things from American Georgia, which appear to me and to others at our place as familiar, common, and of little importance, receive a better appreciation and greater respect in the eyes and minds of our European, and especially scholarly, friends. Therefore I can not heed the very different taste of those readers of our diary, some of whom look upon much of it as bagatelles.

Concerning the culture of silk, I now observe the following: On the 7th, 8th, and 9th of March we saw young and tender leaves on the white mulberry trees; and the women brought their silk seed out of the cool linen²¹ in the chests or from other cool, and at the same time, dry containers and exposed them to warmth, whereupon the little worms began to come forth in droves, and they need no forced heat in beds, at the oven, or on the hearth. A couple of people spoiled their seed. It is better to scrape the seed from the cloth than to let the little worms hatch on the cloth, to which the seed is firmly bound. In this way they come much more rapidly one after the other. If one wishes to help the very tender little worms along without danger, one leaves them lying close together and on each other in the first week while they are so small. Then they quickly devour the tender leaves that become wilted very swiftly in the warm rooms. On the other hand, if the worms lie far apart, they cannot devour their tender fodder so swiftly, but it becomes hard; and, because one must give them fresh leaves again, that is not only harmful for the leaves but also for the worms, which smother under the leaves or grow unequally. Therefore it is good in a place where many people are making only a little silk in their first beginnings if two or four skilful women hatch out all the silkworms and every morning (for that is the time that most of the worms crawl out of their eggs) give some families as much as they need at the time.

This is useful to them because 1) They receive many worms at one time of one age that sleep at one time. 2) They can be kept close together, as said previously. 3) Seven or eight days later they can get a quantity of worms that have come from their eggs later, and they can feed these, when they grow larger, with the leaves from the trees that have been plucked first and have grown back. For one can hold the worms back from hatching for eight more days if one does not let them come to air or to heat. Afterwards, when they begin to spin, such late worms take no other place than where the first ones, which are now finished with their work, have spun themselves in their cocoons. The poor people, who have and need little seed, have a lot of trouble if a part hatch out today and the rest in the following days. This year our inhabitants have received many hatched worms from my, Mr. Lemke’s, and Kalcher’s houses. For several days the weather has been very warm for sprouting leaves; but we are lacking a fruitful rain.

The 22nd of March. The heat by day is extraordinarily great, almost as it is accustomed to be in summer. The wind first came from the south, and now from the west. Rain is much needed. Everyone is now busy planting Indian corn. Not only the great heat of the sun but also the dry wind are parching the soil. It is peculiar to this month that there has been little rain in it and that in the gardens and fields there are many worms that are devouring the leafplants, salad, and the young sprouting corn. The mulberry trees have nothing to suffer from the worms or other insects, neither the trunks nor the leaves. Horses and cattle like to eat the leaves and spoil the trees for many years if they can get to them. Many such trees have been planted here along the streets and in front of the houses, which, however, have been trained so high that the cattle cannot reach any branches. They grow very thick and high in a few years.

I have just measured a couple of mulberry trees (I mean not the wild ones but domestic that are used only as fodder for the silkworms) with respect to their thickness, not out of mere curiosity but for a better reason. They are standing along the street near the parsonage. One of them has a circumference of three feet eight and a half inches and the other somewhat less, namely three feet seven and a half inches. Neither of them is more than ten years old. My colleague showed me one that was planted four years ago as a one-year-old sapling whose trunk was two feet in circumference.

Last year, and again this year, I saw that young cedar trees have been planted in rows on some streets in Savannah; but the profit is greater from mulberry trees which, as I believe, grow here just as quickly and thick and also give more shade than the cedars. I have seen no cedar trees that are thicker than our previously mentioned mulberries. Our first inhabitants did not know what to do with the planted mulberry trees. Because their fruit did not please them as much as those of the wild trees, they cut them down in their most beautiful growth, which they have subsequently deeply regretted, just like those who preferred to plant peach trees instead of mulberries. Since our house lots are only one eighth of an acre, almost all of us planted our mulberry trees too close together, which greatly hindered their growth. On one mill plantation I had them placed sixteen feet apart; but now I see that even these are standing too close together. Because there are so many wild mulberry trees here, I had some of them grafted this spring.

The 23rd of March. The pious widow Bacher told me with joy that the effects of the Holy Ghost on her two grandchildren, a tender little boy and girl, are already being revealed, of which she gave me details that treated of her willing and childlike prayer, her love for our dear Savior and His word, and admiration and respect for His physical works and gifts in the realm of nature. To be sure, it is a great joy for a pious heart when the grace of baptism is revealed in the children. This happens enough if one just does his Christian duty by them and observes the work of God. It is right laudable that the parents, and especially the mothers, take the trouble to lead even their smallest children to pray and to learn short Bible verses, which they like to recite to us when we visit them or they come to us. From the smallest children, who can hardly babble, I often hear: “God’s spring has an abundance of water.”²²

The 25th of March. This afternoon I had to speak to a married couple and warn them against sin.²³ Some time ago certain people bought a Negro woman who bore a little child at our place who was baptized here at the request of its owners and at their promise to rear it as a Christian. She is said to be a defiant and very angry person; and therefore she was told that her master (a shoemaker) wished to sell her and keep back her child. This Negro woman begged me with many tears to prevent her child’s being torn away from her: she could not live without the child. In Carolina and in all other colonies this kind of cruelty is quite usual, namely, that man and woman and parents and children are separated and one of them is sold here and the other one there so that they never see each other again.

This un-Christian matter is prevented by a law in our colony, as I let the owners of this Negress know; and I read to them what the worthy Court Chaplain Albinus wrote in answer to my question toward the end of last year as to how one could buy and use Negroes with a clear conscience. If the Negroes are kept as he so wisely and thoroughly advises, then I have no reason to complain of their purchase and use. However, if contrary treatment in spiritual and physical matters is a sin (as is certain), then the usual way of keeping Negroes is a highly dangerous matter, and I do not know whether they could be any worse off in that regard in their own country.

There are three families among us who belong to the large Kieffer family of Purysburg, who have acquired slaves. The little Negro child who was baptized a couple of years ago they are bringing up in a Christian way along with their children. I also hear that there are Christian and conscientious people who would like to keep their Negroes better if they had the means and if they were not compelled to punish them seriously because of their wickedness and obstinacy. As a rule they are very disloyal and disobedient and also so hardened that they think nothing a gentle punishment. The previously mentioned Negress is sometimes angry to a high degree, utters the most desperate words, and, challenging her masters in a most insolent way, she offers her bare body for punishment. It is all the same to her whether she lives or dies, and she would rather be killed than to give in. The audacity of the Negroes at the public sales of such as have been born in Carolina and have been in the country for some time is very great. In such an auction in Charleston they are put on a raised platform before all the gathered people. Then they ask those who wish to buy them who they are and where they live. If the buyers and the place of their residence does not please them, they tell them right out with accompanying threats: “I will not go with you. You will lose your money if you buy me.”

The 26th of March. Our inhabitants have noticed that those mulberry trees that are standing on loose rather sandy soil produce earlier and more leaves than those that stand on low and rich land. This soil is soon hardened by the lasting heat of the sun, and therefore neither dew nor the warmth of the day can penetrate as easily as on light soil.

The 27th of March. We have received the sad news from Augusta that the hostile northern (presumably French) Indians found some Creek Indians at an English trader’s station above Augusta who were trading with the Englishmen and who sought refuge in the Englishman’s house against their enemies. Because they did not let a couple of white people into the storeroom or give over the hidden Indians, they shot two white people and set the trading station on fire and burned up all the stores along with the hidden Indians.²⁴ This morning I was called to the honest Georg Glaner to help consecrate his newly built house in the company of some Christian friends with the word of God, hymns, and prayer. Our loving God gave much edification from the contemplation of the rules of life regarding the first commandment from the late Wirth’s Confession and Holy Communion Booklet²⁵ whose very thorough and edifying rules of life I began some time ago to lay as a basis of my consecration sermons. The life rule we contemplated today reads thus: “Busy yourself with nothing more than with loving God and your Savior with a pure heart and a clear conscience beyond everything that is in the world, then you will always be of good cheer and content in all things.” The accompanying verses from Deuteronomy 10:12, Judges 5:31, Matthew 22:37, John 14:21,23, and Ephesians 6:24 served partly as proof, partly for the clarification and proper application of this dear truth.

The 31st of March. In the chest we received from Halle are various very worthy writings of the late and very dear Dr. Anton and of Senior Fresenius’ Pastoral Collections from the 1st to the 5th Part.²⁶ Arndt’s Books of True Christianity²⁷ were not among them, which we greatly wished for our parishioners and other German people in the land. May God be heartily praised for granting us His word and good writings so abundantly!

APRIL 1751

The 1st of April. To continue in my diary in the manner as has been done so far, the following occurs to me first to report in this month of April. A young person sent me a letter of the following content:

My special concern is that I am not progressing in my Christianity and I am often overcome. I am faring like those Israelites who could not stand before their enemies (Joshua 7). May God let me know what accursed thing is lying on me.¹ May He receive me according to His great mercy and free me from all things so that I may be his warrior and live to His glory here in time and there in eternity. I also thank you many times for the love and loyalty that you have shown me until now and I beg you not to remember my previous misbehavior. Surely you do not wish to turn your heart from me, for, as you know, I have no one among mankind who cares for me; therefore I wish you much good and will request it of God.

Before evening I had an opportunity to speak with him what was necessary for his condition, and he seemed content with that.

The 2nd of April. Today after the weekday sermon I received news that Thomas Bichler had cast off his fragile tabernacle through a temporal and blessed death. I had spoken to him yesterday concerning the dear words of Christ: “It is finished” and “Verily I say unto thee. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”² From them I presented to him not only our complete redemption and reconciliation, but also the friendly heart of our Lord Jesus toward sinners, even against the greatest ones. He did not chastise and judge this great sinner because of his sins, because the latter had chastised and judged himself. That means that all the sins that he has committed will be forgotten. He understood all this to his comfort.

Because Christ had been presented to us last Sunday, namely the day before yesterday, from Isaiah 25:9 and from the gospel on Palm Sunday, as our God, as our Helper, and as our Salvation, the content of my last prayer with this patient was aimed at that, and I left for his wife to read to him the lovely hymn Liebes Herz bedenke doch deines Jesu grosse Güte, in which it is explained very comfortingly that Christ is our helper. In his last conversation he remembered his great spiritual blindness after his departure from his Salzburg fatherland and how badly his and other Salzburgers’ preparation for Holy Communion had been at a certain place. He complained of the bad examples that had been given him by sometimes prominent people, among them vestrymen, when they were entertained.

While he was lying on his long-lasting sickbed without complaining with the least impatience of the pain and burning of his sore and chafed skin, I reminded him of the scourging of the bloody body of Christ, on which, to increase the pain, His clothes were pulled on and off. In this regard it is written: “Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities,” and after that it is also written, I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake,” etc.³ He was a very clever man and armed with many natural gifts, but he possessed them with great self-love. And, since he planned to be ahead of all the other inhabitants in the arrangement of his physical household but did not undertake it with God, he gradually so declined that he became the poorest in the community and left considerable debts behind. God often let him get into difficult circumstances and dangerous sicknesses, and he always came to a true recognition and feeling of his sins and sought grace from his Savior humbly and with many tears. However, afterwards he did not remain loyal but sinned gravely against me, who could not condone his selfishness and will to dominate; and for this he apologized to me several times with many tears in this last sickness.

When I mentioned to him in a prayer that in serious sicknesses he had promised our dear God an improvement in his life but had not kept his promise, I asked God to bless in him the use of the means to health only as far as He saw that it was serving for the salvation of his soul. He wept a great deal again and approved the content of the prayer. Yesterday he yearned for a blessed solution, even though he did not refuse to use further medicines. He is leaving a pious helpmeet, who is well trained under the cross, and three well-behaved children: one girl from his former marriage and two from the last. In my presence he made a distribution of his limited legacy that pleased me very much. I have visited him often, which was very pleasing for him. Profitless visits were burdensome and disgusting for him.

The 3rd of April. At first the tradesmen apprentices who were sent to us as servants were very ill-behaved and did not wish to conform to work at all. But God has known how to tame them through sickness; and God’s word, which they hear diligently, has not been in vain. It is now evident that the servants are serving greatly to lighten the burden of the Salzburgers; and every householder would like to have one.

If our inhabitants had followed the advice to plant mulberry trees and make silk nine or ten years ago, when the beginning was made in the orphanage, then every householder would be able to easily earn twenty pounds in five weeks (for only so much time is required here for well tended silkworms from the beginning to the end). Likewise, other useful and practicable suggestions were made to earn a good sum of money more easily than with agriculture (which brings in only little if they cannot raise a lot of rice). I am now thinking of the manufacture of barrel staves and shingles for trade with the West Indies, which is an altogether useful and easy work that is pleasing to the merchants.

In the following I will show how easily they could acquire Negroes in this way with God’s blessing (without which all effort, work, and good suggestions are in vain). We advise them to desire and use Negroes with a Christian mind. They, like all men, have a body and soul: for their bodies they need food and clothes, or necessary covering for the body by day and night, and the soul must have nurture and instruction from God’s word. And a Christian house-father must be no more concerned in the case of these black people with their willingness or unwillingness than in the case of his own children or white servants, but continue with instruction, prayer, and good example, also with other Christian means of help and discipline as long as he has the Negro in his power; otherwise, he cannot look forward with joy to the future grave judgment or have an uninjured conscience.

That is just the way the thoughts and wise counsel of our worthy Court Chaplain go in his letter to me of the 11th of July of last year:

If God shows no other ways and means to get along without Negroes, then one should rather do so (for which basic reasons are cited in the letter), and consequently one should not proceed to acquiring them without dire necessity. And it would, indeed, be a great consolation for us if Ebenezer could have and hold the prerogative of being occupied by only white people. Meanwhile, if that cannot be done without physical ruin, then one can reassure oneself, etc. (Here the reasons are cited). The third reason is that a greater kindness is done to these people (the Negroes) if they, nota bene, are kept in a Christian manner than if they had remained in their fatherland. For they have their physical subsistence. They have an opportunity to be brought to a true recognition of God and Jesus Christ and also to Life. 4) Through their service and help some honest and hard-pressed members of Christ are kept in life and well-being. This can be not only a blessing for the slaves but also for an entire place and for an entire land. Also, if even one member of Christ were comforted and kept by it, then that would be no little thing. Therefore, if the need is there and one can find no other counsel, then let one take slaves in faith and for the purpose to lead them to Christ. Then such a deed will not be sin, but it can lead to blessing.

The 4th of April. On this Maundy Thursday the dogma of Holy Communion was treated in both churches as is done every year; and I had as an exordium, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,”⁴ which was applied to the opponents of our dogma of Holy Communion and to those who use it unworthily. There are such Germans in this country who would like to confuse one or the other of our congregation concerning our church’s dogma of Holy Communion and come with the coarse old reproaches which are also cited in the Concordien Book⁵ and thoroughly refuted. We must seek meekly to strengthen our parishioners in our well founded dogma and to defend the truth against all apparent objections of perverted reason (for thus it is when it wishes to be smarter in religious matters than the mouth of truth) and against all false interpretation of scripture. The sermon will be repeated in the evening prayer meeting; and the remainder, which cannot be preached all at once, will be added. I dealt with the rightful use and the misuse of Holy Communion. 1) What Holy Communion is and its nature, and 2) that it is rightfully used by some but misused by many. Today will be half, and tomorrow entirely, celebrated among us as the death day of our divine Intercessor.

The 5th of April. This, the day of Christ’s death, as the day of reconciliation of the New Testament, is a remarkable and blessed day for us every year. Even though there is much work with silk manufacture in almost all houses as if it were in the harvest, still the church was just as full as at other times. They show such great devotion during the prayer, singing, and preaching of the divine word that it is a very special pleasure for a minister to have such parishioners. To be sure, that is not the thing that the Lord God is actually seeking in men through His gracious granting of the means of grace; yet it is something laudable that was cited previously, and we request and hope that He will convert the sinners through His powerful and living word, toward which everyone is showing such great love and respect, and will strengthen His children in goodness so that they will ever become more complete in it.

Hardly a Sunday or holy day passes that we do not present the parishioners with clear signs in the sermons, catechisations, and repetitions from God’s word and judge their Christianity accordingly and show them simply and clearly the way that they must not only know (we do, to be sure, insist strongly upon knowledge and a literal and basic recognition) but also follow through the grace of the Holy Ghost if they wish to be righteously converted and to be assured of their state of grace. We have, God be praised!, no lack of souls who have become and are becoming heartily obedient to the voice of Christ in the gospel, and they are our joy. Also among the children we note many blessings, from which I have had a hearty awakening both today and yesterday in private conversation. It is a sorrow for good souls that in this year (and it happens almost every year) most of the work of feeding the silkworms falls at Holy Eastertide. (As I hear in my neighborhood) only a few have begun to spin their cocoons since the first of this month; and most of them need more fodder from domestic mulberry leaves in one day than previously in three weeks. Because of the lack of rain and because of the soil that has been much dried out by the winds, the leaves have not grown very large; yet there is no dearth of them, even though gathering them is somewhat more difficult. We have now again noticed that, if they have been supplied with sufficient fodder and constant warmth, the silkworms begin to spin their thread and make their cocoons right at the end of the fourth week and that one has the most trouble with them for not more than eight days.

The 9th of April. May praise and thanks be given to our loving God for letting us celebrate our Holy Eastertide in health and blessing and good weather. Our dear parishioners have again gathered in large numbers for the preaching of the gospel of the Resurrection of Christ and other religious practices. God gave us the grace to present to them to the best of our ability the motherly-minded heart of our resurrected Savior to awaken and strengthen their faith and to further a true godliness. Several German people from other places were with us during these days, and may our gracious God bless His word in them too! The deceased Thomas Bichler left behind a little nine-year-old daughter from his previous marriage with the daughter of Kieffer of Purysburg, whom the old Mrs. Kieffer, as grandmother, wished to fetch today to bring her up on her plantation.⁶ However, on his sick- and deathbed the said Bichler asked me to keep his little girl here and, if she could not remain with her stepmother, to give her to Christian people; and this I told old Mrs. Kieffer today. The pious widow Bichler is living in the house of her pious mother, where this girl is well provided for and is near to both school and church; and she would have to do without this benefaction on the Kieffers’ plantation, which lies deep in the woods in the Purysburg area. To be sure, the stepmother is poor and unable to provide this girl and her own two children with food and clothing: but God will take care of this widow and her children, as is written in the 23rd Psalm. While contemplating the motherly-minded heart of the Lord Jesus these days, I have been much comforted by what we sing: “Thou art always in my eyes, Thou liest in my bosom, like the sucklings who still suckle: my faith in Thee is great,” etc.⁷

The 10th of April. Those men of the transport from the district of Ulm who have paid for their voyage from London to Ebenezer came to me together and complained that they spent their money in London and are now unable to establish themselves on their land by the next harvest. They had been promised in London that they would receive provisions for a year and that every family would get a cow. The others had received such support. In South Carolina, too, the new colonists were given provisions or money to get established. I gave these men the following answer: 1. I am surprised that they were promised provisions and cattle in London. As soon as they arrived in this country the President and Assistants of the Council wrote me that the Lord Trustees had sent this express order to them to give them tools and farm utensils, but no provisions. 2. If they were, indeed, sure of the Lord Trustees’ promise, then they could send them a petition. The gentlemen of the Council do not have the plenipotentiary power to give them provisions and cattle, this authorisation would have to come from London. I am also afraid that the Lord Trustees do not have the means to continue doing for the colonists what they did at first. Yet (as far as I know) they have never given provisions and cattle gratis to those colonists who paid their own passage but only to those who were sent over as poor people at the expense of the Lord Trustees. The Lord Trustees were informed that the people of this transport would pay for their passage themselves, otherwise they would not have got involved with them. However, when they arrived in London, only a few could pay; and it cost no little effort to move the Lord Trustees to pay the passage for those who were entirely without means. 3. In Carolina the new colonists receive some money at first, but they must go to Congarees and settle there because this region is to be settled with many inhabitants against the Indians, etc.

Some of these people have earned a good sum of money among us and are settling down well. To some of them I have had to advance considerable provisions and money beyond my means; and I will not be able to stop doing it in the future, just because they are there. If, after they have arranged their households, they wish to devote themselves to preparing the suggested woodwork such as barrel staves, shingles, and dressed boards, they would soon come to some means. However, at present they seem to have neither the idea nor any inclination for it. At least we cannot expect anything in this work from them or from our other inhabitants before next August.

The 11th of April. Last week and this week I have written to Savannah to learn how, in this year, we should manage the silk that is now being made in Ebenezer. Today I received a letter from the secretary of the Lord Trustees in Savannah /Habersham/ in which he requests me to come down to receive an oral report. God willing, I plan to go to Savannah tomorrow, even though I would prefer to be spared from travel of this sort. In Savannah a house is being built in which six machines for spinning off silk are to operate.⁸ Because there is now a lack of skilful spinning women there, three of ours are to go down and enjoy the instruction of Mr. Robinson, who was sent here last fall as a skilful young gentleman by the Lord Trustees, in order to perfect their skill in this art. Probably not much silk will be made in Savannah because there is a lack of mulberry trees and inclination. For that reason it is assumed that most of our silk will have to be sent to Savannah to be spun off. Our Rottenberger is to prepare five machines for spinning off the silk, and for each he will receive thirty shillings Sterling. The one that we had made in Savannah two years ago cost three pounds and therefore twice as much. I hope that this year we will come to such an arrangement in the entire silk business that I will not find it necessary to to trouble myself with it any more in the future. This I would sincerely prefer. May God let us advance as far in all sorts of woodwork, such as making shingles and barrel staves, as we have advanced in silk manufacture through His blessing. Then I shall rejoice, thank God for it, and devote my modest efforts to performing my ministerial office. Once a useful work has got underway, then it needs no one to urge or push it.

The 15th of April. After I finished my business in Savannah I traveled to the German people in Goshen, where I preached and held Holy Communion yesterday. I held for them a short preparation concerning the words, “But let a man examine himself,” etc.⁹ and preached from the gospel for Low Sunday¹⁰ concerning the true nature of Christianity, which consists of a true recognition of Christ in the enjoyment of His grace and in the practice of godliness. The people showed much desire for the word of God and much love for me; yet much has happened among them that is contrary to wholesome teaching and about which we have had to admonish them publicly and privately, which they accepted well. An honest woman was in extreme mortal danger in her labor; but God graciously heard our prayers for her and proved Himself to be one who helps and saves from death. She finally bore a dead child into the world.

In this spring the people in and around Savannah have been very busy making silk, and now a spacious house with six cauldrons has been built for spinning it off. This year all the silk is to be spun off there so that our and other spinning women may learn this art under Mr. Robinson’s guidance. Therefore this year our and other people’s cocoons will be bought at a certain price and spun off at the expense of the Lord Trustees, which well pleases our inhabitants. In Savannah I received from a worthy member of the Lord Trustees a couple of very friendly letters in which he showed a great pleasure at our efforts to gain more experience in silk manufacture. His name is Mr. Lloyd and he has the famous machine on which the silk is prepared for weaving. He considers our climate to be one of the best for producing silk as good as any in Italy, as he has recognized from the silk that has reached his hands from our place.

I sincerely wish that this noble and useful matter may someday reach such a state and order that everyone of us can make his silk in quiet and, when it is spun off, send it to Savannah for sale, without my having to occupy myself further in the way I have so far. If I had remained distant from it in past years or if I should do so now and not concern myself with it, then (as is known to everyone) most of our inhabitants would have let their courage and hands fall in this so useful work, which is being urged from England, because they still look upon themselves as weak beginners and need counsel, encouragement, and some aid, as well as good examples.

To be sure, I have had some disquiet and struggle in my soul about having let my helpmeet keep silkworms in my house for some years and prepare the cocoons;¹¹ but more than one important reason has moved me to do so: 1) It was the expressed and often repeated desire of our beneficent provincial authorities, the Lord Trustees, that all colonists, and therefore also our inhabitants, should plant and cultivate mulberry trees. Now, because from the very beginning I have had to be an authority for our community in physical matters, too, according to God’s ordinance and the will of the Lord Trustees, my duty has demanded that I be a good example for our inhabitants by planting such trees and thus encourage them.

2) After the trees had acquired a substantial size and much foliage in four years, my wife began, as an example and encouragement for other people, to keep some silkworms and to spin off the silk entirely secretly on a very imperfect machine. During this simply begun work her courage and experience grew so that in the following years she devoted herself with greater industry to this so pleasant and useful occupation and acquired better experience every year to the advantage of our family and of our congregation. Because I used the assistance of several women in this rather extensive matter (especially because she was often sick), the experience learned in our house as to how to rear the worms in a safe, easy, and advantageous way soon became common in the community. Indeed, she tries new methods every year to reach the right certainty and best advantages in all details. Even if I knew of no other profit from the silk made in my house, it would be useful enough if our inhabitants would gain not only courage but also experience in making silk. 3) Contrary to my thoughts and expectations, the providence of God has led me into such paths because He has wished to grant me through silk a means for my and my dear family’s better support, since in this country my salary, which I receive from a praiseworthy Society¹² is not adequate for our meager support. It is the same with my industrious and worthy colleague, who is having a good deal of silk processed in his house for the same reason.

Because we have the trees nearby and because it is demanded by the circumstances of our physical support and because our helpmeets are willing and capable of performing such work, we have let it take place in our houses so far, and we hope that no one will take offense at it. We do not desire to save anything from our salaries for later years but merely to live abstemiously from the beginning of the year to its end. If our merciful God wishes to ordain for us to obtain otherwise from the community (which has been unable up to now) or from the Lord Trustees or from the praiseworthy Society our meager but adequate support without incurring debts, then we would gladly leave the use of our mulberry trees to the members of the congregation and spare our families from making silk. Mr. Whitefield is also having many silkworms raised in his orphanage this year; and in Savannah I was requested to travel to the orphanage¹³ to tell the inexperienced people of our way of achieving a good goal in this matter. God granted me much edification with two vestrymen.

The 17th of April. Mr. Pickering Robinson, who was sent to this colony by the Lord Trustees for the furtherance of silk manufacture, came at my request to our mill by boat and gave himself trouble yesterday and today to arrange this or that for the improvement of sericulture, whereby he learned much from the experience of our people that was unknown to him before. Because we wish our young women to learn silkspinning thoroughly, all the silk produced here will be sent to the new house in Savannah, which was built so that the silk can be spun off with six machines. This gentleman will have supervision and will give the spinners as much instruction as they might need. In this one matter they still need a bit of instruction. To be sure, this time our inhabitants’ silk will not be paid according to the orders of the Lord Trustees because it cannot be spun off at our place; yet such a price will be set that they will be content. Two shillings Sterling will be paid for each pound, and the spinners will receive a very fair wage for the spinning in Savannah. This year God is granting us a great blessing in silk.

The 18th of April. We have had very little rain in this spring, and therefore the soil is much dried out. Yet on Good Friday we had a very penetrating rain that did not reach Purysburg, Abercorn, and other regions in the direction of Savannah. The Savannah River is becoming very small, the rye and peas are flourishing, and the wheat also has a good appearance. On Tuesday afternoon (it was 16 April) a little rain fell and at the same time a very cold weather began, which is a sign that there was hail at other places. Last night and this morning it was almost as cold as sometimes in November. The dry and cold weather so far has been very advantageous for the silk manufacture, for in the last fourteen days the silkworms required cool air day and night and very many leaves, which cannot be picked in rainy weather. We have had no thunderstorms except on Good Friday, by which the worms (as it seems to us) are harmed. I hear that the silk has turned out better this year than in any past year.

The 19th of April. The President and Assistants of the Council in Savannah are requesting me by letter to have Dr. Graham helped on his journey to the Indians by our people who have bought the Lord Trustees’ cowpen. And thus one thing comes after another, because there is no one else in the community to whom prominent and humble people can turn. Formerly the Indians came to Savannah for their gifts, which caused expense and trouble. For, when they come in large numbers, they generally cause trouble here and there be they sober or drunk. To prevent their coming here, the said doctor is traveling with the yearly gifts far up among the Indian nations, for which he needs many horses and men.

He also has as a purpose of his trip to buy from the entire Creek nation the very fertile and well situated land not far from Savannah on the bank of the Savannah River so that it can be occupied by some prominent Englishmen who have been desiring it for a long time. The Indians have reserved for themselves large districts of the best land along the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers, as well as some very fertile and well situated islands, which the Lord Trustees do not wish to take from them by force but hope to acquire from them by contract through fair and gentle means. In this they are not only acting according to rules of natural and Christian fairness but also seeking to avert the discontent of the Indians, war, and bloodshed.

The 26th of April. Before the weekday sermon on the plantations this Friday I received the joyful news that the construction of the new sawmill was fully completed today and that the construction had turned out as wished. Therefore the builders asked me to come out there this morning, God willing, in order to consecrate this important work with the word of God and prayer. I have not thought so often and diligently of the consecration as I detected in our inhabitants but merely waited with longing to see how the entire construction would turn out. We had postponed our Commemoration and Thanksgiving festival, which falls every year on the 8th of March or some day soon thereafter, to the 18th of March with the intention of thanking our dear Lord also for the blessing of the new sawmill because we hoped it would be completed by then. However, things went very slowly with the small waterwheel, and this required the builders to fabricate a large waterwheel and a camwheel in order to make the two saws operate more rapidly.

The most difficult and dangerous task in this was that they had to move the large millhouse, which consists of very heavy timbers, columns, beams, and much other woodwork under and with the roof, fifty five feet long, twenty-four feet wide. This caused us the greatest concern. However, it turned out well with the combined strength of our workers. In this we recognize it as the wise and kind Providence of God that during the building of the house the master builder was hindered by the very high river water at that time to set the posts of the house very deep in the ground and was forced to place the whole house on beams, which later did not hinder its removal as would have occurred if the corner and middle posts had been buried deep as they were at the old sawmill.

Now that the undertaking has turned out so well with divine assistance, it is very pleasant and comforting for me and my dear colleague that our workers and inhabitants are yearning for the Christian consecration¹⁴ that is customary among us and have invited me for tomorrow. A sawmill may seem a minor matter in Germany, but it is a great blessing for the Ebenezer congregation and a major item of our physical support; and therefore no one will hold it against us if we do as the king and prophet David did (Sirach 47:9): for every work he thanked the Holy and Highest with a song. Cf. with 1 Timothy 4:4-5.

The 27th of April. This morning many of our inhabitants, both adults and children, had assembled at the sawmill to attend the consecration sermon. After we had seen the entire and very well built work and the long ditch in which the water runs off from the millwheel and in which the boards must be brought to the large Mill River, and after both saws had made a trial of board cutting to our great satisfaction, we all sat down in the large millhouse before God and sang Meine Hoffnung stehet veste auf den lebendigen Gott, etc. After the prayer was over a sermon was preached about 1 Timothy 4:4-5: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused,” etc. By this I gave my listeners an opportunity for Christian thoughts by the consecration 11 of the new sawmill at Ebenezer. I showed: 1) For what we recognize and respect it. 2) How we should use it properly. We must recognize it as a creature of God, indeed, as a good creation that has been granted to us by our good God and which (as has already occurred during the building) is to be for the benefit of the whole community.

Its proper use is shown to us in that we are receiving it as a good creation of God with thanksgiving and that we are sanctifying it now and in the future through the word of God and prayer. Since at other consecrations of new houses I am accustomed to use the life duties according to the Tenth Commandment from the late Wirth’s Confession and Communion Booklet,¹⁵ I read at last the seventh duty according to the Second Commandment, which our merciful God likewise blessed for our awakening and which especially suited this occasion. At last we all praised God for this and all His good creations that He has granted us so far for our use and enjoyment. We begged Him for the forgiveness of sins and for His further help and assistance; and we also prayed for our king, the Lord Trustees, the Society, and all known and unknown worthy benefactors, and we closed with the verses “The Lord is not yet, and never, parted from His people” and likewise “So come before His countenance with joyful dancing.”¹⁶ Thus, before Jublilate Sunday, God granted us a blessed Jubilate.¹⁷

The 29th of April. Yesterday, Sunday, our merciful God again did us much spiritual and physical good. He granted us His holy word abundantly and for much edification; and Holy Communion was held with sixty persons in good order, for which we had had all last week for a blessed preparation in the prayer meetings and weekday sermon. After the repetition hour we received a right fruitful and long desired rain, which lasted late into the night and thoroughly drenched our fields, which have been very parched since Good Friday.

MAY 1751

The 3rd of May. Today I wrote in detail to Secretary Martyn and to our worthy patron Mr. Samuel Lloyd (a prominent member of the Lord Trustees and a zealous furtherer of our silk manufacture in Georgia) of what a rich blessing in silk our merciful God has graciously granted us and at the same time of the newly built and successfully completed sawmill. This gentleman not only mentioned me in a letter to Mr. Habersham with very friendly and Christian expressions but also sent me such evidence of his love and affection in two letters to me that I can clearly see his honest feelings toward us.

The Sunday and weekday sermons are visited regularly by our inhabitants, even by those who live furthest from the church. Our servants have an advantage over those who live at other places in that their masters do not hinder them in the least from attending the public divine services on Sundays and weekdays, but rather steadfastly urge them to it. They should recognize this properly, thank God for His gracious dispensation, and show all the more loyalty in their service. We are now content with both our old and new servants.¹

The 4th of May. Hans Flerl and his wife are a godly couple, who take great care with their and their children’s souls and let God’s word dwell abundantly among them. They have God’s blessing, but also Christ’s cross; and they know how to find themselves in it. He is a knowledgeable and skillful man, who can be used in many ways in the community. He now seems to have some ailment in his lungs.

The 6th of May. For several days we have been receiving right fruitful weather: there is no lack of rain and sunshine, and the air is very temperate. God is letting another tribulation afflict our wheat: it has scarcely sprouted its ears, and the rust has begun again and has spoiled stalks and ears. A couple of men sowed their wheat in August and September, and it ripened before the rust came. I have often heard that early sowing is the best preservative against the rust and mildew in this country; yet most people among us plant their wheat not long before Christmas, and some of them even later. There is much work, and there are still few workers. Therefore the householders cannot do what they wish.

The 7th of May. Now that the larger children in the congregation have received the necessary instruction in Christian dogma in school and have come to the proper age to be prepared for Holy Communion, I have made a beginning this week in God’s name in this so useful and blessed work, which is so pleasing for me. In the preparation hour I lay our church catechism (it is Luther’s small catechism) as a basis of the catechization, while leading them more and more into Holy Scripture, I familiarize them with the important Bible verses as far as the words and their correct understanding are concerned, and I apply everything to examine and touch their hearts, after introducing the heart examinations of the late Ambrosius Wirth concerning the holy Ten Commandments.²

Some children are already in service with Christian people at our place and are willingly sent to this lesson, which is held four times each week in my house. There are also some grown children on the plantations who should attend the preparation for Holy Communion. They come to me in school on Tuesdays and Fridays, and afterwards they hear the word of God in the sermon. However, I wish that the parents could make it possible to send them to me in addition to these two school hours; I would like to devote four afternoon hours to this.

The 9th of May. A pious widow /Christina Bacher/ asked my advice in a certain matter and mentioned at the same time the physical poverty of her pious daughter, who is also a widow. She told me of the marvelous destiny of her deceased son-in-law,³ how he and all his household had hastened right visibly to ruin, even though he was a man of good understanding, indeed, all too clever in his own eyes. The details that she cited were disquieting. God had surely humbled him in his longlasting sickness and brought him to a recognition of his sins and to a faith in Christ so that we can hope that he departed in peace. God will certainly look out for this righteous woman and and her tender children and bring joy to her at the right time after her many tribulations. However much I would like, I am unable to come to her help in physical matters.

In Heinle and his wife we have right loyal servants at the mill, of which we would like to have many. They love God’s word and are glad to be at our place. She told me that her oldest son, who is in Glaner’s service, told her that he liked being in Ebenezer. He likes the solitude and the good opportunity to hear the word of God, which other young people might sometimes consider a yoke. The word of God is heard by all the servants regularly and with an apparent devotion, and their hearts are touched by this. However, disloyalty and frivolity are very great in some of them. God’s ways are marvelous; and I hope that still more young apprentices, who, as it were, have come here as servants by chance, will open their eyes to recognize why God has done it. Our plantation schoolmaster, Caspar Wirtsch,⁴ a baker apprentice from Ansbach, is proving to be Christian and diligent in his calling so that we hope that he has won grace.

The 12th of May. Friday morning my dear colleague traveled to Savannah to serve the German people there with his office, and therefore I had to look out for our congregation alone this Rogate Sunday. Thanks be to God, who strengthened me in body and spirit through His powerful word and let me preach His word again today with joy. As an introit I had the comforting words of Christ, John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are,” etc.; and in the gospel I presented the chief comfort of Christians from the departure of Christ to the Father. I had very devout hearers, and I do not doubt that our dear Savior has blessed His gospel in many.

Our people are losing their desire for Negroes because they are uncommonly expensive and very dangerous to keep, as we are being more and more convinced through experience. Last year the shoemaker Zettler bought a Negro woman and concealed as long as he could the very great inconveniences and danger that he suffered from her. I would not have expected such defiance, malice, and desperation as I have now learned of and as Zettler himself has told me. He is tired of her service, and he wishes to advise no one to get involved with such black people if he can get along in any other way. He also told me of some deeds of cruelty that he saw practiced on some Negroes, at which my hair stood on end. May God not let us experience such miserable times in our community as we hear of here and there.

The 14th of May. It is marvelous that young little worms are already coming out again in great numbers from the just laid silkworm eggs, which Mr. Lloyd considers impossible. Therefore people are hurrying to lay the little eggs, or the silkworm seed, as quickly as possible into cool vessels and into cool places. The mulberry leaves are too hard now and the heat too great, and there are too many flies and other harmful insects. Therefore the advantage would be slight if we wished to make silk for a second time. It is also harmful for the trees, which are sprouting new little branches again all summer, which would freeze in winter unless they had become somewhat strong and hard.

The 15th of May. Yesterday, on her way back from the weekday sermon, an honest woman, in the company of her husband, was thrown dangerously from her horse; but our merciful God averted any greater damage. Both of these married people have profited from this incident, as I learned today from his mouth. Because horses are very common here and can be raised by every householder without effort, they are used for riding frequently by men, women, and children; and, although very great misfortunes could often have happened, they have always been averted through God’s providence, which He wields over those men who are accustomed to round up and catch the cows, oxen, and horses that have become wild. This is done with much mortal peril in a forest, where much wood is standing and lying and there are many pits. Still, we hear little of any misfortune. The people who perform this work are generally not much better than the sailors of ships who fear no danger and, after being miraculously saved, scarcely thank their great Benefactor, in whom they live, breathe, and have their being.

The 16th of May. Today we celebrated the Ascension of Christ festively, which is a blessing that not all in this country enjoy, for little attention, unfortunately, is given to holy days. My dear colleague preached in the Zion Church and I preached in the Jerusalem Church; and before evening we held the joint prayer meeting. Shortly before that I received a letter from Savannah dated yesterday, in which I was given an extract of a letter by Dr. Graham, who traveled two weeks ago with gifts to the Upper Creeks. It was not joyful. Namely, he reported that the Cherokee Indians had killed four white people and were intending to kill all the English traders among them and in that region, and this caused all of them to retire to the church in Augusta. Nevertheless, Dr. Graham dared to travel with his gifts to the above-mentioned Indians, and he probably supplied himself with a bodyguard. There is a small garrison at Augusta. We have also commended this danger in prayer to our Prince and Savior, who has been exalted to the right hand of God. He rules amongst His enemies; and, as a true High Priest, He carries His people not only on His shoulders, but also in His heart. I would be seized by fear and dread if I did not know what the prayer of righteous people to God can do and that God has often spared an entire country for the sake of a few righteous people and does good for their sake (or rather, for the sake of Christ, who stands in His favor) even to the godless and to sinners.

The 17th of May. Because no weekday sermon was held today on account of yesterday’s Ascension celebration and because other business kept me from it, I traveled this morning to Goshen to preach a sermon for the inhabitants there. They assembled very willingly at a given signal from a horn; and I do not doubt that God granted them, like me, a blessing from the comforting gospel of our reconciliation merited by Christ and of faith as the only means at our disposal to participate in it. Our glebe land lies in this vicinity, where I was before the assembly and where I saw with pleasure the beautiful mulberry trees which I had planted last year and this. In a few years a large amount of silk can be made in this region, too, if the trees are cared for. This year our inhabitants have sent nearly 1500 pounds of cocoons to Savannah to be spun off and have held back many pounds as seeds for future years, as is meet and right, so that they will not lack seed as they did this year.

Last week and this week we had to perform a very necessary work at the sawmill in digging a ditch by which the water flows into the regular Mill River, and I found the workers almost at the end of their work. This ditch will also serve to carry the boards from the new sawmill in little rafts to a certain landing on the regular Mill River, from where they can be taken to Savannah with little cost and without the least danger, along with the large rafts from the old mill. Praise be to God, who has helped us bring to a final end all important works in the construction of the new sawmill. May He also grant His blessing so that we will achieve the purpose of both sawmills, which is the furtherance of our inhabitants’ welfare.

The 19th of May. We are still hearing sad news of the hostilities perpetrated by and feared from the Indians. At Edisto, or Orangeburg, in South Carolina they shot a man and woman; and, not only have all planters and traders around Augusta fled to the church with their families, but others, who do not wish to abandon their property, are digging in and wish to defend themselves. A woman and her children turned to our place for safety. May God, through these dreadful rumors, awaken all secure ⁵ and spiritually sleeping and dead sinners among us so that they will pray in this danger and retire through faith to the fortress lying at Ebenezer, which is the Name of the Lord. About Him it is said that He is a mighty Fortress. May the righteous man run to it, and he will be protected.

The 22nd of May. I sincerely praise God, who has again deemed me worthy to give some grown children instruction from God’s word for their preparation for a worthy use of Holy Communion. During this He has granted me much edification and blessing through His spirit by means of His holy inestimable word. I would like to have some such hours every day, during them I forget all my desires and worries that I have because of the congregation and am entirely in His word, in the heart of God, and in eternity. For me, the longer the catechism is, the better; and I learn to value all the more the grace of God that God showed His chosen tool, our blessed Dr. Luther, while he was composing this little book. The parents on the plantations who have grown children considered themselves and their children unfortunate when they could not visit this preparation hour, therefore they have begun to send them a long way of almost two hours to me here. However, because this causes a great loss of time and tires the children too much and because we do not know what kind of people they might meet on the way, I will see to it that I am able to hold this preparation hour on the plantations, too.

After the silk that our inhabitants produced this spring with much industry was sent to Savannah, we at once supplied Mr. Mayer with money to pay cash for this silk without delay. By this means a considerable sum of money has again come to our place, for which many thanks are being brought to our loving God from Christian hearts. Those people among us are being much pitied who made little or no silk through lack of mulberry trees; for, if they had wished to follow my advice and my many admonitions and also the example of a few people, they would now be able to earn some pounds Sterling in six weeks with little effort.

Our place, which was assigned to us through God’s special providence as our dwelling place, is not so convenient for agriculture as for cattle raising, silkculture, honey and wax manufacture and especially for trade with masts, spars, rudders, dressed boards of pine and cypress, for barrel staves, hoops, cypress shingles, and many other things much desired in the West Indies, for which there is a superabundance of all materials everywhere gratis. A few days ago a new colonist said that there are more beautiful trees lying here in the forest than stand in many places in Germany, which is quite true. Four sailors, who recently came to our place from Goshen, told one of our people that they had seen more wood in a half day than previously in all their lives.

Now, because God’s providence has set us at such a place, those are acting against God’s providence, in my humble opinion, who wish to arrange their agriculture, work, cattle raising, and whole way of life according to the customs of their fatherland and their forefathers and neglect that which this climate really offers. They must all concede to me that an industrious man earns no more than four pence per day with field work; on the other hand in lumber work he would earn at least twenty-four pence, that is, two shillings per day. May our dear Savior, as the Lord over everything and the High Priest, who is tempted everywhere like us, but without sin, let this important matter that serves to spread his kingdom be commended to His loving heart and let Him hear the many ardent prayers of the servants and children of God for us.

The 23rd of May. Yesterday in my letter to our dear S.U.⁶ I let flow some of the distress of my heart which is pressing on me because few of our grown parishioners recognize the blessings in their Christianity, but in the evening prayer meeting I was both shamed and encouraged.⁷ I was made acquainted with a couple of people in whom the Lord has recently effected much good. I also saw a letter in which a beautiful testimony was written as to what good our dear God had wrought just since Ascension Day in an otherwise ill-behaved man, which he wrote to his wife who was living in Savannah. Yesterday evening a woman was in great mortal danger in which she proved exceedingly resigned and comforted; and, when I heard of her and her family’s great poverty, I was amazed that she had never complained but was always well content with God’s guidance and had, indeed, praised God. Concerning a sick girl who must suffer much pain I also heard a very edifying testimony that she is very patient in her suffering, is always praying and ardently yearning for her dear Savior and a blessed dissolution and that she had had a great longing for me a few days ago.

The 25th of May. An old Swiss widow has received a call for a good service at N., but she told me that she already knew how things were there because she had already served there several years ago. She did not have much longer to live, she said, she needed the quiet for preparing for holy eternity, and she did not wish to withdraw from the word of God, which she could hear daily. God is daily letting her recognize better the perdition of her heart, and no sermon is preached in which she does not feel the power of the divine word. Our dear God will continue to give her necessary support, since His goodness extends over all His creatures. I strengthened her in this good attitude. The Lord Trustees prescribe every year a notable sum of money for the support of widows in this colony, which also extends to the German widows in and around Savannah; but we must look out for our widows and orphans, for whom our merciful God has always granted something so far. They are content with a little help. We now have four widows and several orphans who are worthy of and need help. If God were to awaken some benefactors to donate two pounds Sterling annually, which amounts in German money to somewhat more than ten Reichstaler, then a very Christian work would be established.

The 27th of May. Our merciful God has not only let us live to another Holy Whitsuntide, but He has also let us live it with much edification and in good health. This should rightly arouse us to the praise of His name, especially if we remember that He has granted us in this matter so many more spiritual advantages than to so many of our compatriots in this and other colonies. The rumor of a war feared from the Indians has vanished again; and God has fulfilled our wish and prayer that our congregation will progress in this lasting time of peace, live in the fear of God, and be filled with the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

The pious widow B. /Bacher/ told me on Saturday about her pious daughter, the widow B. /Bichler/ that she is sick in body and spirit and is in need of my encouragement from the word of God. I went without delay to her plantation, gave her instruction for her physical and spiritual circumstances and prayed with her to our almighty and kind Lord for help; and He began to show her such help that she was able to visit the public divine service in town on this second holy day. She is an honest soul and a true bride of Christ, who has marked her with the sign of His holy cross. I gave her something for her physical refreshment. If our almighty God would so bless our mills that we had a good income from them, the widows and orphans would enjoy it particularly.

The 29th of May. After many invitations from Mr. Habersham and Mr. Robinson I traveled down to Savannah yesterday in hope of arranging something good for the glory of God and for the service of my neighbor. When it became known that I would preach God’s word in the evening after finishing work and would hold a prayer meeting, various German people, including our spinners, gathered. I adapted myself to the time, said something about the importance and the purpose of Holy Whitsuntide, and began to preach about the important and edifying matter of the Holy Ghost and its office and work, namely the sanctification or correction of fallen mankind. I am planning to continue in this at the next meeting. In general the people are ignorant in this article of the Christian religion that is so important for salvation; and they think they can be Christians without the Holy Ghost and sanctification. Therefore I consider it my duty to give witness to it as often as the opportunity arises.

In Savannah, at the expense of the Trustees, a lovely institution has been erected for spinning off or reeling this year’s silk by the six regular spinners and an equal number of helpers. For this they will receive very good pay. A new and imposing house has been built that is furnished with six cauldrons and three chimneys (i.e., two cauldrons to each chimney) and also with open windows and doors. Mr. Habersham and Mr. Robinson are going to much trouble to achieve the purpose of bringing the manufacture of silk into operation according to the wish of the Lord Trustees and of the entire English nation. They hope to do this if the Lord Trustees or Parliament will encourage this important now-started work for ten or twelve years and give good bounty or premium.

JUNE 1751

The 1st of June.¹ Yesterday, the 31st of May, I returned home hale and hearty from Savannah. I again had to see and hear very many distressing and unpleasant things; and, with all honest subjects, I wish from my heart that one thing may be unfounded, namely, the extremely sad news of the death of our dear and promising Crown Prince, the Prince of Whales (sic), which has arrived from Barbados and Antigua. Among the pitiable sights that I saw with my own eyes was a German child of ten years who drowned in the river, and a very malicious German wheelwright or wainwright apprentice, who preferred to be punished very severely rather than to give a good word to his kind and gentle master, from whom he had run away three times entirely without reason, or to promise him improvement or loyalty. I and the minister in Savannah /Zouberbuhler/ spoke with him the best we could, but we accomplished nothing.

The only joy I had in Savannah was in contemplating the word of God, which I had an opportunity to preach to our spinning women and my traveling companions, as well as to a few well-disposed German people in the evening hours. May God let a fruit remain from that until blessed eternity! When I came home I was told that a party of Uchee Indians had come to our place the day before yesterday and gotten very drunk and had made a lot of noise. Just as they are usually accustomed to stop at my house as often as they come here, they took the opportunity this time also. We gave them some food and drink but we did not do them such a favor as we would have done if we had given them rum and cinnabar to color their faces and other parts of their bodies. They are in flight from other Indians; and, because we lie somewhat apart or remote, they will presumably wish to remain here for a while, but this does not please us. We lie near the river, and therefore they can escape quickly to Carolina if they notice danger. One of them brought a bundle of scalps, which they are accustomed to pull off along with the hair from the enemies they have shot, into my room to show me. However, because I showed my displeasure at that, another ² understanding Creek Indian, who seems to be the chief of this party, spoke seriously to him, so he packed up his disgusting wares.

A young Salzburger who has business at our cowpen or ranch at Old Ebenezer was bitten in the foot by a rattlesnake, which he tied twice without delay over the wound and thereby kept the poison from his body and heart. He was brought to Mr. Mayer for treatment and is now out of danger. It often happens that people who walk in the grass in the forest are bitten, just like dogs and cattle; and against it we use a certain snakeroot that grows here abundantly (and is quite different from that in Virginia) with the success we desire. One chews a little piece of the green, or better of the dried, root and swallows the juice; and another piece is chewed and put on the wound. Because of that the greatest swelling subsides in a half an hour; and the man or beast (to which the root is given in a vehicle) is completely well in a similarly short time. It purges gently.

These rattlesnakes are most poisonous in the summer. When they are three years old they get a rattle, which consists of a thin hornlike material, by which men and animals are warned, as if it meant noli propius accedere or me tangere.³ Some of them have from fifteen to twenty rattles and are about three years older. The largest of which I have heard are from twenty-one to twenty-two feet long and as thick as a man’s thigh.⁴ They are very fat and move very slowly; they sleep in the warm sun, whereupon one steps on them unwarned and is wounded. Their poison is fatal unless help is given at once. They are said, however, to die soon from the blood of the person they have bitten. Indeed, a person’s spit is said to be their death. An experiment has been made with a long thin stick, the thin end of which was chewed and wet with spit and put into the mouth of the snake, which bit it and soon died. The deer fight with them and stab them with their feet and antlers.⁵ They also have a mortal danger in the blacksnakes, which are also long and thick but not poisonous.⁶

What amazes me most is that some people cut off the head of the rattlesnake and roast and eat the flesh, which looks snow-white and is said to have the flavor of the best veal.⁷ But it must be killed before it gets angry or has bitten.⁸ Those people who feel a disgust after eating such a snake have become a little bit sick. In Savannah two ships had come from the West Indian sugar islands, which brought some coconuts with them, of which I was able to taste the milk water in them and the snow-white meat. This is the very fruit of which we read so much in the East Indian reports.⁹ It is an excellent fruit, whose very hard interior shell is worthy of note and can be well used for making drinking vessels. With its exterior green shell, which was cut off with an ax, it was as thick as a man’s head; afterwards it cost a lot of sawing before the actual black shell could be separated. Before that was done for the sake of the meat, a hole was bored at one end of the nut, from which the pleasantly tasting juice was let out into two drinking glasses. The bone-hard nut was about four inches long and three inches thick in diameter.

The 2nd of June. On this Trinity Sunday the Indians behaved quiet and sober. A few of them stood at the church doors and watched how we sang, prayed, and preached. They know of no difference in the days, also know of no change of clothes. Rather, what they wear on one day they wear every day. However, when the sun shines too hot, they go mostly naked and are not ashamed. In our prayer meeting we have implored God to have mercy on these and other blind heathens and to control the vexations in this land. We have also remembered together the dear blessing of God that he already showed our heathen, wild, and idolatrous ancestors through the preaching of the gospel and that He is still showing us this grace until now and is granting us complete freedom of conscience in this land.

The 4th of June. Straube’s oldest little girl is weak in her mind because of the paroxysms she has had.¹⁰ However, she has a great love for God’s word and has gradually learned a very large number of basic verses of Holy Scripture. She is sick and sincerely distressed that she cannot visit the preparation lessons for Holy Communion like the other children in town and on the plantations. To be sure, her recognition is weak; but her love for Christ is ardent, and her yearning for a blessed death is sincere and edifying. I have given her hope of receiving Holy Communion before her departure from this world, which we have always had to postpone because of her natural simplicity. I told her parents that many thousands of Christians go to Holy Communion who do not even have as much recognition and even less faith and love than this little girl and that I had not the least doubt that she would be a welcome guest at the Lord’s table. The mother is a sincerely pious woman who has shown much diligence with her children to lead them to Christ. She greatly respects Holy Communion and is worried because of this little girl’s great simplicity and therefore did not wish to be too hasty about her Holy Communion.

I have now begun in God’s name to prepare the children on the plantations for Holy Communion in the very same way as the town children through Christian instruction, to wit, four times a week from eight to nine in the morning, whereas in my house I have them from eleven to twelve o’clock.

The 6th of June. Almost all of the colonists who arrived last¹¹ now have the regular fever, which some of them do not accept patiently. We wish to be patient with them and cherish the hope that in the future they will recognize that our dear God means well with them and is seeking their souls through this trial.

I received a letter from Mr. Habersham in which he announces that a little piece of very fine silk damask was sent to him from London that was produced from the silk that was raised in Georgia and was presented to the King. The latter had such pleasure in it that he had a certain garment made of it. This report gives new hope that the English nation will further encourage silk manufacture in Georgia, even though it will require a great sum of money again this year.

The 8th of June. We are now having very hot and dry weather from which the little brooks and swampy areas are entirely dried up. The Savannah River is also very low. If it continues to fall as until now, then no mills will be able to run any more. We have enjoyed them for a long time; and it cannot hurt if we must sometimes do without them for a while. Yet this loss lasts only a short time.

Mrs. Lechner, who lives on the glebe land in Goshen with her husband and children, has borne a little daughter safely. My dear colleague and the sponsors in baptism were requested there yesterday to baptize the little child, at which opportunity he also held a sermon for the German people there. They enjoy such a blessing as often as one of us comes to this region. Some members of our congregation live on this good land, but for this they must do without many spiritual advantages for themselves and their children. It is also difficult for them that they belong to Savannah and must sometimes exercise there under arms, for which they were summoned on the 11th of this month.¹²

The 9th of June. On this first Sunday after Trinity ninety-five of our people were at Holy Communion; several had registered who were kept away by illness or other causes unknown to me. The holding of Holy Communion is always announced two weeks ahead, and the parishioners in the weekday sermons and prayer meetings receive instruction for a righteous preparation. It can well happen that some get to know themselves better and are not too hasty in taking Communion. Before the noonday sermon a pious woman called on me and complained with tears of her sins and great unworthiness, which left her no rest day or night. In the preparation sermon and in yesterday’s confessional, she said, her entire perdition became alive in her again. I raised her up through gospel verses and through friendly encouragement. In previous weekday sermons and prayer meetings we have contemplated those highly comforting traits of God that the Holy Ghost has given Him because He is love, such as grace, goodness, love, and condescension. At the same time I warned against the so common and highly harmful misuse of these so comforting characteristics of God, which this woman, who is so seriously concerned with her salvation, again recognized.

The 12th of June. The Salzburger Hessler asked me with tears this morning to come out to his wife, who had been bitten by a snake yesterday near her home as she was coming out of Zion Church. The women in the neighborhood took loyal care of her and God blessed their sighs and efforts so much that this mother of a very tender child appears to be out of danger. She can hardly describe the pain that she felt in her leg until the greatly swollen blisters were cut open. She speaks very edifyingly. We praised God together for the abundance of His goodness, patience, and forbearance, which He has again shown in this matter; and we asked Him for further spiritual and physical help.

The 14th of June. Yesterday before evening our dear God unexpectedly granted us the pleasure of having a packet of letters from England and Germany come to our hands via Charleston and Savannah. From it we see much for the praise of God, for our joy, and for the intercession we owe. The Lord Trustees show their pleasure at our arrangement and payment of our last year’s silk; and they have given orders to the Council in Savannah to pay me two hundred pounds Sterling to pay for our silk this year, which is not necessary now because it was already paid soon after its delivery.

One of the Lord Trustees, Mr. Lloyd, who is a righteous gentleman and a great friend of Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, has again written to me in a very friendly manner and has offered himself for all sorts of services. He is a great, indeed, probably the most prominent, champion of silk making, who is highly regarded by the Lord Trustees for that reason. I believe that much good can be accomplished through him. He insists with most emphatic words that I continue the correspondence, if not with him then with the Lord Trustees, and that I make all sorts of observations and suggestions for our and the colony’s improvement.

From a report from our worthy Court Chaplain Albinus I see to my joy and to the strengthening of my faith that, through an unexpected confluence of His physical blessing, our miraculous and merciful God has all at once fully freed me of the worry that I have had because of a certain necessary bill of exchange I had drawn upon and because of another debt to a prominent benefactor in Germany and has thus reminded me of the beautiful words, “Cast all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”¹³ Our worthy Mr. Albinus will marvel with us at God’s goodness and will sincerely help praise Him for it after he receives the last letter I wrote him, in which I disclosed to him the troubled spirit I had because of the bill of exchange that I had drawn. We had to incur a debt because of the new sawmill that we could pay only through a bill of exchange; and for that God granted the money before the bill of exchange reached London.

From our dear Mr. N. not I, but Mr. Mayer, received a very important letter which was aimed exactly according to his spiritual and physical good and which I read with Mr. Mayer’s permission with much blessing and new encouragement to persevere through all tribulations through His grace and to learn to bear everything better. This wise and beneficent gentleman enclosed a detailed report on silk manufacture in Italy, in which the author’s experiences do no concur with ours. It is good that we in this climate do not have such complications with hatching and feeding the worms and in other ways as must be done in Italy according to this essay. From my reliable report on silk manufacture in Ebenezer that was based on our experience, which I composed at the command of this gentleman and sent to him on the 13th of September of last year, he will see how the Italian and Georgian treatment of the silkworms differ and how they agree. We have it easier and receive better payment especially because Parliament has withdrawn the great tariff from the silk that is made in the English plantations in America. What the author of this essay says at the end, “I again remember that (when producing silk) everything depends upon luck and the good and temperate seasonal weather,” also holds to a certain extent in our climate, too, except that by “luck” we understand the blessing and care of God, which includes the good industry and caution of the people. The worms also wish to have spacious and clean dwellings, warm at first and cool enough in the last two weeks.

A prominent and at the same time godly benefactress from our dear Wurttemberg has sent a very edifying letter to our Salzburgers and inhabitants, which was forwarded to us and will soon be made profitable to us all. It is also a right worthy letter of comfort that leads us right movingly and luringly to the right living Source of all temporal and eternal comfort, namely, the triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. What was comforting for me in this beautiful and right arousing letter and will be, I hope, for our parishioners who are bowed under the cross, consists 1) in that this dear friend of God and His children wishes the Salzburger congregation at Ebenezer (in which we ministers include ourselves) all spiritual and physical well-being and that she is praying (as the expression reads) on the knees of her heart and body for the living recognition of Christ and the highly useful love of the cross and the imitation of Jesus Christ, our dearest Chief, with all her heart and is being prayed for. Oh, how dear is this blessing of intercession of believers that is unknown to the world! 2) that eternal rest is surely awaiting the honest pilgrims and workers who must earn their crust of bread with much sweat. It is not enough, she says, to claim that one loves Jesus and to praise patience under suffering as a beautiful Christian virtue; through the spirit of Christ, one must show himself willing to prove his love for Christ and patience in his willing imitation.

3) Through suffering and the imitation of Christ, she writes, one is enabled better to recognize, experience, and comprehend celestial things, for our goodness and our increase of knowledge do not consist of great comfort and sweetness, but in the patient bearing of great difficulties and adversities. Had something been better and more useful for the salvation of man, Jesus would doubtless have shown it with words and example. For He publicly admonishes the Disciples, and all those who wish to become disciples, to bear the cross, etc.

This dear letter says much more about the necessity and usefulness of the cross of Christians, and it sincerely encourages our physically poor and suffering Salzburgers to bear it. This anointed letter ends with the following very ardent and moving prayer.

Holy Jesus, our eternal High Priest, grasp us all on body and soul with Thy holy hands, all of whom Thou hast redeemed and saved so dearly with Thy holy blood. Lay us upon the fiery coals of Thy love, sprinkle us all with Thy holy blood, and bear us today, and every day, as an eternal High Priest to Thy heavenly Father in His all-highest so that we will dissolve before Him in Thy holy prayer like a sweet and pleasant odor so that He will forgive us our sins and bless our souls and bodies according to His holy will and pleasure.

Our worthy Doctor and Professor Francke has written both to me and to Mr. Lemke, and also to Mr. Thilo and Mr. Mayer, in a right paternal and affectionate letter; and he has extended the most emphatic blessings to us ministers and parishioners at Ebenezer and to our institutions and business. May our merciful God graciously deign to fulfil them abundantly. It is a right major blessing for Ebenezer that so many dear souls of both sexes are caring, praying, and praising God for Ebenezer as if its inhabitants were their children, brothers, and sisters.

Our dear S. U. /Senior Urlsperger/ did not write to us this time; and from Court Chaplain Albinus’ letter and from an enclosed note we see with sighs that not only Mrs. S., our mother whom we all love in God, but also this dear old servant of Jesus Christ, our dear Father in God, were sick at the beginning of this year. May God raise them both up and keep them in life and well-being for a long time for the good of us and His church.

Our dear Court Chaplain Albinus wrote his letter to me at the beginning of this year and sent us hearty wishes for the New Year that it might be a true year of grace, salvation, and blessing for us all; and in addition he called to us the two important and comforting verses John 15:17 and Psalms 102:18-19.

The 15th of June. The very great heat has abated, and God has begun to give us rain and fruitful weather. The Indian corn is now beginning to grow cobs or ears, and therefore the rain was granted us at the right time. People who have never seen the Indian, or local¹⁴ corn in the fields imagine that the ears grow on the top as in the case of other¹⁵ German crops such as wheat, barley, oats, etc.; and they are amazed that the thick cobs or ears, which contain hundreds of kernels, grow out from the sides of the green cornstalk, which grows over an inch in diameter and seven to nine feet in height, and have, as it were, a pennant at their tips. It is in every way a nice and good plant. One becomes too accustomed to God’s miracles and gradually respects them no more. This was the sin of the ancient Israelites, against which we gladly warn ourselves and others. These thick and long cornstalks have a hard green shell on the outside like the local reeds, but inside they are filled with a sweet-tasting marrow like elderberry bushes. The stalk is also provided on all sides, from the bottom to the tip, with three inch wide and two to three foot long leaves.

The 16th of June. Mr. Mayer has a knowledgeable and skilful youth whom he uses in his business.¹⁶ We would have liked to be helpful to him in getting a good piece of land next to his brother /Friedrich/ at Goshen, but it was granted to another. Today he sent me the following little letter.

I humbly request that you will not hold it against me for imposing on you again. My brother sent me word that the land I wanted was already gone. Perhaps this is a dispensation of God for me not to go out there. I shall resign myself entirely to the merciful governance of my God: may He do with me as He pleases. It always seems to me that I could not live if I had to leave Ebenezer. Oh, I ask you humbly for the sake of God and for my immortal soul, which has been entrusted to you, to look out for me. I have no one among mankind to whom I can complain or speak. I shall be obliged to you all my life. I am also asking you to let me know if you see anything in me or hear anything about me that is not right.

This youth is a brother of the young and gifted person named Treutlen, who was well known to Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, who reported only a few months ago that he perished in the water at Gosport in England with his master, Mr. Carver.

The 19th of June. The wife of a cashiered soldier (Dod), who moved here with her husband from Frederica and is a true lover of the good, is lying dangerously sick. My dear colleague visited her yesterday, and I visited her today. Soon after her sickness began she told her husband that she was no longer for this present life but was yearning for a better one. She complained of N.¹⁷ and suffered greatly in her conscience because of the sins she had committed there. She maintains a true faith in her Savior and wishes to hear nothing more of worldly things, rather she admonishes her neighbors who visit her to pray with her and for her. She refreshes herself from the words of the Lord Jesus, “Yet there is room”¹⁸ namely, in His wounds and in His heaven.

I told another¹⁹ family of the preciousness and proper application of our short period of grace; and I told the very sick boy that he had been a naughty and wicked child; if he died as he was he would come into hell’s fire, but he could come into heaven if he would recognize and regret his sins, some of which I cited, and turn to his savior. He said that he could well feel his sins and was praying to the Lord Jesus. I admonished him to continue in prayer for a recognition and feeling of sin; and I gave him the little verse, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”²⁰ Thereupon I prayed with him and his sick parents and presented to God in the name of Christ their spiritual and physical need, so that He might wish not the death but the life of the Godless, but in the order of conversion from an inwardly and outwardly evil nature.

Today Eigel’s second daughter, sixteen years old, was buried, having died of dropsy. I continued with the contemplation and application of the very edifying biography of the blessed six year old Helmershausen and had an excellent opportunity to present the important office and dear duty of the parents, who should stand in God’s stead with their children. The mercy of God, which had revealed itself so clearly in this dear little son Gotthold and his then fourteen year old brother, redounded to our great awakening, and I especially tried to incite the children to imitate them. In the Eigels’ oldest son and their daughter there is a true beginning of good; and these are the two whom the parents sent to me for instruction and preparation for Holy Communion; and this will be profitable to these children all their life long. As I observe, God has also given them a blessing. If funeral sermons are properly composed, spirits are generally aroused and attentive, and something can be accomplished through God’s goodness.

The 20th of June. Yesterday I found the sixty-six year old Mrs. Neidlinger, the wife of the old tanner from Ulm, in great weakness but otherwise in a devout frame of mind and desirous of salvation. I made profitable to her the beautiful words, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is my gain”²¹ Her voice was, to be sure, very weak; yet she pronounced the said words joyfully and clearly, and to everything that was prayed for her from God in the name of Christ she said a frequent and believing “Amen.” I blessed her and resolved to visit her again today, but I was hindered in my resolution.

In the meanwhile I traveled to our nearer patients along Ebenezer Creek, especially to the soldier’s wife I mentioned yesterday. I was much impressed by what I saw in her and her husband and what I heard from both of them. She is a German woman and he is a Scot. He belongs to our church along with her, and he has a very great love and respect for this industrious and pious wife of his. She said that her husband had sung a couple of songs at night and that it had seemed to her as if the holy angels had sung along with him and that she had sincerely wished to be able to sing along with him, too. Her heart has become filled with joy and yearning. Her Bible verse,²² which she still held on to today when repeating yesterday’s verse, reads “This is a worthy saying; and worthy of all acceptation,” etc.²³ She recited it in her great bodily weakness loudly and very earnestly. She is much concerned that her only little son be reared in a Christian manner. He²⁴ assured her that he would never leave Ebenezer but would move from his plantation nearer to Ebenezer after the harvest. At her request the little boy had to recite to me some Bible verses he had learned. Thereupon he fetched his supply of short printed little rhymed prayers that the venerable old Pastor Sommer had sent us some months ago. The mother had taught the boy many of them diligently and had also received much profit from them herself. It is very edifying to consort with these two people, and my encouragement and prayer is blessed in them.

The 21st of June. After I had heard a sad report, my dear Savior refreshed me again from the recently mentioned letter from an unknown pious benefactress, which she had written to the whole congregation with zealous love and which I made profitable to my parishioners, both adults and children, in today’s weekday sermon. She showed very beautifully that the way of the cross on which He is leading the members of our congregation is the best and safest way because Christ our Lord walked it Himself and guided his followers to it, and that the very best people who have lived since the beginning of the world have passed into the Kingdom of God through much tribulation. “The world would gladly be saved, if only . . .”²⁵

Our loving God granted me another refreshment at the mill. Kalcher and other workers there have made do with river water. However, because it is very warm in summer, some of them joined together and dug a well that is giving very abundant and cool wellwater in this dry season. The dear people were sincerely happy about it, and one person recited to me the beautiful words that our smallest children are wont to recite, “God’s springs have an abundance of water.”²⁶

I brought Mrs. Schweighoffer ten shillings Sterling that I give her every quarter for her subsistence in her son-in-law’s house from the money received from the Hand of the Lord. She again has much pain in her sick feet; and, because she cannot go out, it is a great cross for her to have to miss the church and public edification. I told her something from the above-mentioned letter and raised her up with the example of David, who, as a great lover of public divine service, had to do without this blessing for a long time, and with these beautiful words: “Suffering is my divine service.”²⁷

The 22nd of June. This morning the young tanner Neidlinger brought me the news that his old sixty-six year old mother had died at sunrise this morning. I was still with her yesterday morning and found her more cheerful than two days ago. Her speech was also clearer. She took great pleasure in what I told her from God’s word, and she prayed sincerely and devoutly with me. What I instilled in her last was that one lives and dies well if one can only win Jesus and be found in him²⁸. The old Neidlinger, a knowledgeable and honest man, who is six years younger than his wife and therefore sixty years of age, is also sick with fever. She had more than just fever.

The 24th of June. While I was speaking with a young woman about the Christian conduct of mothers towards their little children, she told me with a cheerful countenance that she blessed her little child diligently as often as she laid it on her breast or gave it something to eat and that she offered it to her Savior. I reminded her of the verse, “Suffer little children to come unto me”.²⁹ The old Neidlinger is lying sick in the very same house in which this woman and her husband live. When she heard that I was beginning to pray with him, she brought her little child in, too, and knelt down with us as one who is filled with desire for the blessing of the Lord. This dear old man is very weak in his body, but very calm in his spirit; and he is entirely content with the will of God, be it for death or for life. He holds firmly in faith to his Savior and he quoted, among other things, the beautiful words of Ephesians 1:4-5. He also praised the Salzburgers in his neighborhood for showing him very much kindness. In healthy days he proved very industrious in establishing a tannery at the mill, which he developed so far that much leather was almost prepared or ready for sale. If God should raise him up again, he would bring everything to completion through His blessing.

I found the boy whom I mentioned under the 19th of this month very sick. I told him that he would soon die and asked whether he wished to die. He answered that he would like to die. I said, “You dear child, you wish to die! Don’t you know that you have been a naughty child? and such do not come to a good place.” He said, “Alas, I well know that I have been a wicked child.” I asked, “What will you do so as not to come to hell?” He replied, “I will ask my dear Savior to accept me in mercy.” His father said that he had always prayed (as I recently admonished him) and called diligently on the dear Savior for a recognition of his sins. After I had prayed for him on my knees with his parents, having already spoken with him about the willingness of the Lord Jesus to receive sinners, I asked him whether he wished to accept the blessing of the Lord, I would leave it behind for him. He said “Yes” and added an “Amen.” As I was leaving I asked him whether he thought that he would see me again; and he answered, “Yes, here or somewhere else,” and this deeply impressed me. He is ten years old.

On Saturday, the 22nd of this month, the surveyor came to us at the order of the authorities to survey a hundred acres of land on the island in the Mill River for each of our old inhabitants; and he made a start in this today. He brought me a letter that a friend in Charleston had sent me, in which he revealed his pleasure at our inhabitants’ intention to prepare all sorts of wood products for trade with the West Indies; and he asked me to send him a number of roof shingles. He also reports that sugar, rum, and wine and other European wares are very cheap and that the boards and other wood products bring a much better price than in Savannah.

The 25th of June. The ten year old boy who was mentioned yesterday died blessedly last night.

The 26th of June. When I entered the dwelling of the often mentioned soldier’s wife, her husband told me that God had heard his prayer and given him hope that his dear wife will recover. She is amazed that her husband could have so much concern and great patience with her. Likewise she told me that it had seemed to her in the previous night as if someone said to her, “This time you will not yet come into heaven.” God’s word and prayer are always her nourishment, and she praises her neighbors for not only serving her but also praying diligently with her. We edified ourselves from the verse, “I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him.”³⁰ When we arose from our prayer, she said to me that I had again helped lift a burden from her heart. Her husband explained it and said that the day before yesterday I was hardly out of the hut before she assured him that a great burden had been removed from her heart. That is done by God, who heareth prayer!

The 28th of June. We often show our parishioners from God’s word what a dear means of grace holy baptism is and what a high nobility baptized children achieve through the grace of Christ by means of holy baptism. To incite the children to keep the baptismal covenant loyally and to arouse the adults to renew it sincerely, I let the children, even the little ones, learn the beautiful and precious words of Isaiah 61, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul,” etc., and at the same time I tell them that they and all baptized children, if they could speak and if they knew how to appreciate the granted treasure rightly, would call out immediately after holy baptism. They should do that now and respect their baptism and sincerely rejoice at the dear grace that has been granted them through it according to the fourth main article of the catechism.

I did some mothers a pleasant favor by acquainting them with the very edifying ode of our dear Count N., which is found on page 82 of the first collection of spiritual poems³¹ and treats of the rapturously great blessedness of baptized children. It can be sung according to the melody of Wie wohl ist mir, o Freund der Seelen, etc. A pious widow was present when I mentioned this melody, and she immediately remembered the edifying song Jehova ist mein Hirt, und Hüter, etc., which followed it. She asked me whether I still remembered that several years ago she had asked me to have this so important and comforting hymn sung at her funeral, if she, N.B., died in faith.

The 29th of June. The surveyor is with us this week and is doing our people great and good service. He is put entirely under my orders, and he acts willingly according to them; and this redounds to our inhabitants’ great advantage. He is surveying for every householder who wishes it a hundred acres of good and useful land on the island in the Mill River; and whatever marsh or deep wet areas there are they receive as an extra, and they do not have to pay any ground rent or surveyor’s fee. Here grow the most beautiful cypresses for boards and building material and roof shingles; and the land itself, even though it is low and often stands under water, is exceedingly convenient for meadows or hayfields, which can be mowed three times a year. I had not imagined it to be so advantageous as I now find it; and I see it as a new testimony of the paternal providence of God over our congregation. Therefore it has not harmed us that the previous surveyor did not wish to survey this land that is overgrown with trees, bushes, thick and thin reeds, and thorns.

Meanwhile God has inclined the hearts of the Lord Trustees to give our old inhabitants one hundred instead of fifty acres of land and, to be sure, near their dwellings. Perhaps He will also incline them and make them able to let their dried-out and exhausted land lie as pasturage and set out their plantations on this excellent land, where one acre bears three or four times what others bear. The greatest difficulty is in guarding the crops on this island at night because of the many wild cats (called racoons, possums, and tigers or lynxes), bears, and deer³² and in the day because of the squirrels. But this difficulty would be much lessened if six, eight, or ten neighbors (who, according to our arrangement, live together very near to the Mill River) would make a part of this forest near their plantations into fields communally; for ten householders could plant at least twenty to twenty-five acres in the first year and could spell each other in guarding with good dogs. However, if each wishes to plant on his own land with so little help, then each of them will get stuck in his own forest and get little from it.

A young man of our community had some business a few years ago with the Indians far above Augusta;³³ and, because he told me about a certain salt that the Indians boil from a certain grass, I asked him to bring me a piece of such salt when he went up there again. He has now brought me a piece that we are planning to send to our worthy patrons in Germany. Up there among the Indians a long grass without leaves grows under water on the rocky bottom of the Savannah River. Horses, cattle, deer, and beavers like to eat it and fetch it out themselves; and they are shot in large numbers at night while grazing. The Indians take it out, burn it to ashes, and boil the ashes. The salt floats to the top of the pot and is skimmed off; and, when it is cold, it coagulates into a firm mass. Afterwards it is used like other salts. If this salt-grass is in the shallow river water, or if it is taken out and gets dry, then there is no more salt.

JULY 1751

The 1st of July. Our merciful God has let us pass the first month of summer in peace and health (with the exception of some members of the community, particularly of the last arrivals,¹ and he has shown us much blessing in spiritual and physical matters. For this we brought praise and honor to His great and glorious name in our public assembly yesterday, the Fourth Sunday after Trinity; and we again prayed for His fatherly assistance, protection, and blessing for our remaining and short pilgrimage. On this first of July I am traveling in Christ’s name with Mr. Mayer to Savannah to perform some necessary business with the Council and especially with the secretary of the Lord Trustees /Habersham/, who is very inclined to us.

When we had gone ashore in Savannah, many of the most prominent inhabitants came on horseback from the forest, where they wish to search for certain Indians, whom one calls Nottawegs, and give them a scare. However, they had not found anything, for it is difficult to find these vagabonds in the forest among the trees, bushes, and reeds. They can see other people, but are not so easily seen by others. The said Nottawegs are now allied with the Cherokees against the Creeks and Uchees and kill them whereever they meet them. A few days ago they killed a Uchee Indian in Savannah with shots and knives: the killer (a young Cherokee Indian) was wounded then and ran into the forest but he was found and locked up by the Englishmen who followed the spoor of his copiously shed blood. He is now in the care of a surgeon, and he will be kept until his countrymen give the Englishmen satisfaction for the white people they have killed.

Many complaints have come to Savannah that the Indians are harming the goods, cattle, and crops of the white people around Savannah and the Ogeechee River and threaten to kill them if they do not wish to give them what they demand. They did not behave much better at our place. Things are leading up to a dangerous war between the Englishmen and some tribes of Indians, which may our merciful God graciously avert! The oldest inhabitants of Carolina cannot describe enough the misery that they and other inhabitants have had to experience in an Indian war. For, 1) they are all unusually bloodthirsty, and it is as easy for them to kill people as deer or dogs. 2) If they capture one of their enemies, they torture him in the most inhuman and almost unheard of manner and have their greatest joy in it. 3) They do not fight in the open field but fall upon people at midnight when they are sound asleep. Also, they lurk behind trees and bushes on the paths and roads and shoot them down unobserved. For that reason no people can live on their plantations in war time but must gather together in town or in a fortress made of wood, where they must suffer hunger and worry if it lasts a long time.

The plantations are laid waste, the cattle and horses are shot or stolen, and there is an end to all trade and traffic. Soldiers cannot catch them because they hide by day in the deepest bushes, forests, and canebrakes. They can also find their way at night wherever they wish. The leader ties a little piece of decayed luminous wood on his forehead and turns around often while walking so that those following will know the direction. It is presumed that the French have incited the Nottawegs (who are pro-French and partially French-speaking Indians) as well as the Cherokees against the Creeks and Uchees so that, when these have been eliminated, they can attack Carolina and Georgia all the more easily and spoil their trade with the Indians. The Nottawegs and Cherokees consider themselves allies and friends of the English.

The 4th of July. This morning I returned hale and hearty from Savannah. When I was in Savannah at the end of May, two friends told me about very long rattlesnakes, as if someone had killed some that were seven yards long. Because I doubted the astonishing length, especially after I had entered something about it in the diary under the first of June, I asked them again about the actual length and learned that the longest that had been killed and skinned was not seven yards long but over seven feet long, which I now feel obligated to correct.² Dr. Graham distributed presents to the Creek Indians above Savannah Town and brought back some curiosities from there. For my friends in Europe he gave me a tobacco pipe that the Indians make out of a serpentine-like stone, also a little piece of sugar that they boil from the juice of a certain tree. It looks just like other kitchen sugar and has a sweet, pleasant taste.³

Our spinning women and some other German people gathered in the evening; and I preached to them from the last Sunday gospel, Luke 6:36 ff., something about the dogma and life-duties of the Christian religion; and I prayed with them. I also had some things to arrange with the Council for the sake of our congregation, and I found the President and Assistants very inclined to me and our inhabitants.

The 6th of July. Today Carl Ott reported that his only six and a half year old little daughter had gotten epilepsy unexpectedly and had died of it. She was a pious, well behaved, and promising child on which the grace of the Holy Spirit had had very noticeable effect. She had often spoken of death, heaven, and salvation; and she rejoiced at the beautiful crown that she would receive there. When her parents went to work, she spent her time with prayer and singing, especially intoning “Hallelujah” and “Victoria” very diligently. She humbly showed her displeasure when her parents spoke incautiously, and she used such words as caused them to reflect. When the parents were concerned about her clothes, she was heard to say that one should not worry about the next day, for they did not know whether she would be alive tomorrow. She would soon die and go to heaven, which she would rather do than live. She asked her parents such grave questions about everlasting life that they could not answer them completely. The last little verse that she had learned was “Remain pious and behave righteously, for thus all will turn out for the best”.⁴ She had always made a great deal of these last words.

The 9th of July. Yesterday evening a Creek Indian called on me with an interpretor and asked about the hostilities the Nottawegs and Cherokees had perpetrated in Savannah. He had let himself be persuaded to come into this area in hope of shooting many deer and bears in order to buy all sorts of necessities with their skins more cheaply. He had a woman and several horses with him and is now going to Carolina through fear of his enemies. He knows that there is no safety here: the hostile Indians would kill him even if he were in my house. If I would not surrender him, then they would set fire to the house and cause much damage. He had no provisions, so I gave him some; and thus he took courteous leave. He seemed to be a decent young man who did not wish for us to have difficulty because of him; and he also disapproved of what the Uchee Indians had perpetrated here.

I learned that the Creek Indians keep rather good order in their villages, honor the old men who have distinguished themselves through bravery, and show love among one another and also toward strangers. Rum and brandy corrupt them and make them inhuman. In one or two weeks, when the Indian corn is beginning to ripen, they will hold their annual festival (the men separate and the women separate) with eating, drinking, and smoking tobaco. During the first days they drink the decoction of a certain herb, by which they are purged. They all bathe in the river and scratch themselves with the teeth of a certain long-snouted fish until their blood drips to the ground. In their council hall, which has no windows and is therefore very dark, they make a large fire that they consider holy. Those people in the neighborhood who worship this fire also come to this festival. Other people celebrate in the same way in their towns along with those who have come from this fire. They may not eat from the new crops until they celebrate this festival with the said ceremonies. They cannot give any other reason than that their forebears have done so and that otherwise they would get sick from the new crops.

Every morning the men gather in this dark council house made of clay, sit around the fire in good order on benches and stools made of wicker, drink their cossina tea, and discuss what is good for their tribe. This tea grows copiously not only on the coast but also among these Indians. This tea is collected for the community by certain chosen people and is boiled by the women in large earthenware pots in the council house and is filled up and boiled three more times. It is said to be very healthy; but, when it is drunk too strong, it is said to cause a trembling of the limbs. Whoever is once accustomed to it can hardly give it up. First it is roasted in the pot and then brought to a boil with water, then the Indians drink it without sugar from large oyster shells or small drinking gourds. The women may not be present, except for those who do the job of boiling.

When all the tea in a town has run out, every head of family lays ten musketballs down in the council house. When all have done this (for no one may exclude himself) they send a couple of deputies to other towns to buy such tea for their community with the musketballs. They take nothing secretly or publicly by force. They have large fields around their towns, which they have prepared by communal work. Every man has his own garden, which he plants with Indian corn, beans, gourds, peanuts, sweet potatoes, mellons, and rice. The grass is chopped out by all the men collectively. If anyone is absent from this work and is not sick, they take everything he has in his house as a punishment. Afterwards each harvests from his own garden.

The land bears much more abundantly than here and does not require so much work. The Indian corn is also taller and richer in meal than ours. They plant two kinds of corn: one for meal that has a very thin shell and gives tender white meal, the other is for boiling grits and has the nature of flintstones. This kind is planted in our area, presumably because it lasts longer in this warm area and because the planters use it not for meal but as grits for their Negroes and servants and as feed for horses and chickens. Yet I have also seen the first sort of corn in our region.

These Indians have many superstitions: among other things they labor under the delusion that some of their old people can cause it to rain enough for their crops to grow, and they give them certain baskets full of corn during the harvest. They cannot be dissuaded from that. However, it has happened that, if they get too much rain and lose their crops, they kill the rainmakers. They are accustomed to prognosticate their fortune or misfortune from the flight of a bird. There is no trace of any divine service among them. They build their houses like the poor people in Germany of wood and clay and cover them with shingles. All men help in building a house and complete it very quickly. They make and bake their earthenware of clay themselves; and it is said to be more durable than that which is made down here, even if they cannot glaze it at once. A woman who has been blind for more than ten years makes very good pots and other utensils. They do not use a wheel as potters do, and they rub them very smooth and clean with a certain stone.

From the bark of the roots of mulberry trees, which grow copiously up there, they produce the strong and, according to their nature, decorative table cloths and bedclothes, which consist of various colors. The councilmen in Savannah have such a blanket as a table cloth on the table in the council room; and we have a traveling bag of this kind, which we hope to send to Europe with some other curiosities. May God send his light to these blind people!

The 10th of July. I found the pious wife of the soldier /Dod/ at a simple work and therefore much better than at my last visit. She said that she would have gladly died if it had been God’s will. However, since He had given her this period of grace, she had resolved to have herself better prepared for His service and her salvation. For this purpose she had resolved to read through the psalms of David. She showed me her mind and desire in the verse, “One thing I have desired of the Lord.”⁵ She also showed me the beautiful crops in her fields, which the Lord had allowed to grow so well during her sickness. Nothing there had been damaged by men or animals even though her husband had not been able to guard them. They both attributed this to the protective kindness of God and praised him for it.

The 14th of July. The locksmith Schrempff brought me a plate full of grapes that grew on a wild vine by his house on the Savannah River. There are surely two hundred grapes on this single vine, which have the appearance of the blue grapes in Germany but have a little bit less flavor. No doubt this is because they grow without care between the other trees and bushes. There are many kinds of grapevines in this country; and some are almost as sweet as the sweetest in Germany, even though they grow wild and without care.

I believe that I am not wrong in my judgment when I often report that our colony could become an excellent wine country if only we had knowledgeable people who would devote themselves to viticulture. They should also conform to the nature of the country and not do everything according to their old customs, through which my promising vineyard was ruined in two years, especially when the people used in it began to cut the vines too short and too often and to build arches. They need to be led up high and to stand in wet places. Also, one should plant only the local vines. Through lack of money and knowledgeable people many useful experiments must be left unmade. In this month some kinds of grapes are beginning to ripen, the others will ripen at the beginning of August. This year there is a great quantity of peaches; but, because we are having a lot of rain, they are rotting on the trees.

The 16th of July. Shortly before evening I received the sad news that an orphan child, Ludwig Ernst, had been bitten by a snake. Something was taken at once. The bite was from a common snake that is not so poisonous as a rattlesnake and therefore not as dangerous. Praise be to God, who has so far averted harm and misfortune from the members of our community. May he make us grateful and lead us to repentance through His chastisements as well as through all other blessings.

The 17th of July. Late yesterday afternoon our spinning women returned from Savannah after completing their work fortunately and in health and to everyone’s satisfaction. From them I received some letters from Europe, for which we humbly praise divine goodness. In them I find many very joyful testimonies of the paternal providence of our merciful God over our worthy Fathers, patrons, and friends, and also over us and our congregation. This time, along with the letters, we have received some useful, important, and edifying written and printed reports, which we plan to make profitable with God’s help for the furtherance of the spiritual and physical well-being of our parishioners.

Our worthy Senior Urlsperger has composed the preface to the continuations of the Ebenezer Reports⁶ as an epistle to the Ebenezer congregation and has expounded and dedicated to them God’s words of admonition and comfort, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord,” etc.⁷ This epistle was printed especially for us and sent here. I thank my God and, under Him, this His faithful servant, my esteemed Father so dear to me in Christ, for this comforting verse and the contemplation composed about it. It comes to my aid in my manifold burdens, which concern me, my office, family, congregation, and the colony. God will help me not only to accomplish loyally and steadfastly the evangelical duties demanded in it, but also to believe in the word of promise even after longlasting petitions.

About the unending mercy of God, with which He follows arrogant sinners stained with many other abominations for many years, we now have a right noteworthy and edifying example in the child-murderess of high rank in Hildesheim, which I read with much emotion and made profitable in the public assembly his week with God’s help.⁸ I must especially say to the praise of our miraculous and gracious God that the very vivid, thorough, and edifying speech of our dear Senior Urlsperger in the Oberkirchen Convent of the blessed A. /Augsburg/ before such a prominent and venerable assemblage so deeply impressed my heart with the end of all things and with the everlasting duration of the divine word that I consider it great fortune, yea, an inestimable blessing, to have read it in quiet before God in my study. What must have passed through the hearts of the prominent and venerable listeners in the sacristry, where it was held with the lively voice of an old, experienced, venerable, and beloved servant of God? They will doubtless keep a salutary impression from it till their blessed death. May God give it to me and them!⁹

This was not all that our loving God let come to us from Europe this time for our edification for our blessed eternity: rather, I must mention a printed and very edifying letter, whose entire title is, “The Letter of an Anonymous Person from Berlin to his Friend Concerning the Last Edifying Hours of their Mutual Friend,” printed 1751.¹⁰ The awakening and edification that my Savior granted me from this little, excellently composed writing, I gladly wish for my neighbors in all Christendom, but especially for those who like to edify themselves from the last hours of the children and servants of God. It cannot be paid for with gold, at least that is the way it seems to me. Now may our merciful God be sincerely and humbly praised for everything: for the edifying and useful letters, for the just-mentioned blessed news, for the monetary charities, for medicines, books, and millstones, and for what He has let come to us from London, Holland, and Germany through His undeserved kindness.

The 21st of July. We praise our merciful God for the many spiritual blessings which He has shown us through His dear word and the holy sacrament of the body and blood of Christ on this Seventh Sunday after Trinity. He has especially blessed the two of us, whom He has placed here as ministers, in soul and body and has granted us rich edification from the word of life that we have been dignified to preach. In the last days of last week in both churches we profited from the very noteworthy example of the pardoned sinner who was executed for her misdeed in Hildesheim; and from it we learned, among other things, what a blessing it is to live in a land where one can have complete freedom of religion and an opportunity to edify oneself in both good and bad days. We must always remind our parishioners of these and other great blessings in order that they will not forget to bring our merciful God the thanks due to Him for them. From the gospel Mark 8:1 ff. we dealt with the duties and the comfort of suffering Christians; and in the introit we contemplated the dear verse Psalms 55:23, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord,” etc. and also the duty as well as the splendid comfort of righteous sufferers.

Thus through God’s gracious providence our hearts were prepared for our dear Senior Urlsperger’s instructive and comforting epistle to our Ebenezer congregation, in which the above-mentioned basic and powerful verse¹¹ is treated very edifyingly. I plan to go through it this week in the prayer meetings and weekday sermon. May the worthy Holy Ghost grant me much wisdom and strength for this! This time fifty-two persons attended Holy Communion. It has happened that in our very edifying Little Treasure Chest,¹² which has been blessed in many souls, a most edifying meditation concerning the Holy Communion is scheduled for today, the 21st of July, on which Holy Communion was held for the above-mentioned people. For this reason I not only made it useful for my family but also recommended it to all communicants after the sermon.

The 22nd of July. Yesterday toward evening I received two letters, one from our worthy and affectionately inclined Mr. Broughton, the secretary of the praiseworthy Society, in which, in the name of the beneficent Society he declared his pleasure at our performance of our ministerial duty and the godly behavior of our congregation and also recommended very warmly to me a learned man who is armed with natural and spiritual gifts and was sent by the other Society for the Propagation of the Gospel of Christ for the work of the Lord in America, Joseph Ottolenghe by name.¹³ The second letter was from a ship’s captain who was requesting many boards for the West Indies, which, unfortunately, was still addressed to me!¹⁴ I often feel downcast not only because I am presumed upon for all sorts of external affairs but also because great necessity drives me to care for the congregation in physical matters, in which the thoughts that our worthy Mr. N. has now written to me are animating me again,

I well realize that these are not the proper business for clergymen, whose greatest concern should be the care of the spiritual condition of their charges. However, a better subsistence also has its influence in such ministry if many can be brought from grief and hardship to a greater praise of God. And, with regard to Your Worship, I am convinced that you are glad to be for everyone what his need and circumstance require. To save from grief and hardship is a great work. Nothing is done any more by miracles, but through human counsel and deed. And therefore care for physical need can stand alongside care of souls.

The 23rd of July. Although, according to the dictum of the Lord, every day has its own afflictions among us, it also has its own blessings according to His gracious governance. Among those are 1) that in the Zion Church we were dignified to read and contemplate Senior Urlsperger’s instructive and comforting epistle to the Ebenezer congregation for our especial mutual edification and to the strengthening of our faith. From it our parishioners could clearly observe that they had been loyally led by us ministers to the very basis and the very order of salvation in which this our dear Father has pointed so powerfully and so evangelically according to the directions of the divine word and our Lutheran symbolic books. The word of the Lord is well distributed in it, and it gives each individual what he needs for the nurture and edification of his soul. From the conclusion of this beautiful epistle the very special sincere love of this dearest Father shines from every line; and it greatly pleased me that I had so many and such attentive listeners. Among other things, we were refreshed by the comforting expression,

My dear Ebenezer, from the very beginning of thy settlement, thou hast already been cast on the Lord with all thy burdens so many countless times by so many righteous people in both the old and the new world.¹⁵ Continue to cast thine own burden upon Him, etc.

2. Among the blessings of this day also belong the safe arrival of a moderate chest which the Court Chaplain has forwarded to us. Mr. Habersham assumes that some of the things found in it have been damaged on the sea voyage, as were some of his wares, because the lid was somewhat broken; but books, medicines, and my watch were in good condition. Our dear Court Chaplain has sent us a pleasing gift of several copies of an important sermon on the Holy Ghost and of an edifying poem rich in scripture that he composed at the beginning of the year to refresh himself and other grace-seeking souls.

We likewise received a large number of very edifying contemplations in songs concerning Sunday and holy day gospels which a godly Imperial count, the author of the spiritual poems that have been provided with a foreword by Dr. Baumgarten, and which were bound in this chest by the Count himself as a very worthy gift. With divine assistance we will make good use of them in our spiritual assemblies, just as with the selected songs, in which various very emphatic and comforting hymns by this wellborn author are found.¹⁶ Their melodies are already known to us and our parishioners, especially to those who have good voices, except for a few which I could not teach them because the songs stand only in the second part of Freylinghausen’s songbook¹⁷ and therefore could not be sung because of the lack of this part. For example, Mein Gott, du bist sehr schön, etc. and Wie lechzet doch mein Geist, etc., likewise Jesus ist das schönste Licht,, which stands only in the first part (which is not in many hands) and not in the extract, which is actually used here. In the entire little songbook there is only one hymn, on p. 36, Wer Ohren hat dein Wort zu hören, etc. that we will not be able to sing because we lack a melody, unless we compose one ourselves.

3) In this very same chest, through the loving care of our worthy Court Chaplain and of the godly and very affectionate baroness and the wife of a Privy Counselor, we have found some choice simples and medications, partly for my sick helpmeet and partly for the use of the congregation, also something for the midwife and a new pocket watch for me as a valuable and very cherished gift from our dear Court Chaplain. May our merciful God be a rich rewarder for everything!

4) God so strengthened me during my many visits and other business this afternoon that I could make a part of the beautiful above-mentioned letter from our dearest Senior profitable to my listeners in town during the evening prayer meeting. God be praised!

The 25th of July. After further search I found the melody to the above-mentioned hymn, Wer Ohren hat dein Wort zu hören, etc. in the second part of Freylinghausen’s songbook.¹⁸ It follows the very important and edifying penitential song, Wie lang schlagt ihr mich ihr Gedanken, etc., which song and melody our loving God had already especially blessed in my heart in Halle, particularly the fifth and sixth verses, “I crawl, Redeemer, to Thy feet, raise me up through grace again. If I may kiss Thy wounds, then the heap and pile of sins, even though they are still blood red, will become as white as snow or wool. Do not reject me like ash and earth, Thou who art the sinner’s Savior. There is still room in Thy wounds for me, who am burdened,” etc.¹⁹ I detect a great joy in our parishioners at this little songbook,²⁰ which a person of the rank of count has produced to the glory of God and the edification of his neighbor and has sent over to us as a gift. There are 168 little songbooks, which are neatly bound in leather; and therefore it is gift that amounts to many florins. May our merciful God be a richer Rewarder for it!

The 27th of July. On the trees that did not freeze there are again many figs this year, both black and yellow, that have a very good flavor. One should plant them in such a way that they are protected by high trees or buildings against the cold northwest wind, and then they would not freeze so easily. There was an unusual quantity of peaches this year, but most of them are rotten on or under the trees, even though many were distilled, many were fed to the cattle, and many were dried in the sun and in the oven. It is a shame about this so sweetly tasting gift of God. For (as I have already mentioned) there is no comparison between these and our German peaches. The trees require no effort at all. They are neither pruned nor fertilized any more than the trees in the forest, even though it cannot be denied that their fruit would be larger and tastier if one gave the trees their due. Apples grow swiftly and large, grafted or ungrafted; and vines of all kinds are a pleasant food for birds and other creatures. Our colony is without a doubt a fertile and blessed land; and it is regrettable that there are so few people who enjoy it through their industry and the blessing of God.

The 28th of July. On this Eighth Sunday after Trinity our merciful God has granted us, along with good weather and the enjoyment of many other blessings, much edification from His word and from the recently received hymns. From the little Wernigerode Songbook²¹ we sang the edifying Sunday hymn that stands in front and afterwards the one that the wellborn author composed on today’s gosepel Matthew 7:15-23. In the prayer hour we learned the melody to the song of our dear Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, O heilger Gott! wir alle beten an, etc.; and, after I tired of singing the lead, we sang the equally important and moving hymn according to our familiar melody Sey hochgelobt! barmherziger Gott, etc., which our dear parishioners sang very edifyingly. It begins, “My Father, Thou hast chosen me,” etc. God be praised for this edification! May he bless His dearest tools whom He chose to advance it! We pray for them, too, in our public church prayer every Sunday after the sermon in these words, among others: “Forget not, oh Father of Mercy, our patrons, benefactors, and benefactresses, along with all those who help maintain the divine service. Be Thou their rewarder on high, let them inherit Thy temporal and eternal blessing for it.”

The 29th of July. For a long time the German people in Goshen wished for me to visit them, and that was done today. Already yesterday they had learned from someone that I was coming to them, and therefore I found a fine flock gathered and waiting for me. I shared with them the good that our dear God had granted us last week from the verse, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord,” etc. Later I brought this comforting verse to a widow in the neighborhood, whose honest and industrious husband died a week ago.²² She has a manifold suffering, for she is not only a widow but is also dangerously sick and has a sick child; and she lacks care, is poor, and has debts. No widow in Ebenezer has ever been so miserable. I am planning to report her pitiable conditions both orally and in writing to the Council in Savannah, which receives a certain sum of money every year from the Lord Trustees from which necessities are to be given to widows and the sick.

The 30th of July. The old tanner Neidlinger has been sick with fever for a long time and has lost so much strength that he can speak only a little and is yearning for a blessed dissolution. I recited for him several times the dear words which he should remember in his great thirst that he quenches with cool water, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”²³ He let me know with a weak nod that he understood the words, and he said, “If only my Savior would soon come!” We knelt down and brought him and his need to the Savior’s throne of grace.

The 31st of July. On this last day of the month our dear God refreshed and strengthened me in a double manner in my present weakness. In the morning I married /Philip/ Paulitsch’s son /Martin/ to an orphan who was reared here, whose three sisters have been happily married here.²⁴ At marriages I lay as a basis a Christian duty according to the 10th Commandment from the late Wirth’s Communion Booklet²⁵ and today I had the 5th concerning the 1st Commandment, during which I treated of the duties and the comfort of the children of God, 1) who are true children of God, 2) how they are accustomed to fare in the world, 3) what their duties are, and 4) what their comfort is. The instructive and comforting verses under them I recommended to the bridal couple and their friends for reading later and discussing them at meals. The booklet is in all hands. The other refreshment and strengthening I found in the gathering of some Christian women in my house from two to half-past three, who had me instruct them in the new melodies and who wish to continue with it every Wednesday and Saturday evening. From Freylinghausen’s songbook²⁶ we learned, Mein Gott! du bist sehr schön, etc. and repeated O heilger Gott! wir alle bethen an, etc.

AUGUST 1751

The 1st of August. The first thing I have to report on this first day of the month is the very composed and keenly desired departure of the old tanner Neidlinger from this world, which occurred this morning between ten and twelve o’clock soon after our prayer at his deathbed and after he had received our blessing. From the very beginning of his sickbed to the last moment of his life, for ten whole weeks, he proved himself so Christian, so humble, grateful, and patient that I can conclude nothing else but that he lived in trust in the Son of God (of whose dear merits for him he could speak most emphatically) and that he died trusting in Him. Yesterday he still understood my dear colleague’s words of encouragement and prayer, but today he no longer understood anything. Soon after his arrival in Ebenezer he said that he wished to establish a tannery in Ebenezer before his death; and he established it with money advanced by us, and his son is still continuing it.

The 2nd of August. Our almighty Lord has granted our inhabitants a good grape harvest in this year, too, even if they themselves did not plant any vines. Grapevines of various kinds in the forest have so many ripe, sweet grapes that we cannot marvel enough at their great quantity and sweetness. The grapes are blue, as in Germany, many bunches are small but some are as long as a human hand. The vines climb up the bushes and both the low and the high trees; and it is all the more amazing that they are so plentiful and sweet and that they were already ripe at the end of last month and at the beginning of this one. There is also a kind of blue grape that is as sour as vinegar, but most kinds are sweet. The sweet blue grapes are healthy even if one eats many of them. On the other hand the fox grapes (which appear to be called that because their strength makes one drunk)¹ cause diarrhea and stomach ache. They grow exceptionally plentiful along large and small rivers; and, when they are ripe and black, the grapes are as large as large cherries in Germany and taste very sweet and pleasant.

Some of our inhabitants have gathered very many of the above-mentioned blue grapes, partly for making vinegar and partly for distilling brandy. A man brought me a quart, or measure full, of pressed grape juice, which was blood-red and sweet. I put it into a bottle in order to see what would become of it. From this experiment of ours I have drawn the following conclusion: 1) that this colony of ours is naturally suitable for growing grapes and could become one of the best wine countries if only there were knowledgeable people here who had the means, industry, and patience to devote themselves properly to viticulture not in the German manner but ad ductum naturae² of our climate.

Most of the people who come into this country are poor and have to worry about food and clothing rather than about wine. Then they remain with what they have once become accustomed to and what they consider the most certain means of subsistence. Also, they have enough to do all their lives to support themselves and their families, since the necessary trade goods are so very expensive. Also, most of them have lost all courage to lay out vineyards because for several years nothing has come of those that were laid out by the Lord Trustees, by a Spanish Jew in and around Savannah,³ by Col. Stephens,⁴ and by me and other Germans with European vines in the European manner, even though they had made an excellent start. Rich people in the country who have Negroes apply themselves only to rice, indigo, and other local crops, for which they do not have to make uncertain experiments or to worry about an immediate sale.

2) That it is not necessary to plant European vines, rather one could plant the local and natural ones in vineyards, let us hope with better success. To be sure, European things, like wheat, etc., grow here, too, but not so readily, certainly, and abundantly as what is proper to this country, as one sees in the case of Indian corn, beans, rice, and sweet potatoes. I also believe that it would be the same with the local wild grapes. They receive not the least care; they grow between the bushes and trees and reach very high and spread out, yet they bear such abundant and tasty fruit. What could we not expect if they grew at the right place and enjoyed the care of a vintner?

3) Because all the previously mentioned vines (with the exception of a certain kind on poor soil, which run along the ground) grow very high and climb up in the trees, it seems to us that nature herself, so to speak, is indicating the manner in which one should lay out a vineyard, not with stakes five or six feet high (as has always been done so far) but in either the Italian or Madeiran manner. Someone has written us several times from Italy that they plant the vines between the mulberry trees and let them grow into the trees. General Oglethorpe told me that the inhabitants of Madeira lead the vines nine feet high and make avenues⁵ of them into which the grapes hang and are thus not overcome by the heat from above or from below, as would happen if they hung on low stakes or on the ground as occurs in Germany and as I have experienced in the loss of my promising vineyard. The heat reflected from the ground was doubtless to blame that the grapes, the blue ones more than the white ones, spoiled and gradually died on the vines. In Madeira it is said that people tried it at first with foreign grapes: however, because they would not grow, they began to plant the so-called wild grapes.

4) That one should plant the natural wild vines in the same soil in which they readily grow by nature and that therefore each individual species should be rightly assigned to its natural soil. For example: those that are found on dry land should be transplanted into similar soil; on the other hand, they should do differently with those that prefer to grow next to water, in the low, moist areas, and on the land that is sometimes inundated because one may presume that they would not flourish as well on dry ground as the former ones. In Madeira, General Oglethorpe saw that in the summer, when the grapes were about to ripen, they let water flow through especially prepared canals to the above-mentioned avenues of grapevines so that they stood entirely under water, as some well-established rice-planters do with their ricefields in order to impede the weeds with water and to advance the growth of the rice.⁶

5) When I and others laid out vineyards, all the soil had to be turned over a foot and a half deep so that the top soil went to the bottom and the bottom soil came to the top, as is customary in Germany. This caused much expense and might well have been more harmful than useful. The wild grapes here grow excellently on their own ground, and this gives us a clear hint that we should continue to plant them without the above-mentioned toilsome digging up of the soil. Yet, I would like to learn how they do it in this regard in Italy. Experience will teach us whether we will need much or little manure, and of what kind, for these grapes. In the forest they have nothing but what arises from the rotting of the leaves. Dressing the vines so that they are neither too long nor too short is perhaps the greatest art, which demands a knowledgeable and thoughtful man.

6) Our Germans have told me that one could not lay out a vineyard before large districts of forest had been cleared as in Germany, otherwise one would have too much fog, which spoils the blossoms. This claim, however, has no basis because a) the wild grapevines grow between the bushes and trees in the forest and have enough grapes every year; b) because the vines along the rivers and in low, swampy areas, where there is usually more fog than on high, dry ground, also hang full of sweet grapes every year. Even if the fog in Germany is harmful at the time of the blossoms, it is not harmful to the natural local grapes here. At least we know nothing about it yet. In addition, c) the blossoms in my vineyard never dropped off because of fog. Yet, since it failed, like many in this country, the fog must have harmed the vines rather than the blossoms. However, this is contradicted by the beautiful growth of the wild grapes here. Also, that is a meaningless objection that our land is inadequate for vine-growing because there are no mountains but only small hills.⁷ None of the wild grapes here grow on hills, but on flat areas and low soil. Consequently, our land is most suitable for the local native grapes, just as other species do better on mountains.

7) Some people have taken the trouble to graft domestic or European vines onto wild vinestocks, which then sprouted much wood for a year. I have not seen any profit from that but have heard the complaint that many wild sprouts have always grown out from the roots or low down on the vine and that therefore this method of planting has ceased. Nor do I see why one would wish to take this trouble since one can get there more easily and certainly if one turns the wild vines into domestic ones by transplanting and cultivating them.

8) I have perceived with amazement how readily the grapevines grow on old fences and bear abundant fruit; and this convinces me that they would readily grow on such avenues and covered arbors as has been cited about Madeira. What could the farmer do more useful than to plant grapevines of the local variety on all the fences on his plantation, especially on the fences around it, since these would help preserve the fences.

9) Since I know of no year in which there have been no grapes on the vines in the forest, I presume that the late frosts do not harm the blossoms, unless, perhaps, they would cause more harm if they were planted in an open garden. I remember that the blossoms in my vineyard, which had come out too early because of the early warmth in the spring, had been frozen, but afterwards others came out in the place of those that had frozen off. It is certain that the grapes become ripe long before a frost comes, for they are ripe already at the end of July and at the beginning of August. This is a different thing in Germany and some other wine lands, where, because of the autumnal frosts that have come too quickly, people have gathered unripe sour grapes instead of ripe, sweet ones.

A prominent and dear benefactor from Germany, who bears Ebenezer especially in his heart, encouraged us in his last worthy letter with a sizeable monetary gift to lay out a mulberry orchard and vineyard as an example for our inhabitants, which we accepted as a nod from God and for which we wish to buy a piece of land near our mills. We have there both high and low good land to make all sorts of experiments as we wish. We have hope of divine success in that for the good of our congregation and to the joy of our highly respected dear tool of God, just as we felt when first undertaking the manufacture of silk in the orphanage. This served the entire community later both to shame them and to make them regret their negligence and also to encourage them to emulation.⁸ “God will cause . . .”⁹

The 4th of August. Yesterday my dear colleague Lemke went to the German people in Goshen to hold for them a preparation sermon and confessional yesterday and Holy Communion today. From the new songbooks¹⁰ which a blessed person of rank composed for all Sunday and Holy Day gospels and gave to us nicely bound in leather I sang for the first time before the whole assembled congregation the Sunday hymn that stands first and the hymn that was composed for today, the Ninth Sunday after Trinity: Mein Heiland mach du mich in Gross- und Kleinem treu. Some of our womenfolk learned the beautiful melody to it: Mein Gott du bist sehr schön, etc.¹¹ in my house on Wednesday and repeated it yesterday, and they also learned the melody Jesus ist das schönste Licht, etc., to which a beautiful hymn is to be sung. A few of them have suckling children and other necessary business, yet they do not let themselves be kept away from our hymn and song hour. Such steadfastness and inclination to learn hymns makes the matter very easy. This morning they sang the above-mentioned hymn in the church all alone and, to be sure, entirely in time and devoutly, and all the others listened quietly.

During the evening prayer meeting, which is held in the summer from five to six o’clock, my fellow worshipers joined in singing fluently and edifyingly and devoutly the beautiful hymn of our dear Court Chaplain: O heilger Gott! wir alle bethen an, etc. We shall often rejoice at our assemblies through the aid of the Holy Ghost in this and the following hymn: Mein Vater, du hast mich erwählt, etc. Finally, I allowed the parents and the leading children each to take a copy of these hymns; and I asked them to teach their children at home the Bible verses which stand printed above these songs and under each and every verse from word to word and which they are to recite in church sometime in the future. There are fifty-seven such strength-giving verses,¹² and therefore it is a beautiful treasure that the parents and children will learn together and store in their memory and hearts on this occasion. This morning I reminded the listeners to consult at home, and to familiarize themselves with, those Bible passages that stand under the verses of the new hymns in the above-mentioned Wernigerode hymnal, for this would be of great value.

The 8th of August. A few days ago I traveled to Savannah on account of my weakness and business, from where I returned today safely and somewhat healthier. We had the so-called “spring-tide,” with which we came from Savannah to our mill in something more than six hours and, indeed, with a fully loaded boat; and en route we had to stop for a while at Joseph’s Town and also Abercorn because of some business. When the ebb and flood do not reach our mill because of the strong river current, one must spend some hours more on the journey back from Savannah. Our Mill River is a very great blessing for us in many ways.¹³

In his last very friendly letter, the secretary of the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Mr. Broughton, recommended to me a certain man, Joseph Ottolenghe, who has been sent here to our colony for a certain work by the Society for Propagating the Gospel of Christ.¹⁴ Through him the worthy Society has sent me some sermons and little tractates; and I would have welcomed this friend sooner if certain circumstances had allowed it. Now I have had the pleasure of spending some hours with him and his wife in Christian conversation. He and she appear to be honest and godfearing people; and I have trust in them that they will be able to accomplish something good in this colony according to the purpose for which they were sent here. He was born and raised in Halten¹⁵ and, because his parents practiced silk manufacture, he, too, appears to have had good experience in this useful business. He is planning to apply himself to it here as much as possible. However, his chief calling is to instruct the Negroes, or Moorish slaves, in the Christian religion. He is not ordained, nor does he have the theological studies demanded for the ministerial office; yet he has enough talent to serve as a good catechist among the black and ignorant people. Whether his parents were Jews or papists, I cannot report with certainty.¹⁶ He speaks very good English, has a good library, is a zealous member of the Anglican Church, and is well versed in Oriental languages, as he says and as I observed. He also knew of the splendid Institute of our dear Dr. Callenberg for bringing the blind Jews to a recognition of the Messiah.¹⁷ I wished him God’s blessing from my heart for his important mission; and I wished myself ability and means to assist him with counsel and deed according to his and the worthy Mr. Broughton’s desires.

The 9th of August. When I have been away for several days and come again to our Christian assembly in order to sing with my dear parishioners, to pray, and to preach God’s word in the church and school, I feel exceedingly happy in my heart, and I rightly consider it among the greatest blessings of my life that I am a member and teacher of this congregation. Today in the Zion Church I began, by using Psalms 119:96, to lay as a basis for edification the remarkable and edifying speech of our dearest Father, Senior Urlsperger, concerning the vision of the end of all things and the lasting nature of God’s commandment¹⁸. With this speech I shall pass several hours of this month, in which this old servant of Christ and Father of our congregation has reached his sixty-sixth year. We shall all have an opportunity in the Jerusalem and Zion churches to remember him before the Lord in our common prayers and, in the name of Christ, to petition for him and his worthy family what stood in the second part of last introit verse that we have contemplated: “He blesseth the habitation of the just.” Proverbs 3:33.

The 11th of August. Today the entire congregation was gathered in Jerusalem Church, where I preached to them the important material concerning the domestic and foreign work of the Lord Jesus with and among sinners, based on the gospel for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. In the introit we contemplated the dear words of Hosea 11:8-9, “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?,” etc. Whenever one of us is hindered by sickness from holding the Sunday divine service, then I am again reminded of God’s gracious care for our congregation, from which it comes that there are two ministers in Ebenezer. If only one were here, then the public divine services on Sundays and holy days could be held only in the town church and the people on the plantations would have to do without the great convenience of hearing the sermon and catechisation every two weeks in Zion Church. Oh, may God make everyone grateful for His abundant grace! In the evening hour today we also thanked our dear God for this great benefaction. On this Sunday, as happens in the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in many places, we are accustomed to read aloud the story of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and of the Jewish land. It would be a great favor to our congregation if we could receive a good number of such little books in which the story of Christ’s passion and the destruction of Jerusalem appeared together.

The 13th of August. Because of the continuing rain I did not have as many hearers today as usual. For this reason I did not continue with our worthy Senior Urlsperger’s important sermon concerning the end of all things, rather I repeated what I had read and also preached on Friday. This dealt 1) with our experience with the end of all things in our pilgrimage to Ebenezer, and 2) with our incentives to prepare ourselves without delay for our end, and 3) with the daily penitence of believers, as a condition in which they can always die blessedly.

The 14th of August. The widow B. /Bacher/ as well as her daughter, the widow B. /Bichler/ who lives with her in her house, are sick with fever and are not without danger. They are both sincerely pious women, who are concerned only with Christ and His kingdom. To be sure, as widows they bear many a cross; yet, God’s grace and providence are revealed gloriously in and over them; and it redounds to my own great edification to converse and pray with them. Mrs. Bacher is the community’s midwife, whom our merciful God has noticeably blessed so far in her office; therefore she is loved and respected by all the married women for this reason, too. Her departure from this world would be, to be sure, a gain for her, but a great loss for the community. Our singing hour, which is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays in my house, is very blessed for me, especially since I have an opportunity in it to bend my knee with these honest and salvation-seeking women before God in the name of Jesus. Thus it is both a song and a prayer hour. After they had both learned and repeated the new melodies to the new and very instructive and edifying hymns of the little Wernigerode Hymnal for the next Sundays after Trinity (which is to be continued with the help of God), I began this very beautiful songbook with them from the beginning today in order to learn or to repeat these somewhat unknown melodies. This time they were the hymns for the three first Sundays of Advent. Oh, what a treasure of edification!

The 15th of August. Yesterday, to my spiritual strengthening, I had read to my sick helpmeet on her sickbed the pleasing and dear words scheduled for yesterday from the so very edifying Little Treasure Chest¹⁹ of our dear Mr. von Bogatzky, which stood me, too, in good stead in these circumstances. They read thus:

Be comforted and undaunted. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.²⁰ Behold, I have commanded thee that thou be comforted and joyful. Fear not, and be not affrighted, for the Lord, thy God, is with thee in all things that thou doeth. (Oh, great promise!)

God demands only faith, He lifts up and doeth everything. He giveth courage and strength and maketh everything easy. Therefore, trust all to Him and fear naught. He is with thee in all things. He who hath no other care and fear than that he might displease Him, he need have no other care or fear. The Lord will hold him guiltless in all things.

The 17th of August. The pious wife of the soldier /Dod/ is again dangerously sick, which I did not know but only learned in the neighborhood. She is very bowed down by her former sins; but she is seeking through faith for forgiveness in the blood of her Savior, whom she greatly loves as did that great sinner.²¹ She also yearns soon to be in heaven with her Savior and her seven children, whom she lost to temporal death one after the other at Frederica and in South Carolina.²² She was very pleased with my encouragement from God’s word and with my aid in prayer.

The 18th of August. Today’s gospel for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity gave us a beautiful opportunity to treat of divine order in which the sinner can achieve grace. And, because our worthy Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen’s first printed hymn, O heilger Gott! wir alle bethen an, etc. treats entirely of that, it was sung in the afternoon before the congregation, indeed, as accurately as if the melody had long been known, even though we learned it only a short time ago. Pleasure and love for a thing makes everything easy and pleasant. The Bible verses written under the hymn verses²³ were recited out loud with good ability by both small and grown children, who had learned them partly in school and partly at home. For this reason we have lent them this little hymnal for a time.

The 18th of August. Yesterday evening the new and very heavy millstones, which we received from Mr. Verelst at our request and which we consider a very worthy gift of the Lord Trustees, were brought in a large boat from Savannah to our mill, and for this we should rightly thank God. It was dangerous to carry such large stones in a moderate sized boat that can go up the Mill River with this low water.

The 19th of August. A mother complained with sorrow that her little child, which she is still nursing, eats all sorts of dirty things if she just turns her back to it and leaves it alone while working. A larger child, she said, has already brought on a premature death by doing it.²⁴ Raising their children causes the good people much trouble and worry and also hindrance in their work; and when they lose them so soon, they are also losing their help in their work, which, because of the lack of loyal servants, they might expect in their approaching old age and as they lose their strength. A few days ago an orphan girl confessed to me that her desire for salt was so great that she could not keep from eating salt whenever she saw it. God have mercy on this plight! We give the children who can understand it the most emphatic arguments from reason and scripture to dissuade them from this harmful appetite and its gratification. We also make them material promises and give gifts of clothing to those who do not do it or who promise not to do it; but none of this does any good. The poor parents, who have to make a living, cannot possibly keep the children under constant supervision. Indeed, even when they do it, the children know how to do this harmful eating so secretly that it is not discovered until one sees it in their faces, in the pale color, in the distended stomachs, and in the very rapid beating of the arteries under the throat. We have loyally communicated to our medico and surgeon the advice our friends in Germany have sent us about it.

The 20th of August. From this edifying speech of the worthy Senior Urlsperger²⁵ concerning the vision of the end of all things we have had much blessing up to now in Jerusalem and Zion Church during the weekday sermon and the evening prayer meeting; and we felt this spiritual blessing especially today, it being the birthday of this our dear Father, intercessor, and benefactor. Today he is beginning his sixty-seventh year; and this gives us an opportunity to bring our common thank offering to our merciful God on our knees in our church for all the good He has shown to this His servant and, through him, to many others and especially to our congregation for now seventeen years and to petition for him from the Lover of Life new vital strength and new blessings for his future years. May He find pleasure in our weak praise, which is based on Christ’s intercession, and our prayer and petition. To make this so joyful birthday of our dear Senior right edifying, we sang in the prayer hour the devotional hymn of our dear Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, which has as its caption: “Sincere Thanksgiving of a Believing Soul for the Gracious Blessings He has Received from God.” It begins with “My Father, thou hast chosen me even before the beginning of my days.”²⁶ If a superscription did not state that it was composed for the New Year, I would believe that it was composed for the birthday of a servant and child of God because it so admirably suits such an important time. If our dear Senior should read it, he would doubtless rejoice with us that the wise and wonderful providence of our heavenly Father let such an edifying hymn come to our eyes a short while ago through which we could celebrate his sixty-seventh birthday, or rather the memory of the same, ceremoniously with blessing and edification and with cordial wishes for everything good that is printed in it.

The 24th of August. Yesterday in the Zion and Jerusalem Church we completed the often-mentioned edifying speech of our worthy Senior concerning the vision of the end of all things and concerning the lasting nature of the word of God; and we rightfully thank our gracious God for all the blessing we have received from it. The initial and concluding words of this speech we will often sing as a conclusion in the prayer hours and in school:

A and O, Beginning and End, Take my heart in Thy hands, As a potter his clay. Master, let thy work not lie; Help me pray, watch, and conquer, Until I stand before Thy throne.

The 25th of August. Hans Flerl’s servant has come very close to death in his feverous sickness, in which he will not follow any diet. However, God has looked mercifully at the sighing, imploring, and efforts of this pious householder and his wife for the soul of this miserable person and has made him whole again contrary to all human expectation and hope. The servants and maids in our place enjoy more advantages in spiritual and physical matters than they would in Germany. With moderate work from six in the morning to six in the evening (excepting the noon period from eleven to one) they have their regular and hearty food, their divine service at home, and enough sleep and rest time; and they are sent regularly to attend public divine services both during the week and on Sundays and holy days. They nevertheless cause much unrest to the Salzburgers, who are not used to such unwilling servants; they prefer to dismiss them rather than to torture themselves with them.

The 27th of August. Today we again strengthened ourselves in the Lord our God by contemplating the work of creation, which we need especially in this sad time. Both day and night unusually great rains are falling, which are harmful for the field crops such as beans and squash. The main river is rising noticeably; and, because it is said to have rained a great deal upstream, we must fear an early inundation, which would do great damage to our poor people’s rice. The Indians are still threatening with a war and are said to be lurking secretly with two hundred men in the forest between the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers. A dead man was found on the way between Old Ebenezer and Savannah; and no one knows whether he was killed or whether he died of some other cause. Some wolves, which have become mad or rabid, have done damage to calves and to a dog at Old Ebenezer, which also became rabid. The same thing is said to have happened at other places. Yesterday during a marriage I was greatly strengthened by the sixth Christian Duty according to the first commandment found in B. Wirth’s Confession and Communion Booklet²⁷ which treats of the cross of believers and how during it they should look upon divine reconciliation, God’s ever-present fatherly good will, and the salutary final purpose of the cross.

The 29th of August. Some men have found stone points on their land from Indian arrows and have brought them to us to send off. From them one can see what the Indians here used as arrows for their bows before they received flints, powder, and lead from the Europeans. They are only two to three inches long and have almost the shape of a heart in front. Presumably they stuck them onto a cane and tied them on firmly; but with them they could not accomplish as much as the young Indians can now accomplish with their present arrows that are tipped in front with sheet iron. Adult Indians use neither arrow nor bow, but rather flintlocks, hatchets, and knives, with which they are supplied by the English, French, and Spanish.

The 31st of August. May God be sincerely and humbly praised for having helped us bring this last summer month, too, to an end through His blessing. To be sure, in the past summer He has chastised us; yet He has not given us to death but has rather let the many physical weaknesses gradually disappear again and has even saved some people from very dangerous circumstances. For the good of our patients an arrangement was made some two years ago with Mr. Thilo and Mr. Mayer such that they both have received adequate salaries, riding horses, and fodder for visiting the sick, partly from contributions from the community and partly from the blessings of God given us from Europe, and such that they do not demand any further medical fees from the members of the community.

To be sure, the new milldam had received a large gap, but it has been fortunately repaired and is all the better strengthened. The copious rain has ceased, and God has granted us cool nights and tolerably warm days for ripening the grain, and we are beginning to have a good harvest. God’s goodness has also granted us external and internal peace, abundant opportunity for edification, necessary support, the blessing of the mills and public cowpen, physical means to do good for our widows and orphans, and other good arrangements in the churches, schools, and community. He will continue to do it.

OCTOBER 1751

The 14th of October.¹ This morning I was called to Abercorn and Goshen in order to baptize two Evangelical Lutheran children of German parents. On this occasion I also held an edification hour for several people concerning the last words of the sermon of Solomon, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.”² A neighboring woman was asked to stand as godmother, of whom I knew that she neither understands nor practices the Christian religion. I explained to her the important duty of sponsors and said that she would not be suitable as a sponsor until she were better instructed in Christian dogma and lead a life appropriate to it. She did not seem to take it badly; but she really did take it badly, as I learned later. Mrs. N., who lives in this region with her husband and three children, awakened much joy in me through evidence of a genuine fear of God. Almost the greatest cross for her is that she lives so far from the church. The late pastor Freylinghausen’s Gospel Postill³ is a blessed book for her and her husband; and, when reading it devoutly, she is reminded of the good things that she has heard in our church. God has blessed this dear man’s sermons and righteous life in me abundantly.

The 15th of October. Before four o’clock this morning Kronberger⁴ called me to his wife, who appeared to be close to death. She has been sick and bedridden for some weeks; and in this painful and dangerous sickness God has revealed to her much that she did not rightly recognize or take seriously. Before our prayer I let her profit from the wise and kind conduct of our Lord Jesus toward the man with the palsy, whom He helped first in his spirit and then in his body. She had received and retained a great blessing when she contemplated the story of the great sinner in Luke 7 shortly before the recent attack of her sickness, and this gave us a welcome opportunity this afternoon for an edifying conversation. I hope that our great Savior will mercifully hear our prayer for the life of a mother of so many little children. When I was praying with this trusting patient and her husband, father, mother-in-law (who is also a gracehungry soul), and six small children, we held up to Him His own words in Matthew 18:19-20 in humility and trust.

The 18th of October. God has visited Bruckner with a painful sickness; yet he finds this quite bearable because his soul lives in the peace of God. He has been very close to death and is ready for his journey into his heavenly fatherland; but now he is regaining some strength; and it appears that God wishes to give him back to our community once again. He is, to be sure, a weak but very useful and blessed, man. Our dear Kalcher’s convalescence and recovery are proceeding very slowly because he cannot always keep himself as he should. Mrs. Kronberger is still dangerously sick, and this sickness is redounding to her spiritual recovery. She has transferred her children from her heart to the heart of Jesus; and she is awaiting in quietude what God in Christ has resolved concerning her life or death.

The 22nd of October. This afternoon I received news that Peter Schubdrein, who journeyed this February to his fatherland in order to bring his parents and siblings here, has arrived in the Savannah River safely in six weeks with a transport of German people⁵. He wrote to his brother and asked that steps be taken to fetch and shelter so many people quickly. A certain noble gentleman⁶ had enclosed a few lines in which he urged me to come down as soon as possible. I am planning to set out in a few hours in order to receive these colonists, who are our coreligionists,⁷ and to arrange to have them brought up here.

The 31st of October. When I came to Savannah on the 31st of this month, I found no one of this transport there.⁸ However, in the evening I had the pleasure of receiving both Capt. von Brahm and Mr. Kraft⁹ in Mr. Habersham’s house and of holding my first conversation with them about what the Lord had done for them and for us. On the next day a boat full of colonists, and after them the remainder, were assigned both to the spacious silk filature and to other houses. I preached to them on the words from 1 Peter 2: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul,” to which they listened with longing and reverence.

At the next gathering (which, because of the many people, had to be held in the courthouse, which was formerly the church), I had to give these new parishioners some necessary admonitions concerning this land, the local customs, seductive people, and their physical arrangements. In accord with the opinion of the Council, I especially advised them that it would be better for them to settle as a separate congregation elsewhere rather than in Ebenezer because there is not much good land left here. The most fertile land on the island¹⁰ is too low and is flooded from time to time, and therefore one can have neither dwellings nor cattle on it. Otherwise it is excellent land.

Concerning the Uchee land or the Blue Bluff¹¹ the gentlemen of the Council, as well as I, were of the opinion that five hundred families could settle there. However, we later learned with some certainty that it was mostly pine forest that will no longer bear in the third and later years without manure. For all land that will not bear without manure is considered as bad land here, although it would certainly be considered good land in Germany. I also told them that I did not consider this idea and inclination of the authorities to be by chance, especially since they wish to send out knowledgeable men, Mr. von Brahm among them, to seek out good land for them. If they form a congregation on the new land and stick together as Christians should, I would petition our worthy Fathers and patrons in Europe to help them get ministers and teachers for their churches and schools. If they were not settled too far from Ebenezer, my dear colleague and I would be glad to serve them with our office, as we do for other German people.

In the following days I noticed that most of them would rather be settled in Ebenezer than elsewhere. They also asked me to permit them to come to Ebenezer to their countrymen, acquaintances, and kinsmen and to look around for good land. On Saturday I laid as a basis of my sermon Exodus 20:¹², which is a very important lesson for our Germans in this free land. In two evening prayer meetings after Sunday I repeated the matter I had preached concerning the Sabbath and keeping it holy, as the Lord has commanded; and I also declared that they will have no excuse if they follow the Sabbath violators of this land. Oh, how much blessing the poor people forfeit who desecrate this blessed day both privately and publicly!

On the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, the first after their arrival, I preached both morning and afternoon on the gospel John 4:47 concerning the God-pleasing behavior of Christians in their suffering. I took as my introit Sirach 51:10-11, “I sought help from men and found none. Then I thought, oh Lord, of thy mercy and how Thou hast always helped.” In addition, I was deeply impressed by two other Bible verses, of which I made use now and then: “Praised be the Lord daily. God lays a burden on us, but he helpeth also.” Likewise, “He desireth me, therefore I shall help him. He knoweth my name, therefore he will . . .” Psalms 68:20-21, Psalms 91:14-16.¹³

Mr. Whitefield came with this transport from London to Savannah and showed much kindness to the people, especially to the sick and lying-in women, for which I thanked him. They also enjoyed the benevolence of a well-disposed ship captain,¹⁴ a very short and not especially difficult voyage, and zealous practice of God’s word and prayer on the entire journey. Thus they had reason to praise God sincerely and to trust in Him in Christ through the Holy Ghost that He will let all turn out well.

NOVEMBER 1751

The 1st of November. When I think back on my life and ministry, I surely have many causes to spend these two days, yesterday and today, as days of penitence, prayer, and thanksgiving; and for this may our loyal God grant me His Holy Ghost! About this time last year a transport of German people came to our congregation, with whom I received many important and comforting letters and, at the same time, received much additional work. The same has occurred this time. At that time I was richly comforted by the blessed letters after the unexpected death of my oldest son, who was soon followed by my youngest daughter.¹ May God not let me be without comfort this time!

The 2nd of November. To be sure, because of lack of time and heaped up work our worthy Senior Urlsperger has not written me anything this time. However, his worthy letters to our Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen have come to us, all of which we can use through divine goodness. Today I read what he had written in his own hand on the margin of the letter written to us by Peter Schubdrein in Augsburg, especially the Recept² in our tribulations, which were known to him, from Psalms 119:52, “I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself.” God especially blessed these dear words to my peace of mind and comfort; and this brought me to the similarity of old and modern times down to our period. God has always tried His people, but He has also always helped them splendidly if they have remained faithful. With these words and a lightened heart, I went to the pious, sick Bruckner, who wept with joy at my arrival. He told me of the magnalia dei³ he had experienced; and God granted grace that heart and eyes flowed over with tears of love and joy in the contemplation of the boundless goodness of the Lord, which He has shown us in Christ and which He daily lets us see in His governance and guidance.

I not only read it in the letters but also perceive it in the oral reports of dear Schubdrein and of Captain von Brahm that the people of Ebenezer stand in the unalterable love, affection, and intercession of many inhabitants of all classes in Augsburg. And these friends can also say that, to the praise of the servants and children of God in other places in the Empire, from whom they have received immeasurable kindness in spiritual and physical matters. May our merciful God be a rich Rewarder for this in time and eternity! From the beneficent cities of Augsburg and Halle, to which others have sent their gifts, we have now received a great blessing in good books for use in the church, in home devotions, and in our studies as well as in medications, linen, and other things pertaining to clothing. Our aged and most worthy benefactor has rejoiced my dear colleague, Mr. Mayer, our church, and me with so many benefactions that we must rightfully marvel at it, rejoice, and heartily praise the goodness of the Lord. In particular, our merciful God has inclined the heart of this dear and prominent benefactor to free me all at once of a certain worry, as has been made known to me now by his very worthy letter to me at the time of my tribulation. (May He keep him for many years in life and health for the benefit of his illustrious house, his subjects,⁴ and our Ebenezer). May the Lord think of him and bless him, likewise of all our known and unknown Fathers and benefactors in Europe! And for this we invoke Him in confidence.

The 3rd of November. On this 22nd Sunday after Trinity we would gladly have preached to our newly arrived people in Savannah, for which I had also given them some hope. But I did not come home until late in the evening on Thursday; and we both had so much work that neither I nor my worthy colleague could journey down there. He preached in Zion and I in Jerusalem; and I gave my listeners a word of warning to avoid the abuse of divine mercy, which is a very common, yet at the same time highly punishable sin, as one can also recognize from the third commandment.⁵ Some families of the new transport are at our place and have attended the public divine service devoutly. They lack Bibles and especially the kind of hymnals that are used in our churches. But our dear Lord has already taken care even of that by letting us receive a lovely number of Bibles and extracts of Freylinghausen’s edifying hymnals⁶ in the newly arrived chests. This chest,⁷ as well as the one from Augsburg, was brought into my house from the mill last evening, and we have not yet been able to open it. Both in my house and in the evening assembly in the church we have praised our gracious God for all the spiritual and physical blessings we have received this time; but especially for having preserved our worthy Fathers and benefactors in Europe for our and our church’s benefit in life and health so far and for having kept us in their affection.

The 4th of November. Praise be to God, who has let us receive the great blessing in books, medications, Schauer’s Balm, Venetian theriac, linen, stockings, neckerchiefs and handkerchiefs, and also some dishware, which we have now unpacked. Everything was as undamaged and fresh as if it had been put in the chests only a few days ago. Our gracious God will give us wisdom (for which we humbly invoke Him according to James 1:5) to apply everything to the good purpose that our most worthy Fathers and benefactors had when they sent us these charitable gifts! Our most worthy Senior Urlsperger has given us, among other valuable gifts, one hundred copies of his thorough and edifying book Scriptural Instruction for the Sick and Dying,⁸ which was published again last year. Every head of household will receive a copy, but there will not be enough for the recently arrived colonists.

The 5th of November. On his long sickbed our dear Kalcher is a Lazarus and a Job, both in suffering and in patience; but our gracious God does not leave him without comfort from His word and from prayer. I brought him the beautiful words “I the Lord am thy physician,”⁹ primarily, to be sure, of the soul (which Christians, like the man with the palsy in Matthew 9, desire first) but also of the poor body; for He is speaking to the entire man, consisting of soul and body. And thus He showed himself in the days of His incarnation, as we read to our instruction and comfort in the gospel story. At that time He gave examples of how He wished to show Himself until the end of the world to all corrupt people (corrupt in both soul and body), especially toward all who turn to Him in their spiritual and physical need, namely, as the true Physician in spiritual and physical sickness. It is stated very beautifully in the hymn for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, “let man persevere, Thy power will be revealed even in hardship. The greater our misery becomes, the more and the sooner help arrives.”¹⁰

After I had let our dear Kalcher profit from the previously mentioned words of comfort, “I am the lord thy physician,” I wished to read something to him before the prayer from the Little Treasure Chest¹¹ that was lying in front of him. In searching for it, the first thing my eyes fell upon was what is written on p. 119. There, in answer to the prayer, “Heal me. O Lord, and I shall be healed ?”¹² there appears the divine answer from Exodus 15, “I am the Lord thy physician.” On the same page follows an exceedingly edifying presentation of our spiritual and physical misery, of the behavior demanded of us toward Christ the Physician, and of His loving conduct towards His patients. This was especially appropriate for Kalcher’s present circumstances; and it encouraged us to a new trust in this our all-mighty and faithful Physician and Helper. I hope that God will grant him to us again.

Before my journey we implored our merciful God for the recovery of Mrs. Kronberger, who is the mother of six unreared children; and we held up to Him and especially to ourselves the words from Psalm 91, “He desireth me, therefore I shall . . .” likewise Psalm 68, Praised be the Lord daily! He layeth a burden on us,” etc.¹³ After He had done for her more than we could request or understand, we praised His glorious name again today in her house for the great mercy He has shown to her soul and body; and we again sacrificed ourselves entirely to Him. Her oldest little girl of almost eight years was then lying sick near her. She wished to die and reached for the crown from the hand of Jesus, yea, for Jesus Himself; and she told her brothers and sisters that she would receive clothes as beautiful as the sun. During my absence this dear child was granted her wish and was requested by her Savior. She was so fond of singing at the crib, “Little Jesus should be and remain my comfort and Savior.”¹⁴

The 6th of November. We have now had right warm weather for several successive weeks, as we are accustomed to have in March and April. The young grass is coming out again and some flowers are beginning to sprout. I have also seen a couple of peach trees full of blossoms, which is something very unusual. A man in Savannah showed me in his garden an apple tree that had ripe fruit last summer and also sprouted blossoms again, from which its branches are now hanging full of small apples that are now having good growing weather. He does not doubt that they will ripen in winter. In Mr. Whitefield’s orphanage I saw the first orange tree full of fine looking fruit, some of them ripe and some of them green, the likes of which I have never seen in this colony. Because I consider the desire expressed by our worthy patrons and friends in Europe to be a call made upon me, I have paid closer attention to the plants in this land than in previous years; and I am entirely convinced that native and foreign plants and fruits of all kinds could be grown here if we had knowledgeable and loyal people. If something fails, it is not the fault of the climate, rather the fault lies in the people’s ignorance, faithlessness, and desire to enjoy immediate profit from all garden work. This must be desired by poor workers because clothes and many other things are very expensive in this land.

The 12th of November. Without my knowledge the newly arrived people have journeyed to Ebenezer via Abercorn and Purysburg in several large boats in order to settle here even though I had given them sufficient and clear instruction in a public assembly concerning the nature of our soil, the causes of our former difficulties of subsistence, and the advantages they could achieve on right good land with God’s blessing. Thus, on the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity I had very few listeners among the people.

My presently severely restricted time will not allow me to add anything more regarding the journey I finished yesterday. Now that the new people are at our place, we are arranging for them to find shelter with the abundant preaching of the divine word, to be guided to useful work, and to be able to settle soon on their own land. They cause me many expenses. May God grant them!

The 14th of November. This Thursday was chosen for holding our annual Harvest and Thanksgiving sermon, which is to be held, God willing, in the Zion Church on the plantations. Since our wise and miraculous God has so disposed that the new transport of German people of our confession has come to our congregation, they had the opportunity to laud and praise our gracious God for all the spiritual and physical good that they have experienced on the long journey by land and by water and also at our place.

Our text was from the beautiful words of Job 22:21-30, “Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up thy words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of thy brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then thou shalt have thy delight in the All-mighty, and shall lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thy hands.”

From these words, both our old and our new parishioners were shown how they must act according to the governance of God if they wish to become fortunate people in time and eternity, which the apostle summarized briefly in the words, “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”¹⁵ We have given the reasons why many Europeans find misfortune and perdition instead of the fortune or luck (as they call it) that they are seeking in the New World. Sin is the people’s perdition. “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself,”¹⁶ and therefore it is no little sin when they later lay the blame on secondary causes, as was also done by the ancient Israelites, against whose footsteps we are warned. Before and after the sermon we prayed on our knees to God in the name of Jesus Christ, asked for remission of our sins, praised Him for the blessings He has shown in the harvest we have received and in other ways. We invoked Him for further spiritual and physical blessings and prayed for our benefactors.

After the conclusion of the divine service, widows and orphans came to my study at my invitation to receive those physical blessings in the chest from the beneficent Augsburg that our kind God had granted for them and other poor in the congregation. Before the distribution, my dear colleague prayed with them sincerely to God that this gift might be received with humble and grateful hearts and applied according to the intentions of God and His dear tools. Other poor people received something, and others will do so in the future. Also, our doctors and our own families were remembered, as accorded with the frequently expressed intention of our worthy benefactors, some of whom are familiar with our domestic circumstances.

Something was set aside for those men and women who, to be sure, are not counted among the poor but have shown good service to the community, as well as for the school children who have given us joy through their diligence and good behavior. This will be given to them from time to time. May our gracious God be a rich Rewarder for this great gift of linen, neckerchiefs and handkerchiefs, stockings, colored and white caps for men and boys, Schauer’s balm, theriac, and medication! Our worthy Senior Urlsperger has sent us a hundred bound copies of his beautiful and edifying book The Health of the Sick and the Life of the Dying.¹⁷ This he did through his more than fatherly love for us and his care for spiritual and physical well-being, and every family will receive a copy.

Thus the God of all Grace and the Father of all Mercy thinks of us and blesses us. May He graciously and mercifully remember this dear benefactor, the worthy Mrs. S. (Ebenezer’s true mother), their dear family, all His chosen servants and maid servants in and outside of our dear Augsburg and other places, and may He bless them here in time and there in eternity! Amen. May He also pour forth upon them and their families all the good which we have presented today from the previously quoted beautiful words of the text, and may He let good and mercy follow them into old age and into blessed eternity, Amen.

The 16th of November. This week some of our carpenters have been occupied in repairing our very useful rice polisher and rice stamp, which have done good service so far and have been worn out. Both local and outside people are waiting with great longing to polish and stamp their new rice, partly for their own use, which will also stand our new colonists in good stead. In our harvest sermon I told them that they should rightfully celebrate this thanksgiving day with us because our dear God has not only let them harvest much spiritual and physical good on their journey but has also granted our inhabitants a good harvest for their benefit, even though we did not know of them. Contrary to all our expectations, it came about that somewhat more than two hundred bushels of corn was brought down today from Augusta and stored in the otherwise full barn of the orphanage for a tolerable price. We are glad to buy it because the corn in some places did not turn out well and will therefore be scarce and expensive. If these new colonists in the congregation receive enough corn for bread, grits, and seed corn, then we will make it into meal for sale in Savannah.

Our people’s cowpen¹⁸ requires much corn both as food and as horse fodder. I consider the purchase of this said cowpen as an especial evidence of divine providence for both our old and our new inhabitants. This is because they will be able to eat meat from there and, for very reasonable payment and work, to acquire cows and calves for breeding, and, if they behave well, on credit. Most of them have no money. During this week three men (among them an old and knowledgeable inhabitant of our place) have found very good, indeed the very best, land on the Uchee land or on the Blue Bluff, which lies near us, more than these new colonists need, and this has caused me much joy. By land it is two or three hours away from our land, but what is that?

The 17th of November. After the afternoon divine service, the new colonists who were in the town church today registered in my study for Holy Communion, which will be held in a week, that being the last Sunday of this church year. I distributed New Testaments and some very edifying sermons by our worthy Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen for those who had none, and they accepted them with humility and thanks. For our old inhabitants our dear Senior Urlsperger’s golden book Scriptural Instruction for the Sick and Dying¹⁹ is a very pleasant gift and deserving of thanks, which they fetched with joy. A certain report gave me an opportunity to admonish our people 1) that they should recognize humbly and gratefully what advantages the Lord is showing us all, especially the newly arrived, 2) that they should be, to be sure, content with God’s guidance and not increase their burden of sin through ingratitude, disobedience, and grumbling, but let God’s goodness lead them to penitence. 3) It was my main purpose in our common prayer to present to the Father of Mercy, in the name of His beloved Son, the great spiritual and physical suffering of the Germans who are scattered in America; and this was done. Today, from the gospel Matthew 9:18 ff., we heard much about Jesus, the only and best Helper in all troubles. May He accept the sufferings of these and all other people!

The 18th of November. A friend in Carolina,²⁰ who also composes calendars,²⁰ wrote me the following about this gradually ending year.

In regard to crop-raising, last spring and summer were the worst that I have ever experienced in this country. The winter was not so very cold, and without snow. However, the spring had many cold dry winds, so that the early crops such as wheat, rye, etc. turned out badly; indeed, the best land produced almost nothing because of the rust that occurred. Some people set fire to their wheatfields and burned the crops that were spoiled, afterwards they planted Indian corn on them. On poor land the wheat turned out better. Nearly all the Indian corn that was planted early died because of the drought; the later crops turned out better because in July the weather became fruitful and good. However, because in November²¹ there was much wetness and cold days for this season, not all the late crops ripened. On the 15th and 16th of September it rained hard with strong storm winds; and, because it had rained seven days upcountry, the Savannah River rose so high that it was seventeen inches higher than I have ever experienced in the fourteen years I have been in this country. Up among the Choctaw Indians a French fortress is said to have been inundated with all its people. Here the main damage was to the corn, and there was also much sickness. There was little summer weather in the early summer but more in the late summer.

The 23rd of November. Since the 19th of this month I have had to remain again in Savannah because there was no one else present to do so. The main purpose of this trip was 1) to announce to the President that all the new colonists had come to Ebenezer at their own initiative, that they have found enough good land on the Uchee land or Blue Bluff, that they wish to settle on it. Their desire to be in Ebenezer quickly was so keen that they were exposed to the greatest mortal danger between Purysburg and Ebenezer through lack of caution, or rather through the helmsman’s lack of skill; yet the Lord miraculously saved them from it. 2) to request the said gentlemen to provide these poor people with some tools and farm equipment, as the Lord Trustees had kindly promised them. They should get it from the storehouse in Frederica; but, because everything there was sold before the arrival of these people in Savannah and the Lord Trustees have a great lack of money, it will be difficult for these people to acquire adequate tools. 3) I informed them that these new colonists (with very few exceptions) spent their money in London for their passage and the remainder in Savannah for food and that they are now asking me for food because they cannot go out on their land without it. If the gentlemen of the Council will lend me the money we owe to the Lord Trustees for the cowpen we purchased, I will apply it to purchasing the food they need. They wish to consider both this and the previous point further and to let me know the answer. They are quite pleased that these people will settle on the Blue Bluff in our vicinity, if they find good land.

I had an opportunity to preach God’s word twice to the Germans. An important and reliable report that was written to me caused me, in the fear of the Lord, to try to warn my countrymen loyally against such a dangerous and questionable journey to America, unless 1) they have a legitimate calling for it, 2) they are sent over here by the Lord Trustees, who have always made excellent arrangements for the safe transportation of their colonists, 3) they have, for establishing their plantations, some help in food, tools, and cattle, provided they can pay their passage across the sea themselves. For those who cannot do it must rightfully serve at low wages or else they serve for the passage money that has been paid for them.

The 28th of November. An honest Salzburger has suddenly fallen sick and is inwardly and outwardly calm because he has peace with God in Christ. Johann Heinle, a married and industrious servant of the former transport from the Territory of Ulm, has died after a long and hard sickness. Such sick people do not like to take medicine and wish to help themselves, and thus they spoil things. Many in this land are to blame for their sickly bodies and their premature deaths, and often ignorance, good intentions, and bad advisers play a role. I hope that this man died well prepared. His death is a great loss for us at the mills. As a skilled and industrious man he should have instructed and led our new servants, who are starting the work here rather unskillfully.

The recently arrived people do not wish to leave Ebenezer, and they take up their land as nearby as possible because they believe that this will turn out best for their souls and bodies. One should just remain quiet and learn to wait for what the Lord will do: and behold, He does it and will do it well.

The 30th of November. The new tanner²² had got lost in the forest on his way back from Abercorn; and, tired, thirsty, and full of fear, he crawled through mud, thorns, and bushes before he could find out where he was. The same thing happened to a couple of servants, who were not on their professional paths.²³ In the first two years of our sojourn in Old Ebenezer, two simple Salzburgers forfeited their lives in the forest like lost sheep; but since then our Good Shepherd has mercifully preserved us from such sorrowful occurrences.

The floor of our dear Jerusalem Church has become rotten and dilapidated and needs repair. Indeed, since its construction had only been proposed as a spacious schoolhouse and as a dwelling for the schoolmaster and for holding two school classes, it became too small after the arrival of the last transport; and it should now be enlarged. God has granted us some money from some dear benefactors in Germany for undertaking the repairs, but it would by no means suffice for new construction. We have now received several brickmakers, through whom we could gradually have bricks baked in hopes of greater means to build a brick church in town. May God further this!²⁴

DECEMBER 1751

Sunday, the 1st of December, was the First Sunday in Advent, on which 161 persons received Holy Communion in Jerusalem Church. God granted us exceptionally pleasant, dry, and warm weather, which contributed greatly to holding the public divine service comfortably. The church was completely full, yet we all had room and therefore we did not have to see to an enlargement of our Jerusalem Church but only to its repair, for which the threshholds and the thick floorboards are now to be sawn.

The 2nd of December. God has granted the righteous and very industrious Hans Flerl a new and well-built house, which he had consecrated this morning with the word of God, song, and prayer, at which Christian friends from the neighborhood were present. My sermon dealt with the sixth duty according to the second commandment in the late Wirth’s Confession and Communion Booklet¹ (which I lay as a basis at weddings and house consecrations) concerning the cross of Christians and also their conduct and comfort in them. God granted us much edification and blessing, as was witnessed by the tears of some of the listeners. Finally, Flerl prayed very sincerely and movingly; and we could notice that this matter of the cross impressed him especially. He has received the calling to become our householder and overseer at the mills that have now become so extensive; and it is no little self-denial through love of God, to His work and to us, that he is relinquishing his comfortable dwelling and well-situated plantation for a small rent and moving to the mill, for he must take on much work and difficulty with all sorts of people. God has already armed his mind with the thought of the cross.

The 4th of December. Our dear Kalcher is still lying on his sickbed; and he has a lingering fever, a very deep cough, and fatigue. Before noon today he received Holy Communion with a right grace-hungry and thirsty heart, and he was certainly satisfied and refreshed by Christ himself through His gospel and the dear sacrament of His body and blood with the blessed bread and wine. Old Mrs. Schubdrein was also waiting with yearning to participate at the table of the Lord, as was done soon after Kalcher.

The 5th of December. Among the young single people there are some high-spirited lads who like to drink and who, however, have been warned publicly and privately against vexing behavior. In this land we must use all possible leniency and grades of admonition towards such people, who are like birds in one’s hand, if we do not wish to make evil worse. I thank God for the method I used toward the young artisans who came here two years ago²: the word of God, sickness, benefactions, and good examples made them all tame; and, while none of them wished to remain here at first, they gradually began to love our place and good order so much that they all wish to remain here. Now they are having their land surveyed on the Blue Bluff (but some of them at Goshen and not far from our glebe land), which is said to be very excellent and well-situated land.³ I regret that the people of the last transport do not wish to move as far up as where the good land on the Blue Bluff is. I hear that, contrary to all the warning they have received, they are having poor land surveyed only because they wish to be near Ebenezer. I have admonished them many times not to fear the remoteness, and I have said that I wished to build a bridge over Ebenezer Creek with their and the older inhabitants’ help.

The 6th of December. This evening our honest Johann Peter Schubdrein brought me a long catalogue of his dear and praiseworthy benefactors in our dear Augsburg with the request that I write them a letter of thanks in his name for all the many benefactions he received from them. I see it as a divine and gracious reward for his faithfulness and honesty that, quite contrary to my expectations, several hundred acres of excellent and well-situated land on the Blue Bluff have been allotted to him and all his family. At the mill he heard that I was having several logs of our valuable wood sawed into boards in order to send them in a chest of moderate size to Germany as samples,⁴ and he wished to add a few sticks of cedar wood to them if it was possible. His walking stick of cedar wood struck several of his patrons as a rarity. We could serve with many boards of costly wood if the freight were not so expensive.

The 7th of December. Scheraus, who came here last year from the area of Nimisch⁵ has established himself so well that he is not only very contented but also wishes the benefits of this country for all his relatives. He considers it a great blessing (as it actually is, even though not recognized) if his friends could come over even as servants and serve several years for their passage. The letter that he sent to his kinsmen by Peter Schubdrein was not only copied by more than ten people in his fatherland but was also memorized from constant reading by his sister, who has come to him along with her husband among the last transport.⁶ According to his and other people’s descriptions, the people have found, to be sure, a land of much work but also of much rest, good nourishment, and all the freedom they wish. He will help his cousin, a man with seven children, to come here even if he would have to help with work and money to pay for the passage. I cannot contribute to another transport because a great burden has fallen upon me with this one in caring for these mostly poor people.

In addition I and others have made the following observations: 1) We cannot rightly feed ourselves as long as only farmers and no burghers, artisans, and propertied people are here. If well situated house-lots and gardens were vacant, then industrious artisans could well support themselves in town with a little planting and cattle raising, especially because by law no Negro may learn or practice a trade. The farmers would serve the tradesman with their crops, meat, lard, etc.; and the latter would serve the former with his work. What he could produce in addition would go to Savannah, to the West Indian sugar islands, and, in peacetime, to the Spaniards.

Many rich people in Germany yearn (as I know) for quietude and religious freedom. If they could live here in a well-arranged town among industrious burghers and artisans and have a garden nearby for silk manufacture, how contentedly they could live, and how happy they could make the burghers and farmers with their necessary expenses and temporal wealth. However, as long as the house lots and gardens remain in the unprofitable possession of the present people on the plantations, the entire place as well as future people will be harmed.⁷

As long as there are not enough inhabitants in town, we cannot begin such a school as we would like for the local and the outside children. The children have a long way even from the nearest plantations and can come here only in the forenoon, with the result that the time is much too short to teach them all sorts of useful things other than the catechism, Bible stories and verses, and reading and writing. If our planters or people from other places wished to send their children to our town school or to preparation for Holy Communion, then there would not even be an opportunity to lodge them or care for them in view of the small number of townsmen. If we could establish a good school for local and outside children, that would not only serve for better physical sustenance but would especially serve to rear up many a good subject for the service of God and one’s neighbor.

3) If the tradesmen could practice their trades regularly in town (because on the plantations either their trade or their agriculture must suffer), then they would contribute much to the preservation and increase of our good establishments and also to the progress of many households; but now much remains undone, or else it is proceeding exceedingly slowly because we cannot get the tradsmen who have become too involved in their plantation affairs. Indeed, they would take on apprentices; and thus expert tradesmen would be reared among us to replace those who die.

4) The more inhabitants there are in town, the better it serves the common defense in case God should visit the land with a Spanish or Indian war. All the bushes around the town would be cleared away for the gardens that would be set out, so that they could not be a shelter for wolves, foxes, raccoons, and other harmful beasts, or for hostile and harmful men. In case of danger, the people on the plantations could retire and take common defensive measures. Means and good measures also belong to divine providence, but to depend upon them is idolatry. 5) If the high and low areas around the town were freed of wild trees and bushes, then this beautiful change would also be right conducive to health, because fresh air could blow through; and through the cultivation of all these surrounding areas we could prevent all unhealthy exhalations from the earth.⁸ I will not mention now all the many details of the utility of advancing the development of the town or of the harm if it is hindered.

I do not doubt that the recently arrived tradesmen as well as some old inhabitants would move into town if the plantation people would surrender their convenient house lots and gardens and if some assistance were advanced to them. The gardens would be excellent for silk culture; and we would surely find means to encourage this productive activity in this way or that. If God grants us the means to accomplish this project for advancing a spiritual and physical good,⁹ there would be nothing more in the way than the retention of the house lots and gardens. However, if the old inhabitants who live on the plantations and have no trade would let themselves be persuaded to surrender both, then four acres instead of two would have to be surveyed around the town for gardens, and every garden would have to be so incorporated with its house lot that neither could be sold without the other; and thus a full number of town inhabitants would be maintained. If some of them did not always have work in their trades, they would have work in their gardens and always find service in town. So far there has been more work than workers. The useful and profitable wood business is open to everyone.

Today I had the leaders¹⁰ of the community with me for other reasons, and I presented this matter to them. They were well pleased with it, and they will announce it to their neighbors in their districts. So far, experience has taught us that, if silk culture should flourish, then the townsmen, who have more time and opportunity for it than the women and children in the country, would involve themselves in it, as they would also do if they received four acres for gardens in the vicinity. If several people live together, then it is worth the effort to have a herdsman guard their cattle, which are driven out in the morning and back in the evening. Then they would be put in a position to make even the poorest gardens around the town productive with manure. May God incline the hearts of our worthy benefactors in all Europe to further such a necessary and useful matter through their God-given means and intercession.

The 8th of December. So far we have had no winter but only spring weather, from which young grass is growing, the rose bushes are sprouting leaves and roses, and the jasmine bushes are getting sweet-smelling flowers. We have never yet had such a gentle winter.

The 10th of December. Kalcher is calm and is resting in the will of his Savior, and he is expecting His help for this or for a better life. Before our prayer I let him profit from the comforting words we contemplated last Sunday: “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever.”¹¹

The 13th of December. I have seen from a letter which a prominent benefactor sent here that costly boards from our mill would not be unwelcome if we sent a moderate-sized chest full to Europe. Since the ship that brought the last transport of German people to Georgia has taken on a cargo at Port Royal and is sailing back to London, I have had a crate three feet long, two feet wide, and one and a half feet high made of our cedar wood and filled with all sorts of beautiful boards sawed at our mill as well as with some naturalia like seeds, herbs, stones, etc. The boards are of laurel poplar wood, cedar, laurel (or red bay), wild cherry and mulberry trees, and possimento or local medlar, likewise a few pieces of live oak, local hornbeam, dogwood, and furled bay, which is the hardest.¹² The little chest with the naturalia and a few lovely boards is of cypress wood, and there is also a cypress board stashed in the large crate. To be sure, black nutwood is not rare in Germany, yet we have wished to send a few boards as samples. From my report and description of the wild and domestic trees here one will see how many rare and costly trees are in this land, which, to be sure, cause some expense before they can be brought to the sawmill and be sawn; but we would like to serve our friends with them if they are wanted.

The 15th of December. Kalcher and Bruckner are both still very weak from their long-lasting sickness and cannot attend at all to their work. Yet they are quite happy and content with God’s ways. Prayer and the word of God are their refreshment, and our worthy Senior Urlsperger’s beautiful book Instruction for the Sick and Dying gives them much edification and comfort through divine blessing. I have heard from several parishioners that they consider this book to be a valuable gift, for which I rightly give them sincere thanks from me and the congregation. Bruckner told me that he had been in great spiritual pain and was torturing himself with many anxious thoughts. He told me that he had found a prayer in this book in which the desires of his heart were clearly expressed. This had lifted him up no little bit when he learned that the worthy author of this prayer had also experienced such sorrow and that God, through His far-reaching Wisdom, had also let this experience serve for his good.

A soapmaker’s apprentice from Stuttgart, who came to Carolina two years ago, had heard of Ebenezer on the furthest frontier of Carolina; and this moved him to come here. He was with me this morning; and he testified that he had received much spiritual profit from yesterday’s sermons. He was also very happy that he again had come to his countrymen and coreligionists. He also acknowledged that, if he had remained longer in his former irregular life, he would have lost his soul and all the good instruction he had received from Pastor Rieger. He would like to settle here if we will accept him, as we will gladly do provided he will conform to good order. Unfortunately, he is very uncultured, for he was a canteen man for some years with the army in Bohemia; and for the last two years he has filled the miserable office of slave driver in Carolina. He is well known to our locksmith Schrempf, to whom he is attached. I hope that Schrempf will be useful to him, because God has seized and awakened him.

The 17th of December. I have heard from our honest Hans Flerl, who is our manager at the mill, that our new servants are all conforming to good order, are working gladly, and are accepting good advice, and that they are content with little. I am pleased that I can hope they will become useful people under the leadership of the pious and experienced man. It does not matter if we do not immediately gain great profit from their work even for a handsome wage. We look upon the mills as a means by which the members of the congregation can be helped physically. If anything remains from the proceeds, it will be applied to paying off an old and benevolently arranged debt and for other necessary things.

We rightfully see it as especial evidence of divine providence over our old and new inhabitants that almost two years ago we bought the Trustees’ cowpen at Old Ebenezer, from which the recently arrived transport can now be supplied with both fresh and salted beef. In the spring they will perhaps be able to receive cows and calves for breeding. Our means will, to be sure, not allow us to give them the meat and cattle, but the advance until the time of payment is a great blessing, especially since it will all be given to them at a low price. Our good God, who has provided for these strangers in this and in many other ways since their arrival, will surely care for them further, provided they first contemplate the instructions given them and aspire to the kingdom of God and to His righteousness. Some of them show a good disposition and give me joy.

The 20th of December. Our righteous Kalcher greatly needs our intercession. He appears to be getting ever weaker in his body; and it seems to him and his dear family that he will even take his departure from them. To be sure, this will be good for him as a righteous servant of God; but it would be a bitter cup for his family, namely, for his pious wife and his four mostly ungrown daughters. Also, the congregation would lose in him a trusting supplicant, an exemplary Christian, and very useful supervisor and worker. He belongs among the truly poor to whom the gospel should be preached, the gospel which penetrates even in to him like the rain in dry soil and refreshes the soul and brings much fruit for the edification of others. May our loyal Savior have mercy upon him, upon his dear family, and upon the entire congregation; and, if it is His will, may He leave us this pious and useful Salzburger for some time longer.

We have still had little winter weather, but mostly spring weather. At noon today a thunderstorm arose with heavy warm rain. Our mills always have enough water; and the gristmill and rice stamp are doing great service for both residents and strangers.

The 21st of December. It has become very cold since the thunderstorm and rain, with which there were hailstones. I was called to our congregation’s cowpen behind Abercorn to baptize a child that was born yesterday. The people around Ebenezer, Abercorn, and Goshen have the good fortune to be able to have a minister at once to baptize their children, and that is why they do not wish to move to either Newport or Briar Creek but have begun to settle mostly on the Blue Bluff, some in Ebenezer, and a few in Goshen. If they will learn to fear the Lord and follow in His ways, then they will nourish themselves with the work of their hands and fare well.

The 24th of December. Old Mrs. Schubdrein arrived at our place sick and miserable, but God has so blessed the use of medicine that she can now stand up again and perform some tasks. Indeed, God gave her the pleasure today of holding a wedding for her second daughter, who came here as a widow, for she saw her grown sons, daughters, and a couple of grandchildren together and could enjoy herself at this christianly conducted banquet, which was also a great joy for her old husband. Before the marriage, which was held in Zion Church, I visited our dear Kalcher and preached the gospel to him with the strength-giving and pithy verse¹³ “If God be for us, who can be against us? . . . He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”¹⁴ In recent days he has remembered, to his new comfort, what I called out to him some years ago on the road, “I will . . .”¹⁵ In our prayer we again humbly presented his and our sorrow to this almighty and faithful Savior in trusting confidence that He will show mercy in soul and body to this His righteous servant and to his very bowed-down wife, who is an upright maidservant of the Lord. For Him nothing is impossible.

The 25th of December. Our gracious God has again shown us the blessing that we have experienced a Holy Christmas again in good health and quiet. To be sure, after the last rain, hail, and thunder a great cold has begun, yet the church was as full as it is accustomed to be when lovely weather has come. We find both old and new parishioners as devout as we could wish at their praying, singing, and listening to the divine word; and we do not doubt that God will have granted a gift to each of the diligent listeners. Indeed, the dear Savior has come to bless us so that each one will turn from wickedness and achieve Life and full joy through Him.

The 27th of December. During our festivities our sick Kalcher refreshed himself with the dear words “God delivered his own Son for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”¹⁶ . . . Today I edified myself with him concerning an equally comforting verse, “The Lord overall is rich unto all who call upon him,” likewise, “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Romans 10.¹⁷ The content of these two gospel verses was also the content of my conversation with the sick Bruckner, which we sealed with sincere and humble prayer. It has been a great sorrow for both pious men that they could not attend the Christmas sermons. However, I told them among other things to their comfort that they still had it better than their Lord and Savior: they could be sick and suffer in houses, in a quiet place, and among Christian people according to the will of God. In contrast, according to the will of the Father, our dear Savior had to flee the wrath of enemies already in His tenderest years and leave His country and go to a heathen people, as the Egyptians were; and this was surely no minor suffering for Jesus’ parents. These are God’s old and customary ways to lead His children into the kingdom of God in and through much tribulation. In suffering, it is no small honor to resemble the camp of believers and its Chief Commander. Therefore it is written to their superabundant comfort in 1 Peter 4:12-13, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, in as much as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” During the longlasting sickness of her dear husband, dear Mrs. Kalcher is experiencing inwardly much heat of tribulation, which costs her many tears and prayers.

The 28th of December. A couple of our inhabitants have found a creek, or arm of the Savannah River, in Carolina across from Ebenezer which flows from the Savannah River into the land upstream across from the Blue Bluff and flows back into the Savannah River below our Mill River and thereby makes a large island of thousands of very useful acres. According to the law that the King has issued to the Lord Trustees and this colony, all the islands made by the Savannah River belong to the province of Georgia and, consequently so does this large and fertile piece of land. The creek is as large as our Mill River and can be navigated by boats all year.

Some time ago I reported this matter to the Council in Savannah with the humble request to have this creek investigated by a sworn surveyor and by some knowledgeable and impartial men and, if it belongs to Georgia, to appropriate this so fertile island to our town. This could contribute a great deal to the growth of the town and to its nourishment. Like all fertile land on both sides of the Savannah River, this island is occasionally flooded and fertilized by the river; and, since there is no highland on it, no one can settle on it or build houses or barns. But it would be well situated for us, for our town site and the plantations down as far as the Mill River are high, and therefore the owners of the island could live on our side and have their plantations across from them. The gentlemen in Savannah wished to find a time to have this creek investigated. This has now been done, and they have found the matter and also affirmed by oath before our judge, as I have written above. We must wait to see what will become of this.

The 29th of December. In the last chests of books and medicines from Halle were several very fundamental books which our dear Mr. von Bogatzky composed and published with God’s help. With my dear family I am now reading the splendid Tractate on the Freedom of Believers from the Law¹⁸ from which our dear Savior offers and gives a great blessing; and I can well say that a single page gives me (and this all grace-hungry souls will discover) more edification, comfort, and encouragement than many pages in many other books. If anyone reads this book with quiet meditation, prayer, and vigil; and he will make a remarkable advance to true Christianity in recognition of the gospel, in faith, and in righteous behavior and will become stronger and also a blessed tool for the improvement of his neighbor.

I regretted several times, also in the public service, that so few people in Christendom rightly understand the gospel and their Christianity and thereby cause great harm to themselves and to others and also give Christianity an evil name by legalistic and servile natures.¹⁹ In this inestimable book the gospel is preached as gospel in true purity, yet with such divine wisdom that it prevents all subtle and coarse misuse very convincingly.

It seems to me that even the most practiced and experienced minister (in whom is found true poverty of the spirit and daily new hunger and thirst for the grace of God in Christ) could achieve from this intellectual book not only rich edification but also growth in recognition if one wished to use it rightly in the above-mentioned way.

The sincere desire to give the readers of this diary the blessing that lies in this book has driven me to mention it here. It is an exceptionally great pleasure for the true knowers and appreciators of the blessed writings of Luther, Arndt, Spener, Scriver, Breithaupt, Francke, Anton,²⁰ and others that very edifying and important excerpts from their writings are cited in this often lively book at the right time and in the right place and that it clarifies and emphasizes the dear material it quotes. God be praised for His unending mercy in that he has shown me a major blessing in it, a true taste for the dearest writings of these blessed men, who are now triumphant in heaven. Their memory is a great blessing for me. I only regret that my time and strength will not allow me to read in it as much as I would like. The reading of Holy Scripture goes before all else.

The 30th of December. The tanner Neidlinger told me that on his way back from Savannah he had come into mortal danger but that our merciful God had saved him and had again granted him life and a period of grace. Near Abercorn he fell out of the boat and into the deep water; but under the water he grabbed the boat’s chain, and another man came to his help. During this accident he lost the value of one pound Sterling, which is a small loss in preserving one’s physical existence even though it is a rather great loss for him as a beginner. God is working mightily on him and his wife, and this rescue by God is serving him for a new awakening. A couple of men had gotten lost in the forest, and our dear God miraculously brought them to the right path and to Ebenezer. On their first trip from Savannah to here a large boat full of men, women, and children was so badly conducted by an unskilled helmsman at a dangerous spot on the Savannah River that almost all of them would have lost their lives if God had not miraculously maintained the boat with a hidden power. Thus, during this year, God has shown the wealth of His goodness, patience, and forbearance to many among us in almost the same way; yet to many we must call out “Despiseth thou the riches of his goodness; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”²¹ However, many of the new colonists are beginning to recognize that their former behavior will not do and that they must become different people if they wish to please God with their Christianity. This will surely improve through the grace of God.

The 31st of December. Our gracious God has now let us live through the last day of this year, which, like all others, has had its blessings and its tribulations, of which I shall cite only a few examples. 1) A young German man from N. reported to me in a little letter brought by his . . . some very vexing things about his . . . and requested help against such vexations.²² With God’s help we do not let vexations get the upper hand. If anyone knows the burden of the many secular affairs that are laid upon me from time to time despite all that I have said, written, and struggled against it, he has pity on me, especially if he also knows my very great longing to perform only my ministerial office and to serve God’s Salzburger congregation during the short remainder of my life.

If I could concern myself privately more with souls, then my official diary would not be so meager, as it appears to me to be. If I did not have to worry about great harm and did not have to fear that I would be acting against the will of my Lord and Master, and also of His dear servants, my most worthy superiors and benefactors, I would like to lay aside all the congregation’s secular matters and give them over to Mr. Mayer. My tending to the secular matters creates no obstacle to my regular official duties: only one thing suffers, namely, a diligent house visitation, which, however, could be replaced by daily prayer meetings and the many edifying writings I distribute. To be frank, the pleasantest and most useful thing would be for me to have nothing to do with the congregation’s secular affairs. With divine aid I would restrict myself as much as could be done without harm to the congregation. May God give Mr. Mayer much strength to relieve me of much.

The weekday sermons on Thursdays and Fridays and the school and preparation for Holy Communion with the children on the plantations and the preparation lesson in town also take much of my time away from visiting my parishioners. I will not mention the singing lesson as a blessed means of public edification, the consecration of newly built huts and houses, the private encouragement of both local people and strangers, my heavy correspondence in the English and German languages, and all of it in my own hand. As gladly as I can do all this and many other tasks while strong in body and mind, and never be idle, it would still be the most desirable thing for me if I could always do just my own work and, as a minister, prepare those souls entrusted to me for a blessed eternity. Yet I must hear not only what some of my parishioners say, but also what my Fathers and superiors say about my present mixed official duties.

In conclusion I will set here some impressive words from a letter of one of my highly esteemed benefactors, both a wise and an experienced gentleman, who wrote to me from Germany on the 27th of February of this year: “I well see that all this (namely, what has been suggested in the preceding paragraphs for the good of the congregation) is no proper business for clergymen, whose greatest care should be for the spiritual condition of those for whom they are responsible. However, a better economic condition also has an influence in such care of souls when many, saved from misery and hardship, can be brought to a greater praise of God. And from experience I am already convinced that Your Worship is for each that which his need and circumstances demand. Saving people from misery and hardship is a great work! Nothing more is done through miracles, rather through human counsel and action; and therefore care for physical hardship can well stand with care for souls.”

Praise be to God who hath helped so far right noticeably to strengthen me and my wise and true collaborators and helpers physically in the secular affairs of the congregation. He has graciously turned from us and the congregation all spiritual and physical harm and has turned all the wealth of His goodness nearby and from afar and has granted us health, nourishment for the body, and edification of the soul. He has kept us in unity and in the diligent use of the means of salvation and has again saved some from the prince of darkness and set them in the kingdom of His dear Son. May He be ever praised for all His spiritual and physical blessings and for His very modest chastisements, for ever and ever, Amen!