The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740Fries, Adelaide L. (Adelaide Lisetta)
History
The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740
Fries, Adelaide L. (Adelaide Lisetta)
Moravians -- Georgia
There Boehler and Schulius lodged with one of the Swiss who had come to
Georgia with Spangenberg and the first company. His wife expressed the
wish that the Moravians in Savannah would take her thirteen-year-old
daughter the following winter, and give her instruction, for which she
would gladly pay. Boehler took occasion to speak to the couple about
salvation and the Saviour, and they appeared to be moved. Indeed this
was the main theme of all his conversations. To the owners of the
plantations visited, he spoke of their personal needs, and their
responsibility for the souls of their slaves; while to the slaves he
told the love of God, filling them with wonder, for most of them
were newly imported from the wilds of Africa, and suspicious even of
kindness. Many knew little of the English tongue, and the few who could
understand his words had not yet learned that there was a God who cared
how they lived or what became of them. Their masters, as a rule, thought
the missionaries were attempting an almost hopeless task in trying to
lift these negroes above the brute creation, but were quite willing
to give permission and an opportunity to reach them, and on this tour
Boehler found only one land-owner who refused his consent.
Purisburg had been named as the location of the negro school, but
Boehler found there were very few negroes in the town, which had been
largely settled by Swiss, who had not prospered greatly and had bought
few slaves. The nearest plantation employing negroes was five miles
distant, and only seven lived there, so the outlook was far from
encouraging at that point.
Boehler and Schulius then made their way from one plantation to another,
until they reached Charlestown. The Rev. Mr. Garden, to whom they had
a letter of introduction, advised that the school should be begun
in Charlestown, where there was a large negro population, perhaps
a thousand souls. This was more than could be found on any single
plantation in Carolina, and as the slaves were strictly forbidden to
go from one plantation to another it would hardly be possible to find
another place where so many could be reached at the same time. Boehler
and Schulius were much impressed with the advantages offered, especially
as Mr. Garden promised all the assistance he could give, and they
debated whether Schulius should not stay and begin at once, while
Boehler returned to report to Oglethorpe. The lot was finally tried, and
the direction received that they should carefully study the situation
but wait until later to commence work. Therefore on the 1st of November
the two companions set out for Savannah, which they reached in eight
days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account