Foreword

In sponsoring the reprinting of Strobel’s The Salzburgers and Their Descendants I am mindful of his great contribution to the history of Georgia and of the pride he engendered in the hearts of the descendants through his exposition of the fine characters of the settlers. The well-ordered lives of these pioneers has had a beneficial influence on the successive generations of Salzburger descendants. Their leadership in the educational and cultural life of the state is evidenced by the fact that the first schools in the colony (Bethany and Ebenezer) and the first orphanage (Ebenezer) were established and operating before there was a school in Savannah and before Bethesda Orphanage was established by the Reverend George Whitefield. Also, an accepted task of these pious people seems to have been the building of churches; there were Jerusalem, Zion, Goshen, Bethany, and perhaps one called Salem. In addition to the religious and cultural heritage left us by the Salzburgers there are material heritages—one of these being the Austrian pine, sometimes called black pine, the seeds of which are said to have been inadvertently brought to St. Matthew’s Parish in the baggage of the settlers.

The Salzburgers of St. Matthew’s Parish had before 1800 enjoyed contact and visitations as well as aid and encouragement from the outstanding men of the period. General James Oglethorpe, General Anthony Wayne, and the Reverends John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield all paid homage to them. The great American botanist William Bartram of Philadelphia visited the Parish in 1773 and mentioned it in The Travels of William Bartram, wherein he noted the finding of the Fiery Azalea.

There is a certain attraction or romance about the name Salzburger, probably due to the heroic struggle these people made for freedom of speech, thought, and conscience—a freedom so precious that they dared the rigors and hardships of life in the New World. In the early part of the 18th century, the people of Salzburg exhibited a fervor and determination to achieve the right to think for themselves, and on the second of December 1733 the first party embarked at Rotterdam to begin the voyage in search of peace and mercy.

Furthermore, the word Salzburg suggests an appreciation of the finer things of life: religion, music, art, and science. Joseph Schaitberger, the author of the Protestants’ Confession of Faith and the inspirer of the emigrating groups, was born within a few miles of Salzburg and lived his eventful life there (1658–1733). He died while the first group of Protestants were on the high seas enroute to Georgia. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), the musical genius, was born there. Salzburg Festivals have been to the musical world what Oberammergau is to the religious world. Salzburg is an ancient city, for history tells us that Attila, a king of the Huns who styled himself “the Scourge of God,” destroyed it in the fifth century, A.D., but like a phoenix it rose again from its ashes, and by 1700 was the only military fortress in North Austria.

All of the Salzburgers who emigrated to Georgia did not settle at Ebenezer or in St. Matthew’s Parish; some of them went to Frederica, Abercorn, and Vernonburg (White Bluff), but none of these three locations was a permanent Salzburger settlement. Some of those who settled at Ebenezer or in St. Matthew’s Parish came in from Savannah and Purisburg (Purysburg) after the original settlement at Ebenezer. The story is adequately told in Strobel’s history.

The Salzburgers in Georgia seem to have been rooted a little better than other groups of Europeans who came to the New World. These Salzburgers and their descendants seem to have remained largely in the community of settlement. There are at present (1953) about 9,000 people in Effingham County and 150,000 in Chatham. Of this number it is estimated that around 25,000 are of Salzburger descent. It has now been 219 years since the first group landed. Within this period seven generations have been born, and each generation, like its predecessor, has contributed to the American ideal of citizenship—abiding by the laws of the land, attending to religious duties, and proving by their demeanor that they value their heritage.

Edward Descombe Wells, Sr.

Savannah, Georgia