BX 8080 .S3 A6 1896 
 Anstadt, Peter, 1819-1903. 
 Life and times of Rev. S. S 
 Schmucker . . 
 
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OCT -: 51926 
 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 
 Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. D., 
 
 First Professor of Theology in the Lutheran Theological Seminary, 
 at Gettysburg, Pa, 
 
 P. ANSTADT, D. D., 
 
 Editor of Teachers' Journal, author of Communion Addresses, Luth- 
 er's Smaller Catechism, Illustrated, Luther's Smaller 
 Catechism, Pictorial Edition, Helps to Family 
 Worship, Recognition of Friends 
 in Heaven, Etc., Etc. 
 
 "H bave ^ve^, an5 am O^lng, in tbe faftb of Jesus." 
 
 YORK, PA. 
 
 p. ANSTADT & SONS, 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1896, by 
 
 P. ANSTADT & SONS, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
DEDICATED 
 
 to the 
 
 Surviving Relatives, Friends 
 
 and 
 
 Students 
 
 of 
 
 Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. D., 
 
 by 
 
 The Author. 
 
preface. 
 
 " Who will be his biographer ? To recount his life will 
 be to give the history of the Lutheran Church in America ! ' ' 
 
 With this exclamation Dr. J. G. Morris concluded his 
 address at the funeral of Dr. S. S. Schmucker. Little did 
 the speaker think, that the writer of these lines would be 
 that biographer; nor had the writer the remotest idea at 
 that time of having that task conferred upon himself. 
 
 I will not presume to say that I have given a complete 
 history of the General Synod in my book. An unbiased 
 history of the General Synod has not yet been written. But 
 a brilliant light will be thrown upon the subject by the Life 
 and Times of Dr. S. S. Schmucker. 
 
 This work was not of ray own seeking; I had no 
 thought of undertaking it, until it was urged upon me by 
 some of the prominent friends and admirers of Dr. 
 Schmucker. 
 
 The immediate occasion which called forth the desire 
 for the publication of this biography was an address, deliv- 
 ered at the laying of the corner stone of the new building for 
 the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, in which some 
 derogatory remarks were uttered on the doctrinal teachings 
 of Dr. Schmucker, while professor iu the Seminary. I pub- 
 lished an article in the L2ithcra7i Observer in his defense, 
 and subsequently republished a highly eulogistic sketch of 
 Dr. Schmucker, written by Dr. Morris sixteen years ago. 
 After this I received from esteemed friends in different parts 
 of the church, urgent requests to write and publish the Life 
 and Times of Dr. Schmucker. After consulting with the 
 surviving relatives and members of the family, I resolved, 
 by the help of God, to begin the work. The following are 
 some of the encouraging words I received through the 
 mails: 
 
 Dr. Samuel Sprecher, a brother-in-law and intimate 
 personal friend of Dr. Schmucker, writes as follows: 
 
 "San Diego, California, Dec. 6, i8g^. 
 
 ' ' I am very glad that 3'ou have undertaken to publish 
 a biography of Dr. Schmucker. If I could help you to any 
 facts in his life, not publicly known, I would gladly comply 
 with your request. 
 
VI. PREFACE. 
 
 " He was one of the best and most earnest men I ever 
 knew. But intimate as was my relation to him, I know lit- 
 tle that was not known in his public life. His mind was so 
 constantly engaged with the interests of religion and the 
 church, that he had little to say in his conversation about 
 himself. I never knew an}^ man, who was so constantly 
 absorbed by his work, or one who seemed so perfectly to 
 understand what he was called to do, and who so constantly 
 had it in view, and so perseveringly labored to accomplish 
 it. This was the only thing that impressed me in my most 
 confidential conversations with him. 
 
 ' ' Only once or twice did he speak to me of his personal 
 experience in the difficult work of establishing the Theolog- 
 ical vSeminary ; how he was strengthened, when greatly 
 cast down by the discouragement and opposition, by the 
 simple words of faith of an old Moravian minister, with 
 whom he happened to spend a night ; and how he was 
 amused by the report, that a man in Pennsylvania, who 
 mistook the word ' text ' for the word ' tax, ' in the arti- 
 cles of the Constitution of the Seminary, requiring ' text- 
 books ' to be provided. The man accordingly called a 
 public meeting in his neighborhood to show that these sem- 
 inary people were going to bring in a king to rule over 
 them; for here they could see, that they were already pro- 
 viding the ' tax-books ! ' " 
 
 Mr. John G. Schmucker writes from Eldorado, Kans., un- 
 der date of Dec. 12, 1894: "lam truly glad that there are some 
 persons who hold him in kind remembrance, and that you 
 appreciate the work he did, and do him the tardy justice of 
 making known his works and worth to our church in her 
 early struggles. I am sure Dr. Schmucker and Dr. Kurtz 
 did more than any other two ministers to build up the 
 Lutheran Church in America, and to establish its institu- 
 tions at Gettysburg. ' I have lived and I die in the faith of 
 Jesus Christ.' That faith was the source of his strength, 
 and gave tone to his beautiful life." 
 
 Rev. J. A. Brown, of Wytheville, Va., writes: " I am 
 very glad to learn that we have the prospect of a biography 
 of Dr. Schmucker, which should have been published long 
 ago; and here we are allowing years to pass without any 
 special efforts to give. to posterity the life and labors of 
 the greatest man of our church in his day. 
 
PREFACE. Vll. 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker has been the acknowledged leader in 
 the Lutheran Church for many years, and I am one of those 
 who believe that his intentions were always right, and that 
 he did more to promote personal piety in the Lutheran 
 Church than any man of his day, and the history of his 
 labors should be given to posperity." 
 
 Dr. B. Sadtler: " I think it due, that the work should 
 be undertaken, and will give it my cordial assistance." 
 
 Dr. M. Valentine: " I am sure the Church ought to 
 have a biography of Dr. S. S. Schmucker, and a judiciously 
 written one would do good." 
 
 Rev. D. Summers: " I have long felt like writing to 
 you for vindicating Dr. Schmucker against the attacks of 
 men not worthy to unloose his shoe latchet. 
 
 "Taken all in all, Dr. Schmucker had few, if any 
 equals in the Lutheran or any other church. I am glad that 
 you propose to write and publish his biography. I want a 
 copy for myself and will sell as many as I can. Every 
 Lutheran family in the General Synod ought to have a copy 
 of it." 
 
 Rev. M. Sheeleigh, D. D.: "As indicating the Chris- 
 tian temper of Dr. Schmucker, it will not be out of place to 
 observe, that probably no man remembers ever having 
 heard him utter hasty or ill-tempered words in ecclesiastical 
 debate. He has ever been regarded as a model of Christian 
 gentleness and self-possession." 
 
 A young Lutheran minister in Pennsylvania writes: 
 " The ' Outline of Dr. Schmucker' s Life and Times ' meets 
 my best anticipations, and I wish every minister in the 
 church could see it. The book must prove interesting, and 
 will present the history of General Synod Lutheranism in a 
 very attractive form. It is just what is needed by the 
 young preachers, especially, to furnish them with a knowl- 
 edge of which many are lacking. This book will do good 
 service for the General Synod. It ought to take with the 
 laity, too." 
 
 Testimonials of this kind could be multiplied indefi- 
 nitely; but this will suffice to show the deep interest felt in 
 many parts of the church, in the Life and Times of Dr. 
 Schmucker. 
 
 I had the privilege of being one of his pupils in the 
 Theological Seminary, and for about eleven years of my 
 
Vlll. PREFACE. 
 
 subsequent residence in Gettysburg, and while I was pastor 
 of St. James Church, I enjoyed the pleasure of almost daily 
 intercourse with him. I learned to love him as a friend, to 
 admire his Christian character, his ardent love for the 
 church, in whose service he had labored so long, endured so 
 many hardships, and encountered so much opposition. 
 
 His youngest son, Samuel D. Schmucker, Esq., of Bal- 
 timore, rendered valuable assistance by affording me the use 
 of his father's diary during the early period of his ministry, 
 and also the names of his father's ancestors and the family 
 record, which he had copied from the church book at Michael- 
 stadt during a visit to Germany. 
 
 Rev. Benjamin Sadtler, D. D., of Baltimore, Dr. 
 Schmucker' s son-in-law, also gave me his cordial assistance, 
 in the form of important documents, and valuable sugges- 
 tions. He had in his possession most of the private papers 
 and correspondence of his revered father-in law, from which 
 I have derived many very important facts and incidents, 
 especially of the early life of Dr. Schmucker. 
 
 I am also under obligations to Dr. J. D. Hauer, for the 
 use of a file of the early minutes of the Synod of North Car- 
 olina; to Mr. Arthur King for a printed copy of George 
 Fry's will, in which he bequeathed his estate to Emmaus 
 Orphan House; and finally to Professor J. W. Richard, for 
 the free use of the Historical Library of the Seminary, from 
 which I was enabled to gather valuable information in con- 
 nection with this work. 
 
 And now, thanking the many friends of Dr. Schmucker 
 for their encouraging words, and liberal advance subscrip- 
 tions for the book, I send it forth with the hope and prayer, 
 that it may aid the cause of truth, be a blessing to the 
 Church, and promote the glory of God. 
 
 P. Anstadt. 
 York, Pa., July, 1896. 
 
THE LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 OF — 
 
 SAMUEL S, SCHMUCKER, D. D, 
 
 CHAPTER FIRST. 
 
 1746— 1854. 
 
 DESCENT ANXESTORS EMIGRATED FROM GERMANY — BIO- 
 GRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HIS FATHER EARLY CONVERSION 
 
 STUDIES UNDER PAUL HENKEL STUDIES IN PHILA- 
 DELPHIA — FIRST CHARGE IN YORK COUNTY — CALL TO 
 
 HAGERSTOWN — CALL TO YORK, PA. DEATH AND BURIAL 
 
 HIS WRITINGS — TESTIMONIALS TO HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 Pascal, who took a profound view of human nature, 
 has well said, " There are three very different orbits, in 
 which great men move and shine ; and each sphere of 
 greatness has its respective admirers : 
 
 1. There are those who, as military heroes, fill the 
 world with their exploits ; they are greeted by the acclama- 
 tions of the multitudes ; they are ennobled while living, and 
 their names descend with lustre to posterity. 
 
 2. Others there are, who, by the brilliancy of their 
 imagination, or the vigor of their intellect, attain to honor 
 of a purer and a higher kind ; the fame of these is confined 
 to a more select number of admirers ; for all have not a 
 discriminating sense of their merit. 
 
 3. A third description remains, distinct from both of 
 the former, and far more exalted than either ; whose excel- 
 
2 
 
 lO THREE SPHERES OE GREATNESS— ANCESTORS. 
 
 lence consists in a renunciation of themselves, and a com- 
 passionate love for mankind. 
 
 In this order the Savior of the world was pleased to 
 appear ; and those persons attain the highest rank in it, 
 who, by his grace, are enabled most closely to imitate his 
 example." 
 
 To this third description the subject of this memoir 
 belongs. He did not live for worldly fame, or literary 
 honors, though richly entitled to these ; but he early dedi- 
 cated himself to the service of God, and spent his life for 
 the good of souls, and the building up of the Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 Samuel Simon Schmucker was born February 28th, 
 1799, at Hagerstown, Md., where his father was pastor of 
 the Lutheran Church during fifteen years. He was the son 
 of Rev. Dr. John George Schmucker, and Catharine his 
 wile, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Gross. 
 
 His grandfather, Nicolas Schmujokfr, emigrated in 178 1, 
 from Michaelstadt, in the county of Erbach, Grand Dutchy 
 of Hessen Darmstadt. This town lies in the Muemling 
 Thai, and is the capital of the Odenwald, which was once 
 a famous forest, but is now a beautiful and well kept farm- 
 ing region. The parish church in Michaelstadt is a very 
 ancient one, having, it is said, been founded by Euckhard, 
 in 827. It has, of course, at different times been repaired, 
 and has practically been rebuilt, but is now in good condi- 
 tion, and is currently used for public worship. After tar- 
 rying a year at Balliet's Furnace, now in Lehigh County, 
 and a year in Manheim, Lancaster County, Pa., he settled 
 on a farm near Woodstock, in Shenandoah County, Va. 
 
 Samuel D. Schmucker, Esq., youngest son of the sub- 
 ject of this biography, has kindly furnished the following 
 family record : 
 
 " On my visit to Germany, I found in the records of the 
 
ANCESTORS. II 
 
 Michaelstadt Church, the record of the Schmucker family, 
 from the beginning of the last century, prior to which time, 
 I have been informed from different sources, the family 
 emigrated from Switzerland to Germany." 
 
 " My ancester, who emigrated to America, was John 
 Christoph Schmucker, and was born in Michaelstadt, May 
 17, 1740. The church records contain entries of the birth 
 of two children to him, before he came to America. These 
 children were Ferdinand Frederick, born December 19, 
 1769, and John George, my grandfather, born August 18, 
 1 77 1. He, my great grandfather, John Christoph 
 Schmucker, had in all six children ; namely, Ferdinand 
 Frederick, John George, John Jacob, John Nicholas, 
 Peter and a daughter Mary." * 
 
 " Three of his sons ; namely, George, Nicholas and 
 Peter, became Lutheran ministers." 
 
 John Christoph Schmucker, when he first came to 
 America, located for a 'short time in Lehigh County, Pa., 
 near Saegersville, at Balliet's Furnace, tarrying there only 
 one year. He then moved to Manheim, in Lancaster 
 County, Pa., and one year later, moved to the Valley of 
 Virginia, where he settled on a farm near Woodstock, in 
 Shenandoah County, Va. 
 
 Rev. John George Schmucker, D. D., the father of 
 Prof. S. S. Schmucker, was born in Michaelstadt, Germany, 
 on the 1 8th of August 1771, he emigrated with his father's 
 family to this country in 1785, and remained in the pater- 
 nal home, near Woodstock, Va.,till he was 19 years of age. 
 He evinced an earnest regard for religion from his early 
 childhood up, but it was not till he had reached his eight- 
 eenth year, that he believed he had experienced a radical 
 change of heart and life. About this time there were a 
 number of Baptist ministers in that region, who exhibited 
 great zeal in their labors, and whose preaching young 
 
12 STUDIES WITH PAUI, HINKEIv — PHII,ADEI.PHIA. 
 
 Schmucker attended with much interest and profit. But it 
 was to the influence of a lay member of the Baptist Church, 
 that he considered himself chiefly, indebted, under God, for 
 the great change which he had now experienced. This 
 person frequently conversed with him, explaining the plan 
 of salvation, and urging him to an unreserved consecration 
 of himself to God ; and the result was that he obtained the 
 peace that passeth understanding. Immediately after this 
 he formed a purpose to devote himself to the ministry of 
 the gospel. 
 
 About a year afterwards he entered on a course of study 
 under the direction of Rev. Paul Henkel, who was at that 
 time pastor of the Lutheran Church at Woodstock, and 
 whom he frequently accompanied on his tours of mission- 
 ary labor. These excursions through the destitute por- 
 tions of the country were of great use to Mr. Schmucker, 
 as they served to awaken his sympathies, to quicken his 
 zeal, and to prepare him for the sacred office. 
 
 In 1790, he went to Philadelphia to avail himself of 
 the instructions of the Rev. Dr. Helmuth, and the Rev. Dr. 
 Schmidt, who were at that time instructing young men for 
 the ministry. Here he remained two years, vigorously 
 pursuing his classical studies in the University of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and his theological studies under the instructions of 
 Drs. Helmuth and Schmidt. Among his fellow students 
 were Revs. George Lochman, Sr., and Christian Enders, 
 who afterwards became eminent ministers in the Lutheran 
 Church, and with whom he lived many years on terms of 
 great intimacy. In 1792, having finished his course of 
 study in Philadelphia, he was admitted as a member of the 
 Synod of Pennsylvania, then in session at Reading, 
 
 Rev. John G. Schmucker's first charge consisted of 
 several congregations in York County, Pa., the call to 
 which he accepted on the recommendations of his particu- 
 
HAGERSTOWN — CAI.Iv TO YORK. 13 
 
 lar friends, Dr. Helmuth and Rev. J. Goering. Here he 
 exerted a highly important influence ; the churches under 
 his care were revived, and large numbers were added to 
 their membership. During his residence here he continued 
 the study of the Hebrew language and of theology under 
 the guidance of Rev. Goering, who was then settled as the 
 pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in the Borough of York, 
 and was regarded as one of the most learned ministers of 
 his time. Rev. Schmucker served this charge only about 
 two years. 
 
 In 1794, he accepted a unanimous call from the 
 Lutheran Church in Hagerstown, Md., a charge which had 
 been for some time vacant, and embraced no less than 
 eight congregations. He was now only twenty two years 
 old; in his person he was small, pale, and emaciated, and 
 in his manners extremely diffident and youthful. Many 
 doubted his competence to occupy so important a field ; 
 and he was even sportively designated as the boy preacher; 
 but he quickly acquired an influence, both in and out of 
 the pulpit, which falls to the lot of comparatively few minis- 
 ters. An extensive revival of religion soon took place 
 under his ministry, which he conducted with great zeal, 
 discretion and success. 
 
 After the death of Dr. Kunze in 1807, he received an 
 invitation to succeed him in the city of New York, but he 
 thought it his duty to decline the call. In 1809 he was 
 invited to become the successor of Rev. J. Goering in 
 York ; and though reluctant to leave the people who then 
 constituted his pastoral charge, he felt constrained, in view 
 of all the circumstances of the case, to accept the call. He 
 accordingly commenced his labors in this new field, and 
 prosecuted them with unremitting assiduity and great suc- 
 cess, during a period of twenty-six years, and when in 
 consequence of declining health he was obliged to resign 
 
14 DEATH — BURIAI,. 
 
 his charge, he still continued to serve one of the congrega- 
 tions in the country, to which he had ministered on his 
 first introduction to the sacred office. 
 
 At length he found it necessary, on account of his 
 increasing infirmities, to withdraw from the active duties of 
 the ministry altogether; and accordingly, in 1852 he 
 removed to Williamsburg, Pa., where several of his chil- 
 dren resided. Here he continued during the remainder of 
 his life, tranquil and happy. 
 
 He died October 7, 1854, in the eighty-fourth year of 
 his life. A funeral discourse was delivered by Rev. Dr. B. 
 Kurtz, of Baltimore, from the words, " Them that honor me 
 I will honor." His remains were taken to York, the scene 
 of his former labors, and buried in front of Christ Church, 
 with every expression of deep regard and reverencial sor- 
 row. A marble monument, erected to his memory, stands 
 yet over his grave, bearing the following inscription : 
 
 ■J G. SCHMUCKER, D. D., 
 
 BORN IN GERMANY, AUGUST i8tH, 1 77 1, 
 
 DIED OCTOBER 7TH, 1 854, 
 
 AGED 83 YEARS, I MONTH AND 20 DAYS. 
 
 Exemplary in all his social relations, he laboured in the 
 vineyard of the Lord more than half a cen- 
 tury, universally esteemed as an humble 
 Christian, a faithful pastor and 
 an erriinent preacher of 
 the cross. 
 
 Dan. xii. 5. The}^ that win many to righteousness shall shine as 
 the stars for ever and ever. 
 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker occupied many important places, 
 and rendered much valuable service in connection with the 
 public interests of the church. He was one of the founders 
 and most zealous advocates of the General Synod. He 
 
IMPORTANT OFI^ICES— PUBI^ICATIONS. 15 
 
 was president of the Foreign Mission Society, from its for- 
 mation to a short time before his death, when he declined 
 a re-election. He was also the early and active supporter 
 of the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and for many 
 years served as President of the Board of Directors. He 
 had an important agency in the establishment of Pennsyl- 
 vania College, and for more than twenty years, acted as a 
 trustee of that institution. At the time of his death he was 
 the senior vice-president of the American Tract Society, 
 having been appointed to that office in 1826. Various other 
 benevolent institutions also found in him an efficient 
 auxiliary. 
 
 In 1825, he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
 from his Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvavia. 
 
 The following is a list of Rev. Dr. J. G. Schmucker's 
 publications: Vornehmste Weissagungen der Heiligen 
 Schrift ; Reformations Geschichte zur Jubelfeier der 
 Reformation ; Prophetic History of the Christian Religion, 
 or Explanation of the Revelation of St. John ; Schwarm- 
 geist unserer Tage, entlarft zur Warnung erweckter Seelen ; 
 Lieder-Anhang zum Evang. Gesangbuch der General 
 Synode ; Waechterstimme an Zion's Kinder ; and Er- 
 klaerung der Offenbarung Johannes. 
 
 I have also in my possession an unpublished Com- 
 mentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, written by Dr. J. G. 
 Schmucker. It is a bound book, of iioi closely written 
 pages in his remarkably beautiful hand writing ; but unfor- 
 tunately, the title and a few of the introductory pages are 
 wanting. The character of the work is both critical and 
 practical, containing many quotations from Hebrew, Greek 
 and Latin writers. 
 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker was married twice. In the early 
 part of his ministry he was married to Miss Eh'zabeth, 
 daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Gross, of York County, 
 
1 6 LETTER. 
 
 Pa. In this marriage there were born to them twelve 
 children, five sons and seven daughters. His first wife 
 died in 1819. 
 
 In July 1 82 1, he was married to Ann Maria Hoffman, 
 by whom he had seven children. Four of his daughters 
 were married to Lutheran clergymen. One of his sons by 
 the first wife was the Rev. S. S. Schmucker, Professor in 
 the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. 
 
 A LETTER FROM REV. J. G. SCHMUCKER. 
 
 I have in my possession an original letter from Rev, 
 J. G. Schmucker, written in his beautiful German chirog- 
 raphy, in regard to his removal from Hagerstown to York, 
 which I will give the reader in an English translation. It 
 will give us a graphic idea of the manner in which our 
 forefathers moved before railroads were built. 
 
 Hagerstown, tlie jth 0/ July, i8og. 
 Beloved and Dear Brother ! 
 
 Since I came home, I have written two letters to the 
 Church Council, and have received no reply yet. I fear, 
 therefore, that you have not received, especially the last 
 one. 
 
 I wrote therein, that I would preach my farewell ser- 
 mon on the last Sunday in July, here in Hagerstown — that 
 in July I would need three wagons and one stage for the 
 family — that I expect the wagons on the 31st of July, to 
 load the furniture, and that Mrs. Lichtenstein would show 
 us the greatest love, if she would come in the stage to help 
 my wife — and that I would preach my introductory sermon 
 at York on the first Sunday in August, and in the afternoon 
 at Ouickels — and on the second Sunday in August at 
 Jochele and at Kreutzkrick. 
 
 Write to me therefore a reply in all haste, and make all 
 the appointments correctly. I would be pleased if one or 
 more men would come with the wagons, upon whose care- 
 fulness we could depend, because I myself cannot remain 
 with them. I remain your humble servant, 
 
 J. George Schmucker. 
 
TESTlMONIAIvS. 17 
 
 The letter was not enclosed in an envelope, as is cus- 
 tomary now, but the sheet was simply folded, closed with 
 sealing wax, and addressed to Mr. Adam Graber ; postage 
 ten cents. 
 
 TESTIMONIALS TO THE CHARACTER OF DR. J. G SCHMUCKER 
 AS A CHRISTIAN AND A SCHOLAR. 
 
 An anonymous writer in Dr. Morris' " Fifty Years in 
 the Lutheran Ministry " relates the following incident : " I 
 used to like to listen to old Dr. Schmucker, as he told of 
 his early experience in the West, when he was traveling in 
 Ohio and Kentucky as a candidate. You know the Synod 
 used to send the licentiates as a sort of circuit riders, or 
 rather as exploring missionaries, to hunt up the scattered 
 settlers, baptize their children, hold communion services 
 with them, and, when possible, organize them into congre- 
 gations. Once Rev. J. G. Schmucker came suddenly upon 
 a smouldering camp-fire, that had just been deserted by a 
 bivouacking party of hostile Indians, He was discovered 
 by them just as he turned to flee in the direction from which 
 he had come, and they gave chase. I do not remember 
 how many miles he led them, but it was a long and break- 
 neck race, his faithful steed bringing him back into the set- 
 tlement just as his pursuers were about closing upon him." 
 
 Dr. J. A. Brown, late Professor of Theology at Gettys- 
 burg, was pastor of Zion English Lutheran Church in 
 York for about two years, while Dr. J. G. Schmucker was 
 Pastor Emeritus of Christ Lutheran Church. He writes of 
 him as follows : 
 
 " No one who ever saw him could forget his personal 
 appearance. Of about medium stature and singularly 
 erect in old age, with a fine countenance, and full supply of 
 hair, in perfect order, he presented an appearance of dignity 
 that was truly commanding; while his manner, combining 
 
l8 DR. BROWN'S TESTIMONIAI,. 
 
 gravity and softness, was attractive and pleasing. In his 
 intercourse he exemplified the precept — " Be 'courteous," 
 and was a model of Christian politeness. Nature and grace 
 had both contributed to the formation of his character, and 
 the result was one of much beauty and excellence." 
 
 " His manner towards young preachers was very kind 
 and encouraging. Usually at the close of the service he 
 had some kind word to cheer. After my first sermon in 
 his presence he said, as I came from the pulpit, ' I think 
 the Lord was with you to-day.' There were no flippant 
 criticisms, no eulogies to gender or nourish pride, but 
 judicious words of counsel and encouragement. On another 
 occasion, after I had preached on Matt, xxviii. 19, 20, he 
 expressed gratification, but said, ' There was too much in 
 the text for a single discourse.' It was very evident that 
 he had made preaching a study, and knew how to divide 
 the Word of truth. His criticisms of some men, though 
 never harsh, were discerning, and showed that he had 
 detected the weak points. He loved to speak of the great 
 preachers in our own and other churches, and especially to 
 tell of their spiritual power." 
 
 I will conclude this sketch of the elder Schmucker by 
 
 the following very interesting communication from his son. 
 
 Dr. S. S. Schmucker, written from Gettysburg, December, 
 
 1857: 
 
 Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, December 2/1., iS^y. 
 
 In person, my father was of about the medium stature, 
 rather thick set, though not corpulent ; his eyes were deep 
 seated, and, like his hair, jet black. His complexion was 
 dark ; his constitution vigorous ; and, even in old age, his 
 person was very erect, and his bodily movements, whilst 
 they were deliberate and dignified, were also prompt and 
 firm. His countenance was expressive of great amiability, 
 benevolence and dignity, whilst his keen black eye and 
 well developed head indicated the excellence of his intellec- 
 
son's TKSTlMONIAt,. 19 
 
 tual powers. His character was unusually symmetrical and 
 well balanced, and his temper so uniformly placid that I 
 have scarcely ever seen it ruffled by the most trying annoy- 
 ances of life. He had a quick sensibility for the sufferings 
 of humanity. Nor did his sympathy evaporate in mere 
 mental emotion — he was also a generous and active friend 
 of the poor, the afflicted and the oppressed, in our own and 
 foreign lands. Of the expansiveness of his benevolence I 
 will state a single example. When the Orphan House at 
 Halle, in Germany, was almost destroyed during the Bona- 
 partean Wars, so strong was his sympathy for that suffering 
 institution, whose alumni were the chief founders of our 
 Church in this country, that his response to the appeal of 
 its Directors to our churches in this Western world for 
 pecuniary aid was the most liberal of all our ministers. He 
 was possessed of strong common sense, great discernment 
 of character and singular soundness of judgment. Though 
 modest and unassuming, he was distinguished for conscien- 
 tiousness and moral courage, was unwavering in his defence 
 of truth and righteousness, and an unfaltering friend of the 
 great moral reforms of the day. Of this his noble defence 
 of the Temperance cause in its infancy, when not only the 
 populace generally, but the majority of professing Christians, 
 and even some of the neighboring ministers of the Gospel, 
 were ytt opposed to it, affords a striking example. So vio- 
 lent was this opposition amongst the German community at 
 large (they regarding it as an attempt' to infringe upon their 
 civil rights), that some even menaced personal violence ; 
 and so extensive was the opposition amongst his own 
 church members that their contributions to his salary fell 
 off one-half during that year. He, however, faltered not; 
 gradually the truth gained the victory, and, in a few years, 
 he, who had previously enjoyed the public confidence in an 
 unusual degree, found it again reposed in himself in a 
 higher measure than before. 
 
 He was warmly attached to the great National Socie- 
 ties of our land, in which different Christian denominations 
 co-operate, such as the American Bible and Tract Societies. 
 He was especially interested in the operations of the Amer- 
 ican Tract Society, and regarded that mass of truth taught 
 
50 son's TKSTIMONIAI,. 
 
 in its publications, and held by the Evangelical denomina- 
 tions in common, as the grand instrumentality for the con- 
 version of the world. Yet, he was warmly attached to the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church, as organized under the Bib- 
 lical constitution of our General Syaod. He was an atten- 
 tive student of the Prophetic Scriptures, as well as a careful 
 observer of the signs of the times, and wrote with acknowl- 
 edged ability on both topics. 
 
 As a preacher he was eloquent, instructive and impres- 
 sive, generally fixing the attention of the audience to his 
 subject and holding it there to the close of his discourse. 
 He was especially a good textuary. He enriched his dis- 
 courses with copious citations of Scripture proof and illus- 
 tration, not unfrequently naming the chapter and verse. 
 Few men employed the power of the pulpit more faithfully 
 in reproving current vices. Soon after his removal to York, 
 he learned that some ten or more of the most respectable 
 and influential citizens of the town, who were also pro- 
 fessedly members of his church, were in the habit of meet- 
 ing frequently for the purpose of playing cards as an 
 innocent diversion. This he deemed highly criminal, not 
 only as a waste of time, which Christians should apply to 
 better use, but as an example calculated to sanction and 
 encourage the gambling habits of the young and profligate. 
 After repeated but fruitless private admonitions, he deter- 
 mined on another and more hazardous measure to break up 
 the practice, which was generally known to the community. 
 On the ensuing Sabbath he introduced the subject into the 
 pulpit, and exposed the evils of the practice in so fearless a 
 manner, and with such distinct allusion to the parties con- 
 cerned, that I well remember seeing members turning 
 round in the church and looking at the offenders, whilst a 
 sensation of surprise and concern filled many minds, all 
 expecting disturbance in the church, and offence to the fam- 
 ilies concerned, as the result of the discourse. The effect, 
 however, was favorable. The practice was abandoned; and, 
 although the parties felt individually aggrieved at the 
 exposure, they made no public demonstration against the 
 preacher, and eventually admitted the justice and propriety 
 of his course. 
 
son's TESTIMONIAI. — REI.IGIOUS EXPERIENCE. 2l 
 
 Sacred music and poetry found a deep response in his 
 heart. He also occasionally committed some hymns and 
 other poetical effusions to the press, which, if they do not 
 prove him a special favorite of the Muses, are distinguished 
 for ease and smoothness of versification, as well as the deep- 
 toned piety v/hich they breathe. 
 
 As a Pastor, he was most laborious and faithful. Such 
 was his punctuality in attending the Judicatories of the 
 Church that his presence was calculated on by all as a mat- 
 ter of course ; and such were his administrative talents that 
 he was repeatedly elected to the highest offices of the 
 Church. He was an ardent friend of the General Synod, 
 was one of its original founders, and ever after among its 
 ablest defenders. For about thirty years he was one of the 
 leading minds in our American Lutheran Church, was 
 actively engaged in all her important measures, and was 
 ever known as the firm champion of piety and revivals of 
 religion, as well as of all such enterprises as tend to advance 
 the spiritual triumphs of the Redeemer's church universal. 
 His own ministry was blessed not only by numerous con- 
 versions occurring every year, but by five or six special out- 
 pourings of the Holy Spirit, each resulting in the conversion 
 ol multitudes of souls. In one of these revivals the number 
 of converts was so large that they divided themselves into 
 three classes, and each conducted a separate weekly prayer- 
 meeting in a different part of the congregation. 
 
 A striking trait of my father's character was the depth 
 of his religious experience, and his unusually advanced 
 progress in the divine life. The following remarks, which 
 I find written by his own hand in his pocket Greek Testa- 
 ment, will throw some light on his internal religious his- 
 tory : 
 
 " I. From the time of my conversion, in my eighteenth 
 year, my life was, though in different degrees, a continued 
 prayer, a longing and sighing after God. 
 
 2. It was a continual repentance, on account of my 
 sins and the depravity of my heart. 
 
 3. It was a continual longing after the holiness and 
 grace to live according to the will of God. 
 
22 VISION OF GI^ORY — 1,KTTER FROM HIS SON, 
 
 4. A continual longing for union and communion 
 with God. 
 
 5. Through life I had a continual desire for the con- 
 version of souls, which influenced every sermon I preached, 
 though it was often defiled by the intermixture of selfish 
 aims. 
 
 6. I had a constant desire for the society of the pious. 
 
 7. At the same time I had many infirmities and sins, 
 and all m.y virtues were defective. 
 
 In 1840, I enjoyed a special manifestation of the divine 
 love shed abroad in my heart, which was exceedingly 
 refreshing to me. And soon after I had also a special view 
 of the divine majesty and goodness. In 1841 I had an 
 extraordinary view of Christ, and beheld his image, as it 
 were, in the chamber of my soul." 
 
 For several months before his death he was much 
 abstracted from the world, and engaged in almost constant 
 communion with God. During this time he, on one occa- 
 sion, was lying in his bed in the night watches, and called 
 to my mother, who was at his side : " Oh, if you could see 
 what I have seen beyond the Jordan of death, how happy 
 you would be ! " Such was the holy frame of mind in 
 which he awaited the call of the Redeemer, and such the 
 fortaste vouchsafed to hini of his future inheritance, until 
 he calmly yielded his life into the Redeemer's hands. 
 
 A LETTER FROM DR. SCHMUCKER TO HIS AGED FATHER. 
 
 The following letter addressed to him a short time 
 before his death, will be edifying and consoling to many of 
 our readers: 
 
 Gettysburg, June 2gth, 18^^. 
 Dear Father: 
 
 Although your sight may not enable you to. read, I 
 feel inclined to write to you, and no doubt you will be 
 pleased to hear mother read my letter. Although I am far 
 removed from you, you are daily the subject of my thought 
 and often of conversation in my family. The Lord has 
 given you a long time to rest from the duties of your pro- 
 fession and spend your days in religious reading and medi- 
 tation. Now he calls you away to himself in a very gradual 
 
i,e;tter from his son. 23 
 
 manner, giving you ample time to make all necessary- 
 arrangements. This ought to be a subject of gratitude to 
 you, and should comfort you, if you sometimes feel weary 
 amid your long infirmities. Now the prayer of the Psalmist 
 has double force to you : " Now also, when I am old and 
 grayheaded, O God, forsake me not ! " You will also find 
 great consolcition in the declaration of the same Psalmist : 
 " The Lord is my Shepherd, etc. Yea, though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
 evil. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." With the 
 Apostle Paul, also, I trust you can say, " I know in whom 
 I have believed, and am persuaded, that He is able to keep 
 that which I have entrusted to Him, until that day." 
 
 The Lord does, indeed, try your faith and patience by 
 suffering you to linger long upon a bed of sickness. Yet 
 " He doeth all things well," As you do not suffer any 
 sharp pain, you have great cause for gratitude. 
 
 That the Lord may sustain and comfort you, and put 
 His everlasting arms around you, is the daily prayer of 
 Your affectionate son, 
 
 Samuel Schmucker. 
 
24 FAMII,Y RECORD. 
 
 CHAPTER SECOND. 
 
 1799 — 1818. 
 
 FAMILY RECORD OF S. S. SCHMUCKER — HIS CHILDHOOD 
 
 E.\RLY PIETY REMARKABLE ANSWERS TO PRAYER — 
 
 STUDY AT IHE PENNSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY PRINCIPAL 
 
 OF YORK COUNTY ACADEMY — NAMES OF STUDENTS 
 
 DIARY — PRAYERS CRITICISM ON HIS STRICT MORALITY 
 
 BY DR. MORRIS VINDICATED BY DR. DIEHL — DR. 
 
 BAUGHER. 
 
 Samuel D. Schmucker, Esq., writes as follows in 
 regard to his father's family record : 
 
 My father, Samuel S. Schmucker, was the son of the 
 above named, John George Schmucker, and was born at 
 Hagerstown, Pa., February 28, 1799. 
 
 My father had nine children, who grew up to age ; 
 namely Rev. Mosheim G. Schmucker, dead ; Caroline E., 
 wife of Dr. P. B. Sadtler ; Rev. Dr. Beale M. Schmucker, 
 dead; EUenora G., wife ot Rev. A. T. Geisenhainer ; M. 
 Josephine, widow of Rev. B. C. Sueserott ; Rev. George 
 M. Schmucker; Catherine M., widow of Wm. A. Duncan, 
 Esq., Alice, widow of J. Cassatt Nealy, Esq.; Samuel D. 
 Schmucker, Esq. 
 
 It is somewhat singular that every one of my father's 
 children, who grew to manhood, or womanhood, became a 
 clergyman, or a lawyer, or the wife of a clergyman or 
 lawyer. Three or four of my father's sisters married 
 clergymen and one married a lawyer. 
 
 He was married three times. His first wife was Miss 
 Elenora Geiger, of Hagerstown, Md. The marriage took. 
 
FAMII,Y RECORD. 25 
 
 place February 28, 1821. She was the mother of his eld- 
 est son Mosheim G., but died soon after her child was 
 born; namely, July 3, 1823, after an illness of 6 months. 
 An extract of the touching and tender account of her sick- 
 ness and death, by the bereaved young widower, will 
 appear on a subsequent page of this volume. 
 
 His second wife was Miss Mary Catharine Steenbergen 
 of Virginia. She was the mother of the other children 
 whose names are given above. 
 
 The Steenbergens and the Beales were prominent fam- 
 ilies in the Shenandoah Valley, and owned large tracts of 
 beautiful lands, lying contiguous to each other. 
 
 His third wife was Miss Esther M.Wagner, of German- 
 town, Pa. 
 
 DR. S. S. SCHMUCKEr's FAMILY RECORD. 
 
 The following Record was written by the Doctor's 
 own hand, and copied by the writer from his Family Bible. 
 
 Rev. J. G. Schmucker, D. D., was born August 18, 1771, 
 in Michaelstadt in Grafschaft Erbach in Oberdeutsch- 
 land. He ascended to a better world on October 7, 
 1854, at Williamsburg, Blair County, Pa., and was bur- 
 ied at York, Pa., on the 12th., aged 83 years, i month 
 and 20 days. 
 
 S. S. Schmucker, son of John George Schmucker, was 
 born at Hagerstown, Md., on the 28th of February in 
 the year of our Lord 1799. 
 
 S. S. Schmucker and Elenora Geiger, daughter of John 
 Geiger of Hagerstown, Md., entered into the holy 
 state of matrimony, February 28th, 1821. The cere- 
 mony was performed by Rev. Benjamin Kurtz. 
 
 Samuel Mosheim Schmucker was born at New Market, 
 Shenandoah County, Va., January 12th, 1823, was 
 
26 IfAMIl,Y RECORD. 
 
 baptized by Rev, Mr. Foote, Mrs. Mary Williams act- 
 ing as sponsor. Died in Philadelphia, and was buried 
 • at Laurel Hill Cemetery in 1863. 
 
 His mother, Mrs. E. Schmucker, died July 3rd, 1823, after 
 an illness of 6 months, which was specially blessed to 
 her own sanctification. 
 
 S. S. Schmucker and Mary Catherine Steenbergen, of 
 Shenandoah County, Va., daughter of Wm. Steen- 
 bergen, of Shenandoah County, Va., were married 
 October 12th, 1825. 
 
 Their daughter, Caroline Elizabeth, was born August 20th, 
 
 1826, at 10 o'clock, p, M., at Mt. Airy, Shenandoah 
 County, Va., and was baptized by Rev. J. G. 
 Schmucker, on the 6th day of December, 1826, at 
 Gettysburg, Pa, 
 
 Their son, Beale M. Schmucker, was born August 26th, 
 
 1827, at 5 o'clock, p. M., in Gettysburg, Adams County, 
 Pa., and was baptized by Rev. J. G. Schmucker, Sep- 
 tember 26th, at the same place, 
 
 Mary Catherine was born July 4th, 1829, at 2 o'clock, a. 
 M., baptized by Rev. J. G. Schmucker, August 14th, 
 1830, aged 13 months and 10 days. Both her birth 
 and death occurred in Gettysburg, Pa. 
 
 Elenora Susan, was born February loth, 1831, at 9 o'clock, 
 A. M., at Gettysburg, and baptized by Rev. J. G. 
 Schmucker. 
 
 Virginia King, was born on the 5 th of December, in the 
 year 1832, and baptized by Rev, J. G. Schmucker, 
 
 Mariah Josephine, was born on the 22d of October, in the 
 
 year 1833, baptized by Rev, F. Ruthrauff. 
 George William Spener, was born Ju'y i6th, 1836 at Get- 
 
FAMII.Y RECORD — CHII,DHOOD. 27 
 
 tysburg, and was dedicated to God by baptism on the 
 24th of August of the same year by Rev. J, G. 
 Schmucker. 
 
 Mary Steenbergen, was born November 14th, 1838, at Get- 
 tysburg, was baptized by Rev. Benjamin Keller, and 
 departed this life March 13th, 1839 at 11 o'clock, p. m. 
 
 Catherine Williamson, was born December 26, 1839 at 
 Gettysburg, and was baptized by Rev. H. I. Smith, 
 (Professor of Seminary.) 
 
 Alice, was born March 3r(I, 1842, at Gettysburg, and was 
 baptized by Rev. Professor Baugher. 
 
 Samuel Davis, was born February 26th, 1844, and was 
 baptized by Rev. Samuel Sprecher, April 19th. 
 
 Charles Gustavus Adolphus, was born February 9th, 1846, 
 at Gettysburg, and was baptized by Rev. Prof 
 Baugher. Died of Pneumonia, March 28th, 1862. 
 
 February nth, 1848, departed this life, in the full triumph 
 of Christian hope, Mrs. Mary Catherine Schmucker, the 
 mother of the above twelve children. During her 
 brief illness of two weeks, she was specially favored 
 with manifestations of the divine presence, and as 
 death approached, appeared to be wrapped up in 
 bright anticipations of heaven. 
 
 S. S. Schmucker and Esther M. Wagner, of Germantown, 
 Pa., were married, April 28th, 1849, by Rev. Wm. 
 Eyster. 
 
 HIS CHILDHOOD. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker believed in Baptismal Grace, but never 
 believed in what is commonly called Baptismal Regenera- 
 tion. But if any one ever could lay claim to such an effect 
 
28 REMARKABI.E ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 of this Sacrament in his own person, Dr. Schmucker 
 might justly have done so. From his very childhood he 
 manifested an extraordinary degree of piety and faith in 
 God, as is evident from his daily habit of secret prayer. A 
 very remarkable instance of this early devotional frame of 
 mind is given by himself in his diary as follows : 
 
 " I recollect that while I yet lived in Hagerstown, 
 and when I could not have been more than nine years of 
 age, that the Lord had his work progressing in my heart. 
 I was with some of my companions, playing in a hay 
 stable. In the course of our play I took out my pocket 
 knife and comb, and fearing that I might lose them, laid 
 them on the joist. When we left the hay loft I put the 
 knife and comb into my pocket, and we transferred the 
 scene of our youthful gambols to a neighboring field. After 
 spending some time at this place, we prepared to return to 
 our homes. I was extremely distressed, when I discovered 
 that I had lost my knife, and all my companions having 
 gone home, I remained on the spot, seeking for what I 
 had lost. At length, finding all search in vain, I recurred 
 to my usual expedient, prayer, and had not prayed long 
 before it came into my mind, that I could find it on the 
 joist of the stable, where we had firstplayed. Notwithstand- 
 ing I was confident of having taken it from that place, I 
 returned and to my astonishment and surprise, found them 
 in precisely the same place, where I had first laid them. 
 This phenomenon, as I then believed it to be, can be 
 easily accounted for by the laws of Mental Philosophy, but 
 is still a pleasing evidence of the intimacy then existing 
 between me and my God." 
 
 A similar characteristic is also related of his father, 
 told me by one of the daughters, as follows : 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker when a young man traveled on foot 
 from his home in Virginia to Philadelphia, to pursue his 
 
SIMII^AR INSTANCE — GEO. I^OCHMAN'S PRAYER. 29 
 
 studies with Dr. Helmuth. He stopped at a tavern to get 
 a drink of water, and left his vaHse (which contained his 
 all) outside on a bench. Coming out he found it was gone ; 
 after looking around, not knowing what to do, in his dis- 
 tress he thought he would have to go back to his home in 
 Virginia ao-ain. But before he commenced his return 
 journey, he retired into a grove near by and prayed to God 
 for guidance, and while he was on his knees praying, it 
 appeared to him that he saw the very spot where his valise 
 had been hidden. Immediately he returned to the tavern, 
 asked the landlord to go with him, saying he knew where 
 his valise was, the landlord accompanied him to the barn, 
 raised a board in the fl^or, and there was the valise just as 
 he had seen it during his prayer." 
 
 A similar anecdote is related by Dr. A. H. Lochman, 
 about his father. Dr. George Lochman, which we will also 
 copy : 
 
 " When George was a boy his father determined that 
 he should learn his business and thus help to support the 
 family. By the depreciation of the continental currency he 
 had lost the little means he had possessed. The importun- 
 ities of the son, however, made an impression upon him, 
 and he consented to allow him to acquire a knowledge of 
 the languages. On a certain occasion a new book was to 
 be purchased. The previous week he had bought a dic- 
 tionary and other books which he required. He was afraid 
 to mention it to his father, lest he might refuse to furnish 
 him with the money. In this difficulty he resorted to 
 prayer. As he was returning from school he simply stated 
 his case to his Heavenly Father, and asked his assistance. 
 * After I had prayed,' he said, ' my mind became easy, and 
 taking a feather which was lying in my path, I blew it in 
 the air and ran after it. As it was descending I blew it up 
 again, when a slight breeze caught it and bore it away 
 
30 STUDIES IN PHII,ADEI,PHIA. 
 
 before me. I followed it. It fell down into the street and 
 lighted upon a silver dollar, the price of the book I wanted 
 to buy. I took it up, praising God, brought it home, told 
 my father all the circumstances.' The old man was much 
 affected, and as he brushed away the tears from his eyes 
 he said, ' George, this dollar may not be ours, but take it. 
 God has sent it. We will make inquiry, and if the owner 
 is found I will give him another.'" 
 
 Dr. Schmucker was in his eleventh year when he came 
 to York, and no doubt received his early elementary train- 
 ing in the common schools then existing in Hagerstown 
 and in York. But his principal training was in the York 
 Academy, then under the management of Mr. Beatie, and 
 which is still existing in a very flourishing condition. 
 
 His desire to study for the ministry was awakened at a 
 very early age, and amid conflicting impulses and doubts, 
 grew constantly stronger. In a most kindly letter written 
 in Latin to him, when but thirteen years old, Dr. Helmuth 
 urged him to come to the University of Pennsylvania. In 
 1 8 14 he entered the Freshman class at the University and 
 remained there to the close of the Sophomore year. 
 
 " It was not an unusual thing in those days at some of 
 the leading institutions of the country for college students to 
 take some theological studies along with the regular college 
 curriculum. So young Samuel Schmucker spent some of 
 his time, while at the University, in the study of theology, 
 under the tuition of Dr. Helmuth, at that time the most 
 prominent theological instructor of our church in this 
 country. He then spent one year, under the direction of 
 his father in theological study, before entering the Semi- 
 nary at Princeton. He had also employed much of his 
 time during the vacations, while a student at the University, 
 in theological reading." — D. 
 
 After he had returned to York, July 16, 18 16, he took 
 
PRINCIPAI, OF YORK ACADEMY. 3I 
 
 charge, August 5, of the Classical Department of the York 
 Academy. He had in the first session seventeen boys, and 
 afterwards twenty-eight under his care. The school had 
 very much deteriorated, in so much that there were only 
 four students left 'in the Classical Department. 
 
 York County Academy has been in existence over a 
 hundred years. In 1787 the building was erected, and with 
 few slight changes, is still standing and in use. The state 
 appropriated ^2,000.00. The Lutherans of York have been 
 its patrons from the beginning, and most of the young men, 
 who entered the ministry out of Lutheran churches in York, 
 received their preparation for college in this institution. 
 In consequence it has been a great feeder for the college at 
 Gettysburg. 
 
 We notice the following names of Lutherans in its 
 Board of Trustees : Rev. George Schmucker, D. D., Chas. 
 Barnitz, C. A. Morris, Dr. John Morris, George S. Morris* 
 Philip Smyser, Jacob Emmet, Charles Weiser, Rev. Solo- 
 mon Oswald, Jacob Hay, Rev. A. H. Lochman, D. D., 
 Edward G. Smyser, Rev. Jonathan Oswald, D. D., M. B. 
 Spahr, Lewis Carl, Rev. W. Baum, D. D., Rev. A. W. 
 Lilly, D. D., Jerre Carl, Rev. A. H. Fastnacht. 
 
 Prof Geo. W. Gross, Ph. D., a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and a graduate of Pennsylvania College, is the 
 Principal of the York County Academy at this time, with 
 an enrollment of sixty male students. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker's diary, dated August 5, 18 16, has 
 this entry in Latin : 
 
 " The following youths were received into the York 
 Academy to be taught Latin and Greek : 
 
 1. Geo. August Barnitz, 
 
 2. Samuel Spangler, 
 
 3. John G. Moritz, 
 
 4. William Kurtz, 
 
32 
 
 ROI.I, OF STUDENTS — EXAMINATION. 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 Henry Ness, 
 
 James Kelly, 
 
 Ferdinand Spangler, 
 
 William Roberts, 
 
 Alexander Boner {Transfuga), 
 
 Alexander Small, 
 
 Alexander Barnitz, 
 
 Geo. Spangler, 
 
 Thomas Cathcart, 
 
 William Wilson, 
 
 Jacob Florence, 
 
 William Florence, 
 
 Geo. Pentz." 
 
 November 6 he writes in his diary : 
 
 " On the 26th ult. an examination of the York Acad- 
 emy was held. I had exerted myself considerably during 
 the whole of the quarter, to bring this disorganized school 
 into proper order, and am convinced, that in this institution 
 no set of boys have ever made greater progress in the short 
 space of three months. After the examination had been 
 conducted in the most pleasing arrangement, regularity and 
 decorum, and the scholars had acquitted themselves with 
 honor, the President, after a consultation with the other 
 trustees, arose and expressed their unbounded pleasure at 
 the manner in which the exercises had been performed. 
 After enlarging a little on the importance of some of the 
 individual studies, he said that he had never seen a more 
 excellent examination in this Academy, and hoped, that 
 the Tutor, as well as the scholars, might continue in this 
 present truly laudable state of industry. 
 
 The premiums were awarded as follows : To Geo. A. 
 Barnitz a Tacitus, and to William Wilson a book of Bible 
 Stories, the former costing $i.i2}4 and the latter 50 cents. 
 
DIARY — PRAYERS. 33 
 
 A holiday was given until Monday following, and the 
 school was dismissed. Laus Deo. 
 
 Last night I slept with Mr. David Geiger, my former 
 fellow student at the University. 
 
 Mr. Geiger intends to return to Hagerstown, and as 
 soon as he can sell his inheritance, left him by his father, 
 intends to go to the state of Kentucky, to settle in Louis- 
 ville, where, if the Lord spare my life and -health, I hope to 
 see him before two years, in the capacity of a Missionary 
 Preacher. 
 
 Mr. Schuh has left Philadelphia in perfect harmony 
 with every body, except the silly M. He intends to go 
 to the western parts of Ohio, and is furnished with recom- 
 mendations from Dr. Helmuth and Dr. Schaeffer. By my 
 interposition father likewise gave him a recommendation to 
 all the clergy in the state of Ohio. Mr. Schuh is an indus- 
 trious, honest, moral and well informed young man, about 
 twenty-two years of age, though only 4 ft. 6 in. high. May 
 the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ rest upon him." 
 
 At this point he has inserted a number of prayers in 
 his diary, which we will copy, as showing the state of his 
 spiritual condition at this time: 
 
 Nov. 6. O Lord God, I am a sinner, and the iniquity of 
 my ways will bring me to eternal ruin, if thy saving hand be 
 not exerted in my favor. Though I am guilty of no crime 
 against the world, or to my knowledge any individual, my 
 heart is yet prone to evil and my ways are far from God. 
 There was a time, O Lord, when I was much nearer to 
 thee, than at present I am. Thou hast promised that 
 " Whatsoever we ask of thee in the name of thy Son Jesus 
 Christ shall be granted, that the Father may be glorified." 
 Now Lord, I beseech thee to change my heart, and give 
 me a new and purified spirit ! O Lord, numbers are rush- 
 ing with me the road to perdition. Stretch forth thine 
 
34 praye;rs. 
 
 all powerful hand, and arrest us in our mad carreer. We 
 are seated in the chariot of iniquity, and are driving head- 
 long to the gulf of destruction. Many times hast thou 
 called us, but we heeded not thine admonitions ; nothing 
 but thy divine interposition, O Lord, will save us ! 
 
 Nov. ig. O Lord, blessed be thy holy name, that thou 
 hast preserved us to this day; that thou has prolonged the 
 duration of our existence until the present moment. How 
 many have during the last night been transposed from time 
 to eternity ! For how many was the race run and the thread 
 of life cut off! We, Lord, are yet spared; and to thine 
 unmerited kindness and forbearance are we indebted for it ! 
 We have erred and gone astray ; we have sinned against 
 thee; ".there is not one that doeth good, no not one." 
 We are going the way of the iniquitous, and the path of the 
 Lord we know not. Soon will the earthly race be run, and 
 we go to another world, to receive the reward of our labor. 
 O God, our works have been of the flesh, and from the 
 flesh we would inherit eternal damnation. But thou hast 
 promised, that thou wilt hear the penitent, and the death of 
 the sinner thou wilt not. In thy promise alone do we re- 
 pose the hope of our salvation, — in the promise of HIM, 
 who died for man, that he might never die ! O that we 
 might see the folly of our ways and fly to thee for assistance ! 
 But our nature is corrupted and we are prone to sin. But 
 do thou. Lord, pardon our manifold transgressions ; and as 
 men will not obey thy commands, but are full of sin, do 
 thou rule us with a rod of iron, and put a bit into our 
 mouths, which will certainly bring us to reason. Yet, O 
 Lord, thy punishments are severe, I feel the hand of the 
 .Lord upon me ; I am sorely afflicted and ready to bend 
 down under the load of affliction. " My soul is exceedingly 
 sorrowful, even unto death." " O Lord, wilt thou not 
 deliver me ? " 
 
PRAYERS. 35 
 
 Nov. 20. On the morning of this day, O merciful Crea- 
 tor, how should I glorify thy name, that thou hast spared me 
 until this day. My life has been an uninterrupted scene of 
 ungodliness, and my heart knows not God. With guilt upon 
 my head, contrition in my heart, Oh how could I have met 
 and stood before my judge, had I died during the last 
 night. Thou, O Lord, hast spared my life, and on the 
 morning of this day hast condescended to assuage in some 
 degree, the misery of my condition, and given another day 
 for the salvation of my soul. O Lord, blessed be thy name, 
 for the unmerited blessings which thou hast been pleased 
 to bestow upon me. Grant that it may not arise in evi- 
 dence against me on the great and awful day of Judgment, 
 That I may apply it to the working out of the salvation of 
 my soul, and the abstraction of my mind from the idleness 
 of this world. Lord, I desire to be saved ; my soul longs 
 to be wrested from the flames in which it is now consuming. 
 But I am weak and miserable, for the grace of God is not 
 upon me. Within these five years, to the best of my recol- 
 lection, thou Lord knowest, I have made about lOO attempts 
 and commencements at conversion, but the work was 
 always prevented by my own evil doings. I did not permit 
 God to direct me, but was always determined to go accord- 
 ing to my own head. Lord, now I am convinced of my 
 own inability, and come entirely to thee. Do thou direct 
 me ; be thou my leader, and form my heart, such as thou 
 wilt have it should be. Thy blessed word teaches us, that 
 salvation of souls is not the work of man ; nay, if all the 
 angels in heaven united their strength, it would not be 
 sufficient for the salvation of one soul ! Man is mortal ; 
 angels approach the divine nature to an amazing degree, 
 and are therefore far greater than man ; but angels are 
 incompetent to the salvation of a soul ; how can man, who 
 is so far inferior to angels, do anything towards the accom- 
 
36 DIARY. 
 
 plishment of this divine purpose! O Lord, therefore I will 
 submit solely to thy direction, and trust in thy promise, 
 that thou wilt convert me, and conduct all things in such a 
 manner, as finally to end in my salvation. Amen. 
 
 These prayers were not intended by the author for 
 publication. They were, no doubt, portions of his daily 
 private devotions during a considerable period of time, and 
 were written by his own hand in his diary to fix their im- 
 pression on his heart and mind. They not only show his 
 spiritual condition while under conviction of sin, but they 
 give us the key-note to hisvvhole subsequent spiritual life 
 and conduct. 
 
 Nov. i6. When I undertook the care of the Classical 
 Department of York Academy, I determined to conduct 
 everything on that principle of independence, which I have 
 ever endeavored to maintain. Accordingly, instead of 
 inserting into the public prints a long and circumstantial 
 advertisement, as many of my friends advised me to do, I 
 sent but these few lines for publication : 
 
 " The public are respectfully informed, that the Classi- 
 cal Department of the York Academy is again opened, 
 where scholars may apply for admission." 
 
 I might, perhaps, have received a few more scholars by 
 a pompous advertisement; but this I deemed too much like 
 begging parents to send their children. In this manner I 
 have continued to conduct the school, and though there 
 were but four Latin and Greek scholars when Mr. Beatie 
 left the Academy, there are now seventeen pupils. 
 
 Dec. g. Miss Betsey arrived at York about the 6th 
 ult. She has remained at our house and at Mr. Barnitz's 
 ever since. In all my intercouse with her, which has neces- 
 sarily been considerable, I have found her to be of an amia- 
 ble disposition. In her first acquaintance she is very 
 prudently reserved, but with her friends and acquaintances 
 
DIARY. 37 
 
 she is communicative, though by no means disagreeably 
 loquacious. There was a day when she was charmingly 
 beautiful. But alas, time and disease have been making 
 very visible ravages on her frame. She is no longer that 
 charming, beautiful female, which she formerly was; like a 
 poppy, whose top has been overcharged with rain, she 
 bends under the weight of her afflictions. As when a 
 flower in the valley has been rooted up by the share of the 
 unconscious rustic, falls on the plain and there withers and 
 dies, thus Miss H. affords another striking, and at the same 
 time afflicting evidence of the frailty and weakness of our 
 frame, and of the transitory nature of this life. By these 
 reflections we are forcibly reminded of a beautiful and 
 appropriate verse in that admired production of Gray, 
 " Elegy written in a country church yard." 
 
 " Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 
 
 The dark, unfathomed depths of ocean bear, 
 Full many a flower is born to bloom unseen, 
 And waste its fragrance on the desert air." 
 
 Dec. 12. On the day, which my own books will show, 
 and which is about six weeks since, I happened to have a 
 conversation with Mr. Seibert about the education of his son. 
 He told me that the cause of his having discontinued the 
 study of Latin, was his pecuniary embarrassment, mention- 
 ing at the same time, that he was sincerely sorry for not 
 having been able to pay Mr. Saml. Murill an amount which 
 was due to him for some time. As " to do good " is an 
 object which I always had in view, it grieved me to see his 
 boy lose a good education on account of the indigence of 
 his father, and I immediately offered to teach him gratis. 
 His father sent him the next day. At first I was really 
 astonished to hear that he had been in Virgil ; for far from 
 being able to give any of the necessary rules for the gen- 
 der, declension and conjugation, etc., of Latin words, he 
 
38 DIARY. 
 
 could not decline stella ! Yet this boy had been at 
 Latin half a year, and quit only a few weeks ! He now 
 recites tolerably well. I have no doubt of his being a 
 smart boy. 
 
 Dec. i6. To-day I paid Mrs. Davidson a visit, and 
 had a conference with her relative to the admission of her 
 son into the first division. She seems to be a woman of 
 extensive information, and likewise of very affable disposi- 
 tion. She said that she had intended to send him after the 
 last examination, but had been prevented by an intended 
 journey to Baltimore ; that she had no objection, but on the 
 contrary, felt an anxiety to have him under my care ; that 
 Rev. Cathcart had expressed a very favorable opinion of 
 my administration, etc. At my departure she thanked me 
 for the trouble of calling, and said, she would be very 
 happy to see me at any time at her house. I thanked her 
 and departed. 
 
 Dec. I J. The gentlemen formerly constituting the 
 musical club existing in this place were, Dec, Anno Domini 
 1800, John Barnitz, Geo. Barnitz, Jacob Doll, Jacob Cremer, 
 David Doll, John Moritz, Sr., John Stroman, John Hay^ 
 Henry Mundorff, John Herr, Gep. Mundorff, Henry Pickil, 
 Chas. A. Barnitz, Harry Hay, Wm. Lenhart. 
 
 A book of music belonging to them is now in my pos- 
 session. 
 
 Dec. ig. This day I bought a second-hand flute from 
 Mr. White for ^2.00. I shall probably commence the study 
 of music, though not with any intention of spending much 
 time at it. 
 
 Yesterday Mr. White left York for Columbia, with an 
 intention of commencing the practice of the law in that 
 place. He is a man whose actions flow from the purest 
 principles, although unacquainted with the world. May 
 he continue to walk in the path of virtue, and may success 
 
certificate;. 39 
 
 attend his endeavors. May the blessing of the Lord God 
 be and rest upon him. 
 
 The following certificate was given Mr. Schmucker on 
 his resignation of the York Academy : 
 
 York, 12th Aug., 1818. 
 It is hereby certified, that Mr. Samuel S. Schmucker 
 has taught in the York Academy for some time past, with 
 great acceptance. He has conducted himself not only 
 with propriety and decorum, but in an highly exemplary 
 manner, and being now about to leave this place, he is 
 recommended to the friendship and attention of the inhab- 
 itants in whatever place he may reside. 
 
 By order of the Board of Trustees. 
 , W. Barber, Sec. Robert Cathcart, Pres. • 
 
 :M-^n 
 
40 PREPARATION FOR THE MINISTRY. 
 
 CHAPTER THIRD. 
 
 1818— 1820. 
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE MINISTRY — ENTRANCE INTO PRINCE- 
 TON SEMINARY — HIS FATHER'S MOTIVES CRITICISED, 
 
 CHARGES OF PIETISM AND PURITANISM BY R. W., 
 
 WHO WERE THE PIETISTS? THEIR CHARACTER AND 
 
 DOCTRINES — OUR AMERICAN LUTHERAN CHURCH FOUNDED 
 BY THE PIETISTS — THE EARLY MINISTERS OF OUR 
 
 CHURCH TRAINED BY THEM WHO WERE THE PURITANS ? 
 
 THEIR CALVINISM AND EXTREME VIEWS ON THE 
 
 SABBATH NOT ADOPTED BY HIM— PERSECUTIONS AND 
 BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT COMMON AMONG ALL PEOPLE 
 AT THAT TIME. 
 
 We have copied somewhat extended extracts from his 
 diary, while he was a teacher in York Academy, in the 
 first place to give the readers an insight into his state of 
 mind during his early youth, and secondly to disprove the 
 assertions of Dr. Morris, in his book " Fifty years in the 
 Ministry," that he was " unsocial and ascetic " in his man- 
 ners, that he was " unpopular," and that " nobody was inti- 
 mate enough with him to regard him as a friend." It will 
 be observed, that during a part of this time he seemed to 
 have been under deep conviction of sin. He appears to have 
 been tossed with doubts and fears, hopes and despondency, 
 trying to convert himself by his own strength, until at last 
 he gave himself entirely into the hands of God, who by his 
 Holy Spirit wrought the gracious change, and gave him 
 peace. The charge that he was unsociable and a recluse is 
 sufficiently contradicted by his own account of conversa- 
 
SOCIAI^ DISPOSITION. 41 
 
 tions he had with different persons, whose society he 
 enjoyed 
 
 Dr. Diehl's article in the Quarterly Review of January, 
 1874, contains a quotation from Dr. Morris' book, "Fifty 
 Years in the Ministry," in which Dr. Schmucker's character 
 is somewhat misrepresented, and to which Dr. Diehl 
 appends some very appropriate criticisms : 
 
 " Dr. J. G. Morris, in reminiscences of Dr. Schmucker, 
 pubhshed in the LiitJieran Observer, gives a graphic account 
 of him at the time of his teaching at York, the writer of 
 the reminiscences being himself a pupil in the Academy at 
 the time: ' He took temporary charge of the York Acad- 
 emy, and there it was that I received from him my final 
 preparation for the Sophomore class at Princeton College. 
 He was at that time a young man of twenty-one, of fair 
 complexion, meagre visage, of vigorous health and of 
 exceedingly staid deportment. Some people would have 
 called his bearing dignified ; but young as I was, I set it 
 down as ascetic, unsocial and recluse. He was a laborious 
 student, and had no intimate companions. He did not 
 frequent the society of young ladies, nor indeed of any 
 other class of people ; and hence was not a popular young 
 man. Everybody regarded him as a model of perfection, 
 so far as purity of morals was concerned. But nobody was 
 intimate enough with him to regard him as a friend. He 
 was considerably ahead of most, if not all the young candi- 
 dates for our ministry in theological and classical training.' 
 
 The qualification in the last remark was needless. 
 Who of all the young candidates for the Lutheran ministry, 
 in 1 818 — 1820, was at all comparable in classic and theo- 
 logic training to Samuel S. Schmucker ? He was im- 
 mensely ahead of those who were licensed cotempora- 
 neously with him. 
 
 The extract from the reminiscences gives a mistaken 
 
42 MORRIS' TRIBUTE. 
 
 estimate of Mr. Schmucker's social disposition. He was 
 not constitutionally unsocial or ascetic. He could not have 
 been unpopular. Absenting himself from social enjoy- 
 ments for the purpose of deep devotion to study and religi- 
 ous meditation would elevate him in the esti- 
 mation of all right-thinking people. The young man 
 who in the opinion of everybody was a model of per- 
 fection in moral purity ; the young candidate for holy 
 orders, who was conscientiously devoting every hour of his 
 precious time to a preparation for his great lifework, hav- 
 ing no leisure for ladies' society or social pleasures, would 
 be considered a most exemplary candidate for the ministry. 
 This very tribute of Dr. Morris implies a popularity far 
 more desirable for a theological student, or a young licen- 
 tiate, than any friendship he might have won by spending 
 his evenings in society, or employing his rich intellectual 
 stores in entertaining, hour by hour, half a dozen boon 
 companions. The genial disposition of Dr. Schmucker in 
 his later years, is sufficient evidence that constitutionally 
 he was fitted, when all the glow of youth was upon him, for 
 refined social enjoyments, had not a noble and all absorb- 
 ing work demanded his undivided time." 
 
 Let us look into this delineation of Schmucker's char- 
 acter a little closer. Morris says : 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker was the severest moralist I ever 
 knew, and carried his principles, I think, to an extreme 
 length. (?) He objected to some amusements which a wiser 
 age now sanctions, and opposed some recreations which the 
 church now approves. He did not know one card from 
 another. I do not suppose he ever had a dice-box in his 
 hand, even for amusement. He knew nothing of checkers, 
 or back-gammon or chess. He never was in a theatre or 
 circus, never heard an opera. He even doubted the pro- 
 priety of Christians going to hear famous vocalists in a 
 
^lORAIy CHARACTER. 43 
 
 concert hall, especially if they had appeared on the oper- 
 atic stage. He never used tobacco in any form. He never 
 drank a drop of strong liquor as a beverage. He never 
 conformed to any modern fashion in dress for fashion's 
 sake, however neat and appropriate it might be." 
 
 This is certainly very high praise and the highest 
 compliment that could have been paid to a Christian gentle- 
 man and Theological Professor. Dr. Morris may not have 
 so intended it, but rather as a reflection on his sound judg- 
 ment in objecting to some amusements which a " wiser age 
 now sanctions and the church now approves." Pray what 
 are those amusements, which this "wiser age" sanctions and 
 the church approves ? 
 
 Is it dancing ? I have heard of some church mem- 
 bers in this wiser (?) age who go to balls and send their 
 children to dancing schools, perhaps at the same time that 
 they attend the catechetical instruction of their pastor. Dr, 
 Schmucker certainly and wisely did not approve of this 
 kind of amusement. 
 
 Is it card playing ? I have heard it said that there are 
 some fashionable church members, who indulge in card 
 playing in their parlors, and perhaps also in their club- 
 rooms. But Dr. Schmucker, to his praise be it said, was 
 opposed to all sorts of gambling. " He did not know one 
 card from another." We confess ourselves equally igno- 
 rant of the gambler's art, and we hope most, if not all, of 
 our ministerial brethren can also say this of themselves. 
 
 " He never was in a theatre or circus." This is cer- 
 tainly to his credit. A Christian, who has consecrated his 
 life to the service and glory of God, should be ashamed to 
 be seen in such places. 
 
 " He never used tobacco in any form." Would that 
 all of his students had followed his example in this respect ! 
 Perhaps a future, even " wiser " age than this, will see the 
 
44 MORAI, CHARACTER. 
 
 evils of the use of tobacco and all narcotics in every form. 
 
 " He never drank a drop of strong liquor as a bever- 
 age." On the temperance question Dr. Schmucker was 
 far in advance of the time in which he lived. He had seen 
 the sad effects of intoxicants in some of his ministerial 
 brethren of that day, and we commend his example to all 
 Christian people in this " wiser age," 
 
 " He never conformed to any modern fashion in dress 
 for fashion's sake." No, he never indulged in or approved 
 of some of the follies of modern fashions in dress. But in 
 his unaffected piety, in the genuine politeness of his deport- 
 ment, and in the neatness and propriety of his dress, he 
 may be designated as, in the highest sense of the term, a 
 Christian gentleman. 
 
 We do not think Dr. Schmucker " carried his prin- 
 ciples of morality to an extreme length," especially for a 
 man occupying his position. What would probably have 
 been the character of the five hundred men whom he 
 trained for the ministry, if he had encouraged them in card- 
 playing and theatre-going, and if he had not warned them 
 by his example and precept against the use of tobacco and 
 strong drink ? 
 
 We thank God that he called into his service a man of 
 such exemplary piety and unimpeachable moral character 
 to be the instructor and guide of the rising ministry in our 
 General Synod ; to write the constitutions of our general 
 and district synods ; to prepare the text-books for our 
 early theological students ; to compile the hymn book for 
 our churches, and translate Luther's Catechism into Eng- 
 lish for our people. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker was not a recluse, averse to all sdcial 
 enjoyment and friendly intercourse ; nor did he regard all 
 games and plays as sinful, especially when they afforded 
 needed exercise and were conducive to health. But he 
 
MORAI, CHARACTER. 45 
 
 maintained that, as Ciiristian ministers, we should deny 
 ourselves even of sorne innocent recreations, if there was 
 danger of giving offense to weaker brethren, just as Paul 
 declared that he would eat no meat, if it would cause his 
 weak brother to stumble. We remember how on one 
 occasion the theological students were playing a game of 
 ball in the rear of the Seminary building, and became very 
 noisy. The Doctor admonished them, either to give up 
 ball playing near the Seminary, or be less boisterous ; for 
 people going along the road and hearing the noise might 
 think the theological students were indulging in an unbe- 
 coming carousal. 
 
 So also in regard to dress. He did not teach us to 
 dress in a manner that might be called unfashionable, or 
 unbecoming to a Christian gentleman ; but he advised us 
 never to attract attention by any singularity in our apparel, 
 but rather to dress very much like the people among whom 
 we lived, as Christ and his apostles doubtless also dressed 
 like the people of their time and country. 
 
 Dr. Morris gives a similar characteristic of the elder 
 Dr. Baugher, father of the present H. L. Baugher, D. D. 
 He writes : 
 
 " Dr. Baugher was a severe and exemplary moralist. 
 He never sanctioned among clergymen and Christian peo- 
 ple, what many regard as innocent amusements, such as chess 
 or checkers, and I doubt whether he would now sanction 
 Croquet, which has since become a popular clerical amuse- 
 ment." 
 
 " He was a puritanic observer of what he called the 
 Sabbath, and severely temperate in all things." 
 
 " His Presbyterian training influenced the character of 
 his theology, although he was in no proper sense a Cal- 
 vinist." — Fifty years in the Ministry, pages ig2, igj. 
 
 On August 5th, Mr. Schmucker took charge of the Clas- 
 
46 STUDIES AT PRINCETON, 
 
 sical department of the York Academy. He had during the 
 first session seventeen boys under his instruction, but in the 
 following sessions the number increased to twenty-eight. 
 
 He remained in charge of the Academy until Novem- 
 ber, 1817, when he resigned his position and accompanied 
 his brother George on a tour westward along the Juniata 
 River, over the Allegheny Mountains to Pittsburg, and 
 down the Ohio River as far as Louisville, Ky. His diary 
 at this time shows much mental conflict about his plans for 
 the future, but the result was, that he finally decided to 
 devote himself to the work of the gospel ministry. He 
 began his direct preparation under the supervision of his 
 father, with such diligence, that when he decided to go to 
 Princeton, and enter the Theological Seminary, he was able 
 to stand a very satisfactory examination in all the studies 
 of the first year, and to enter the class at the opening of the 
 second year of their course of study. He arrived at Prince- 
 ton, August 17, 18 18, was matriculated August 22, and 
 remained there until March 30, 1820. Among his fellow 
 students were Bishops Mclllvain and Johns, and Dr. Robert 
 Baird was his room mate. The great lights of Princeton 
 Seminary and of the Presbyterian Church at that time were 
 Drs. Alexander and Miller. Under these distinguished 
 professors he received as finished a theological education, 
 as could be gained in any institution then existing in this 
 country. 
 
 The fact of his having gone to Princeton to complete 
 his course of theological studies has been much deplored 
 by some writers in the Lutheran Church. Dr. J. G. Morris 
 publishes an article in his " Fifty Years in the Ministry," 
 from the pen of R. W., (Reuben Weiser,) one paragraph of 
 which we will transcribe and append for the perusal of our 
 readers : 
 
 " He was a man of most exemplary piety and sincerity. 
 
FATHER A PIETIST, 47 
 
 His views on theology were clear and scriptural, and 
 although he was devotedly attached to the Lutheran 
 Church, it was doubted by many of his warmest friends, 
 after 1845, whether he was true to the confessional stand- 
 point of historical Lutheranism." 
 
 " His father, Dr. J. G. Schmucker, was a Pietistic Luth- 
 eran of the Spenerian school, and hence sent him to study 
 theology at a Puritanical Seminary ; this was, perhaps, a 
 misfortune for one who was to have the training of not less 
 than five hundred ministers in his hands." 
 
 " He had his enemies in the Lutheran Church all along, 
 and leading men in the Pennsylvania Synod, and in the New 
 York Ministerium, and in Ohio, and North Carolina 
 opposed his Puritanism, but he bravely maintained his posi- 
 tion till about 1846. About that time his Lutheran ortho- 
 doxy began to be suspected by some of his own students, 
 and especially those who had charge of Pennsylvania Col- 
 lege." 
 
 In reply to these utterances we remark : 
 
 I. Dr. Schmucker never concealed his theological 
 views. He declared them openly in his oral teachings, and 
 in his writings. And further, there was no material change 
 in his theological views, from the time he subscribed his 
 inaugural oath, until his resignation, a period of about forty 
 years, as he himself declares in his letter of resignation to the 
 Board. The following declaration was written by his own 
 hand at the time of his resignation, and read before the 
 Board of Directors : 
 
 " I record the declaration, that I this day cordially 
 believe every doctrine taught in the entire volume (Popular 
 Theology). These facts I state in justice to the institution 
 and myself, and in view of the future history of the institu- 
 tion and the church." 
 
 Hence there could be no doubt or suspicion, after the 
 
48 NO CHANGE IN HIS PRINCIPI^ES. 
 
 year 1845, by " his warmest friends," of his confessional 
 standpoint ; both his friends and enemies knew his stand- 
 point very well. Some leading men in the Tennessee 
 Synod, and in the Pennsylvania Synod, and in the Ohio 
 Synod, and in the Missouri Synod knew the doctrinal 
 standpoint of Dr. Schmucker and the General Synod, long 
 before the year 1846. The German Professor, Dr. Schaeffer, 
 and some of the German students under his training, 
 opposed (not suspected) his confessional standpoint ; but 
 some of the professors in Pennsylvania College opposed 
 him on other grounds. Their confessional standpoint did 
 not differ very much from his at that time, as will be shown 
 in a subsequent part of this Biography. 
 
 2. The sneer at Pietism comes with a bad grace from 
 an American Lutheran minister, especially one belonging 
 to the General Synod. Who were the Pietists ? and what 
 were the teachings and practices on which their Pietism was 
 based? They were such men as Spener, Francke, Arndt» 
 Knapp, Storr, Flatt, Freylinghausen, holy, active, pious 
 Lutheran Christians, who showed their faith by their works. 
 As to their teachings and practices we will let the Lutheran 
 historian, Dr. Mosheim, whose authority and orthodoxy 
 none will dispute, give the reply. He says, " Pietism owed 
 its origin to the pious and learned Spener, who formed pri- 
 vate devotional societies at Frankfort, in order to cultivate 
 vital and practical religion ; and published a book, entitled, 
 * Pious Desires,' which greatly promoted this object. His 
 followers laid it down as an essential maxim, that none 
 should be admitted into the ministry, but those, who not 
 only had received a proper education, but were also distin- 
 guished by their wisdom and sanctity of manners, and had 
 hearts filled with divine love. Hence, they proposed an 
 alteration in the schools of divinity, in Germany, which 
 embraced the following points : 
 
The pietists — THEIR principi.es. 49 
 
 a. " That the scholastic theology, which reigned in the 
 academies, and was composed of intricate and disputable 
 doctrines, and obscure and unusual forms of expression, 
 should be totally abolished." 
 
 d. " That polemical divinity, which comprehended the 
 controversies subsisting between Christians of different com- 
 munions, should be less eagerly studied, and less frequently 
 treated, though not entirely neglected." 
 
 c. " That all mixture of philosophy and human science 
 with divine wisdom, was to be most carefully avoided, i. e., 
 that pagan philosophy and classical learning should be kept 
 distinct from, and by no means supercede Biblical Theol- 
 ogy." But 
 
 d. " That, on the contrary, all those students who were 
 designed for the ministry, should be accustomed from their 
 early youth to the perusal and study of the Holy Scriptures, 
 and be taught a plain system of theology, drawn from these 
 unerring sources of truth." 
 
 e. " That the whole course of their education was to be 
 so directed as to render them useful in life, by the practical 
 power of their doctrine, and tlie commanding influence of 
 their example." 
 
 "This work began about 1670. In 1691 Spener removed 
 from Dresden to Berlin, where he propagated the same 
 principles, which widely spread, and were well supported in 
 many parts of Germany by the excellent professors, Francke 
 and others. This raised much controversy, in which the 
 Pietists were charged with many errors. Of these the chief 
 was, that " divine influence is necessary to the right under- 
 standing of the Scriptures." They taught, that without 
 such help, no man can enter into the spirit of them ; no 
 man can relish or enjoy those parts which relate to the 
 divine life, and the experience of the Christian ; for so saith 
 St. Paul : " The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 
50 Their principi,es. 
 
 Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can 
 he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
 
 "Another thing which gave great offence was, that they 
 renounced the vain amusements of the world. Thus, danc- 
 ing, pantomimes, public sports, theatrical diversions, the 
 reading of humorous and comical books, with several other 
 kinds of pleasure and entertainments, were prohibited by 
 the Pietists as unlawful and unseemly ; and therefore, by 
 no means of an indifferent nature." 
 
 " But the most offensive of all their errors, real or sup- 
 posed, was, that ' No persoj^ who was not himself a model 
 of piety, and divine love, was qualified to be a public teacher 
 of piety, or a guide to others in the way of salvation.' This 
 was so offensive to the carnal clergy of Germany, who, it 
 seems, at that time were not a few, that they raised the cry 
 of heresy, and charged them (strange as it may seem) with 
 making void the efficacy of the divine word ! " * 
 
 This is exactly the position and practice of our General 
 Synod to-day; we foster prayermeetings among our people, 
 and we make it a rule that our ministers shall not only be 
 educated men, but they shall also lead consistent Christian 
 lives, and have their hearts filled with divine love. 
 
 It will be seen by every one who studied theology 
 under Dr. S. S. Schmucker, that those are substantially the 
 same principles and practices which were inculcated and 
 insisted on by him in the Seminary at Gettysburg ; and 
 these are the doctrines and practices that prevail in our 
 General Synod to-day, and were held and practiced by the 
 fathers of our American Lutheran Church. Yes, Prof 
 Schmucker was a Pietist, and his father was a Pietist, and 
 the founders of our General Synod, yea, the fathers of our 
 American Lutheran Church, who came from Pietistic Halle, 
 
 * Mosheiin's History, Vol. V., 312-324. 
 
PIETISTS FOUNDERS OF A. I^. CHURCH— DUNBAR. 5 1 
 
 the Muhlenbergs, Kunzes, Helmuths, Schmidts, Schaeffers, 
 and the ministers trained by them, Schmucker Senior, the 
 Lochmans, Kurtzes, Schaeffers, were all Pietists of the 
 Spenerian school. They are our spiritual fathers. Would 
 to God, that all their sons had inherited more of their Piet- 
 ism ! Was it really " a misfortune," that the man who 
 under God had the training of the first five hundred men in 
 our General Synod, was " a Pietist of the Spenerian school ? " 
 Would it have been less a misfortune if he had been trained 
 in the dead scholastic orthodoxy and the formalism which 
 prevailed in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the 
 champions of which persecuted the Pietists ? Or would it 
 have been less a misfortune, if he had been trained in the 
 rationalistic schools that predominated at the close of the 
 eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries ? 
 No, we thank God, that he was a Pietist of the Spenerian 
 school. 
 
 We are the children of the Pietists ; they are our spirit- 
 ual fathers. Most of those in the General Synod who now 
 sneer at Pietism, are themselves Pietists. They know not 
 what they do. Father, forgive them ! 
 
 Rev. W. H. Dunbar, D. D., gave expression to the 
 truth here presented, in an article in the Lutheran Observer, 
 and copied with approval in other church papers, in the 
 following extract : 
 
 " And this is and has been from the first the historic 
 position of the General Synod. It was the Lutheranism, res- 
 cued from the dead confessionalism, restored in the original 
 spirit of its founder through the influences of Arndt, Spener, 
 Francke and others, that was transplanted to this country. 
 Thus restored, a reaction took place, and in the early part of 
 this century in this country it seemed almost to lose its dis- 
 tinctive identity as a Lutheran Church. Even the great 
 confession was ignored in its church life. It remained for 
 
52 THE PURITANS. 
 
 the General Synod to restore the Confession to its proper 
 place.* Nobly did her founders and their successors 
 accomplish this work. Loyal to the Confession, insisting 
 on sound doctrine, her genuine Lutheranism could not be 
 questioned. The matter of externals, liturgies, etc., has not 
 been ignored." 
 
 3. " His father sent him to a Puritanical Seminary," 
 says the writer in the " Fifty Years in the Ministry." To 
 what other seminary could he have sent him, but the Pres- 
 byterian Seminary at Princeton, if he was to have a thor- 
 ough theological training ? There was, indeed, no Lutheran 
 Theological Seminary in this country, until Dr. Schmucker 
 himself founded the one at Gettysburg.f There were other 
 Lutheran ministers who also studied theology at Princeton ; 
 for example, Drs. J. G. Morris, and Henry L. Baugher, Sr., 
 and we never heard that they suffered any misfortune from 
 studying in that " Puritanical Seminary." 
 
 4. And who were the Puritans of America ? Let 
 Mosheim, the great Lutheran historian, furnish the reply. 
 It is given in Herzog's Encyclopedia, a German work of 
 high standing : " A part of the congregation of John Rob- 
 inson led the way of the Pilgrim Fathers. With fasting 
 and prayer they prepared themselves for the journey to the 
 distant land. After a heart-affecting farewell and Psalm 
 singing, they boarded the two small ships, that were to 
 bring them to New England. In September, 1620, they 
 departed from England forever, and became the pioneers 
 for their persecuted Puritan brethren, 20,000 of whom fol- 
 lowed them in the next fifteen years, regardless of the dan- 
 
 I 
 
 * It was mainly through Dr. Schmucker 's instriimentality that the 
 Augsburg Confession was "restored to its proper place" after the 
 organization of the General Syno'^. Ed. 
 
 t Hartwick St minary was chartered in 1816, but had not, I think, 
 risen to the dignity of a Theological Seminary until a number of 
 years later. 
 
the; puritans. 53 
 
 gets and privations, which befell the first colony of New 
 England ; as there alone it was possible for them to escape 
 the oppression of the Hierarchy, and to found a church 
 according to the principles of the ApostoHc Church ... To 
 the earnest determination, the invincible courage, and the 
 unalterable will of these Pilgrim Fathers, the New England 
 Colony is indebted for its prosperity, and the present North 
 American states for their greatness." 
 
 Milton, the renowned author of " Paradise Lost,'' 
 speaks of them as " Faithful and freeborn Englishmen, and 
 good Christians, constrained to forsake their dearest home, 
 their friends and kindred, whom nothing but the wide 
 ocean and the savage deserts could hide and shelter from 
 the fury of the bishops." Among them was "John Elliott, 
 famous as the apostle to the Indians, and the first Protestant 
 missionary to the heathen." 
 
 Puritanism : — "It has been a common term of reproach, 
 applied to the friends of pure religion and undefiled." 
 
 " The persecutions carried on against the Puritans dur- 
 ing the reign of Elizabeth and the Stuarts, served to lay the 
 foundation of a new empire, and eventually a vast republic 
 in the western world. Hither, as into a wilderness, they 
 fled from the face of their persecutors ; and being protected 
 in the free exercise of their religion, continued to increase, 
 until at length they became an independent nation." * 
 
 Now, if the above eulogies are deserved, and who 
 doubts it ? then the Puritans, who landed on Plymouth 
 Rock, merit the respect and admiration of the whole Chris- 
 tian world. 
 
 At the same time it affords us great satisfaction to re- 
 cord, that the German immigrants who came from the Fath- 
 erland for conscience sake and founded the Lutheran church 
 
 * Encyclopedia of Religious Kno-w ledge. 
 
54 THEIR PRINCIPIrES. 
 
 in Pennsylvania and in Georgia, will not suffer in comparison 
 with the Puritans. Their history presents a most beautiful 
 example of patient endurance and untiring zeal in the ser- 
 vice of God. Their indefatigable self denial, industry, 
 their earnest and faithful life, illustrating the doctrines of 
 the church which they loved and for whose advancement 
 they were toiling, made a deep impression on their contem- 
 poraries, and secured the confidence and sympathy of all 
 with whom they were brought in contact. 
 
 Let us inquire, in how far the life and character of Dr. 
 Schmucker was influenced by the Puritanism in the Prince- 
 ton Seminary, and in how far this was "a misfortune to the 
 General Synod "? 
 
 1. The Puritans were a devotedly pious and intensely 
 conscientious people. The same may be said of Dr. 
 Schmucker. But he did not imbibe his piety from the Pur- 
 itans, he imbibed it in the Lutheran Church and in the 
 " Spenerian school," under the guidance of his " Pietistic 
 father," and his Pietistic teachers, Helmuth and Schmidt. 
 The Holy Ghost had wrought that great work of grace in 
 his heart long before he studied Theology at Princeton. 
 
 2. The Puritans were Calvinists in doctrine. But Dr. 
 Schmucker never endorsed their Calvinism. Every one of 
 his students must know that he opposed the Calvinistic 
 doctrines of unconditional Predestination and Reprobation ; 
 he did this frequently in his lectures to the students, as well 
 as in his writings. Hence, the General Synod suffered no 
 " misfortune " as regards the Calvinism of the Puritans. 
 
 3. The Puritans were intensely opposed to the Epis- 
 copal hierarchy of the church of England, with its pre- 
 tension to Apostolical Succession, and its imposing liturgical 
 service. Dr. Schmucker did not share their intense aver- 
 sion to the English hierarchy, but he also denied their claim 
 to Apostolical Succession, their denial of our ministerial ordi- 
 
THEIR PRINCIPI,ES. 55 
 
 nation, and their assumption of being the only true church 
 on earth. Most of his students must remember something 
 of his lectures on this subject. Among the books he 
 recommended was Mason on Episcopacy, which exposes 
 the absurdity of the Apostolical Succession. About the 
 time the writer studied in the seminary, there was a heated 
 controversy carried on between the Episcopalians and the 
 Presbyterians, One of the phrases, on which the changes 
 were rung at that time, ran in this way : " A country 
 without a king, and a church without a bishop." It must 
 be confessed that Dr. Schmucker sided with the Puritans on 
 this question. But this did the General Synod no injury. We 
 Lutherans don't differ much from the Puritans in our views 
 on the church of England's claim to Apostolical Succession. 
 
 4. The Puritans were very rigorous in the observance 
 of the Sabbath. Indeed, most people now think they car- 
 ried their views and practices to an unwarranted extreme. 
 They seemed to regard it as obligatory on Christians to 
 observe the ceremonial regulations of the Mosaic law, 
 almost with the same minuteness as the Pharisees did in 
 the time of the Savior. But Dr. Schmucker never enter- 
 tained or taught such extreme views as are attributed to the 
 Puritans on the observance of the Sabbath. Yet he did 
 believe and teach the divine obligation of the observation 
 of the Christian Sabbath, as can be seen in his " Appeal on 
 behalf of the Christian Sabbath," published by the Ameri- 
 can Tract Society. 
 
 It is true, that the ultra confessional Lutherans, such 
 as the Missourians' deny the divine obligation to observe 
 the Christian Sabbath, but we of the General Synod do 
 maintain this divine obligation, and thus endorse his views 
 on this pomt. Verily, we have suffered no " misfortune " 
 from Puritanism on the Sabbath question. Would to God, 
 there were more Puritanism infused into the minds of our 
 
56 THEIR PRINCIPIyES. 
 
 church members in these times of Sabbath desecration, and 
 the efforts of the enemies of the Church to introduce the 
 continental Sunday into this country, and indeed, to abro- 
 gate all Sunday laws from our statute books. 
 
 5. The Puritans are frequently held up to scorn and ridi- 
 cule by certain writers, as believing in witchcraft and the 
 burning of witches. Notably has this been done in a lecture 
 delivered in different places by a Lutheran minister on 
 " Plymouth Rock and other Rocks." I do not think these 
 views of the early Puritans on witchcraft were taught in the 
 Princeton Seminary ; certainly not carried into practice, 
 and it is still more certain that Dr. Schmucker did not 
 teach or approve them ; and hence the church suffered no 
 " misfortune " on this subject from his studying theology 
 in a Puritan Seminary. But it should also be remembered, 
 that at the time the Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock the 
 belief in witchcraft and the burning of suspected witches 
 was general in the whole Christian Church on earth. 
 While the Puritans were burning witches in New England, 
 the Englishmen in Great Britain and the Germans in Ger- 
 many were doing the same thing. Even our own great 
 Luther had not outgrown this absurd superstition. 
 Listen to the following from Luther's Table Talk : August 
 25, 1538, the conversation fell upon witches, who spoil 
 milk, eggs, and butter in farm yards. Dr. Luther said : " I 
 should have no compassion on these witches ; I would 
 burn all of them .... Does not witchcraft merit death, 
 which is a revolt of the creature against the Creator, a 
 denial to God of the authority it accords to the demon." 
 
 " Luther discoursed at length concerning witchcraft. 
 He said, that his mother had had to undergo infinite annoy- 
 ance from one of her neighbors, who was a witch .... 
 This witch could throw a charm upon children, which 
 made them cry themselves to death. A pastor having 
 
THEIR PRINCIPLES. 57 
 
 punished her for some knavery, she cast a spell upon him, 
 by means of some earth upon which he had walked, and 
 which she bewitched. The poor man hereupon fell sick 
 of a malady, which no remedy could remove, and shortly 
 after died." * More of the same sort might be quoted, but 
 this we have transcribed, to show the absurdity of charging 
 the Puritans alone with the horrible superstitions and prac- 
 tices of which our own forefathers were equally guilty. 
 
 6. Finally the Puritans are frequently charged with 
 intolerance, notably because Roger Williams was driven 
 out from the Colony, on account of his religious principles.t 
 We certainly can not commend them for their religious 
 intolerance, and least of all can Dr. Schmucker be charged 
 with Puritanism as one who favored religious intolerance. 
 On the contrary he has been frequently charged with being 
 too liberal towards Christians of other denominations. His 
 views are best learned from his writings on the subject of 
 Christian Union and the part he took in the formation of 
 the Evangelical Alliance. 
 
 Surely our General Synod has suffered nothing in this 
 respect from his studying theology at a Puritanical Semi- 
 nary. 
 
 The fact, however, should not be forgotten, or over 
 looked, by those who so frequently denounce the Puritans 
 
 * See Luther's Table Talk, published by the Lutheran Board of 
 Publication. Philadelphia, 1868, pages 312, 313. 
 
 t Roger Williams was a Puritan, and a fugitive from English 
 persecution; but his wrongs had not clouded his accurate understand- 
 ing. He had revolved the nature of intolerance, and arrived at the 
 great principle which is its sole effectual remedy; namely " The civil 
 magistrate should restrain crime, but never control opinion; 
 should punish guilt, but never violate the freedom of the 
 somV— Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 
 
58 O'HETR PRINCIPIvBS — PERSECUTION. 
 
 on account of their intolerance, that in those times persecu- 
 tion for conscience sake was not confined to the New Eng- 
 land Puritans, the Church of England, or the Roman 
 Catholic Church. It is a singular, yea, a sad fact, that 
 those who had themselves been persecuted and driven from 
 their homes, in turn also persecuted those who did not 
 coincide with them in their doctrinal views, or mode of 
 worship. The truth is. Christians of all denominations in 
 those times had not yet learned to see the necessity of the 
 separation of church and state, and therefore they regarded 
 dissent from the doctrines and usages of the church, as a 
 crime against the government, and the persecution was 
 exercised by the civil power, against non-conformists. 
 Even so wise and good a man as our own great Luther 
 had not yet grasped the precious Protestant principle of 
 religious toleration or freedom of conscience, at the time he 
 composed his Small Catechism. In the Preface of that 
 admirable little book he writes, after giving directions how 
 to teach the Catechism : 
 
 " But if any refuse to receive your instructions, tell 
 them plainly that they deny Christ and are not Christians ; 
 such persons shall not be admitted to the Lord's Table, nor 
 present a child for Baptism, nor enjoy any of our Christian 
 privileges, but are to be sent back to the pope and his 
 agents, and, indeed, to Satan himself Their parents and 
 employers should, besides, refuse to furnish them with food 
 and drink, and notify them that the government was dis- 
 posed to banish from the country all persons of such a rude 
 and intractable character." 
 
 We copy this from the General Council's edition of 
 Luther's Small Catechism, Published by the Lutheran 
 Bookstore, Philadelphia, in the year 1874. 
 
 The same paragraph is also published in Loehe's edi- 
 tion of Luther's Catechism, translated by Rev. Edward T. 
 
PKRSKCUTION. 59 
 
 Horn, D. D., for the use of the General Synod South. It 
 must be a matter of surprise that such teachings should be 
 put into the hands of our children and youth at the close 
 of the nineteenth century, and in this land of civil and 
 religious liberty. 
 
 If any one of our readers wishes to inform himself in 
 regard to persecutions in Germany for conscience sake, he 
 will find abundant information in Hagenbach's History of 
 Protestantism during the sixteenth century ; for instance, in 
 the martyrdom of Chancellor Crell. 
 
6o KNTRANCE into PRINCETON. 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTH. 
 
 1818— 1820. 
 
 HIS ENTRANCE INTO PRINCETON SEMINARY — ALEXANDER 
 AND MILLER — HIS FELLOW STUDENTS — VISIT TO NEW 
 
 YORK — LETTER TO HIS FATHER DEPLORABLE STATE 
 
 OF THE CHURCH — REV. F. C. SCHAEFFER PREVALENCE 
 
 OF SOCINIANISM — SUBSCRIPTION TO THE AUGSBURG CON- 
 FESSION — PLAN RECOMMENDED — DIARY OF VISIT TO 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 He arrived at Princeton, August 17, 18 18, was 
 matriculated August 22, and remained there until March, 
 1820. 
 
 The professors, under whom he studied, were the very 
 learned and eminently pious Archibald Alexander, D. D., 
 and Saml. Miller, D. D. He enjoyed in a high degree the 
 confidence and respect of these eminent professors, whose 
 advice he also sought and obtained in regard to the pur- 
 suit of his studies. 
 
 During his last session at Princeton he took advan- 
 tage of a two weeks' vacation, to make a visit to New 
 York City, or town, as it was then called. 
 
 The following letter, written from Princeton to his 
 father, we regard as of great historical value. It shows the 
 deplorable state of the church at that time. The great need 
 of ministers of the gospel to supply the scattered members 
 of the church with the means of grace; the lack of disci- 
 phne among ministers and people; the confessionless state 
 of the church ; the Rationalism of many of the leading 
 ministers, and want of co-operation between the synods 
 
I^ETTER TO HIS FATHER. 6l 
 
 then existing are clearly portrayed. Also his ardent love 
 for the Lutheran Church, and the remedies he proposed to 
 restore pure and undefiled religion challenge our admira- 
 tion. The letter was written in the German language, and 
 we give it here in a free translation : 
 
 A LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 
 
 Princeton, February 77, 1820. 
 Dear Father: 
 
 After a silence of many days, God permits me again to 
 write to you. Since the receipt of your dear letter of the 
 17th of January, I have continued to devote my time to 
 study, up to the time of our vacation. The God of my 
 fathers, to whose service I have dedicated myself, draws me 
 constantly nearer to himself Often he refreshes my soul 
 by visions of his glory and paternal goodness ; daily he 
 gives me the evidence, that, although he dwells on high, 
 and in the Holy of Holies, yet he condescends graciously 
 to be my God. Truly his condition is the most happy, and 
 desirable, who consecrates himself entirely to the service of 
 his Heavenly Father, and who (Joes not regard the praise 
 of men, but of Christ, as his chief good. 
 
 " Ja, seine Liebe zu ermessen, 
 
 Sei ewig meine hoechste Pflicht, 
 Der Herr hat meiner me vergessen, 
 Vergiss, mein Herz, auch seiner nicht! " 
 
 In accordance with your repeated advice in your let- 
 ters, not to extend my continuance in this institution longer 
 than spring, I have carefully considered the subject, and 
 also called on Dr. Alexander, and had a conversation with 
 him on the subject. After I had informed him of my 
 desire to continue my theological studies in the German 
 language, he entered into a paternal conversation with me, 
 and said, as I intended to continue my studies here only 
 till spring, and would often have to preach in the German 
 language, it would perhaps, be better, that I should not 
 stay longer than spring, yet he would not give any posi- 
 tive advice. When I told him, that my regret to lose his 
 lectures on Pastoral Theology was the only reason that 
 
62 VISITS NKW YORK. 
 
 could induce me to remain longer, he told me in confidence 
 that he would very likely go to the Virginia Springs dur- 
 ing the course of next Summer, on account of hie health, 
 and consequently there would be no lectures on Pastoral 
 Theology. This removed all doubt from my mind, and 
 since then I have been fully determined not to return to 
 Princeton. 
 
 After having formed this resolution, I also determined 
 to visit New York during our vacation of two weeks ; for 
 by this means I could gain much information in regard to 
 the condition of our Lutheran Zion in the New York 
 Synod ; and because this would be my last opportunity, 
 I accordingly went to New York. I spent twelve days 
 there and lodged with one of my good friends. I took let- 
 ters of recommendation to distinguished and learned men 
 there, and became acquainted with Dr. Hosack ; and Dr. 
 Mitchell, Dr. Van Arsdale, etc., and among the theologians 
 with Drs. Mason, Romyn, and Rev. Knox, etc. I heard 
 Drs. Herron, Mason, Romyn, Bishop Hobart, Revs. Knox, 
 Burke, Beatie, and our Lutheran Pastor, Rev. Schaeffer. 
 I purchased a number of books while in New York ; 
 namely, nineteen octavo and fourteen quarto volumes ot the 
 best works, have learned much of ihe world, and not a lit- 
 tle of that which will help me to be useful in the Kingdom 
 of Jesus. 
 
 As I have narrated my visit here in a general way, I 
 have yet to relate that which to me is the most interesting 
 and by far the most important. My principal object in un- 
 dertaking this journey was, to ascertain the true condition 
 of our church in the state of New York. I began my 
 journey with prayer, and God manifested himself graciously 
 to me. Our good brother, Schaeffer, received me with the 
 warmest friendship. I spent a great part of my time in his 
 house. He is a pious, faithful shepherd of his congrega- 
 tion, a well-informed man, a man of good taste, and a dis- 
 tinguished and unswerving Lutheran, an orthodox theolo- 
 gian, and a man, who does much, and is willing ta do still 
 more for the true interest of Christ's kingdom and the 
 Lutheran Church. Daily I entered into lengthy conversa- 
 tions with him in regard to the condition of our church. 
 
SCHAEFFER — DEPLORABI^E STATE OF THE CHXIRCH. 63 
 
 The deplorable state of our church causes him heartfelt 
 pain, and he is willing to adopt any kind of measures which 
 can promote her upbuilding. With the New York Synod 
 it has already gone too far. The daily approaching crisis 
 in our (Pennsylvania) Synod is here (in New York) already 
 past, and the only hope for the congregations of the New 
 York Synod depends upon the synods of other states. The 
 majority of the preachers are rank Socinians (Rationalists). 
 He (Schaeffer) has very little intercourse with them, and 
 wishes to continue in connection with our (Pennsylvania) 
 Synod. He believes with me, that it is absolutely necessary 
 to enact a rule in the Synod, that every applicant must be 
 examined in the presence of the whole Synod in regard to his 
 personal Christianity. We deplored the ignorance of many 
 of our brethren in the ministry, as also of ourselves. He 
 said, he was ready to send to Germany for books, and 
 would ask nothing for his trouble. But I can not write the 
 hundredth part. I will only say, that we promised each 
 other, that in reliance on God, we would do everything 
 possible to promote the following objects : In general to 
 labor for the welfare of our church, that a rule may be 
 established, according to which every applicant must be 
 examined in regard to his personal Christianity, that the 
 Augsburg Confession should again be brought up out of 
 the dust, and every one must subscribe to the twenty-one 
 articles, and declare before God, by his subscription, that it 
 corresponds with the Bible, not quantum, but quia ; and we 
 promised to do everything possible to promote learning 
 among us. 
 
 We believed further, that by the blessing of God, much 
 good would result, if at our Synod this year, at Lancaster, 
 a committee would be appointed, consisting of seven mem- 
 bers, including the President, to write a Pastoral Letter. 
 In this letter the lifeless condition and conduct of the many 
 church members should be deplored, the worthy members 
 of our Lutheran church most earnestly instructed, that it is 
 the sacred duty of all communicants to hold morning and 
 evening family worship, to encourage them in the support 
 of Sunday-schools, and urge upon them the frequent read- 
 ing of the Holy Scriptures, etc. The committee could be 
 
64 PIvANS OF REFORM. 
 
 appointed on the first day, and should be composed of the 
 seven oldest ministers ; each one of these could write some- 
 thing at his lodging, so that the letter could be finished in 
 one day, read before the Synod, printed immediately after- 
 wards, given to each one of the ministers, who could read 
 it afterwards in their congregations. Such a proposition 
 will be made. As the committee is to consist of the seven 
 oldest members, it will be known who the members of the 
 committee shall be, and they will have an opportunity to 
 prepare themselves. I cannot doubt, that this will meet 
 your approbation, and the approval of all the friends of Jesus. 
 I promised to write to you, and Bro. Schaeffer will write to 
 his father and brothers. The Pastoral Letter should not be 
 overlooked. As the committee, according to the proposi- 
 tion, shall consist of the seven oldest members of the Synod, 
 I do not see any reason why the resolution should not pass 
 unanimously. You, dear father, will kindly prepare some- 
 thing of this kind, and Bro. Schaeffer promised to ask his 
 father, that he should also write somethmg. And may God, 
 our God, bless your efforts, and build up his church. 
 Could you not compose your synodical sermon in such a 
 way, that nearly the whole sermon would appear like a 
 charge to ministers, and treat of their great responsibility ? 
 What a blessed influence this might produce upon thous- 
 ands of souls ! For all this you will surely provide. May 
 the Lord bless all your transactions. 
 
 Bro. Schaeffer was very much pleased with my " Jour- 
 ney through American Lutheranism." Please write me your 
 opinion of it. Next Sunday Bro. Schaeffer will preach 
 tjventy-three miles from New York, at the request of the 
 inhabitants in the upper part of New Jersey, where he will 
 organize a congregation, and will preach occasionally dur- 
 ing the week. He advised them to meet on Sundays and 
 have a sermon read by one of the elders, out of the sainted 
 Rambach's " Meditations on the Sufferings of Christ." 
 Thirty years ago they had Lutheran services here ; they 
 have now become English, and desire to have a pious min- 
 ister of our Lutheran Church. Mr. Schaeffer thinks they 
 will soon receive a minister, and could also give him an 
 adequate support. He wishes a pious young minister of 
 
DIARY. 67 
 
 our Synod would visit them. Would that we had maii 
 such. 
 
 Your affectionate son, 
 
 S. S. SCHMUCKER. 
 DIARY OF A VISIT TO NEW YORK. 
 
 The following extract from his diary during his visit 
 in New York will be interesting reading, as it shows the 
 state of the Lutheran Church and of the " Town" of New 
 York seventy-five years ago : 
 
 JOURNAL, 1820. 
 
 Feb. ph, 1820. Arrived at New York 4 o'clock, p. m., in 
 six and one-half hours from Princeton. The road from Prince- 
 ton to Elizabethtown is very bad. Elizabeth is a handsome 
 town, containing many houses built in a very neat style, 
 mostly of frame work. Newark also, is a handsome town* 
 more splendid than Elizabeth, and has many houses of 
 really splendid structure. From here to New York, the 
 road lies principally through meadows and swamps, which 
 together are known by the name of Newark Meadows. 
 These had lately been inundated by a thaw of the snow 
 and consequent rise of the neighboring streams, and the 
 water had risen to such a height, that the stage was almost 
 prevented from passing that route. At some places the 
 road for miles was covered by water, to the depth of two 
 feet. Similar inundations occasionally occur, and the con- 
 sequence is, that throughout miles of the most level and fer- 
 tile country no one will venture to erect a dwelling house 
 and it is only here and there, where the land has risen into 
 little hills, that dwellings are seen. 
 
 Crossed at Powel Hook, was kindly received by my 
 friend, Dr. Van Arsdale, No. 51 Bowery, and urged to 
 make his house my home. Next day, Sunday. In the 
 morning went to hear Mr. Schaeffer preach. His church 
 stands on Williams Street, built of stone, of solid structure. 
 
64 
 
 MINISTKRS IN NEW YORK. 
 
 nt has a gallery and organ of about twelve stops, which is 
 played tolerably well. Mr. Schaeffer preached in the German 
 language from Psalm xxxviii. Theme : " When thou hum- 
 blest me thou makest me great." Sermon, orthodox — the 
 Savior's divinity most unequivocally reiterated and implied. 
 The morality and instruction excellent, his enunciation dis- 
 tinguished for distinctness, deliberation and force. His 
 pronunciation of the German is very correct ; his voice is 
 rather too loud and possessed of considerable harshness. 
 His whole manner tolerably interesting, somewhat severe, 
 but much defective in solemnity, and his audience, as might 
 be expected, seemed also but little affected, though in gen- 
 eral they were attentive. There seems to be less piety 
 among them, than among the Lutherans at York, Pa. 
 
 Afternoon, j o'clock, heard Mr. Schaeffer again, in Eng- 
 lish — Gal. ii. 20 : " Christ liveth in me, and the life which I 
 live," etc, the sermon, orthodox, able, well written, but much 
 defective in the warmth of true piety. His pronunciation 
 very correct ; his delivery like in the German, only a little 
 less severe, less loud and moie rapid. Read the sermon 
 both in the morning and afternoon, but read with great 
 ease and liberty, and in general, nearly as well as if he had 
 no paper before him. Prayed very lightly for the heathen 
 in the afternoon, not at all in the morning. The church 
 was not more than one-third filled, either fore or afternoon ; 
 the members seem to be of the middle and lower class of 
 society. On the whole, Mr. Schaeffer seems to be an 
 orthodox man, not at all distinguished for the ardor or 
 solemnity of his preaching. 
 
 In the evening went to North Church, (Dr. Milledol- 
 er's) situated on the corner of Fulton and Ann Streets. 
 Dr. Milledoler had preached in the morning. The edifice 
 is very large, indeed, probably 140 feet long and propor- 
 tionally broad, the ceiling is somewhat circular, there is a 
 
DUTCH REFORMED — METHODISTS. 67 
 
 large and capacious gallery and from the extremity of the 
 gallery to the ceiling is a range of wooden pillars, of light 
 structure, and from pillar to pillar there extends a semicir- 
 cular partition, in the form of curtains, these join the ceiling 
 and extend downwards about a foot in the middle and 
 about two and one-half feet at the pillars. There is an 
 organ three stories high, the pipes are gilt, the lower 
 range contains six pipes on each wing, and the middle has a 
 proportionate number. The organ was played with simpli- 
 city and solemnity. This is the only Dutch Reformed 
 Church which has an organ. In general the Christians of 
 that persuasion entertain the same enmity against instru- 
 mental music for which the Puritans are so distinguished. 
 I could learn of no other church of that persuasion in the 
 neighboring country, nor indeed, throughout the whole 
 extent of their churches, which admits instrumental music. 
 There is displayed in this edifice considerable deviation 
 from the apostolical simplicity, and in general the Dutch 
 Reformed are not such sticklers for the absolute exclusion 
 of everything like ornament from churches. On each side 
 of the pulpit sat the Deacons. Each one had a quarto 
 Bible before him, and immediately turned to the text, when 
 it was announced. This practice, I am told, is not found in 
 any other Dutch Reformed Church, 
 
 Between services I went into a Methodist Sunday- 
 school, and after sitting silently about half an hour, some of 
 the Methodist brethren came to me, and entered into con- 
 versation. I found them very pious, and after I had talked 
 for some time they were highly pleased with me, and asked 
 whether I was not a Methodist. And having been answered 
 in the negative, " Well then," said one of them," wererit you 
 converted by Methodist preaching?" This appeared very 
 singular to me, and I took the liberty to tell them, that 
 though all they had hitherto said seemed to flow from 
 
68 CORRESPONDENCE WITH GERMAN I^ITERATI. 
 
 
 hearts filled with the love of Jesus, yet I regarded it my;| 
 duty to say, that I thought the last question arose from an 
 unchristian spirit, and was prompted by spiritual pride. 
 They then explained, or rather endeavored to explain away' 
 that observation. 
 
 Monday, jth, visited Mr. Schaeffer, and was received^ 
 with unbounded expressions of friendship. He spent thej? 
 greater part of the day in attending to me. His wife is anj ' 
 intelligent, amiable woman. I found Mr. Schaeffer to be a( 
 young man of fine talents and acquirements. He is all 
 alive to the extension and prosperity of the Lutheran 
 Church. Mr. Schaeffer maintains an extensive corres- 
 pondence with some literary and scientific men in our 
 country ; but more particularly with some of the literati o 
 Germany. He receives a periodical work from Jena ; 
 where the clergy are substantially orthodox. Among his'] 
 correspondents are some of the most celebrated living 
 authors, Draeseke, Ebsling, (lately dead), Knapp, etc. His 
 sermon on the Jubilee, a copy of which he kindly presented 
 to me, has been reviewed by German critics, and was much 
 applauded. On a late occasion, when a Lutheran clergy- 
 man was sent by the Church Missionary Society of London, 
 as a missionary to the East Indies, the Bishop of London 
 called him Brother, and thereby virtually acknowledged his 
 ordination, which had been performed at Halle, as valid. 
 Bishop Hobart of this city, in giving an account of it, well 
 knowing that the acknowledgment of presbyterial ordina- 
 tion was diametrically in the face of his practice and pro- 
 fession, absolutely gave a perverted statement and perverted 
 the facts, of which Mr. Schaeffer thought the Bishop had a 
 correct statement. Mr. Schaeffer published in the English 
 language, in a periodical work of this city, a refutation of 
 the Bishop's statement, which he showed me, and which is 
 written in a very spirited style. I was very much rejoiced 
 
OUITMAN — MOI,THER. 69 
 
 o learn, that our Brother Jaeger, who was sent as a deputy 
 "rom our Synod, had preached a very orthodox sermon on 
 [ John i. 7 of which Christ was the theme. Mr. Schaeffer 
 ilso told me, that Quitman had the night before at his house 
 leclared, that no one that entered his pulpit should preach 
 ny doctrine in it, but such as he approved. But to the 
 3raise of Brother Jaeger be it said, that he denied not his 
 Lord. Mr. Schaeffer believes, that Quitman and some 
 t)thers are Socinians, and some others Arminians, but he is 
 n hope, that the evangelic interest is increasing. Mr. 
 schaeffer believed that Lintner is orthodox. 
 
 I am informed by Mr. Schaeffer that Molther, who 
 applied for admission to our Synod, was not a pious man, 
 hat he had been employed as missionary by the Synod to 
 he western parts of New York, and that he disputed on his 
 (Vay with other Lutheran clergymen, and on the whole had 
 
 , liot maintained a good character among their body ; had 
 quarrelled with his congregation about his salary, etc. Mr. 
 Schaeffer also assured me that previous to his journey to 
 Renne, he had applied to the Bishop of his town for admis- 
 sion to his church, but not being cordially received, went 
 o our (Pa.,) Synod. Hence it appears that the conduct of 
 ^ur Synod in not receiving him, without satisfactory evi- 
 dence of his good character, was very judicious ; for thus 
 iy the blessing of God, an unconverted man is kept out of 
 jhe ministry. 
 
 Mr. Schaeffer complains that our clergymen corre- 
 spond too little, and do not act more in unison in their efforts 
 ,0 promote the Gospel. Was opposed to the " Plan Ent- 
 krurf," and thinks much of the Lutheran hymn book edited 
 
 .J \y the New York Synod. 
 
 Tuesday and Wednesday, 8th and gth of Feb., 1820. 
 >pent the 8th in the forenoon in the museum. It is a large, 
 espectable, well arranged collection. But inferior to the 
 
7o MUSEUM — dr^seke;. 
 
 Philadelphia museum. There is much noise, and other 
 immoral, disorderly conduct in the edifice in daytime. At 
 night it is the fashionable time for visitors, who desire 
 to spend only an hour. There is something striking about 
 this edifice, which professes to be the repository of the 
 curiosities of nature. On entering the door, you will look 
 around you for the janitor, who is to receive the money, 
 and will deem it strange that no one is visible. A little 
 boy, only of three and one-half feet is standing near the 
 door; but on advancing into the room this pigmy runs 
 before you and demands the money. Surprised that the 
 care of such an institution should be confided to such a 
 child, I inquired where the doorkeeper was, and the little 
 pert, in a very dignified manner declared that to be the 
 office which he sustained. On examining him, I found 
 that he was twenty-one years of age, of sound mind and 
 body, and a native of the State of New Jersey, and the 
 regular janitor. 
 
 On the 9th, I spent the morning with Brother Schaef- 
 fer, conversed more intimately with him on the state of 
 vital religion in our Church, both in Europe and particu- 
 larly in this country. He informed me of many circum- 
 stances which rejoiced my heart, and afford reason for us to 
 bless the God of Jacob. At Bremen, in " Ober Sachsen," 
 is stationed the most excellent and pious Draeseke, whose 
 second volume of sermons Brother Schaeffer has. I read his 
 Karfreitags-predigt, (Good Friday Sermon,) and glanced 
 over several others. He is a choice spirit, one of those 
 who never did, nor never will bow the knee to Baal. His 
 sermons evince him to be a man of great strength of mind, 
 of flowery, beautiful style, of great solemnity and an over- 
 whelming sublimity. They are characterised by a some- 
 thing peculiarly fascinating ; they surpass in the true spirit 
 of the Gospel, the far-famed sermons of Chalmers. This 
 
AUGSBURG CONFESSION SHOUI.D BK SUBSCRIBED. 71 
 
 day I examined two periodical works published at Jena, 
 which are the only periodical productions of that nature 
 published from that place, and was rejoiced to find them 
 not only orthodox, but truly pious. 
 
 Through this morning I learned that Brother Schaef- 
 fer is most sincerely and ardently devoted to the true 
 interests of Lutheranism, and had much confidential con- 
 versation with him relative to the interests of our Church. 
 He was delighted with the plans which I stated to him as 
 being contemplated by me for the cause of my dear 
 Redeemer, Jesus Christ ; ' more particularly, with my 
 intended translation of Dr. Mosheim's Dogmatic. This 
 he thought was a necessary undertaking ; and he expressed 
 his confident belief, that it would tend to promote ortho- 
 doxy and piety in the church, and would meet with the 
 encouragement of our Lutheran Brethren. 
 
 Relative to the propriety of our Synod adopting a con- 
 fession of faith, we also had some interchange of sentiments. 
 He is of the opinion that something should be done, and 
 ought to have been done many years ago. He agreed to 
 the opinion that a confession should be adopted which 
 ought to hichide only fundamental doctrines ; and that would 
 leave sufficient room for that liberty of thought, which all 
 Protestants must retain, and yet would be sufficiently 
 specific to exclude heresy from our body. 
 
 This ought to be subscribed by our clergy, and by 
 this we might try those who are suspected of heresy. This 
 would enable us eff .ctually to exclude from the Church of 
 Christ those pests of society, the Socinians. I was rejoiced 
 to learn from him that Rev. Gdssenhainer, Sr., had within a 
 year become a changed man, and much more pious and 
 evangelical. He also informed me, though in confidence, 
 
 that Mr. B , of I , was at one time Socinian, but 
 
 that at present he was entirely changed and truly pious, 
 
72 SOCINIANISM — ORTHODOXY— DUTCH REFORMED. 
 
 and that he had much reason to believe that H and 
 
 M , were also either totally Socinian, or the very next 
 
 thing to it. Mr. Meierheffer he believes to have been an 
 orthodox, but unconverted man. He spoke very ener- 
 getically of the propriety and necessity of passing a resolu- 
 tion in our Synod, which would require every candidate 
 for the Gospel ministry to submit to an examination before 
 the Synod, on the subject of his personal piety. This is 
 a regulation, which I think ought not to be neglected ; may 
 the Lord God of his Church, in mercy incline the hearts of 
 our Brethren to adopt all such measures as will tend to 
 promote the interest of our beloved Lutheran Zion. 
 
 At half past two I dined by invitation, with Rev. Mr. 
 Knox, the minister of one of the Dutch Reformed Churches. 
 I spent the afternoon till 4 o'clock with him, and found him 
 to be a man of benevolence, of tolerably agreeable address, 
 of talents not much above mediocrity. His wife is the 
 daughter of Dr. Mason, is an intelligent, agreeable and 
 accomplished woman. He lives in rather more style than 
 comports with the humility of the Gospel of Christ. 
 
 On my inquiring of him the origin of the peculiar cus- 
 tom of sitting during prayer, which I observed in the 
 Dutch Reformed Church he told me, he did not know it. 
 
 In the evening I took tea with Mr. Schaeffer, who 
 then accompanied me to Mr. McClew's church, where the 
 annual report of the tract society was to be read. The even- 
 ing was unpleasant, and the assembly very small. Mr. 
 Knox sat on the middle seat of the pulpit ; on his right was 
 the Rev. Dr. Spring, by whose appearance I was very 
 agreeably disappointed. He has a dignified appearance, his 
 forehead indicates strength of mind, but perhaps also want 
 of judgment. He looks very serious and yet pleasant. 
 But pitiful indeed was the appearance of Rev. M., who sat 
 on the other side. He seems to be a light headed, inflated 
 
PRESBYTERIANS — GERMAN REFORMED. 73 
 
 youth of about twenty years of age. After a long prayer 
 by Mr. Knox, the choir began to sing, and in the midst of 
 the piece a cry of fire and the alarm bells were heard, on 
 which half of the httle audience ran out ; and the exercises 
 of the evening were postponed till Thursday evening of the 
 subsequent week. 
 
 In general the Presbyterians, or rather Calvinists, 
 of this city, are, though pious, a high-minded, 
 ambitious, intolerant set of men. And into their pompous 
 plans for the promulgation of the gospel enters very much 
 of a self interested nature, which is diametrically opposed to 
 the religion of Jesus. 
 
 Thursday the loth, morning 1 1 o'clock, visited Brother 
 Schaeffer, was introduced to Dr. Mitchell, the great 
 naturalist. He is a man of rather less than middle size, and 
 very corpulent. His manners are very easy and graceful. 
 He is very communicative. If a subject be started, he will 
 go on to discuss it with the greatest scientific precision, and 
 if he is left undisturbed, he will pour forth from the vast 
 resources of his mind a complete essay on that subject. He 
 observed in the course of conversation, that Geology sup- 
 ports the Bible ; though the Bible was not intended as a 
 system of physical geography. His appearance resembles 
 somewhat, that of Judge Cooper. He manifested consider- 
 able vanity, and gave us a polite invitation to call and 
 hear him lecture. 
 
 Brother Schaeffer informs me, that the German Re- 
 formed are much inclined to join the Lutheran Church, and 
 have had some talk on the subject with him. At present 
 their pulpit is supplied by Mr. Labach, a Dutch Reformed 
 minister, and they are dissatisfied with his preaching the 
 peculiarities and errors of Calvinism. 
 
 Mr. Schaeffer on some occasions, when he has been 
 prevented from preaching, got some of his vestry to read a 
 
74 I,AYMEN READ SERMONS — NEW JERSEY. 
 
 sermon to the congregation. To-day a gentleman called on 
 Mr. Schaeffer while I was there, relative to his coming to 
 preach for them. This man is a resident in New Jersey, 
 about twenty-three miles from this place, on Saddle River, 
 near New Prospect, Franklin Township, Bergen County, 
 New Jersey, where there has been no Lutheran worship 
 for forty years. He was educated in the Evangelical faith, 
 and such is his desire to obtain a minister, and to have a 
 church erected, that he offers to give the land to build on, 
 together with ^loo, and devote any portion of his time to 
 it. Others, he says, are also willing to do much, and he 
 came twenty-three miles on his own expense to endeavor to 
 persuade Brother Schaeffer to come and preach for them. 
 He intends to go on Sabbath after next, to preach twice 
 that day, and also on Monday evening, to encourage them 
 in the good work, to organize a church, to baptize their 
 children, etc. He informed Mr. Schaeffer that there is a 
 Lutheran Church within ten miles of him, which has long 
 been abandoned, and is no\v in ruins. To this belonged a 
 tract of land, which a farmer has at present in possession, 
 and which they intended to regain, if practicable. In this 
 Mr. Schaeffer will encourage them. 
 
 The best book for a church to read a portion from, in 
 the absence of a minister, is " Rambach's Meditations," that 
 pious, learned and orthodox production. Oh, if we only 
 had a pious, zealous young preacher, to send among these 
 people; he would, by God's blessing, establish several 
 churches, and save the souls of several hundreds of people. 
 Oh ! thou God of the harvest ! we pray thee to send forth 
 laborers into thy vineyard ! I encouraged Mr. Schaeffer to 
 seek for pious young men, of talent, and persuade them to 
 become preachers of the Gospel. And I was happy to 
 learn, that he had his eyes upon a young man of the most 
 
GERMAN BOOKS — RIDE TO HARLEM. 75 
 
 promising character, a Mr. , who is now in Columbia 
 
 College. 
 
 I subscribed for that most excellent work of the pious 
 Dr. Koethe, which was instituted for the express purpose of 
 counteracting the influence of the flood of infidelity, which 
 has deluged Germany, and which is conducted with 
 singular ability and success ; Price 3 Rix dollars^^2.50. 
 This evening I went to hear Mr. Burke preach. He is the 
 most zealous Reformed minister I ever heard, a rfian of no 
 classical education, and pronounces English badly. He is 
 a Hessian by birth and came to America during the 
 Revolutionary War, with the Hessian Troops ; but being 
 very pious, he studied with Dr. Livingston, has acquired 
 an unusually extensive and accurate acquaintance with his 
 English Bible, and is probably by far the most useful 
 minister of New York. One of his peculiarities is, that he 
 states the chapter and verse of almost every text he quotes, 
 perhaps sixty in one sermon ! This is both unnecessary and 
 unpleasant. 
 
 This day I also rode with Dr. V. D , in his sleigh to 
 Harlem, six miles from the city. There I saw the Harlem 
 River, which cuts off this island from the continent, and 
 which is nothing but a -branch of tidewater running from 
 the East to the North River and forming with the rivers a 
 triangle. Saw the fort at Hellgate, the botanical garden, 
 Harlem creek, etc. All the turnpikes throughout this 
 island have been made by the prisoners of the state-prison 
 and are free of toll, which circumstance and the consequent 
 freedom of the traveler from the annoyance of the toll-gates 
 are a circumstance that arrests the attention of the Phila- 
 delphian. 
 
 On Sunday the i^th of February. I heard Dr. Mason 
 preach in the morning. He is a great and original speaker. 
 Has some peculiarities, and much of the pompous in his 
 
76 DR. MASON — CITY HAI.I,. 
 
 manner. He has no pulpit in his church, but speaks from 
 a stage, which projects from the wall about fifteen feet, is 
 about three and one-half feet high, and has mahogany 
 railings along the front of it. At the middle, in the space 
 usually occupied by the pulpit, there is something similar 
 to a small desk ; it is about four feet long and from one 
 and a half to two feet broad. All this is covered with silk 
 velvet, as is part of the railings on each side of it. He has, 
 of course, no canopy. His church is large, has a tall 
 steeple, and is decorated in a style, almost, if not quite, as 
 splendid as the Episcopal churches are, and to say the 
 least, altogether incompatible with the Puritanical profes- 
 sions of apostolic simplicity, and their boisterous clamours 
 against Episcopal splendor. Though it was a sacramental 
 occasion, yet the church was only two-thirds filled. 
 
 In the afternoon I went to hear Bishop Hobart, in St. 
 Paul's Church. He is a little man, his physiognomy indi- 
 cates considerable talent, particularly great perseverance 
 and inflexibility of character. He read the evening service 
 in a handsome and tolerably interesting manner, and then 
 read a little bit of a sermon of about twenty minutes length 
 and the subject was " The importance of keeping a good con- 
 science." The sermon was orthodox, but cold, unedifying, 
 and contained little more than moral reflections, and had 
 very little of a kind, such as to build Up believers, and 
 almost nothing that would promise to awaken the sinner. 
 In the evening I heard a Methodist preacher, a Mr. Beattie, 
 a pious, illiterate and very noisy man. 
 
 Monday, iph. Visited the City Hall, which is a very 
 splendid edifice. Indeed, I think it is rather more expen- 
 sive than comports with the spirit of true Federal Repub- 
 licanism. The principal rooms are lined with portraits of 
 Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Dewitt Clinton, Colden, 
 and manv other worthies of this State and of the United 
 
Ai,MSHOUsE — i,ord's supper. 77 
 
 States. My dear Brother Schaeffer accompanied me 
 through all the departments, and obtained a guide to 
 unlock the rooms, etc. In the hall of the city council, is 
 the one precious relic of former days. The frame of the 
 chair on which the Mayor sits, is the identical frame of Gen- 
 eral Washington's chair ! With feelings of reverentia 
 respect for that truly great and good man, I did myself the 
 honor of sitting in it. 
 
 Brother Schaeffer also hired a sleigh and took me with 
 him to the Alms House about two miles from the city. On 
 the road we had much interesting conversation on the state 
 of our beloved Lutheran Zion. We went all through the 
 Alms House, conversed on religion with as many as we 
 could, and Brother Schaeffer distributed money to the 
 German paupers, which money was taken from the treasury 
 of the Lutheran Church in New York for the support of 
 
 its poor. 
 
 Dr. Mason's people come out of the pews to receive the 
 Lord's Supper and surround a table which is placed in the 
 aisles of the church. They have the bread in large slices, 
 half round a loaf of about eight inches breadth. These I 
 believe (though I did not look to see), are broken by the 
 communicants and each takes a small piece. The Dutch 
 Reformed have theirs cut into small inch cubes. The 
 Dutch Reformed, also, all (as far as I could learn) surround 
 a table in the aisle to receive it. But all the Presbyterians 
 in the city and around the country, receive it sitting in their 
 pews, 
 
 Tuesday, isth. Dined with Dr. Rogers, No. 14 Court- 
 land street. He is a very lively, interesting and a pious 
 man. He informed me during a long conversation that 
 Mr. Whelfley is a ''good sort of a man',' but not the man to 
 build up the church of which he is pastor. That he is now 
 almost entirely clear of Hopkinsonian heresy, and is becom- 
 
78 AI^BERTUS — I,ITERARY I.ABORS. 
 
 ing more pious. I enquired the character of Mr, Albertus 
 the Presbyterian Clergyman of this city ; he answered, " Ah, 
 Mr. Schmucker, he's a dandy, he's the dandy preacher, a 
 man that should never climb the pulpit !" Dr. Spring, he 
 said, is a man of talents and possessed of a good deal of 
 cunning. The Hopkinsonian controversy has subsided 
 by the silence of both parties. 
 
 Brother Schaeffer bestowed upon me a number of valuable 
 pamphlets, and said he would endeavor from time to time 
 to send me everything of an interesting literary character, 
 and particularly anything which has a bearing on the re- 
 ligion of our common Jesus. 
 
 From a Mr. Keyser, who was an officer in the German 
 army, against Bonaparte, I learn that all the students of 
 Theology and everything else together with their profes- 
 sors, also entered the army against the Tyrant of Europe. 
 That old Eichhorn himself and all the great men served 
 in the army two years — that the students were so enthu- 
 siastic as to resemble madmen, that they dashed forward 
 into the flames of battle, even where there was no necessity 
 for it. This was the most learned army that ever took the 
 field — and this it was which destroyed that enemy of man. 
 
 Brother Schaeffer and I agreed also to promote the 
 good of our Lutheran Zion by our literary labors. I 
 informed him of my intention to translate Mosheim's Dog- 
 matic, and he said probably he would compendize and 
 translate the Theol. Mor. of the same author, of which I 
 expressed high pleasure. May the God of mercy bless our 
 interviews to the good of his church and use us as humble 
 instruments to promote his glory. 
 
 After Mr. Schmucker's return from New York he re- 
 mained in Princeton until March 30, 1820. "He did not go 
 back to the University in Philadelphia after the Sophomore 
 year, but may have applied to be graduated with his class in 
 
RETURlJ FROM NEW YORK. 
 
 79 
 
 1818, either upon examination or the continuance of his 
 studies, as the records of the University show, that in that 
 year it was proposed to confer upon him the degree of 
 A. B., Honoris Causa. No action was taken then, but in 
 18 19 this degree was conferred upon him at the Commence- 
 ment," 
 
 :^J-=; 
 
8o LICENSURE. • 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTH. 
 
 1820 — 1823. 
 
 HIS LICENSURE AND ENTRANCE INTO THE MINISTRY PREACH- 
 ING IN YORK COUNTY, BALTIMORE, PHILADELPHIA 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM HIS DIARY AND SKELETONS OF SERMONS 
 — HIS ABILITY AND SUCCESS AS A PREACHER. 
 
 "At Lancaster, Pa., on the second day of June, 1820, 
 Samuel S. Schmucker, having passed a most satisfactory 
 examination, was licensed by the Synod of Pennsylvania to 
 preach the gospel. The authority already quoted, says, 
 the York pupil was not immediately called to pastoral 
 work, and that even so eminently qualified a young minis- 
 ter had to abide his time. There were few, if any, vacant 
 pulpits. Pastors were usually settled for life. Pastoral 
 districts were large and rarely divided. Mission churches 
 were not organized. Few changes occurred. It was only 
 when a pastor died or became disabled by infirmities or old 
 age, that a vacancy would occur in the Lutheran pulpit. 
 There were but few exceptions to this general state of 
 things. ' Hence,' says Dr. Morris, ' when young 
 Schmucker came home, well furnished and ready for work, 
 there was no room for him.' He waited till Providence 
 should open an effectual door. How unlike our time, when 
 the Church is growing and our pastoral charges are multi- 
 plying so rapidly that all our schools cannot furnish, in suf- 
 ficient numbers, young theologians of grave deportment, 
 exemplary purity of life and pre-eminent attainments, to fill 
 the vacancies in the pulpit." — D. 
 
SE'TTI^EMENT IN VIRGINIA. 8l 
 
 HIS SETTLEMENT AT NEW MARKET, VA. 
 
 The following account of his settlement in Virginia is 
 given by Dr. Diehl : 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1820, he received and 
 accepted a call from New Market. According to the 
 authority already quoted, by the division of the large pas- 
 toral charge of Rev. Nicholas Schmucker, a godly minister 
 in Shenandoah County, Va., a new parish was formed at 
 New Market, and Samuel S. Schmucker, at the recommen- 
 dation of his uncle (Rev. Nicholas Schmucker), was chosen 
 pastor. " And so we see this highly educated Princetonian, 
 the class-mate of men, who afterward became bishops — Bis- 
 hop Johns, of Virginia, and Bishop M'llvaine, of Ohio — 
 and of other eminent divines, tracing his steps to an 
 obscure section of Virginia, to labor among a people not far 
 advanced in intellectual refinement, of primitive simplicity 
 and of exceedingly rural culture. A man of his mental 
 endowments had never before ministered in that particular 
 region. There were ministers, and good men, too, after 
 their sort ; but here was a young man, a thoroughly edu- 
 cated young man, taking pastoral care of churches, that had 
 nev.er seen the like before." 
 
 But in every portion of Virginia there were families of 
 intelligence, wealth, and refinement. In the scope of coun- 
 try some eight or ten miles around New Market, embracing 
 a part of Shenandoah and a part of Rockingham counties, 
 this class of society was not without a fair representation- 
 Nor was it long before our accomplished young minister 
 was heard of, by the most influential people. An incident 
 occasionally related by Dr. Schmucker himself, gave him a 
 favorable introduction to the highest classes of that com- 
 munity. A death occurred in a prominent family some dis- 
 tance from the town. As the family had no direct connec- 
 
82 FUNERAI< SERMON. 
 
 tion with any church, a neighbor who had recently spent a 
 Sunday in New Market, and heard young Schmucker 
 preach, suggested that he should be invited to conduct the 
 funeral services, in connection with an uneducated local 
 Baptist preacher of the neighborhood. At the funeral Mr. 
 Schmucker felt it to be proper to ask the local preacher, an 
 elderly man, to deliver his discourse first. Our young 
 preacher with all his attainments, had up to this time pre- 
 pared only one funeral sermon, (no doubt an excellent one), 
 on the text, " Blessed are the dead," etc. This sermon had 
 been committed to memory. When the aged Baptist 
 turned to Rev. xiv. 1 3 and read his text, " Blessed are the 
 dead," the dismay of the young preacher may be easily 
 conceived. But as the discourse proceeded in a rambling 
 t>"ain of thought, with scarcely any reference to the text, the 
 case assumed a more hopeful aspect. At the conclusion 
 of his discourse the ground occupied by Schmucker's writ- 
 ten discourse had scarcely been touched. The old preacher 
 said, there was a young man present who would now make 
 a few remarks. He therefore delivered his sermon 
 as it had been written and fixed in his memory. The large 
 audience, embracing most of the intelligence of that region, 
 looked with wonder on the young man ; so intellectual, so 
 solemn in manner, so admirable in his style of speaking, 
 uttering thoughts so appropriate to the occasion, so thor- 
 ough in the discussion of the subject, so earnest in his 
 appeals, so happy in ministering consolation to the bereaved 
 family — and withal having the appearance of an extempora- 
 neous discourse, a^ he took up the old man's text at the 
 point he left off — the effect was remarkable. This effort at 
 once stamped him, in the estimation of the elite of that 
 region, as a young man of astonishing gifts and attainments. 
 This representation is altogether authentic. 
 
 Before going to Virginia, and after his return, before 
 
DIARY — TOUR TO VIRGINIA. 83 
 
 accepting the call, he preached in some of the churches in 
 and near York. He also visited Baltimore and Philadel- 
 phia, and preached in some of the churches both in the 
 German and English languages. 
 
 The following extract from his diary during his first 
 visit to Virginia, will be interesting to the reader, and give 
 us an idea of the state of the church there at that time : 
 
 ON MY TOUR TO VIRGINIA. 
 
 Tuesday, Sept. 6th. Arrived at Gettysburg last even- 
 ing. Called on Brother Herbst, who was very friendly. 
 Staid with him. After tea we walked down to Mr, Buehler, 
 found him friendly, and well; but rather too much involved 
 in politics. 
 
 When I had come near to Gettysburg, and saw the 
 mountains which lie between this and Hagerstown, my 
 breast was filled with delightful feelings. My thoughts, 
 which had previously been occupied about Brother Herbst, 
 instantaneously leaped over Gettysburg, and over the 
 mountains, and dwelt with an almost unknown pleasure 
 upon my friend, E. G. 
 
 During the time that I was there (Woodstock, Va.,) 
 I was rather dejected. The Brethren, Reck and Krauth, 
 had given me so dark a picture of the manners of the Wood- 
 stockers, that I thought no faithful minister could with any 
 comfort reside there ; and this was resting on my mind. I 
 was, indeed, more melancholy than a Christian ought to be. 
 But when I rode off with uncle Jacob, the case was 
 changed. He is the least mental of the Schmuckers, very 
 rustic and uninformed. His observations were so local, 
 and possessed withal something of a native peculiarity, that 
 they rendered it not a little difficult for me to maintain my 
 gravity. He kept me in very frequent inward laughter. 
 But on the morning previous to my departure from 
 Frederick, I was enabled to cast my cares upon the Lord^ 
 
84 ENCOURAGEMENTS — MR. OTT. 
 
 and look up to him for guidance. Blessed religion, which 
 can dispel the gloomy cares of this life, and enable us to 
 believe, though we see not ! The circumstance which 
 dejected me was, that God seemed to leave me so long in 
 doubt, where he would have me labor. 
 
 This morning I came to town with rather a heavy 
 heart, yet feeling much of the power of religion. I went to 
 Mr. Ott, was very kindly received ; but found that the 
 church here is rather a cold one. I went to church much 
 depressed. The assembly was remarkably large for this 
 town. I preached on Isaiah Iv. 6 : " Seek ye the Lord 
 while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near," 
 and blessed be God, I felt a peculiar solemnity and a sense 
 of divine aid. The audience was remarkably attentive. In 
 the afternoon I had all the English people there, church 
 very full, I preached from i John ii. 28 : " Little children, 
 abide in him," I also felt great solemnity and fluency, and 
 the audience was very attentive. Singing excellent. I am 
 sure I never preached with greater solemnity and feeling 
 any two sermons. I feel thankful to God, that he has been 
 thus near to me to-day; " Bless the Lord, O my soul," etc. 
 Mr. Ott told me that he had been told from different 
 sources, and from the most respectable English people in 
 the town, that no young man had ever been in this town 
 who was so liked in both languages as I. He said, that 
 he had always been a friend of uncle Nicholas, and there- 
 fore could not do any thing for me until he was convinced 
 that Nicholas wished to give it up. But that if Nicholas 
 gave them up, and I came here and preached both lan- 
 guages, the church would be much increased. The Eng- 
 lish Episcopal preacher, Lansing, is deaf, and will leave at 
 the end of a year, and then all the Episcopalians, who 
 amount to five in town and four ironmasters in the vicinity, 
 would join my church. Smith, the English Presbyterian, 
 
EPISCOPALIANS — UNCIvE NICHOI.AS. 85 
 
 is engaged as teacher and preacher for one year. This 
 congregation consists of Dr. Irwin and family. 
 
 This evening Mr. Williams, an Episcopalian, and Mr. 
 Moreland of the same church, son-in-law to Mr. Ott, 
 called to see me. Mr. Williams is very intelligent and 
 apparently from his talk, pious, a man of noble heart, who 
 wishes me to come here. Mr. Moreland is also very intelli- 
 gent, though I did not learn so much of his character. 
 What great reason have I to bless God, for his kind 
 dealings toward me ! O my soul ! put thy trust always in 
 God, even the living God ! for he is thy covenant keeping 
 God. 
 
 Tuesday, Sept. igth. Yesterday came here to uncle 
 Nicholas and was very kindly received. Spent the after- 
 noon and this whole day conversing with him on different 
 points. He is a man of good talents and respectable infor- 
 mation. He is very willing to give me two of his congre- 
 gations, Woodstock and Huddle's schoolhouse, if I see fit 
 to settle here. He is very kind. We have talked over all 
 the circumstances of the town and of New Market. Henkel 
 and sons persecute instinctively everything that bears the 
 name of Schmucker. Nicholas is a true Christian. I gave 
 him some general views, or rather abstract views of my 
 matrimonial intentions, and he approves them. His wife is 
 a very sensible, goodnatured, pious woman. Became pious, 
 he told me, within the last two years. 
 
 Thursday 21st. Although I trust my love to God 
 is supreme, and though I examine and weigh with the 
 utmost solemnity the important subject of my settlement in 
 these congregations, yet daily do I dedicate myself anew to 
 his service.* 
 
 * Here the diary is abruptly broken off, a number of pages having 
 been cut out from the manuscript, and irretrievably lost, which leaves 
 a chasm of several months in the narrative. 
 
56 PREACHING IN PHII,ADEI<PHIA. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 182O. 
 
 Nov. 26. This day I preached twice — once for Rev. 
 Mr. Mayer, in the afternoon, to an unusually large audience, 
 and in the evening for Brother Cruse, to as full a house as 
 was ever collected there (so they told me). In the after- 
 noon I preached only with tolerable warmth — my feelings 
 had been congealed by several hours previous and unavoid- 
 able intercourse with Mr. M , with whom I dined. In 
 
 the evening I felt better, and trust, by the grace of God, did 
 considerable good. Paid two or three visits after church — 
 was attended by Rev. Brother Cruse, who was very friendly 
 and attentive, and desired to be on corresponding terms. 
 We agreed that when either had anything to communicate, 
 he should write. Took leave of Mrs. Kneb's family, was very 
 urgently invited to make their house my home when I 
 come next to the city. 
 
 Have conclusive evidence that Mr. M is not pious, 
 
 and probably that he is not fundamentally sound — was told 
 that he several times refused the degree of D. D., but 
 believe him a man of fine talents and veiy respectable learn- 
 ing. 
 
 Have been wonderfully led and guided by my God 
 since I have been here. O may thy goodness fill my soul 
 with gratitude and praise. Heard much about how the 
 people were pleased with my sermon. Miss Mary Lex 
 presented me with Gosner's works in three volumes, splen- 
 did morocco binding, and Mr. Lex, Senior, with Dr. 
 Jablonski on Ecclesiastes xii. i, etc., i volume quarto. 
 
 Visited Dr. Wilson's new church, 120 feet by 85 — a 
 large part of it cut off for vestry room and lobbies, so that 
 the actual church room inside is square or nearly so — the 
 ceiling very low and flat, except a small curve at the edges, 
 the gallery reaches round three sides and is very low — 
 windows low. 
 
BAI,TIM0RE;— WINCHESTER — SICK MAN. 87 
 
 VISIT TO BALTIMORE. 
 
 Dec. jrd. Preached in the morning for Dr. Kurtz, 
 German ; afternoon for Mr. Helfenstein, EngHsh. Was 
 received with much attention and friendship by Dr. Kurtz 
 and my other acquaintances. 
 
 SHENANDOAH COUNTY — MR. JOHN BOWERS* NEAR NEW MARKET. 
 
 Dec. Thursday 22nd, 1820. On Tuesday I left Win- 
 chester, where I had been treated with much attention by 
 my friends Messrs. Bakers, Mrs. Streit, etc. Mrs. Streit 
 has five children at home, two boys, one about twenty, the 
 other about fourteen years old ; and three girls, the one 
 nineteen, another twelve, and another eight years old. Was 
 more pleased with Mrs. Streit's disposition than ever. Con- 
 versed with her on father's concerns, she said he is young 
 and must marry again. 
 
 Left Winchester about 10 o'clock, fed at Strasburg, and 
 traveled on toward Woodstock. The road was very muddy 
 and bad, and it becoming dark, my tour was very unpleas- 
 ant. I was becoming rather dejected, when I met two 
 travelers coming toward me. I inquired the distance to 
 Woodstock, and was recognized by uncle Nicholas and Mr. 
 Ott. They spoke and we were much rejoiced. They were 
 on their way to visit a sick man, but turned back to Mr. 
 Ott's. I got supper, and Mr. Ott gave me one of his 
 horses, and we went all three together to the sick man, 
 administered the sacramental supper to him, and returned. 
 Wednesday morning visited Mr. Moreland and Mr. Wil- 
 liams, and went with uncle Nicholas to his house. On 
 Thursday it rained, but I wishing to go, uncle Nicholas 
 accompanied me six miles in the rain, though I wished him 
 not to do it. I arrived at Mr. Bower's, and was received 
 with his usual excessive and sincere friendship. Here then 
 I would send up an acknowledgement of my gratitude to 
 
o8 SCHMUCKER AS A PREACHER. 
 
 the God of mercy, who has led me hitherto. On my 
 arrival I was informed of the various and unpleasant inci- 
 dents which occurred during my absence. That Peter 
 
 S wished to come back, and had written, informing 
 
 the people of this, and telling them (which is not true) that 
 he thought I would not come. Mayerheffer also offered, in 
 case I refused, and scolded the people for not giving him 
 the first opportunity. 
 
 Jan. 6. The vestries of the town and Solomon's 
 Church wrote, or rather requested me to write to Uncle 
 Peter (they dictating the letter) to inform him of my arrival 
 and adding, that he need not come now, and hoping he 
 would spend his time agreeably there. 
 
 AS PREACHER AND PASTOR. 
 
 Having accepted the call of the Woodstock pastorate, 
 he entered on his work with zeal and energy, and both as a 
 pastor and a preacher he was eminently successful. This 
 will appear from Dr. Diehl's account of his labors in the 
 Shenandoah Valley : 
 
 " To form a correct estimate of Prof. Schmucker as a 
 preacher, we must not view him in the pulpit as he was in 
 his later years. We must go back to his pastoral life from 
 1820 to 1826. Though he delivered his sermons without 
 manuscript, he was not an extemporaneous preacher. He 
 made full preparation, writing his sermons with great care. 
 Such, however, was his facility in memorizing his own 
 compositions, that three readings would often be sufficient 
 to transfer an entire sermon from the manuscript to his 
 memory. His sermons were framed after the model of the 
 best authorities fifty years ago. Going to the root of his 
 subject, analyzing it carefully, arranging his matter system- 
 atically, clothing his thoughts in a clear, Addisonian style, 
 instructive and practical at the same time, an occasional 
 
UNFAVORABI^E I^OCATION. 89 
 
 flower of rhetoric, appeals to the conscience as well as to 
 reason, touching at times the fountain of emotions, always 
 solemn in aspect and dignified in manner, distinct in his 
 enunciation, clear in voice and loud enough to be easily 
 heard by all, he was such a preacher, in 1822, as all classes 
 delighted to hear, and universally regarded as having extra- 
 ordinary ability and attractiveness." 
 
 " He was not favorably located for the development of 
 preaching ability. The audiences have much to do in 
 bringing out power in the pulpit. The people to whom he 
 ministered — those four small congregations of plain, uned- 
 ucated people to whom he broke the bread of life, would 
 exert no stimulating power upon a highly intellectual and 
 cultured young man. The tendency would rather be to 
 repress excellence. His quick intelligence soon took the 
 measure of their capacity. His earnest piety prompted him 
 to labor for their spiritual improvement. It is probable 
 that his chief aim, in those four or five old-fashioned pul- 
 pits, was to impress the elements of the gospel, the first 
 principles of Christian truth, upon the minds and con- 
 sciences of his flock. To make them comprehend what he 
 said, and to enforce the doctrines, promises, warnings and 
 consolations to which he gave utterance, required constant 
 efforts at simplifying, and, consequently, a repression of his 
 scholarly tastes and habits. Had he received only one- 
 fourth of the educational training with which he was fur- 
 nished, he would probably have preached in a style better 
 adapted to the appreciation of that people. And it may be,, 
 that when he sent out some smart student of his, like Sam- 
 uel Hoshour, to fill his country appointments, some people 
 may have thought that the student of one year's theological 
 reading could preach as well as the young professor 
 with all his college and seminary honors. Had he been 
 settled over an intelligent congregation in a large place. 
 
go PREACHERS OE THAT TIME. 
 
 under the stimulating power of appreciating audiences, his 
 preaching would have been of a much higher order, than 
 that which came in clear ringing tones from the goblet- 
 shaped pulpits of the New Market parish. It was when he 
 went from home and preached in places like Winchester, 
 Frederick, Hagerstown, York, or Philadelphia, that his 
 powers were fully enlisted. The testimony of intelligent 
 laymen who heard him on such occasions, is unanimous, 
 that fifty years ago Samuel S. Schmucker was a delightful 
 and highly profitable preacher. His reputation in the 
 places mentioned was such, that when it was known that 
 he would preach in any of those towns, the intelligent peo- 
 ple of all denominations flocked to hear him." 
 
 There were other good preachers in the Lutheran 
 church at that day — Dr. C. Endress, a man of a high order 
 of intellect and extensive erudition, in the pulpit at Lancas- 
 ter, till his death, 1827 ; Dr. George Lochman, an exceed- 
 ingly popular pastor and preacher, at Harrisburg, till 1826; 
 and Dr. F. Christian Schaeffer, one of the effective and 
 attractive preachers of the time, in New York, till 1832. 
 The man with whom Mr. Schmucker was more frequently 
 compared was Benjamin Kurtz, of Hagerstown, a young 
 man also, but older than he by precisely four years, being 
 also born on the 28th of February, (1795). When 
 Schmucker entered the ministry, Kurtz was already attract- 
 ing notice as a rising man in the church. While young 
 Schmucker was sprightly, intellectual, scholarly, practical, 
 and at times impressive, he was on great occasions, too 
 didactic for the popular appreciation ; Kurtz was ardent, 
 evangelical, heart-moving and successful. On some occa- 
 sions he was overwhelmingly powerful ; and not many 
 years afterward generally regarded as the very first of our 
 English preachers. Among the cotemporaries of Schmucker 
 in the pulpits of other denominations, there were men of 
 
« SCHMUCKER AS A PASTOR, 9I 
 
 transcendent ability. Dr. Mason was not yet dead. Lyman 
 Beecher was rising toward the zenith of his glory. Duncan 
 was already brilliant in the Baltimore pulpit. The charm- 
 ing Summerfield was already looming upward, shedding 
 his heavenly light over the land. Bascom was filling a 
 large space in the public eye. 
 
 Now, while in many of the elements of popular elo- 
 quence Mr. Schmucker, even under the most favorable 
 influences, was not fitted to take a place in the same rank 
 with those brilliant lights of the American pulpit, yet taking 
 the entire man, his fine intellect, his large attainments, his 
 scholarly tastes, his evangelical spirit, his fidelity to duty 
 and his deep devotion to the interests of the church, he 
 was worthy to be the contemporary and compeer of those 
 men. 
 
 As pastor his experience was limited. Even during 
 the period of pastoral life at New Market, he was taxed 
 with so many other duties that his best energies could not 
 be given to pastoral work, if by pastoral work we are to 
 understand the ministerial duties performed outside of the 
 pulpit. But in this department of his work he was faithful. 
 He never failed to visit the sick or the awakened, when 
 informed of their condition. He ministered consolation to 
 the bereaved. It has been said, that he rarely engaged in 
 conversation with a parishoner, without giving the conver- 
 sation a religious turn. Probably a few minutes of religious 
 talk from the lips of young Schmucker left a better influence 
 upon the church member, than the social visit of several 
 hours' duration from some of his contemporaries. 
 
 After the expiration of his first pastoral year, his time 
 was so occupied, that very little could be spared for his peo- 
 ple, excepting what was required for visits to the sick and 
 those in spiritual difficulty or distress. And he was suc- 
 cessful, as the fruits of his ministry abundantly prove. 
 
92 INCREASE OF THE MEMBERSHIP. 
 
 Upon the very best authority it has been said, that when 
 Mr. Schmucker began his ministry, not one in four of the 
 New Market families had a Lutheran member in it. When 
 he left, in less than six years, not one in four was without a 
 member of his church. 
 
 In a sketch of his life published by Rev. H. C. 
 Schierenbeck, 1863, the materials of which were drawn 
 from the most reliable source, it is said, " He labored from 
 house to house for the spiritual welfare of his people. He 
 held weekly prayermeetings : instructed the youth in the 
 catechism after the manner of the Patriarch Muhlenburg, 
 and established Sunday-schools. His pulpit ability gave 
 weight to his message, and he was greatly beloved by his 
 congregations." 
 
 The statistical reports to the Synod of Maryland and 
 Virginia bear out this statement. At the Synod of Freder- 
 ick, 1 82 1, the end of his first pastoral year, he reported 
 twenty additions by confirmation, and ninety communicants. 
 At the Synod of Cumberland, 1822, forty confirmed, and 
 135 communicants. At Shepherdstown, 1823, seventeen 
 confirmed. At Middletown, 1824, forty -two confirmed. 
 At Hagerstown, 1825, forty confirmed, and 191 communi- 
 cants. Commencing with five small congregations, having 
 an aggregate communion list of seventy, to which he added 
 twenty the first jear, and an average of nearly forty every 
 year afterwards, from a small Lutheran community, and 
 leaving, in four congregations, at his resignation in 1826, 
 about two hundred communicants, shows a ministry as 
 fruitful as that of any contemporary pastor. In estimating 
 the fruits of a ministry, the extent of material to work upon 
 must be taken into the account. There were pastors, of 
 course, who confirmed more than forty annually, during 
 those five years. But they had large pastoral districts, with 
 three or tour hundred families, and seven or eight hundred 
 
DIARY — NATURE OF REPENTANCE. 93 
 
 communicants. Young Schmucker commenced, at New 
 Market, with thirty-five or forty families. Yet, from this 
 limited material his yearly accessions were large. It is 
 probable that in no other parish of our church, during those 
 five years, were there confirmed, every year, a number equal 
 to the number of families at the beginning. 
 
 The following extracts from the diary after his licens- 
 ure, and while he was a candidate, may be interesting and 
 instructive. Parts of it are written in German, English and 
 Latin. 
 
 1820, June 20. Funeral Sermon at the burial of Mr. 
 Bernhardt. Text, John x. 27-30. Theme: The privileges of 
 the true followers of Christ. 
 
 I. The character of the true followers of Christ; 
 II. Their privileges. 
 
 28th. Baptized two children at Kreutz Creek Church. 
 
 July 2. Preached at Carlisle for Brother Keller. In 
 the^morning. Text: Acts iii. 19. 
 
 I. The nature of true repentance. 
 
 1. It embraces a change in the views 
 
 a. Of God ; 
 
 b. Of the divine law ; and of 
 
 c. The future state. 
 
 2. In \h.e feelings or dispositions; 
 
 3. In the practical experience and life of the 
 
 convert. 
 II. The proofs or verification of this conversion. 
 It is the only way of true happiness ; 
 
 1. In this life ; 
 
 2. In death ; 
 
 3. In eternity. 
 
 Evening, Jeremiah ix. 23, 24. Theme: The true Glory of 
 Man. 
 
94 TRUE GLORY — CHRIST'S VICTORY. ■ 
 
 I. Consider some of the objects of the worldly man's 
 glory ; 
 
 a. Riches ; 
 
 b. Fame ; 
 
 c. Wisdoni ; 
 
 II, Consider the object of the Christian's glory ; true 
 and saving knowledge of God. 
 III. Show why we ought to glory in the latter and not 
 in the former ; 
 
 a. Because God commands it in our text; 
 
 b. Because the former are not, and the latter are 
 
 proper objects of human glory ; 
 
 c. Because man holds a high rank in the grade of 
 
 being. 
 July g. York. Text : Psalm ex. 3. The skeleton is 
 founded on the following new translation of the Hebrew : 
 " After the time of thy victory thy people shall bring thee 
 willing offerings in the beauty of holiness, and children 
 shall be born unto thee as the morning dew flows in the 
 eastern horizon." Theme: The joyful consequences of the 
 victory of Christ our King. 
 I. The victory itself; 
 
 Give a history of the rise, progress and termina- 
 tion of the conflict between Jesus and Satan ; 
 II. The joyful consequences thereof; 
 
 1. A people shall be gathered; 
 
 2. The people shall bring him willing offerings ; 
 
 a. A profession of their faith by joining the 
 
 visible church ; 
 
 b. By sacrificing the pleasures of the world ; 
 
 c. By yielding themselves a living sacrifice to 
 
 God. 
 Application, i. To those who are of his people ; 
 
 2. To those who are not of his people. 
 
I 
 
 SEEKING THE I.ORD. 95 
 
 From July 2j to September j, he preached every 
 Sunday in some one or the other Lutheran Churches in York 
 Town or County. 
 
 September i^. Preached at Strasburg, Va., on John 
 X. 27-30. 
 
 ii^th. Preached at Woodstock, Va. Isaiah Iv. 6 
 " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him 
 while he is near," 
 
 i^tk. Preached at Solomon's Church near New 
 
 . Market, Virginia, on Rom. viii. 9. " But ye are not in the 
 
 flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell 
 
 in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he 
 
 is none of his." 
 
 2ph. Preached at New Market, on Micah vi. 3. " O 
 my people, what have I done unto thee ? and wherein have 
 I wearied thee ? Testify against me." 
 
 2ph. Preached at Plains meeting-house in English 
 and German. 
 
 26th. Preached at Armentrauts. Text : Isaiah Iv. 6 
 in German. 
 
 I. By nature we have not the Lord ; 
 II. If we would have him, we must seek him ; 
 
 III. How shall we obey the command of the text ; 
 
 IV. If we do not seek him now, we may not find him in 
 future. 
 
 In the evening, at the same place on Ephesians v. 16. 
 " Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." 
 
 November 4.. Preached at Quickels Church. Text : 
 Matt. XX. 16. Theme: The chatiges in the Church of Christ. 
 
 I. The persons ; 
 
 a. The first ; 
 
 b. The last. 
 
96 DR. MAYER — THE BI.ESSED DEAD. 
 
 II. The changes ; 
 
 a. The first shall become the last ; 
 
 b. The last shall become the first. 
 
 November 26. Preached for Rev. Mayer in Philadel- 
 phia, on Prov. iii. 17. "His ways are ways of pleasantness, 
 and all her paths are peace." 
 
 The same day in the evening preached for Brother 
 Cruse to a crowded and very attentive audience. Text : 
 Rev. xiv. 13. "Blessed are the dead which die in the 
 Lord." 
 
 I. The persons. They are such as lived in Jesus, viz : 
 
 1. In the faith of Jesus; 
 
 2. In the communion of Jesus ; 
 
 3. In obedience to Jesus. 
 II. Their future blessedness ; 
 
 (a.) They shall rest from their labors, in promoting 
 the Kingdom of God 
 
 1. In their own souls ; 
 
 a. From the labor of self-denial ; 
 
 b. From the use of means of grace ; 
 
 c. From spiritual watchfulness ; 
 
 d. From sorrow for their sins. 
 
 2. In the souls of others ; 
 
 (b.) Their works shall follow them ; applications. 
 December 2. In the morning for Dr. Kurtz in Balti- 
 more, Text : Acts iii. 20. " And he shall send Jesus 
 Christ, which before was preached unto you." 
 
 jrd. In the afternoon for Rev. Helfenstein, the Re- 
 formed pastor. 
 
 loth. Preached in York, on Heb. ii. 3. " How shall we 
 escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first 
 began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto 
 us by them that heard him." 
 
THE GREAT SALVATION. 97 
 
 Exordium. The salvation of an immortal being is infi- 
 nitely important. Therefore the inspired writers were led 
 to speak most earnestly, and as they were not deprived by 
 inspiration of their natural capacities, they made use of 
 human forms of speech. St. Paul gives expression to his 
 ardent feelings by means of an antithesis, " How shall the 
 transgressor escape ? " etc. 
 
 Theme : The unhappy conditio7i of those who neglect the 
 great Salvation, 
 
 I. The Great Salvation embraces two principal parts ; 
 
 1. Deliverance from the slavery, 
 
 a. Of the world ; 
 
 b. Of Satan ; 
 
 c. Of our own sinful nature ; 
 
 d. Of the curse of the law in this life and the life 
 
 that is to come. 
 
 2. In the blessings of 
 
 a. The restoration of the image of God ; 
 
 b. The restoration of the favor of God ; 
 
 c. Adoption as children of God. 
 
 3. The greatness of this salvation is shown ; 
 
 a. By the price it cost — the blood of Christ ; 
 
 b. The opinions of many saints and learned men ; 
 
 c. The death of the martyrs ; 
 
 d. The nature of the salvation — it is eternah 
 
 spiritual. 
 II. The persons who neglect this salvation. 
 
 1 . Those who deny the divine revelation ; 
 
 2. Those whose Christianity is but an outward 
 
 form ; 
 
 3. Those who have had good impressions, but 
 
 resisted them. Application. 
 
98 DIARY FROM DEC. 1 7 TO APRIL 4. 
 
 JOURNEY TO VIRGINIA TO TAKE CHARGE OF MY CHURCHES. 
 
 December ij. Preached at Winchester for Brother 
 Reck. 
 
 December 21. Arrived at New Market, Shenandoah 
 County, Va,, and by the grace of God, in reliance on the 
 aid of God, took charge of my churches. 
 
 2pk. Preached Thursday before Christmas in the 
 morning, in Solomon's Church, German, and in the after- 
 noon at New Market. 
 
 January /, 1821. Spent the day and the night previ- 
 ous to New Year in meditation, self-examination and 
 prayer. 
 
 ist. Preached in New Market, on Job xvi. 22. 
 " When a few more years are come, then shall I go the way 
 whence I shall not return." 
 
 i-6th. This week I spent in pastoral visits, principally 
 in Solomon's Church. 
 
 I4^th. Preached at Mount Pleasant to a large and 
 attentive audience, and accepted the charge of that church, 
 on application of the vestry. It had formerly been an 
 Episcopal Church, but the minister having left them, they 
 applied to me, and conform to Lutheran forms. 
 
 Jan 22. was a day of peculiar solemnity, self-examina- 
 tion and abasement to my soul, and I trust, truly profitable 
 to me. 
 
 Feb. II. Preached in the morning at Mount Pleasant. 
 N. B. In the church at Mt. Pleasant I preach only Eng- 
 lish, because the congregation, having been Episcopal, do 
 not understand any German. 
 
 April 4. Wednesday commenced the instruction of 
 the catechumens preparatory to confirmation, in the New 
 Market congregation. In the evening I held prayermeet- 
 ing, and made an address of an hour's length to the assem- 
 bly, who appeared very attentive and serious. 
 
DIARY FROM APRII, 20 TO JUNE lO. 99 
 
 20th. Good Friday, Preached in Armentraut's to a 
 very large assembly. 
 
 22nd. Easter Sunday. Preached in the morning at 
 Mt. Pleasant. Afternoon, New Market in German. Eas- 
 ter Monday, New Market in English*. 
 
 2^111. Preached in Solomon's Church on Matt. xx. 
 16 : " So the last shall be first, and the first last : for many 
 be called, but few chosen." 
 
 As some had imbibed prejudices agaiuoL tiie General 
 Synod, I read the proceedings of its session at Hagerstown 
 together with the constitution, and defended the General 
 Synod. All appeared to be satisfied with it. 
 
 May ^i. Preached at Armentraut's, Mark xvi. i6, in 
 both languages, " He that believeth and is baptized, shall 
 be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 Baptized three children in the church, then rode two 
 miles to baptize another. This day I rode thirty miles, 
 preached twice, baptized four children, and visited four dif- 
 ferent families, and I not unfrequently do this in one day. 
 
 June 3rd. Preached at Mt. Pleasant to a large audience. 
 Preached in New Market in German, on the nature of the 
 Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and presented the 
 various customs and views of this ordinance for the instruc- 
 tion of the hearers. 
 
 gth. I held meetings of the catechumens every day 
 this week, excepting two. On Saturday previous to Whit 
 Sunday I confirmed twenty-three persons, some of whom 
 were fifty years of age, and held service preparatory to the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 lotk. Administered the Supper of my Lord and Mas- 
 ter in the New Market congregation to sixty communicants. 
 Preached in both languages to a numerous and attentive 
 audience. 
 
 On the whole I have great reason to believe that I 
 
iqo N^W YEAR'S REFI^ECTIONS. 
 
 have not labored in vain in my congregations. There are 
 several who have been truly converted, and at least twenty 
 who have convictions of a religious kind, and very many 
 who are very attentive to preaching. The morality of the 
 people in general in my congregations is good. Some 
 prejudice has been instilled into the minds of some by the 
 Henkels, who are much opposed to the General Synod of 
 our church. I frequently hold prayermeetings during the 
 week. 
 
 The foregoing is an abbreviation of my journal — entire 
 it would have been tedious for the Synod. 
 
 NEW YEAR DAY. 
 
 Jan. 7, /(5*2J. By the gracious providence of that 
 God, who governs the universe and all things in it, I have 
 been permitted to behold another New Year's Day in the 
 land of mortals ! And I would, with the deepest rever- 
 ence of heart, bow in humble submission to the will of my 
 God, willing to live as long as he will, and willing, I trust, 
 when he shall call, to leave these scenes of mortality. 
 Another year of my life is gone. All ot its successive mo- 
 ments have fled into eternity, and borne with them to the 
 chancery of heaven a record of all the deeds, and all the 
 words, and all the thoughts which were done in them ; and 
 there they shall stand recorded till the day of judgment ! 
 Thou Lamb of God, which takest away the sin of the 
 world, I bless thy holy name, that by the grace afforded 
 unto me, I find myself on the way to heaven ; that I am 
 still, I trust, a sincere follower of my Lord and Savior. 
 
MARRIAGE. lOI 
 
 CHAPTER SIXTH. 
 
 1821 — 1823. 
 
 MARRIAGE TO MISS GEIGER ADVENTURE ON A TOUR TO CAPON 
 
 SPRINGS SICKNESS OF HIS WIFE BAPTISM OF HIS 
 
 CHILD — DEATH OF HIS WIFE FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES 
 
 GREAT DEPRESSION OF SPIRITS — VISIT TO DIFFERENT 
 
 PLACES APPOINTMENT AS AGENT OF AMERICAN BIBLE 
 
 SOCIETY HIS INTEREST IN THE GENERAL SYNOD BEGIN- 
 NING OF THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL — TOUR TO ANDOVER. 
 
 February 28, 182 1, he was married to Miss Elenora, 
 daughter of Mr. John Geiger, of Hagerstown, Md. The 
 ceremony was performed by Rev. Benjamin Kurtz, who 
 was at that time pastor of the Lutheran Church in Hagers- 
 town. 
 
 She was a real helpmeet to him, and a devotedly pious 
 woman. The following account of a journey of the young 
 married couple will be very interesting to the readers. It is 
 taken from his diary and is headed : 
 
 ADVENTURE ON A JOURNEY TO CAPON SPRINGS. 1 822. 
 
 In the fall of 1822 my health had been much impaired 
 by the excessive heat and dryness, by preaching sermons, 
 combined with more labor than I was well able to bear. 
 Whilst traveling to the Synod at Cumberland, I was fre- 
 quently unable to sit up without the greatest effort. My 
 digestive system was much impaired, and my debility ex- 
 ceedingly great. On my return from Synod, I started, by 
 recommendation of the physician, to Capon Springs, in 
 company with Elenora, my wife. When approaching the 
 
I02 ■ JOURNEY TO CAPON SPRINGS. 
 
 mountain, between the ridges of which the Spring lies, it 
 was becoming dusk, although we were yet seven miles 
 from the place of our destination. I proposed to remain at 
 the last tavern, until morning ; but, Elenora wishing to be 
 at the end of the journey, I proceeded. It, however, soon 
 became very dark, the traveling very tiresome, as I had to 
 lead the horse, being unable to see the road from the gig, 
 and dangerous, too, on account of the very steep descents 
 at many places on the side of the road. After traveling 
 several hours in this very unpleasant manner, without see- 
 ing or hearing a human being, in the midst of a mountain- 
 ous country, unknown to us, we espied a fire at a distance. 
 We were very much rejoiced at the sight, expecting to find 
 some living being who would tell us the road, and inform 
 us how near we were to the Springs. But alas, when we 
 reached the fire, it proved to be merely the burning of the 
 underwood, which had been set on fire. I took out my 
 watch and found it was lo o'clock! We had expected to 
 be at the Springs by 9, and therefore feared that we had 
 missed the road. I hallooed, my voice echoed through the 
 mountains, but no answer was heard. After resting a while, 
 being scarcely able to lead the horse any farther in 
 my debilitated state, we traveled onward about half a mile, 
 when I again entered the gig, and driving at a pace down 
 hill, trusting to Providence and the faithfulness of my horse, 
 the animal suddenly stopped, and though urged, refused 
 to go farther. I got out, and passing onward to the horse's 
 head, found him close up to a wagon. Ah, thought I, 
 here surely is a wagoner who was also benighted, and he 
 will be company for us. I called loud, but no friendly 
 voice replied. Thinking there might be a dog about the 
 wagon, I whistled ior him, but discovered nothing. I then 
 climbed along the side of the wagon (the road was washed 
 out three feet deep) to the front, and found the horses gone. 
 
DEATH OF HIS WIFE. I03 
 
 the wagon-tongue aground against a large tree, two feet in 
 diameter, which had fallen across the road. After a fruit- 
 less attempt to get around the wagon, we determined to 
 remain in the mountain. I therefore unharnessed the 
 horse, tied him by the line to the wheel, made a kind of 
 bed in the empty wagon, assisted Elenora to get into it, and 
 there, under the protection of Providence, slept safe in the 
 mountain, having had no supper, and not knowing where 
 we were. In the morning I could drive around the tree, 
 proceed on, and in one mile reached the Springs. 
 
 On the third of July, 1823, he sustained an overwhelm- 
 ing affliction in the death his wife. In his diary, written 
 at Shanondale Springs, Va., August 15th, he gives an 
 account of her sickness, death and burial. We have never 
 read anything more pathetic, touching, and withal, submis- 
 sive to the will of God, than this tribute to his sainted wife. 
 That must, indeed, be a hard heart, which can remain 
 unmoved by its perusal. 
 
 ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF HIS FIRST WIFE, AND REFLEC- 
 TIONS THEREON, SHANONDALE SPRINGS, VA., 
 ABOUT AUG. 15, 1823. 
 
 Upwards of four weeks have now elapsed since my 
 God visited me with the most mysterious and appalling 
 dispensation. In the interval that has elapsed, my mind 
 has had time to recover from that suspense and anxiety, 
 which the long expectation of the death of my dearest and 
 most devoted wife had excited ; and my feelings are no 
 longer now those of dreadful anticipation, but a painful, yet, 
 I trust, resigned retrospect of the wonderful ways of God. 
 Before her death I feared the loss of the object of my dear- 
 est affection, but since that event I have learned to feel that 
 I have lost my wife, the partner of my bosom, the solace of 
 my life ; my daily, hourly and momentary companion ; yea, 
 
I04 DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 
 
 I feel as if I had buried part of myself. That beautiful, and 
 graceful, and perfect body, which she denied to the 
 addresses of more than a dozen others, some the most 
 wealthy and respectable persons in Maryland, and gave to 
 me, that body is now mouldering in the dust, is returning 
 into those elementary principles of matter out of which the 
 hand of the great and intelligent Artificer has constructed it. 
 But I find relief from those horrible feelings, into 
 which I at first had sunken, by contemplating that joyful 
 doctrine, which reason, indeed, could not teach, but which 
 is brought to light by the Gospel, that all the hairs of that 
 dear head are numbered, and that the providential protec- 
 tion of God extends no less to every particle of her dissolv- 
 ing body, than it did to the beautiful form, which was 
 composed of them ; that as she departed from this life, a 
 firm believer in the Lord Jesus, and in the strong assurance 
 of her acceptance v/ith God, that God will not suffer her to 
 endure pain of any kind ; yea, I rejoice, my dearest wife, 
 with a melancholy joy in the thought, that you are now in 
 the arms of that blessed Savior on whom you so often 
 called, and on whose merits alone you relied for happiness 
 and heaven ; I rejoice in the happy thought, that agreeably 
 to the request several times made on your deathbed, you 
 are my guardian angel, ministering unto me, an heir of 
 salvation. Now you are convinced of the benevolence of 
 the design for which you were permitted to suffer so much ; 
 now you know that you were permitted to suffer by a good 
 and holy God, who studies your greatest and best interest ; 
 now you are enjoying ineffable felicity in heaven. Yes, you 
 were happy in the arms of your beloved husband, but you 
 are infinitely more so in the arms of our coinmon God. O, 
 delightful thought ! He is our common God ! We shall, 
 at some future period, worship Him together, as we daily 
 did on earth ; nay, in an infinitely higher and happier 
 
DEATH OF HIS WIFK. I05 
 
 degree ! Sometimes, blessed spirit, my heart would 
 mourn, that thou wast not permitted to enjoy the lawful 
 pleasures of this life, for which thou wast so highly quali- 
 fied ; but my religion tells me, that instead of losing these, 
 thou hast gained infinitely greater happiness, and therefore 
 bidst my mourning heart be silent. When I recollect the 
 declaration made in the beginning of your serious illness, 
 that separation from me was the only remaining thing 
 which you thought hard, my heart would mourn, and wish 
 you back ; but when I remember, that being separated 
 from me, thou art united to God, I rejoice m your gain, and 
 endeavor to feel an humble satisfaction in my loss. 
 
 that God may preserve me faithful to his cause, and 
 prepare me for admittance to the same heaven in which 
 thou now art. 
 
 1 find some consolation in the reflection, that nothing 
 was left undone, which man could do, to save the life of 
 my wile. I had the advice of four of the best physicians, 
 which the neighboring country afforded, and the constant 
 attendance of two. I am therefore convinced, that her 
 death was not the result of any neglect of the appointed 
 means of preserving life, but the appointment of God. 
 
 About three weeks previous to her death, when she 
 was very low for several days, so that we expected her de- 
 parture hourly, I sent to Brother Jacob of Woodstock, to 
 come and visit us ; to baptize our little son, whose baptism 
 had been deferred from time to time, on account of the 
 wish of my dear wife, to present him to God in church per- 
 sonally herself He came, and the day was an awfully solemn 
 one. Mrs. Williamson, my dear wife's most intimate friend, 
 and the friend of God, stood as sponsor ; I myself held him 
 in my arms during the baptism, and gladly gave him to my 
 God, and besought his protection for him. Afterwards I 
 administered for the last time to my wife the Holy Supper 
 
Io6 DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 
 
 of our blessed Lord and Savior. Mrs. Williamson and Mr. 
 Foote communed with us. O God, it was an awful day ! 
 Lord, make me submissive to thine awful and mysterious 
 will ! It is a source of pleasing reflection, that my dear 
 wife retained the perfect use of her mental faculties, until 
 the last moment of her life. During the last day and night 
 she occasionally yet conversed with me, though only a few 
 sentences at a time. I now desire to say, " The Lord gave, 
 the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the 
 Lord." 
 
 It was the third of July, at half-past two o'clock in the 
 morning, that she died ; on the fourth, at eleven o'clock she 
 was buried. 
 
 Brother Foote preached the funeral sermon, on "The 
 righteous hath hope in death," in the English language, 
 and Uncle Nicolas preached in the German. The audience 
 was very numerous and attentive. May the death of her 
 body prove the life of the soul to many of those who wit- 
 nessed those solemnities. 
 
 On Monday after her death I started with Sister 
 Henrietta ; we went by stage to Hagerstown, thence to 
 York, where I spent five days ; then to Fredericktown, to 
 Brother Schaeffer ; thence to Bedford Springs with Sister 
 Betsy ; staid two weeks, during which I visited Brother 
 George at his iron works ; returned to Hagerstown, and 
 am by the grace of God come so far on my journey. 
 
 At the meeting of the Maryland and Virginia Synod 
 in Fredericktown, Md., Sept. 2, 1821, a letter was sent, 
 from the congregations of his charge, expressing their de- 
 cided approbation of his deportment generally, and the 
 doctrines taught by him. 
 
 The Synod directed Mr. Kibler to pursue his theolog- 
 ical studies etc., under the instructions of Rev. S. 
 Schmucker. 
 
AGENT OF AM. B. SOCIETY. I07 
 
 In the Ministerium it was 
 
 Resolved, That the Revs. Messrs. Graeber, Kehler, 
 Krauth and S. Schmucker, be ordained this evening, and 
 that Rev. M. Wachter be likewise ordained, immediately 
 after he shall take charge of congregations. 
 
 APPOINTMENT AS AGENT FOR THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 
 
 October gth, 18 2j. I have just answered a letter from 
 my friend, Robert Baird, teacher in the Lamma School, at 
 Princeton, N. J., which he wrote to me at the request of the 
 Board of the American Bible Society, requesting that I 
 would consent to accept an appointment as agent, and 
 make one or more tours through different parts of the 
 United States, to promote the interests of the Society by 
 forming auxiliaries. 
 
 From a variety of reasons, I stated to him, it was im- 
 possible for me to accept the offer. The work itself is one 
 in which I should delight to engage. 
 
 The image of my departed wife is also often before 
 me ; those feelings of desolation and melancholy, excited 
 by the mournful catastrophy, I regret to find, are as acute 
 as they were six months after her death. Everything re- 
 minds me of her, — here a sentence written in a book, — 
 there an effusion of affection recorded on one of my most 
 frequented pages, rouses all my former feelings, and I can- 
 not deny, makes me unhappy. May God pardon my in- 
 ordinate love for her ! May he teach me submission ; may 
 he comfort my uneasy heart, and in due time take me unto 
 himself, for the Redeemer's sake. 
 
 December 8th, 1824. I have just had the happiness to 
 learn, that Mrs.Beale Steenbergen was awakened by my dis- 
 courses at the Sacramental season at this place in October. 
 O that God would carry on the good work in her heart, 
 and make her a true child of God ! She is a most amiable 
 
Io8 CAI,I,S TO PHII^ADELPHIA AND BAI^TIMORE. 
 
 and accomplished lady, very affectionate and interesting, 
 and how much more eternal interest would be added to 
 her, if her soul were yet truly transformed into the divine 
 image ! O that God may make me instrumental in leading 
 many more souls to the Redeemer ! 
 
 Yesterday I received a letter from one of the principal 
 members of the English Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, 
 stating, that English preaching was to be introduced 
 shortly in Michael's and Zion Churches, and informing me, 
 that their members desired me for their minister. 
 
 When I was at Baltimore, I was also requested by one 
 of the managers of the English Lutheran Church, then to 
 say definitely, whether they could expect to obtain my ser- 
 vices, if they should elect me. But the Lord knows, I have 
 no desire of being in any of these great places, but would 
 rather live in the country, and have leisure to educate 
 young men for the holy ministry. 
 
 O Lord, teach me thy will, and let me be guided by 
 plain intimations of thy providence. O Lord, I would ac- 
 knowledge thee in all my ways, and pray, that according to 
 thy word thou wouldst direct my path. Not my will, O 
 Lord, but thine be done. 
 
 MEMORANDA OF A TOUR FROM NEW MARKET, VA., TO AN- 
 DOVER, MASS., IN 1 824. 
 
 Left Nczv Market, May j. Strasburg Conference on 
 the 15th. Settled all difficulties, Dei gracia. 
 
 May igth. Arrived in the steamboat Thistle, after a 
 pleasant passage, in New York at lo o'clock this day. At 
 Princeton I submitted my work to Drs. Alexander and 
 Miller and Professor Hodge. They expressed, personally 
 and in writing, to me their high approbation. Dr. Alex- 
 ander examined the notes on the Trinitarian controversy, 
 and said, " The reasoning is clear and conclusive." I had 
 
TOUR TO ANDOVER. 109 
 
 staid at the public inn, but at the invitation of my old 
 friend, Mr. White, removed to his house, and made it my 
 home. Was invited to dine at Prof McLean's, with Presi- 
 dent Carnahan and other distinguished gentlemen. Found 
 the President an humble, retiring, and almost diffident man. 
 But he did not, during this and several other visits, display 
 the evidence of an extraordinary mind. My old friend, Mr. 
 Baird, is master of the grammar school, and his school is re- 
 puted to be the best in New Jersey. But the glory of 
 Nassau is past, and I think there is but little doubt, it will 
 sink still lower, and never rise to its former celebrity. 
 
 Nnv York. After my arrival I called on Brother 
 Schaeffer, at No. 132 Bowery, and was received with his 
 usual affection and candor. Found his health better than 
 usual. He hired a coach and took me to see the Aetna, 
 which has been shattered by the explosion of her boiler, 
 (which was of the high pressure kind), by which about 
 thirteen persons were killed and many seriously wounded. 
 It was an awful calamity, and I would render thanks to 
 God, that I was not in the boat ; it was only one day's 
 journey ahead of me, I learned with surprise, that Dr. 
 Romyn has been officially accused of intoxication ! ! ! and 
 that Rev. McLead, Jr., was sent off for the same reason ! ! 
 that Dr. McLead is suspected of the same detestable prac- 
 tice in a slight incipient degree. Brother Schaeffer informs 
 me, that the Neologians of their Synod are opposed to Mr. 
 Hazelius, and wish to have Wackerhagen in his stead ; that 
 they oppose the orthodox with much rancour and determi- 
 nation, and that the Hartwick students are acquainted, in 
 some degree, with this state of ecclesiastical nixation. 
 Brother Schaeffer has two students, Messrs. Gaertner and 
 Wessel Brother Lintner, whom Brother Schaeffer has 
 pronounced sound in the faith, has been compelled, in self- 
 
I lO DISTINGUISHED GERMAN DIVINES. 
 
 defense, to publish a periodical publication of rather an 
 anti-calvinistic nature. 
 
 Among the distinguished divines of Germany, who are 
 orthodox, and at present fearlessly active, Claus Harms is 
 one of the very first, if not the greatest himself He pub- 
 lished nine-five theses against the Neology of the day, at the 
 celebration of the centennial jubilee of the Reformation. 
 These excited extreme attention, and drew from the press 
 several kindred publications, either in opposition to their 
 doctrines, or in support of them. He is a resident of Kiel, 
 Holstein, near Hamburg. He sometime since declined, 
 from religious motives, a call to a Probsthum, connected 
 with great pecuniary advantages, and his flock were so de- 
 lighted, that they immediately presented him a house of 
 residence, (he being very poor,) Schleiermacher wrote 
 against his theses. 
 
 Klein's Dogmatic gives both the orthodox and hetero- 
 dox views; but the spirit of the work seems to be (I judge, 
 however, only from a slight examination) rather " Hellen- 
 istic." 
 
 Franz Theremin, koeniglicher Hof-und Dom-Prediger, 
 published in 1817, a volume of sermons of a decided ortho- 
 dox character for the professed purpose of promoting or- 
 thodoxy and true piety. In his preface he professes to 
 have experienced the power of religion in his heart, and his 
 prefactory remarks are of a delightfully zealous and ar- 
 dently evangelical nature. The fact, that a man of such 
 sentiments is court preacher in Berlin, affords strong evi- 
 dence of the returning prevalence of orthodoxy. More- 
 over, I am informed by Rev. Vandersloot, of Virginia, that 
 fifty per cent of the preachers in Berlin are orthodox. The 
 above sermons are in one volume, Octavo, 314 pages, 
 
 L. C. G. Strouch, Haupt Pastor zu Nicolai, wrote in 
 
CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. Ill 
 
 opposition to Dr. Garlich, and has been assailed on all 
 sides by the orthodox.* 
 
 During my stay at New York, I visited Professor 
 Turner, of the Episcopal Theological Seminary, submitted 
 my version to his perusal, and received his recommenda- 
 tion. His deportment was remarkably friendly, and his 
 manners are those of an accomplished Christian gentleman. 
 My old friend Mr. Schroeder accompanied me to his house. 
 Mr. Schroeder is vicar in the stead of Dr. and Bishop 
 Hobart, who is now on a tour to England for his health. 
 On Sunday preached twice for Rev. Schaeffer in St. Mat- 
 thews Church, which is a most elegant and remarkably 
 tasteful edifice. It is a perfect model of a church, and is 
 visited as such by many persons intending to build. There 
 is no gallery ; there is an excellent and very good toned 
 organ in it; which cost ;^2,ooo. The expense of the whole 
 building, as it now stands, was ^30,000, of which ^16.000 
 are paid. The edifice is 90 feet in length, and about 68 
 feet in breadth. The ceiling is flat and low, very lozv. The 
 floor is an inclined plane, so that the seats rise as they re- 
 cede from the pulpit. The pulpit is all mahogony wood, 
 and rather lower than common. The organ is in a projec- 
 tion of semicircular form, directly back of the pulpit, and 
 above the vestry-room. The doors, which are four in num- 
 ber, are all at the gable end, and next to the street ; two 
 lead from the vestry-room to the altar on either side of the 
 enclosure around the altar. The entrance into the pulpit is 
 up a flight of stairs in the vestry-room and through a door 
 into the pulpit. There is a basement story under the whole 
 edifice, in which Mr. Hoxel and a number of other males 
 
 * We fear the ardent hopes expressed in the foregoing of the in- 
 creasing progress of orthodoxy in Germany, have not been fully re- 
 alized. — Ed. 
 
112 TRANSIyATION OF STORR AND FI,ATT. 
 
 and females teach one of the most extensive and respectable 
 schools in the city. The clergy in New York are, in gen- 
 eral, not distinguished for piety. I visited also the Rev. 
 Geisenhainer, pastor of the German Lutheran Church, who 
 is a man of very distinguished talent. 
 
 Tuesday, May 2^th. Left New York at 8 o'clock, a. m., 
 in the steamboat United States, for New Haven. The fare 
 through is ^3.00, including board. 
 
 The object of his journey to Andover, Mass., was to 
 consult with Prof. Moses Stuart, in regard to the transla- 
 tion of Storr and Fiatt's Biblical Theology. On this sub- 
 ject he wrote ; " When I left Princeton there were three 
 pia desideria, which were very near to my heart, for the 
 welfare of our church. A translation of some one eminent 
 system of Lutheran Dagmatics, a Theological Seminary, 
 and a College for the Lutheran Church." 
 
 He set himself to work to do what in him lay to meet 
 these wants. At Princeton already he had selected Mos- 
 heim's Elementa Theologise Dagmaticae, which selection 
 was warmly commended by his father and by his intimate 
 friend, F. C. Schaeffer, of New York. Dr. Koethe, of Alt- 
 stadt, near Jena, urged him to take Storr and Flatt, and 
 Dr. Moses Stuart, of Andover, strongly urged him to do 
 so. He so decided and translated, re-arranged, enlarged 
 and published this work. The first edition was printed in 
 Andover, in two volumes 8vo., by Hagg and Gould, in 
 1826. The second edition, somewhat abridged, also 
 printed in Andover, by Gould and Neuman, one volume in 
 1836. It was also reprinted in England in 1845. 
 
 TRAINING OF CANDIDATES FOR THE MINISTRY HIS GREAT 
 LIFE WORK. 
 
 During his pastorate in Virginia, he organized a class 
 of theological students. This httle school of the prophets 
 
PRO-SSMINARY. 113 
 
 was the nucleus of the theolog^ical seminary at Gettys- 
 burg. Dr. Diehl gives the following account of it, in his 
 biographical sketch : 
 
 " In 1820, several prominent pastors were giving theo- 
 logical instruction to candidates for the ministry. Dr. Hel- 
 muth had trained some. Drs. Lochman and D. F. Schaef- 
 fer had each a little private theological school. There was 
 no Lutheran Theological Seminary, except Hartwick, and 
 it was far off and poorly organized. Candidates for the 
 Lutheran ministry were under the necessity of repairing to 
 the theological seminaries of other denominations, or put- 
 ting themselves under the private mstruction of eminent 
 pastors. Very few went to foreign schools. A number 
 had gone to Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Frederick. 
 
 The talents and learning of young Schmucker, soon 
 pointed him out as the man to teach candidates. At the 
 first Synod he attended, after his setth ment, 1821, the 
 Synod placed a catechist and theological student, Mr. 
 Kibler, of North Carolina, under his tuition. Soon after- 
 ward others sought his services. J. B. Reck, Samuel K. 
 Hoshour, J. P. Kline, J. G. Morris and others, found their 
 way to New Market. A private theological school of 
 higher repute, and promising larger dimensions, than any 
 hitherto, was growing up in Shenandoah County, when the 
 General Synod determined to establish a Seminary." 
 
 Dr. Morris, who was one of the first pupils in this Pro- 
 Seminary, gives the following account of it in his own char- 
 acteristic style : 
 
 " After he had been settled there several years he con- 
 ceived the idea of establishing a sort of Pro-Seminary. This 
 was in 1823, and it gradually led to the founding of the 
 schools we now have at Gettysburg. Here, the second 
 time, I became the pupil of S. S. Schmucker. There were 
 five other young men who constituted the class, and a mis- 
 
114 MORRIS' ACCOUNT. 
 
 cellaneous crowd it was. I mean that we were in every 
 stage of preparation ; one was a college graduate, another 
 could spell but a few words of the Greek Testament, and a 
 few others had the same difficulty with English. But they 
 were all trained to be useful men. The mode of teaching 
 was not very systematic, and we toddled along after a very 
 remarkable fashion. 
 
 Our teacher was at that time engaged in translating 
 the Theology of Storr and Flatt, which was published at 
 Andover, and which reached a second edition. He was a 
 most untiring worker, and, being a widower, he had not the 
 cares of a household, not even taking his meals in the 
 parsonage. He thus devoted his whole time to his books, 
 I never knew him to take a walk or do anything else for 
 mere exercise. He did not seem to require it ; at least I 
 never knew him to suffer from severe confinement to head 
 work. He had no visitors to annoy him, and was very im- 
 patient of intruders. His study was in a remote part of the 
 house from ours, and I do not think one of us darkened 
 the door of that sacro-sanctum in a month. So neither did 
 he ever enter our workshop, except once a day at recita- 
 tion. He had no time for social intercourse, and we had 
 none to hear a lecture on propriety," 
 
 While Morris was a student in the Pro-Seminary in 
 Virginia, he was confirmed by Rev, S. S. Schmucker, and 
 received as a communicant member of the church. This 
 information he imparted to Dr. B. Sadtler a few days before 
 his death. Some doubts having been expressed, as to the 
 correctness of this statement, by friends who maintained 
 that he had been confirmed by Dr. J, G. Schmucker, in 
 York, Pa., and received as a member of Christ Lutheran 
 Church, Rev, Dr. G. W. Enders kindly searched the re- 
 cords of Christ Lutheran Church. He found there a record 
 of the baptism of Johann Gottlieb Morritz, on January 8th, 
 
MORRIS' CONFIRMATION. 115 
 
 1804, by Rev. Jacob Goehring, but no record of his con- 
 firmation. Dr. Enders then wrote to Rev. Dr. S. Henkel, 
 pastor of the Lutheran Church at New Market, Va., and 
 received the following reply : 
 
 " I went to see Miss Martha Cline, daughter of the 
 late Rev. J. P. Cline, who has possession of her father's 
 diary. I there found the following information : ' On Sun- 
 day, April 25, 1824, Rev. Dr. S. S. Schmucker had a com- 
 munion meeting at Mt. Jackson, seven miles north of this 
 place. J, G. Morris was confirmed.' This, I think, is reli- 
 able, and the information you want. I hope, this will prove 
 satisfactory. Yours fraternally, 
 
 S. Henkel." 
 
 It will be noticed, that this church at Mt. Jackson, is 
 the same, which was formerly Episcopalian, but called Rev. 
 Schmucker to become their pastor, and became a 
 Lutheran Congregation. 
 
 HIS SECOND MARRIAGE. 
 
 On October 12th, 182^, he was married to his second wife. 
 Miss Mary Catharine Steenbergen, daughter of Mr. Wil- 
 liam Steenbergen, of Shenandoah County, Va, The Steen- 
 bergens and the Beales were two prominent English fami- 
 lies, of high respectability and wealth, said to have de- 
 scended from a branch of the nobility of England. They 
 owned large contiguous tracts of the most beautiful and 
 fertile lands in the Valley of Virginia, and were intermar- 
 ried with each other. The eldest son of the second mar 
 riage was named Beale M. Schmucker. * 
 
 See Family Record, Page 26. 
 
1 16 ORGANIZATION OF GEN. SYNOD. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTH. 
 
 1819 — 1823. 
 
 Numerical strength of the church — spread of the 
 church — initiatory steps — convention , in balti- 
 more — object of the general synod — hagerstown 
 
 NEW ERA — EFFORTS FOR UNION — JACOB's TESTIMONY 
 
 KRAUTh's TESTIMONY SCHMUCKER IGNORED — BEALE 
 
 M. SCHMUCKER's TESTIMONY DR. DIEHl's ACCOUNT 
 
 SCHMUCKER's DIARY EXTRACTS FROM HIS LECTURE — 
 HIS PRESENCE AT BALTIMORE, HAGERSTOWN, AND FRED- 
 ERICK — FRAMES ITS CONSTITUTION AND FORMUL\ OF 
 
 GOVERNMENT SECESSION OF PENNSYLVANIA SYNOD — 
 
 HIS SUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO SAVE THE GENERAL SYNOD. 
 
 The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church, in the United States of North America, was organ- 
 ized in Hagerstown, Md , in 1820. The Lutheran Church 
 of this country" was not then very large. It is estimated that 
 there were then in the whole country only 170 ministers, 
 850 congregations, (some of which were very small indeed) 
 and about 35,000 members. 
 
 These were scattered over a great extent of country, 
 principally in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, New York, 
 Ohio, Maryland and Virginia, and North and South Caro- 
 lina. 
 
 The following were the only synodical bodies then 
 organized : 
 
 The Synod of Pennsylvania, with 85 ministers. 
 
ORGANIZATION OF GEN. SYNOD. Il7 
 
 The Synod of New York, with 17 ministers and eight- 
 een congregations. 
 
 The Synod of Maryland and Virginia, with 15 minis- 
 ters and 5,863 members. 
 
 The Synod of North Carolina, with 12 ministers. 
 The Synod of West Pennsylvania was organized in 
 1825, with 7 ministers. 
 
 "As the church began to diffuse itself over a more ex- 
 tended territory, and the number of district synods was in- 
 creased, the propriety of forming some central bond of 
 union was often discussed. The conviction, from year to 
 year, deepened among those who were interested in the 
 prosperity of the church, that a step of this kind was neces- 
 sary, in order that injudicious divisions might not arise, and 
 that more general uniformity in the usages and practice of 
 the church might prevail. Our best men felt, that the oc- 
 casional intercourse of the District Synods, through their 
 representatives, assembled in a general convention, would 
 secure to the church great advantages, and impart increased 
 strength and more efficient action to all those enterprises, 
 in which conventions are so essential to success. This was 
 the origin of the General Synod, which forms a new epoch 
 in our history, and has been a great blessing to the 
 church." — Ev. Quarterly, Jan. i86g. 
 
 The initiatory steps were taken by the Synod of Penn- 
 sylvania, which is the mother of the other Synods, and em- 
 braced more ministers and members at that time, than all 
 the others put together. The first traces of it are found in 
 the meeting of the Synod at Harrisburg, in 18 18, of which 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker, was then president, and at which it 
 was 
 
 " Resolved, that the Synod regard it as desirable, that 
 the different Evangelical Synods in the United States 
 should, in some way or other, stand in closer connection 
 
Il8 ORGANIZATION OP GEN. SYNOD. 
 
 with each other, and that the Reverend Ministerium be 
 charged with the consideration of the matter, and if the 
 Reverend Ministerium recognize the advisability of it, that 
 some such desirable union be effected if possible." " Ex- 
 traordinary unanimity and the most hearty concord and 
 brotherly love prevailed at this meeting, for which the 
 secretary records fervent thanksgiving." * 
 
 The officers were appointed a committee to give effi- 
 cacy to the movement. Communications expressive of the 
 Synod's action were accordingly forwarded to the other 
 Synods, and they were invited to send deputies to the next 
 annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Synod, to be held in 
 Baltimore, on Trinity week, in 1819, for the purpose of 
 considering the expediency of organizing a General Synod. 
 
 At that convention a letter was read from Pastor Quit- 
 man, of New York, favoring a more intimate union of the 
 Synods. And the North Carolina Synod, holding, " that 
 toward such a union of our church all possible assistance 
 ought to be rendered," promptly elected its secretary. Rev. 
 Gottlieb Shober, to attend the above meeting in Baltimore, 
 and in the name of the Synod, endeavor to effect such a de- 
 sirable union. He was accorded a seat and a vote, and his 
 presence for this particular object gave great encourage- 
 ment to the Synod to proceed, and it became the para- 
 mount subject of consideration. A committee was ap- 
 pointed, consisting of Revs. F. D. Schaeffer, J. Daniel 
 Kurtz, and J. George Schmucker, with Messrs. Demuth, 
 Keller and Schorr of the laity, and the delegate, Rev. G. 
 Shober, to examine the whole matter and to outline a plan 
 as early as possible. 
 
 * Seven years before the Pennsylvania Synod had taken the initi- 
 atory steps for the organiza ion of a General Synod; namely, in the 
 year 18 II, "Revs Storch and Shober introduced and advocated the 
 opening of correspondence with the Pennsylvania S>nod, in accord- 
 ance with the warmly expressed wishes for a closer union with these 
 brethren of our common faith." — Minutes N. C. Synod. 
 
ORGANIZATION OF GEN. SYNOD. Iig 
 
 The report of the committee was thoroughly discussed, 
 and its plan for the establishment of a General Synod 
 adopted by a vote of 42 to 8. Its first paragraph states 
 that, " in view of the extension of the church over the 
 greatest part of the United States of North America, and as 
 the members of the said church are anxious to walk in the 
 spirit of love and concord, under one rule of faith, * * * it 
 appears to be the almost unanimous wish of the existing 
 synods or ministeriums, that a fraternal union ol the whole 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church in these United States might 
 be effected by means of some central organization." 
 
 The plan thus adopted by the Synod of Pennsylvania 
 was signed by J. George Schmucker, President, and Conrad 
 Jaeger, Secretary, and was published for general distribution 
 among all the ministers and delegates of the several synods, 
 with the understanding, that they were to take action upon 
 it as soon as possible, and that, if three-fourths of the 
 synods adopted it, "at least in its spirit and essentials," the 
 President of the Synod of Pennsylvania should proceed to 
 call a convention of deputies who at such time and place as 
 he might determine, would meet for the purpose of framing 
 for themselves a constitution, to be conformed as nearly as 
 possible to the plan proposed. 
 
 The proposition having been favorably received by the 
 requisite number of synods, the convention for effecting an 
 organization was announced to be held at Hagerstown, 
 Md., October 22, 1820. There appeared as deputies from 
 the Synod of Pennsylvania, Drs. George Lochman, F. W. 
 Geisenhainer, Christian Endress, J. G. Schmucker, H. A. 
 Muhlenberg, (a son of Henry E. Muhlenberg, D. D., and 
 grandson of the Patriot), and Messrs. Christian Kunkel, 
 William Hensel, and Peter Strickler ; from the Synod o. 
 New York, Drs. F. P. Mayer and F. C. Schaeffer ; from the 
 Synod of North Carolina, Revs. G. Shober and P 
 
I20 ORGANIZATION OF GEN. SYNOD. 
 
 Schmucker ; from the Synod of Maryland and Virginia, Drs. 
 J. D. Kurtz, D. F. Schaeffer, and Mr. George Shryock. " It 
 was much regretted by all present, that from the Synod of 
 the State of Ohio, the expected deputies did not appear." 
 
 J. D, Kurtz, D. D., was chosen President of the Con- 
 vention, and H. A. Muhlenberg, D. D., secretary. A more 
 important meeting was never held within the bounds of the 
 Lutheran Church this side of the Atlantic, and a nobler 
 band of enlightened men could not have been found at that 
 time within her pale, or outside of it. 
 
 They seem to have realized the responsibilities with 
 which they were charged in laying the foundation of a 
 United Lutheran Church on this continent, and with the 
 spirit of the utmost harmony they built so wisely that their 
 structure, with some modifications, still remains, and has 
 been by general consent one of the most powerful instru- 
 ments in determining the character and advancing the gen- 
 eral welfare of the church. 
 
 The organization of the General Synod forms a new 
 era in the history of the Lutheran Church of this country. 
 Although one cherished object of its founders 
 has not been realized ; namely, the union of all the Luth- 
 eran Synods into one organic body, to work conjointly 
 and harmoniously in extending the kingdom of Christ and 
 the building up of the Lutheran Church ; yet incalculable 
 good has been accomplished in the establishment of her 
 literary and theological institutions, in awaking a deeper 
 spiritual life among her people, a more active and liberal 
 benevolence, resulting in the establishment of Home and 
 Foreign Missionary and Church Extension Societies, and 
 last, but not least, her reflex influence on those synods, 
 which have receded from her, or have never even united with 
 her. Already, during the Reformation period, divisions 
 had rent the Protestant Churches into opposing factions. 
 
EARI<Y CONNECTION WITH GEN. SYNOD. 121 
 
 Even in the days of Luther efforts were made to unite the 
 Lutherans and the Reformed, the followers of Luther, 
 Zwingle and Calvin, into Christian unity and brotherhood ; 
 in America the effort was repeated to unite the Lutherans 
 and Reformed into one Evangelical organization, but the 
 efforts failed. So, alas, also the repeated efforts in America 
 to unite all the Lutherans into one homogeneous Church 
 have failed. The General Synod has tried it, the General 
 Council has tried it, neither has succeeded, and at present 
 the church is far more split up into opposing factions, than 
 ever before. Voices are at this time again loudly calling 
 for a united Lutheran Church in America. Colloquiums 
 have been held, delegates exchanged, Lutheran Leagues 
 are organized, committees on fraternal conferences ap- 
 pointed. What shall be the final result God only knows 
 and time will show. But whether there shall be a united 
 Lutheran Church in this country, embracing all the differ- 
 ent languages, nationalities and organizations, bearing the 
 Lutheran name, whether there shall be such a union or not, 
 the General Synod, by the help and grace of God, will go 
 forward, unchecked by opposition from without or mis- 
 guided friends within her pale. 
 
 HIS EARLY CONNECTION WITH THE GENERAL SYNOD. 
 
 It has been objected that he could not have had any 
 thing to do with the organization of the General Synod, be- 
 cause he was too young at that time, only 20 years of age, 
 merely a licentiate, and did not become an ordained minis- 
 ter until 1 823, nearly four years after the incipient steps had 
 been taken. 
 
 The statement in the College Book, by his son. Dr. B. 
 M. Schmucker, will throw some light on the subject. He 
 thus writes of his father : 
 
 " In the General Synod and its work he took an active 
 
122 EARI,Y CONNECTION WITH GEN, SYNOD. 
 
 part, from his entrance into the ministry to the close of his 
 Hfe. Though not a delegate to that body until its third 
 meeting in 1823, he was present in 1819, 1820, and 1821, 
 When in 1823 the Ministerium of Pennsylvania withdrew, 
 and the existence of the General Synod was imperilled, he 
 was very active in the measures taken to prolong its life, 
 and became prominent in the group of young ministers, 
 whose energies were aroused to meet the demands of that 
 decisive period." 
 
 We append Dr. Diehl's account of his early connection 
 with the General Synod. Dr. Diehl was, indeed, a warm 
 friend of Dr. Schmucker, although he did not agree with 
 him in all his doctrinal views. He was regarded as " a 
 very conservative man," and therefore his testimony is all 
 the more valuable. Dr. Diehl writes : 
 
 " When Rev. G. Shober, of North Carolina, at the 
 meeting of the Pennsylvania Synod, at Baltimore, brought 
 forward the first formal proposition for the establishment of 
 a General Synod, Mr. Schmucker was a student in the 
 Princeton Seminary. He had, however, accompanied his 
 father, who was President of the Synod, to that convention. 
 When the convention for the framing and adoption of a 
 constitution for a General Synod, met at Hagerstown, Oct. 
 22, 1820, he had entered the ministry and attended this 
 convention, though not a delegate. That convention em- 
 braced a large portion of the ablest ministers in the church, 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker, Dr. Lochman, Dr. Endress, H. A. 
 Muhlenberg, Dr. Mayer, Dr. V. C. Schaeffer, of New York, 
 Drs. SchaefTer and J. Daniel Kurtz, of Maryland, were in 
 that body. It is said that young Schmucker, a visitor pres- 
 ent, interchanged views with the leading men, and was not 
 without influence. 
 
 " At the first convention of the General Synod, at Fred- 
 erick, Oct. 22, 1 82 1, Mr. Schmucker was not a delegate. 
 
deiiEgate; at second convention. 123 
 
 So he could not take part directly in the initiatory steps 
 and the organization of the General Synod. Yet, as his 
 father, probably the most active member of the first two 
 conventions, at Hagerstown and Frederick, treated his son 
 Samuel, in many respects, as a companion, and discussed 
 all church questions with him, there can be no doubt, that 
 Samuel exerted considerable influence, through his father 
 and other delegates, in the framing of the constitution, and 
 at the first business convention. He was however a dele- 
 gate to the second General Synod, at Frederick, Oct. 21, 
 1823. Here, also, we find him at once an active member, 
 taking a leading part in all important business. He was 
 one of the committee to examine a catechism prepared for 
 the Synod. He offered a resolution, which was adopted, 
 that the materials furnished by the minutes of the district 
 synods, should be wrought into a pastoral address to the 
 churches, in the name of the General Synod. He brought 
 forward his proposition adopted by the Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia Synod, recommending the appointment of a commit- 
 tee on foreign correspondence. This was adopted. His 
 Formula was now adopted also by the General Synod. He 
 drew up, for the General Synod, the pastoral address to all 
 the Lutheran churches in the United States, which was 
 printed with the minutes, — an admirable production ol 
 eleven pages, giving a resume of all the synods in this 
 country, and a general account of the Lutheran Church in 
 Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Russia, etc. He 
 was again a member of the third General Synod, at Freder- 
 ick, Nov. 7, 1825. He was the author of many of the most 
 important resolutions passed at this convention. He was 
 one of the committee to report on an important letter from 
 Dr. Planck, of the University of Goettingen. He furnished 
 a translation of the letter. Both were printed. He also 
 prepared the plan for the establishment of a Theological 
 
124 schmucker's participation in the organization. 
 
 Seminary, which embraced the germ and general principles 
 of the charter and constitution afterwards of the Gettysburg 
 Seminary. He was one of the committee to prepare a 
 hymn-book, liturgy, and collection of prayers. The other 
 members were Dr. J. G. Schmucker, C. P. Krauth, G. 
 Shober, and B. Keller. He again wrote the pastoral ad- 
 dress of the General Synod to the churches. And at this 
 Synod he was elected the first Professor of Theology in the 
 Seminary." 
 
 The Pennsylvania Synod sent delegates to the first 
 regular meeting of the General Synod, in 1821, and then 
 abandoned her own child. Dr. Diehl gives a graphic ac- 
 count of Mr. Schmucker's herculean effort to save the in- 
 fant organization from destruction after the Pennsylvania 
 Synod's withdrawal : 
 
 " If Mr. Schmucker was too young to be one of the 
 nominal founders of the General Synod, he is entitled to 
 the lasting gratitude of the church for saving it from disso- 
 lution at the most critical moment. The mother Synod oi 
 Pennsylvania, after attending through her delegates one 
 business convention in 1821, determined in 1823 to with- 
 draw. This was considered the death-blow of the General 
 Synod, The New York and the Ohio Synods had not 
 come in. There were but two small Synods left in the 
 General Synod, — that of Maryland and Virginia and that of 
 North Carolina. West Pennsylvania was not yet organized. 
 Samuel S. Schmucker, more than any other man, felt that 
 this was the crisis of the Lutheran Church. If the noble 
 effort of uniting the Synods, and organizing the church 
 should be frustrated, there was no future in the country for 
 the church of the Great Reformer. So general was the im- 
 pression, in 1823, that no convention of the General Synod 
 would be held in October that year, that the members of 
 the Synod of Pennsylvania, living west of the Susquehanna, 
 
RECESSION OF THE MINISTERIUM. I25 
 
 and who were favorable to the General Synod, in appoint- 
 ing a special conference, with a view to organizing the 
 West Pennsylvania Synod, fixed on the very day that had 
 been appointed two years before for the meeting of the 
 General Synod. When S. S. Schmucker, in Virginia, 
 learned these things, he was deeply concerned. He 
 thought the very life of the General Synod depended upon 
 the West Pennsylvania brethren organizing their confer- 
 ence in advance of the day appointed for the General 
 Synod, so that they might organize and send a delegation. 
 The friends of the General Synod had now lost heart. It 
 was believed that the delegates appointed by the North 
 Carolina Synod, having learned the withdrawal of the Penn- 
 sylvania Synod, would not undertake a long journey to 
 Frederick ; for they looked upon the General Synod, as in 
 the act of expiring. But there was one young Lutheran 
 minister equal to the crisis. Samuel S. Schmucker deter- 
 mined if possible to save the youthful organization from 
 this death blow. If he could help it, under Heaven's bless- 
 ing, the bruised reed should not break, the smoking flax 
 should not be quenched. He at once wrote to the North 
 Carolina brethren, urging them by all means to come to 
 Frederick in October. He wrote to the Tennessee breth- 
 ren, urging them to send delegates. He wrote to several 
 in Ohio ; and to many of the West Pennsylvania ministers, 
 urging them to change the time of their special conference, 
 and hold it a few weeks earlier, so as to organize and ap- 
 point delegates. In letters to Ohio, Tennessee and North 
 Carolina, he expressed a hope that the Pennsylvania Synod 
 would reconsider her act, and at a future convention return. 
 (This she did thirty years afterward.) He paid a visit to his 
 father at York, to urge on him the change of time for the 
 special conference. He called on all the brethren along his 
 route. Reck, Schaeffer, Kurtz, Krauth, Sr., Herbst, etc. By 
 
126 EFFORTS FOR PRESERVATION OF GEN. SYNOD. 
 
 his herculean efforts he succeeded in turning the tide, and 
 securing a respectable attendance of delegates at Frederick 
 in October, 1823 : — two ministers from North Carolina, a 
 full delegation from Maryland and Virginia, two clerical 
 delegates of the West Pennsylvania Conference, and one 
 commissioner from the Synod of Ohio. It is difficult to 
 measure the momentous interests that hung upon the reso- 
 lution he inspired in the fainting hearts of the brethren in 
 that critical hour. He saved the General Synod from de- 
 struction, and, with her, secured the prosperity of the Luth- 
 eran Church in this country." 
 
 The following extracts from his diary will give the 
 reader an idea of his deep interest in the General Synod 
 and his personal efforts to save it from dissolution : 
 
 " I have within the last six weeks written sixteen letters 
 to different parts of our church, in order to support the 
 General Synod, which would have certainly been dropped, 
 in consequence of the secession of the Pennsylvania Synod, 
 had it not been for the exertions, which God enabled me to 
 make during my tour down the country, after the death of 
 my wife. I also, at the request of some of the clergy, wrote 
 a long German address to the special conference, which 
 met on the fifth inst., and is perhaps now in session at 
 York, Pa. The time of their meeting had been appointed 
 on the day of the meeting of the General Synod, but I per- 
 suaded father, (who was the pastor of Christ Church in 
 York), to publish it two weeks earher, so that they could 
 adopt measures to support the General Synod, and send a 
 deputy to the meeting. And my address to them was to 
 promote this object. O, that God would bless his own 
 work, and not suffer the gates of hell to prevail in any re- 
 spect against his kingdom ! " 
 
 " My soul has for four months past been most intensely 
 
HISTORICAL UBRARY. 127 
 
 interested about the wellfare of our church in Denmark, 
 and Sweden." 
 
 While examining the Historical library in Gettysburg, 
 we found among the literary remains of Dr. Schmucker, 
 the following extracts from one of his lectures, delivered to 
 the theological students. It appears to be the conclusion 
 of one of his lectures on Church Government, and gives the 
 account of the separation of the Pennsylvania Ministerium 
 from the General Synod, and the successful effort made to 
 save it from dissolution. It is an important document, and 
 we give it lierewith for the benefit of our readers : 
 
 HOW THE GENERAL SYNOD WAS SAVED FROM DISSOLUTION. 
 
 " With gratitude to God, we turn from the compli- 
 cated,* unstable and unsatisfactory code of human enact- 
 ments, to the blessed Book which the Protestant Church in 
 these United States regards as the ultimate and only infal- 
 lible source of their views and legislation on the subject. 
 The views of the Lutheran Church on this subject are de- 
 tailed in the Formula of Government and Discipline, 
 adopted by the General Synod, and prepared by appoint- 
 ment of said body, and of the Synod of Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia. As the circumstances of its organization and history 
 cannot be without interest to all who expect to practice by 
 the aid of this Formula through life, we will specify some 
 of them, especially, as you have no other means of arriving 
 at them in detail. The Formula consists of three parts. 
 The first relates to congregations, their members and pas- 
 tors ; the second to synods ; and the third to the General 
 Synod. 
 
 " That part of the Formula which relates to individual 
 congregations ; viz : the first seven chapters, was prepared 
 by us (Schmucker) in New Market, Va., as a member of a 
 committee, consisting of Revs. A. Reck, B. Kurtz, and my- 
 
128 FORMUIyAS OF SYNODS. 
 
 self, appointed by the Synod of Maryland and Virginia, on 
 September 24, 1821. It was presented to the committee at 
 a meeting, held March 5, 1822, in the house of Rev. A. C. 
 Reck, then pastor of the church in Winchester, Va. After 
 having been examined and adopted by said committee, it 
 was reported to the Synod in August, 1822, during its 
 meeting at Cumberland. It was adopted by that body, and 
 printed (not published) for the first time unofficially, at the 
 expense of the late Dr. Schaeffer and myself, by George W. 
 Sharp, in Fredericktown, Md., April 23, 1823, for the pur- 
 pose of being laid before the General Synod. Having been 
 submitted to that body in October, 1823, it was approved 
 and recommended to other synod's for adoption. 
 
 " The second part of the Formula which relates to dis- 
 trict synods; viz: from Chapter VII to Chapter XX, in- 
 clusive, that is, till the constitution of the General Synod, 
 was also prepared by us in conformity to the resolution of 
 the General Synod at their session in Gettysburg, October, 
 1827, and reported to the next General Synod, convened at 
 Hagerstown, October, 1829. 
 
 "It was adopted at the same session, and commended to 
 the different district synods. 
 
 " The third part of the Formula, constituting Chapter 
 XXI, is the constitution of the General Synod. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE GENERAL SYNOD AND " PLAN ENT- 
 WURF," WHICH PRECEDED IT. 
 
 "At the time when the formation of the General Synod 
 was first formally discussed, which was in the year 18 19, 
 East and West Pennsylvania Synods were embraced in one 
 synodical body, which also comprehended the State of 
 Maryland and part of Virginia. This meeting at which the 
 preparatory steps were taken, convened in Baltimore on the 
 Sunday after Whitsunday in 18 19. As the minutes of that 
 
MEETING IN BAI<TlMORE. I29 
 
 convention, so far as they relate to this subject, were pub- 
 lished in a separate pamphlet, which is now rarely met with, 
 and as it presents a brief sketch of the reasons, which in- 
 fluenced the members of that body, and of the steps which 
 were taken, we shall extract the paragraph more immedi- 
 ately concerned, and present a translation of it. It may not 
 be amiss to state, that the ' Plan Entivurf, or sketch of a 
 plan of union then adopted, had never been translated into 
 English : 
 
 ' Whereas the Evangelical Lutheran Church has, 
 under the guidance of divine providence extended itself 
 over the greater part of the United States of North 
 America, and 
 
 ' Whereas the members of said church are desirous 
 of walkj^ng together in the spirit of love and unity, guided 
 by one rule of faith ; 
 
 ' Therefore, the ministers, and generally also, lay dele- 
 gates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, have hitherto 
 annually met, and held synodical, or as others term them, 
 ministerial sessions, in order to preserve the bond of love 
 and unity, and to settle any differences, which may have 
 arisen. But as the number of these synods or ministeri- 
 ums, has been multiplied in consequence of the great ex- 
 tension of said church, and from the same cause may in- 
 crease still more, and thus eventually unnecessary and in- 
 jurious divisions might arise, and also deviations from the 
 common design hitherto had in view by said church ; 
 
 ' Therefore, the existing synods, or ministeriums, seem 
 almost unanimously to desire, that a fraternal union of the 
 entire Evangelical Lutheran Church in these United States 
 might be formed by some central connexion.' 
 
 " Such, according to the statement of the parties them- 
 selves, were the reasons, which influenced them in endeav- 
 oring to form some bond of union in our church. At the 
 meeting of the Pennsylvania Synod, above referred to, the 
 Rev. G. Shober, a venerable minister of our church in 
 North Carolina, appeared as delegate for the express pur- 
 
130 MEETING IN BAI^TIMORE. 
 
 pose of proposing and urging the formation of a general 
 union among our synods. That zealous and respected 
 father of our church, who has since gone to his rest, had 
 prepared the outline of a plan, which was read before the 
 synod, very much resembling the constitution of the Pres- 
 byterian Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. This was 
 submitted by him to the Synod, and formed the basis of 
 the discussion on the subject. 
 
 "Several days of fraternal deliberation took place, which 
 having- ourselves been present, we can testify, that the spirit 
 of brotherly love most visibly reigned. 
 
 " The so-called ' Plan Entwurf; ' that is, sketch of a 
 plan, was adopted. In this plan the strongest features of 
 the outline, presented by Rev. Shober, were softened down, 
 almost into Congregationalism. The ' Plan Entwurf^ 
 signed by Rev. J. G. Schmucker, D. D., as President, and 
 Rev. Conrad Jaeger, as Secretary of Synod, was printed and 
 sent to all the different Lutheran Synods. 
 
 " The ' Plan Entwurf, having met the approbation of 
 three fourths of the existing synods, the President of Penn- 
 sylvania Synod, according to the i ith section of the ' Plan 
 Entwurfl published a meeting of the delegates, to form a 
 constitution for the General Synod, at Hagerstown, on the 
 22d of October, 1820. At this convention Dr. Daniel 
 Kurtz was chosen chairman, and Rev. H. Muhlenberg, 
 secretary. 
 
 " From the Synod of Pennsylvania Dr. J. G. 
 Schmucker, Dr. Lochman, Dr. Endress, Rev. F. C. Geisen- 
 hainer and Rev. H. Muhlenberg, together with the lay- 
 delegates, C. Kunkel, Wm. Hensel and P. Strickler. From 
 the Synod of New York, Rev. P. F. Mayer, and Rev. F. C. 
 Schaeffer, with no lay-delegates. From the Synod of 
 North Carolina, Rev. G. Shober and Peter Schmucker, with 
 no lay-delegate, and from the Synod of Maryland, Dr. 
 
SYNOD REPRESENTED — FIRST MEETING IN FREDERICKTOWN. I3I 
 
 Daniel Kurtz and Rev. D. F. Schaefifer, with the lay-dele- 
 gate, Mr. George Shryock. 
 
 " The Synod of Ohio was also expected to send dele- 
 gates, but they did not appear, and although I was present 
 at the meeting, also, I do not recollect whether the reason 
 was assigned on their minutes, and as my collection of 
 Ohio minutes began with the year 182 1, I am unable to 
 say, what action that body took on the subject, although I 
 well recollect, that their principal ministers were at first 
 known to be favorable to the union, and were expected to 
 unite in the establishment of the General Synod. 
 
 " The first regular General Synod under the constitution 
 was held in Fredericktown, Md., October 21, 22, 23, in the 
 year 1 82 1. At this meeting delegates were in attendance 
 from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and North 
 Carolina, but in consequence of a mistake in the advertise- 
 ment by the secretary, which fixed the time one week 
 earlier, than had been appointed by the Synod, about half 
 of the delegates did not appear. Some started agreeably to 
 the early advertisement, and hearing of the mistake on the 
 way, turned back. The secretary himself, Dr. Endress, 
 having come to York a week too soon, and finding that the 
 brethren would not generally come, till the time appointed 
 by Synod, remained a week at father's, and then went with 
 him to Synod. 
 
 " In September of this year the Synod of Ohio had the 
 constitution of the General Synod under consideration and 
 postponed their final answer till the ensuing year, at which 
 time the subject was resumed, and two delegates appointed 
 to attend the meeting of the next General Synod, and report 
 on the proceedings, after which the question of permanent 
 union with said body should be finally decided. The dele- 
 gates appointed were the Revs. P. Schmucker and Steck. 
 There was therefore a very flattering prospect, at this time. 
 
132 OPPOSITION OK THE GERMANS. 
 
 of the union of the whole Lutheran Church in the General 
 Synod. There was then no other synod remaining, as the 
 whole church was in 182 1, embraced in the Synods of Ohio, 
 Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and North Carolina 
 and adjoining States. 
 
 " About this time an event occurred, which to all ap- 
 pearances was expected to put an end to the General 
 Synod, and blast the hopes which had been cherished for 
 the improvement of our Zion. 
 
 " Owing to various disturbances and opposition excited 
 by political demagogues, by infidels and by a few renegade 
 Germans from Europe, the Synod of Pennsylvania, at a 
 meeting held at Lebanon, May 26th-29th, in the year 1823, 
 passed resolutions to relinquish the idea of sustaining a 
 General Synod. Instead of nobly braving the opposition 
 of ignorance, prejudice and irreligion, and taking measures 
 to circulate better information among the churches, they 
 resolved to abandon the General Synod, to take no steps 
 towards establishing a theological seminary, and to adhere to 
 those resolutions till their churches requested them to 
 abandon them, and instructed their president to communi- 
 cate these resolutions to the other synods who had united 
 in the General Synod. As the Pennsylvania Synod at that 
 time constituted more than half of the whole church, and 
 had been chiefly instrumental in establishing the General 
 Synod, her abandonment of the cause was deemed by 
 nearly all as decisive of the fate of that institution. How 
 fully this impression prevailed, may be seen from the fact 
 that the members of the Pennsylvania Synod who resided 
 west of the Susquehanna, some of whom were very warm 
 friends of the General Synod, after the passage of the above 
 resolutions at Lebanon, consulted together about holding a 
 special conference, considering the General Synod as de- 
 funct, and appointed their conference on the very day 
 
schmucker's efforts to save gen. synod. 133 
 
 which had been fixed for the meeting of the General Synod 
 in the ensuing fall. This was indeed an important crisis. It 
 was evident that if this attempt to establish a General 
 Synod should be abandoned, nothing like it could be at- 
 tempted for years, and our church would continue in her 
 former lifeless and distracted condition. 
 
 " With these views, as soon as I heard of the recession 
 of the Pennsylvania Synod, I felt convinced that faithful- 
 ness to the cause of our beloved Zion required a desperate 
 effort to sustain the General Synod, notwithstanding the 
 fearful odds of influence arrayed against it. I therefore 
 immediately wrote to the principal brethren friendly to the 
 cause, and in a few days determined to visit those brethren 
 personally, and devise means to sustain the General Synod. 
 With this view I started from home about a week after the 
 news of the recession of the Pennnsylvania Synod reached 
 me, and visited the principal brethren. At Frederick in 
 conjunction with Rev. D. F. Schaeffer, we wrote letters to 
 all the ministers of the different synods who had been 
 elected as delegates to the General Synod to be held in 
 October ensuing, and besought them not to regard the 
 course of the Pennsylvania Synod — assured them that the 
 General Synod should be sustained, and begged them to 
 attend. 
 
 " I then went to Gettysburg to Rev. Herbst, who was 
 one of our most zealous and active ministers, took him 
 along to York, and there formed the following agreement, 
 of which I still have the original memorandum, which runs 
 as follows : 
 
 'At a meeting in York, July 15th, 1823, present J. G. 
 Schmucker, J. Herbst and S. S. Schmucker, it was agreed : 
 
 I. That J. G. Schmucker shall publish the time o 
 the West Pennsylvania special conference on the first Sun- 
 day in October (instead of the third Sunday.) 
 
134 THE MEANS ADOPTED. 
 
 2, That J. G. S. and J. H., shall use their utmost in- 
 fluence at the Special Conference to have the following re- 
 solutions passed : 
 
 (a) Resolved, That we are convinced of the impor- 
 tance of the General Synod. 
 
 (b) That in Christian love we lay this, our opinion, 
 before the next Synod at Carlisle. 
 
 (c) That two members of this conference be chosen 
 to attend the General Synod at Frederick, and to present 
 this, our opinion. 
 
 3. Resolved, That S. S. Schmucker promise and 
 guarantee the presence of one or more members of the 
 Maryland and Virginia Synod at the session of the Penn- 
 sylvania Special Conference to advocate the interests of the 
 General Synod, and aid in forming plans for the further- 
 ance of this object in conjunction with the Pennsylvania 
 brethren.' 
 
 " Conformably to this arrangement, father assumed the 
 responsibility of changing the time fixed by conference, and 
 published the meeting of the conference two weeks earlier 
 than had been determined at Lebanon. The conference 
 met on the first Sunday in October in 1823. I had pre- 
 pared and sent to them a long and earnest appeal, urging 
 them by every proper motive not to think of abandoning 
 the General Synod, which appeal was read and favorably 
 considered. The result of their deliberations was, that the 
 Conference adopted the resolutions which had been agreed 
 on by us, and sent two delegates, father and Rev. Herbst, to 
 the General Synod, which was held at the appointed time, 
 and thus that system of measures secured which has since 
 eventuated in the establishment of this seminary, the 
 adoption of a system of government and discipline, a hymn 
 book, and numberless other benefits to our beloved Zion, 
 
 "This General Synod, the second ever held in our 
 American Church, consisted of seven ministers and two 
 laymen ; viz., Daniel and D. Sherer of North Carolina ; Dr. 
 
RICHARD'S REMARK — SCHMUCKER IGNORED. I35 
 
 Daniel Kurtz, David Schaeffer, myself, and Mr. Lehr, and 
 J Ebert, of Md. and Va.; Dr. J. G. Schmucker and Rev. 
 Herbst, of West Pennsylvania." 
 
 Concerning the above Dr. Richard remarks, in the 
 LutJierafi Observer: 
 
 " We thus see how and by whom the General Synod 
 was saved. The principal part of the work was done by a 
 young man not yet twenty-five years old. The crisis was 
 without doubt the most important in the history of our 
 Church in the United States. God had provided the man 
 for the hour. The General Synod was sustained, its 
 Lutheranism from that hour became more pronounced, and 
 the Lutheran Church itself in this country was saved from 
 that union with the Reformed, which was so long sought 
 by the Pennsylvania Synod. ' Destroy it not for a blessing 
 is in it.' " 
 
 It seems very singular that, with the exception of Dr. 
 Diehl, none of the writers who profess to give a history of 
 the General Synod, have said anything about the part 
 which Dr. Schmucker took in its organization and preserva- 
 tion from dissolution. Dr. Jacobs, in his " History of the 
 Lutheran Church in the United States," gives an account 
 of the organization of the General Synod and the recession 
 of the Pennsylvania Ministerium, but gives no hint of Dr. 
 Schmucker's efforts to save it from dissolution. 
 
 Dr. Morris, in his " Fifty Years in the Ministry," gives 
 a brief history of the General Synod and an extended bio- 
 graphical sketch of Dr. Schmucker; but unaccountably 
 overlooks his participation in the organization of the Gen- 
 eral Synod, and his successful efforts for its preservation. 
 
 When the General Synod met in Hagerstown, where it 
 had been organized in 1820, the President in his sy nodical 
 sermon very appropriately emphasized the remarkable 
 coincidence, that this, the 70th Anniversary of the General 
 
136 RICHARD'S REMARK — SCHMUCKEJR IGNORED. 
 
 Synod, was celebrated in the place where it had been 
 organized, but in the printed copy of his sermon containing 
 a brief history of the General Synod, I do not find the 
 name of Dr. Schmucker once mentioned in connection, 
 with its origin or preservation. 
 
 In Dr. Wolf's book, " Lutherans in America," there is 
 no allusion to Dr. Schmucker's agency in rescuing the Gen- 
 eral Synod from dissolution. This is all that is said about 
 it : " The hopes whicli had been cherished for the improve- 
 ment of our Zion seemed blasted, and many were disposed 
 to abandon the project of a union. Happily the project 
 was of God, and brave and capable men with strong faith 
 and with true hearts, men capable of enduring hardship 
 and of meeting the issue, were provided for the crisis." 
 
 We must presume that these later historians have not 
 made themselves acquainted with all the facts in the case. 
 Another generation has come up, " who know not Joseph." 
 
 JLli 
 
EFFHCTS OF REVOl^UTIONARY WAR, 137 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTH. 
 
 1775— 1823. 
 
 Hindrances and opposition to the general synod. 
 
 The revolutionary war — infidelity— socinianism among 
 
 MINISTERS — definition — CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS — FOR- 
 MALITY AND SKEPTICISM MINISTERS IN POLITICS — AD- 
 HERENCE TO GERMAN — SCHMUCKER's RETROSPECT 
 
 DESIGN OF THE GENERAL SYNOD — NOT CONFINED TO THE 
 LAIT\* — MINISTERS OPPOSED FROM THE BEGINNING— OP- 
 POSITION IN THE NEW YORK MINISTERIUM THE TENNES- 
 SEE SYNOD — A GERMAN AGITATOR RUPTURE IN THE 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA SYNOD — BOOK OF CONCORD — DAVID 
 HENKEL's ORDINATION — RELIC OF OAK TREE — LATITUDI- 
 
 NARIANISM EPISCOPALIANS — REV. GOTTLEIB SHOBER — 
 
 SHOBEr's letter to THE NEW YORK MINISTERIUM. 
 
 The Revolutionary War at the close of the i8th and 
 the beginning of the 19th centuries had a very demor- 
 ahzing effect on the country and the church. 
 
 French and English Infidelity and German Rational- 
 ism of the grossest type had gained great prevalence among 
 the educated or higher classes of society, and found expres- 
 sion in Tom Paine's " Age of Reason." As a consequence, 
 the morals of the common people were at a very low state. 
 The members of the New York Ministerium, as can be 
 seen from young Schmucker's letter to his father, were 
 nearly all Socinians, and the Pennsylvania Ministerium 
 was not much better. These were the two largest bodies 
 of Lutherans in America at that time, containing more 
 
138 BAD MORALS. 
 
 members than all the other small synods, scattered over 
 other parts of the country, taken together. There was a 
 little salt yet left in the church, however, that kept the 
 whole mass from spiritual putrifaction. This was found in 
 such men as Helmuth, Schmidt, Lochman, J. G. Schmucker, 
 the Schaeffers, who became the nucleus of the Gen- 
 eral Synod. But the great bulk of the ministers in the two 
 above named Synods were Socinians. Socinianism denies 
 all the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion, as 
 will be seen by the following definition : " Socinianism is a 
 system of doctrines taught by Faustus Socinus, an Italian 
 theologian of the i6th century, who denied the Trinity, the 
 deity of Christ, the personality of the devil, the native and 
 total depravity of man, the vicarious atonement, and the 
 eternity of future punishment. His theory was, that Christ 
 was a man divinely commissioned, who had no existence 
 before he was conceived by the Virgin Mary ; that human 
 sin was the imitation of Adam's sin, and that human salva- 
 tion was the imitation and adoption of Christ's virtue ; that 
 the Bible was to be interpreted by human reason ; and that 
 its language was metaphorical, and not to be taken liter- 
 ally." 
 
 The state of morals among the people corresponded 
 with the debasing Socinianism among the ministry. The 
 following extract from the biography of Dr. Archibald 
 Alexander gives a glimpse of the state of things in the Val- 
 ley of Virginia from 1789 to 18 18. Whether this is a true 
 picture of the state of religion in other parts of the country 
 we will not undertake to say. The following is his account; 
 
 " My only notion of religion was, that it consisted in 
 oecoming better. I had never heard of any conversions 
 among the Presbyterians. The state of morals and religion 
 in the country, after the Revolutionary War, was very bad. 
 The old continental soldiers, many of whom in that quarter 
 
IMMORAL SOLDIERY. I39 
 
 were convicts, now returned, and having received certificates 
 for their wages, were able to hve for a while in idleness and 
 
 dissipation. Robert , a shrewd, intelligent man, 
 
 who was one of this number, had acquired a house in Lex- 
 ington, the old farm house of Israel Campbell, who owned 
 the land. Here he collected all the vagrants in the country, 
 and a drunken bout would be kept up for weeks. They 
 called themselves the Congress, and made Bob their presi- 
 dent. Hard battles were fought here. The better class of 
 people were much injured by the profane and licentious 
 manners of the officers of the disbanded army, as the lower 
 classes by the soldiery. There were a few pious people in 
 the land, who kept up the pov/er of religion, and were as 
 salt to preserve the mass from universal putrifaction." 
 
 -i .... 
 
 The Protestant Episcopal Church in Virgmia seems to 
 have been in a still more deplorable condition, not only as 
 regards the laity, but still more so in regard to her ministry. 
 This is what Archdeacon Tiffany of New York says in his 
 history of the Episcopal Church : 
 
 " Two-thirds of the preachers are made up of leaden 
 lay priests of the Vesteries ordination (evidently lay-read- 
 ers) and are both the grief and shame of the rightly 
 ordained clergy there." 
 
 " The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, 
 after similar deliverances in previous years, declared in 
 1798: 'We perceive with pain and fearful apprehension a 
 general dereliction of religious principle and practice — an 
 abounding infidelity — a dissolution of religious society 
 seems to be threatened. Formality and deadness, not to 
 say hypocrisy, visibly pervade every part of the Church. 
 The profligacy and corruption of public morals have ad- 
 
I40 DEC1.KXSI0N IN REI^IGION. 
 
 vanced with a progress proportioned to our declension in 
 religion.' " * 
 
 " The Evangelical Lutheran Church had her full share 
 of these disastrous experiences. Rev. Storch, writing from 
 North Carolina, in 1803, says : ' Party spirit has risen to a 
 fearful height. The prevalence of infidelity, the contempt 
 of the best of all religions, its usages and servants, the 
 increase of irreligion and crime, have occasioned me many 
 sad hours.' She had fearful trials in addition to those 
 which threatened the extinction of other denominations 
 that had advanced beyond her in organization and growth. 
 She was subjected to fiery ordeals which once more and to 
 the last degree tested her vitality and her inherent powers 
 of endurance." 
 
 Some of the prominent ministers became absorbed in 
 party politics, permitted themselves to be elected to politi- 
 cal offices, and resigned the ministry of the Gospel. The 
 writer distinctly recollects hearing one of these old minis- 
 ters, in Pennsylvania, earnestly discussing political ques- 
 tions, on Sunday morning, with the male members of his 
 congregation, outside of the church, till it was time to go 
 into the pulpit and preach. 
 
 Rev. J. P. G. Muhlenberg, the eldest son of the Patri- 
 arch Muhlenberg, was one of the predecessors of Rev. S. S. 
 Schmucker at Woodstock, Va. In January, 1776, he 
 preached his farewell sermon. After service he laid aside 
 his clerical robe, disclosed a military uniform, and enlisted, 
 outside of the church, about 300 men for service in the 
 
 * " A frightfal apcstacy from religion ensued. Skepticism and reck- 
 less blasphemy became common Infidelity was never more rampant 
 among influential citizens ard professional men, never more deliter- 
 ious in its work. Revelation was decried as without authority or evi- 
 dence, moral obliga'ion as a cobweb. 'The clergy were a laughing 
 stock, or objects of disgust.' Young men especially became enam- 
 ored of the new ideas. Bishop White of Virginia wrote, that scarcely 
 a young man of any literary culture believed in Christianity," — U^'ol/. 
 
REV. MUHI^ENBKRG — LETTER FROM DR. SCHMUCKER. 141 
 
 revolutionary army. He became Colonel of a regiment, 
 participated in a number of battles, and was promoted to 
 the grade of Brigadier General. After the war he was 
 called back by his old congregation to Woodstock, in 
 1783. But he declined the call, and was elected to the leg- 
 islature of Pennsylvania. After this he was elected to con- 
 gress successively from 1789 to 1801. 
 
 Rev. Henry A. Muhlenberg, was pastor of Trinity 
 Lutheran Church in Reading, Pa., from 1802 till 1828, 
 when he resigned his charge, and soon after was elected a 
 member of the twenty-second congress, from the districts 
 of Berks and Lehigh Counties. To this post he was re- 
 elected until 1838. In 1835 he was nominated as the can- 
 didate of the Democratic party in Pennsylvania for gover- 
 nor, but was defeated. In 1837, President Van Buren ten- 
 dered him a position in his cabinet, and also a mission to 
 Russia, both* of which he declined ; but in 1838 he accepted 
 the mission to Austria, and was unanimously confirmed by 
 the Senate. In 1844 he was again nominated by the 
 Democratic party for governor, and would undoubtedly 
 have been chosen, had not his death occured before the 
 election. — Spragne. 
 
 The following letter dated, Nov. 12th, 1828, was writ- 
 ten by Rev. J. G. Schmucker, D. D., of York, when he 
 heard of Rev. H. A. Muhlenberg's election to Congress. 
 
 " My dear and much respected Brother: — I am truly 
 sorry that you have relinquished your Episcopal charge for 
 one of vastly less importance in the kingdom of God. 
 There are thousands qualified 'for congressmen before you 
 find one fit for a truly able messenger of the glorious 
 gospel of Christ. Besides all this, you are perfectly ac- 
 quainted with the state of our church in this country, and 
 how much we stand in need of your first rate and superior 
 abilities and labors. When I consider the loss your Synod 
 
142 SPECIMEN OF A CONGREGATIONAI, CAI,!,, 
 
 sustains, I cannot but pronounce it irreparable. You are 
 the only one who possessed sufficient weight of character, 
 around whom the brethren formed a rallying point of 
 union ; and thus by proper exertion and judicious manage- 
 ment, you might, like your worthy father and grandfather, 
 have proved a vast blessing to the church. 
 
 J. George Schmucker." 
 
 Our readers will be interested in the following congre- 
 gational call extended to Rev. H. A. Muhlenberg in 1802. 
 It will also indicate the confessional state of the churches 
 in the Pennsylvania Ministerium at that time. The con- 
 gregation at Reading was, no doubt, at that time one of 
 the largest in the church. 
 
 specimen of a congregational call. 
 
 It was extended by the Lutheran Trinity Church of 
 Reading, to Rev. H. A. Muhlenberg, grandson of the 
 Patriot, H. M. Muhlenberg: 
 
 " Inasmuch as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of 
 Reading has elected Rev. H. A. Muhlenberg as their 
 teacher and preacher, therefore we desire and expect of 
 him, that he will preach in this congregation the pure and 
 simple vvord of God, administer the holy Sacraments in a 
 Scriptural manner, visit the sick, etc. 
 
 " On the other hand we promise for ourselves and our 
 congregation, so long as he remains our pastor, and faith- 
 fully performs his duty, the following : 
 
 " Free residence in the parsonage and the use of the 
 grounds attached thereto. 
 
 " Six cords of hickory and six cords of oak wood. 
 
 " Five hundred dollars per annum, payable every half 
 year. 
 
 " Also the customary perquisite. 
 
 " And especially all love and friendship, which a faith- 
 
ANTIPATHY TO THE ENGUSH I^ANGUAGE 143 
 
 ful and conscientious pastor should have, so that he may 
 fulfill his office among us with joy, and not with grief." 
 
 Dr. Fry, in his " History of Trinity Church " remarks, 
 " It was a sign of the times that in neither of these calls 
 (Muhlenberg's and Miller's) was there any mention of the 
 Confessions of the Lutheran Church, which were always 
 mentioned in the calls of the pastors during the preceding 
 century." — Frys History pages ij6 and 757. 
 
 Rev. Christopher Emanuel Schultze was a son-in-law 
 of Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, born in 1740 and died 
 1809. His son, John Andrew, was for several years Gov- 
 ernor of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Another great obstacle in the formation of the General 
 Synod was the unyielding adherance of the early Luther- 
 ans to the German language, while the synods and congre- 
 gations composing the General Synods were predominently 
 English. ^ 
 
 The antipathy to English, on the one hand, and the 
 anxiety to have English on the other, occasioned a violent 
 struggle in the Philadelphia Congregation, of which Drs. 
 Helmuth and Schmidt were the pastors. The advocates of 
 English under the leadership of General Peter Muhlenberg 
 insisted that a third pastor should be called, who would 
 officiate in Engl'sh. The feeling was intensified by the 
 impression on the part of the opponents of the English, 
 that Rev. H. A. Muhlenberg, afterwards pastor in Reading 
 and minister to Austria, then completing his studies under 
 Dr. Kunze, was to be the English pastor. At the election, 
 Jan. 6, 1806, 1,400 votes were polled, the majority against 
 the proposition being 130. Prior to this the controversy 
 had been carried into the Ministerium, which at its meeting 
 in Germantown in 1805, passed the resolution, that it 
 " Must remain a German speaking Ministerium," and for- 
 bidding the introduction of any measure, " which would 
 
144 EXCITEMENT DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 necessitate the use of any other language, than the German 
 in synodical session." The English speaking Lutherans 
 then organized themselves into a congregation. This was 
 the first exclusively English Lutheran Congregation in 
 Pennsylvania. It was organized in Philadelphia, by Dr. 
 Mayer, who ministered in the same church for upwards of 
 half a century. * 
 
 In his " Retrospect of Lutheranism," Dr. Schmucker 
 gives the following description of the state of the country 
 during and succeeding the Revolutionary war : 
 
 "The struggle by which this glorious declaration of In- 
 dependence was sustained and in which our forefathers 
 took a distinguished part, was like every othsr war, detri- 
 mental to the religious prosperity of the community. Chris- 
 tianity is a religion of peace, and the tempest of war never 
 fails to blast and scatter the leaves which are for the healing 
 of nations. Hear the account of one of those venerable 
 men, the Rev. Dr. Helmuth, just after General Gage had 
 landed at Boston with 9,000 British troops, dated February 
 25th, 1775. ' Throughout the whole country great prepar- 
 ations for war are making, and almost every person is 
 under arms. The ardor is indescribable which is mani- 
 fested in these melancholy circumstances. If a hundred 
 men are required, many more immediately offer, and are 
 dissatisfied when all are not accepted. I know of no sim- 
 ilar case in history. Neighborhoods concerning which it 
 would have been expected, that years would be requisite 
 to induce them voluntarily to take up arms, became 
 strongly inclined for war, so soon as the battle of Lexing- 
 ton was known. Quakers and Menonists take part in the 
 military exercises, and in great numbers renounce their 
 former religious principles. The hoarse din of war is 
 
 * See Jacob's History, Page 328. 
 
DEPRESSING EFFECT OF THE WAR ON REIvIGION. 145 
 
 hourly heard in our streets. The present disturbances inflict 
 no small injury on religion. Every body is constantly on 
 the alert, anxious, like the ancient Athenians, to hear the 
 news, and amid the mass of news the hearts of men are, 
 alas, closed against the good old word of God. The Lord 
 is chastising the people, but they do not feel it. Those 
 who appear to be distant from danger are unconcerned j 
 and those whom calamity has overtaken are enraged and 
 meditating vengeance. In the American army there are 
 many clergymen, who serve both as chaplains and as offi- 
 cers. I myself know two, one of whom is a Colonel and 
 the other a Captain. The whole country is in a perfect 
 enthusiasm for liberty. The whole population, from New 
 England to Georgia is of one mind and determined to risk 
 life and all things in defence ol liberty. The few who think 
 differently are not permitted to utter their sentiments. In 
 Philadelphia the English and German students are formed 
 into military companies, wear uniform, and are exercised 
 like regular troops. Would to God that men would once 
 become as zealous and unanimous in asserting their spirit- 
 ual liberty, as they are in vindicating their political free- 
 dom ! * 
 
 " This melancholy state of things lasted upwards of 
 seven years. — Many of the churches were destroyed 
 throughout the land, and especially in New England. 
 Zion's church, the largest in Philadelphia, was occupied as 
 a hospital t by the British army in 1778, and the congrega- 
 tion for a season wholly expelled ; and their other church, 
 St. Michaels, which had been built 1743, the year after 
 Muhlenberg's arrival, was used by the enemy as a garrison 
 church, half of every Lord's day, the congregation having 
 
 * Hallische Nachrichten p. 1367 — 8. 
 IHallische Nachrichten p. 1408. 
 
146 FAITHPUI^NKSS OF SOME OF THE FATHERS. 
 
 the use of it in the afternoon. During the ravages of this 
 war, no regular reports were forwarded to Halle, and our 
 acquaintance with the particulars of our history is necessar- 
 ily circumscribed. Many, however, of the fathers of the 
 church survived the revolutionary struggle, and remained 
 in the field during the earlier part of this period ; yet one 
 by one they dropped off, and were received to their eternal 
 rest. From the (Kirchenagende) * Directory for Worship,' 
 published in 1786, three years after the Independence of 
 these United States was acknowledged by Britain and the 
 war closed, we learn, that at that time our ministry in the 
 Middle States embraced the following twenty-four persons : 
 Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D. D., senior of the minis- 
 terium, Nicolas Kurtz, his younger brother William Kurtz, 
 Lewis Voigt, John Andrew Krug, Christian Imanuel 
 Schultze, John George Eager, Just Christian Henry Hel- 
 muth, D. D., John Frederick Schmidt, John Christopher 
 Kunze, D. D., Gotthilf, Henry Ernst Muhlenberg, D. D., 
 Conrad Wildbahn, Jacob B. Buskirk, John Friderici, Chris- 
 tian Streit, John George Jung, Conrad Roeller, Jacob Geo- 
 ring, Daniel Schroeter, Daniel Lehman, Henry Moeller, 
 Frederick Ernst, Frederick Valentine Melsheimer, and 
 Daniel Kurtz, D. D. 
 
 " In addition to these, the following laborers, among 
 many others, entered the field during the second period, 
 and carried forward the work of the Lord : John Frederick 
 Weinland, Frederick David Schaeffer, D. D., Wm. Carpen- 
 ter, George Lochman, D. D., John George Schmucker, 
 D. D., Christian Endress, D. D., Ernst L. Hazelius, D. D., 
 Philip F. Mayer, D. D., John Bachman, D. D , John Ruth- 
 rauff, George Flohr, Paul Henkel, John Stauch, F. W. 
 Geissenhainer, D. D., Augustus Wackerhagen, D. D., G. A. 
 Lintner, D. D., G. B. Miller, D. D., Jno. Herbst, John 
 Knosky, H. Muhlenberg, D. D., David F. Schaeffer, D. D., 
 
DECLINE IV THE STANDARD OF PIETY. 147 
 
 John Hecht, Jacob Miller, D. D., Ulrich, Baetis, Ernst, 
 D. D., J. Becker, D. D., F. C. Schaeffer, D. D., J. P. Shin- 
 del, A. Reck, B. Kurtz, D. D.* 
 
 " The number of congregations and ministers was much 
 increased during this period ; but owing to the want of a 
 suitable institution for their education and to other causes, 
 the proportion of men destitute of a learned education was 
 also augmented. Nor can it be denied, that, whether it is 
 attributable to the unhallowed influence of the war, or to 
 this and other causes in conjunction, the standard of piety 
 in the churches was somewhat on the decline, especially in 
 the latter part of this period. As the same remark is also 
 applicable to other religious denominations of our land, the 
 war of the Revolution and the war with England in 1812 
 were most probably its principal reason ; for a general 
 effect requires an equally general cause. With this cause 
 co-operated another, almost as influential, the general and 
 unprecedented facilities offered by our young and nascent 
 country to accumulate deceitful riches, and to neglect the 
 treasures in heaven ; and also the less pious character of 
 the late accessions made to our churches by emigration 
 from Germany, then devastated and demoralized by the 
 deadly poison of war." 
 
 In the minutes of the Maryland and Virginia Synod,, 
 held in Shepherdstown, Va., November, 1823, we find a 
 petition from a meeting held in Baltimore, beseeching the 
 Reverend Synod to send severa) of their brethren succes- 
 sively to preach in the English language. They state in 
 their petition, that Lutherans have left, and others are wan- 
 dering for the want of those doctrines and principles which 
 they deem compatible with the Holy Scriptures, and the 
 practice of their forefathers. 
 
 * To which should be added S. S. Schmucler, D. D. 
 
148 FIRST ENTGI^ISH CHURCH IN BALTIMORE. 
 
 It was 
 
 " Resolved, that Synod approve of the intention of our 
 brethren in Baltimore, to establish an English Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church in that city, and sincerely wish them the 
 divine blessing in their undertaking." 
 
 After discussion the yeas and nays were called for, and 
 the result was as follows : 
 
 Yeas : Revs. Sackman, Benj. Kurtz, Koehler, Krauth, 
 S. S. Schmucker, Schnee, Winter, Ruthrauf, Moeller; 
 Messrs. Ebert, Esig, Rohrer, Weis, Jr. 
 
 Nays: Rev. Mr. Haas, Messrs. Link, Paulus, Strayer, 
 Feyry. 
 
 Thirteen yeas and five nays. The President, D. F. 
 Schaeffer, had no vote, except there had been a tie. It was 
 then 
 
 ^^ Resolved, that any of our brethren, who officiate in the 
 English language, may visit the petitioners according to 
 their request ; and it was further 
 
 Resolved, that under existing circumstances it is desira- 
 able, that brethren, who may visit Baltimore for the pur- 
 pose above specified, to regulate their appointments so as to 
 interfere as little as possible with the services performed in 
 the German Lutheran Church, and that those who are at 
 this time members of the German congregation, and may 
 attach themselves to the contemplated English church, 
 should not, for the present, withdraw their support from 
 said congregation." 
 
 This was the beginning of the first English Lutheran 
 congregation in Baltimore. Rev. J. G. Morris became its 
 first pastor, and served it with marked ability and success 
 for many years. 
 
 In regard to the design of the General Synod, and the 
 withdrawal of the Pennsylvania Ministerium, Dr. Schmucker 
 writes in his Dedication to the Church of the Redeemer, 
 1866: "The original design of the General Synod of our 
 church, in this country, was to effect a fraternal union or 
 
ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE GENERAL SYNOD. 1 49 
 
 confederation, of limited and chiefly advisory powers, be- 
 tween all the Lutheran Synods then existing in our coun- 
 try. This object was also happily effected in the organiza- 
 tion of that body in 1820, in regard to all those synods, 
 except that of Ohio, which had not yet completed its con- 
 nection with us in 1823. In that year the Pennsylvania 
 Synod, after having attended a single meeting, withdrew 
 from the union, not on account of any dissatisfaction with 
 its principles, (for they expressly affirmed the contrary,) but 
 because their congregations had listened to the misrepre- 
 sentations of ignorance and prejudice, which were caught 
 up and circulated in their congregations by political dema- 
 gogues, for selfish purposes. The charges, forsooth, were, 
 that the General Synod, the Bible Societies, Tract Socie- 
 ties, and Thi^ological Seminaries were all parts of a secret 
 scheme to unite church and state, and to introduce into our 
 church in this country religious coercion, like that in the 
 Fatherland. Thirty years afterwards the Pennsylvania 
 Synod again united with the General Synod." 
 
 Dr. Morris represents the matter in his brusk manner 
 thus : " A resolution was passed (at the meeting of the Gen- 
 eral Synod in Frederick, 1823) expressing deep regret that 
 the Pennsylvanians were induced by peculiar circumstances 
 to secede from the institution which they had aided in 
 establishing. 
 
 " ' The peculiar circumstances ' were the prejudices of 
 the congregations, and the fear entertained by some ot the 
 ministers, that the General Synod would exercise too much 
 authority, and invade the rights of the districts ; all of 
 which was simple nonsense, and unworthy of the men who 
 pretended to entertain these fears. The fact is, that some 
 of those ministers were intimidated by the ravings of some 
 fanatical foreigners, who made the simple people believe 
 that their civil liberties were in peril, and that church and 
 
I50 WITHDRAWAI^ OF THE PA. MINISTERIUM. 
 
 state were about to be united through the agency of the 
 Synod. Some of the ministers were afraid to assert their 
 rights, lest they might lose their bread." 
 
 Dr. Jacobs gives the cause for the withdrawal of the 
 Ministerium as follows : 
 
 " The withdrawal of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania 
 was due to the fact that the leaders of the Synod were una- 
 ble to overcome the opposition of the rural districts. A 
 country school teacher, by the name of Carl Gock, pub- 
 lished a small book, in which he excited the prejudices of 
 the country people against the General Synod. The 
 scheme was declared to be a plan of the ministers to tread 
 the rights of the people under foot. An entire chapter was 
 devoted to a picture of the despotism exercised by Romish 
 priests in Europe, and a warning that the General Synod 
 was attended with such perils. Another chapter dwells en 
 the great evils of theological seminaries, and urges that the 
 money of the people would be better spent in establishing 
 elementary schools. All the proceedings of the General 
 Synod, it was urged, will be English, and the rights of the 
 German will be given away, because the lay delegates will 
 not know what is transpiring. It will be an aristocratic 
 spiritual congress. As to the expenses, who is to pay 
 them? We farmers, collections upon collections, etc.* 
 
 "The country clergy from the beginning had not cared 
 much for the General Synod, which had its chief advocates 
 in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, York, Lancaster and Reading. 
 While they had generally voted for it, they made no efforts, 
 when the excitement against it arose among their people, to 
 
 * The writer becomes most eloquent in the apostrophe: " Spirit of 
 Washington, appear from the spirit world, quicken in us the true 
 sense of freedom, in order that the foundation thou hast laid we may 
 defend, even with our blood." Jacobs' Church History p. 360. 
 
PROPOSED UNION WITH THE GERMAN REFORMED. I5I 
 
 instruct them, or withstand the current, but acquiesced and 
 carried their demands to Synod. 
 
 " The form of opposition, however, was, that the General 
 Synod interfered with the plans that had been projected for 
 a closer union with the Reformed, and the establishment of 
 a Lutheran Reformed theological seminary. Congregations 
 in Lehigh County petitioned the Synod, for this reason, to 
 ' return to the old order of things ; ' and the Synod, in the 
 spirit of charity (?) towards its congregations, in order that 
 nothing might interrupt the mutual fraternal love that sub- 
 sisted between the brethren, consented, by a vote of seven- 
 ty-two to nine,* to desert the child which it had brought 
 into being." 
 
 The opposition to the General Synod was not confined 
 to the laity ; some of the prominent ministers of the Penn- 
 sylvania Ministerium were also opposed to it. An example 
 of this is given in a biographical sketch of Rev. Jacob Mil- 
 ler, D. D., pastor of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Read- 
 ing, by Dr. Hiester H. Muhlenberg : " Still another of his 
 strong prejudices was to be seen in his opposition to the 
 General Synod, which he looked upon as a mere scheme 
 for religious and even political influence. Whether this 
 view originated in mere distrust of the men, who were at 
 the head of the enterprise, or in general views of human 
 
 weakness, or both, I am not able to say I have 
 
 repeatedly argued this point with him, and could never 
 even get him to agree to the expediency of the General 
 Synod as a bond of closer union to our churches. Noth- 
 ing, in his judgment, but similarity in religious faith and 
 principles could be permanent." 
 
 * The nine were Dr. G. Lochman, (J. G. Schmucker?) Revs. J. 
 Heibst, B. Keller, C. T. Cruse and J. Schnee; and the lay delegates 
 Barnitz of York, Stoever of Germantown, Schmeiser of Gettysburg, 
 and Bohn of Berlin. Jacobs' History p. 361. 
 
152 ATTEMPTED REUNION IN 1839. 
 
 In 1839 a movement was made to have the Minister- 
 ium resume its connection with the General Synod, which 
 will explain the foregoing : 
 
 "The vestry and congregation met in the church. 
 The president of the vestry, Rev. Dr. Jacob Miller, informed 
 the congregation that he was instructed by the Reverend 
 Synod to take the vote of the congregation, whether they 
 desired to join the General Synod, or to remain as they now 
 are. The vote was taken and was unanimous against 
 making a change. So testifies John Hanold, Secretary. 
 
 " Dr. Miller personally was opposed to the return of 
 the Ministerium of Pennsylvania to the General Synod, and 
 at the subsequent meeting of that body offered the resolu- 
 tion, that for the present it was not advisable, which was 
 adopted by a vote of 33 to 28." * 
 
 We must not suppose, however, that Dr. Jacob Miller 
 was the only minister in the Pennsylvania Ministerium who 
 was opposed to the General Synod. It will be noticed that 
 at the meeting of the Ministerium in Baltimore, 1819, where 
 the initiatory steps were taken, the motion to form a gen- 
 eral Synod was adopted by a vote ot forty-two in favor, and 
 eight against the organization. The names of the eight 
 men who voted in the negative are not given, but they 
 were doubtless influential members and Dr. Miller probably 
 was one of them. 
 
 But opposition to the General Synod was found not 
 only in the Ministerium of Pennsylvania. It had some 
 warm friends and advocates in the New York Ministerium ; 
 but in the minutes of that body in the year 1822, we find 
 that it was not thought expedient to send delegates " for the 
 present." The year previous, the president had been 
 requested to lay before the next Synod a circumstantial 
 
 * History of Trinity Church, Reading, Pa. Page 169 
 
PROPOSED REUNION VOTED DOWN. 153 
 
 report concerning the decision, which he received from the 
 different church councils, on the subject of a proposed 
 union with the General Synod. 
 
 " The Secretary stated, that but few congregations had 
 sent in their declarations concerning the General Synod ; 
 and that a majority of the few, who had expressed an opin- 
 ion on the subject, had deemed the proposed plan inexpedi- 
 ent for the present." 
 
 OBJECTIONS OF THE SYNOD OF OHIO. 
 
 The Synod of Ohio presented eight objections against 
 uniting with the General Synod. Among these were the 
 following : 
 
 " The introduction of uniform hymn books and liturgies 
 is contrary to Article VII of the Augsburg Confession"; 
 
 " The freedom and parity of the ministry is infringed 
 upon, since the delegates to the General Synod will usurp 
 their rights ; 
 
 " An act of incorporation will follow, and the resolutions 
 will be enforced by the strong arm of the law ; 
 
 " The Ministerium of Ohio must remain a German speak- 
 ing body, and in the General Synod the Enghsh will soon 
 prevail." * 
 
 How unreasonable these objections were ! It is difficult 
 to see how intelligent, sensible men could urge them ; 
 the Ohio Synod certainly has long since disowned them in 
 theory and practice. 
 
 The New York Ministerium had assisted in forming 
 the General Synod in 1820, but did not send delegates 
 again till the ninth session, in Hagerstown, June 1837, sev- 
 enteen years after. It seceded again in 1866-7, and became 
 a part of the General Council. 
 
 * Jacobs' History of the Lutheran Church, p. 159. 
 
154 OPPOSITION FROM TENNESSEE SYNOD. 
 
 OPPOSITION FROM THE TENNESSEE SYNOD. 
 
 The most violent and persistent opposition to the or- 
 ganization of the General Synod, however, came from what 
 was then called the Tennessee Conference. Their opposi- 
 tion was founded mainly on doctrinal grounds. In the 
 year 1821 they appointed a committee, consisting of Adam 
 Miller, David Henkel, Ambrose Henkel, and others, to 
 " compile objections to the General Synod, and have them 
 printed." 
 
 The Synod approved the objections compiled by the 
 committee appointed at the previous year's session in opposi- 
 tion to the constitution of the General Synod. Their principal 
 objections to the constitution of the General Synod seem 
 to have been : 
 
 1. " That it was not sufficiently definitive on the Luth- 
 eran doctrine of the Sacraments. 
 
 2. " That it declared that Christ had given no special 
 direction or order for the establishment of Church Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 3. " That it maintained that the synods should be ruled 
 by the majority." 
 
 From a German paper, published in Baltimore, June 
 25, 1823, the lennesseeans heard that the Pennsylvania 
 Ministerium had withdrawn its connection with the General 
 Synod. In view of this fact, and in order to obtain desired 
 information, they deemed it proper to submit the following 
 inquiries to the Pennsylvania Ministerium. It will be 
 noticed that some of the inquiries point to the Rationalism 
 and the third one especially to the Socinianism of some of 
 the members of the Pennsylvania Ministerium at that time : 
 
 I. '' Do you believe, that Holy Baptism, administered 
 with natural water, in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost, effects the forgiveness of sins, 
 delivers from death and the devil, and confers everlasting 
 
QUESTION OF THE TENNESSEE SYNOD. I55 
 
 salvation upon all who believe it, as the words and promises 
 of God declare ? 
 
 2. " Do you believe, that the true body and blood of 
 Christ, under the form of bread and wine in the Holy Sup- 
 per, are present, administered, and received ? Do you also 
 believe, that the unbelieving communicants receive in this 
 Supper the body and blood of Christ, under the form of 
 bread and wine ? 
 
 " We do not ask whether the unbelievers obtain the 
 forgiveness of their sins thereby, but whether they also re- 
 ceive the body and blood of Jesus in this Sacrament. 
 
 3. " Do you believe, that Jesus Christ, as true God 
 and man in one person, should be worshipped ? 
 
 4. " Is it right for the Evangelical Lutheran Church 
 to unite with any religious organization that seeks to deny 
 the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession and Luther's 
 Catechism ? Or is it right for Lutherans to goto the Holy 
 Supper with such ? 
 
 5. "Is your Synod to be henceforth ruled by a major- 
 ity of the voters ? 
 
 6. " Does your Synod intend still to adhere to the 
 declaration, that Jesus Christ, the Great Head of his Church, 
 has given no special direction or order for the establishment 
 of Church Government, as it is declared in the Constitution 
 of the General Synod ? 
 
 " Your answers to these questions in writing, addressed 
 to our Secretary, Rev. David Henkel, Lincolnton, Lincoln 
 County, North Carolina, will be duly appreciated." * 
 
 The name of the German agitator, who influenced the 
 members of the Pennsylvania Ministerium against the Gen- 
 eral Synod appears to have been Carl Gock. In 1823, he 
 wrote a letter to the Tennessee Synod, in which he ex- 
 
 * We do not find, that the Ministerium ever made a reply, or paid 
 any attention to these questions. — Ed, 
 
156 RUPTURE IN THE N. C. SYNOD. 
 
 pressed himself dissatisfied with the General Synod, and 
 stated, that he had reprinted the report of their committee, 
 appointed to compile objections to the constitution of the 
 General Synod, and circulated 1,200 copies. — Hist. Tenn. 
 Synod. 
 
 Several letters from Pennsylvania were sent, requesting 
 Rev. David Henkel to visit that state, and preach and vin- 
 dicate the distinctive doctrines of the Lutheran Church. 
 He was advised to go, and he finally agreed to do so. — 
 Hist. Tenn. Synod. 
 
 Some time before the organization of the General 
 Synod, a disruption of the North Carolina Synod occurred; 
 differences of opinion had arisen among the members on 
 the subject of denominational union, revivals of religion, and 
 subscription to the Symbolical Books. We quote from the 
 History of the Tennessee Synod, pages 13, 14 : 
 
 " There were conflicts in the pulpit, in the congrega- 
 tion, and in the family. One of the leading ministers 
 charged Rev. David Henkel with teaching doctrines con- 
 trary to the position of the Church. To defend himself 
 against such unfounded charges, the latter appealed to a 
 Latin copy of the Book of Concord, which he had in pos- 
 session. That gave him a decided advantage, in some re- 
 spects, in the estimation of many of the people, who were 
 not willing to acquiesce in the extreme, latitudinarian views 
 inculcated by the former. To counteract this increasing 
 advantage, that minister called into question the correct- 
 ness of these translations from the Latin. This proved dis- 
 paraging for a while, but soon afterwards Rev. David Hen- 
 kel happened to come across a German copy of the Book of 
 Concord, at the residence of a German in South Carolina, 
 with whom he spent a night or two. After much persua- 
 sion the German let him have the book. This he brought 
 with him, rejoicing in his good fortune to get it, to North 
 
STRIFE IN N. C. SYNOD 1 57 
 
 Carolina. This he presented, to sustain the correctness of 
 his translation made from the Latin copy of the Book of 
 Concord. For, this the people could now understand for 
 themselves, and finding that the translations from the Latin 
 copy referred to, were correct, many members of the 
 Church took a decided stand in lavor of him and his posi- 
 tions, and faithfully defended him and his doctrines against 
 the innovation and false doctrines of his opponents. 
 
 " The council of the congregation met, and after con- 
 sidering the matter, one of the elders, Captain John Stire- 
 walt, father of the late Rev. Jacob Stirewalt, presented the 
 Book of Concord to the minister, saying, ' We want to know 
 whether you intend to preach according to this book in the 
 future ? ' The minister hesitated and evaded, but being 
 pressed, he raised the book up and brought it down on the 
 table, saying, ''From this day henceforth, I will not; it 'is 
 nothing but a controversial book.* Mr. Stirewalt then 
 raised the book up, and brought it down on the table, say- 
 ing, ' From this day henceforth, you won't be our preacher.' " 
 
 This was certainly a very summary, arbitrary and un- 
 justifiable proceeding. It required the minister to conform 
 his preaching of the gospel to the teachings of a book, 
 which he had never read, perhaps never seen before. 
 
 The following extract from an Historical Address, by 
 Rev. Geo. H. Cox, will give the reader an idea of the vio- 
 lence of feeling which agitated the church in the South, 
 about the time of the organization of the General Synod- 
 The address was delivered in St. John's congregation' 
 Cabarras Co., N. C: 
 
 " The third regular pastor was Rev. C. A. G. Storch, 
 who served the congregation twenty-one years, from 1800 
 to 1 82 1. During his administration were those terrible 
 times when, in the church, father was pitted against son, 
 mother against daughter, brother against brother, and friend 
 
158 REV. storch's conchiatory offer. 
 
 against friend ; when anger and malice and hatred, and all 
 the evil passions, seem to have run rampant, and which 
 culminated in the organization of what is now known as 
 the'Tennessee Synod. But amid it all Pastor Storch stood 
 untouched and unstained. I have yet to learn of one un- 
 kind criticism of him, though he was the most prominent 
 and conspicuous man in the North Carolina Synod." — 
 Liith. Visitor. 
 
 The Synod of North Carolina also changed the time of 
 their meeting, and made it on August 26, 18 19, in order 
 that their delegates might be present in Baltimore at the 
 initiatory steps for the organization of the General Synod 
 on Trinity Sunday. 
 
 In the minutes of the North Carolina Synod, on May 
 28, 1820, we find the following: "Revs. Paul and Philip 
 Henkel, together with candidate Bell and David Henkel, a 
 former catechist, took possession of the church. 
 
 "As it was known, that the last two had separated them- 
 selves from us, and Paul Henkel no longer belonged to us, 
 Philip Henkel was asked if he would unite with us, and 
 submit to be governed by a majority of votes. He an- 
 swered nothing. 
 
 " The Rev. Storch offered up a fervent prayer to the 
 God of love, to again establish peace and harmony among 
 us. 
 
 " Rev. Storch's offer, that we were inclined to forget 
 everything, because mistakes have been made on both 
 sides, and on the question, whether we would unite again, 
 being put, they answered No ! Because we did not preach 
 Baptismal Regeneration, did not in the Holy Communion 
 receive the elements as the true body and blood of the 
 Lord, and that the plan for a General Synod was against 
 the Augsburg Confession, that therefore they would not 
 submit to a majority of votes. To put an end to David's 
 
A SINGUIvAR REUC. 159 
 
 coarseness, it was resolved that Synod meet in the after- 
 noon." 
 
 In 1 8 19, some charges having been made against 
 David Henkel, who was at that time (18 19) a licentiate in 
 the North Carolina Synod, he with a few others separated 
 themselves from the Synod. The Secretary remarks, 
 " Here Satan began his division among us .... he and 
 others of his adherents came with Philip Henkel on Trinity 
 Sunday to the church, where the convention of Synod was 
 being held, and as the door was locked against them, Philip 
 ordained his brother David and J. E. Bell under an oak 
 tree ! In this manner did they separate themselves from 
 us." 
 
 At the next meeting of the Synod, this ordination 
 under the oak tree was declared invalid.* 
 
 Subsequei;jtly Joseph Bell, who had also been ordained 
 under the oak tree by Philip Henkel, reported himself as 
 willing to unite with the Synod. He acknowledged, that 
 he had been led astray contrary to his own conviction. 
 
 " On the question, whether the administered ordina- 
 tion was proper, it was considered invalid, according to the 
 rules of all Christian denominations." — Minutes of the N. C. 
 Synod. Pages ^o, ^/, ^2, 4.J. 
 
 At the same meeting of the North Carolina Synod, 
 
 * It is reported that the above named oak tree died the next year 
 after the ordination had been performed. Some superstitious people 
 then attributed its death to some baneful influence which proceeded 
 from this irregular performance The tree was then cut down and 
 sawed up into small pieces, which were widely distributed as relics. 
 The writer saw one of these relics in the Historical Library at Gettys- 
 burg. It is a small block of wood about four inches long and two 
 inches wide, smoothly planed, having a label pasted on one side. On 
 this label is written, said to be in the handwriting of Prof. H. E. 
 Jacobs, the following statement: " From the tree near Concord, N. C, 
 benea-ih which David Henkel was ordained in 18 19 (Trinity Sunday), 
 and the rupture with the North Carolina Sjnod effected, leading I0 
 the formation of the Tennessee Synod. From Rev. S. L. Keller, 
 Concord, N. C." 
 
l6o REl,ATlON TO EPISCOPAt.IA.NS. 
 
 Rev. G. Shober presented his report as representative to the 
 Pennsylvania Synod, which met in 1 8 19 (in Baltimore). 
 He reported that a plan had been agreed upon, which had 
 been printed, setting forth how all Synods could join in one 
 General Synod. The plan was considered, item by item, 
 and the necessity of having a central union was admitted, 
 even by those who were against this plan itself, and it was 
 adopted by more than two-thirds majority. 
 
 " Hereupon two ministers and two lay delegates were 
 elected according to the provisions of the plan, to meet 
 with other representatives of other Synods this year in 
 Hagerstown, Md., to unite with them in adopting a consti- 
 tution, and in forming the General Synod." 
 
 Another obstacle to the formation of a union of the 
 Lutherans in this country at that time, was a very general 
 desire for a union of all Protestant denominations. In the 
 Ministerium of Pennsylvania this project had been very 
 strongly agitated. A book had been written by Revs. 
 Probst and Jaeger in advocacy of a union between the 
 Lutherans and Reformed. Negotiations had been carried 
 on between the respective synods, but the effort failed. 
 The subject of a union with other Protestant denominations 
 was also proposed in Baltimore, at the meeting of the Min- 
 isterium, in 1 8 19, where the organization of the General 
 Synod was first agreed upon. But here also the proposi- 
 tion was not entertained. 
 
 In North Carolina and Virginia a union with the Epis- 
 copalians was proposed, with whom the Lutheran Church 
 at that time stood in very peculiar relations. A remarkable 
 illustration of this is given in the case of Rev. Johann P. G. 
 Muhlenberg. After having pursued his theological studies 
 under the tuition of Provost C. M. Wrangel, and been 
 ordained in 1768, he received a call in 1772 to the pastor- 
 ship in the Lutheran Church, in Woodstock, Va. In order 
 
REV. GOTTUEB SHOBER. l6l 
 
 to accept this call, Muhlenberg was obliged to go to Eng- 
 land and receive a new ordination, as the law of Vinginia 
 required that the ministers should belong to the Episcopal 
 Church. His ordination took place April 23, 1772, at the 
 royal chapel of St. James, the bishop of London offici- 
 ating.* t 
 
 The most active advocate of the General Synod, and 
 one of its founders was Rev. Gottlieb Shober. He was the 
 President of the General Synod when it met in Frederick, 
 in 1825, and was on this account also very obnoxious to 
 the members of the Tennessee Synod. He was born in 
 Bethlehem, Pa., and in his 17th year became a member of 
 the Moravian Church. He removed with his parents to 
 Salem, N. C, a new settlement of Moravians, where he en- 
 gaged successively in school teaching, mechanical and 
 mercantile trade, built a paper mill (the first establishment 
 of that kind south of the Potomac), and opened a book 
 
 * Anderson's History, American Lutheran Biographies, page 540. 
 
 ]f Muhlenberg had not enlisted in the army of the Revolutionary 
 War, or had returned to his charge after the war, instead of devoting 
 himself to politics, we might have had the boasted Apostolic Succes- 
 sion in the Lutheran Church of America. — Ed. 
 
 t This regulation was changed after the Revolutionary War, and the 
 Independence of the United States, when ministers of the Gospel in 
 Virginia were no longer required to secure ordination from the hands 
 of a bishop of the Church of England, This will appear from the fol- 
 lowing certificate: 
 
 " This shall certify to all whom it may concern, that at a court, 
 held for Shenandoah Countv, on the 13th day of February, in the year 
 one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, Samuel S. Schmucker 
 produced credentials of his ordination, and also of his being in legular 
 communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, took the oath of 
 allegiance to this commonwealth, and entered into bonds, as required 
 by the act, reducing into one the several acts, to regulate the solem- 
 nization of marriages, prohibiting such as are incestuous, or otherwise 
 unlawful; to prevent forcible and stolen marriages; and for punish- 
 ment of the crime of bigamy; and that he is thereby authorized to 
 celebrate the rights of matrimony agreeable to the forms and customs 
 of said Church, between any persons, to him regularly applj ing there- 
 for, within this state. Given under my hand and seal the day and 
 year above written. 
 
 Jacob Lantz. [Seal.]" 
 
l62 SHOBER UNITED WITH LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
 
 Store, serving at the same time as postmaster. Subse- 
 quently he studied law, and was engaged for some years in 
 the practice — being prompted to this chiefly by the desire 
 to assist his Moravian brethren in the law-suits in which 
 they were involved in respect to a portion of their property. 
 He was also repeatedly elected to the state legislature, and 
 was a prominent member of that body. Daring all this 
 time Mr. Shober was living an eminently godly life, and 
 endeavoring to make every employment in which he 
 engaged, subservient to the cause of Christ, and the best 
 interests of his fellowmen. At length, having passed his 
 fiftieth year, and lost all relish for secular business, he 
 resolved to devote what remained of his life to the ministry 
 of the Gospel. Having determined to enter the ministry in 
 connection with the Lutheran Church, he offered himself, 
 in due time, to the North Carolina Synod, and was received 
 with great joy. He was solemnly set apart for the work of 
 the ministry, and immediately became pastor of the church 
 in Salem, and several other churches in the neighborhood- 
 Here he continued laboring with great zeal till a few years 
 before his death, which occurred at Salem, the place of his 
 residence, June 27, 1838. Just before his last illness, he 
 said, with great cheerfulness, to one of his brethren, " When 
 you hear of my death, you may be sure I have gone to my 
 Savior." 
 
 Mr. Shober also took a deep interest in the establish- 
 ment of a seminary for the training of young men for the 
 ministry, and was appointed one of the first directors of the 
 Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. In his last will and 
 testament he left three thousand acres of land to the insti- 
 tution ; and though the land did not increase in value, as 
 the doner expected when the bequest was made, yet his 
 act was an evidence of his deep interest in the institution. 
 
 Many of the earlier students in the Seminary at 
 
EVIDENCE OF HIS tUTHERANISM. 163 
 
 Gettysburg will remember the sign in large letters on the 
 door of the Reading Room, " Shober Room*^ the expense 
 of furnishing which was contributed by Rev. Shober. 
 
 The only offense charged against Rev. Shober was 
 that he was not a good Lutheran. Rev. Dr. Bernheim gives 
 the following description of him in his History of the Luth- 
 eran Church in the Carolinas : " He was a man of decided 
 opinions, unyielding in everything which he considered 
 right, with a mind that knew no dissimulation, an ardent 
 temper, and a character decidedly affirmative. . . . The 
 lineaments of his countenance gave indication of a strong 
 and active mind. He was one of the most active defenders 
 of the General 'Synod, as he had also been prominent among 
 its early founders. But Rev. Shober was no Lutheran, he 
 was a member of the Moravian Church, and never discon- 
 nected himself from communion with the same, but lived 
 and died as a member of that church. This information 
 the writer has from his daughter, the widow of Bishop 
 Herrman." ' 
 
 To this I remark, that Mr. Shober did not need to 
 make much of a doctrinal change in coming from the 
 Moravian to the Lutheran Church, for both denominations 
 hold to the Augsburg Confession. Further, his commun- 
 ion with the Moravian Church could not have been of a 
 very intimate nature, as the Moravians undertook to eject 
 him from their colony in Salem, because he had joined the 
 Lutheran Church, but he appealed to the highest authority 
 in the Moravian Church, in Hernhut, and received permis- 
 sion by letter, that he might remain in Salem and continue 
 his business, although he had joined the Lutheran Church, 
 by which he had been ordained. This information I have 
 from a verbal statement by Dr. D. J. Hauer, who was at 
 that time a young minister, laboring in that part of the 
 
164 SHOBER'S I.ETTER TO N. Y. MINISTERIUM. 
 
 country, was acquainted with the facts, and can vouch for 
 their truth. 
 
 The best fruits of a Christian's faith are his works, and 
 the best evidences of a man's Lutheranism are his love for 
 the doctrines and usages of the Lutheran Church, and his 
 labors and sacrifices for her defence and upbuilding. ^Ac- 
 cording to these tests no man has a better claim to be called 
 a Lutheran than Rev. Gottlieb Shober. 
 
 The following extract from the minutes of the New 
 York Ministerium, of 1823, will be interesting reading. It 
 shows the unsuccessful attempt of the Episcopalians to 
 annex the Lutheran Church in the South, and Mr. Shober's 
 manly stand and courageous defense of the church of his 
 choice : 
 
 " The beginning of Rev. President Shober's letter con- 
 tains an expression of regret, at the propagation of false 
 accounts concerning the late intercourse between the Luth- 
 eran Synod and the Episcopal Convention of North Caro- 
 lina. The President alludes also to certain articles which 
 have appeared in several religious journals, and to a com- 
 munication under his official signature, which he had caused 
 to be inserted in some Southern publications, in order to 
 counteract the painful mis- statements which were made in 
 various places. 
 
 " The 'Family Visitor ' and the ' Theological Repertory^, 
 among others, had published to the world, ' that the Epis- 
 copal and Lutheran churches had effected an honorable and 
 Christian union ; ' and added : 'which places the Lutheran 
 Church under the care and superintendance of the Episco- 
 pal authority of that diocese.' 
 
 " President Shober then remarks in substance : About 
 seventeen years ago, a former Episcopalian layman was 
 desirous to enter some ministry, and no Episcopal church 
 being then known in North Carolina, except in sea- 
 
ATTEMPTED UNION WITH EPISCOPAI^IANS. 1 65 
 
 ports, he applied to the Evangelical Lutheran Ministry for 
 ordination ; and, as our church was increasing, though the 
 laborers were few, the ministers were glad to accept his 
 services. He was born in Scotland, and cannot speak the 
 German language. His name is Robert Johnson Miller. 
 He was ordained by the Lutheran Ministry ; but on his 
 part he reserved at that time, that if ever the Episcopal 
 Church should arise in this state, his ordination should be 
 without prejudice to the membership of that church. Un- 
 der this ordination he formed and served sundry congrega- 
 tions, and was at sundry times employed by our Synod as 
 an itinerant preacher — and he was serviceable to our church 
 for many years. 
 
 " Sometime ago the Episcopal church lifted up its 
 head in this state, and when they had formed a convention 
 under Bishop Moore, of Virginia, they called upon the Rev. 
 Mr. Storch, the President and Senior of our church, to 
 meet them in convention as one of their church. President 
 Storch requested me to answer the invitation, which I did, 
 and explained to them that the Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church is independent of the Episcopal Church, and stated 
 to them how our church was governed, etc.. but invited 
 them to preach in our churches, and thereby gather in their 
 dispersed members in the western parts, which would be 
 the way to form congregations among the English, for we 
 then had but the above named English preacher among us! 
 
 " To this my statement and invitation, I received no 
 answer. Two years afterwards I received a letter from R. 
 J. Miller, mentioning that as he was invited by the Bishop 
 to attend their convention, he had determined to unite with 
 his original church, which he did ; and by the minutes of 
 their convention, the information is held forth, that Mr. 
 Miller had appeared as deputy from the Lutheran Church, 
 which, however, was not true, though he might have 
 
l66 INTERCHANGE OF BEPUTIES. 
 
 received a sanction from one or two of his congregations. 
 His appearance, as a deputy from the Lutheran Church, was 
 unknown to our church as a body. Yet he was received as 
 such, for purposes which afterwards appeared, and suffered 
 himself to be ordained by the Bishop to priest's orders. 
 Mr. Miller may have persuaded that Convention, that all 
 the Lutheran ministers would come under their Bishop ; 
 and they elected and sent deputies to our next Synod, to 
 treat of a union. 
 
 " We could not but exercise common politeness, and 
 granted them a seat with us. A committee was appointed 
 to converse with them about a union. They had found in 
 private conversation that our Ministerium spurned the idea 
 of accepting re-ordination, as whereby we should have dis- 
 graced our Church forever. They proposed no such thing 
 when our committee met them, and offered, that if we sent 
 deputies to their Convention, they should have seat and 
 vote with them on all questions not relating to their 
 church : in course of common politeness, we offered them 
 the privilege to meet us on similar terms. Consequently 
 this ' union,' concerning which they make much noise, is no 
 more than a civil intercourse. 
 
 '* Our Synod approved of this ; their Convention did 
 the same. We elected deputies to meet them at their next 
 convention, but none attended. I made my excuse in writ- 
 ing. I could not perceive that a true Christian union was 
 contemplated by the Episcopalians ; for, when we invited 
 the above mentioned Mr. Miller to commune with us, and 
 thus to take a friendly leave of us, he refused, except he or 
 some Episcopalian consecrated the elements ! Now, 
 although none of us had attended their succeeding conven- 
 tion, they elected deputies to meet us last year, and these 
 according to agreement, took seat with us, but when we 
 ordained, or administered the sacrament, they went out ! 
 
THE CORRESPONDENCE BROKEN OFF. 167 
 
 But, as their Convention was to meet this year in our cen- 
 tre, we elected deputies to meet them, which we did in Sal- 
 isbury, and were treated genteelly, according to contract. 
 I was one of the deputies. I was determined to find out 
 how far their love extended, and motioned, that as we had 
 given them the privilege of our churches, they should give 
 us the same in theirs. This motion, although seconded by 
 one of their own lay deputies, was refused to be minuted, 
 and in friendly debate they told us to our faces that it could 
 not be admitted, as our ordination was not valid ! The 
 conclusion was, that I withdrew my motion, but told them 
 that we should retire to our former significancy. We on 
 our part refused to commune with them ; and on being 
 questioned why we did so, I told them that as they had 
 refused to commuive with us, and did not invite us to preach 
 as they had done in our Synod, cordiality was wanting. 
 After this Convention our Synod met ; when, without say- 
 ing much, in order not to irritate their deputy, we declined 
 electing deputies to their next Convention — of course the 
 union is on the wahe. 
 
 " This being the true situation of cur Connection, I am 
 surprised that honest Christian Ministers should propagate 
 to the world, that we had come under the Episcopal super- 
 intendance of another Church, and were re ordained by a 
 Bishop ! If it were the case, we should deserve to be dis- 
 owned by our Church throughout the United States, with 
 whom we desire to remain one body and soul, in brotherly 
 affection and indissoluble union. 
 
 " Public use may be made of this letter, and I should 
 wish the information in the printed communication afore- 
 mentioned, to be widely diffused, so that all Christians may 
 see, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church had not surren- 
 dered and will not surrender any of her rights and senior 
 privileges ; for, all Protestants have their origin in Luther. 
 
i68 
 
 THE CORRESPONDENCE BROKEN OFF. 
 
 ^^'It " The Rev. President concludes his letter with the follow- 
 ing expressions : ' Be pleased to salute your synod from me 
 and the steadfast brethren in North Carolina. Commend 
 us to their intercession at the Throne of Grace, that we may 
 remain united in love and principle ; and, may the Lord 
 guide us all to his heavenly rest. This is the sincere 
 prayer of your fellow laborer in a rough vineyard. 
 
 [Signed) G. Shober, President.' " 
 
 :^M 
 
EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH A SEMINARY. 169 
 
 CHAPTER NINTH. 
 
 181 1— 1826. 
 
 Efforts made to establish seminaries — in north caro^ 
 lina, 181i-1817 — hartwick — prof. hazelius — pro- 
 seminary by schmucker — troubles as to his lifes 
 work — first students — dr. morris' account — pro- 
 ceedings in general synod — professor chosen — 
 
 DR. DIEHL's ACCOUNT — CONSTITUTION — FUNDS CONTRI- 
 BUTED — SCHMUCKEk's DONATION — SCHMUCKER'S COL- 
 LECTION TOURS — Kurtz's tour to europe — collec- 
 
 TIO.VS IN GERMANY MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY 
 
 LOCATION OF THE SEMINARY — DR. KURTz's LETTER 
 
 FROM LONDON. 
 
 THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 
 
 The first ministers of the Lutheran Church in America 
 came from Germany, principally from Halle. For the edu- 
 cation of pastors in this country little private theological 
 seminaries were conducted by prominent Lutheran minis- 
 ters, in connection with their pastorates. Such schools 
 were conducted by Drs. Helmuth and Schmidt, in Philadel- 
 phia, Dr. Lochman, Sr., in Harrisburg, and D. F. Schaeffer 
 in Frederick. 
 
 The Swedish Lutherans formerly received their 
 preachers from the Consistorium of Upsala ; the king of 
 Sweeden supported them, and was, therefore the first patron 
 of the Lutheran Church in North America. 
 
 The German Lutherans were principally supplied with 
 
I JO INSTRUCTIONS BY PASfOR. 
 
 preachers from Halle until the time of the Revolution, 
 which was very expensive, and the means could be sup- 
 plied only by contributions from Christian friends. This 
 arrangement gradually ceased entirely. (In the years 1770- 
 1786, only two more ministers were sent from Germany to 
 Pennsylvania.) To send their sons to Germany, as Muhlen- 
 berg had sent his eldest son, F. A. Muhlenberg, was impos- 
 sible for most of the pastors. There was, hence, no other 
 way left than that some of the prominent ministers should 
 privately instruct young candidates for the gospel ministry. 
 
 But toward the close of the eighteenth century efforts 
 had already been made to establish classical schools and 
 theological seminaries for the preparation of ministers in 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 In the year 1773, Rev. Dr. Kunze, pastor of the 
 Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, attempted to organize a 
 German and Latin school. It was supported by voluntary 
 contributions, especially from the Society for the Promo- 
 tion of Christianity and useful knowledge among the Ger- 
 mans in America. 
 
 But it could not be sustained by private contributions. 
 Dr. Kunze accept, d a call to a professorship in Columbia 
 College, New York, and the war of the revolution, which 
 followed soon afterwards, put an end to it. 
 
 A more auspicious prospect was promised the Frank- 
 lin College in 1787, in Lancaster, Pa. A considerable sum 
 of money had been subscribed; the state legislature had 
 conferred a charter and donated 10.000 acres of land. It 
 was to be jointly owned and occupied by the Lutherans, Re- 
 formed and Moravians. Besides the usual college studies, 
 theology was also to be taught ; five professors were ap- 
 pointed with a salary of 200 pounds sterling each. But the 
 plan failed, because there was no income from the land and 
 the subscriptions were not paid. Many years later the j 
 
EFFORTS IN NORTH CAROI^INA. 171 
 
 Reformed bought out the interest of the Lutherans, united 
 their Mercersburg institutions with it, and have now a flour- 
 ishing college and theological seminary at Lancaster. 
 
 In 181 1, the North Carolina Synod proposed the 
 establishment of a seminary for the education of young 
 men for the ministry, and this was a subject of much dis- 
 cussion in their meetings; but in 1814 the report was 
 made, that after mature deliberation it was found " that we 
 are not in a position to form such an institution, and will 
 not be, until our congregations be aroused to do everything 
 possible to support our young candidates, to accomplish 
 which our ministers are earnestly requested to do all they 
 can." — Mhi. N. C. Synod, Page 21. 
 
 In 18 17 Pastor Philip Henkel reported, that a small 
 seminary had been begun by himself and Joseph E. Bell, in 
 Green County, Tennessee, in which Hebrew, Greek, Latin, 
 and the German and English languages were taught, and 
 that Pastor Bell was the chief professor in it. 
 
 " On request, this seminary was accepted and adopted as 
 our own Seminary, and as worthy of our encouragement 
 and patronage (support) in the hope that under the bless- 
 ing of the Lord, this small one may grow into a large one, 
 in which many able ministers and missionaries may be 
 trained. To aid the Seminary, money shall be collected in 
 our churches next May. The same shall be turned over to 
 the treasurer, who shall keep an account of all the benefac- 
 tions." — Minutes N. C. Synod. 
 
 Some mon^y had been collected for the support of 
 this seminary, but it had not a successful career. Its two 
 professors, Philip Henkel and Jo.seph E. Bell, had separated 
 themselves from the North Carolina Synod and joined their 
 fortunes with the Tennessee Conference, organized at that 
 time. Consequently the North Carolina Synod refused to 
 pay the money collected in their congregations for the 
 
172 HARTWICK SEMINARY. 
 
 establishment of the institution. The httle seminary there- 
 fore had to be abandoned, and candidates for the ministry- 
 continued to study under the instruction of pastors, which 
 practice continued in the Tennessee Synod many years, 
 even after a number of Lutheran theological seminaries 
 had been established. 
 
 ORIGIN OF HARTWICK SEMINARY. 
 
 A pastor long associated with Muhlenberg, although 
 not called for the Pennsylvania work, or by the authorities 
 at Halle, was John Christopher Hartwig. He was a Ihur- 
 ingian, born in 17 14, who had for a short time been con- 
 nected with the institute of Dr. Callenberg in Hamburg, 
 for the conversion of the Jews. He was called in 1745 to 
 the pastorate of the churches along the Hudson, with 
 Rhinebeck as the centre, and was ordained for the work in 
 London by the two pastors of the Savoy Church, and the 
 pastor of the Swedish Church. He was chaplain of a Ger- 
 man regiment in the French and Indian war. 
 
 He visited Muhlenberg in 1747, acted for a time as a 
 substitute for Brunnholtz during the latter's illness, and par- 
 ticipated in the arbitration to settle the difficulties in the 
 Raritan congregations, as well as in the organization of the 
 Ministerium of Pennsylvania in 1748. He was a Hfe long 
 bachelor and noted for his eccentricities, and continued, 
 until the close of his life, in 1796, his attachments and visits 
 to the descendants of Muhlenberg, as he had previously 
 done to their father. " Tradition tells, that the domestics 
 dreaded his appearance, because of the excessively long 
 prayers which he made at family worship." — Jacobs, P. 22^. 
 
 When Hartwick died, July 16, 1796, his estate was left 
 to found an institution for the education of pastors and mis- 
 sionaries, he having been especially interested in the neigh- 
 boring North American Indians. Drs. Kunze and Hel- 
 
HARTWICK SEMINARY. 173 
 
 muth were named as directors of the institution ; but 
 when the latter, on account of the distance, declined serv- 
 ing, Dr. Kunze, with the sole surviving executor, provided 
 for the opening of the seminary in 1797. But the plan was 
 a novel one. Dr. Kunze was constituted theological pro- 
 fessor in New York, Rev. A. T. Braun of Albany was made 
 the classical instructor in Albany, and Rev. J. F. Ernst was 
 sent to Otsego County to occupy Hartwick's lands and teach 
 the youngest pupils. Thus were established an embryo 
 theological seminary in New York, a college in Albany, 
 and a preparatory department where Hartwick Seminary 
 now stands. . . . Rev. A. T. Braun succeeded to the place 
 on the death of Dr. Kunze. The location was finally fixed 
 in 18 1 2, when the buildings were begun, and in 181 5 Dr. 
 E. L. Hazelius became principal and professor of theology. 
 — Jacobs' Hist., pp. J^2, Jjj. 
 
 "In 181 5 Hartwick Seminary was opened with 19 
 students, the number growing within a few years to 44. 
 Its first president was Dr Ernst Ludwig Hazelius, a man 
 who brought to this country thorough German culture, em- 
 inently fitting him for an instructor. He was an earnest 
 Christian . . . and instrumental, through his students, in 
 putting an end to the sway of Rationalism in the New 
 York Ministerium." — Wolf. 
 
 This institution he served with great ability for fifteen 
 years, at the same time preaching every Sunday and acting 
 as pastor of the village congregation. 
 
 " Mr. Hartwig was possessed of an estate consisting 
 of a large quantity of land, which he left by will for the en- 
 dowment of an institution, for the training up of young men 
 to become missionaries among the Indians. The bequest, 
 owing to certain circumstances, became the occasion of 
 considerable difficulty, which was continued through quite 
 a number of years. The seminary was finally located at 
 
174 PROFESSOR HAZELIUS. 
 
 Hartwick, in Otsego County, N. Y., under a special charter 
 obtained from the legislature." — Sprague. 
 
 In 1830 Hazelius accepted a call to the professorship 
 of Biblical and Oriental Literature and the German Lan- 
 guage, in the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. His 
 connection with this institution, however, was brief He 
 resigned his chair, much to the regret of the directors, in 
 1833, to accept a professorship in the Theological Seminary 
 of the Synod of South Carolina, the vacancy having been 
 occasioned by the lamented death of Professor Schwartz. 
 
 Dr. Hazelius continued his connection with the South 
 Carolina Seminary until his death, February 20, 1853. 
 
 But Hartwick Seminary has kept on in its useful 
 career and is now in a fair way to be established as a regu- 
 lar college, in connection with its theological department. 
 It has received about ^30,000 in a bequest, and the New 
 York synods are making efforts to endow professorships. 
 
 In the year 18 19 a committee of delegates from the 
 Lutheran and Reformed churches met in Lancaster, Pa., in 
 order to arrange for a union theological seminary. But 
 this attempt also met with insuperable difficulties, and the 
 plan had to be abandoned. This effort was made in the 
 interest of an organic union between the Lutheran and Re- 
 formed churches in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Dr. Twesten makes the following comment on this 
 subject in his pamphlet, published in Germany in the inter- 
 est of Dr. Kurtz's agency in behalf of the Gettysburg Sem- 
 inary : " When we consider what hindrances the union of 
 the two confessions met with among us, where the govern- 
 ment cast the weight of its influence in the scale, we can 
 realize that in America these hindrances must be much 
 greater. On the doctrine of the Lord's Supper they could 
 have agreed. But the Lutherans objected to the Calvinistic 
 doctrine of election, which at this time gained currency 
 
PROF. TWESTEN— PRO SEMINARY IN VIRGINIA. 175 
 
 among some of the Reformed ministers in America ; and 
 the Lutherans were reluctant to intrust the training ol their 
 future ministers to an institution where this dogma might 
 possibly become prevalent." — Twestens Nachricht, p. i8. 
 
 " The Reformed," says Twesten, " manifested more 
 courage than the Lutherans, and ventured to take the 
 establishment of a theological seminary into their own 
 hands." In addition to collections among their own con- 
 gregations in America, they also sent an agent to Germany, 
 in the person of Rev. James Reily. Dr. De Wette published 
 a pamphlet in advocacy of his cause, just as Twesten after- 
 wards published and circulated one in Germany in advocacy 
 of Dr. Kurtz's mission. It appears, from De Wette's publi- 
 cation, that Mr. Reily canvassed, not only in Reformed 
 countries, such as Holland and Switzerland, but also in 
 countries where the Lutheran confession prevails ; namely, 
 in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, " where he found the most 
 friendly and liberal reception." — Tzvesten, p. i8. 
 
 Doubtless the example of the Reformed, and the suc- 
 cess of Mr. Reily encouraged the Lutherans to send Rev. 
 Benjamin Kurtz on a similar mission. 
 
 THE PRO SEMINARY IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker was an organizer and a teacher. After 
 he had entered into the ministry, he had very earnest 
 thoughts, as to what particular department of the Lord's 
 work he should devote his life. The translation of Mos- 
 heim's Dogmatic, the translation of the work of Storr and 
 Flatt, the founding of an Orphans' House and Publish- 
 ing Establishment, like that of Francke in Halle, Ger- 
 many, or the founding of a Theological Seminary, occupied 
 his mind. He finally fixed upon the last of these institu- 
 tions as the work of his life. His son, B. M., writes as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " During this period he was much occupied with the 
 
176 TRANSI^ATION FROM GERMAN. 
 
 general interests of the church. He writes : ' When I left 
 Princeton, there were three pia desideria, which were very 
 near to my heart, for the welfare of our church : A Trans- 
 lation of some one eminent system of Lutheran Dogmatics, 
 a Theological Seminary, and a College for the Lutheran 
 Church.' He set himself to work to do what in him lay to 
 meet these wants. At Princeton already he selected Mos- 
 heim's Elementa Theologiae Dogmatics, which selection 
 was warmly commended by his father, and by his intimate 
 friend. Rev. F. C. Schaeffer, of New York. Dr. Koethe, of 
 Allstaedt, near Jena, urged him to take Storr and Flatt, and 
 Dr. Moses Stuart, of Andover, also strongly urged him to 
 do so. He so decided, and translated, re-arranged, enlarged 
 and published Storr and Flatt's ' Biblical Theology.'" 
 
 The work of preparation of students for the ministry 
 he began in 1823, and during those years had six students, 
 among whom was his old York pupil, John G. Morris. 
 
 The following extract from his diary will give the 
 reader an idea of his state of mind about this time : 
 
 " For a week past I have been rather dejected, partly 
 from the want of clear spiritual light to shine upon me, and 
 comfort my heart, amid its sorrow, and partly from the un- 
 settled state of my mind, as to future duty. Sometimes I 
 think it is the will of God, that I should devote myself 
 entirely to the education of youth, principally for the gos- 
 pel ministry ; then I desire to establish a P'ranckean Sem- 
 inary. On these subjects I sometimes think so much, as 
 really to become sick. 
 
 " Tuesday, Dec. gth, 182J. This day, in reliance on the 
 gracious aid of my heavenly Father, I commenced a course 
 of theological instruction, after having matriculated the fol- 
 lowing young gentlemen as students : 
 
 John Morris, of York, Pa., undergraduate of Dickin- 
 son College ; 
 
I,IST OF STUDENTS IN THE PRO-SEMINARY. 177 
 
 John Reck, of Winchester, Va.; 
 
 Philip Kline, of this county, near Woodstock ; and 
 
 George Schmucker, son of my Uncle Nicolas. 
 
 "They are all hopefully pious and promising young 
 men. O that God would enlighten my mind, and grant 
 me grace to lead them into all the necessary truths, which 
 shall qualify them for being eminently useful in the church. 
 
 " I prepared a ' Plan ' of the course of theological study, 
 and Christian deportment, which I read to them, explained, 
 and required each one solemnly to promise, in reliance on 
 divine aid, faithtuUy to observe. This ' Plan ' I leave- with 
 them in their recitation room, for their daily perusal." 
 
 Dr. Morris gives an account of this little school of the 
 prophets in his characteristic style. We quote it in his own 
 words and leave the readers to form their own judgment : 
 
 " After he had been settled there several years, he con- 
 ceived the idea of establishing a sort of Pro-Seminary, 
 This was in 1823, and it gradually led to the founding of 
 the schools we now have at Gettysburg. Here, the second 
 time, I became the pupil of S. S. Schmucker. There were 
 five other young men who constituted the class, and a mis- 
 cellaneous crowd it was. I mean that we were in every 
 stage of preparation ; one was a college graduate, another 
 could spell but a few words of the Greek Testament, and a 
 few others had the same diflficulty with English. But they 
 were all trained to be useful men. This mode of teaching 
 was not very systematic, and we toddled along after a very 
 remarkable fashion. 
 
 " Our teacher was at that time engaged in translating 
 the Theology of Storr and Flatt, which was published at 
 Andover, and which reached a second edition. He was a 
 most untiring worker, and, being a widower, he had not the 
 cares of a household, not even taking his meals in the par- 
 sonage. He thus devoted Jiis ivhole time to his books. I 
 
178 HIS DEVOTION TO HIS WORK. 
 
 never knew him to take a walk or do anything else for 
 mere exercise. He did not seem to require it ; at least I 
 never knew him to suffer from severe confinement to head 
 work. He had no visitors to annoy him, and was very im- 
 patient of intruders. His study was in a remote part of the 
 house from ours, and I do not think one of us darkened the 
 door of that sacro-sanctum once in a month. So neither did 
 he ever enter our workshop, except once a day at recitation. 
 He had no time for social intercourse, and we had none to 
 hear a lecture on propriety." — Fifty Years in the Ministry ^ 
 pp. 127, 128. 
 
 His son, B. M., writes in the College Book : 
 
 " The energies of his whole life were devoted pre-em- 
 inently to the preparation of candidates for the ministry. 
 This was, from his entrance into the ministry, the work to 
 which he believed himself to be called. He began with 
 one student in 1822, and soon others gathered around him 
 in the secluded village of New Market." 
 
 In the convention of the General Synod of 1825, a 
 committee was appointed " to prepare a plan for the estab- 
 lishment of a theological seminary, who shall govern 
 themselves by the instructions which shall be given by the 
 Synod." 
 
 The chairman of this committee was Rev. S. S. 
 Schmucker, who reported the next morning. The first 
 resolution is as follows : " That the General Synod will 
 forthwith commence, in the name of the Triune God, and 
 in humble reliance on his aid, the establishment of a theo- 
 logical seminary, which shall be exclusively devoted to the 
 glory of our divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who is God 
 over all, blessed forever. And in this seminary shall be 
 taught, in the German and English languages, the funda- 
 mental doctrines of the sacred Scriptures, as contained in 
 the Augsburg Confession." 
 
e:.ected as professor. 179 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day, the Synod proceeded 
 to ballot for a professor, when Rev. S. S. Schmucker was 
 elected — " unanimously, excepting one vote, which was 
 given as a compliment to Rev. Dr. Geisenhainer, Sr.,by his 
 friend. Dr. Daniel Kurtz." 
 
 The following resolution was passed : 
 
 " Resolved, That the Professor be furnished with a 
 dwelling and a salary of five hundred dollars for a current 
 year, and that the Board of Directors fix his salary here- 
 after." 
 
 The professor-elect was instructed to prepare a consti- 
 tution for the proposed seminary. The Constitution, which, 
 with but {^"^ changes, is in force still, declares in Arti- 
 cle I, as the design of the institution : 
 
 " To provide our churches with pastors, who sincerely 
 believe and cordially approve of the doctrines of the Holy 
 Scriptures, as they are fundamentally taught in the Augs- 
 burg Confession, and who will therefore teach them in 
 opposition to Deists, Unitarians, Arians, Antinomians, and 
 all other fundamental errorists." 
 
 Dr. Diehl gives the following account of its establish- 
 ment : 
 
 " In 1820 there was no Lutheran Theological Semin- 
 ary, except Hartwick, and it was far off and poorly organ- 
 ized. Candidates for the Lutheran ministry were under the 
 necessity of repairing to the theological seminaries of other 
 denominations, or putting themselves under the private 
 instruction of eminent pastors. Very few went to foreign 
 schools. A number had gone to Philadelphia, Harrisburg 
 and PVederick. 
 
 " The talents and learning of young Schmucker, soon 
 pointed him out as the man to teach candidates. At the 
 first Synod he attended, after his settlement, 182 1, the Synod 
 placed a catechist and theological student, Mr. Kibler, of 
 
l8o BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED. 
 
 North Carolina, under his tuition. Soon afterwards others 
 sought his services. J. B. Reck, Samuel K. Hoshour, J. P 
 Kline, J. G. Morris and others, found their way to New 
 Market. A private theological school of higher repute, and 
 promising larger dimensions, than any hitherto, was grow- 
 ing up in Shenandoah county, when the General Synod 
 determined to establish a Seminary. 
 
 " When the plan had been adopted and the time had 
 come for organizing the classes, nobody was surprised that 
 upon the first ballot at the General Synod, 1825, for a pro- 
 fessor of theology, Samuel S. Schmucker received every 
 vote except one, given by Dr. Daniel Kurtz, for Dr. Geissen- 
 hainer, Sr., of New York Ministerium. Dr. Kurtz evidently 
 intended it merely as a compliment to an old friend. So 
 sensible a man as he knew, that as to fitness for the enter- 
 prise of founding a new Theological Seminary, there was 
 no comparison between the accomplished young divine of 
 New Market, and the aged German preacher, learned a man 
 as he was. He could afford to pay his venerable friend 
 this compliment, for he knew Schmucker would receive 
 every vote except his own. 
 
 " Having attended to all the preliminary measures for 
 the establishment of a Seminary, including the election of 
 the professor, the General Synod (1825) proceeded to elect 
 a Board of Directors ; made arrangements to collect funds, 
 and appointed a meeting for the Directors to decide the 
 question of the location of the institution. Accordingly the 
 Directors met at Hagerstown, March, 1826. Four towns 
 had petitioned for the Seminary. While the claims of 
 Hagerstown, Chambersburg and Frederick were duly con- 
 sidered, the Directors came to the conclusion that Gettys- 
 burg held forth the strongest inducements, making the 
 largest pecuniary offers, and being more central to the 
 whole body of the Lutheran church. 
 
INSTAILATION IN GETTYSBURG. l8l 
 
 " Mr. Schmucker now resigned his pastoral care of the 
 Shenandoah county congregations, and removed, during 
 the summer of this year, from Virginia to Gettysburg. On 
 the 5th of September, the Directors met at Gettysburg, to 
 attend to the inaugural ceremonies. 
 
 " It was a great day for Gettysburg, that 5th of Septem- 
 ber, 1826. There was no little commotion in the commun- 
 ity. The citizens were rejoicing, that their hitherto insig- 
 nificant town was to be a great seat of learning, which 
 would yet make their place famous. On the preceding 
 evening, a number of strangers — eminent ministers of the 
 gospel and others, had arrived, some by private conveyance 
 and some by the stage coach. It was Tuesday, at 9:30 
 A. M., that a large number of persons gathered together in 
 the Library room of the old brick building which had been 
 the Gettysburg Academy, but was now given to the use of 
 the Seminary of the Lutheran church. There were Direc- 
 tors of the Seminary. There was a number of Lutheran 
 ministers, and a few of other names. There was also a 
 crowd of citizens. They formed into line — Directors first, 
 then ministers, then students, then citizens. The venerable 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker, of York, leaning on the arm of the 
 manly form of David F. Schaeffer, of Frederick, headed the 
 procession. They moved in slow, solemn march to the 
 Lutheran church, near the eastern end of the town. The 
 house was filled with people from the town and from the 
 country. 
 
 " In the church, the services were opened with an anthem 
 by the choir. Rev. J. Grob then offered a prayer. Dr. J. 
 G. Schmucker, President of the Board of Directors, preached 
 an impressive sermon in the German language, from the 
 text, ' The things that thou hast heard of me among many 
 witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall 
 be able to teach others also,' (2 Tim. ii. 2). Then Rev. C. 
 
£82 THE OATH OF INAUGURATION. 
 
 P. Krauth offered a prayer. Rev. D. F. Schaeffer now 
 requested the new Professor to utter and subscribe the oath 
 of office, which had been written by the Professor himself. 
 
 THE OATH OF INAUGURATION. 
 
 " Then, Mr. Schmucker, young in appearance, less than 
 twenty-eight years of age, rose and spoke in solemn tones 
 these words : ' I solemnly declare in the presence of God 
 and of the Directors of this Seminary, that I do ex anhno 
 believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be 
 the inspired word of God, and the only perfect rule of faith 
 and practice. I believe the Augsburg Confession, and the 
 Catechisms of Luther to be a summary and just exhibition 
 of the fundamental doctrines of the word of God. I declare 
 that I approve of the general principles of church govern- 
 ment, adopted by the Lutheran church in this country, and 
 believe them to be consistent with the word of God. And 
 I do solemnly promise not to teach anything, either directly 
 or by insinuation, which shall appear to contradict, or to be 
 in any degree more or less remote, inconsistent with the 
 doctrines or principles avowed in this declaration. On the 
 contrary I promise by the aid of God to vindicate and 
 inculcate these doctrines and principles, in opposition to 
 the views of Atheists, Deists, Jews, Socinians, Unitarians, 
 Universalists, and all other errorists, while I remain Profes- 
 sor of this Seminary.' 
 
 " Rev. David F. Schaeffer then ascended the pulpit and 
 delivered a charge to the Professor. He said : ' You are 
 entrusted with the care of young men who are designed for 
 the ministry — who are to go forth as heralds of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, to become instruments of life or death to 
 many. You are to instruct them in all things pertaining to 
 an ambassador of the King of kings. Upon you it will 
 depend largly whether they will become burning and shin- 
 
ADDRESSES AT THE INAUGURATION. 183 
 
 ing lights or not. I charge you to remember your respon- 
 sibility, and be faithful to God. Establish the students in 
 the faith which distinguishes our church from others. 
 Unity of sentiments on important matters of faith and dis- 
 cipline, among pastors of the same church, is indispensable. 
 I object not to difference on subjects of minor importance 
 between different denominations. The Church is more 
 beautiful from such variety, as is a garden on account of its 
 flowers being of various color. But every flower must be 
 like all others of the same genus and species. Above all, 
 ground our students well in the doctrine of the atonement. 
 Dr. Gray says : ' Therefore be it known that Martin Luther, 
 that only not inspired man, whom the Lord Jesus raised 
 up with semi-apostolic unction to save his Church from 
 annihilation, did maintain that the atonement made by the 
 Son of God on Calvary, is competent to effect the salvation 
 of mankind, and nothing is wanting to render it universally 
 efficacious, but the sinner's faith.' ' 
 
 " Then, at Mr. Schaeffer's request, the students rose. 
 The following young men stood up : Wm. Artz, Lewis 
 Eichelberger, David Jacobs, Wm. Mcering, and Jonathan 
 Oswald, all of Maryland ; Daniel Heilig, J. G. Morris, D. 
 P. Rosenmiller and N. G. Sharrets, of Pennsylvania ; and 
 Jacob Kempfer, of North Carolina. After an address of 
 five minutes to these young men, Mr. Schaeffer closed, and 
 Professor Schmucker delivered his inaugural. He began 
 by saying : ' The occasion on which we are assembled, is 
 fraught with peculiar solemnity to him who now addresses 
 you, and with deepest interest to the friends of Zion.' 
 
 " He announced his subject : ' Theological education 
 with special reference to the ministry. Who are the proper 
 subjects of ministerial education ? What branches of 
 science are entitled to their attention ? What is the proper 
 method of conducting this education ? ' 
 
l84 THE CONSTITUTION OF SEMINARY. 
 
 "Under these heads, he pointed out the requisite quali- 
 fications for the study of theology with a view to the minis- 
 try, the extensive range of learning desirable, and the 
 advantages of a Theological Seminary, over the private 
 instruction of pastors. The discourse was an able one of 
 an hour's length. It was received with great favor. It 
 was published and widely circulated. 
 
 " Such was the beginning of Mr. Schmucker's career as 
 the head of the theological education of the church. The 
 first year opened encouragingly. The catalogue for this 
 year contains the names of twenty-three students, three sen- 
 iors, eleven middle class, and nine juniors." 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SEMINARY 
 
 was prepared by Mr. Schmucker, and printed in the Ger- 
 man and English languages, in which the design of the 
 institution is stated. Several things in this constitution are 
 noteworthy, such as, " A professor may be impeached for 
 fundamental errors in doctrine, morality, or inattention to 
 duty, by a vote of two-thirds of the Directors." 
 
 " The Directors shall inspect the fidelity of the profes- 
 sors, as well in regard to doctrine, as the manner of teach- 
 ing, devotednejs to the Lutheran Church," etc. 
 
 " No person shall be elligible as Professor, who is not 
 an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, of 
 high repute for piety and talents. And no one shall be 
 elligible to the Professorship of Didactic and Polemic The- 
 ology, who has not officiated as pastor in the Church for at 
 least five years." 
 
 " Every Professor must also publicly pronounce and 
 take the oath of office." 
 
 "The Seminary shall be open to students of all Chris- 
 tian denominations, possessing the proper qualifications." 
 
 " Every student shall be expected to treat his teachers 
 with the greatest deference and respect, and all persons 
 
CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE DIRECTORS. 185 
 
 with civility. Cleanliness in dress and habits shall be 
 observed by every student." 
 
 " All theological students shall "board in commons, 
 special cases excepted, of which the faculty shall take cog- 
 nizance." * 
 
 THE ENDOWMENT OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 The establishment of a theological seminary could not 
 be accomplished by merely selecting the location, appoint- 
 ing a professor and adopting a Constitution, Buildings 
 must be purchased or erected ; the professor's salary must 
 be provided for, a theological library collected, and money 
 raised for the support of students. Professor Schmucker 
 led off by subscribing ^1,000 for the support of students in 
 annual payment of $ioo, thus reducing his meagre salary 
 of ;^500, to ;^400 a year. Then additional subscriptions 
 were made by the following brethren : 
 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker, York, _ _ . ;^ioo.oo 
 
 Rev. J. Herbst, Gettysburg, - - - loo.oo 
 
 " J. G. Morris, Baltimore, . - _ loo.oo 
 
 Dr. D. Kurtz, Baltimore, - - - 50.00 
 
 D. F. Schaeffer, Frederick, - - - 50.00 
 
 D. M'Conachy, Gettysburg, - - 50.00 
 
 A. Reck, Middletown, Md., - - - 50.00 
 
 B. Keller, Carlisle, - - - 50.00 
 J. Sherer, North Carolina, _ _ - 50.00 
 
 and a number of others, smaller sums. Rev. G. Shober, 
 of North Carolina, donated 2,433 acres of land to the Sem- 
 inary, but it seems, that very little benefit was ever realized 
 from this munificent donation. 
 
 * Formerly the students all ate at a large table in the basement in 
 a large dining-room. The basement in the old Seminary building also 
 contained a kitchen and several private rooms for the steward and his 
 family. — Ed. 
 
l86 DR. SCHMUCKER'S DONATIOX. 
 
 The following manuscript in Dr. Schmucker's own 
 hand writing explains the nature and condition of his 
 donation. It may justly be regarded as the nucleus of the 
 Parent Educational Society, which afterwards assisted so 
 many young men in their preparation for the ministry, and 
 became such a blessing to the church : 
 
 DONATION OF ^I,00O TO THE CAUSE OF BENEFICIARY EDUCA- 
 TION, TO POOR AND TALENTED AND PIOUS CANDI- 
 DATES FOR THE MINISTRY, IN THE INSTI- 
 TUTION OF THIS PLACE. 
 
 " I. Feeling, as I trust, a sincere desire of promoting 
 the kingdom of my divine and blessed Redeemer, not only 
 by devoting to his service my time and personal efforts, but 
 also by appropriating to the same purpose a portion of that 
 earthly substance which God has entrusted to me ; and 
 believing that no part of God's church stands in greater 
 need than that with which I am now immediately connected, 
 and believing that the assisting of pious young men of good 
 talents in becoming qualified for the holy ministry is one of 
 the most direct methods of promoting the kingdom of our 
 blessed Redeemer : I hereby, as. a private offering to the 
 Lord, obligate myself to pay to the Directors of the Theo- 
 logical Seminary at Gettysburg and their successors, in 
 annual payments of lOO dollars, for ten years (if my life is 
 thus long spared) amounting to the sum of ;^i,ooo, the first 
 of which is hereby paid, and each successive installment 
 due at the spring meeting of the board, to be applied to aid 
 young men of undoubted piety and good talents in prepar- 
 ing for the gospel ministry in this institution, and with a 
 view to laboring in the Lutheran Church. 
 
 " II. The conditions on which this money is to be 
 advanced to young men by the Directors, shall be as fol- 
 lows : it is to be loaned upon the individual's giving to the 
 
CONDITIONS OF THE DONATION. 187 
 
 treasurer of the Board his note with security, if he can con- 
 veniently obtain it. The sums loaned to any one individual 
 shall not exceed his actual necessities and in no case exceed 
 60 dollars per annum. 
 
 " III. The selection of beneficiaries I reserve to myself 
 during my life, after which it shall forever be vested in the 
 Board of Directors. 
 
 " IV. The moneys lent to any individual shall not bear 
 interest until the time when he has completed the regular 
 course of theological studies, and shall be payable in annual 
 gales of 100 dollars, the first due twelve months after the 
 completion of his regular course of study. 
 
 " V. If any beneficiary shall be unable to pay the whole 
 of each gale as it becomes due, the Directors shall indulge 
 him so long as they believe his inability to be unavoidable 
 by him, and his conduct is that of a faithful minister of 
 Christ, 
 
 " VI. If any individual, who has received aid from this 
 fund, shall not devote himself to the work, of the Gospel 
 ministry, it shall be the duty of the Directors to require 
 him, in a reasonable time, to refund all the money advanced 
 to him with lawful interest from the time when it was lent. 
 
 " VII. If at any future time (which may God in mercy 
 prevent) this institution should become so perverted, that a 
 belief that the doctrines of the eternal and real divinity of 
 the Redeemer, the doctrine that the atonement is general 
 and in its nature equally applicable and acceptable to all 
 men, the universality of divine aid or grace sufficient for 
 salvation, and the real willingness of God to save all men, 
 should no longer be required, either professedly or in real- 
 ity, of the Professor of this institution, I hereby authorize 
 my lawful heirs in any future generation to recover the 
 amount of this donation and all its increase by interest, for 
 their own proper, private use. 
 
i88 board's resoi^ution of thanks. 
 
 " VIII. I reserve the right of making any additional 
 regulation or of changing any of these during my lifetime, 
 but not of revoking the grant altogether or changing the 
 object of it." 
 
 The Board passed the following resolution: 
 
 " Resolved, That the Board express their thanks to Prof 
 Schmucker for his liberal donation in founding the first 
 scholarship of this institution for the purpose ol aiding 
 pious young men in preparing themselves for the Gospel 
 ministry in the Seminary." 
 
 At an early period an association was formed among 
 the students, called, "The Mechanical Society." The 
 object of this society was, to spend two or three hours 
 every day in mechanical labor, "which, while it will invig- 
 orate the body b^^ healthful exercise, will also contribute to 
 the financial support of its members." 
 
 The association was not of long continuance. The 
 students now seek recreation by walking or athletic exer- 
 cises. A gymnasium has lately been opened- in the new 
 Seminary building. 
 
 At a meeting of the West Pennsylvania Synod in York, 
 a proposition was made, to raise a fund of ;^ 10,000 for the 
 purpose of establishing a second professorship, by subscrip- 
 tions of $100 each. Ten of these subscriptions were taken 
 at once, and Professor Schmucker undertook a voluntary 
 agency in New York and Philadelphia and obtained about 
 ^30,000. 
 
 In the Pastoral Address the Board also expresses its 
 thanks for the continued liberality of our benefactos in Ger- 
 many. Although several years had passed since Dr. 
 Kurtz's return, the stream of German liberality still flowed. 
 Several boxes of books were received, and the institution 
 had then the largest theological library in this country — 
 more than 6,000 volumes. 
 
DR. DIEHL'S testimony. 189 
 
 Says Dr. Diehl : " Dr. Schmucker rendered important 
 services to the institution, by procuring contributions. His 
 extensive acquaintance with influential ministers of other 
 denominations opened the door to large and wealthy con- 
 gregations. He was so favorably known as an active par- 
 ticipant, and warm friend of the great national religious 
 societies, that he obtained funds from the American Educa- 
 tion Society, for the support of Gettysburg beneficiary stu- 
 dents. He visited Philadelphia, New York, and new Eng- 
 land, and laid the wants of the Seminary before wealthy 
 Presbyterian and Congregational churches, and obtained 
 contributions amounting to ^15,000." 
 
 In canvassing Philadelphia he wrote, " My solicitations 
 have been directed chiefly to members of the Lutheran 
 Church, whom I found to be wealthy, liberal and generous 
 people." 
 
 In 1826 Rev. Benjamin Kurtz was appointed by the 
 Board to go to Germany and solicit donations and books 
 for the Theological Seminary. He remained absent nearly 
 two years, and brought home about ;^ 10,000 in money and 
 a large number of books. While in Germany he received 
 many courtesies from all classes of men, and secured 
 extensive popularity as a plain and impressive preacher. 
 Immense crowds everywhere attended the churches in 
 which he officiated. 
 
 Two German pamphlets were printed and extensively 
 circulated in Germany in advocacy of Kurtz's agency. The 
 one in Hamburg by Dr. Twesten, (Professor of Theology 
 and Philosophy in the University of Kiel) of 72 pages, and 
 the other in Berlin, of 40 pages, (author not given), which 
 attained a second edition. In these pamphlets the claims 
 of the American Lutheran Church and her Theological 
 Seminary were most eloquently and earnestly pleaded. 
 
 Dr. Twesten writes, " The General Synod could not 
 
igo INDUCEMENTS BY TWESTEN. 
 
 have selected a more worthy agent than Rev. Benjamin 
 Kurtz, \vhen true evangelical piety, an enlightened spirit, 
 ardent enthusiasm for the church and unassuming humility 
 characterize him, which must secure for him the kind 
 reception, which we already owe to a sister church. These 
 characteristics have won for him all- hearts, and no doubt 
 they will produce the same effect upon every one who 
 learns to know him on his travels." 
 
 He then gives a brief biographical sketch of Dr. Kurtz. 
 
 The two principal inducements which Twesten held 
 out in his pamphlet were, that the Lutherans who had 
 emigrated to America might be retained in the Lutheran 
 Church, and he argues that this could not be done, if the 
 German language was not retained among them. He fur- 
 ther argues, that the German language could not be per- 
 manently retained without a German theological seminary 
 to train German ministers of the gospel. " Suppose for 
 a moment, — which God forbid — that the Lutheran Church 
 in America should die out what would be the con- 
 sequence ? Would our Lutheran people go over to one of 
 the English denominations, such as the Episcopalians, the 
 Presbyterians, Unitarians or Methodists, and find among 
 them a strengthening, wholesome spiritual food ? By no 
 means ! The unavoidable difference in the languages 
 would make this impossible with the most of them, and the 
 others would lose the love of the divine word, if they must 
 hear it proclaimed in a different language from their be- 
 loved German The German language cannot be 
 
 maintained (in America), without higher institutions of 
 learning. Those, therefore, who love their mother tongue, 
 and take an interest in maintaining and extending German 
 art and culture, we hope will find an inducement to con- 
 tribute liberally towards planting such a school in that dis- 
 tant part of the world." 
 
DR. KURTZ'S TOUR TO EUROPE. 19I 
 
 So far Twesten. We see from the above, what mis- 
 taken views our German brethren have had, and to a great 
 extent still have, in regard to the necessity of the German 
 language for the perpetuity of the Lutheran Church. That 
 which Twesten declared impossible ; namely, that the 
 youth of the church, as they become English, should go 
 over to some English denomination, if they do not have 
 the gospel preached in the language which they under- 
 stand, has taken place in hundreds of thousands of cases. I 
 have heard a German minister declare, " that in his opinion 
 the distinctive doctrines of the Lutheran Church can be 
 taught in their purity, only in the German language ; and 
 yet we hear so much in our day, of the " Poly-glot Luth- 
 eran Church." 
 
 Dr. Twesten copied the entire constitution of the 
 Seminary in his German pamphlet, and makes this remark- 
 able comment upon it. " Every one will be impressed 
 with the genuine religious and evangelical spirit that per- 
 vades these statutes. One thing, however, might appear 
 strange to us with our present prevailing views, and may 
 even be objectionable to many ; namely, the almost 
 anxious adhesion to the doctrines of the Augsburg Confes- 
 sion. * It would not be the proper place here to enter 
 into a general discussion of this subject. It is sufficient to 
 remark, that in this respect also, that may be practicable 
 and necessary in America, which would not be so with 
 us." It will be remembered that this constitution was also 
 composed by Dr. Schmucker. 
 
 Dr. Kurtz took with him the very highest kind of 
 credentials. Besides the Officers of the General Synod, 
 Revs. Gottlieb Schober, and D. F. Schaeffer, the following 
 names of distinguished officials were added : John Gill, 
 
 *„T)k fail dngftltc^e giirfor^e fiir bit Sr&attun^ Ui in bcr 5(ufl^bur- 
 gtfc^cn Sonfeffion nicbcrijelecjten i*e()rbegrijfei." 
 
192 KURTZ IN LONDON AND GERMANY. 
 
 Notary Public of Baltimore, Judge Jacob Bucher, Harris- 
 burg, John Andrew Schulze, Governor of Pennsylvania, 
 James Trimble, State Secretary of Pennsylvania, Honorable 
 Henry Clay, Senator, Washington, D. C. Governor 
 Schulze writes, that it affords him great pleasure to recom- 
 mend Rev. Benjamin Kurtz, as a very worthy and deserv- 
 ing minister, who deserves the friendly reception of all 
 pious people. " I have known him," says the Governor, 
 " almost from childhood, and can therefore testify, with a 
 clear conscience, of his good character and conduct." 
 
 In London he was kindly received by Rev. Dr. Stein- 
 kopf, pastor of the German Lutheran Congregation in that 
 city. This congregation donated ^75.00 to the Seminary, 
 and from other persons he also received liberal contribu- 
 tions. Then he passed by ship to Hamburg, where his ar- 
 rival was announced in the newspapers. He then visited 
 Bremen and Luebeck. The ministers of Hamburg and 
 Luebeck appealed publicly to their people for liberal con- 
 tributions. In the city of Kiel the students of the university 
 made up a purse. In Kopenhagen, their Majesties, the 
 king and queen of Denmark granted him an audience, gave 
 a royal contribution, and permitted collections to be held 
 in the churches. In Sweden also and in the Russian pro- 
 vinces, as also in the cities of Petersburg, Riga and Dorpat, 
 he received encouragement and contributions. 
 
 In Berlin he remained a longer time and received the 
 royal permission to solicit contributions, and also preached 
 before the king, and in the principal churches of the cities 
 which he visited. From Berlin he went to Wittenberg, 
 then visited Dresden, Leipzig, Halle, Magdeburg. 
 In the kingdom of Wurtemberg he was cordially received 
 and financially encouraged. 
 
 As stated above, the amount collected in money was 
 ;g 10,000, and about 6,000 books. Considering the length 
 
MORRIS' HISTORY OP THE SEMINARY. 193 
 
 of time required, — nearly two years, — the extensive adver- 
 tising by means of pamphlets and church papers, pastors, 
 recommendations, royal patronage and general collections 
 over the greater part of Germany and Scandinavia, this 
 seems to be a very small amount for so worthy an object 
 and protracted efforts made. The church in this country 
 very properly expressed its gratitude to our brethren in the 
 Fatherland for their sympathy and contributions. We 
 must remember, those were the days of small things, both 
 in Europe and in America. The books were the most 
 valuable part of the contribution ; the most lasting also, for 
 they occupy the larger part of space in the library even at 
 the present time. Yet as regards money, Dr. Schmucker 
 alone, during two or three vacations, collected more than 
 two times as much from Lutherans in York and Philadel- 
 phia, and from Presbyterians and Congregationalists in New 
 York and New England. From this small beginning the 
 institution has been progressing in endowments, usefulness 
 and influence, until now it has an endowment of over $ioo, 
 ooo, four professors, two magnificent buildings and four 
 professor's residences. See what the Lord hath done! 
 Other similar institutions have sprung up in different parts 
 of the country, which are the direct offspring of the semi- 
 nary and college at Gettysburg. We append here an ex- 
 tract from 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, 
 
 Prepared by Dr. J. G. Morris, by request of the 
 Semi Centennial Committee, and read in Gettysburg, June 
 28th, 1876. 
 
 "Though frequently the subject of conversation, noth- 
 ing further was attempted towards the establishment of a 
 Seminary until the meeting held at Hagerstown, Sept. 22d, 
 1820, when the Constitution of the General Synod was 
 adopted, at which time a Committee was appointed to draft 
 
194 MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 a plan of such a school. This Committee was composed 
 of Rev. Drs. Lochman, of Harrisburg, Endress, of Lan- 
 caster, Pastors J. G. Schmucker, of York, F. W. Geisen- 
 hainer, of the State of New York, and Muhlenberg, of 
 Reading. The Committee reported at the session of the 
 General Synod held in Frederick, Md., on the 2ist of 
 October, 1821, that they could not devise a plan according 
 to which a general theological seminary could be estab- 
 lished, and recommended that the further consideration of 
 this subject be postponed to an indefinite time. They were 
 of opinion, however, that in the meantime preparations 
 should be made, and suggested a mode of operation which 
 was altogether impracticable, and which was adopted by no 
 Synod in the whole church. 
 
 "The resolutions offered by this committee amounted to 
 a virtual abandonment of the enterprise. Nothing was done 
 at the General Synod of 1823, held at Frederick, relative to 
 the subject ; not even a resolution respecting it was passed. 
 During this period, the brethren of the Synod of Maryland 
 and Virginia held monthly conferences, at which interest- 
 ing seasons the expediency of erecting an institution was 
 frequently discussed, and in the interim a very extensive 
 correspondence on the subject was carried on by the breth- 
 ren. Various plans were suggested, but none finally 
 adopted. It was within the bounds of this synod that the 
 subject was revived after it had been virtually abandoned 
 by the General Synod of 1821. From that time until 1824, 
 the subject was the topic of frequent private conference, 
 but the fii'st step publicly taken to revive it ivas by Rev. S. S. 
 Schmucker, of New Market, Va., in a sermon delivered be- 
 fore the Synod of Maryland and Virginia, held at Middle- 
 town, Md., Oct. 17th, 1824, at which time he detailed the 
 regulations of a private theological school he had opened 
 at New Market, Va., and recommended the enlargement of 
 
MORRIS' HISTORY OK THE SEMINARY. 195 
 
 that school into a general institution for the church. Two 
 months afterwards, under date of January 5th, 1825, Rev. 
 Mr. Kurtz, of Hagerstown, wrote to Rev. Mr. Schmucker 
 of New Market, and informed him that Prof McClelland, of 
 Dickinson College, had been in Hagerstown and told him 
 that the trustees of that institution were anxious that the 
 Lutheran Church should establish a Seminary at Carlisle, 
 and would offer the same privileges which they had 
 granted to the Reformed Church, except the use of a house 
 for the professor. This plan he did not approve, but in the 
 same letter proposed another, which had been laid before 
 the monthly conference held at Martinsburg by the breth- 
 ren on both sides of the Potomac, on Feb. 9th and lOth, 
 1825. * The plan was as follows: He proposed that the 
 Seminary should be located at Hagerstown,- -that he would 
 make an arrangement with his congregations, that they 
 should furnish their school house for a lecture room, and 
 that the professor should preach for them occasionally and 
 have charge of several country congregations. The Pastor 
 loci was also to be professor. This plan was objected to on 
 the ground that the synod alone was the proper body 
 which should elect the professors, but that by this plan 
 they would elect themselves. At this conference it was 
 resolved, that President D. F. Schaeffer, of Frederick, and 
 Mr. Schmucker, Secretary of the Synod, should be re- 
 quested to call a special meeting of the Synod of Maryland 
 and Virginia to consider this subject. Mr. Schaeffer, with 
 great wisdom, as the sequel proved, refused to call a synod, 
 and advised more deliberation in the matter. At the re- 
 gular meeting in the fall, held at Hagerstown, Oct. 23, 
 1825, Messrs. Schmucker, Krauth, of Martinsburg, and B. 
 
 * This conference was composed of Rev. Messrs. Kurtz, Krauth, F. 
 RuthrauflF and Winter— a collection taken up which amounted to six 
 or seven dollars, was the first money ever contributed to this object. 
 
196 MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 Kurtz, were appointed a committee to draft a plan for the 
 immediate establishment of a Theological Seminary, and 
 reported that which, with the additional articles, was sub- 
 sequently adopted by the General Synod,* 
 
 "On Nov. 7th, 1825, the General Synod convened at 
 Frederick, Md., when it was resolved that the Revs. B. 
 Kurtz, J. Herbst, S. S. Schmucker, B. Keller, and Messrs. 
 Harry and Hauptman be a committee to prepare a plan for 
 the establishment of a Theological Seminary, and that they 
 govern themselves by the instructions which shall be given 
 by this synod. On the following morning (Tuesday, Nov. 
 8,) the committee reported a plan, which, having been dis- 
 cussed and amended, was adopted. It was at the same 
 time resolved ' that agents be sent throughout the United 
 States by the officers of the General Synod, to solicit con- 
 tributions for the support of the Seminary; that it be 
 earnestly recommended to the ministers of our several 
 synods to afford said agents every possible aid, and that 
 the Board of Directors pay the necessary expenses of such 
 agents.' The following agents were appointed by the 
 synod : Rev. Dr. Lochman, Dr. Endress, Dr. Muhlenberg, 
 and Rev. C. R. Demme, for the Synod of East Pennsyl- 
 vania ; Rev. Dr. Schmucker, Rev. J. Herbst, and B. Keller, 
 for West Pennsylvania ; Rev. Mr. Stauch, J. Steck, for 
 Ohio and Indiana ; Rev. Dr. P. Mayer, Rev. Messrs. 
 Geisenhainer, F. C. Schaeffer and Lintner, for the Synod of 
 New York ; Rev. S. S. Schmucker, for Philadelphia and 
 the Eastern States ; Rev. Messrs. A. Reck, Meyerhoefifer 
 and Krauth, for Virginia ; Rev. Messrs. B. Kurtz, H. 
 Graber, Ruthrauff, and Little, for Maryland ; Rev. W. 
 Jenkins, for Tennesse ; Rev. Messrs. Sherer and J. Reck, 
 
 * This plan, as also the additional articles, was drawn up by Rev. 
 S. S. Schmucker. 
 
MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY. I97 
 
 for North Carolina ; Rev. Messrs. Bachman and Dreher, 
 lor South Carolina. 
 
 " It was further resolved, 'that an agent, furnished with 
 ample testimonials by the President and Secretary of the 
 General Synod, be forthwith sent to Europe, to solicit con- 
 tributions of money and books for the benefit of the Semi- 
 nary, and that our beloved and reverend brother, Benjamin 
 Kurtz, be this agent.' Mr. Kurtz accepted the appoint 
 ment of agent to Europe, and the happy results of his 
 operations in behalf of the Seminary among our transatlan- 
 tic brethren, will be experienced as long as the institution 
 exists. He was at the same time instructed to assure the 
 brethren abroad, that their contributions should be appro- 
 priated to the support of a German professorship. 
 
 " The first Board of Directors was next elected, and the 
 following persons chosen : From Pennsylvania, Dr. J. G. 
 Schmucker, Rev. Messrs. J. Herbst and B. Keller, — Philip 
 Smyser, of York, and Jacob Young, of Carlisle. From 
 North Carolina, Rev. Messrs. Shober, Storch, and J. 
 Walter, — Col. Barringer and Wm. Keck, Esq., of Guilford 
 County. From Maryland, Dr. J. D. Kurtz, Rev. B. Kurtz, 
 Rev. C. P. Krauth,— Mr. J. Harry and Mr. C. Mantz. 
 
 " According to Article 6 of the plan which was adopted, 
 the first professor was to be elected by the General Synod, 
 after which the Board of Directors shall forever have the 
 exclusive right of electing additional professors and filling 
 up vacancies. Agreeably to this, the synod went into an 
 election, when the Rev. Samuel S. Schmucker, of New 
 Market, Va., was chosen Professor of Didactic Theology. 
 A committee appointed to wait upon the professor elect 
 and inform him of his election, reported that he had de- 
 clared his acceptance of the office entrusted to him. The 
 low salary of;^50o for the current year was voted the pro- 
 fessor, but this was owing to the fact that there were as yet 
 
198 MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 no funds in the treasury, and the whole scheme was only a 
 doubtful experiment. Before the funds collectable were 
 available, the several synods in connection with the Gen- 
 eral Synod, contributed out of their own treasuries towards 
 the support of the professor; the Synod of West Pennsyl- 
 vania contributing $150, and the Synod of Maryland and 
 Virginia an equal sum. So small, so inauspicious was the 
 commencement of our Seminary. But the hand of an over- 
 ruling and merciful Providence has conducted us hitherto, 
 and smiled upon the efforts of his servants to rear a theo- 
 logical school for his own glory and the welfare of men. 
 
 " The wishes of the brethren had now been accom- 
 plished — their ardent expectations were realized, — they had 
 long sighed, and lamented and prayed and hesitated — now 
 in the Providence of God an institution was founded, and 
 every one rejoiced in the glorious prospect which the 
 Church had before her. 
 
 " On the 2nd of March, 1826, the Board of Directors 
 met for the first time according to appointment, at Hagers- 
 town, at which were present Dr. Schmucker, J. Herbst, B. 
 Keller, B. Kurtz, C. P. Krauth, clerical, and Philip Smyser, 
 Jacob Young, J. Harry and Cyrus Mantz, lay members. 
 Dr. J. G. Schmucker was elected President, and C. P. 
 Krauth, Secretary. 
 
 " The attention of the board was called to the perfor- 
 mance of a very serious and delicate duty, that of the loca- 
 tion of the Seminary. In determining this difficult subject, 
 they felt their high responsibility, well knowing that its 
 favorable location would have a very important bearing 
 upon its general utility. The following proposals were 
 made : 
 
 "i. Hagerstown offered ^6,635 in money, the payment 
 of which was pledged. 
 
 "2. Carlisle proposed to give ^2,000 in money, a 
 
MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY. I99 
 
 house for the professor to reside in for five years, and 
 ^3,000 towards erecting a building for the Seminary. In 
 addition to this they proposed to give a lot to the Semi- 
 nary, — if a proposition of the Trustees of Dickinson Col- 
 lege be not accepted. 
 
 " The Trustees of Dickinson College offered the use of 
 a room in the college edifice for the lectures of the profes- 
 sor — a lot of ground one hundred feet square, convenient 
 and eligible, situated in the college square — the use of the 
 college library to the students — gratuitous access to the 
 lectures of the Principal, and Professors of Moral Philo- 
 sophy, Natural Theology, Political Economy and Neces- 
 sity and Evidence of Divine Revelation — on condition that 
 the Professor of the Theological Seminary should act as a 
 member of the Faculty and as Professor of Hebrew and 
 Oriental Literature in the college. 
 
 " 3. Gettysburg offered ^7,000 in money, and the 
 Trustees of the Academy guaranteed the use of that build- 
 ing, until suitable edifices are erected for the Seminary. 
 
 " These different propositions having been heard, the 
 board proceeded to the location of the Seminary, it having 
 been determined that a majority of the whole be necessary 
 to a choice. 
 
 " After a long and interesting debate on the relative ad- 
 vantages of the places propsed, Ge/(ysdtirg; upon the second 
 ballot was the place selected. Thus a most important 
 question was decided. It had excited much interest, but 
 the final decision was unanimous." 
 
 " One consideration in locating the Seminary was its 
 accessibility. It was desirable to have the institution 
 located centrally in regard to the whole Lutheran Church, 
 in a place that could be reached most conveniently by pub- 
 lic highways. Gettysburg at that time exactly answered 
 these conditions. It was the first and only theological 
 
200 MORRIS' HISTORY OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 seminary in the Lutheran Church in America, (Hartwick 
 perhaps excepted,) and it was designed for the whole 
 church north and south, east and west. There were no 
 railroads in the country at that time, but the best con- 
 structed turnpikes in the state centred in and passed 
 through Gettysburg. These were the public thorough- 
 fares from Baltimore and Philadelphia to Pittsburg. Daily 
 stages ran on these roads and a large number of wagons 
 transported goods and country produce from and to the 
 cities. 
 
 After the railroads had been built through different 
 parts of the state, objections were raised against our institu- 
 tions on account of their inaccessibility,except by stagecoach. 
 Efforts were therefore made and loudly advocated at differ- 
 ent times for the removal of the College and Seminary to 
 Harrisburg, Lebanon, Baltimore or Washington. But these 
 efforts have thus far failed. At this time, however, Gettys- 
 burg is amply accessible by railroad from every direction. 
 The great and decisive battle between the Northern and 
 Southeran Armies in Gettysburg during the late civil war, 
 has given the place a world-wide reputation, and thous- 
 ands of soldiers and citizens come every year to view the 
 battlefield. The government also expends vast sums of 
 money to lay out and beautify the grounds. At this time 
 the general impression is, that the institutions are perma- 
 nently located at Gettysburg. 
 
 " It was resolved that the Seminary commence its 
 operations on the first Tuesday in September 1826, and 
 that on that day the professor elect be inaugurated. Dr. J. 
 G. Schmucker was appointed to deliver a sermon on the 
 occasion, and Dr. Daniel Kurtz, a charge in the German 
 language. Rev. D. F. Schaefifer, of Frederick, was ap- 
 pointed his alternate. 
 
 " Agreeably to the resolution of the board, a meeting 
 
morris' history of the seminary. 201 
 
 was held in Gettysburg on the first Tuesday of September, 
 1826. In the meantime the collectors appointed had been 
 diligently attending to the duties assigned them, Mr. Kurtz 
 had sailed for Europe, and preparations generally were 
 making for the formal opening of the institution. The in- 
 stallation of Rev. S. S. Schmucker as professor of Christian 
 Theology, took place according to appointment. An ap- 
 propriate sermon was delivered on the occasion by Dr. 
 Schmucker, Sen.; Rev. D. F, Schaeffer delivered the 
 charge to the Professor after his solemn installation, which 
 was immediately followed by the inaugural address of the 
 Professor. All these exercises were performed in the pres- 
 ence of a large assembly, much impressed with the 
 solemnity of the occasion. The students present were also 
 addressed by Rev. Mr. Schaeffer. This was an important 
 day in the history of the institution, and the high expecta- 
 tions which its feeble commencement permitted its founders 
 to indulge, have never been disappointed. 
 
 "This was a period of painful anxiety and apprehension. 
 The brethren had commenced an enterprise in which they 
 were far from having the co-operation of the whole church. 
 It was comparatively a few who undertook it, and they 
 almost single-handed. They encountered difficulties, but 
 they were surmounted; they were opposed by prejudice, 
 but it was subdued ; they had ignorance to contend against, 
 but it was overcome. For a while the prospect was 
 gloomy, — dark clouds, portentous of a direful storm, hung 
 over them, but they were dispelled, and the sun of God's 
 favor shone brilliantly upon them. They entered upon 
 their labors, and pursued them with an untiring energy, 
 and, at the end of eleven months, they had the satisfaction 
 of seeing their first professor installed, a commencement 
 made towards the establishment of a library, and the insti- 
 tution in successful operation. They recognized the benev- 
 
202 MORRIS' H' STORY OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 olent hand of Providence in all these arrangements, and 
 said with the Psalmist, ' The Lord has done great things 
 for us, whereof we are glad.' 
 
 "The institution having been now regularly organized, 
 the Professor immediately commenced his lectures with 
 great zeal and ability. The following are the names of the 
 first students who connected themselves with the school 
 the first session : Wm. Artz, David Jacobs, Jonathan 
 Oswald, David P. Rosenmiller, J. Kaempffer, J. S. Galloway, 
 Lewis Eichelberger, Henry Haverstick, Daniel Heilig, 
 Benjamin Oehrle, N. R. Sharretts, George Yeager, S. D. 
 Finckel, J. G. Morris. This number gradually increased, 
 thus brightening the hopes of the directors. The exten- 
 sive circulation of the addresses delivered at the inaugura- 
 tion of the professor made a deep and favorable impression 
 upon the Lutheran community, — public confidence was 
 secured, and promises of support and encouragement given 
 from various quarters. They introduced the institution to 
 the notice of other respectable denominations of our 
 country, who rejoiced at its establishment, and extended to 
 us the right hand of Christian fellowship,* 
 
 " It must, however, not be withheld that the Seminary 
 did not find a friend and well-wisher in every man, and 
 alas ! not in every one who called himself Lutheran. Every 
 benevolent enterprise has its opponents, and this is perhaps 
 wisely ordained, that its friends may be more active and 
 kept constantly on their guard. There is good reason to 
 believe that some of the clergy in the North Eastern 
 section of Pennsylvania secretly opposed the Seminary, 
 and a few openly avowed their enmity to it. But their op- 
 position did not materially injure it, and the prophecy was 
 
 * I heard Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, speak very favorably of it 
 from his chair, and Dr. Green in his Review of Addresses, etc., men- 
 tions it in most exalted terms. 
 
KURTZ'S TOUR TO EUROPE. 203 
 
 fulfilled, ' No weapon formed against Zion shall prosper, 
 and every tongue that shall rise against her in judgment, 
 shall be condemned.' Is, liv. 17. 
 
 "This is perhaps the most proper place to mention the 
 European agency of the Rev. Benjamin Kurtz. It was ob- 
 served above, that he was appointed to proceed to Europe 
 to solicit subscriptions in money and books in behalf of the 
 Seminary. He cheerfully accepted the appointment, and 
 on April ist, 1826, he embarked at New York for Liver- 
 pool, where he arrived after a voyage of twenty-one days. 
 He received some contributions in England, but soon after 
 departed for the continent, which was to be the principal 
 field of his labors. He was generally received with a 
 cordial welcome by our transatlantic brethren, and was em- 
 inently successful in the prosecution of his agency as 
 viewed from the stand-point of that day. He visited 
 almost every considerable Lutheran city, and won the 
 esteem and gained the assistance of most of the church dig- 
 nitaries, and other distinguished men. His preaching was 
 attended by multitudes — he every where excited curiosity, 
 and was treated with the most cordial respect. His agency 
 was something so new and so interesting — his home was 
 so distant, as it was then considered — his behavior so 
 humble and conciliating — and his preaching so scriptural, 
 that he attracted the favorable attention of thousands and 
 left an impression which that generation will never forget. 
 His representations of the church in America awakened an 
 earnest zeal in the bosoms of the pious, and their benefac- 
 tions towards her will be remembered as long as she exists. 
 Too much cannot be said in praise of the generosity of our 
 transatlantic brethren. Our mission to them was pro- 
 ductive of many collateral advantages. The churches in 
 America and Germany became acquainted with each other 
 — the cords of fraternal affection were more tightly drawn 
 
204 ENEMIES OF THE SEMINARY. 
 
 — an extensive correspondence was established, and many- 
 other advantages resulted from it, which are inestimable. 
 Even after the return of Mr. Kurtz, they afforded joyful 
 proof of their continued liberality. By their munificence 
 the library was increased to four or five thousand volumes, 
 and the funds received an addition of about ;^8 ooo. After 
 an absence of twenty-two months, Mr. Kurtz returned to 
 his native country. 
 
 " The church rejoiced that so faithful a laborer was re- 
 stored to her bosom in health, after having endured so 
 many privations and exercised so much self-denial. It was 
 not expected that all the professed friends of Zion and 
 Lutheranism, either in America or Europe, would regard 
 this mission in a favorable light. Several clergymen and 
 laymen in this country openly censured the measure, but 
 they had taken no part in the establishment and support of 
 the Seminary. In Europe some opposed it, and the result 
 of it was the appearance of a work, which was received in 
 this country in 1829, purporting to be ' Directions to Emi- 
 grants to the United States.' The author of this con- 
 temptible publication was a certain Dr. Braunschweig, who 
 had been in the United States and was admitted into the 
 Synod of Pennsylvania. His unministerial behavior sub- 
 jected him to the public censure of the president of that 
 body. He soon after returned to Germany, and vented his 
 spleen against the men upon whose hospitality he lived, 
 but of whose confidence his subsequent immoral conduct 
 proved him unworthy. In his book he labors hard to pre- 
 judice his countrymen against the Seminary by misrepre- 
 sentations and gross calumny. He makes certain state- 
 ments part true, part false, which he never could have 
 ascertained, but from the correspondence of certain oppon- 
 ents of the institution on this side of the Atlantic. Appre- 
 hending mischievous results to flow from this tissue of 
 
FUNDS COI,]vECTED FOR THE SEMINARY. 205 
 
 slanders, the board, in 1830, resolved to answer it. In 
 April, 1 83 1, the reply, written by Dr. Hazelius, was sent to 
 Europe. 
 
 "At this meeting ot the board, i. e., September, 1826, a 
 committee. Dr. Schmucker, Mr. Herbst and C. A. Barnitz, 
 Esq., was appointed to petition the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
 vania, to incorporate the Seminary. This was attended 
 with much difficulty, inasmuch as that body was then op- 
 posed to chartering religious institutions. It was, however, 
 accomplished by the dexterity and influence of those 
 representatives who felt an interest in the subject, and at 
 the next meeting of the directors, the committee had the 
 satisfaction of reporting the performance of their duty and 
 of delivering the charter. 
 
 " At this meeting of the board, which was the first held 
 in Gettysburg, and only the second ever held, and but 
 seven months after it was determined to locate the institu- 
 tion at Gettysburg, a committee appointed to examine into 
 the state of the funds, reported that ^17,513 had already 
 been subscribed, of which only ^1,674 had been collected. 
 Messrs. Herbst and Benjamin Keller were at this meeting 
 appointed as general solicitors for the Seminary, and at the 
 next meeting a vote of thanks to these gentlemen was 
 passed for their important services in enlarging the funds 
 of the Seminary." 
 
 The following characterization of the course of study 
 in the Seminary by Prof H. Jacobs in his history of the 
 Lutheran Church in America, (page 370) will surprise 
 many of our readers who studied in the College and Semi- 
 nary at Gettysburg: 
 
 " The Seminary course was very brief, and the teach- 
 ing scarcely rose above, if it equalled, the standard of the 
 better catechetical instruction. There was even a tendency 
 to depreciate sacred learning, as relatively unimportant, and 
 
2o6 THE TBACHING IN SEMINARY. 
 
 to throw all stress upon devotional exercises. The teach- 
 ing was hortatory instead of doctrinal, and no longer 
 covered the full extent of revelation." — Jacobs, p. jyo. 
 
 This is certainly a very unjust and untruthful char- 
 acterization of the teaching and course of study in the theo- 
 logical Seminary at Gettysburg, and it must surprise any 
 one acquainted with the facts to read such statements in a 
 book that claims to be a veracious and impartial history. 
 The professors in the seminary are acknowledged to have 
 been learned and able teachers. For many years 
 Schmucker, Hazelius, Krauth, Sr., and Hay, were the pro- 
 fessors in the seminary, devoting their whole time to the 
 duties of their profession. The assertion, therefore, that 
 the combined labors of those three distinguished professors 
 " scarcely rose above, if it equalled the standard of the bet- 
 ter catechetical instruction," is an insult to those worthy 
 men, and a slander on the institution. 
 
 True, the seminary course at that time was brief, only 
 two years, but a catechetical course for young and mostly 
 uneducated people, usually lasts only about three months. 
 
 That some of the instructions were hortatory and that 
 stress was laid upon devotional exercises, is admitted ; Dr. 
 Schmucker desired, above all things, to prepare a pious 
 ministry for the church, but it is not true that he depre- 
 ciated sacred learning. 
 
 In this connection it may be in place to state, that 
 there was a difference of opinion between Dr. Schmucker 
 and the professors in college in regard to admitting stu- 
 dents into the seminary. Dr. Schmucker favored the adrnis- 
 sion of married men, and unmarried ones advanced in 
 years, and whose means were limited, without having com- 
 pleted their full course of college. The college professors, 
 insisted on a full course in college without exception. This 
 was one cause of antagonism against Dr. Schmucker, irom 
 
to 
 
B. M. schmucker's testimony. 207 
 
 the president and faculty in college. I distinctly remember 
 hearing Professor Jacobs, Sen., vehemently claiming, that if 
 a candidate for the ministry could not take a full course in 
 both institutions, it would be preferable to take a full 
 course in college and omit the seminary course entirely. 
 
 The obstacles in the way of married men entering the 
 seminary was one of the principal reasons, assigned by Dr. 
 B. Kurtz, for the establishment of the Missionary Institute 
 at Selin's Grove. 
 
 It is also ungrateful in Dr. Jacobs to write thus about 
 his Alma Mater, considering the intimate relations in which 
 both he and his father have stood to the institutions at 
 Gettysburg. Prof Michael Jacobs, the father, was a pro- 
 fessor in Pennsylvania College from its very beginning, and 
 when on account of infirmity he could no longer give in- 
 structions, he was retained as Emeritus Professor until the 
 day of his death. Then Dr. H. Jacobs, the son, graduated 
 in both institutions, and for a while was professor of Greek 
 in the college, until he accepted a call to a professorship in 
 Mt. Airy Seminary. 
 
 Dr. B. M. Schmucker, writes in quite a different spirit 
 on this subject in the College Book : 
 
 " From 1826 to 1846, when he went for a few months 
 to Europe, he had never rested. One generation of stu- 
 dents after another had come, received careful instructions, 
 been objects of anxious solicitude, and gone out into the 
 work of the church. Over four hundred ministers went 
 out from the seminary in his time ; and a very large pro- 
 portion of them had been moulded and taken shape under 
 his training. More than any other man, he determined the 
 position and influenced the activity of the ministers of the 
 Synods, which are connected with Gettysburg. After 
 nearly forty years of labor in the Seminary he resigned his 
 professorship in 1864." 
 
20S DR. B. KURTZ IN I^ONDON. 
 
 As a fitting conclusion to this brief history of the 
 founding of the Seminary, we append Rev. B. Kurtz's letter 
 from London. It reads like a romance and we know our 
 readers will appreciate it. During his stay in London he 
 was painfully embarrassed, because his bill of exchange, 
 owing to some informal item, could not be negotiated, and 
 for some days he was without funds and much distressed. 
 After describing his forlorn condition and deep despon- 
 dency, he thus proceeds in a letter to the Lutheran Intelli- 
 gencer, of June, 1826: 
 
 " One morning, after having made my breakfast on a 
 bowl of water and a small slice of dry bread, I took my hat 
 and sallied forth into the street, and, without having any 
 particular object in view, strolled about from street to street 
 until I lost myself; but He who has numbered the hairs of 
 our head directed my steps. I was wandering in Bishops- 
 gate street when I observed crowds of people issuing from 
 different quarters and entering a large building called the 
 ' City of London Tavern.' Perceiving a young gentleman 
 and lady walking arm in-arm towards the tavern, I was em- 
 boldened, by the mildness and sweetness of their counte- 
 nances, to inquire into the cause of the meeting, and was 
 told, in the most friendly manner, that the great ' Sunday- 
 School Union ' was to hold its anniversary, and that there 
 would be many interesting speeches delivered. My mind 
 was for a moment diverted from the gloomy subject that 
 had been harrassing it, and I immediately resolved to attend 
 the meeting. But the house was crowded to overflowing, 
 and I could get no farther than the door. After many 
 fruitless attempts to gain admission, I resolved to withdraw, 
 when that moment I espied a gentleman with a long staff 
 in his hand and wearing a mark of authority upon his hat. 
 I beckoned to him, and, telling him I was a minister of the 
 gospel just arrived from North America, begged him to try 
 
KURTZ'S SPEECH ON SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 209 
 
 and procure a seat for me. He kindly interfered, and 
 obtained a place for me on the platform which had been 
 prepared for the accommodation of those who were to 
 address the assembly. 
 
 " Here were about forty or fifty clergymen, a number 
 of missionaries from different parts of the world, as well as 
 nobility and members of the House of Parliament. I had 
 not been here long before I was solicited to offer a resolu- 
 tion and support it with a speech. I declined, upon the 
 ground of being entirely unprepared, and having come only 
 with a view of being a spectator, etc.; but it was all to no 
 purpose. I must rise and say something, and if it were 
 only a few words on the state of the church and of Sunday- 
 schools in the United States. Finally, after much persua- 
 sion, I consented, and, though I had not one distinct idea 
 arranged in my mind when I rose to speak, yet my tongue 
 seemed to be suddenly loosed, and I was blessed with a 
 train of thought and flow of feeling and freedom of language 
 which altogether astonished myself I had not spoken five 
 minutes until an hundred voices exclaimed, hear him ! hear 
 him ! hear him! and then again there was such a clapping 
 of hands and stamping of feet that I was several times 
 obliged to be silent until the bursts of applause had sub- 
 sided. It is in this way that the British teach and constrain 
 their citizens, especially those who are young and timid, to 
 become public and extemporaneous speakers. If they hear 
 a smgle good idea they will give the speaker credit for it 
 the moment it is uttered by a loud expression of their appro- 
 bation. If they perceive him to be embarrassed they will 
 immediately come to his aid, and kindly relieve him by 
 applauding his attempt. If he acquits himself well the very 
 welkin re-echoes their shouts. This, indeed, renders their 
 public meetings boisterous, but also more diversified and 
 less tedious than ours. And hence a British audience will 
 
SPEAKERS APPI,AUDED. 
 
 sit from 6 o'clock in the morning till 3 p. m., hearing and 
 applauding public orators, without once manifesting a symp- 
 tom of fatigue. And, whilst Americans would be gaping 
 and yawning and sleeping, they will be acclaiming and 
 cheering the orator ; so that if he have one solitary latent 
 spark of eloquence in his soul it will thus be called into 
 action. When the gospel, however, is preached, they do 
 not allow themselves such liberties, but observe the most 
 respectful silence and solemnity. But I must return to my 
 narrative. After the meeting was over a gentleman of 
 respectable appearance approached me, and, laying his hand 
 on my shoulder, said, in a most friendly manner, ' My 
 brother, will you have the goodness, in your way home, to 
 call at the house of Mr. S., in Cheapside, No. 2 ? " "I pre- 
 sume, sir," said I, " you are under a mistake. There is no 
 acquaintance whatever between Mr. S. and myself I am a 
 stranger and know nobody. Probably it is some other per- 
 son whom Mr. S. is desirous to see." " Is your name Mr. 
 Kurtz, and are you from the United States ? " " Yes, sir, 
 you have mentioned my name and my country." " Then, 
 sir," continued he, " you are the person whom Mr. S. is 
 desirous to see." I immediately repaired to Cheapside, and 
 entered the house of Mr. S. I was conducted up stairs into 
 a splendid drawing room, where I beheld a gentleman 
 seated on a magnificent sofa, and engaged in reading a book. 
 Here the following dialogue ensued : 
 
 " Myself. I have taken the liberty, sir, to call on you at 
 the request of a gentleman who is a stranger to me. I am 
 apprehensive there must be a mistake ; I beg you to pardon 
 me if I am an intruder. 
 
 " Mr. S. I am extremely happy to see you, sir ; my 
 name is S. Will you do me the favor to be seated ? 
 
 " Self. With pleasure, sir. It appears then my visit is 
 not the result of a misunderstanding? 
 
INVITATION FROM MR. S. 211 
 
 " Mr. S. By no means. I was very anxious to torm 
 an acquaintance with you ; I beg you to forgive me for pre- 
 suming so much on your goodness as to ask the favor of a 
 visit. I attended the anniversary of the ' Sunday-School 
 Union ' to day, heard you deliver a speech there, and was 
 delighted to find that you entertain the very same views 
 on the subjects that I do. This was the more gratifying as 
 we are inhabitants of different hemispheres, and live at least 
 one thousand leagues from one another. If you had 
 spoken from the very impressions resting on my mind you 
 could not have more entirely given utterance to my ideas. 
 
 " Self. Sir, it affords me much pleasure to learn that 
 we coincide in the views which I endeavored to express at 
 the meeting to-day. 
 
 " Mr. S. I understood with the sincerest regret that 
 your bill of exchange has been protested, and I can well 
 imagine how unpleasant the situation of a gentleman in a 
 strange land, and in an expensive city, under such circum- 
 stances, must be. I beg you to do me the favor of accept- 
 ing this (holding out to me a handful of gold) as a small 
 evidence of my gratitude for the delight your excellent 
 speech afforded me. 
 
 " Se//. My dear sir, you are too kind. My bill has 
 indeed been protested, but I still indulge the hope that it 
 may yet be redeemed ; and, in such an event, I should have 
 to reproach myself for having received a present upon the 
 mere supposition that my money had been lost. 
 
 " Mr. S. I wish most ardently you may not be disap- 
 pointed in your hope ; the times, however, are precarious, 
 the issue is doubtful, and I entreat you to accept this small 
 sum not as a present, but as a well merited reward, 
 
 " Se/f. Your disinterested benevolence quite over- 
 comes me, yet it would not consist with my principles, 
 under existing circumstances, to take advantage of it. But, 
 
212 DIALOGUE BETWEEN KURTZ AND MR. S. 
 
 as I am almost out of money, I would thankfully accept of 
 your offer as a loan, and will pledge you my word as a 
 Christian that it shall be honestly refunded to you. 
 
 " Mr. S. I cannot lend you this money ; but as I have 
 also been informed that the object of your tour is to solicit 
 donations for a Theological Seminary, and as I cordially 
 approve of such institutions, and consider it the solemn 
 duty of every Christian to support them to the utmost of 
 his ability, you surely cannot object to receiving this trifling 
 sum as my contribution. 
 
 " Self. Sir, I receive it with gratitude, and tender you 
 the thanks of the church, whose agent I am. 
 
 " In the mean time a neatly dressed little man had 
 made his appearance, and commenced taking my measure 
 for a suit of clothes. Mr. S. hoped I would not object to 
 this measure, and insisted on my submitting without saying 
 a word. Having received an invitation to dine with Mr 
 S. next day, I departed, praising God and rejoicing on my 
 ivay. 
 
 " The next day I dined with him, and was treated by his 
 pious and amiable family with every mark of attention and 
 affection. In the course of the same day he sent me a fine 
 and full suit of black clothes, which at that time my ward- 
 robe loudly called for. During the residue of my stay in 
 London I often visited and dined at the house of this gen- 
 tleman, and spent some of my happiest hours with his 
 family. 
 
 " My purse being now replenished, I immediately set- 
 tled my account at my boarding house and paid off several 
 other small debts I had contracted, and still had six or 
 seven guineas * left. I now bade adieu to the dismal gar- 
 ret, and took boarding in a more comfortable house. Not 
 
 A guinea is worth about five dollars of our currencj', 
 
BILI, OF EXCHANGE HONORED. 
 
 213 
 
 long afterwards Dr. Steinkopff returned rather unexpectedly, 
 and from this time forward my prospects became brighter 
 from day to day. But I have carried out my letter to a 
 tedious length, and I will, therefore, forbear for the present. 
 " I will only yet add, that when in Kiel, about six 
 weeks afterwards, I received a letter from the excellent and 
 amiable Mr. Jackson, Secretary of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, communicating the agreeable intelligence 
 that my bill of exchange had been honored, and that the 
 money was in his hands, subject to my order?." 
 
214 ORIGIN OF PA. COI.I,EGE. 
 
 CHAPTER TENTH. 
 
 pennsylvania college. 
 
 Origin of the college — no Lutheran college at that 
 time — lutheran majority in the board of trustees 
 not sectarian, but under lutheran control — ger- 
 man professorship — thaddeus stevens — donations 
 
 BY THE STATE — PROF. SCHMUCKER's AGENCY IN FOUND- 
 ING THE COLLEGE ITS EARLY HISTORY — B. M. SCHMUCK- 
 
 ER's ACCOUNT — DR. DIEHL's EULOGY ARTICLES OF 
 
 AGREEMENT. 
 
 The origin of the Pennsylvania College is marked by a 
 relation very peculiar. Among the educational institutions 
 of our country, there are numerous instances in which the 
 work of a college has led to the organization of a theologi- 
 cal seminary. But the cases are very few, if this does not 
 stand absolutely alone, in which the order has been reversed, 
 and a theological school has led to the founding of a col- 
 lege. However distinctly separate they became in their 
 corporate capacity, the two institutions sprang up on the 
 same spot, the instruction and exercises of the Seminary 
 and the Gymnasium being conducted in the same building, 
 till the lormer moved into its new edifice in the fall of 1832. 
 But both the Preparatory School and the College arose 
 out of the operations of the Seminary, and the leading en- 
 terprise and purpose of those who were working in it, or 
 with it. 
 
 At the time of the organization of this institution there 
 was no college in the state of Pennsylvania, — nor in the 
 
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE, GETTYSBURG, PA. 
 . College Church. 2. Astronomical Observatory. 3. Dormitory. 
 4. Gymnasium. 5. Preparatory Department. 
 
FOUNDING OF PA. COI^tEGK. 215 
 
 United States of North America — under the auspices of the 
 Lutheran Church. There was a wide field for the work 
 of an institution for the higher education in this connection, 
 and the organization of Pennsylvania College was called for 
 by a large need, and the most inviting prospect of success. 
 The prospect seemed at that time so encouraging as to 
 induce the editor of the Lutheran Observer, Dr. B. Kurtz, to 
 exclaim, " We expect in a very short time to see Gettys- 
 burg the Cambridge of Pennsylvania, with its academic 
 halls crowded with orderly and diligent students." As was 
 natural under the circumstances, and included in its design, 
 the control or management of it was given to a Board of 
 Trustees, a majority of whom were Lutherans. But though 
 the institution was established under the auspices of the 
 Lutheran Church, no religious condition is connected with 
 the position of Patron or Trustee, the charter declaring, 
 " At elections for patrons or trustees, or other officers, and 
 in the reception of pupils, no person shall be rejected on 
 account of his conscientious persuasion in matters of relig- 
 ion, provided he shall demean himself in a sober manner, 
 and conform to the rules and regulations of the College." 
 The institution is therefore non-sectarian, as are most 
 American colleges, established under church auspices, the 
 denominational relation expressing only the fact, that the col- 
 lege has been organized and is carried on under the special 
 patronage of the Lutheran Church, and for the purpose of 
 bearing part in the work of the higher Christian education. 
 
 No restriction is imposed by the charter in any v/ay 
 limiting the selection of Trustees to residents of the State, 
 and from the first a considerable number have been from 
 beyond its bounds. No control of the institution is in any 
 way exercised by the State, or by any authority outside of 
 the Board of Trustees. 
 
 As to instruction in particular studies, the act of incor- 
 
2l6 GERMAN PROFESSORSHIP — AID FROM STATE. 
 
 poration contains but a single special requirement. This is,, 
 that in addition to the customary professorships in other 
 colleges, " there shall be in this institution a German Pro- 
 fessorship, the incumbent of which shall, in addition to such 
 other duties as may be assigned him by the Board, instruct 
 such young men as may resort to the institution for the 
 purpose of becoming qualified to be teachers of those 
 schools in which both German and English are to be 
 taught," 
 
 Pennsylvania College was founded without any public 
 grants of money, lands, or other property, depending on 
 the personal contributions of its patrons and friends, and 
 the encouragement and aid expected from the Church 
 under whose auspices it was established. Subsequently, 
 however, on application of the Board of Trustees, and 
 chiefly through the disinterested and earnest exertions of 
 Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, then a representative of Adams 
 County in the State legislature, with the co operation of 
 other friends of education, an appropriation of ^18,000 was 
 obtained for the institution from the State. The act of 
 appropriation, bearing the signature of Governor Wolfe, 
 Feb. 6, 1834, granted the College ^$3,000 in June, 1834, and 
 ^3,000 annually thereafter for five years — on several condi- 
 tions : /7rj/, that the first ;^3,ooo should be applied exclu- 
 sively to the purchase of a site and the erection of a build- 
 ing ; Second, that the Trustees should cause gratuitous 
 instruction to be given to fifteen young men annually, (if that 
 number should apply from this commonwealth,) in the ele- 
 mentary branches of an English education, in such manner 
 as the Trustees should deem best calculated to qualify them 
 for teachers of common schools ; and Third, that the Trus- 
 tees should, on or before the first Monday of the following 
 June, give security to the commonwealth, to the satisfaction 
 of the Governor, to raise and appropriate a like sum to the 
 
ADDITIONAL, AID FROM THE STATE. 217 
 
 same object from other sources. The conditions were com- 
 plied with. 
 
 By this aid and under an economical and vigorous 
 management by the Board, as well as through the careful 
 and thorough educational work of the faculty, the institu- 
 tion rapidly attained prosperity and honorable standing 
 among the colleges of the State. Later additional aid was 
 received from the State under the provisions of an act of the 
 legislature, approved April 12, 1838. " To encourage the 
 arts and sciences, promote the teaching of useful knowl- 
 edge, and support the Colleges, Academies and Female 
 Seminaries " within the Commonwealth, an appropriation of 
 ;^ 1,000 annually, for ten years, was made to each of the 
 Colleges and Universities, and smaller sums to institutions 
 of inferior grade. This yearly grant was enjoyed by the 
 College, in common with others of the State, for seven 
 years, the last annual appropriation being reduced one- 
 half by the act which repealed the law. 
 
 The following account of the founding of Pennsylvania 
 College was recently found in manuscript in the Historical 
 Library of the Theological Seminary. It appears to have 
 been composed by Dr. Schmucker, and used in a lecture on 
 the History of Pennsylvania College, by Leigh Baugher, 
 brother of Prof. H. L. Baugher, D. D., and Principal of a 
 classical school in Hanover, Pa. It gives the most detailed , 
 and yet precise history of the College and will be interest- 
 ing to the readers, although it contains some repetitions of 
 what has already been written above. It was furnished by 
 Prof. Richard to the College Mercury, from which we copy : 
 
 EART.y HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE. 
 
 " This institution grew out of the Gymnasium, and 
 that out of the Classical Department of the Theological 
 Seminary at Gettysburg. This Seminary was established 
 
2l8 EARI.Y HISTORY OF THE COI^I,EGE. 
 
 by resolutions of the General Synod of the Lutheran 
 Church in the United States, convened at Fredericktown, 
 Md., Nov. 8, 1825, at which time Dr. S. S. Schmucker was 
 elected its first professor. It went into operation Sept. 5, 
 1826. From the commencement of its operations the pro- 
 fessors found the classical attainments of some of the stu- 
 dents inadequate, as a necessary preparation for an elevated 
 course of theological study. Accordingly, at the close of 
 the first session, May 15, 1827, the professor called the 
 attention of the Board of the Seminary to this fact, and 
 made such statements as induced them to * resolve them- 
 selves into an association to establish a classical school, as 
 highly conducive to the welfare of the Seminary,' and to 
 provide ' that their successors in the Theological Board 
 should be their successors in the management of said Clas- 
 sical School.' 
 
 " They also ' appointed Professor Schmucker and Rev. 
 Herbst, as a committee to make the necessary arrange- 
 ments ; and if it shall appear that the income of such a 
 school would defray the attendant expenses, to carry these 
 resolutions into effect.* Accordingly this committee ap- 
 pointed Mr. David Jacobs, A. B., one of the students of the 
 Seminary, as teacher of the Classical School, and it went 
 into operation with gradually improving prospects. Soon 
 after, the County Academy, in which the instructions of the 
 Seminary and Classical School were conducted, was to be 
 sold by the sheriff for debt. Prof. Schmucker, regarding 
 this as a suitable opportunity of procuring at a cheap rate a 
 permanent building for the Classical School, consulted with 
 the principal citizens of the place, and proposed, that as a 
 good classical school is an object of importance to the liter- 
 ary and pecuniary interests of the town, to buy the Aca- 
 demy at the amount of the debt, if they would not bid it up, 
 and obligated himself to apply it only to literary purposes, 
 
FIRST FACULTY. 219 
 
 and if the school should be abandoned, to give them the 
 offer of the property again. To this they assented, and the 
 parties entered into a written contract, dated Aug. 14, 1829. 
 Accordingly, Prof Schmucker bought the building on his 
 own responsibility, at ^1,100. 
 
 "Desirous of enlisting the interest of Lutheran minis- 
 ters generally, and of affording them some advantages in 
 the education of their sons, Prof Schmucker resolved to 
 form a distinct association, and divide the price of the build- 
 ing, ^1,100, into stock of $50 per share, and sell it to his 
 ministerial brethren. By the articles of association, the 
 election of teachers and regulation of the plan of studies 
 and discipline were confided to the professors and directors 
 of the Theological Seminary, and the fiscal concerns of the 
 association, the price of tuition, rent of rooms to the Theo- 
 logical Seminary ; declaring dividends, if any, on the stock, 
 were confided to a Board of Trustees elected by the stock- 
 holders from among their own number. 
 
 " After the adoption of this plan, Prof Schmucker, on 
 behalf of the trustees of this association, which he termed 
 Gettysburg Gymnasium, prepared and published a circular, 
 over his own signature, describing and recommending the 
 school, and stating, ' It is under the immediate care of sev- 
 eral very excellent and well qualified teachers, and under 
 the general superintendence of Professor Schmucker.' The 
 teachers ar this time were Rev. David Jacobs, A. M., and 
 Mr. M. Jacobs, A. B., who was appointed in April, 1829. 
 The stockholders, who were all Lutheran ministers from 
 three or four States, had the privilege of gratuious tuition 
 for their sons. The results of this arrangement were very 
 favorable. The number of students rapidly increased. In 
 the fall of 1830, Nov. 4, the older teacher, Rev. D. Jacobs, 
 departed this life, much regretted by all who knew him, 
 and especially by the friends of the school. The Rev, 
 
220 COLLHGE UNDER I,UTHERAN CONTROI.. 
 
 Henry L. Baugher, A. M., was selected to supply his place 
 in April, 1831. From that time these two gentlemen, Drs. 
 Baugher and Jacobs, have devoted themselves to the inter- 
 ests of this institution with the most gratifying success. 
 
 '■' As the number of students had rapidly increased, and 
 it had long been the desire of Prof Schmucker and of many 
 other friends of the Lutheran Church, to have not only a 
 Theological Seminary, but also a literary institution of the 
 highest class, he resolved on making the effort to elevate 
 the Gymnasium into a College by legislative action. Ac- 
 cordingly, he called a meeting of a half-dozen of the princi- 
 pal citizens of different denominations at the Bank in town, 
 and invited their co-operation in the effort to obtain a char- 
 ter from the Legislature for a college. He informed them 
 that the college he aimed at tvas to be un-sectarian in its 
 instructions, but at the same time to be prevailingly under 
 Lutheran influence and control. The proposition of Dr. 
 Schmucker was cordially received, and General T. C. Mil- 
 ler was appointed to accompany him to Harrisburg for the 
 proposed purpose. Here Dr. Schmucker spent several 
 weeks, on his own expense, in bringing the merits of the 
 case before the individual members of the Legislature. By 
 the aid of Gov. Wolfe, the distinguished friend of popular 
 education, he also obtained permission of the House to 
 address them in the Representative Hall, on the claims of 
 the Germans in Pennsylvania to legislative sanction in the 
 establishment of a college for the education of their Angli- 
 cised descendants. The earlier history of the Germanic 
 nations in Europe was briefly sketched, and the patriotism, 
 the integrity and industry of the Germans in our own State 
 was presented in detail. The Hall was crowded by the 
 members of Legislature, the Governor, and the heads of 
 departments, as well as others of the most intelligent citi- 
 zens of Harrisburg. 
 
FACUIvTY completed. 221 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker also had petitions in behalf of his 
 object printed at his own expense and addressed to some 
 influential Lutheran minister or other friend, in about thirty 
 counties of the State, requesting them to procure signatures 
 belonging to both parties, and forward the petitions to the 
 representatives of their county in the Legislature. He then 
 drew up a charter for the new college, which was reported 
 in the House, and in due time enacted into a law. Accord- 
 ingly a charter was obtained in April. 1832, erecting Get- 
 tysburg Gymnasium into a College, under the style and 
 title of " Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg," with all the 
 powers and immunities usually conferred on similar insti- 
 tutions. As the funds were utterly inadequate to support 
 a full faculty, being nothing more than the proceeds of tui- 
 tion, the Trustees requested Drs. Schmucker and Hazelius 
 to give some instruction gratuitously for one year in addi- 
 tion to their duties in the Theological Seminary, to which 
 they consented. The Rev. J. H. Marsden, principal of the 
 Female Seminary of the town, was engaged to devote a few 
 hours in College to Mineralogy and Botany, and Professors 
 Baugher and Jacobs devoted their entire time to the Col- 
 lege. Thus organized, the Faculty stood thus : Dr. 
 Schmucker, Intellectual and Moral Science ; Dr. Hazelius, 
 Latin Language and German Literature ; Prof Baugher, 
 A. M., Greek Language and Belles Lettres ; Prof Jacobs, 
 A. M., Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and Mathematics ; 
 Prof Marsden, A. M., Mineralogy and Botany. 
 
 "The prospects of our College were now decidedly 
 encouraging. What was most needed was funds, to enable 
 the Trustees to erect a comfortable edifice, and to employ 
 the entire time of additional professors, the chief burden of 
 instruction having rested on Professors Baugher and Jacobs, 
 both well quahfied for their positions. At the request of a 
 number of the friends of the College, Dr. Schmucker again 
 
OPPOSITION overcome;. 
 
 repaired to Harrisburg in 1833-4 for the purpose of obtain- 
 ing an appropriation. In all their efforts to promote the 
 establishment of this College, the friends of the institution 
 had to contend against a strong and influential party at 
 home, whose organ was the Compiler, one of the county 
 papers. Even one of our own Representatives in the Leg- 
 islature (Mr. Patterson) spoke and voted against our appli- 
 cation on the ground of opposition to all legislative aid to 
 Colleges. Dr. Schmucker therefore drew up an ' Address 
 to the Citizens of Adams Co.,' and in conjunction with the 
 signatures of seven other resident Trustees, published it in 
 the other papers of the County, Nov, 8, 1833. Its object is 
 to demonstrate that the College is not only a literary bene- 
 fit to the County, but especially a source of large pecuniary 
 gain to the citizens of all professions and that all should 
 therefore favor an application to the Legislature for pecun- 
 iary aid. In the Legislature itself our cause was most ably 
 advocated by our other Representative, Thaddeus Stevens^ 
 Esq., the distinguished champion of the free school system 
 of Pennsylvania, and of education in every form. 
 
 " The funds for the Franklin Professorship were 
 obtained with considerable difificulty. When Dr. Schmucker 
 and Rev. B. Keller arrived at Lancaster in 185 1 to attend 
 as Lutheran Trustees the meeting of the Board, it was 
 found that our Reformed brethren had been actively 
 engaged through their agent. Rev. Bucher, Sen., in persuad- 
 ing the Lutheran Trustees of Lancaster City to assent to an- 
 arrangement by which the entire funds of Franklin College 
 should be united with those of Marshall College and be 
 controlled by that corporation, there being one Lutheran 
 Professorship established in the institution. To this all the 
 Trustees had assented except Dr. Baker. And it was only 
 after much effort that Dr. Schmucker and Rev. Keller per- 
 suaded the Lutheran Trustees to abandon that plan and 
 
FRANKI^IN PROFiSSSORSHIP. 223 
 
 agree to the transfer of the Lutheran Professorship to Penn- 
 sylvania College in Gettysburg, by giving us one-third of 
 the funds of Franklin College. Dr. Schmucker drew up 
 the articles of agreement which, being sanctioned by legis- 
 lative action, effected this desirable end." 
 
 Rev. B. M. Schmucker, D. D,, concludes a short 
 sketch on " The Beginning of the College," from which we 
 copy the following : " Until this time the Institution had 
 depended on its tuition fees for support, and its income was 
 very limited. The salaries in the time of the Academy and 
 Gymnasium were but ^400, ' if the income allowed.' The 
 increase of students made enlarged buildings necessary. It 
 was decided to seek aid from the Legislature. Prof. 
 Schmucker again went to Harrisburg, and entered with 
 vigor into the contest before the Legislature, Other col- 
 leges were pressing their claims, Dickinson, which had 
 already received over $60,000, Washington, which had got- 
 ten ^16,500, and 5000 acres of land, Jefferson with $20,000 
 before, Allegheny with $9,000 before, and especially 
 Lafayette, which had receivad nothing as yet, were urging 
 their claims. It was a stirring contest, and the representa- 
 tives of Pennsylvania College did not allow its interest to 
 suffer. By the aid of many friends, prominently Hon. 
 Thaddeus Stevens, an appropriation of $3,000 a year for 
 five years, was granted to begin with June 1834. It was 
 decided, with the encouragement this aid afforded, to en- 
 large the faculty, and give form to the Institution by the 
 election of a president. Professor C. P. Krauth was chosen 
 at the spring meeting of the trustees in 1834. Thus ended 
 the unofficial, but real presidency of Prof S. S. Schmucker, 
 and Pennsylvania College entered on the ever-widening 
 sphere of honorable and useful work, for which he had 
 done so much to prepare the way." 
 
224 FIRST COMMENCEMENT. 
 
 PROGRAMME OF THE FIRST COMMENCEMENT OF PENNSYL- 
 VANIA COLLEGE. 
 
 Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1834. 
 
 Music By the Euterpian Band. 
 
 Prayer By President Krauth, 
 
 Latin Salutatory . By William Smith of Georgetown, D. C. 
 Oration on Greek Language and Literature , . 
 
 By J. B. Bacon, of York, Pa. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Oration on " The Spirit of the Age " 
 
 By E. Keller, of Middletown, Md. 
 
 Oration, " Pleasures of Science " 
 
 By Theophilus Stork, of Salisbury, N. C. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Oration, " Fictitious Writings " 
 
 By M. G. Dale, of Lancaster, Pa. 
 
 Valedictory By D. G. Barnitz, of York, Pa. 
 
 Solo By Mr. Heerbrueger. 
 
 Conferring of Degrees and Baccalaureate Address 
 
 By The President. 
 
 Dr. Diehl writes the following eulogy on Dr. 
 Schmucker's work in establishing the Seminary and Col- 
 lege: 
 
 " Thus we see that in many ways, did Dr. Schmucker 
 aid in establishing and building up the institutions, by giving 
 his time, talents, money and counsel ; by teaching, by travel- 
 ing, by pleading the cause before legislative bodies, by meeting 
 another board, and the Synod of another denomination ; by 
 visiting cities and delivering persuasive discourses before 
 rich Presbyterians and Congregationalists ; by securing 
 
 Keller, Stork and Dale, were Juniors at this time. 
 
ENDOWMENT FUNDS. 225 
 
 students ; by organizing various projects; using all his 
 power and influence to secure their prosperity. Forty 
 years of his active life were' given to the Seminary. And 
 when he retired from the chair he had filled so long and so 
 well, his heart lost none of its devotion to her welfare. No 
 truerfriend to the Lutheran Church, and her first Seminary, 
 than Dr. Schmucker, will ever rise up. No more untiring 
 and self-sacrificing labors will ever be given to them. 
 Those institutions may grow, and attain the highest pros- 
 perity. Noble architectural structures may rise around the 
 substantial, plain buildings, he, more than any others, 
 helped to rear. Opulent friends may contribute their 
 hundreds of thousands. Faculties and students, ten times 
 in number of what he saw, may fill thoce halls. But the 
 name of Samuel S. Schmucker will ever stand first, and 
 bright as any other, on the roll of the friends of those 
 institutions." 
 
 The latter part of the above paragraph sounds almost 
 like an inspired prophecy, which has been literally fulfilled. 
 Noble structures have been reared ; opulent friends have 
 contributed hundreds of thousands, faculties and students, 
 tentimcsthenumberarefilHngthosehalls. In addition to the 
 first Seminary building, four professors' dwelling houses have 
 been erected, a splendid new Seminary building has been con- 
 structed and the old building renovated and reconstructed 
 and an endowment fund of over ^100,000 secured. The 
 same course of development has also taken place in the 
 history of the College. In addition to the old College build- 
 ing the following structures have been erected, Linean 
 Hall, preparatory building, a gymnasium, an observatory, 
 a magnificent new college building, a magnificent chapel 
 or church building, a president's dwelling and two profes- 
 sors' houses, with an endowment fund of about ^100,000. 
 The value of the real estate and endowments which the 
 
226 artici.es of agreement. 
 
 Lutheran Church of the General Synod controls in Gettys- 
 burg cannot be short of half a million dollars. Truly the 
 Lord hath done great things for Zion. To him be all the 
 glory ! 
 
 All this wonderful work was inaugurated and organ- 
 ized by one man. Not that he did all the work and 
 achieved the success single handed and alone. No, he had 
 faithful and true men who stood by him, and liberal hearted 
 and wealthy men who contributed of their means to carry 
 out his plans. It is like a great general, who has organized 
 his army, laid out the plan of his campaign, and leads his 
 soldiers on to victory. 
 
 ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A 
 CLASSICAL AND SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Subservient to the objects of the Theological Seminary 
 at Gettysburg, and for the establishment of a fund for the 
 purchase of the Adams County Academy : 
 
 I. The original stock of the Association is to be 
 ^I,IOO. 
 
 II. Each share shall be $50.00. 
 
 III. The stock holders shall elect at their first meeting 
 five of their number as trustees, who shall have the man- 
 agement of all the concerns of the school, with the build- 
 ings hereafter mentioned. 
 
 IV. Three members of the Board of Trustees shall con- 
 stitute a quorum. 
 
 The professor and directors of the Theological Semi- 
 nary at Gettysburg shall ex-ofifico, constitute a committee 
 to be styled " the School Committee." 
 
 The committee shall appoint all the teachers of the 
 institution (including also the English teacher, if one be 
 employed.) They shall prescribe the course of study, dis- 
 cipline and examination to be pursued. 
 
ARTlCIvES OF AGREEMENT. 227 
 
 There may be semi-annual meetings of the committee; 
 viz.; Immediately after the time appointed for the Spring 
 and Fall meetings of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 V. If at any time in the interim of the regular meet- 
 ings of the committee any measures relating to the instruc- 
 tion or discipline of the institution should be necessary, the 
 professors of the Seminary shall have power to act alone ; 
 but all such acts shall be subject to revision and amend- 
 ment at a regular meeting of the School Committee. 
 
 VI. So soon as the salary of any one teacher shall 
 amount to more than ^400, he may be taxed by the trus- 
 tees for the use of the room occupied by him to such 
 amount as they may deem necessary, and consistent with 
 the welfare of the school, not exceeding one half of the 
 surplus of ^400. 
 
 VII. The edifice purchased by the Trustees and any 
 others, hereafter acquired by them, shall in no instance be 
 used for any purpose not subservient to the interest of the 
 institution. 
 
 VIII. All repairs of the edifice and school furniture for 
 the rooms, judged necessary by the Trustees, shall be pro- 
 vided by them at their expense. 
 
 IX. All the monies received by the Trustees, shall, 
 after defraying the necessary repairs and furniture, be 
 divided equally between the stockholders. 
 
 X. Yet not more than an average of 6 per cent per 
 annum, shall at any time be divided, and if the proceeds 
 exceed that amount, they shall be appropriated by the 
 Trustees to the enlargement of the edifice and accommoda- 
 tions or operations of the institution. 
 
 XI. The children of original stockholders shall be 
 taught gratuitously by the teachers of the classical and 
 scientific department, so long as they retain the stock ; but 
 
228 ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT 
 
 should the Trustees have an elementary English school in 
 its building, the privilege shall not extend to it. 
 
 XII. At all elections each stockholder shall be entitled 
 to as many votes as he holds shares. 
 
 XIII. There may annually be two general meetings of 
 the stockholders, on the evening after the close of the 
 regular seminarian examination of the students of the theo- 
 logical seminary. At these meetings seven stockholders 
 shall constitute a quorum. 
 
 XIV. The term of service of the Trustees shall be one 
 year, and they shall be always re-eligible, and if for any 
 reason whatever, there is no election held at the expiration 
 of their term, they shall continue in office until successors 
 are elected. And if at any time the seat of any one or 
 more Trustees should be vacated by death, or voluntary 
 resignation, the existing members of the Board may elect 
 some stockholder as a successor, who shall continue in 
 office until another is elected in his place at a general meet- 
 ing of the stockholders. 
 
 XV. The Board of Trustees shall elect a President, 
 Secretary and Treasurer, who shall hold their offices on the 
 conditions mentioned in Section XIV. 
 
 XVI. Every stockholder shall have a right to transfer 
 or sell his stock by an entry made on the book, and such 
 transfer shall confer on the purchaser all the privileges of 
 the regular stockholder ; provided always, that no transfer 
 shall give the privilege of gratuitous tuition to another 
 person in less than six years from the time ol the com- 
 mencement of this association, and so ever after no trans- 
 fer of the privilege (gratuitous tuition) can take place 
 oftener than once in six years. 
 
 XVII. At elections for Trustees any stockholder may 
 send his vote or votes by proxy ; but on no other occasion, 
 and for no other purpose shall votes by proxy be received. 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
ARTICI,ES OF AGREEMENT. 
 
 229 
 
 XVIII. Any alterations in these articles must be pro- 
 posed at our general meeting, and cannot be acted on until 
 the next regular general meeting, and any such alteration 
 shall require a majority of three fourths of the votes of all 
 the existing stockholders. 
 
 XIX. This association may at any time be dissolved by 
 a majority of three fourths of all the votes of all the stock- 
 holders, who may sell the property, and divide the proceeds 
 equally according to the number of shares held by each 
 stockholder. Signed by 
 
 Samuel S. Schmucker, 
 John Herbst, 
 Henry G. Stecker, 
 J. G. Schmucker, 
 J. F. Heyer, 
 Jonathan Ruthrauff, 
 Jacob Crigler, 
 Emanuel Keller, 
 Jacob Martin, 
 
 J. M. Heim, 
 
 Benjamin Kurtz, 
 
 David F. Schaffer, 
 
 John G. Morris, 
 
 John Reck, 
 
 Dr. Schaeffer, Philadelphia, 
 
 C. P. Krauth, 
 
 Henry Stecker. 
 
230 SCHMUCKER PRESENT AT EVERY SESSION OF GEN. SYNOD 
 
 CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE MINISTERIUM OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE GENERAL 
 
 SYNOD. 
 
 Mother synod abandons her child — movement for reun- 
 ion IN 1839 FAILED reunion IN 1 85 3 — STRONG OPPO- 
 SITION BY THE MINISTRY — CONDITIONAL ENTRANCE 
 
 CONTINUED OPPOSITION TO GENERAL SYNOD AND SEMI- 
 NARY — ADMISSION OF FRANCKEAN SYNOD AT YORK, PA., 
 IN 1864 — WITHDRAWAL OF THE PENNSYLVANIA DELEGA- 
 TION — FORT WAYNE SPRECHER's RULING- SECOND WITH- 
 DRAWAL — REASONS FOR THE WITHDRAWAL — NOT A MERE 
 TECHNICALITY — CENTRALIZATION OF POWER — UNEQUAL 
 REPRESENTATION — OBJECTION TO CONDITIONAL REUNION 
 
 DESIGN TO FORM A NEW GENERAL BODY ORGANIZATION 
 
 OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL FAILURE TO UNITE ALL 
 
 SYNODS — WITHDRAWAL OF OTHERS — " THE FOUR POINTS " 
 
 RENEWED EFFORTS FOR REUNION EULOGIES OF 
 
 JACOBS AND KRAUTH. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker had been associated with and most 
 deeply interested in the General Synod for over half a cen- 
 tury. From its very inception at Baltimore in 1819, until 
 the year of his death in 1874, he was present at every 
 one of its meetings, either as a delegate or as a visitor. 
 During about fifty years he devoted his time, his talents, 
 and his means to the promotion of the interests of the Gen- 
 eral Synod and the theological Seminary. After the 
 Mother Synod had abandoned the General Synod — the 
 child which she had brought into being,— and it was generally 
 
re-un:on of pa. synod with gen. synod. 23 r 
 
 supposed it must inevitably go into callapse, he by almost 
 superhuman effort rescued it from destruction. The orig- 
 inal design of the General Synod was the union of all the 
 Lutheran district synods in North America into one organ- 
 ized ecclesiastical confederation for the promotion of her 
 common interests and for the extension of missions and edu- 
 cational work. 
 
 After the recession of the Pennsylvania Ministerium 
 the hope of realizing the union of the Lutheran Church in 
 this country was not abandoned. Continued efforts were 
 made to induce the Ministerium to return, and other synods 
 to connect themselves with the General Synod. 
 
 In 1839 a movement was made in the Pennsylvania 
 Synod for a reunion. In the Lutheran Church at Reading, 
 Pa., the pastor, Rev. Dr. Miller, was opposed to a reunion, 
 and the vote of his congregation was unanimously against 
 it. At a subsequent meeting of the Ministerium the reso- 
 lution for a reunion was not adopted by a vote of 33 to 28, 
 a majority of only 5. But the subject continued to be 
 agitated until the year 1853. In that year the Ministerium 
 met in Reading, and after a prolonged and heated discus- 
 sion, resolved to re-enter the General Synod. The vote 
 was not unanimous ; it stood 52 for union and 28 against 
 — some of the members were excused from voting. It was 
 my privilege to be present at that meeting of the Minister- 
 ium, Dr. Schmucker was present also, and I distinctly recall 
 a scene which was exhibited immediately after the vote was 
 taken and the result announced. The Dr. walked over to 
 the other side of the church and grasped the hand of the 
 most violent opponent of the reunion ; but his friendly over- 
 ture was met by an insult. Peixoto, that was his name, 
 told him in effect that he could not enter into union with a 
 Rationalist ! The Dr. did not resent the insult, nor make 
 any reply, but he must have been amazed, after having all 
 
232 CONDITIONAI. RE-UNION. 
 
 his lifetime contended against Rationalism, to be himself 
 publicly called a Rationalist ! Pastor Peixoto was a Ger- 
 man immigrant, if I remember correctly, a proselyte from 
 the Romish Church. He was a very excitable man, singu- 
 lar in his personal appearance, tall and slender, with a very 
 long neck. 
 
 Accordingly, when the General Synod met that year 
 in Winchester, Va., the Ministerium was represented by its 
 delegates, and was unanimously received into membership. 
 At the same meeting the Synod of Northern Illinois, 
 the Pittsburg Synod, and the Synod of Texas applied for 
 admission, and were also received. The latter three synods 
 presented no extra conditions on which they wished to be 
 received, so far as I can find, but the Ministerium presented 
 a series of resolutions, stating its doctrinal basis and special 
 conditions on which it demanded to be received. The most 
 important item in these resolutions, which eleven years 
 later became very troublesome, is the following : 
 
 CONDITIONAL ENTRANCE INTO THE GENERAL SYNOD. 
 
 " We neither intend nor ever expect, that the princi- 
 ples which have hitherto governed our synod in respect to 
 church doctrine and church life shall suffer any change 
 whatever by our connection with the General Synod ; but 
 that, should the General Synod violate its constitution, and 
 require of our Synod, as a condition of admission, or con- 
 tinuance of membership, assent to anything conflicting with 
 the old and long established faith of the Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church, then our delegates are hereby required 
 to protest against such action, to withdraw from its sessions, 
 and to report to this body." 
 
 There was no open protest against this extraordinary 
 conditional reunion with the General Synod, because there 
 was a general desire for union in the Lutheran Church, and 
 
OPPOSITION CONTINUED. 233 
 
 a rejoicing over the fact that the Pennsylvania Min- 
 isterium had returned. The return of the Ministerium, 
 together with the addition of three other smaller synods, 
 greatly increased the numerical strength of the body. Yet 
 many members felt that this was not the proper or 
 courteous way of renewing the union. It implied a want of 
 confidence, held out a threat, and manifested a domineering 
 spirit over their brethren, and was uncalled for and super- 
 fluous. The proper way would have been, simply to sub- 
 scribe the constitution of the General Synod, like the other 
 district synods had done, and if at any future time they 
 should have been dissatisfied with its constitution, doc- 
 trinal basis, or decision of the majority on any point of doc- 
 trine or usage, they could have withdrawn, if they saw fit to 
 do so, without any such conditional entrance. Any district 
 synod even now has a perfect right to withdraw whenever it 
 pleases to do so. 
 
 But the opposition to the General Synod and the Sem- 
 inary did not stop with the reunion of the Pennsylvania 
 Ministerium. The leaders of the minority kept up a con- 
 stant tirade against the General Synod and the Seminary ; 
 against the former on account of the so-called " New Meas- 
 ures," and " revivals of religion," and its inadequate confes- 
 sional standpoint, and against the latter on account of its 
 alleged neglect of the German language. The opposition 
 found expression in the columns of the " Jugend Freund," 
 Pastor Brobst, of Allentown, editor, and sometimes in 
 speeches during synodical sessions. 
 
 This opposition culminated finally in the meeting of 
 the General Synod in 1864, at York, Pa. The occasion 
 was the admission of the Franckean Synod, of New York. 
 This Synod had never formally adopted the Augsburg 
 Confession, just as the Pennsylvania Synod had for many 
 years previously never adopted it. Objection was 'made to 
 
234 ADMISSION OF THE FRANCKEAN SYNOD. 
 
 the reception of the Franckean Synod on this ground. The 
 delegates declared, that in adopting the constitution of the 
 General Synod, the Franckean Synod understood that they 
 were adopting the doctrinal position of the General Synod, 
 viz : " That the fundamental truths of the Word of God are 
 taught in a manner substantially correct in the Augsburg 
 Confession." The Synod was admitted " with the under- 
 standing, that at its next meeting it declare in an official 
 manner, its adoption of the doctrinal articles of the Augs- 
 burg Confession as a substantially correct exhibition of the 
 fundamental doctrines of the Word of God." Carried by a 
 vote of 97 to 40. 
 
 The Pennsylvania delegation of the Ministerium 
 declared this action unconstitutional. But it was answered, 
 that the Franckean Synod " has really, although not offi- 
 cially, complied, and the constitution of the General 
 Synod is indefinite in its requirement on this point." 
 
 The Franckean Synod did at its next meeting officially 
 adopt the doctrinal platform of the General Synod, as its 
 delegates had promised to do. But the delegates of the 
 Pennsylvania Synod were not satisfied with this, but with- 
 drew, in accordance, as they said, with their instructions. 
 It was a portentous movement, followed by momentous 
 results. 
 
 The sessions of the General Synod were held in Christ 
 Lutheran Church, previous to its present remodeled state. 
 I can yet see the procession, headed by the tall form of Dr. 
 C. W. Schaeffer, slowly and solemnly marching down the 
 long aisle in single file, amid profound silence. They 
 entered the Oswald book-store, next door to the church, 
 now occupied by the Drovers' Bank, to consult, and then 
 returned to their homes. Dr. Schmucker was present at 
 the sessions, but I think he was not a delegate, and was not 
 allowed to take part in the discussions. 
 
WITHDRAWAI, AT YORK. 235 
 
 This withdrawal of the delegates was generally 
 regarded as a virtual recession of the Synod itself, especially 
 as their action was endorsed by the Synod. Had they 
 contented themselves with simply protesting, and then 
 retained their seats and participated in the proceedings of 
 the General Synod until the close, no one would have 
 thought of disputing their right to membership. But when 
 in the midst of the session they withdrew in a body, without 
 leave or license, the conclusion was inevitable, that they 
 had voluntarily and actually severed their connection. 
 
 But it seems the Pennsylvania Ministerium did not 
 regard its action in that light ; for at the next meeting of 
 the General Synod in Fort Wayne, 1866, the Ministerium 
 sent its full number of delegates, who expected to occupy 
 their seats and take part in the elections and proceedings, 
 as though nothing had happend to interfere with its rela- 
 tions to that body. But the president (Rev. S. Sprecher, 
 D. D.,) decided, that the Synod " was out of practical union 
 with the General Synod up to the time of the adjournment 
 of the last convention," and could not be received until it 
 applied for re-admission. 
 
 The General Synod sustained the president in this 
 decision. After a long and animated discussion the Penn- 
 sylvania delegation withdrew again. A few weeks after- 
 wards the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, at its 119th conven- 
 tion, in Lancaster, declared its connection with the General 
 Synod dissolved, on account of the " unjust deprival of 
 rights, and the conviction, that the task of uniting the con- 
 flicting elements in the General Synod has become hope- 
 less." 
 
 Thus the Ministerium went out ostensibly on a mere 
 technicality ; but it has been denied that this was the real 
 cause of the withdrawal. Professor Jacobs acknowledges 
 as much, when he says, in his " History of the Lutheran 
 
236 PRINCIPLES OBJECTED TO. 
 
 Church in America," p. 468 : " Looking back at the con- 
 test at Fort Wayne .... it seems at first sight to have 
 been one mainly of parhamentary fencing. But back of this 
 there were certain principles at stake." 
 
 One of the principles objected to was the " centraliza- 
 tion of power in the General Synod." " As the ultimate 
 court of appeal, its decision was to be final, and to this the 
 district synods were to submit." " The lessons of the war 
 were fresh. The increased centralization of power in the 
 national government gained in that conflict, and the weak- 
 ening of the theory of states' rights seemed to give encour- 
 agement to an application of the principles within the 
 ecclesiastical sphere. The Ministerium of Pennsylvania, 
 always jealous of its rights, would have speedily reversed 
 the concessions of its delegates on this point. The life of 
 the old Synod could not be merged or lost in that of any 
 general organization." 
 
 The Southern States undertook to secede from the 
 United States on the theory of States' Rights, and accord- 
 ing to Dr. Jacobs, the Ministerium seceded from the Gen- 
 eral Synod on the theory of the rights of district synods. 
 
 Another principle to which the Ministerium objected 
 was the inequality of representation. It was by far the 
 largest district synod in the General Synod, and yet 
 according to the constitution it could never have more than 
 18 delegates, — 9 ministerial and 9 lay, — while the smallest 
 synod had two delegates, one ministerial and one lay, 
 which it is claimed was out of proportion according to the 
 number of communicants and ministers. If this rule had 
 been changed in accordance with the demand, then of 
 course it would have given the Ministerium the dominant 
 power in the General Synod. The same disproportion in 
 representation prevails also in the Congress of the United 
 States ; for example, Rhode Island, the smallest state in 
 
PRINCIPAL REASON FOR WITHDRAWAL,. 237 
 
 the Union, is entitled to two senators, and New York, the 
 largest state, is entitled by the constitution to only two sen- 
 ators. I do not remember of ever having heard this urged 
 as an objection to the constitution of the United States, 
 
 It was also understood that the Ministerium would not 
 be received again with the condition attached to its applica- 
 tion with which it had entered in 1853; namely, that its 
 delegates should withdraw and report, whenever they 
 thought a violation of the constitution had been committed. 
 The determination seems to have been reached, that there 
 must be no more distinction in the admission of district 
 synods, and if the Ministerium would apply for re-admis- 
 sion, it must be received like any other district synod that 
 applied. 
 
 But perhaps the principal motive for withdrawing was 
 the hope of forining a new general body by uniting all the 
 other Lutheran Synods, hitherto outside of the General 
 Synod into another general organization. In the resolu- 
 tion of withdrawal the Ministerium expresses its " convic- 
 tion, that the task of uniting the conflicting elements in the 
 General Synod has become hopeless." Individual mem- 
 bers gave utterance to the expression, that, as the General 
 Synod had failed to effect the union of the Lutheran 
 Church in this country, they would undertake the work of 
 organizing a general body, in which all the other synods 
 could be united. In accordance with this object, therefore, 
 the General Council was formed. In how far it has suc- 
 ceeded in uniting the church, time has now sufficiently 
 shown. Already in Fort Wayne the delegates courted the 
 favor of the Missourians. Instead of partaking of the 
 Lord's Supper with their brethren in the General Synod 
 during its sessions, a number of them received the com- 
 munion from Dr. Sihler of the Missouri Synod. " There 
 was doubtless," says Dr. Jacobs, " an earnest, but at the 
 
238 ORGANIZATION OF GEN. COUNCIl,. 
 
 same time a vague desire for the union of all who were 
 clear in the confession of the distinctively Lutheran faith." 
 — Jacobs' History, page ^ji. 
 
 Accordingly a correspondence was entered into by the 
 Ministerium with other Lutheran Synods with reference to 
 the calling of a convention for the organization of a general 
 ecclesiastical body, " on a truly Lutheran basis," and an in- 
 vitation sent " to all Evangelical Lutheran Synods, minis- 
 ters and congregations of the United States and Canada, 
 which confess the Unaltered Augsburg Confession." 
 
 In response to this invitation a convention assembled 
 in Trinity Church, Reading, Pa., December 12-14, 1866. 
 "Thirteen synods were represented. Parts of five had been 
 in the General Synod; namely, Pennsylvania, English 
 Ohio, New York, Pittsburg and Minnesota; the Joint Synod 
 of Ohio, as well as its English District Synod, the Wiscon- 
 sin, Michigan, German Iowa, Canada, Norwegian, and the 
 Missouri Synod, had sent delegates; Drs.Walther and Sihler 
 sent friendly communications." The first meeting of the 
 General Council took place in Fort Wayne, on November 
 20th, in the very church where the division had taken place 
 the year before. But the Missouri and Ohio Synods and 
 the German Iowa Synod never connected themselves 
 formally with the General Council, and since then the 
 Michigan and Texas Synods have withdrawn. 
 
 The refusal to unite with the Council by the Missouri, 
 Ohio, and German Iowa Synods, and the subsequent with- 
 drawal of other synods, was caused by the so-called " Four 
 Points," Chiliasm, Secret Societies, Exchange of Pulpits 
 and Close Communion. The two latter points found ex- 
 pression in the motto ; 
 
 " Lutheran Pulpits for Lutheran Ministers Only, and 
 Lutheran Altars for Lutheran Members Only." 
 
 For the last thii ty years from 1 866 to 1 896, the Gen- 
 
JACOBS' EULOGY. 239 
 
 eral Synod and General Council have existed as rival 
 bodies, occupying the same territory side by side, often in- 
 terfering with each other's congregational and missionary 
 work. During all this time efforts have been made to bring 
 about a reunion, notably by colloquiums, uniform order of 
 worship by the " Common Service," and Luther League. 
 Last year, 1895, the first exchange of friendly " visitors," 
 was agreed upon by both bodies. What these efforts will 
 result in, and when this hoped for union shall be con- 
 sumated, time only can tell, and God only knows. 
 
 In the conclusion of this chapter it will be refreshing 
 to our readers to see what Dr. Jacobs in his " History of 
 the Lutheran Church in America," and Dr. Krauth, Jr., in 
 a series ot articles in the " Missionary " paper, have written 
 in praise of the General Synod. Dr. Jacobs says, " The 
 General Synod must be regarded as a very important for- 
 ward movement. . . . The General Synod was a protest 
 against the socinianizing tendency in New York, (and in 
 Pennsylvania also — Ed}), and the schemes of a union with 
 the Reformed in Pennsylvania, and the Episcopalians in 
 North Carolina. It stood for the independent existence of 
 the Lutheran Church in America, and a clear and unequiv- 
 ocal confession of a positive faith. . . . Lament defects as 
 we may, the General Synod saved the church, as it became 
 anglicised from the calamity of the type of doctrine which 
 within the New York Ministerium had been introduced 
 into the English language. It had an outlook that in- 
 cluded in its sweep the entire church in all its interests, as 
 the reports on the state of the Lutheran Church in the 
 various synods in this country and throughout the world, 
 appended to its minutes show." 
 
 Here is Dr. Krauth's eulogy. " Never," says Dr. 
 Jacobs, " was the cause of the General Synod pleaded with 
 more eloquence." 
 
240 krauth's eulogy. 
 
 DR. C. p. krauth's eulogy OF THE GENERAL SYNOD. 
 
 In 1857, Dr. C. P. Krauth, Jr., published a series of 
 articles in the Missionary paper, in which he asserted, that 
 the General Synod was the " hope of the Lutheran Church 
 in this country, * the offspring of a reviving Lutheranism, 
 born in the dawn that followed the night which fell upon 
 oiir church in this land, when the patriarchal luminaries of 
 her early history had set on earth to rise in heaven.' Its 
 formation was a great act of faith. When it became com- 
 pletely organized, ' it was the only voluntary body on 
 earth pretending to embrace a nation as its territory, and 
 bearing a Lutheran name, in which the fundamental 
 doctrines of Lutheranism were the basis of union.' 
 * Heaven pity the fate of the man who looks upon the Gen 
 eral Synod as having been a curse to the Church, or an 
 inefficient worker in it, who imagines that the Lutheran 
 Church would be stronger, if the General Synod were 
 weaker.' " — Jacobs' History, pages ^28 -g. 
 
SCHMUCKER'S TOUR TO GERMANY. 24I 
 
 CHAPTER TWELFTH. 
 
 VISIT TO EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE PROPOSED — MORRIS* LETTER 
 
 TO SCHMUCKER PLANS TO FILL HIS CHAIR LETTER OF 
 
 C. A. MORRIS — DR. B. M. SCHMUCKER's ACCOUNT — OBJECT 
 
 OF]^ the EUROPEAN TOUR PLACES VISITED DR. 
 
 SCHMUCKEr's NOTES— rev. ARNDT DOMKIRCHE — DR. 
 
 NEANDEr's LECTURE — DINNER AT DR. TWESTEn's — DR. 
 RANKE — REV. KRUMMACHER — GOSSNER — LETTER TO THE 
 
 GERMAN CHURCHES — WHY NOT INVITED TO PREACH DR. 
 
 ENDERS — DR. SPAETH — DR. THOLUCK — S. K. AND M. DID 
 NOT REMAIN TOGETHER — LETTER FROM K. AND M. IN 
 PARIS. 
 
 DR. SCHMUCKER's TOUR TO EUROPE. 
 
 In the year 1846 Dr. Schmucker, in company with 
 Drs. Kurtz and Morris, took a tour to Europe. As he 
 expected to be absent about six months, it was necessary 
 that he should have the consent of the Board of Directors, 
 and, also, that provision should be made to fill his chair in 
 the Seminary during the interim. Considerable corre- 
 spondence was kept up for a while till satisfactory arrange- 
 ments could be completed. We will copy two of the 
 letters, one from Dr. J. G. Morris and the other from his 
 brother, Mr. C. A. Morris, which show what different plans 
 were suggested. So far as we can find, no outsiders were 
 called into service, but Professors Krauth and Hay devoted 
 extra time in teaching Dr. Schmucker's classes during his 
 absence. 
 
242 MORKIS URGES SCHMUCKCR TO GO. 
 
 Baltimore, y<3;«. 75, 184.6. 
 Rev. Dr. Schmucker, 
 
 Dear Sir : — Dr. Baird has shown me your letter 
 in which you express an inclination to attend the conven- 
 tion in London, and if you have not yet determined finally, 
 allow me to suggest the following considerations as addi- 
 tional inducements : 
 
 Our Church on this side of the Atlantic ought to be 
 represented ; indeed, such a convention would be incom- 
 plete without it. You are the proper person to represent 
 us, because you have taken a prominent, I might say, a 
 leading stand in the great measure contemplated. Your 
 name is closely associated with it on both sides of the 
 ocean ; you have written one of the best books on the sub- 
 ject ; your familiar acquaintance with all the kindred sub- 
 jects ; all these and some others which need not be 
 mentioned, should induce you to determine at once. I am 
 satisfied that the universal voice of the brethren would 
 select you to this post, if it were left to their election. 
 
 The Board (of the Seminary) would, of course, con- 
 tinue your salary, and give you leave of absence for six 
 months. Provision would be made for continuing the 
 instruction of your classes, and every other arrangement 
 necessary, would be liberally entered into. If Drs Krauth 
 and Hay will consent to give extra lessons, they could not 
 be expected to labor gratuitously, and the next question is, 
 whence shall the compensation be derived ? I have 
 thought of several plans : 
 
 1. You will, of course, go to the continent, and 
 might apply for aid, receive some donations in money — 
 appropriate ^400 to their remuneration. 
 
 2. Probably the General Synod might be prevailed on, 
 at its next session, to appropriate so much. But this is the 
 most inexpedient plan. 
 
 3. If those gentlemen found the additional labor too 
 severe, might not an arrangement be made with some three 
 or four ministers to spend each a month at Gettysburg and 
 teach such branches as they were able in the other depart- 
 ments, and let Krauth and Hay divide yours between 
 them ? 
 
LETTER OF C. A. MORRIS. " 243 
 
 4. An extra subscription might be gotten up to pay 
 these gentlemen — but it matters not — yoii should go to 
 London. 
 
 I asked Dr. Kurtz whether he would like to go ? 
 After a few moments reflection, he stated, that if he could 
 make satisfactory arrangements about his paper and the 
 establishment, he would accompany you. He would be a 
 desirable companion dii voyage, for he has been there, and 
 knows a thing or two about it. — Go, by all means, go ! For 
 the glory of God — the honor of our church — the welfare 
 of the General Synod — the influence of your own name — 
 go. Yours, etc., 
 
 J. G. Morris. 
 
 Here is a letter on the same subject from C. A. Morris, 
 brother of Dr. J. G. Morris. 
 
 YoRK,y««. 26, 1846. 
 
 Dear Sir : — 
 
 Your letter per Mr. Smyser has duly come to 
 hand. The Protestant Convention to be held in London is 
 certainly one of the most interesting subjects for the church, 
 which has engaged her attention for centuries. I hope that 
 our church, which, I think, has been the first to move in 
 this business, will be represented there. As a member of 
 the Union, I hereby not only express my wish that you 
 might be present, but request you to do so. If anything 
 more formal would be deemed necessary, perhaps it would 
 be well enough to draw up a little paper and have all the 
 committee to sign it. 
 
 I hope Mr. Kurtz will accompany you, and my brother 
 John has always said, that he would at some convenient 
 season visit Europe. I would be glad if he could go this 
 time. It would be desirable on account of the friends he 
 would have for company. I hope something on this sub- 
 ject will appear in the Obser%>er. 
 
 Yours, etc., 
 
 C. A. Morris. 
 Rev. S. S. Schniucker, D, D. 
 
244 • B. M. schmucker's account. 
 
 We copy the following account of Dr. Schmucker's 
 tour to Europe, from the excellent biographical sketch of 
 Dr. Diehl, in the Evangelical Revieiv : 
 
 HIS TOUR TO EUROPE. 
 
 " The writer is indebted to Dr. B. M. Schmucker, of 
 Reading, Pa., for the following facts and extracts, taken 
 from Dr. S. S. Schmucker's notes of his travels in Europe. 
 In 1846, he, in company with Drs. B. Kurtz and J. G. Mor- 
 ris, made a visit to Europe, the immediate object of which 
 was the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, in London, in 
 the summer of that year, to which they were accredited, as 
 representatives of the Lutheran Church, in the United 
 States. They started, however, some months earlier than 
 was necessary for that purpose, in order to make an ex- 
 tended tour through Germany. The chief object proposed 
 to be gained was to establish some communication between 
 the church in Germany, and the Lutherans in this country. 
 A circular letter was prepared and sent to Germany, in ad- 
 vance of their departure, and was more widely distributed 
 by them during their tour. Conferences were held by 
 them, with groups of clergymen, in Berlin, Frankfort, Basel, 
 and divers centres of influence in Europe, and much sym- 
 pathy and interest were shown toward their brethren in 
 America, by many eminent men, especially by those con- 
 nected with the United Church. Dr. Schmucker proposed, 
 also, personally to apply to authors and publishers for con- 
 tributions of books for the Library of the Theological 
 Seminary. The applications were eminently successful, 
 and large, valuable additions to the library, resulted from 
 them. Among the most friendly ot the publishers were, 
 Perthes, Besser and Mauke, of Hamburg, and Gotha, 
 Tauchnitz, of Leipzig, Heyder & Zimmer, of Frankfort, 
 Leisching, of Stuttgart, and the Orphan House, at Halle. 
 
THE ROUTE PURSUED. 245 
 
 The Seminary is indebted for its extensive and very valu- 
 able library to Rev. Dr. B. Kurtz, first of all, and after him, 
 to Dr. Schmucker. 
 
 " This tour afforded Dr. Schmucker an opportunity of 
 gratifying the desire, which almost every man of scholarly 
 culture feels, of viewing the scenes of their action, and the 
 memorials of the great men, of the V/orld's and the 
 church's past history. It gave him great delight at the 
 time, and pleasant reminiscences afterward. He made ex- 
 tended notes throughout the whole journey, from day to 
 day, entering matters of interest in general, and the sub- 
 stance of conversations with eminent men. The Universi- 
 ties had for him special interest, and at Leipzig, Halle, Ber- 
 lin, Basel, Tubingen and Heidelberg, he attended the 
 lectures of the professors, and gives an account of them, 
 and his intercourse with these distinguished men. The 
 Libraries had a great attraction for him. At Wolffenbuttel, 
 he first met a collection, rich in antiquities, MSS. relics of 
 Luther, and other things rare and curious. At Leipzig, 
 the librarian, Gersdorf, was especially kind to him, and pre- 
 sented him with a number of first editions of treatises of 
 the Reformation times, most of which unfortunately disap- 
 peared from his library, during the battle of Gettysburg. 
 
 "The route pursued by the party, was from Baltimore, 
 by sailing vessel thirty-three days to Bremen, Hamburg, 
 Marburg, Brunswick, Wolffenbuttel, Magdeburg, Halle, 
 Leipzig, Wittenberg, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, up 
 the Danube, Munich, Augsburg, Constance, Zurich, Basel, 
 Strasburg, Baden, Tubingen, Stuttgart, Darmstadt, Frank- 
 fort, Bonn, Cologne, Brussels, Paris to London, Liverpool 
 by steamer, Great Western to New York. During the re 
 turn voyage, a violent storm was encountered, in which the 
 lives of all were imperilled, and indeed, for several days, 
 death seemed inevitable. The steamer was so disabled 
 
246 VISIT TO CHURCHES IN BERI^IN . 
 
 that she reached New York, making only four knots per 
 hour, and never crossed the ocean again, having been put 
 in the West India route. 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker's notes cover a great variety of sub- 
 jects, old and new churches, church services, rites and 
 ceremonies, book trade, publishers, intercourse with 
 pastors, temperance, wine and beer drinking, keeping the 
 Lord's day, missionary societies, etc. It is difficult to de- 
 cide what to select. I will turn to Berlin. 
 
 " ' Berlin, Rheinische Hof. May 15, 1846. 
 
 " 'By the invitation of Dr. Twesten and his lady, we 
 accompanied them to their pew in the church in which 
 Rev. Arndt preaches. The house was very crowded, the 
 seats being almost entirely occupied by the ladies, and the 
 broad aisles being filled with gentlemen, who had to stand 
 during the entire service. There were probably six thous- 
 and persons in the church. Rev. Arndt is the most popular 
 evangelical preacher in Berlin. There was nothing ex- 
 traordinary, however, in his performance. His style was 
 good, abounding in antithesis. His matter sound, but 
 rather common ; and his delivery and general abilities as an 
 orator not above mediocrity in our country. His text was, 
 ' Come unto me all ye that labor, etc' which he said was 
 the last text on which Luther had preached. The edifice 
 bears some resemblance to the Tabernacle of New York, 
 only that it is a compound oval, instead of a simple one. 
 There are four galleries, one in each oval projection. A 
 cross and two candlesticks were on the altar. 
 
 " ' After sermon we went to the Domkirche, the one in 
 which the King usually worshipped, when in the city. We 
 heard a good, pious, orthodox sermon, preached in a good, 
 yet common way, by Rev. Heydenreich. The choir, to 
 which the King pays 20,000 thaler annually, was absent 
 to-day. The Dome church is a very large and elegant. 
 
DR. neander's i,ecture. 247 
 
 though rather plain one, about 200x80 feet. It consists of 
 three arches running along the length of the church, and 
 sustained by twelve columns or pillars on each side, and 
 four at each end. There is no canopy, and the pulpit is 
 fixed between two pillars. The pulpit is at one side of the 
 church, at the middle. The organ, baptismal vase and 
 altar, are at one end of the building, whilst at the other is a 
 music gallery. The King was absent, and the church 
 about one-fifth filled,' 
 
 DR. NEANDER. 
 
 " ' Monday. This morning I attended the lecture of 
 this truly learned and celebrated historian. He is small of 
 stature, of a dark complexion, black bushy hair, and ot a 
 Jewish physiognomy. He entered the room, as is usual 
 with a majority of the German professors whom I have 
 heard, in rather a hurried manner, mounted the rostrum, 
 and instantly without ceremony of any kind, began his 
 lecture. He appears to be very near-sighted, and puts his 
 eyes so close to the paper, that his nose almost touches it. 
 Part of his MS. seemed to be in detached pieces ; or more 
 probably he had written some later additions on small 
 loose papers, which he occasionally turned over and over, 
 as if he had lost his place. He lectured standing, or rather 
 leaning on the desk, which was loose, and which he moved 
 to and fro, to the manifest danger of those students imme- 
 diately before it, and behind which he almost entirely con- 
 cealed his face. He was in constant motion, and as awk- 
 ward as he could well be. At one moment, he would 
 glance at his MS,, then turn about almost with his back to 
 his hearers, putting his hands near his eyes, picking his 
 hands in a most ungraceful way. Then he would turn to 
 his MS. again, putting his eyes almost on it ; afterward he 
 would go through all the same antique operations again. 
 
248 DR. RANKE. 
 
 The most homely portrait I have seen of him is still flatter- 
 ing. The students seem to be amused at the singularity of 
 his movements, and occasionally some would laugh, cast- 
 ing a glance at the professor and then at the other students. 
 He reads slowly and does not repeat, as the Halle profes- 
 sors do. He had about one hundred hearers, and stopped 
 abruptly when the clock struck the hour.' 
 
 DR. RANKE. 
 
 " ' From 5 to 6, I had an opportunity of hearing the 
 celebrated author of the history of the Popes and of the 
 Reformation, Dr. Ranke. This gentleman, who meets us 
 at a dinner party at Dr. Twesten's, is much more polished 
 and interesting in his manner than Dr. Neander. He de- 
 livered his instructions sitting. He lectures very much in 
 that animated, affable manner which characterizes him in 
 the social circle. He glances at his MS. for an instant ; 
 then looking up apparently at the ceiling, and sometimes at 
 the students, he talks awhile ; then glances at his MS. 
 again, and again raises his head and talks. Sometimes he 
 talks rapidly, and makes some grimaces with his face. His 
 articulation is not very distinct ; yet, he, also, does not re- 
 peat as the Halle professors do. Nor did the students hiss, 
 in order to make him go more slowly. His head is in 
 almost constant motion, and often he makes gestures with 
 his hands. His lecture consisted of speculations on the 
 origin of the Mexicans and other aborigenes. He gave a 
 brief review ot the principal literary helps, and then a 
 regular history of Cortes and the Mexicans. 
 
 "' Neither of these professors recommended any books, 
 and I have learned that the plan of the professors of the 
 institution is to make their lectures answer every purpose 
 to the student, especially to the poor ones. The library is 
 thus used chiefly by the professors, and by students in Ber- 
 
DINNER AT DR. TWESTEN'S. 249 
 
 lin in after life. When we recollect the great poverty of 
 many students, and the fact that books on all subjects of the 
 lectures would cost much, their plan seems natural and 
 leaves the students to value the notes, which they take,and 
 to take them as full as possible.' 
 
 DINNER AT DR. TWESTEN's. 
 
 " ' We went at three o'clock, because the consecration 
 of the new church had delayed Dr. Twestens', who as Con- 
 sistorialrath had necessarily to be present. We spent a 
 very pleasant afternoon, indeed, and no one can call to see 
 the excellent and pious Twesten, and his truly polite and 
 accomplished wife and daughter, without being pleased. 
 Dr. Twesten is orthodox in his dogmatic views, and very 
 highly respected. He lectures in the University every day 
 from 9 to ii, i. e., twice; each lecture, according to the Ger- 
 man custom, being exactly three quarters of an hour long. 
 His works stand in high repute. He is a modest, com- 
 municative, and able man in conversation, and when Dr. 
 Ranke remarked, that no one believes the doctrine of 
 original sin, as taught in the Augsburg Confession, Dr. 
 Twesten meekly, but firmly, remarked : ' Das wiiste ich 
 dock nicht. Meine Wenigkeit glaubt es dock! 
 
 " ' Dr. Ranke is small of stature, having a good, yet not 
 extraordinary head, exceedingly talkative, fond of laughter, 
 and almost boisterous. Judging from his judicious, grave 
 and far-sighted work, on Popery and the Reformation, I 
 had expected to find him grave and dignified, and there- 
 fore found myself somewhat mistaken. Yet there is a great 
 deal of benevolence, sociability and intelligence in his con- 
 versation. Dr. Ranke expressed the opinion, that the 
 Romish church is gaining ground in some places, and 
 losing in others ; but that the light and spirit of the present 
 age are making steady inroads on her fastnesses, and that 
 
250 REV. KRUMMACHER— GOSSNER. 
 
 she is on the whole losing ground. He also expressed the 
 opinion that the German Catholic Church would not^con- 
 tinue to grow and the adherents of Ronge, having set-up 
 no positive creed, could not rttain their hold on the popular 
 feeling, i. e., the confidence of their laity. He thought the 
 Augsburg Confession as near to the doctrinal views of 
 Romanism as any system could be, to be tenable ; and that 
 it will be very difficult for the German Catholics to deVise 
 a system, that shall hold a middle ground between the 
 Augsburg Confession and Tridentine Romanism, which 
 will be consequent and capable of successful defense ; or 
 which will commend itself to the understanding of intel- 
 ligent Catholics. 
 
 "• There was also present Rev. Krummacher, of Elber- 
 feld. This is the gentleman who was elected by the Ger- 
 man Reformed Church, as their professor. He is here at 
 present on a visit as applicant for the station of pastor in a 
 vacant church. His merits as a preacher are admitted by 
 all. But as he is an orthodox and evangelical preacher, 
 and the magistrates have the appointment of the pastor to 
 this church, his success is doubtful, as the magistracy are 
 decidedly neological. Mr. Krummacher very soon began 
 to speak of the church in America, in which he felt a deep 
 interest, especially were his inquiries minute in regard to 
 the disputes in the Reformed Church, caused by the work 
 of Dr. Schaff. * * ' 
 
 GOSSNER. 
 
 '" We called to see the distinguished Mr. Gossner, who 
 about twenty years ago, was the most popular minister in 
 Berlin, but now lives in a small house outside the 
 Potsdamer Thor, and has charge of a hospital. His time is 
 chiefly devoted to Missionary matters. Gossner was once 
 a Romish priest, but seeing the errors of Romanism, 
 
gossner's missionaries. 251 
 
 renounced them and joined the Protestant Church. For 
 many years he was a popular preacher. His Hauspostille 
 afifords evidence of his homiletic talent, and his power to 
 influence the people. He told me that he stands connected 
 with no missionary society. His missionaries, (of whom 
 several are educated men, some had been school teachers 
 here, the majority, however, are ignorant of anything more 
 than what the common schools teach), number about 
 twenty-five preachers, and about three times that number 
 of mechanics, farmers, etc., and their families ; amounting, 
 in all, to one hundred souls, chiefly located in India. He 
 gives his missionaries no salary at all. They receive an 
 outfit of clothing and get to the place of destination, he did 
 not say how, but, when there, support themselves, only 
 receiving occasional supplies of clothing, an abundance of 
 which is presented to him by friends of the cause.' " 
 
 " The notes of his visit to Berlin are quite extended. In 
 addition to the portions above given, they record his visits 
 to the Kunst Cabinet, the New Museum, a visit to Dr. 
 Draeseke, an evening spent with Revs. Arndt, Ziehe, Drs. 
 Krummacher and Strauss, and Candidat Schroeder, at the 
 house of Rev. Mr. Wise, a full account of the Cursefahrt, 
 which he witnessed, visits to Dr. Eilert and Court Preacher, 
 Snethlage. He also gives an account of a pastoral confer- 
 ence, at which were present Revs. Kober, Bachman, 
 Conard, Arndt, Pischon, Buchsel, each of whom he 
 describes. Of the proceedings of the Evangelical Alliance, 
 in London, no account is found in his notes."* 
 
 The circular letter, of which Dr. B. M. Schmucker 
 speaks, and which was prepared and sent to Germany in 
 
 * We made earnest efforts to obtain the whole of Dr. Schmucker 's 
 notes of his journey and observations, but could get no more than 
 what Dr. Diehl has furnished in his biographical sketch in the Ev. 
 Review. — Ed. 
 
252 MORRIS ON THE CIRCUI^AR LETTER. 
 
 advance of their departure, was more widely distributed by 
 them during their tour. It was addressed to the United 
 Church of Prussia, and indicated the points of similarity 
 between our General Synod and the Prussian Union, It 
 was signed by Drs. Schmucker, Kurtz, Morris, Pohlman 
 and Schmidt as follows : 
 
 Dr. S. S. Schmucker, Professor of Theology in the 
 Seminary of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church in 
 America, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Dr. B. Kurtz, Editor of the " Lutheran Observer " at 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Dr. H. N. Pohlman, Pastor of the Lutheran Church in 
 Albany, New York. 
 
 Dr. J. G. Morris, Pastor of the first Lutheran Church 
 in Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Rev. H. I. Schmidt, Professor in the Seminary at 
 Hartwick, in the state of New York. 
 
 Dr. Morris speaks very harshly of this circular letter, 
 which bears his own signature and of which he was himself 
 one of the bearers. He says, among other hard things, 
 " Never was a more senseless blunder committed ; while 
 the appeal may have been in conformity to the theological 
 opinions of some in the United Church of Prussia, yet 
 thousands of Lutherans would not sanction its theology." 
 
 To which it may be replied, There are even now thou- 
 sands of Lutherans in Germany and America, who do not 
 sanction the theology of the General Synod. ■ 
 
 " The result was, to my certain knowledge, that when 
 Drs. Schmucker and Kurtz went to Europe in 1846, not 
 one of them was invited to preach in any pulpit on the con- 
 tinent ! This I know to be true, for I was with them. They 
 were treated courteously enough, but neither Lutheran, nor 
 Reformed, nor United invited them into their pulpits." 
 
NON-INVITATION TO GERMAN PULPITS. 253 
 
 To this I remark : The Dr. should have written, Did 
 not invite " us " into their pulpits, for he " was with them," 
 and had also signed the letter ; hence the slight was equally 
 to him as well as to Drs. Schmucker and Kurtz, if it was a 
 slight at all. But really, it was not intended as a slight. 
 It is not customary, nor even lawful, to invite strangers to 
 preach in the pulpits of the churches in Germany. When 
 Dr. Kurtz was in Germany, twenty years before, he preached 
 in many of the German churches, even before the king of 
 Prussia, but it was by special appointment of the authori- 
 ties, and he had come on an ecclesiastical mission. But 
 Schmucker, Kurtz, and Morris came on a pleasure or sight- 
 seeing excursion. The pastors of the churches in Germany 
 are appointed by the state, the same as civil officers, and 
 their duty is to preach at the appointed times, in the pul- 
 pits assigned them, and they have no right to assign this 
 duty to any one else, without permission from higher 
 authority. Dr. Enders relates his experience on this point 
 as follows : " During a tour to Germany I visited my 
 mother's birth place. I called on the pastor of the church 
 and was kindly received by him. My relatives requested 
 him to invite their friend from America to preach on Sun- 
 day ; but he declined, saying it was against the rules. The 
 next Sunday I spent in my own birth place, where some 
 more of my relatives lived. They also told the pastor, 
 they would like to hear me preach, and he consented. When 
 I said to him, ' But, Mr. Pastor, is it not against the rules of 
 order, to have a stranger preach in your pulpit?' His 
 reply was, ' IVo kein Klaeger ist, da ist aiich kein Richter' 
 (Where there is no accuser there is no judge)." 
 
 A still more striking case of this kind occurred a few 
 years ago. There is an institution in the northern part of 
 Germany by the name of Kropp, in which students are 
 trained for the ministry, to be sent to America. The Min- 
 
254 CRITICISM ON SCHMUCKER'S GERMAN. 
 
 isterium of Pennsylvania had contributed funds to the sup- 
 port of this institution, and a number of ministers had 
 already been received and were appointed to pastorates in 
 this country. Dr. Spaeth, a prominent minister in the Min- 
 isterium of Pennsylvania, and professor of theology in Mt. 
 Airy Seminary, during a tour to Germany paid a visit to 
 Kropp, and as he remained there over Sunday, he expected 
 to preach in the chapel of the institution, but was not 
 invited to do so. 
 
 Hence we must see, that it was not because Schmucker, 
 Kurtz and Morris had signed and carried a circular letter 
 to Germany, that they were not invited to preach, but 
 because such a practice was contrary to the ecclesiastical 
 rules and customs of Germany. 
 
 The Dr. goes on further to say : " This appeal had 
 been sent before them (us), and had been extensively pub- 
 lished. Tholuck and I had a conversation about it, and the 
 worst thing he said of it was, that before it was published 
 in Germany, he and some others re-wrote it in pure and 
 classic German. Dr. Schmucker was aware of this, and 
 said to me, * that he never in his life tried harder to write 
 good German ; ' but after all, it sounded very much like a 
 translation from English into German, which I presume it 
 was, and it abounded in American Saxonisms." 
 
 It was certainly unkind, if not cruel, thus to expose 
 the deficiency of his venerable preceptor and pastor, in his 
 German style, and then publish it to the world in his 
 " Fifty Years in the Ministry." It is not claimed that Dr. 
 Schmucker spoke and wrote what is called the classic Ger- 
 man, with its involved sentences and high sounding phrases^ 
 but his German will compare favorably with that of any 
 American born Pennsylvanian of that or the present time. 
 He had enjoyed peculiar advantages for acquiring a knowl- 
 edge of the German language. His father was an eloquent 
 
DR. THOLUCK. 255 
 
 German preacher, and also published a number of German 
 books, written in a correct, though plain style. He studied 
 theology first with his father, and afterwards with Drs. Hel- 
 muth and Schmidt in Philadelphia, and, no doubt, imitated 
 their style, of which we have samples in the Halle Annals, 
 written by Muhlenberg and his co-laborers. Ihen he read 
 many German books and translated some of them into 
 English. In the early part of his ministry he also fre- 
 quently preached in the German language, but in maturer 
 age his preaching, writing, lectures, conversations in the 
 family, and intercourse with friends was principally in the 
 English language. By such means a man's thinking will 
 gradually be done in English, and his German writing will 
 become simply a transferring of English thoughts and con- 
 struction into German words. 
 
 Dr. Tholuck is universally acknowledged to have 
 been a highly learned and devotedly pious man. We have 
 frequently heard Prof. Charles Hay speak of him in the very 
 highest terms of respect and admiration. He was one of 
 his students at Halle, and accompanied him one summer on 
 a pedestrian tour to Switzerland. His commentary on the 
 gospel according to St. John is one of the very best ever 
 published ; Dr. C. P. Krauth, Jr., translated it into English. 
 Now, Tholuck "and some others" must have highly 
 approved the tenor and object of the appeal, or they would 
 not have re-written it, to form it into " pure and classic 
 German," and then had it printed and sent out to the Ger- 
 man pastors and people, no doubt at their own expense, 
 even before the noble trio, Schmucker, Kurtz and Morris, 
 had set foot on German soil. 
 
 As stated elsewhere, the three friends did not remain 
 together in their travels on the continent of Europe. 
 Schmucker spent most of his time in the universities and 
 Hbraries and pubhshing houses, and in the society of dis- 
 
256 KURTZ AND MORRIS WRITE FROM PARIS. ^ 
 
 tinguishcd professors and theologians ; Kurtz, we presume, 
 took most interest in the religious affairs of Germany and 
 in church papers ; and Morris searched among the memori- 
 als and relics of Luther and his times, and also climbed 
 some of the Alpine mountains. On his return to America 
 he gave some very interesting and amusing lectures — 
 " Alpenstock " in hand — of his observations and experience 
 in SA^itzerland. We give herewith an interesting letter 
 from Morris and Kurtz, written to Schmucker, while they 
 were waiting for him in Paris : 
 
 Dear Dr. — We have been anxiously looking for you 
 every day. But we hope that your long absence is owing 
 to your success in receiving donations for the Seminary. 
 Dr. Kurtz, has been here twelve days, and waited three or 
 four for Morris. The latter arrived here last Saturday, and 
 we have both been on the go ever since. We have resolved 
 to leave for London to-morrow, via Ostende. There we 
 shall, of course, see you, D. V. We advise you to take rooms at 
 Meurice's Hotel, where they speak English, you may dine 
 at Table-de-Hote, if you please, at 6 p. m., but we dined 
 every day at the corner of Rue Rivole and Place de Rivole, 
 where they speak English and German, for 2 Franks per 
 day, but you can suit yourself We would also advise you 
 to employ as a valet, an Englishman named Barrett, for 
 whom you can inquire of the porter's wife at the office, hire 
 a carriage, also, and you will thus save time and money. 
 
 Ebenezer is to be seen at the Boulevard de la Made- 
 line, No. 13, who may be of some service to you. 
 
 The letter from Mr. Crellenberg, of Bremen, you will 
 percieve, I had opened, but as it was intended for you, I, of 
 course, did not read it. 
 
 We also received letters from home, containing news 
 both pleasant and sad. Dr. K. has a young son. 
 
 Dr. Muller of Washington, has behaved badly and has 
 been suspended by our synod. Yeager of Kentucky has 
 been excommunicated by the Synod of the West. You 
 will see from Hay's letter that Seminary affairs look rather 
 squally, while the College seems to be going ahead. Pohl- 
 
KURTZ AND MORRIS WRITE FROM PARIS, 
 
 257 
 
 man embarked for Europe 6 weeks ago, and has doubtless 
 arrived. M'Cron embarked, also, and Passavant is coming. 
 
 We are told that the British ministers intended to in- 
 troduce a resolution about slavery into the convention, 
 which will be a sort of test of membership ; this will create 
 confusion at once. Mason will tell you all about this. We 
 fear the convention will not accomplish much. 
 
 In London inquire for us of Dr. Steinkop, Little 
 Savoy, on the Strand, if he lives where he did 20 years ago, 
 which is very probable ; or at the American Consul's. We 
 shall travel in England before the Convention and shall not 
 remain in London longer than next Monday, until our re- 
 turn, so you will not meet us for two weeks at least. 
 
 Kurtz and Morris. 
 
258 SCHMUCKBR AS AN AUTHOR. 
 
 CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 
 
 dr. schmucker as an author. 
 
 Popular theology and psychology obtain large circu- 
 lation— dr. diehl's estimate of him as an author — 
 
 MORE volumes OF HIS BOOKS SOLD, THAN OF ANY OTHER 
 LUTHERAN WRITER B. M. SCHMUCKER's ESTIMATE DE- 
 CLARED UNSUCCESSFUL AS A LITURGIST — HE WAS IN 
 FAVOR OF BRIEF AND SIMPLE FORMS — AUTHOR OF FIRST 
 ENGLISH LITURGY — HIS PSYCHOLOGY — STUDIED HIS OWN 
 
 MENTAL FACULTIES — BRONSON's CRITICISM MORRIS' 
 
 ANECDOTE — STORR AND FLATT POPULAR THEOLOGY 
 
 GREAT DEMAND WRITTEN IN POPULAR STYLE BASED 
 
 ON THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION — COMPLETE LIST OF HIS 
 PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 In addition to his labors as Professor in the Seminary, 
 Dr. Schmucker was also a prolific author. He published 
 many books and pamphlets, some of which, especially Slorr 
 and Flatt, and the Popular Theology, had an extensive cir- 
 culation. The latter reached eight, and his Psychology 
 three editions. Dr. Diehl gives the following statement 
 of his published works : 
 
 " Of his writings, probably the ablest and most valua- 
 ble were those published within the first twenty years of his 
 ministry, — his Formula, his Popular Theology, and some of 
 the occasional addresses, sermons and discourses. Of his 
 new system of mental philosophy, the writer is not pre- 
 pared to express an opinion, not having heard his lectures 
 
DR DIKHI^'S AND B. M. SCHMUCKER'S ESTIMATES. 259 
 
 on the subject in the Seminary, and never having carefully 
 examined his book. With his other works he has consid- 
 erable acquaintance. Most of his books were written to 
 meet particular wants, for particular occasions; or to accom- 
 plish a particular purpose at the time of their publication. 
 They were not written for immortality. They had, there- 
 fore, a greater interest when first issued, than they can ever 
 have afterward. They are not the products of a mind 
 devoted to the profound and protracted study of one sub- 
 ject, or one branch of learning exclusively. They cannot 
 have, therefore, that highest excellence which is reached 
 only in this way. Dr. Schmucker's multifarious labors 
 during the first twenty years after his ordination, precluded 
 the possibility of exclusive devotion to one line of study. 
 Probably very few of these books will hereafter appear in 
 new editions. Books of this class are rarely called for after 
 the death of their author. Yet his ability as a writer is 
 conceded by all. He never published anything that was a 
 failure. They are all creditable productions. Some of 
 them were universally regarded as works of decided ability. 
 He had less talent for the production of a liturgy, than any- 
 thing in the way of literary labor he ever attempted. As to 
 his general merits as an author, the best evidence of his 
 ability is found in the extent of the circulation of his books. 
 More volumes and copies of Dr. Schmucker's works have 
 been purchased and read, than of the productions of any 
 Lutheran writer of this country. Up to the time of his 
 retirement from active labor, he was more widely and favor- 
 ably known as an author, than any of his brethren. Among 
 other denominations he was regarded as the great repre- 
 sentative of the Lutheran Church of America." 
 
 His son. Rev. B. M. Schmucker, D. D., gives the fol- 
 lowing statement in the College Book : 
 
 "He displayed much activity as an author, having 
 
26o schmucker's views on uturgies. 
 
 published forty-four works, most of which were synodical 
 and occasional discourses. Many of them are controversial, 
 in maintenance of his theological position, and of the Gen 
 eral Synod as he understood it. His Popular Theology, 
 which grew out of his work in the Seminary, must have 
 met a want, as it passed through eight editions. His Psy- 
 chology reached a third edition. The Definite Platform, 
 prepared by him and Dr. B. Kurtz, was the most unaccept- 
 able of his publications. His attempts to produce a liturgy 
 were the most unsuccessful of his literary endeavors ; the 
 whole cast of his mind, his aversion to a liturgical service, 
 his rejection of all right of past usage to influence the pres- 
 ent, especially unfitted him for such work." 
 
 It will be noticed that both Drs. Diehl and B. M. 
 Schmucker declare that he was less successful in prepar- 
 ing a liturgy than he was in any other of his literary works. 
 Both these men were advocates of extended liturgical ser- 
 vices, but Dr. Schmucker never favored lengthy liturgical 
 services, and laid most stress on the preaching of the Gos- 
 pel as the principal part of public worship. He was not 
 averse to liturgical services, but he wanted them to be brief 
 and subservient to the main object, the preaching of the 
 Word. The preparation of a liturgy was one of the first 
 subjects that claimed his attention after his entrance into 
 the ministry, and he prepared the first English liturgy in 
 the Lutheran Church of the General Synod, founded on the 
 German liturgy prepared by Muhlenberg. But these litur- 
 gical forms were brief and simple, hence Dr. B. M. 
 Schmucker, the author of the " Common Service," who had 
 devoted a great part of his life to liturgical studies, pro- 
 nounced his father's attempt to produce a liturgy " the most 
 unsuccessful of his literary endeavors." 
 
 His Psychology, or Mental Philosophy, was also 
 regarded a successful work ; it reached three editions and 
 
HTS PSYCHOLOGY. 261 
 
 was translated into German. We studied it in the Semi- 
 nary, and heard additional lectures from the Dr. on the sub- 
 ject. He told us, among other things, that after he had 
 formed the intention of preparing a system of Mental Phi- 
 losophy, he spent much time in studying his own mental 
 faculties, and for ten years did not look into a book on that 
 subject, in order that he might prepare his work from prac- 
 tical observation and study, unbiased by the opinions or the- 
 ories of other authors. A certain Dr. Bronson, editor of a 
 literary journal, reviewed this book, and among other criti- 
 cisms ridiculed the idea of Dr. Schmucker setting himself 
 up as " The Model Man." Dr. Morris relates the following 
 interesting anecdote in relation to this book : 
 
 " On one occasion, during a visit of Dr. S. to Balti- 
 more, he and I were sitting m Dr. Kurtz's study, when the 
 physician of our State Insane Asylum entered. He was 
 introduced to Dr. S., but did not hear his name distinctly, 
 and said to Dr. K., ' I have come to inquire about a book 
 on Psychology, by one of your ministers named Schmucker. 
 I should like to see it, and I presumed you had it.' I im- 
 mediately said, ' Dr. Fonerden, you have just been intro- 
 duced to the author of it.' Of course there was surprise 
 and mutual gratification. Dr. S. was naturally much 
 pleased, and from that time these two students of Mental 
 Philosophy became good friends." 
 
 The translation of Storr and Flatt reached a second 
 edition and was used as a text book in the Seminary as 
 long as Dr. Schmucker was Professor, and was also used as 
 a text book for some time in a New England seminary. 
 
 The Popular Theology obtained the largest circula 
 tion of any of his publications and was used as a text book 
 in Seminary during the whole of his professorship. So 
 great was the demand for this work on its first appearance, 
 that before the first edition was finished, the printers had to 
 
262 HIS POPUI/AR THEOI.OGY — UST OF PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 begin on the second edition. It was written in a popular 
 style and intended not only for the use of theological 
 students and ministers of the gospel, but also for intelligent 
 laymen, many of whom have studied it with deep interest 
 and profit. 
 
 The Popular Theology is based on the doctrinal 
 articles of the Augsburg Confession. But as the Augustana 
 was not designed as a complete system of Dogmatic 
 Theology, but rather to indicate wherein the Protestants 
 agreed with or differed from the Roman Catholics, the 
 book could not well be arranged as a complete system of 
 Dogmatic Theology. This want was however supplied 
 during the Seminary course by Prof Schmucker's excellent 
 dogmatic lectures. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker commenced authorship when yet 
 young. His first literary labor was probably given to a 
 translation of Storr and Flatt's Theology, as he may have 
 commenced this before he wrote the Formula, although 
 published several years later. We give herewith 
 
 A COMPLETE LIST OF HIS PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 1. Formula of Government and Discipline, for Con- 
 gregations and Synods. Published by the Synod of Mary- 
 land and Virginia, in 1823, and by the General Synod, in 
 1829. Hagerstown : U. G. Bell. 1823. 8vo. 
 
 2. Intellectual and Moral Glories of the Christian 
 Temple Illustrated. From the History of the Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church. Synodical Discourse. 1824. 8vo. 
 
 3. Inaugural Address, at his Induction into the Pro- 
 fessorship of Christian Theology, at Gettysburg, Carlisle : 
 1826. 8vo. 
 
 4. Biblical Theology, of Storr and Flatt. Translated 
 from the German. Andover : Hagg & Gould. 1826.2 
 vol. 8vo. Second Edition, somewhat abridged. An- 
 
LIST OF PUBUCATIONS. 263 
 
 dover : Gould & Neuman. 1836. i vol. 8vo. Re-printed 
 in England, 1845. 
 
 5. Hymn Book of the General Synod. First Edition. 
 
 1828. 
 
 6. Formula of Gov. and Dis., Ev. Luth. Church, in 
 West Pennsylvania, an enlargement of the General Synod's. 
 20 pages. Gettysburg. 1828. 
 
 7. Constitution of the Theological Seminary of the 
 General Synod, at Gettysburg. Philadelphia : W. Brown. 
 1826. 
 
 8. Evangelical Magazine. 1830. Gettysburg. 
 
 9. Plea for the Sabbath- School system. Gettysburg. 
 
 1830. 8vo. 
 
 10. Kurtz-gefasste Geschichte der Chris. Kirche auf 
 Grundlage des Busch 'schen Werkes. 352 pages. Gettys- 
 burg. 1834. 8vo. 
 
 11. Elements of Popular Theology. First Edition. 
 Andover. Eight Editions, with numerous additions. 512 
 
 pages. Philadelphia. 1845. 
 
 12. Discourse in Commemoration of the Glorious 
 Reformation. Before the West Pennsylvania Synod, 142 
 pages. Gould & Newman. 1838. 
 
 13. Fraternal Appeal to. the American Churches on 
 Christian Union. 149 pages. New York. 1838. 8vo, 
 
 14. Wants of our Country. Delivered at the Request 
 of the Board of Managers, of the Am. Sunday-School 
 Union. Philadelphia. 1839. 
 
 15. Oration on the Anniversary of Washington's 
 Birthday. Gettysburg. 1839. 8vo. 
 
 16. Portraiture ol American Lutheranism. Before 
 the Synod of West Pa. 1840. 89 pages. 8vo. 
 
 ^ 17. Retrospect of Lutheranism. Before the General 
 
 Synod. 1841. 
 
 18. Preliminary Discourse to Luther's Commentary 
 
 on Galatians. 1840. 8vo. 
 
264 I^IST OF PUBUCATIONS. 
 
 19. Psychology, or Elements of New System of 
 Mental Philosophy. 329 pages. New York : Harpers. 
 1842. 8 vo. Third edition. 
 
 20. Appeal on behalf of the Christian Sabbath. Am. 
 Tract Society. 
 
 21. Dissertation on Capital Punishment. Philadel- 
 phia. Third edition. 1845. 
 
 22. Patriarchs of American Lutheranism. Before 
 Lutheran Historical Society. 1845. 
 
 23. Papal Hierarchy Viewed in the Light of Pro- 
 phecy and History. 39 pages. Gettysburg. 1845, 8vo. 
 
 24. The Christian Pulpit, the Rightful Guardian of 
 Morals in Political and Private Life. Gettysburg. 1846. 
 8vo. , 
 
 25. Church Development on Apostolic Principles. 
 Gettysburg. 1850. 8vo. 
 
 26. Nature of the Savior's Presence in the Eucharist, 
 185 1. 8vo. 
 
 27. The Am. Lutheran Church, Historically, Doc- 
 trinally and Practically Delineated. 286 pages. Philadel- 
 phia: Miller. 185 1. i2mo. 
 
 28. Elemental Contrast between the Religion of 
 Forms and of the Spirit. 56 pages. Gettysburg. 1852. 
 8vo. 
 
 29. The Peace of Zion. Discourse before the Gen- 
 eral Synod. 1853. ^^o. 
 
 30. Address at the Laying of the Corner Stone of 
 the Shamokin Literary Institute. Pottsville. 1854. 
 
 31. The Lutheran Manual on Scriptural Principles. 
 Or the Augsburg Confession, Illustrated and Sustained by 
 Scripture, and Lutheran Theologians. Philadelphia: Lind- 
 say & Blackiston. 1855. 12 mo. 
 
 32. The Lutheran Symbols, or Vindication of Am. 
 Lutheranism. 192 pages. Baltimore. 1856. 8vo. 
 
UST OF PUBLICATIONS. 265 
 
 33. Definite Platform, Doctrinal and Disciplinarian, 
 for Ev. Luth. Synods. 42 pages. Philadelphia: Miller & 
 Burlack. 1856. i2mo. 
 
 34. Rev. J, A. Brown's New Theology Examined. 
 16 pages. Gettysburg. 1857. 8vo. 
 
 35. The Baptism of Children whose Parents are not 
 connected with the Church. Report to Synod of West 
 Pennsylvania, 1 1 pages. 1859. i6mo. 
 
 36. The Spiritual Worship of God. Its Nature, 
 Auxiliaries and Impediments. Before the Synod of West 
 Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, i860. 
 
 "ijj. Evan. Lutheran Catechism. 170 pages. Balti- 
 more : Kurtz. 1859. 1 6mo. Tenth Edition. 1871. 
 
 38. Sermon on the Work of Grace, or Revival of Re- 
 ligion, at Antioch. 27 pages. Preached at Hanover. 
 York. 1862. 
 
 39. Proposed Liturgy of the General Synod. Pre- 
 sented at York. 1864. 12 mo. 
 
 40. Discourse on Human Depravity. Gettysburg. 
 1865. i2mo. 
 
 41. The Church of the Redeemer, as Developed 
 within the General Synod of the Ev. Luth. Church. Balti- 
 more : T.N.Kurtz. 1867. i2mo. 
 
 42. True Unity of Christ's Church. New York : 
 Randolph. 1870. i2mo. 
 
266 STUDIOUS HABITS. 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 SCHMUCKER's studious habits MORRIS* ACCOUNT — JACOBS' 
 
 ACCOUNT DIEHL's ACCOUNT SCHMUCKER AS A 
 
 TEACHER BRANCHES TAUGHT BY HIM CHARACTER OF 
 
 MINUTES PREPARED BY HIM — DICTATED HIS LECTURES 
 
 ORDER PRESERVED IN HIS CLASSES — STUDENTS* DEBATES 
 — EXCITEMENT DURING ONE OF THESE DEBATES — HIS 
 CRITICISMS ON ESSAYS, PRAYERS, SKELETONS AND SER- 
 MONS TEXTS FOR FUNERAL SERMONS — ADMONITIONS 
 
 TO LEAD CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN LIVES — HIS FACULTY OF 
 QUIETING DISTURBANCES — MUHLENBERG's AND SCHMUCK- 
 
 ER's pietism — SCHMUCKER's PIETISM NO MISFORTUNE 
 
 THE CHURCH INDEBTED TO HIM — MUHLENBERG AND 
 SCHMUCKER BOTH VIOLENTLY OPPOSED ON ACCOUNT OF 
 THEIR PIETISM — THE HALLE PROFESSORS AND FOUNDERS 
 OF THE AMERICAN LUTHERAN CHURCH, PIETISTS PERSE- 
 CUTION OF MUHLENBERG BY BERKEMEIER AND KNOLL 
 
 ALBERT BENGEL A PIETIST — IS PIETISM RESPONSIBLE FOR 
 
 RATIONALISM ? — IS DEAD ORTHODOXY RESPONSIBLE ? 
 
 TENDENCIES CHANGEABLE — SCHMUCKER AS A PREACHER 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH — HAS THE SABBATH BEEN 
 
 ABROGATED — SCHMUCKER's TRACT THE SABBATH INSTI- 
 TUTED FOR ALL NATIONS CHANGED TO THE FIRST DAY 
 
 OF THE WEEK BY THE APOSTLES AND EARLY CHRISTIANS 
 — HIS POSITION ON THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION — IN AD- 
 VANCE OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES — IN FAVOR OF LEGISLA- 
 TIVE PROHIBITION SAD EFFECTS AMONG THE MINISTRY 
 
 HIS POSITION ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 
 
 SCHMUCKER's STUDIOUS HABITS. 
 
 Of his studious habits Dr. Morris has the following to 
 say, which is probably somewhat overdrawn : 
 
 " I never knew a man who needed and took less re- 
 laxation from severe mental toil than he. He never laid 
 aside a subject he was working at because he had grown 
 
STUDIOUS HABITS. 267 
 
 weary of it. He seemed not to require that variety or 
 change of subject that so many other head-workers find 
 necessary to quicken their brain or give it a pause. It is 
 true that in later life he sometimes went to * the Springs,' 
 but he took his work with him and labored as hard as 
 ever. One of our divines told me that he once met Dr. 
 Schmucker at Bedford. He was tinkering at the ' inter- 
 minable ' Liturgy or some other Synodical machine, and 
 insisted upon my friend hearing it read and helping him to 
 ' fix the thing up.' He would annoy him by questions 
 and bother him with difficulties, all the while as calm as an 
 August morning ; upon which my friend lost his patience 
 and curtly said, ' Dr. Schmucker, I have come here for re- 
 laxation. I want to lay aside all perplexing subjects, and I 
 won't listen to you any longer.' Now this was a state of 
 mind of which Dr. Schmucker had no conception, because 
 he had no experience of it. With him it was work, work, 
 all the time, without rest or cessation. 
 
 " I once crossed the Atlantic with him, and I can 
 safely affirm that not a day passed on which the everlasting 
 theme was not introduced. Even when he was suffering 
 from sea-sickness, it seemed to be a relief to him to talk 
 about General Synod, Liturgy, Constitution, Seminary and 
 certain men. It was not only talk, for that might have 
 been endured, but it was discussion, controversy, scrutiny, 
 which required tension of thought to follow, and being at 
 sea is not the place, nor time for prolonged and logical 
 thinking. I used to get rid of what really was an annoy- 
 ance by looking out of the cabin window, and exclaiming, 
 * Whale ! ' ' Whale ! ' and rush up on deck to find my 
 whale was nothing but a dark wave or a floating mast of 
 some wrecked vessel, but it answered my purpose for the 
 time." 
 
 This is what Dr. Jacobs testifies : " He threw all the 
 
268 STUDIOUS HABITS. 
 
 energy of his life into the General Synod and the institu- 
 tions at Gettysburg, withholding from them no amount of 
 personal sacrifice or toil. Perfectly imperturbable, he 
 moved forward toward the end in view, without regard to 
 obstacles. Never have higher executive abilities been at 
 
 the service of the church The effect of the later 
 
 Pietism was, however, clearly discernable in the standard of 
 theological education presented in his inaugural." * 
 On the same subject Dr. Diehl writes as follows : 
 " Arduous as his labors had been at New Market, at 
 Gettysburg he was called to bear a yet heavier burden of 
 toil. At that day, at least two professors were deemed 
 necessary in a Theogical Seminary. The utmost labors of 
 two men could not do more than teach three classes, in the 
 studies laid down in the Seminary course. In our day, no 
 Seminary is thought to be properly manned with less than 
 three or four professors. Mr. Schmucker was required to 
 do the work of at least two men in the way of instruction. 
 Besides this, he had the labor of raising the requisite funds. 
 He visited the cities to collect money. He traveled 
 through the Church, preaching, and soliciting funds. His 
 vacations were spent in this work. During the sessions, in 
 addition to the instruction of the classes, he was employed 
 in compiling the Hymn Book and other works. 
 
 " And yet, the young men that left the Seminary and 
 applied for license at the Synods, seemed to be well quali- 
 fied for the gospel ministry. Calls came to them from 
 vacant churches. In their pulpit and pastoral work they 
 were successful. Within a few years the graduates of the 
 Seminary were in demand. Everywhere they were received 
 with favor. They were soon found occupying important 
 pulpits. The first who left Prof Schmucker's lecture room, 
 
 * Jacobs' History, page 366. 
 
RESUI,TS OF HIS TEACHING. 269 
 
 at Gettysburg, was called to the first English Lutheran 
 Church, of one of our eastern cities." 
 
 " The best standard of a man's workmanship is the 
 character and quality of the products of his labor. Judged 
 by this rule, the Gettysburg Professor must have been a 
 skillful teacher. He trained men well for the sacred work. 
 The Church soon endorsed his efficiency, by sending pres- 
 sing calls to his pupils. 
 
 " When one man was required to teach Greek and 
 Hebrew Philology, Sacred Geography, Sacred Chronology, 
 Biblical and Profane History, Biblical Antiquities, Mental 
 Philosophy, Natural Theology, Evidences of Christianity, 
 Biblical Criticism, Exegetical and Biblical Theology, Syste- 
 matic Divinity, Ecclesiastical History, Pastoral and Polemic 
 Theology, Church Government, the Composition and De- 
 livery of Sermons, the instruction may not have been as 
 thorough in any one branch as . that afforded by the theo- 
 logical chairs of our best schools at this day. Under such 
 circumstances, a man must be judged by the general results 
 and character of his work. Did he send forth good preach- 
 ers and pastors? Did he inspire them with the right 
 spirit ? Did he give them back to the church, intelligent, 
 godly, self-denying, laborious young ministers ? Were 
 they adapted to the wants of the Lutheran Church ? 
 
 " In all these particulars, the results of the theological 
 training, at Gettysburg, when Mr. Schmucker was the only 
 teacher in the Seminary were highly satisfactory. The 
 best, the most active and the most intelligent ministers ex- 
 pressed themselves highly pleased with the qualifications 
 displayed by the young men, who were trained by him. 
 The students themselves, had an exalted opinion of his 
 abilities, his attainments, and his fidelity." — Diehl. 
 
 SCHMUCKER AS A TEACHER. 
 
 Professor Schmucker was one of the best teachers and 
 disciplinarians, at whose feet it was ever my privilege 
 to sit. 
 
270 AN EXCITING DEBATE. 
 
 He dictated his lectures, and usually gave us sufficient 
 time to commit them to paper. At the beginning of the 
 course, he also gave us a plain and simple system of short- 
 hand and abbreviations to facilitate rapidity in taking down 
 the lectures. His enunciation was slow and clear, so that 
 not a word or a syllable was lost or misunderstood. 
 
 I do not remember of any kind of levity having ever 
 been indulged in by any of the students in his class, much 
 less by himself, although a good natured smile at a ludi- 
 crous mistake of a fellow student, a striking illustration, or 
 pleasant anecdote told by himself, was not unusual. 
 
 He insisted on close attention, perfect order, faithful 
 study of the lessons, and close observance of the rules of 
 the institution. 
 
 On certain occasions the students had debates on 
 some theological subjects, assigned by the Professor ; the 
 debaters were appointed on opposite sides of the question 
 in dispute. The Doctor himself presided and at the end of 
 the debate he would compliment or criticise the respective 
 speakers, and then give his own opinion or decision. Dur- 
 ing one of these debates we had considerable excitement in- 
 side and outside of the class room. The subject was that 
 abstruse question, which I learn has since been debated by 
 the students in the Seminary ; namely, whether the soul is 
 imparted immediately by God, or inherited from the par- 
 ents. The respective intellectual combatants had studied 
 hard and made ample research and preparations to get 
 down to the bottom of this deep question. The rule in 
 these debates was, that no manuscript should be read, the 
 object being to train the students in extemporaneous speak- 
 ing. The sainted W. H. H. however, came in with a long, 
 elaborate essay, which he wished to read in support of his 
 side of the question, and plead that the rule might be 
 suspended in this important case. But the Doctor was in- 
 
CRITICISM OF ESSAYS. 271 
 
 exorable, the rule was not set aside and poor H. had to 
 stumble through his argument the best way he could. At 
 the end of the debate, the Professor gave his decision which 
 was in opposition to Brother H. This increased the excite- 
 ment and the disappointment of the good brother ; he as- 
 sembled a number of the students outside of study hours, 
 read his essay to us, boasted that he had totally demolished 
 the Doctor's argument, and offered to meet him in public 
 debate before all the students and the faculty. But with 
 all his bluster, I believe the students all agreed with the 
 Doctor, except perhaps the sainted Brother C. 
 
 His criticisnis of our essays, abstracts, and sermons 
 were generally faithful and correct, in pointing out errors 
 in the logic, rhetoric, scriptural proof-texts, historical 
 dates or facts. 
 
 I remember also that he criticised the expressions of 
 some of us in our prayers. For example, expressions like 
 these were sometimes used by students in the class-room : 
 
 " Forgive us of our sins." 
 
 " Grant to give us." 
 
 The too frequent and inappropriate, or irreverent repe- 
 tition of the name of the De'ty. 
 
 Tautology and redundancy of expression, etc., etc. 
 
 These, and other inaccuracies in grammar, he taught us 
 to avoid in our prayers. How far his instructions were 
 heeded by all of his students I am not prepared to say, but 
 I have heard the above and similar faulty language from 
 pulpits of different denominations very frequently since. 
 
 We were also required at stated times to read essays 
 on given subjects, and write sermons and skeletons on 
 selected texts. These were read in the presence of the 
 class, the Professor presiding. The students would first be 
 asked to express their criticism, and then the Professor 
 would commend, correct, or censure, according to his 
 
272 CRITICISM OF SKEI^ETONS. 
 
 views. An incident in these exercises I still remember 
 very well. It was made my duty to write and read an 
 essay on African Slavery in the South. Remember this 
 was long before the war, while slavery was yet in full force 
 in the Southern States. I gave expression to some very 
 strong anti-slavery sentiments, and a Southern Brother 
 took offense. But the Doctor sustained me in my position. 
 
 The most searching criticisms were made by the 
 Doctor on our sermons and skeletons. It is true, he would 
 commend everything in them that he thought commend- 
 able, but we could seldom present a skeleton in which he 
 did not find a flaw in the introduction, divisions, or applica- 
 tion. Especially in funeral sermons were we cautioned to 
 be careful in the selection of the texts, and the treatment of 
 the subject in relation to the dead. He also pointed out 
 texts which were not appropriate, one of which I will relate 
 from memory, an anecdote told in class. At the funeral of 
 a notably wicked man, who had opposed the church, and 
 had caused the minister much trouble, the preacher took 
 this text, "Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer 
 darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 The relatives, of course, were very angry, and con- 
 sulted a lawyer, with a view of prosecuting the preacher. 
 They were told, however, that if the preacher had taken his 
 text out of the Bible, they could do nothing by law against 
 him. This was given as certainly one of the most objec- 
 tionable kind of funeral texts. 
 
 The Doctor frequently admonished us to be always 
 consistent, as christian young men, in our deportment, not 
 only m our intercourse with each other in the Seminary, 
 but also before other professing christians and before the 
 world. 
 
 He had also a peculiar faculty of quieting any disturb- 
 ance or dissatisfaction among the students. A notable 
 
QUIETING DISTURBANCES. 2/3 
 
 instance occurred during my student years. At that time 
 we boarded in common in the basement of the Seminary. 
 The steward supplied the boarding at a very moderate rate; 
 and all the students were seated at meals around a large 
 table. On one occassion there was a general complaint as 
 to the quality of the boarding. It consisted very frequently 
 of what was called " Pot-pie." Passavant called it " Death 
 in the Pot." A general rebellion was inaugurated. A state- 
 ment of our grievances was written out, and sent to the 
 faculty with an appeal for better fare. In answer to our 
 humble petition the Doctor called a meeting of the students 
 in the chapel. There he very solemnly admonished us to 
 the exercise of christian patience, moderation and forbear- 
 ance. He reminded us, that the steward could not afford 
 to give us many luxuries for the low price we paid him, 
 but that he would speak with the steward, and admonish 
 him to give us wholesome food, which he hoped would be 
 conducive to our bodily health and vigor of our mental 
 faculties. This was good advice, and satisfactory ; the 
 quality and variety of our diet was also visibly improved, 
 and we considered the strike a success. 
 
 Muhlenberg's and schmucker's pietism. 
 
 In a previous part of this book (page 47) we quoted 
 an extract from an article of R.W., (Reuben Weiser,) declar- 
 ing that his father, Dr. J. G. Schmucker, was a " Pietist of 
 the Spenerian school ; " and adding, this was, perhaps a 
 misfortune for one who was to have the training of not less 
 than five hundred ministers in his hands." 
 
 We certainly do not regard Schmucker's Pietism as a 
 misfortune, but on the contrary as a gracious superintend- 
 ing providence. There were some other learned and good 
 men living at that time, but we can think of no one among 
 them, who was in every respect so well qualified for this 
 
274 fHB CHURCH'S INDEBTEDNESS — PIETISM. 
 
 work, and so intensely and unselfishly devoted to it during 
 half a century as Dr. Schmucker. We are not alone in this 
 opinion of his usefulness and devotion to the church. Dr. 
 Morris gives the following testimony : 
 
 " It cannot be doubted that to Dr. Schmucker the 
 church is much indebted for the respectable position it as- 
 sumed and the progress it made during the early part of 
 his career. He had a noble ambition to elevate its char- 
 acter by the development of its resources, and he succeeded. 
 He was indefatigable in his labors to promote what he con- 
 sidered to be its best interests. I never knew a man more 
 wholly given up to the prosecution of his plans. He read 
 none of the popular books on science or literature, which 
 most cultivated clergymen indulge in for recreation from 
 more severe studies, and to keep abreast of the progress of 
 mind ; but his entire time, day and night, at home and 
 elsewhere, was devoted to his favorite pursuits of writing, 
 planning, begging and talking for the church." 
 
 Dr. Schmucker was violently opposed by certain ultra 
 confessionalists, who accused him of heterodoxy and dis- 
 loyalty to the Lutheran Church, for whose welfare he had 
 labored and sacrificed his time and money. But Dr. 
 Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the American 
 Lutheran Church, passed through precisely the same ex- 
 perience. Dr. Wolf in his " Lutherans in America," (pages 
 252 3,) writes thus of Muhlenberg: 
 
 " They assailed him with poisoned shafts of calumny 
 and malice to counteract his usefulness and prevent the 
 
 progress of Christ's Kingdom Berkemeier and 
 
 Knoll entertained strong prejudice against Muhlenberg's 
 Pietism, and persistently sought to undermine his influence 
 by impugning his orthodoxy and his loyalty to the 
 Lutheran Church. Berkemeier claimed for himself and the 
 men from Hamburg a more positive Lutheran orthodoxy. 
 
MUHI.ENBERG'S PIETISM ASSAII^ED. 275 
 
 than he conceded to Hartwig and Muhlenberg and others 
 trained in Halle, He earnestly warned the congregations 
 against them." 
 
 Nothing could more accurately describe the treatment 
 which Dr. Schmucker received from his opponents. The 
 same violent persecution was also carried on against 
 Spener, the father of Pietism, as also against those godly 
 men, Francke, the founder of the great orphan house at 
 Halle, and Arndt, the author of the " True Christianity.** 
 Prayer meetings were introduced by Spener, and became 
 the salt of the earth, even to the present day. Albert 
 Bengel, the learned Lutheran Commentator, was especially 
 the hand of the Lord by which this salt was cast abroad. 
 On one occasion he expressed himself as follows : " I do 
 not understand why there should be opposition to prayer- 
 meetings. Why should each one be pious and remain by 
 himself? It is just as if people were going on a journey^ 
 and I should advise them, * Don't go together in company^ 
 but let each remain about a gunshot behind the other.' " 
 
 The accusation is often made, that Pietism was the 
 forerunner of Rationalism, and consequently led to and is 
 responsible for Rationalism. But this is a false assumption^ 
 as Dr. Sprecher has shown in his learned book, the 
 " Groundwork." Auberlen put the matter correctly, when 
 he said, that " there was a two-fold opposition, side by side, 
 to the dead orthodoxy of the seventeenth century, one intel- 
 lectual, the other spiritual, or in other words, the one 
 rationalistic, the other pietistic." Auberlen even says, 
 " Humanism was older than the Reformation, and Ration- 
 alism was older than Pietism." 
 
 The question might be asked. How did Rationalism 
 get into the other universities of Germany, where the so- 
 called " dead orthodoxy " prevailed ? Is the orthodoxy,, 
 that once prevailed in those schools, responsible for the 
 
a 
 
 276 PIKTISM NOT RKSPONSIBI^E FOR RATlONAIvISM. 
 
 Rationalism that has succeeded and abounded in them for, 
 lo, these many years ? 
 
 From all accounts Rationalism predominates at the 
 present time, not only in Halle, but also in all the other 
 German universities.* 
 
 As the " dead orthodoxy " was also the forerunner in 
 these institutions, we might with equal propriety hold it 
 responsible for the Rationalism now taught in their halls. 
 
 The truth is, there can be no perfect security, that a 
 theological seminary shall for all time maintain the 
 doctrinal position of its founders, either in Germany or in 
 America. The Seminary at Gettysburg was founded by 
 Dr. S. S. Schmucker, Wittenberg College and Seminary 
 were founded by Drs. Ezra Keller and Samuel Sprecher, 
 and the Missionary Institute at Selin's Grove was founded 
 by Dr. Benjamin Kurtz ; but what assurance have we, that 
 the doctrinal status and religious tendency of their founders 
 shall remain unchanged for all time to come? In Germany, 
 where the church and her institutions are under the control 
 of the state, where the professors are not obligated to teach 
 according to the Augsburg Confession, the change from 
 Orthodoxy to Heterodoxy is made very easy.f 
 
 * I see statements in the German papers that it is urgently pro- 
 posed to found a new University from which Rationalism shall be ex- 
 cluded, only orthodox professors be appointed, and the pure Scrip- 
 tural doctrines only shall be taught. 
 
 t This reminds of a striking analogy in nature. When the winter 
 is past, and the spring time has come, the voice of the Cuckoo is 
 heard in the land. This singular bird builds no nest of its own, but 
 lays its eggsin the nests of some other bird?, that they may hatch them 
 along with their own, and feed the young both alike. But the young 
 Cuckoos are larger than the other birdies, and have bigger mouths; so 
 they get most of the food, starve out the original heirs, and at last 
 crowd them out of the nest altogether. 
 
SCHMUCKER AS A PREACHER. 277 
 
 DR. SCHMUCKER AS A PREACHER. 
 
 " About seventy-five years ago Drs. Schmucker and 
 Kurtz were regarded as the two ablest English Lutheran 
 preachers in America. They differed very widely, however, 
 in their style of oratory. When Schmucker entered the 
 ministry, Kurtz was already attracting notice as a rising 
 young man in the church. 
 
 " Though Mr. S. delivered his sermons without manu- 
 script, he was not an extemporaneous preacher. He made 
 full preparation, writing his sermons with great care. Such, 
 however, was his facility in memorizing his own composi- 
 tions, that three readings would often be sufficient to trans- 
 fer an entire sermon from the manuscript to his memory. 
 His sermons were framed after the models of the best 
 authorities of that time. Going to the root of his subject, 
 analyzing it carefully, arranging his matter systematically, 
 clothing his thoughts in a clear, Addisonian style, instruct- 
 ive and practical at the same time, an occasional flower of 
 rhetoric, appeals to the conscience, as well as to reason, 
 touching at times the fountain of emotions, always solemn 
 in aspect and dignified in manner, distinct in his enuncia- 
 tion, clear in voice and loud enough to be easily heard by 
 all, he was such a preacher in 1822, as all classes delighted 
 to hear." 
 
 The foregoing eulogy is given by Dr. Diehl ; my own 
 estimate corresponds with it entirely. Having often heard 
 him preach, his sermons made a deep impression on my 
 mind, and many important truths have been indelibly fixed 
 in my memory. He did not use many illustrations ; if he 
 had, it would have made his sermons more popular ; but 
 when he did use one, it was always striking and appro- 
 priate. 
 
 I select the following as a sample from his sermon, 
 preached in Middletown, Md., before the Synod of Mary- 
 
278 MISSIONARY AMONG THE INDIANS. 
 
 land in the year 1824. It is said, that this sermon pro- 
 duced the final determination in the minds of the members 
 of this Synod to establish a theological seminary : 
 
 " An American Indian gave the following advice to a 
 Moravian missionary, by one of whom he was led to Christ 
 and converted : 
 
 " ' Brethren,' said he, ' I have grown old among the 
 heathen ; therefore I know how the heathen think. Once 
 a preacher came and began to explain to us that there is a 
 God. We answered, ' Dost thou think us so ignorant as 
 not to know that ? Go back to the place whence thou 
 earnest' 
 
 " ' Then again another preacher came and began to 
 teach us, and to say, ' You must not steal, nor lie, nor get 
 drunk.' We answered, ' Thou fool ! dost thou think we 
 don't know that ? Learn first thyself, and then teach the 
 people to whom thou belongest, to leave off these things ; 
 for who steals, or lies, or is more drunken than thine own 
 people ? * And thus we dismissed him. 
 
 "'After some time Brother Christian Henry Rauch 
 came into my hut and sat down by me. He spoke to me 
 nearly as follows : ' I come to you in the name of the God 
 of heaven and earth. He wants to let you know that he 
 will make you happy, and deliver you from the misery in 
 "which you lie at present. To this end he became 
 a man, gave his life a ransom for man, and 
 shed his blood for him on the cross ! ' When he 
 had finished his discourse, he lay down upon a board, 
 fatigued by the journey, and fell into a sound sleep. I then 
 thought : * See how he lies and sleeps ! I might kill him 
 and throw him out into the woods, and who would regard 
 it ? But this gives him no concern.' 
 
 " ' However, I could not forget his words. They con- 
 stantly recurred to my mind. Even when I was asleep, 
 
HIS VIEW OF REVIVAI,S OF REI,IGION. 279 
 
 I dreamed of the blood of Christ shed for us. I found this 
 to be different from what I had ever heard, and I inter- 
 preted Christian Henry's words to the other Indians. Thus, 
 through the grace of God, an awakening took place 
 among us.' 
 
 " I say, therefore, brethren, preach Christ, our Savior, 
 and his sufferings and death, if you would have your words 
 gain entrance among the heathen." 
 
 schmucker's views on revivals of religion. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker advocated genuine revivals of religion. 
 He was in favor of protracted efforts for the conversion of 
 sinners and the edification of believers. He was not, how- 
 ever, in favor of unnecessary noise and confusion ; he 
 wanted the meetings to be conducted decently and in 
 order. I never knew a man who was more orderly in all 
 his conduct, walk and conversation. 
 
 His views may be gathered from his account of the 
 evangelistic labors of Muhlenberg and his co-laborers and 
 successors in the early history of the American Lutheran 
 Church. In his discourse entitled, " Retrospect of Luther- 
 anism," he gives the following account of the work of 
 Muhlenberg and his fellow-laborers in promoting genuine 
 revivals of religion : 
 
 " Muhlenberg and his early fellow-laborers had been 
 trained by the Spirit of God as worthy disciples of the 
 Frankean School. The period of their education was the 
 age of revivals in Germany, and succeeded the era of pietis- 
 tic controversies, which grew out of them, and enlisted on 
 the one side or the other, the entire theological intellect of 
 the country. Their own views were decidedly orthodox 
 and evangelical, and they were careful to require evidences 
 of genuine piety from applicants for the ministerial office. 
 Among the questions they were required to answer were 
 
28o REVIVAI,S IN THE EARI,Y CHURCHES. 
 
 the folio iving : How do you know that Christ was not 
 only a teacher, but also that he has made atonement for the 
 sins of men ? What is meant by the influence and bless- 
 ings of the Holy Spirit ? What are the evidences of con- 
 version ? 
 
 " Their preaching was most evangelical and edifying, 
 and their journals show that they earnestly looked for the 
 divine blessing. Muhlenberg states that he sometimes, 
 after a sermon, added a brief paraphrase or exhortation on 
 the closing hymn, and described the case of a young man 
 who attributed his conversion to this practice. All that 
 they have written and all that is on record of their sermons 
 prove that they were anxious mainly for the glory of their 
 Savior and the salvation of souls committed to their care. 
 It was in this spirit that they plainly assailed the prevailing 
 views of the land, and often incurred the displeasure of the 
 vicious. 
 
 " Thus for his faithfulness toward Sabbatli-breakers in 
 Philadelphia, Dr. Kunze, in 1784, was attacked in the news- 
 papers of the day. Soon after his settlement in New York, 
 Dr. Kunze remarks: 'Several individuals have come to me, 
 and with tears besought me to teach them what they must 
 do to be saved.' The reports which they statedly sent to 
 Halle abounded in individual narratives of conversions, and 
 demonstrate that they watched for souls as those that must 
 give account. 
 
 " They encouraged prayer-meetings among their 
 church members, and often conducted them themselves. 
 Nor did they deem it necessary to forbid these meetings, 
 although formalists within the church opposed them, and 
 the ungodly world without sometimes disturbed the meet- 
 ings, as was the case at Lancaster in 1773, in the pastoral 
 charge of Dr. Helmuth. Speaking of a revival of religion 
 then in progress, he says : 
 
DISTURBED BY FORMAI.ISTS. 281 
 
 " ' Twice or thrice a week meetings were held in the 
 evening at different places by the subjects of this work of 
 grace, and the time spent in singing, praying and reading 
 a chapter in the Word of God, or in Arndt's True Chris- 
 tianity, and if no prayer-meeting was held in church on 
 Sabbath evening, the substance of the morning sermon was 
 discussed. In some houses the number was rather large, 
 there being sometimes as many as forty persons assembled 
 at one place. The children of the world several times at- 
 tempted to disturb their worship by standing at the win- 
 dows listening, and by throwing stones against the doors. 
 But by grace they were enabled to bear it without any re- 
 sistance, and even when on their way home they were as- 
 sailed on the streets with various nicknames, and stigma- 
 tized as hypocrites, pietists, etc., yet they answered not a 
 word. Some of these persecutors also, when they heard 
 these men sing and pray with fervor and sincerity, not only 
 ceased their opposition, but induced others to do the 
 same.' 
 
 " The labors of the greater number of these men were 
 extensively blessed. Speaking of a visit to Tulpehocken, 
 Father Muhlenberg says that he found many souls who 
 professed the Rev. Mr. M. Kurtz to be their spiritual 
 father; and his own labors were crowned with very exten- 
 sive success. In 1782 there was also a season of revival of 
 great interest in the church in Philadelphia. ' Particularly 
 among the young," says Dr. Kunze, " there has been a fire 
 kindled, which continued to burn, to our great joy, about a 
 year.' " 
 
 schmucker's view of the christian sabbath. 
 
 Dr. Schmucker taught the divine obligation to keep 
 
 the Christian Sabbath or Lord's Day, as a day of sacred 
 
 rest. He regarded it as a Christian's bounden duty to 
 
 abstain from all unnecessary secular labor on the first 
 
282 schmucker's tract on the sabbath. 
 
 day in every week, and devote that day to religious duties 
 in the family or the public worship of God. 
 
 On this subject he wrote a tract which was published 
 in English by the American Tract Society, and was also 
 translated into the German language. In this tract he very 
 clearly shows, that in the beginning the Sabbath was insti- 
 tuted for the whole human race, and not for the Jews alone; 
 that in the Christian dispensation it was changed from the 
 seventh to the first day of the week, which day has con- 
 tinued to be observed from the earliest time of the christian 
 church to the present day ; that it is also regarded neces- 
 sary by the secular governments ; that the Sabbath is one 
 of the safeguards against crime ; that it is necessary for our 
 physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual welfare ; that the 
 French infidels committed a fatal error, when they under- 
 took to make the tenth instead of the seventh a day of rest. 
 He laments the fact that so many people in this favored 
 land desecrate the Christian Sabbath, and our railroads, 
 canals and many public works disregard their obligation to 
 keep the Lord's Day holy. 
 
 There are now some theologians who maintain, that 
 the Sabbath was only a ceremonial regulation for the Jews, 
 and was abrogated after the advent of Christ, so that we 
 are under no moral obligation to keep it holy, and that it 
 has not been changed from the seventh to the first day of 
 the week, but that we keep this day merely as a human regula- 
 tion for convenience sake, in order that we may have an 
 appointed time for public worship. We copy the following 
 selection from Schmucker's tract, in which he proves, that 
 the Sabbath was instituted for the whole human race, 
 proves that it was properly changed by the early Christian 
 Church from the seventh to the first day of the week : 
 
 " The word of God, we believe, inculcates the divine 
 obligation to consecrate one day in seven to rest from 
 
THE SABBATH INSTITUTED FOR THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE. 283 
 
 secular toil, and to exercises of religious devotion. This 
 was enacted at the end of the creative week, for reasons 
 equally applicable to all nations and all generations : ' Be- 
 cause in six days the Lord created the heavens and the 
 earth, and rested on the seventh from all the works which 
 he had made.' And as he created the heavens and the 
 earth, not for the Jews only, -but for all nations, so the ex- 
 ample of his resting and sanctifying the seventh day, must 
 also have been designed for all. Here we find the original 
 and formal institution of the Sabbath. In Exod. xx. 8-11, 
 it is evidently spoken of as already existing and known. 
 The language, ' Remember the Sabbath day,' etc., implies a 
 previous acquaintance with it. The same is true of Exod. 
 xvi. Moreover, the declaration of the Savior, that the Sab- 
 bath was made for man, forbids the idea of its restriction to 
 the Israelites alone, and implies that it was intended for all 
 mankind, and therefore appropriately instituted at that 
 early day. That the Sabbath was appointed at the time 
 just stated, is moreover sustained by the fact, that the divis- 
 ion of time into weeks was found among the most ancient 
 nations, as far back as history and tradition extend. It was 
 found among the Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, 
 Ancient Chinese, Indians, Arabians, and others. No other 
 rational account of the general prevalence of the hebdoma- 
 dal division of time in the earliest ages of antiquity can be 
 given, than that it was spread by tradition from the family 
 of Noah, who had derived it from our first parents. 
 
 " We claim not that the identical hours must be ob- 
 served over the whole earth ; for, unless the night were 
 employed, this would be physically impossible. Had the 
 popular theory of antiquity proved true, that the earth is an 
 extended plain, the same twelve hours might have been 
 observed for the active duties of the Sabbath by all men. 
 But how can the inhabitants of a revolving sphere, illumi- 
 
284 ONE SEVENTH PORTION OF TIME. 
 
 nated from one fixed point, all have their Sabbath day, or 
 any other day, at the same time ? We need scarcely remind 
 any of you, that if colonies had simultaneously emigrated 
 from Eden, and proceeded half round the globe, they 
 would have been involved in midnight, whilst the meridian 
 sun illumined their starting point : and if they continued 
 their progress till they completed the circuit, each having 
 faithfully kept the seventh day as Sabbath, they would find 
 themselves observing different days. But though the simul- 
 taneousness of sabbatic observance will be conceded as un- 
 necessary, it is evident, that whilst these divergent colonies 
 might both regularly observe the seventh day, counting 
 from the time they started, yet when they met, as they 
 would be observing different days, they must either have 
 two conflicting Sabbaths, or one of them must change its 
 day and adopt that of the other. Since the Creator has 
 made it physically impossible to observe the same hours, 
 or even, in some cases, the same day ; does he not thus 
 evidently teach us, that it was not unalterably the seventh 
 day of the week, but the religious observance of the seventh 
 portiofi oi time which essentially constitutes his Sabbath ? 
 while, in the Old Testament dispensation, the seventh day 
 was confessedly appointed. During the Mosaic dispensa- 
 tion, the same proportion of time was reiterated, with var- 
 ious ceremonial injunctions, and the Sabbath, like the rain- 
 bow of old, employed as a type or sign to the Israelites, 
 without altering its primitive relation to other nations. 
 This ceremonial character and its appendages, which were 
 peculiar to the Mosaic economy, and ' were shadows of 
 things to come, of which Christ is the body,' Paul tells the 
 Colossians (ii. 16) were abolished in the New testament, 
 with the other types and shadows of the old ; but the 
 primitive design and obligation remained to sanctify the 
 seventh portion of time. The inspired apostles, doubtless 
 
REASONS FOR THE CHANGE. 285 
 
 for wise reasons, selected the day of our Lord's resurrec- 
 tion, the first day of the week, for their stated seventh-day 
 religious services, perhaps to connect the Savior's triumph 
 over death and the powers of hell, with the perpetual pub- 
 lic devotions of Christians, and possibly to prevent the 
 ceremonial aspects of the Jewish Sabbath from becoming 
 connected with that of Christians, to which there would 
 have been a constant tendency, if the same day had been 
 retained. 
 
 " That the inspired apostles, and primitive Christians 
 under their guidance, selected the first day for their regular 
 weekly public exercises, we think, needs no labored argu- 
 ment. Luke the evangelist, not only tells us, that the dis- 
 ciples came together on the first day to break bread, that 
 is, to celebrate the communion, but he says, on the first 
 day of the week, zvhen they came together for this purpose, 
 Paul preached to them ; implying that it was their custom 
 so to convene. Paul also directs the Christians of Corinth 
 and Galatia to hold their charitable collections on the first, 
 or, as St. John calls it, ' The Lord's Day,' for the obvious 
 reason, that then they were assembled, i Cor. xvi. i, 2. 
 Indeed, the resurrection of Christ was so decidedly the 
 culminating and crowning scene in the work of redemption, 
 it was so obviously the day of triumph for Christ, for Chris- 
 tianity, and for Christians, that the disciples from the begin- 
 ning very naturally regarded it as the day most closely" 
 connected with their religion and worship, and observed it 
 as such. And the divine Savior himself seems to have 
 evinced his approbation of the practice. We have no ac- 
 count of his having met with them after his resurrection on 
 the Jewish Sabbath ; but every instance of his appearance 
 to them was on the first day of the week, on the Lord's 
 Day. . It was on this day that he favored their assembly 
 with his presence, and pronounced his benediction, ' Peace 
 
286 EARI,Y CHRISTIANS OBSERVED THE LORD'S DAY. 
 
 be with you.' It was on this day that he poured out his 
 Spirit upon them, and bestowed the gift of tongues ; and it 
 was on this day, also, that he revealed himself and the pro- 
 phetic history of his church to St. John at Patmos. Luke 
 xxiv. 36. Levit. xxiii. 15, 16. Acts ii. i. 
 
 " That this day was religiously observed by Christians, 
 in regular succession during the first three centuries, is evi- 
 dent from the testimony of Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Tertul- 
 lian, Clement of Alexandria, and Cyprian. Eusebius, of the 
 fourth century, tells us that Christians were so well known 
 by the fact of their observing the Lord's day, that the hea- 
 then, when wishing to know whether any person was a dis- 
 ciple ot Christ, decided by his answer to the inquiry. Dost 
 thou observe the Lord's day ? In the fourth century, Con- 
 stantine, the first Christian emperor, enacted civil laws, re- 
 quiring abstinence from secular labor on the Lord's day ; 
 and from that time to the present, similar prohibitions, 
 more or less stringent, are embodied in the code of every 
 Christian nation." 
 
 On the question of the divine obligation of the Lord's 
 Day, Dr. Schmucker stood squarely on the basis of the 
 General Synod. This will appear evident from its action at 
 York in May 1864. A number of preambles and a resolu- 
 tion, read and moved by Dr. Passavant, were adopted. We 
 copy the resolution which reads as follows : 
 
 " Resolved, That while this Synod, resting on the word 
 of God as the sole authority in matters of faith on its infal- 
 lible warrant, rejects the Romish doctrine of the real pres- 
 ence or Transubstantiation, and with it the doctrine of Con- 
 substantiation ; rejects the Romish mass, and all the cere- 
 monies distinctive of the mass ; denies any power in the 
 sacraments, as an opus operatum, or that the blessings of 
 Baptism and the Lord's Supper can be received without 
 faith ; rejects auricular confession and priestly absolution ; 
 holds that there is no priesthood on earth, but that of all 
 
GEN, SYNOD'S RESOI,UTlON. 287 
 
 believers, and that God only can forgive sins ; and main- 
 tains the Divine obligation of the Sabbath!' * 
 
 Dr. C. P. Krauth, Sr., his colleague in the Seminary, 
 published a treatise on the Sabbath, in which he maintained 
 the Divine obligation of the Lord's Day. 1856, page 53. 
 
 * The divine appointment of the Lord's Day is also taught in the 
 Provisional Catechism adopted by the General Synod. Under ques- 
 tion 58, " Why do we now keep the first day of the week, or Sun- 
 day ? " the fourth reason assigned is, " Because the apostles kept this 
 day for religious worship and being inspired, they must have known 
 their Lord's will. " 
 
 Under question sixty, "What is meant by keeping the Sabbath 
 holy?" the answer is, " We keep the Sabbath holy, when we give 
 the day to the word and worship of God, and Christian service of our 
 fellow men, resting from worldly labor." 
 
 In Luther's Larger Catechism also we find these words : "Since 
 . then so much depends upon God's Word, that without it no Sabbath 
 can be kept holy, we ought to know, that God will insist upon a 
 strict observance of the commandment, and will punish all who de- 
 spise his Word, and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially at 
 the times appointed for the purpose. ' ' 
 
 Dr. Conrad's Catechism teaches as follows on the Sabbath 
 question : 
 
 "62 When was the Sabbath instituted ? Immediately after. the 
 work of creation was finished. 
 
 " 66 How do we remember the Sabbath day ? By observing it 
 
 for rest and worship. 
 
 " 67 What is meant by God's hallowing the Sabbath ? The set- 
 ting apart of the seventh day from common to sacred purposes. 
 
 "68 How is the Sabbath kept holy? By abstaining from all 
 worldly pursuits, and regulating our thoughts, words and actions 
 according to its sacred character. 
 
 "70 How may its spiritual blessings be secured? By prayer 
 and meditation at home, by worshiping in the house of God, and by 
 
 doing good. 
 
 " 71 How is the Sabbath profaned ? By spending it in secular 
 pursuit?, by visiting and travel, by recreation and pleasure, as if it 
 were an ordinary, and not a holy day. 
 
 "78 By whom was the change from the seventh to the first day 
 of the week made ? By the apostles, with the approbation of Jesus 
 Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath." 
 
288 kbauth's view. 
 
 The following by Dr. C. P. Krauth, Jr., late Professor of 
 Theology in Mt. Airy Seminary, and author of the " Con- 
 servative Reformation," is taken from his treatise on the 
 Augsburg Confession, 1868, pages 81-83. ^^ i^ very 
 positive on the Divine obligation of the Lord's Day, and 
 sustains Dr. Schmucker's position very decidedly : 
 
 " The Confessors maintained that the Jeivis/i Sabbath 
 is abrogated, but that so far as its ends and obligations 
 
 Dr. Morris teaches in his Catechism as follows: 
 
 " 7 On -what day do Christians keep the Sabbath ? On the first 
 day of the week, because on that day the Savior rose from the dead. 
 
 " 8 Who first changed the day? The holy apostles who knew 
 the Lord's will, and were directed by the Holy Ghost. They set apart 
 the first day in thankful remembrance of Christ's resurrection, for the 
 out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, and for the time of public worship 
 among Christians." 
 
 Dr. Ziegler in his Catechetics teaches as follows: "94 Why do 
 we now keep the first day of the week, or Sunday ? Because his dis- 
 ciples kept it by frequently meeting on it for religious worship; and 
 being inspired, they must have known the Lord's will." 
 
 He also recommendslhis students to read " the Sabbath Manual " 
 by Edwards, published by the American Tract Society, Nos. 1-4. 
 
 ■ The fathers of the American Luth. Church inculcated the strict 
 observance of the Lord's Day, as may be seen from the following ex- 
 tract from the Halle Annals: " So faithfully did Dr. Kunze direct the 
 artillery of the pulpit against the vice of Sabbath breaking, then as 
 now prevalent among European Germans, that they became greatly 
 excited, and published some abusive articles against him in the 
 English newspapers; the German editor wisely declined to insert 
 such articles." 
 
 Dr. Mann, member of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, in his 
 " Plea for the Augsburg Confession," writes as follows: " Luther and 
 Melancthon had received from the older church, the doctrine and 
 practice of the Christian Sabbath, as a holy day, as a divine institu- 
 tion and obligation, and they had not a word to say against this view 
 of the Sabbath. But they had a great deal to say against the abuses, 
 by which the bishops n^ade the Sabbath a day of sin and dishonor to 
 God and his church, instead of making it a day devoted to his glory." 
 — Page 28. 
 
krauth's statements. 289 
 
 were original and generic they are unchangeable, and that 
 to meet these ends and obligations the Christian Church, 
 through the Apostles, had appointed the first day of the 
 week, or Lord's Day, In what they here say they mean to 
 confute two Romish errors. The first was that of the " ob- 
 servatioti " of days, that is, of suc/i a keeping as was Judaiz- 
 ing in its spirit, and opposed to the grace of the Gospel, 
 such as St. Paul expressly condemned when he says : * Ye 
 observe days. ... I am afraid lest I have bestowed labor 
 upon you in vain.' Galat. iv. 10. Secondly, the idea that 
 such outward observation was in itself meritoriously neces- 
 sary to salvation. This the Confession denied, and shows 
 that there is a necessity for the Lord's Day, but not of the 
 kind Romanism had invented. 
 
 " A systematic statement of the predominant doctrine 
 of the Sabbath involved in the views of the greatest writers 
 of our Church, may be presented in the following pro- 
 positions : 
 
 " I. The law that one day in seven shall be set apart 
 for the service of God, has existed by Divine command, 
 from the foundation of the world, and its obligation is a 
 part of the original law of nature. 
 
 " 2. The command was repeated in the Decalogue 
 and in the Mosaic law, with specific ceremoftial characteris- 
 tics adapting it to the Jewish nation. 
 
 " 3. The law itself, generically considered, is of per- 
 petual and universal obligation ; its specific ceremonial 
 characteristics pertain only to the Jews. 
 
 " 4. The law itself has never been abrogated ; the 
 specific ceremonial characteristics have been. 
 
 " 5. To keep one day in seven holy to God, to ab- 
 stain from all that may conflict with its sanctification, is ge- 
 neric, not specific ; moral, not ceremonial. 
 
290 krauth's statements. 
 
 " 6. The obligation to keep holy the seventh day, or 
 Saturday, is ceremonial, and not binding on Christians. 
 
 " 7. The resurrection of Christ, his successive appear- 
 ings, the Pentecostal effusion of his Spirit, on the first day 
 of the week, together with the example of the Apostles, 
 and of the Apostolic Church, have shown to the Church 
 what day in the seven may, under the New Dispensation, 
 most fitly be kept holy, and have led to the substitution of 
 the first day of the week for the seventh, as the Christian 
 Sabbath. 
 
 " 8. To keep holy the first day of the week, to conse- 
 crate it to God, and to this end to abstain upon it from all 
 works except those of necessity, mercy, and the service of 
 God, is obligatory on all men. 
 
 " No Church can show a purer record than the 
 Lutheran Church, on this very question of sound doctrine 
 in regard to the moral and Divine obligation to consecrate 
 one day in every seven to God, and to repose from toil. 
 The greatest leaders of theology in our church, considered 
 a denial of the Divine obligation to keep one day in seven 
 as Socinian. The Sabbatarians, harmonizing with the Jews, 
 considered even the determinative part of the fourth com- 
 mand as perpetual, and contended that Saturday should be 
 kept. Our fathers rejected this error. The Anabaptists 
 and Socinians contended that no part of the fourth com- 
 mand is of Divine obligation — that all is ceremonial. Our 
 fathers rejected this error, and rested on this point as in 
 others, on the truth removed from each extreme — that the 
 generic Sabbath is primitive and has never been abrogated 
 — that only what is ceremonial in the Jewish Sabbath is 
 abrogated — that the Christian Sabbath is a glorious bond 
 of the sovereignty of God in the law, and of the freedom of 
 the church under the gospel ; Divine in its generic origin 
 and obligation y and apostolic in its specific determination y 
 
SCHMUCKER ON TEMPERANCE. 291 
 
 DR. SCHMUCKER's POSITION ON THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION. 
 
 On the subject of Temperance, Dr. Schmucker was 
 half a century in advance of his contemporaries. He was a 
 tee-total abstainer from intoxicants as a beverage, while the 
 temperance people advocated moderate drinking ; he advo- 
 cated legislation to prevent the sale of alcoholic liquors^ 
 while others pleaded only for moral suasion; he was a 
 Prohibitionist, long before Local Option was thought of, or 
 the Prohibition Party had an existence. I shall never for- 
 get a speech which I heard him make while I was a 
 student in Pennsylvania College (1841-44). A public meet- 
 ing was called to assemble in the old Gettysburg court 
 house, which stood in the centre of the square. The meet- 
 ing was addressed by Dr. Schmucker. He then and there 
 contended that temperance could never become prevalent in 
 this country by means of moral suasion, but that the whole 
 liquor traffic should be suppressed by law. " For," said 
 the Doctor, " so long as liquor is publicly sold in taverns, 
 (there were then no lager beer saloons) there will 
 always be boys and men unprincipled enough to drink 
 it," This declaration has been literally verified, as the ex- 
 perience of half a century has now clearly demonstrated. 
 
 The Doctor took occasion frequently to speak on the 
 subject to the students in the class room, exhorting them 
 to total abstinence from mtoxicating liquors as a beverage, 
 and to advocate temperance principles from the pulpit. 
 Morris says of him ; " He never drank a glass of strong 
 liquor as a beverage in his life." The drinking of wine and 
 whiskey was customary and even fashionable in the early 
 period of his ministry, among ministers as well as laymen. 
 There was, it is said, in those days a stillhouse on almost 
 every farm in York County. The farmers would distill 
 their grain into whiskey, which they would send by wagon 
 to Baltimore, being far less bulky and weighty in that 
 
292 TEMPTATIONS OF THE MINISTERS — SLAVERY. 
 
 shape than corn or rye. It was a great grief to him to see 
 some of his own ministerial brethren fall victims to the vice 
 of intemperance. Even some of the ministers who partici- 
 pated in the organization of th General Synod, and the 
 establishment of the Seminary became inebriates. He told 
 us in class to what peculiar temptations the ministers of 
 that day were exposed. It was at that time regarded as a 
 duty required by hospitality to set out a bottle to every 
 visitor as soon as he entered the house. When a minister 
 paid a pastoral visit in one of the families of his congrega- 
 tion the inevitable bottle of wine or whiskey was set before 
 him. It was regarded as a slight if he declined to drink 
 But by the time a minister had made half a dozen or more 
 pastoral visits and drank more or less at every house, he 
 would hardly get home a sober man. Now, if this course 
 was continued for any length of time, a taste for ardent 
 spirits would be formed, which he could no longer resist, 
 and he would become a confirmed drunkard, disgrace his 
 calling and would have to retire from the ministry or be 
 deposed from his office. 
 
 HIS POSITION ON SLAVERY. 
 
 Dr. Schm.ucker was an avowed enemy of the slavery 
 system. He made no secret of his views, but expressed 
 them in public and in private. Also in his lectures in the 
 seminary he frequently expressed his aversion to the Negro 
 slavery as it existed in the Southern States, and not un- 
 frequently to the ill-suppressed opposition of students from 
 the South. 
 
 The following statements from his youngest son, 
 Samuel D. Schmucker, Esq., will give some insight into 
 the Doctor's relation to slavery and his views upon the 
 system: 
 
 " We had two old Negro servants in my early life, who 
 had been slaves in my mother's family, and were manumit- 
 
MANUMITTED SIvAVES. 293 
 
 ted, but I am not familiar with the details of their history. 
 They were freed before I was born. I know that after these 
 servants became superannuated, they were supported by 
 father, as long as they lived. A modest legacy, left by my 
 maternal grandmother for that purpose, assisted, in part, I 
 believe, to support them, 
 
 " Your reference to the manumitted Negro servants 
 reminds me of the circumstance, that in my early life run- 
 away slaves would occasionally come to our house. Father 
 would allow any such to sleep in his barn by day, and I 
 am sure, assisted them, at least to the extent of supplying 
 them with food. After the decision of the Dred Scott 
 case, I once asked him, what he would do, if a fugitive 
 slave were to approach him personally for aid ? He re- 
 plied, that he would never assist in returning a fellow 
 being into bondage, and would succor any such that were 
 in distress, and that if he was prosecuted for it, he would 
 admit the fact, and pay the penalty for which the law might 
 make him liable. 
 
 " He always iavored the gradual abolition of slavery, 
 and insisted, that it should be accomplished by law, even 
 if the slave holder had such a standing before the law, as to 
 entitle him to compensation for the manumitted slave at the 
 public expense." 
 
 The following is contributed by Dr. Diehl on this sub- 
 ject in the Quarterly Reviezv : 
 
 "At the Synod of Maryland and Virginia, 1824, he 
 pleaded earnestly the cause of African Colonization. Born 
 in Maryland, and settled as pastor for five years in Virginia, 
 he was familiar with slavery in all its phases and relations. 
 He understood the condition and moral character of the 
 colored population in the slave states. When colonization 
 iailed to accomplish what its early advocates had ardently 
 hoped, and emancipation societies were organized, Dr 
 
294 AFRICAN COLONIZATION. 
 
 Schmucker gave the subject much attention. He adopted 
 moderate abolition sentiments. These sentiments he did 
 not conceal, but stated them frankly in his lecture room to 
 the students. In his Popular Theology, 1834, he gave his 
 views to the public advocating still African Colonization as 
 the means of evangelizing Africa, and giving freedom to a 
 small number, but urging gradual emancipation as the only 
 remedy to our great political evil. As his Theology was 
 extensively circulated in the Southern States, and many of 
 his pupils were scattered all over the South, his sentiments 
 were known. Hence, when the war broke out, and the 
 southern people were intensely embittered against all eman- 
 cipationists, he was the object of no small amount of bitter 
 feeling. And when Lee's army invaded Maryland on their 
 way to Pennsylvania, 1863, they declared their purpose to 
 arrest Dr. Schmucker. A week before the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, he received a communication from a Lutheran minis- 
 ter in Maryland, making known to him their avowed pur- 
 pose to arrest him, and advising him, by all means, to leave 
 Gettysburg, should the confederates move in that direction. 
 When they took possession of Seminary Hill, they oc- 
 cupied his house for three days, July, i, 2, 3. His house 
 was pierced by thirteen cannon balls. His fine 
 library was shamefully abused, and some of his furniture 
 plundered. 
 
 " Having noticed the poverty and wretchedness of the 
 free colored population of Pennsylvania, and attributing 
 their sad condition, largely, to their exclusion from me- 
 chanical and other lucrative employments, he went to Har- 
 risburg, 1842, and laid before the Legislature of the State, 
 a petition tor the passage of a law for the melioration of the 
 colored people. He drew up a bill, which provided that 
 colored girls over 13 and boys over 14 years, should all be 
 registered by .the assessors, and if idle, or neglected by their 
 
EFFORTS IN THE PENN'A I^EGISLATURE. 295 
 
 parents, should be brought before Justices of the peace, and 
 by them bound, while minors, to respectable white people, 
 to be brought up to trades or other industrial pursuits. 
 This bill was moved by a member and passed the first and 
 second reading. But before the final reading and vote, 
 some of the demagogues determined to defeat it, by stig- 
 matizing it as an abolition measure. They gained their 
 point. But the following year, Dr. Schmucker introduced 
 the same bill through a member. It was received with 
 general favor. But then a quarrel sprang up about the 
 State election. So violent was the commotion that the 
 m.ilitary were called out. In the turmoil the bill was lost 
 sight of. Had the salutary law passed, no doubt the 
 colored people of Pennsylvania would have been in a 
 better moral and physical condition, than they were at the 
 breaking out of the war." 
 
 ^^Of: 
 
 ^:^ 
 
296 EFFORTS FOR CHURCH UNION. 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 
 
 The necessity of union in the Lutheran church — evil 
 effects of disunion — evils of separation among 
 protestants — his appeal for christian union — com- 
 parison of creeds — the origin of the evangelical 
 
 ALLIANCE — DR. CONRAD's TRIBUTE DR. KING'S ENCO- 
 MIUM — EXTENSIVE CORRESPONDENCE — DR. SCHAf's LET- 
 TER — INTRODUCTORY LETTERS TO GERMAN THEOLOGIANS 
 — ANTI SLAVERY RESOLUTIONS IN THE ALLIANCE — PRO- 
 TEST OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATES — COMPOSED BY DR. 
 SCHMUCKER — THE RESOLUTIONS IRRELEVANT — CAME TOO 
 LATE — OFFENSIVE TO AMERICANS — WOUND THE FEELINGS 
 OF SOUTHERN CHRISTIANS — WOULD RETARD EMANCIPA- 
 TION. 
 
 EFFORTS TOWARD CHURCH UNION. 
 
 ^ " About the time of his entering the ministry, the 
 organization of the General Synod directed his attention to 
 the evils which our church suffered from the want of union. 
 Five synods with no bond of union between them, the 
 church was in danger of becoming heterogeneous. Each 
 synod would probably adopt its own doctrinal standard, 
 and church government and discipHne. Each would prob- 
 ably publish its own hymn-book and catechism. Each 
 would regulate the order of its services. Mr. Schmucker 
 saw that if no bond of union were formed, Lutheranism in 
 Tennessee would be one thing ; in Ohio another ; in Penn- 
 sylvania another, and in New York another. There could 
 
THE EVILS OF SEPARATION. 
 
 be no efficiency in a church so disjointed and divergent. 
 There could be no missionary efforts ; no great institutions 
 of learning ; and no church-love among the people. He 
 expressed, in one of his earnest and heartfelt appeals, made 
 to a Conference in 1823, his apprehension that if the Gen- 
 eral Synod could not survive the death-blow aimed at her, 
 at the time, so gloomy and discouraging would be the as- 
 pect of affairs, that no educated young men, of talents and 
 piety, would enter her ministry. The best sons of the 
 church would leave her ; for no young man of high aims 
 would be willing to devote his life to a field of labor so ut- 
 terly hopeless of fruits. His heart was evidently bleeding 
 over the lamentable state of things, when he wrote that 
 long letter in German to the York Conference, the manu- 
 script of which is preserved among his papers. 
 
 " When by his wonderful labors, he had succeeded in 
 averting the annihilation of the General Synod, he imme- 
 diately began measures to form a bond of union between 
 the Lutheran Church of the United States, and the 
 Lutheran Church of Europe. Hence his resolutions intro- 
 duced into the Maryland and Virginia Synod, and after- 
 ward into the General Synod, for a committee on Foreign 
 Correspondence. 
 
 " Having seen so clearly, and felt so deeply, the evils 
 resulting from the want of union and compact organization 
 in his own church, his mind was led to consider the evils 
 resulting from the separation from each other, of the several 
 protestant churches. If some general bond of union could 
 bind together all the forces of Protestantism, the Evangel- 
 ical Churches would become mighty for the overthrow of 
 the Papacy, and the pulling down the strongholds of 
 Satan. He pondered the subject deeply and long, and in 
 1838 he gave his views to the public, in his fraternal ap- 
 peal to the American churches. 
 
298 ORIGIN OF THE EVANGEI^ICAI, AI,I,IANCE. 
 
 " His hope then was the formation of an alliance be- 
 tween the several Protestant Churches, that would not at 
 all disturb their denominational organizations, but bring 
 them to co-operate on a well-defined common platform, 
 adopting a statement of fundamental doctrines, which all 
 could subscribe — a statement, the language of which was 
 taken from the several creeds, or confessions of faith, of the 
 leading denominations. His book produced a marked im- 
 pression. Eminent men were led to consider the subject. 
 Many of Dr. Schmucker's statements were unquestionably 
 true. Protestantism had long been taunted for its divisions. 
 If some general union could be formed, the cause of Evan- 
 gelical religion would be strengthened. 
 
 " Prominent men, in different churches, read the Ap- 
 peal, and expressed their assent to the general principles 
 laid down. In the correspondence to which his book gave 
 rise, the idea of an Evangelical Alliance was suggested. 
 The representatives of the great churches of Europe and 
 America might hold a convention, it was suggested, say in 
 London, lay down a basis on which all could stand, form a 
 plan by which all could work together for the general ad- 
 vancement of Christianity, and thus hold forth the great 
 truth, that the true followers of Christ are one. The result 
 was the holding of the first World's Christian Alliance, in 
 London, in the summer of 1846. Some of the speakers at 
 the recent Alliance, in New York, accorded to Dr. 
 Schmucker the honor of having done more than any other 
 man for the Christian union developed in that great 
 assembly. 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker was always tolerant. He knew well 
 that great diversity existed in his own church, when he 
 labored so earnestly to bring all the synods together in a 
 general body. Yet he believed that the spirit of toleration 
 would enable them to bear with each other, and diverse as 
 
DR. CONRAD'S TRIBUTE. 299 
 
 their sentiments on non-essential points might be, they 
 could harmoniously co-operate as members of the mother 
 church of the Reformation. When he wrote his appeal, 
 and made the subsequent efforts, to bring the leading men 
 of all evangelical churches together in a world's alliance, he 
 never lost sight of the difference of opinion between the 
 Baptist and the Episcopalian, and the Lutheran, and the 
 Reformed, and the Presbyterian, and the Methodist, and 
 the Congregationalist. But he took their several creeds 
 and compared them. He found them harmonious on the 
 grand fundamental truths of the Christian system, and 
 formed, from these several confessions, a symmetrical 
 creed." — Diehl. 
 
 " The following tribute to the memory of S. S. 
 Schmucker, D, D., as an enlightened and consistent advo- 
 cate of Christian Union among Protestants, constitutes the 
 introduction of the address delivered by Dr. F. W. Conrad 
 before the Evangelical Alliance on Interchange of Pulpits : 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker commenced the study of the subject 
 of Christian union more than half a century ago. The 
 matured results of these studies were given to the world in 
 his ' Fraternal Appeal ' to the American churches, which 
 was first published in 1838, and subsequently passed 
 through several editions in a revised and enlarged form. It 
 was extensively circulated in England and America, awak- 
 ened a deep interest in the subject, received favorable 
 notice from the religious press, and numerous testimonials 
 from many of the most distinguished divines of the differ- 
 ent Protestant denominations. It is an admitted fact that 
 the ' Appeal ' of Dr. Schmucker bore a prominent part in 
 preparing the way for the organization of the Evangelical 
 Alliance in 1846. He was present at its first meeting, and 
 was even then designated as 'the father of the Alliance,' 
 by Dr. King, of Ireland, in a public address delivered in 
 
300 DR. CONRAD'S TRIBUTE?. 
 
 London at that time. It was he also who moved already, 
 at that first meeting of the Alliance, that its second meeting 
 should be held in New York ; and, although his motion 
 was not adopted at that time, nevertheless it was carried 
 out practically twenty-seven years later, as the present sixth 
 conference of the Alliance here happily attests. 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker took special interest in the subject of 
 Christian union, and labored for its promotion, through the 
 Evangelical Alliance, during the greater portion of his 
 ministerial and professional life. As he approached the 
 portals of eternity during his declining years his mind and 
 heart were more and more absorbed by it, and he prepared 
 a plan for the confederation of all Protestant denominations 
 in an Evangelical Alliance of the entire Christian world. 
 This plan was published, and favorably noticed by a num- 
 ber of religious journals of different denominations in this 
 country during the past year, and a copy of it has been 
 laid before the committee of the Alliance for their con- 
 sideration. He looked forward to this meeting with ardent 
 solicitude, and expected to be present to submit his plan of 
 confederation before the Alliance in person. 
 
 " The last letter I received from him had reference to 
 the subject of Christian union, and contained a request 
 that the speaker should, in his absence, take charge of his 
 plan for the confederation of the churches of Protestant 
 Christendom, and present it for consideration at the meet- 
 ing of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church. But 
 God, in his all-wise providence, so ordered that his strong 
 desire to take part in this conference could not be gratified. 
 On the 26th of July last, after entertaining friends at his 
 house in the evening, he was suddenly seized with heart 
 disease, and before midnight, died, in the conscious hope of 
 a blissful immortality. His last words were : ' I have lived 
 and am dying in the faith of Jesus.' " 
 
DR. SCHAFF'S I^ETTER. 3°! 
 
 We find among his papers the evidence of an exten- 
 sive correspondence with the leading members and friends 
 of the Alliance. The following letter from Dr. Schafif, 
 though written mainly as an introduction to prominent 
 theologians in Germany, will be interesting to our readers. 
 We translate it from the German : 
 
 Mercersburg, Pa., March i6, 184.6. 
 Respected Friend and Brother in the Lord : 
 
 I am just now quite tired by writing letters, yet I will 
 send you my hearty congratulations on your appointment 
 as delegate to the convention in London, and my best 
 wishes for your safe journey into the never-to-be-forgotten 
 land of our fathers. Herewith I send a few hints in re- 
 gard to the inclosed introductions. The circular addresses 
 I have left open, those addressed to individual pastors I 
 have closed. But you can open these also, in case you 
 should have any difficulty at the custom house. These 
 contain nothing important in addition to your introduction. 
 I did not wish to burden you with bulky, and extensive 
 epistles. 
 
 When you come to Berlin do not forget to call very 
 soon on Candidate Schroeder,to whom I have addressed one 
 of the accompanying letters. He is a very friendly young 
 man ; and will be of great assistance to you. You must 
 call on Pastor Souchon and hear him preach. He is one 
 of the most distinguished and earnest pulpit orators of Ger- 
 many, of tremendous power and effect. Convey to this 
 dear friend my most hearty salutation. Pastor Weise lives 
 quite near to Berlin. Schroeder can accompany you out 
 to him. You will find in him a very upright and cordial 
 country pastor. In case you get to Italy, of course you 
 will visit Rome. There you will find the chaplain of the 
 Russian Embassy, Thiele, residing probably on the 
 Capitol, and in Naples the chaplain of the Prussian Embassy, 
 
302 DR. SCHAFF'S I^ETTER. 
 
 Remy. Both of them are my dear friends, especially the 
 latter. They will certainly receive you very hospitably on 
 account of my salutations. In Geneva, I am acquamted 
 with Merle D'Aubigne, Gansen, Pilete and Malan. I do not 
 wish to trouble you with orders, as you are doubtless suffi- 
 ciently burdened with them already. Perhaps I may send 
 you a small package yet, if I find time to write a few more 
 letters, which, however, is doubtful. 
 
 If you should wish a special introduction to some 
 other person, you will please to write to me. I could, for 
 instance, give you an introduction to the minister of eccle- 
 siastical affairs, Eichhorn, and other high officials in differ- 
 ent parts of Germany. But I think you have enough with 
 the accompanying documents. The Licentiate Erbkam, is 
 a nephew of Eichhorn, and can more properly introduce 
 you to him than I can. Again I wish you from my whole 
 whole heart {von ganzem Herzen) a safe and pleasant 
 journey. Give my kind regards to Prof Hay and Mrs. 
 Schmucker. Your friend and brother in the Lord. 
 
 Phillip Schaff. 
 anti slavery in the alliance. 
 
 As it was intimated in the letter of Kurtz and Morris 
 from Paris, resolutions were drawn up in the Alliance in 
 London, by which ministers from America, and especially 
 those from the slave-holding states could not be admitted 
 to membership. Slavery at that time existed in full force 
 in the Southern States, and anti-slavery feeling ran very 
 high among the English people. Dr. Schmucker himself 
 was most earnestly opposed to slavery, but technically the 
 resolution would have excluded him also. For although 
 the slaves, which he had inherited by his second wife, were 
 all emancipated or set free, except the very aged ones, who 
 could not support themselves, and for whose comfortable 
 maintenance provision had been made, yet he could still be 
 
ANTI-SIvAVERY IN THE AHIANCE. 303 
 
 regarded, as in the legal sense, a slave holder. The Ameri- 
 can brethren therefore drew up the following protest 
 against the resolution, which we find among the Doctor's 
 papers, no doubt composed by himself, and which will be 
 very interesting reading : 
 
 "The Conference of Christian brethren from all parts of 
 the world which has just formed the Evangelical Alliance 
 in this city was convened on the invitation of the committee 
 of a smaller Conference which held its first meeting in 
 Liverpool in October last. The document of invitation 
 sent out by the Liverpool committee contained the doctri- 
 nal basis which has since been adopted with some varia- 
 tions as the foundation of the new Alliance, but there was 
 no allusion in this document to the subject of slavery. On 
 our arrival in London to aid in forming the Alliance, most 
 of us signed the following paper : 
 
 '"Heartily desirous of promoting the great object con- 
 templated by the proposed Evangelical Alliance, and ap- 
 proving of the doctrinal basis and principles contained in 
 the accompanying document, I consent that my name be 
 enrolled as a corresponding member.' " 
 
 "The 'document' referred to in this paper was the 
 document to which we have already alluded and which made 
 no mention of slavery. At the same time the attention of 
 most of us was directed to a separate paper of which the 
 following is a copy : 
 
 PROPOSED EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 
 
 PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 Extract of the Minutes of the London Division, July 
 7th, and July 2ist, 1846 : 
 
 'Resolved, That American brethren, on their election as 
 Foreign Corresponding members, be enrolled as such, on 
 their signature being attached to the form already adopted 
 for English members, at the same time directing their special 
 
304 PROTEST OF THE AMERICAN DEI^EGATES. 
 
 attention to the Resolution on Slavery, adopted at the 
 aggregate meeting at Birmingham, with reference to their 
 individual concern in the same.' 
 
 ' Resolved, That the Minute with respect to slave- 
 holding adopted at the Birmingham aggregate meeting, be 
 put before brethren who may come to the August Confer- 
 ence from all countries whose governments tolerate the 
 practice in question among their subjects.' 
 
 Resolution adopted at the meeting of the Aggregate 
 Committee at Birmingham, March 31st, 1846, and follow- 
 ing days : 
 
 ' That while this committee deem it unnecessary and 
 inexpedient to enter into any question at present on the 
 subject of slave-holding, or on the difficult circumstances 
 in which Christian brethren may be placed in countries 
 where the law of slavery prevails ; they are of opinion that 
 invitations ought not to be sent to individuals who, whether 
 by their own fault or otherwise, may be in the unhappy 
 position of holding their fellow-men as slaves.' 
 
 r\ c- f Alex. Digbys Campbell. 
 
 Official Secretaries. -, t- c 
 
 \ Edward Steane. 
 
 " We understand that some of our British brethren are 
 under the impression that we have subscribed an approval 
 of these resolutions. This is a mistake. * The document ' 
 which we approved and subscribed was the document con- 
 taining the doctrinal basis. These resolutions were on a 
 separate paper, to which the attention of most of us was 
 directed, but we were not required to subscribe them or 
 approve them. We could not approve them. We made 
 our verbal protest against them. We regarded them as 
 highly objectionable, and particularly for the following 
 reasons : 
 
 I. They were irrelevant to the matter in hand. They 
 had nothing to do with the proper object of the Alliance. 
 The Alliance is a union, for purposes exclusively religious, 
 of Evangelical Christians who agree in the great doctrines 
 
OBJECTIONS BY DR. SCHMUCKER. 305 
 
 of the gospel. Slavery is a political evil and 
 although it draws great moral evils in its train and we are 
 all heartily opposed to it, and ready in every proper way to 
 promote its removal, we do not think that the subject 
 comes within the province of this Alliance. 
 
 2. The resolutions came too late. The original card 
 of invitation with no allusion in it to slavery, was widely 
 circulated and extensively acted on by ecclesiastical bodies 
 in America soon after it was issued, and many who 
 accepted it had crossed the Atlantic before they met with 
 the Birmingham resolution. As this resolution, if adopted 
 by the Alliance, would change its whole character, and ex- 
 clude not only Christian slave-holders, but the great body 
 of Evangelical Christians who are in christian communion 
 with them, non-slave-holding states of America, it should 
 have been adopted, if adopted at all, before the invitation 
 was sent. It was too late to do it afterwards. 
 
 3. The first of the London resolutions is offensive to 
 us as Americans. Why the wholly needless specification of 
 * American brethren ' in connection with slavery ? Why 
 was it not said at once ; * brethren from all the countries 
 whose governments tolerate slavery ? ' Why the promi- 
 nence given to America in this matter? If we did not know 
 that our British brethren are incapable of intending to of- 
 fend us ; if we had not received explanations, which con- 
 vince us that the London committee, when they passed 
 their second resolution intended to correct that which 
 would be deemed objectionable by Americans in the first 
 resolution, and that it was only through inadvertence that 
 the first resolution was allowed to remain in its present 
 shape, we should feel constrained to express our regret in 
 strong language. As it is, we have only to rejoice that the 
 matter admits of such explanation. 
 
 4. The Birmingham resolution is calculated to 
 
306 OBJECTIONS BY DR. SCHMUCKER. 
 
 wound the feelings of unoffending Christian brethren in the 
 slave-holding states, and to retard the abolition of slavery. 
 
 " If Christian brethren (in the terms of the resolution) 
 ' placed by no fault of their own in an unhappy position,' 
 involving strong temptations and severe trials, nevertheless 
 conduct themselves worthily, they merit on that account in 
 our view, the sympathy of their fellow christians, and 
 especially of those who are sincerely seeking the removal 
 of the great evil from which their temptations and trials 
 arise. This is not the time to inquire whether the Ameri- 
 can churches have or have not all done their duty in regard 
 to this subject ; but this seems to us to be singular, in 
 singling out such brethren for the stigma of exclusion from 
 Christian fellowship. In their ' difficult circumstances ' 
 they need the encouragement and support of the counsels 
 and prayers of their fellow-christians, and if slavery is ever 
 to be abolished in the Southern States of America, we need 
 such men to take the lead in the movement. There is in 
 these circumstances, in our view, weighty reason not for 
 non-intercourse but for closer Christian union. This is not 
 the time to inquire whether or not the American churches 
 have all done their duty in regard to the subject, but it is 
 well known to us that many Christian slave-holders are in 
 their principles and feelings entirely opposed to slavery, 
 and are prepared to make all the efforts and sacrifices in 
 their power for the removal of the evil as soon and as fast 
 as practicable ; it ought to be known to our European 
 brethren that slavery cannot at once be abolished in any 
 State of the American Union, except by the legislature of 
 that State ; that the citizens of non-slave-holding States can 
 only act on the subject by moral influence, and that this 
 influence is to be exerted chiefly on and through Christians 
 in the slave-holding community. It is because we have 
 great confidence in the piety and intelligence, and in the 
 
DAVID BUEHI^ER'S REMARK. 307 
 
 constantly increasing number of godly men in the slave- 
 holding States that we look with increasing hope for the 
 entire removal of American slavery. We deeply sympa- 
 thize with these brethren under the heavy responsibilities 
 they are called to bear. Our duty no less than our 
 Christian affection impels us to maintain intimate relations 
 with them, and we could not, without a grievous offence 
 against the best hopes of religion and humanity in the 
 South, as well as against our own conscience consent to any 
 action which would imply a want of Christian confidence in 
 them, or which might endanger our amicable and fraternal 
 relations with this portion of the American church." 
 
 David Buehler, Esq., at that time editor of the Gettys- 
 burg Star and Sentinel, writes as follows in an obituary 
 article: 
 
 " In August, 1846, he attended the World's Convention 
 of the Evangelical Alliance, held in London, as one of the 
 delegates from the United States. 
 
 " Within the last year he prepared and extensively cir- 
 culated a Fraternal Appeal on the subject of Christian 
 Union, looking towards bringing different Evangelical 
 denominations into closer fraternal union, without in any 
 wise affecting the peculiar ecclesiastical or denominational 
 peculiarities of any of them. 
 
 " This subject lay close to his heart, and, in a conver- 
 sation with the writer of this tribute only a few day ago, he 
 spoke hopefully of the indications of a better understanding 
 between Christian denominations of this country, tending to 
 a realization of his long cherished desires. He might not 
 live to see it, but the day was coming full of glorious prom- 
 ise. He telt a deep interest in the meeting of the Evangel- 
 ical Alliance at New York this fall, which he had been 
 invited to address, and looked forward to the meeting as 
 
3o8 PROFESSOR hay's testimony. 
 
 likely to develop additional interest on the subject of Chris- 
 tian Union." 
 
 Prof. Chas. Hay, for many } < ars his colleague in the 
 Seminary, has this to say in relation to Dr. Schmucker's 
 work in promoting Christian Union : 
 
 " Wherever we look, we see traces of his workman- 
 ship ; and he must be a cynical critic, indeed, who, amid so 
 much to admire and to be grateful for, will stop to censure 
 what may seem to him to be an excess of liberality, or a too 
 anxious eagerness to ignore denominational peculiarities in 
 the effort to unite, already in this world, the divided flock 
 of the Good Shepherd into one fold. Could he address us 
 now, from the immediate presence of the Lord, as he there 
 greets multitudes of fellow believers, who, having gone up 
 to glory through tribulation, from the midst of the various 
 denominations of Christians upon earth, with whom he had 
 here sought and found congenial sympathy, and with whom 
 he cordially labored in the cause of our common Master, he 
 would doubtless assure us that he has now no regrets for 
 any efforts he has ever made on earth to anticipate the 
 communion of saints, upon which, we trust, he now has 
 entered. Rather let us regret that we have so little of that 
 spirit of true Christian charity which seeks to discover and 
 practically recognize in others the love of Jesus as the true 
 badge of discipleship — ' Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 
 me ? ' — and the only indispensable test for Christian fellow- 
 ship on earth, as it undoubtedly will be found to be the 
 only real test of the communion of saints on high." 
 
 The following obituary notice appeared in the New 
 York Observer (Presbyterian) one week after Dr. Schmucker's 
 death : 
 
 " Dr. Schmucker, the Nestor of the Evangelical Luth- 
 eran Church, is dead. At the time of his death he was an 
 Emeritus Professor in the Theological Seminary at Gettys- 
 
 I 
 
THE NEW YORK OBSERVER. 309 
 
 burg, Pa., with which institution he had been many years 
 connected. He \vas a man of catholic spirit and peaceful 
 temper. He had long conceived the idea of an organic 
 union of the Protestant churches of the United States, and 
 was laboring to carry it into effect.* The meeting of his 
 ' Evangelical Alliance ' was appointed to take place in this 
 city, in October next. Whether the scheme will be pushed, 
 now that its master spirit is gone, we doubt. Indeed, in the 
 opinion of many, it is premature. But whether practicable 
 at present or not, the conception did honor to Dr. Schmuck- 
 er's heart and mind, and will always be honorably asso- 
 ciated with his name. He died at a ripe age, having, we 
 lieve, passed seventy years." 
 
 In the advocacy of Christian Union, Dr. Schmucker 
 published an " Appeal to the Friends of the Redeemer on 
 Primitive Christain Union," a volume of 262 pages, which 
 obtained a large circulation and attained a second edition. 
 In this book he stated the design of Christian Union as 
 follows : 
 
 " The design to be aimed at, by the measures to be 
 recommended, is not to amalgamate the several denomina- 
 tions into one church, nor to impair in any degree the inde- 
 pendent control of each denomination over its own affairs 
 and interests, but to present to the world a more formal 
 profession and practical proof of our mutual recognition of 
 each other as integral parts of the visible church of Christ 
 on earth, as well as of our fundamental unity of faith, and 
 readiness to co-operate harmoniously in the advance- 
 ment of objects of common interest." 
 
 * This is an error; he did not labor to eifect an organic, but only 
 a fraternal or co-operative union, in which the denominatioEs should 
 retain their respective organizations and peculiarities, but co-operate 
 fraternally in opposition to fundamental errorists, infidels, and papal 
 ; Hierarchy. — Ed. 
 
3 to DR. KURTZ'S COMMENDATION. 
 
 We take the following commendatory notices of the 
 book, which set forth the object and design of the Evan- 
 gelical Alliance : 
 
 From the Lutheran Observer, edited by the Rev. Dr. B. KurtZ; 
 Baltimore, 
 
 " The careful perusal of this work has afforded us a 
 high degree of enjoyment, and it is calculated, if it receive 
 that respectful and impartial examination from the churches 
 of our country, which it eminently merits, to exert an in- 
 fluence for good, which will be felt in heathen countries as 
 well as throughout our whole land, in the present and 
 future generations. 
 
 " In the proposition and elucidation of the remedy for 
 the evils of division in the church of God, and especially in 
 the excogitation of a plan for the restoration of catholic 
 union on apostolic principles, we think the learned author 
 has mainly exhibited his strength. This part of the book, 
 especially, bears the marks of profound thought, close in- 
 vestigation, extensive observation, and of a catholicity of 
 spirit and deep and all-pervading solicitude for the pros- 
 perity of Zion, which reflects most creditably upon his 
 heart. The ' Apostolic Protestant Confession,' embracing 
 only the fundamentals of inspired truth, which are believed 
 by all the orthodox churches of Protestant Christendom, is 
 evidently the work of great care and of a clear and judi- 
 cious mind. 
 
 " If the sentiments advanced in this ' Appeal ' are 
 fairly tested, not by ecclesiastical standards which are the 
 work of uninspired, though good men, but by ' the law and 
 the testimony ' that is, by the unerring rule of God's holy 
 •word, they cannot fail to command respect and win advo- 
 cates ; and if the Protestant Churches be organized, and 
 carry on their operations on the principles developed in the 
 ' Appeal,' there can be no doubt that they would approxi- 
 
T)^. KURTZ'S COMMENDATION. 3II 
 
 mate much nearer to the apostolic church than they now 
 do ; that they could act much more efficiently and harmon- 
 iously in advancing the triumphs of the Cross in the 
 heathen and the papal world ; and that those blissful times 
 would again arive, when surrounding observers would be 
 compelled to exclaim, * See how these Christians love one 
 another ? * 
 
 " This Appeal was first published in the eleventh and 
 twelfth volumes of the American Biblical Repository. We 
 read the whole discussion at the time when it came out. 
 We were then struck with its candor, honesty, thorough 
 and learned research, and eminently catholic and disin- 
 terested spirit. In further consideration of it, and also by 
 conversation with the excellent author, we cannot but hope 
 that it will receive the serious attention of all our evangeli- 
 cal churches, and especially of all ministers of the gospel. 
 The author has not so much to fear from disapproval of his 
 plan, as from indifference or inattention to it. The principal 
 features are the following : — the several Christian denomi- 
 nations shall retain each its own present ecclesiastical 
 organization, government, discipline, and mode of worship ; 
 let each of the confederated denominations formally resolve 
 for itself, not to discipline any member or minister, for 
 holding a doctrine believed by any other denomination 
 whose Christian character they acknowledge, provided his 
 deportment be unexceptionable, and he conform to the 
 rules of government, discipline, and worship adopted by 
 said denomination ; let a creed be adopted including only 
 the doctrines held in common by all the orthodox Christian 
 denominations, to be termed the Apostolic Protestant Con- 
 fession, and let this same creed be used by all denomina- 
 tions as the terms of sacramental, ecclesiastical, and minis- 
 terial communion ; there should be free sacramental, eccle- 
 siastical, and ministerial communion among the confeder- 
 
312 DR. krauth's commendation. 
 
 ated churches ; in all matters not relating to the govern- 
 ment, discipline, and forms of worship of individual 
 churches, but pertaining to the common cause of Christian- 
 ity, let the principle of co-operation, regardless of sect, be 
 adopted, so far as the nature of the case will admit, and as 
 fast as the views of the parties will allow ; the Bible should, 
 as much as possible, be made the text-book in all religious 
 and theological instruction ; and missionaries going into 
 foreign lands ought to use and profess no other than this 
 common creed, the Apostolic Protestant Confession, and 
 connect with it whatever form of church government and 
 mode of worship they prefer." 
 
 Dr. C. P. Krauth, Sr., writes as follows : 
 " The plan of union proposed by the Rev. Dr. 
 Schmucker, which was first communicated to the public 
 through the pages of the Biblical Repository, has been at- 
 tentively considered by me, and I do not hesitate to say, 
 after a careful examination of its principles, that it accords 
 in my judgment with the genius of onr holy religion, as 
 taught in the pages of the New Testament. I agree with 
 him in the opinion that union is practicable, that it ought 
 to take place, and that the accomplishment of it should be 
 the sincere aim of all who love the Savior, in our different 
 religious denominations; because it will remove many 
 heavy evils under which the church now labors, facilitate 
 the diffusion of religion, and arm the church with power 
 which will render it speedily triumphant to the ends of the 
 earth. The union advocated is apostolical, such as existed 
 in the days of the heralds of the Gospel, and which, as 
 much as anything else, imparted power to the preached 
 word. Union then was strength, and now, if restored, 
 would render our faith irresistible. I can scarcely persuade 
 myself, that he has imbibed the spirit of Jesus Christ, in 
 any considerable extent, who does not consider it a con- 
 
DR. KRAUTH'S commendation. 3I3 
 
 summation most devoutly to be desired, and sincerely 
 prayed for. The final prayers of the Savior on earth had 
 reference to this blessed union : ' Neither pray I for them 
 alone; but for them also which shall believe on me through 
 their word ; that they may all be one; as thou, Father, art 
 in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that 
 the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' 
 
 " The plan of Dr. Schmucker meets my approbation 
 more fully than any other that has come to my knowledge, 
 because it does not restrict itself to arguments for union, 
 and eloquent declamation on the beauties of a harmonizing 
 church, whilst the way of bringing it about was left un- 
 touched. He has answered the question in a manner 
 highly creditable to him as a theologian and a Christian. 
 How is this to be effected ? The mode of accomplishing it 
 is intelligible, by no means complicated, it secures all vital 
 truth, guards against extensive innovation in existing insti- 
 tutions, does not run counter to that attachment to the 
 formularies of government and discipline in any church to 
 which we may belong, which is so natural, and places the 
 united church on a better basis to maintain internal peace, 
 and to avoid dangerous dissensions, than has ever yet 
 existed. 
 
 " With these views, I anxiously wish that the church 
 of Jesus Christ in this country would take into most serious 
 consideration the appeal which has been addressed to them 
 on this subject. May the day not be distant when our eyes 
 shall behold a convention of Christian divines deliberating 
 in the spirit of the Master, on this great subject, and bring- 
 ing forth their solemn decision in favor of union between 
 Christian denominations, and of concentrated action in the 
 great objects of the Christian enterprise." 
 
314 HIS VIEWS ON CONTROVERSY. 
 
 CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 SCHMUCKER AS A CONTROVERSIALIST AVERSE TO PERSONAL 
 
 COLLISION DEBATED IN A KIND, CHRISTIAN SPIRIT 
 
 SHRANK FROM FIERCE PERSONAL CONFLICT — DIFFERED 
 FROM DR. KURTZ — KURTZ AND THAD. STEVENS — OUR 
 
 AIM IN CONTROVERSY — USE OF CONTROVERSY DEFINITE 
 
 PLATFORM — DR. SCHMUCKER ITS AUTHOR ADOPTED BY 
 
 THREE OR FOUR SYNODS — JACOBS* ERROR — DR. BAUGHER's 
 FIGURE — REASON ASSIGNED — ERRORS CLAIMED — EXCIT- 
 ING CONTROVERSY CHANGES MADE BY DR. LOCH MAN 
 
 HOFFMAN — DR. MANN — CONTROVERSY IN A CHRISTIAN 
 SPIRIT — CEREMOMIES OF THE MASS EXTENDED DISCUS- 
 SION — PRIVATE CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION — MANNER 
 IN WHICH THEY WERE PERFORMED — SCRIPTURE EX- 
 PLAINED — DIVINE OBLIGATION OF LORDS DAY — VIEWS 
 OF REFORMERS LAX — MISSOURIANS SAY SABBATH ABRO- 
 GATED — THE SACRAMENTS BAPTISMAL REGENERATION — 
 
 PUSEYISM AND NEVINISM — EXORCISM MANNER IN WHICH 
 
 IT WAS PRACTICED — BY WHAT COUNTRIES ADOPTED — 
 
 EVIDENCE OF PARDON LOKD'S SUPPER — MOSHEIM, 
 
 SCHMUCKER, MORRIS, BAUGHER. 
 
 SCHMUCKER AS A CONTROVERSIALIST. 
 
 The Doctor sometimes spoke to his students in class 
 on the subject of religious controversy. He did not object 
 to controversy when properly conducted. " Our aim," he 
 instructed us, " should not be victory over our opponents, 
 but the truth." " Religious controversy," he said, " though 
 it often degenerates from that calm and dignified character, 
 which it should ever sustain as a mutual search after truth. 
 
AIM SHOULD BE TRUTJI— DEFINITB PLATFORM. 3l5 
 
 seems, sometimes, to be nece >sary and proper. Discussions 
 on topics of practical utility a''e alike pleasing to God and 
 beneficial to the church, if conducted in a Christian spirit, 
 and the parties have truth, and not victory for their aim. 
 Truth is the will of God, exhibited in the diversified crea- 
 tions of his hand, either physical, intellectual, or moral, and 
 the revelation of his word, correctly apprehended by the 
 human mind. Since truth therefore is ot God, it need fear 
 no investigation. The divinity that is in it will secure its 
 ultimate triumph. Though it may for a season be obscured 
 or crushed to earth by passion, prejudice, or irresponsible 
 authority, it will sooner or later assert its rights, and secure 
 the homage of all upright minds. No friend of truth 
 should dread impartial investigation. If he has uncon- 
 sciously imbibed erroneous opinions, he will thus be con- 
 ducted to the truth ; and if his views are correct, they will 
 be confirmed by investigation. ' Eternal vigilance has been 
 styled the price of civil liberty ; ' and to ' search the Scrip- 
 tures daily,' to ' prove all things and hold fast to that which 
 is good,' is the grand safeguard of religious truth and 
 ecclesiastical purity. The life of the greatest moral hero of 
 the sixteenth century, — Martin Luther, — to whom Chris- 
 tianity is so largely indebted, was almost entirely expended 
 in controversial efforts ; and even the mild and peace-loving 
 Melancthon felt it his duty to devote much of his time, his 
 learning, and his talents to the vindication of the truth 
 against its enemies." 
 
 The most serious controversy in which Dr. Sch mucker 
 was engaged took place in 1856. It was in relation to 
 the " Definite Platform," or " American Recension of the 
 Augsburg Confession." This document was prepared by 
 Drs. Schmucker, Kurtz and Sprecher, but Dr. Schmucker 
 declared himself its author. It was drawn up at the request 
 of about twenty Lutheran ministers in the East and in the 
 
31 6 WHAT SYNOD6 ^ DOPTED IT. 
 
 West, men " of the very first responsibility." We give an 
 account of its inception and preparation in the Doctor's own 
 words : 
 
 " The Definite Platform could never, ivith truth, be 
 regarded as the work of a few individuals. Its inception was 
 the result of a consultation of a large number of influential 
 brethren, especially of the West, who had been convinced 
 by the aggressions of surrounding symbolists, that a 
 decided, but also a more definite stand on the ground of the 
 General Synod, was necessary in self defence. It was pre- 
 pared and published at their request, not as an official doc- 
 ument, but as a draft of such a basis as they had agreed 
 on. It was presented to them, and taken up for considera- 
 tion by their several Synods; and the unanimity with which 
 they adopted it is conclusive proof that it was prepared ac- 
 cording to the stipulated principles." 
 
 It was printed in pamphlet form and sent to the dis- 
 trict synods in connection with the General Synod for dis- 
 cussion and adoption, if thought proper. It was adopted 
 by three synods in the West, within a few weeks after its 
 publication. So far as we know, it was not adopted by any 
 of the Eastern synods, except perhaps the Melancthon, 
 which had temporarily separated from the Maryland Synod, 
 but after a few years re-united with it.* 
 
 I distinctly remember the discussion when it was 
 brought up in the West Pennsylvania Synod. It was bit- 
 terly opposed by Dr. Baugher, Sr., and some others. 
 Referring to the omissions in the Confession, he made use 
 
 * The following Synods in the West adopted the Definite Platform: 
 The Synod of Ohio, the Olive Branch Synod, of Ohio, and the Wit- 
 tenberg Synod, of Ohio. Morris' Fifty Years in the Ministry, page 
 538. 
 
 Dr. Jacobs, in his History, says, " It was indorsed by one of the 
 smallest synods of Ohio, " which is doubtless an unintentional error 
 by the learned historian. See his History, p. 426. 
 
BRRORS ci.aime;d to be in the confession. 317 
 
 of the following striking figure of speech, " Here is a beau- 
 tiful tree standing in front of a man's house, and some one 
 comes along and cuts off some of its branches." To which 
 it was replied, " When a tree has stood over three hundred 
 years, it will naturally need some little trimming." 
 
 One reason assigned for the necessity of the American 
 Recension was the fact, that the Western General Synod 
 churches were mtermingled with the German churches of 
 the Missouri and Old Ohio Synods, which insist upon the 
 adoption of the whole mass of the Symbolical Books. It 
 is stated, also, that " not a single sentence has been added 
 to the Augsburg Confession, whilst those several aspects of 
 doctrine only were omitted which have long since been 
 regarded by the great mass of our churches as unscriptural 
 and as remnants of Romish error." 
 
 The only errors claimed to be contained in the Augs- 
 burg Confession (and which are omitted in the Recension) 
 are : 
 
 1 . The Approval of the Ceremonies of the Mass ; 
 
 2. Private Confession and Absolution ; 
 
 3. Denial of the Divine Obligation of the Christian 
 Sabbath ; 
 
 4. Baptismal Regeneration ; 
 
 5. The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of the 
 Savior in the Eucharist. 
 
 " With these few exceptions we retain the entire Augs- 
 burg Confession with all the great doctrines of the Refor- 
 mation." 
 
 A most exciting controversy followed in the church 
 papers, particularly the Lutheran Observer, and afterwards 
 in pamphlets and books. Dr. Morris in his Fifty Years in 
 the Ministry has copied the gist of what was published 
 against the Definite Platform, and Drs. Kurtz and 
 Schmucker wrote in its defense in the Observer. Some one 
 
3l8 WHY THE PLATFORM WAS UNSUCCESSFUI,. 
 
 said, Dr. Schmucker made the greatest mistake of his life 
 in preparing this document, and his son. Dr. B. M. 
 Schmucker, says, " The Definite Platform was his most 
 unsuccessful publication." Yet, " No one questioned the 
 sincerity of his conviction, or the completeness of his con- 
 secration to Christ and his church." * 
 
 It must certainly be admitted, that the publication of 
 this document was unsuccessful, in so far as it failed to be 
 adopted by any considerable number of synods, and its 
 authors also made a mistake by underestimating the 
 strength of the confessional sentiment which had been 
 infused into the church by the influence of the German 
 Lutherans in this country. Had the Definite Platform 
 been presented at the time of the organization of the Gen- 
 eral Synod, or even twenty- five or thirty years later, it 
 would undoubtedly have been adopted, without opposition. 
 In confirmation of this opinion Dr. Schmucker makes the 
 following statement in his book, American Luthcranism 
 Vindicated, pp. 39-41 : " Dr. George Lochman, D. D., 
 (father of Dr. A. H. Lochman, of York, one of the founders 
 of the General Synod), one of the most active, pious, and 
 respected divines of our church, in his Catechism, published 
 in 1822, states it as one of ' the leading principles' of our 
 church, ' that the Holy Scriptures and not human authority , 
 are the only source whence we are to draw our religious 
 sentiments, whether they relate to faith or practice.' * That 
 christians are accountable to God alone for their religious 
 principles.' 
 
 " He also published an edition of the Augsburg Con- 
 fession, in his work, entitled Doctrine and Discipline of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church, in which he made more omis- 
 sions than are found in the American Recension ; and yet no 
 
 * Wolf s Lutherans in America, p. 346. 
 
DR. lochman's omissions. ' 319 
 
 one found fault with him for doing so. That the reader 
 may judge of the extent of these omissions, we specify 
 them : In 
 
 Art. I. he omitted the definition of person, in the 
 Trinity. 
 
 Art. II. omits the condemnatory clause. 
 
 Art. III. omits the epithet pure, in reference to the Vir- 
 gin Mary, and the reference to the so-called ' Apostles' 
 Creed.' 
 
 Art. IV. omits the closing sentence, that God will 
 regard this faith as righteousness. 
 
 Art. V. omits the condemnatory clause, and part of 
 another sentence. 
 
 Art. VI. omits the word ' true', in reference to the 
 unity of the church. 
 
 Art. VIII. omits the condemnatory clause concerning 
 the Donatisis. 
 
 Art. IX. omits the name Anabaptists. 
 
 Art. X. omits the condemnatory clause. . 
 
 Art. XII. omits 'absolution ' and part of the condem- 
 natory clause. 
 
 Art. XVII. omits the condemnatory clause. 
 
 Art. XVIII. omits the name of Augustine's work, 
 Hypognosticon, and about ten lines at the close. 
 
 Art. XIX. omits the last sentence. 
 
 Art. XX. oi$iits different portions of this long article, 
 amounting to one-half of the whole. 
 
 Art. XXI. omits all that is said on war, and the Turks, 
 etc., and the entire concluding paragraph, amounting to half 
 a page 12 mo. 
 
 "Yet this work (of Dr. Lochman) was circulated 
 thoughout the church, and we never heard a single word of 
 objection, although the notes appended to it are far from 
 being symbolic." 
 
320 HOFFMAN^MANN. 
 
 Among the first to take up the pen against the Definite 
 Platform was Rev. John N. Hoffman, then pastor of Trinity 
 Lutheran Church in Reading, Pa. He came out in a 
 printed pamphlet, entitled " The Broken Platform." This 
 does not appear to have been a learned effort. 
 
 I find it criticised in Dr. Fry's " History of Trinity 
 Luth. Church," and in Dr. Morris' " Fifty years in the min- 
 istry," The former says apologetically, that " he suffered 
 from bodily weakness," and the latter says, " The book 
 was crudely put together, hastily prepared, and carelessly 
 composed. It was not equal to the acknowledged talents of 
 the author. He was a man of mental vigor, but of imper- 
 fect education, and most billions temperament." Dr. 
 Schmucker did not deem it worth while to take any notice, 
 publicly, so far as I have seen, of Hoffman's ' broken plat- 
 form." 
 
 An abler and more moderate attack on the Definite 
 Platform appeared in a book written by W. J. Mann, Pas- 
 tor of a German Lutheran church in Philadelphia and Pro- 
 fessor of Theology in Mount Airy Seminary. Dr. 
 Schmucker replied in a book of nearly 200 pages under the 
 title, " American Lutheranisni Vindicatedy 
 
 The discussion between these two reverend gentlemen 
 may be set down as a model of Christian controversy. Dr. 
 Schmucker opens the discussion as follows : 
 
 *' Within the last few months, a discussion on creeds has 
 occupied the religious papers of our church in this country, 
 the specific subjects of which were the merits of the ' Defi- 
 nite Synodical Platform^ recently adopted by several of our 
 Western Synods, and the import and scriptural truth of 
 some portions of that venerable document, the Augsbitrg 
 . Confession. In these discussions we took part, in a series 
 of articles over the initials of our name, in the Lutheran 
 Observer, in vindication of the Definite Platform, which we 
 
PIvATFORM MORE SYMBOI.IC THAN GEN. SYNOD BASIS. JSI 
 
 hold to be a faithful and definite exhibition of the import of 
 the generic doctrinal pledge of the General Synod. That 
 pledge includes, in connection with absolute assent to the 
 Word of God, as the only infallible rule of faith and prac- 
 tice, the belief ' that the fundamental doctrines of Scripture 
 are taught in a manner substantially correct in the doc- 
 trinal articles of the Augsburg Confession ; ' and the Plat- 
 form is an unaltered copy of these articles of that confession, 
 only omitting those parts, which we know by long ac- 
 quaintance with American Lutherans, to be generally re- 
 garded by them not only as nonfundamental, but erroneous. 
 The Definite Platform, therefore retains even more o( the 
 Augsburg Confession than the General Synod's pledge 
 requires ; for it contains some specifications of the Augs- 
 burg Confession, which though true, are not fundamental. 
 The Platform is, therefore, more symbolic than the General 
 Synod's doctrinal basis, though the contrary opinion has 
 repeatedly been expressed, by those who have not carefully 
 examined. Had both parties in this discussion exhibited 
 more christian comity, and abstained from personalities, 
 levelling their logical artiliery against opinions instead of 
 the persons entertaining them, the effect upon the church 
 would, we think, have been favorable, and unity of senti- 
 ment might have been promoted. That a different im- 
 pression has been made on many minds is, doubtless, owing 
 to the human infirmity and passion that mingled in the 
 contest. Which party exhibited the largest amount of this 
 weakness, we will not undertake to decide, although we 
 doubt not, that here as in most other cases, the judgement 
 of the Leyden cobbler would be found correct, who was in 
 the habit of attending the public Latin disputations of the 
 university, and when asked whether he understood Latin, 
 replied, 'No, but I know who is wrong in the argument, by 
 seeing who gets angry first.' Nevertheless, christian truth 
 
322 CHRISTIAN SPIRIT OF MANN AND SCHMUCKER. 
 
 has often been defended in a very unchristian way, and 
 doubtless more depends on the natural temper and the 
 manners of the disputants, as well as the extent to which 
 divine grace enables them to subdue their passions. The 
 disposition occasionally evinced, to frown down discussion - 
 by invective and denunciation, is not only illogical, as it 
 proves neither the affirmative nor negative of the disputed 
 question ; but in this free country, where we acknowledge 
 no popes, and in the judgment of free Americans, who think 
 for themselves, it must always reflect unfavorably on its 
 authors. 
 
 " The same topic, so closely connected with the prosper- 
 ity of our beloved church, is to engage our attention on the 
 present occasion, in reply to an interesting, christian, and 
 gentlemanly pamphlet, from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Mann, 
 of Philadelphia, who controverts some of the positions of 
 the Definite Synodical Platform. It shall be my earnest 
 effort to write in the same christian manner, and my prayer 
 is that the Spirit of our Divine Master may direct my pen, 
 that it may record. 
 
 ' No line, wticli dying, I could wish to blot.' 
 
 The reply of his antagonist is worthy of the " Mann." 
 It reads as follows: " We shall endeavor to maintain in this 
 controversy a dignified and christian spirit, as becomes this 
 holy subject, and though differing in some points, know one 
 Master and one service. People on earth will always differ 
 in their opinions. The truth will gain by giving free scope 
 to ivestigation, and by the illustrations of the different 
 sides of the same question." On this Dr. Schmucker re- 
 marks, " This position is true, and creditable alike to the 
 head and the heart of the author." 
 
 We have not the space to give the arguments on both 
 sides of this interesting discussion, and will therefore con- 
 
CEREMONIES OF THE MASS. 323 
 
 tent ourselves by rendering a mere outline. We give the 
 topics in the order in which they are enumerated. 
 
 I. The approval of the ceremonies of the mass. The 
 words, in Art. xxiv. read as follo\vs : " It is unjustly 
 charged against our churches, that they have abolished the 
 mass. For it is notorious, that the mass is celebrated 
 among us with greater devotion and seriousness, than by 
 our opponents, (the Papists) .... In the public ceremo- 
 nies of the mass, also, no other perceptible change has been 
 made, than that in several places German hymns are sung 
 along with the Latin." 
 
 The discussion on the mass extends over thirty-three 
 pages of the " American Lutherism Vindicated." The 
 whole point of dispute is on the question, whether the mass 
 and the Lord's Supper mean the same thing. Dr. Mann 
 affirms, that " the word mass was at the time when the Con- 
 fession was written, (1530) in general use for the Eucharist; 
 and that in later years the term mass, in this sense, was en- 
 tirely given up." Dr. Schmucker on the other hand main- 
 tains, that the mass and the Lord's Supper, have entirely 
 distinct meanings ; first, because there are two different 
 articles in the Confession; the one with mass (Messe) for its 
 caption, and the other headed: of the holy supper. Now, 
 if mass here signified Holy Supper, the probability is, that 
 one or the other term would have been used in both places; 
 Secondly, that Luther and the other reformers designated 
 them as diffc;rent things. We give only two citations from 
 Luther : ' Above all other abominations, the mass, that 
 has hitherto been regarded as a sacrifice or good work, by 
 which one designed to procure grace for the other, is to be 
 rejected,' * 
 
 " 'Let this much suffice to be said of the Mass, and 
 
 * leather's Works Vol. XX. p. 3. 
 
3*4 PRIVATE CONFESSION AND ABSOI.UTION. 
 
 service of the minister; we will now proceed to treat of the 
 manner in which the holy sacrament shall be administered 
 to the people, for whose benefit es[)ecially the Supper of our 
 Lord was instituted.'" * 
 
 The remainder of the other thirty-three pages of the 
 Vindication are filled up with citations from other Luth- 
 eran authors, which the readers can consult, if they have 
 the desire to do so. 
 
 II. Of Private Confession and Absolution. Three kinds 
 of confession and absolution are referred to in the discussion 
 between Drs. Schmucker and Mann; i. Auricular con- 
 fession and absolution as practiced in the Romish Church, 
 2. Private Confession and Absolution, as taught in the 
 Augsburg Confession, and 3. Public or General Confession 
 and Absolution as practiced in the American Lutheran 
 churches. The main difference between the Romish 
 Auricular Confession, and private or individual Confession, 
 consists in this, that the former requires all sins to be con- 
 fessed to the priest, and that there can be no absolution for 
 sins not thus confessed, and the latter does not require a 
 detailed enumeration of all sins committed, but only of the 
 most important ones {tiur die Groebstcn). 
 
 The following is the manner in which Private Confes- 
 sion and Absolution was practiced : " Absolution was re- 
 cieved privately by each one individually, kneeling before 
 the confessional, the confessor imposing liis hands ^\.\kiQ.\Xm.%. 
 Private confession was given only in the church, in which 
 the confessional was so located near the pulpit, that no other 
 person could be near, or hear what was said by the 
 penitent."t The following directory for Absolution will 
 convey to the reader a correct idea of its form : 
 
 * Luther's letter to Nicolas Hausman in 1523. 
 fSee Koecher p. 515. 
 
AURICULAR AND PRIVATE CONFESSION. 325 
 
 'It is well known that/nW/^ confession was rejected in 
 the Lutheran Church in Denmark and Sweden in the be- 
 ginning, as well as by different portions of Germany at an 
 early day, and a public or general confession adopted in its 
 stead. In Luther's Short Directory for Confession, &c., we 
 have his formula iox private or individual absolution, which 
 will convey to the reader a more correct idea of its form : 
 After the directions for confession of sins; the 
 
 Confessor says : * God be merciftd to thee and strengthen 
 thy faith. Amen! 
 
 ' Dost thou believe that my remission of thy sins is God's 
 remission f 
 
 Answer of the penitent : ' Yes, dear sir, I do! 
 
 Then the confessor says : ^According to thy faith, so be 
 it imto thee. And /, by command of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 forgive thee thy sins, in the name of the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghost. Amen. Depart in peace! " 
 
 The discussion of this subject covers 9 printed pages. 
 We give a brief outline. 
 
 Mann. " Private confession may be useful as a means 
 of bringing the members of the church into personal inter- 
 view with the pastor." 
 
 Schmucker. "The advantage of such interviews we 
 freely admit ; but they can be, and are secured in our 
 churches without this rite; and as it is confessedly destitute 
 of Scripture authority, we have no right to invent a new 
 ordinance in Christ's church for any purpose." 
 
 M. ''The impression n>ight be made by the Platform, 
 that the Lutheran doctrine has some affinity to the Romish 
 doctrine of Auricular Confession." 
 
 5. " But the Platform expressly states the rejection 
 of Auricular Confession by the Reformers and their reten- 
 tion of what they called Private Confession in its stead." 
 
326 GOD ONI,Y CAN FORGIVE SIN. 
 
 M. " 'The power of the Keys' authorizes a minister to 
 pronounce absolution of sins, Matt, xviii. i8. 'Whatsoever 
 ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.' " 
 
 6". "But the previous context, ' Tell it to the church* 
 etc., clearly shows, that it refers to church discipline, and 
 signifies, * Whatever acts oi discipline ye enact in regard to 
 such an individual, I will ratify in heaven.* But this has 
 no bearing on private confession and private absolution. 
 
 "The other passage from John xx. 23. * Whose soever 
 sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whose soever 
 sins ye retain, they are retained,' was uttered on a different 
 occasion, after the Savior's resurrection ; and either refers 
 to a miraculous power bestowed on the apostles, to discern 
 the condition of the heart, and to announce pardon to those 
 whom they knew to be truly penitent and believing ; or to 
 confer on the ministry, in all ages, the power to announce 
 in general, the condition on which God will pardon sinners. 
 But it contains no authority to uninspired ministers to apply 
 these promises to individuals, the condition of whose hearts 
 they cannot know, as is done in private absolution." Dr. 
 Schmucker makes the following additional statements : 
 
 " In Art. XXVI. of the Augsburg Confession, being 
 Topic V. of the Abuses Corrected, the Confession says : 
 * Confession is not commanded in Scripture, but has been 
 instituted by the church' Even the inspired apostles never 
 in a single instance, either undertook to forgive sins them- 
 selves, or to announce the pardon of sin to any individual 
 personally. It is therefore a solemn thing for ministers, un- 
 guided by inspiration, to assume greater power, 
 
 " The Scriptures throughout present God, and the 
 Lamb of God, as the only beings that can ' forgive ' and 
 ' take away ' sin. Ex. xxiv. 6, 7, ' The Lord passed by 
 before him and proclaimed, ' The Lord God, vazxQXiwX— for- 
 giving iniquity, transgression and sin! ' 
 
DIVINE OBUGATION OF I^ORD'S DAY. 327 
 
 " The very fact, that sin is committed essentially 
 against God, in violation of His law, implies that no other 
 being, not even an angel or archangel, much less a man 
 (who is himself a sinner — Ed.) can forgive it. ' Against 
 thee, thee only, have I sinned]' said the P.salmist, ' and 
 done this evil in thy sight.' 
 
 " The Lutheran Church in Sweden and Denmark have 
 always rejected Private Confession and Absolution in practice. 
 And the entire church in Germany and the United States, 
 which now use public confession, have also discontinued it. 
 With the exception, perhaps, of the Missouri Synod and its 
 allies in Germany, we are not aware that Private Confession 
 and Absolution are practiced by any Lutheran churches 
 in the world." 
 
 III. Denial of the Divine Institution and Obligation of 
 the Christian Sabbath. The discussion on this topic covers 
 fourteen pages in the Vindication. Art. XXVIII, of the 
 Augsburg Confession contains the teachings which are 
 objected to. We quote the following : " Those who sup- 
 pose that the ordinance concerning Sunday instead of Sab- 
 bath is enacted as necessary, are greatly mistaken." '" It 
 was necessary to appoint a certain day, in order that the 
 people might know when they should assemble ; the Chris- 
 tian Church has appointed Sunday (the Lord's Day) for this 
 purpose ; and to this change she was the more inclined 
 and willing, that the people might have an example of 
 Christian liberty, and might know that the observance of 
 neither Sabbath, nor any other day is necessary!] 
 
 " The consciences of men must not be oppressed by 
 representing these things as necessary to salvation, or teach- 
 ing that they are guilty of sin, if they break these regulations 
 without offense to others ; for no one affirms that a woman 
 commits sin who goes out with her head uncovered, with- 
 out giving offense to the people. Such also is the ordi- 
 
328 WHAT THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION TEACHES. 
 
 NANCE CONCERNING SuNDAY, Eastcr, Whit Sunday and simi- 
 lar festivals and customs." 
 
 The Augsburg Confession distinctly teaches, 
 
 1. " That the Jewish Sabbath was entirely abolished ; 
 
 2. " That no particular day was divinely appointed in 
 its stead ; 
 
 3. " That those who suppose the ordinance concern- 
 ing Sunday instead of Sabbath is enacted as necessary, 'are 
 greatly mistaken ; ' 
 
 4. " But that as it was necessary to appoint a certain 
 day for the convocation of the people, ' the Christian Church 
 (not the apostles,) appointed Sunday.' " 
 
 Dr. Mann in his " Plea for the Augsburg Confession," 
 affirms that the Confession does not object to the divine 
 institution and obligation of the Lord's Day, but to the 
 corruptions which the Romish Church had connected with 
 it, and especially the idea that the observance of the Lord's 
 Day was a meritorious work, and would secure our justifi- 
 cation before God. 
 
 On page 28 of his Plea he writes, " Luther and 
 Melancthon had received from the older church the doc- 
 trine and practice of the Christian Sabbath, as a holy day, 
 as a divine institution and obligation, and they had not a 
 word to say against this view of the Sabbath." So also 
 Dr. Krauth, Jr., who is regarded as very high authority by 
 many, affirms that the Confession teaches the divine obli- 
 gation of the Lord's Day. So also the General Synod at 
 York declared its belief in the divine obligation of the 
 Lord's Day. Indeed, our English American Lutheran 
 churches all, so far as we know, believe in the divine insti- 
 tution of the Christian Sabbath or Lord's Day. Yet at the 
 time of the Reformation the views and practice of all the 
 churches were very lax on this subject, and those who now 
 profess to understand the Confession better than we do, 
 
WHAT THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION TEACHES. 329 
 
 declare, that it teaches, the Sabbath was instituted for the 
 Jews only, and is not obligatory on the Gentiles, but was 
 abrogated at the advent of Christ. In corroboration of this, 
 Dr. Schmucker quotes from some of the most distinguished 
 German theologians, such as Drs. Ruecker, Hengstenberg, 
 and Walter, We give herewith the quotation from Prof. 
 Walter : 
 
 " We cannot agree with him (the author, whom he is 
 reviewing) in the views he expresses concerning the Sab- 
 bath. He asserts that the Sabbath or Christian Sunday is 
 a divine institution, and that this is the doctrine of the Luth- 
 eran Symbols ; That the Lutheran Church differs from the 
 Calvinistic only in the mode ot observing the Sabbath, the 
 former advocating an evangelical, the latter, a legal method. 
 The contrary of this is clearly evident from Article XXVIII 
 of the Augsbiag Confession, and it would be almost incompre- 
 hensible how the author could fail to perceive this, were it not 
 for his manifest desire to make the sanctification of the 
 Sabbath as binding a duty as any other precept in the 
 decalogue, and his apprehension that this could not be 
 accomplished in any other way, than by maintaining the 
 divine appointment of the Sunday." 
 
 " The Augsburg Confession treats the Sabbath as a 
 mere Jewish institution, and supposes it to be totally revoked, 
 whilst the propriety of our retaining the Lord's Day or 
 Christian Sabbath as a day of religious worship, is supposed 
 to rest only on the agreement of the churches for the con- 
 venience of general convocation." 
 
 To this may be added the action of the Missouri 
 Synod during the World's Fair in Chicago. The Protest- 
 ant churches sent petitions to Congress, very numerously 
 signed, asking that the gates of the fair grounds should be 
 closed on Sunday. The Missourians declared in their 
 theological monthly, " Lehre und ll'ehre,'' that if the gates 
 
33° SACRAMENTS OF BAPTISM AND LORD'S SUPPER- 
 
 were to be closed on Sunday to give the employees rest, it 
 was all right ; but if it was for Scriptural reasons, it was 
 wrong ; and they would not sign the petitions. If we mis- 
 take not, the Roman Catholics also declined to sign the 
 petitions. 
 
 IV, V. The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's 
 Supper. We will present a few extracts from the discussion 
 on these ordinances : 
 
 Mann : " The Lutheran doctrine maintains that the 
 Sacraments have an intrinsic value ; but the Definite Plat- 
 form seems to regard them as mere signs, which may have 
 a tendency to promote piety. 
 
 Schmucker: "We not only admit, but strenuously 
 affirrti, that the Sacraments have an important, intrinsic 
 influence. The Platform thus describes it, ' Baptism in 
 adults is a means of making a profession of previous faith, 
 or of being received into the visible church, as well as a 
 pledge and condition of obtaining those blessings purchased by 
 Christ, and offered to all who repent, believe in him, and 
 profess his name by Baptism.' " 
 
 Mann: "The Primitive Church regarded the Sacra- 
 ments as mysteries'' 
 
 Schmucker: " But Mr. Mann presents no evidence of 
 this fact from God's word, or the apostolic church ; and the 
 church of subsequent ages is no conclusive doctrinal author- 
 ity for us Protestants." 
 
 M. " God is able to accomplish by the Holy Bap- 
 tism, performed in the mysterious name of the ever adored 
 _ Trinity, a work of regeneration in the heart of the little 
 child. The expression used in the Augsburg Confession, 
 Article II., is ' Regenerated by Baptism and the Holy 
 Ghost.' (John iii. 5.) This doctrine, however, is not to be 
 understood, as if the new creation was fully completed by 
 new generation. It is complete, so far as a live seed is com- 
 
BAPTlSMAlv SEED — PUSEVrSM. 33I 
 
 plete in itself. Thisdoesby no means exclude subsequent de- 
 velopment brought about by favorable internal and external 
 influence. And Christ, the God-man, is able to make us 
 poor creatures partakers of his celestial nature (2 Pet. i. 4,) 
 in the most solemn rite of his church, (the Eucharist) which 
 is therefore communion between Christ and man in the 
 fullest manner possible on earth." 
 
 .S. "Here the respected author, (Dr. Mann,) by adopt- 
 ing the theory that a living seed is implanted by Baptism 
 (whether into the soul or body he does not specify,) and 
 then that the Godman, Christ Jesus, makes these baptized 
 individuals partakers of his Celestial Nature hy the sacra- 
 mental supper, seems to favor something like the theory of 
 concorporation, or a physical union between Christ and 
 the believer, which is known in variojis places as Puseyism 
 in England, and Nevinism in the German Reformed 
 Church in this country, and which has spread a withering 
 influence over the interests of practical piety wherever em 
 braced. Yet we would by no means affirm that Rev. Mr. 
 Mann has embraced all the cardinal features of this sys- 
 tem." * 
 
 * For the information of such of our readers as prefer a skeleton 
 of the Puseyite system of the sacraments, rather than wade through 
 volumes of Semi-romish discussion, we annex its features: — 
 
 I. That man is ' ' made a member of Christ, the child of God, an 1 
 an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven," in and by holy Baptism. 
 
 II. That man " made a member of Christ, the child of God, and 
 an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven," in and by holy Baptism, is 
 renewed from time to time in holy Communion. 
 
 III. That a "death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteous- 
 ness " is given to every adult, and every infant, in and by the outward 
 visible sign or form in Baptism, "water, in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 IV. That the gift may be received, in the case of adults, worthily 
 or unworthily, but that it is always received. 
 
 V. That the body and blood of Christ are given to everyone who 
 receives the Sacramental Bread and Wine, 
 
 VI That the gift may be received worthily or unworthily, but 
 that it is always received. 
 
 There is no mistaking the meaning of this. It is clear and ex- 
 plicit; but wherein it diflfers from Romanism it would be difficult to 
 tell. — American Lutheranism Vindicated i> 124. 
 
332 EXORCISM REJECTED. 
 
 The Definite Platform rejects also the rite of Exor- 
 cism, which was practiced in connection with Baptism, and 
 is prescribed in the Book of Concord. We give the fol- 
 lowing extract from the Directory for Baptism : " The min- 
 ister shall say, ' Come out, thou unclean spirit, and give 
 place to the Holy Ghost.' Then he shall make the sign 
 of the cross on forehead and breast, and say, ' Receive the 
 sign of the holy cross, both on forehead and breast.' After 
 a short prayer he continues, ' I adjure thee, thou unclean 
 spirit, in the name of the Father, f and the Son, f and the 
 Holy Ghost, f that thou come out and depart from this 
 the servant of Jesus Christ. Amen.' " * 
 
 This rite is now regarded as a remnant of Romish su- 
 perstition. It was translated from the Latin into the German 
 language and incorporated into the Symbolical Books. " It 
 presupposes, that the child before Baptism is possessed by 
 an evil spirit, and that this rite or formula has a magic in- 
 fluence over the kingdom of evil spirits." f 
 
 According to Siegel and others. Exorcism was re- 
 ceived and practiced in Sweden, the entire kingdom of 
 Wurtemberg, Hanover, Saxony, etc. But we have no 
 knowledge of a single English Lutheran congregation in 
 America, that has received and practiced Exorcism. 
 
 Therefore as regards, 
 
 1. The approval of the ceremonies of the mass, 
 
 2. Private confession and absolution; 
 
 3. Denial of the Divine Obligation of the Christian 
 Sabbath or Lord's Day ; 
 
 4. Baptismal Regeneration and Exorcism, there seems 
 to be a glaring inconsistency in making profession of and 
 subscribing to doctrines which we do not believe and rites 
 which we do not practice. 
 
 * Book ( f Concord, Wegandt und Grieben, Berlin 1862, page 305. 
 t Bautrigarten , History of Christian Doctrines. Vol. ii. page 322. 
 
Evidences oe pardon and jxjstification. 333 
 
 The following extract from " American Lutheranism 
 Vindicated " will be interesting and edifying to our readers: 
 
 " The evidence of this pardon or justification, to the be- 
 liever himself, is within his own heart: — 
 
 {a) It is that peace of God, or sense of pardoned sin, 
 wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit. ' Being justified 
 by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.' Rom. v. i. 
 
 if) ' The love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the 
 Holy Ghost which is given unto us.' 
 
 if) It is the testimony of ' the Spirit bearing witness 
 with our spirits that we are children of God.' ' He that 
 believeth hath the witness in himself.' 
 
 id) It is the fridt of the Spirit, exhibited in the believ- 
 er's life, * which is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.' 
 
 {e) It is ' being led by the Spirit of God,' for then, 
 says the apostle, they are the sons of God, 
 
 " All these evidences presuppose or involve that great 
 change of heart and life, termed by the Savior new birth, 
 by which the sinner becomes morally qualified for that 
 pardon, purchased by the blood of Christ, and appropriated 
 to the believer by his faith. But no outward rites necessar- 
 ily imply such moral preparation, and hence they could not 
 be the conditions of justification, according to the analogy 
 of God's Word. 
 
 " Hence the sacraments. Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 
 are not the immediate conditions or means of pardon or jus- 
 tification; but they are means of grace, like the Word of God 
 and seals of grace to all worthy recipients. They have an 
 intrinsic efficacy by virtue of the truths symbolically repre- 
 sented by them, and an additional specific efficacy in virtue 
 of their peculiar nature, in connexion with the influence of 
 the Holy Spirit, to awaken, convert and sanctify the soul," 
 
334 VIEWS OF i^ord's supper by mosheim. 
 
 The remainder ofthe discussion on the Definite Platform 
 is taken up with a controversy on the presence of the real 
 body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament, which perhaps 
 would not interest or edify our readers very much, and we 
 will therefore conclude this chapter by a quotation from his 
 edition of Luther's Smaller Catechism as a brief statement 
 of his view on the Savior's presence in the Lord's Supper : 
 
 " The Lutheran church," says the celebrated Dr. Mos- 
 heim, " does not believe in impanation, nor in subpanation, 
 nor in consubstantiation ; nor in a physical or material pres- 
 ence of the body and blood of the Savior." Elementa 
 Theol. Dog. in loc. 
 
 " The Lutheran church maintains that the Savior ful- 
 fills his promise and is actually present, especially present, 
 at the Holy Supper, in a manner incomprehensible to us, 
 and not defined in Scripture. And why should it be 
 thought impossible, that he, who fills immensity with his 
 presence should be there, where his disciples meet to cele- 
 brate his dying love." 
 
 Here is an extract from Dr. J. G. Morris' edition of 
 Luther's Smaller Catechism : 
 
 " What the nature of this presence is, we know not. The 
 thing itself we know ; but the mode of its truth is a mys- 
 tery which we cannot comprehend. We deny that Christ 
 is present and received in a physical or material manner. 
 But should any one ask. How is he present ? Our answer 
 is. We know not. We commonly call his presence in this 
 holy ordinance, a * sacramental presence.' This might 
 seem to be an attempt to define the mode of his presence ; 
 but by this word we mean nothing more than that we are 
 ignorant of the mode. — They therefore err who say that 
 we believe in impanation, or that Christ is /« the bread and 
 wine. Nor are those correct who charge us with believing 
 subpanation, that is, that Christ is under the form of bread 
 
 I 
 
baugher's doctrine and usages. 335 
 
 and wine. And equally groundless is the charge of co?i- 
 substantiation, or the belief that the body and blood of 
 Christ are changed into one substance with the bread and 
 wine." — Dr. Mosheim. 
 
 The Rev. Henry Baugher, D. D., President of Penn'a 
 College and father of Prof H. L. Baugher, Jr., D. D., in 1840 
 prepared an excellent report on the Doctrines and Usages 
 of the Synod of Maryland, of which he was an honored and 
 inflaential member. It will be seen from the following ex- 
 tract, that he held substantially the same views on Regen- 
 eration, Sacraments and the Symbolical Books, as those set 
 forth by Dr. Schmucker in his defense of the Definite Plat- 
 form : 
 
 " On Regeneration. — We believe that the Scriptures 
 teach that regeneration is the act of God, the Holy Ghost, 
 by which, through the truth, the sinner is persuaded to 
 abandon his sins and submit to God, on the terms made 
 known in the gospel. This change, we are taught, is radi- 
 cal, and is essential to present peace and eternal happiness. 
 Consequently, it is possible, and is the privilege ot the re- 
 generated person to know and rejoice in the change pro- 
 duced in him. 
 
 " Of the Sacraments. — We believe that the Scriptures 
 teach, that there are but two sacraments, viz. : Baptism and 
 the Lord's Supper, in each of which, truths essential to sal- 
 vation are symbolically represented. We do not believe 
 that they exert any influence ' ex opere operator but only 
 through the faith of the believer. Neither do the scriptures 
 warrant the belief, that Christ is present in the Lord's Sup- 
 per in any other than a spiritual manner. 
 
 " Of the Symbolical Books. — Luther's Larger and 
 Smaller Catechisms, the Formula Concordiae, Augsburg 
 Confession, Apology, and Smalkald Articles are called in 
 Germany the Symbolical Books of the church. We regard 
 them as good and useful exhibitions of truth, but do not 
 receive them as binding on the conscience, except so far as 
 they agree with the word of God." 
 
336 schmucker's resignation. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 Schmucker's resignation — his letter to the board — 
 NO change in his doctrinal views — reasons for 
 resignation — increasing age — desire for literary 
 work — brown, his successor — sketch of his life — 
 
 brown's charges — schmucker's reply — NATURAL DE- 
 PRAVITY — REGENERATION JUSTIFICATION — SA.XCTIFICA- 
 
 TION — b's ARTICLE CONFUSED OBJECTIONABLE SPIRIT 
 
 brown's ATTACK ON SPKECHER — BROWN's ELECTION 
 
 NOMINATED BY DR. BAUM — UNWRITTEN HISTORY — HAY 
 AND KRAUTH. 
 
 DR. schmucker's RESIGNATION. 
 
 Early in 1864, Dr. Schmucker announced his intention 
 to resign his professorship in the Seminary. We give the 
 following extracts from the minutes of the Board : 
 
 "■Meeting of Aug. gth., 1864. " Early in February, 1864, 
 Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. D., informed me (the President 
 of the Board,) that he intended resigning the chair of 
 Didactic Theology at the next meeting of the Board. The 
 fact was made known to the directors and the church in 
 general, by the following announcement, together with the 
 letter of notification, in the Lutheran and Missioniry and 
 Lutheran Observer. 
 
HIS LETTER TO DR. CONRAD. 337 
 
 Announcement of the Intended Resignation of Dr. S. 
 S. Schmucker. 
 
 It becomes the duty of the undersigned to announce 
 to the members of the Board of Directors of the Theological 
 Seminary at Gettysburg, that the Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. 
 D., has formally notified him, that he purposes resigning 
 the Professorship of Didactic Theology at their next meet- 
 ing. F. W. Conrad, 
 
 President of the Board of Directors, 
 
 Gettysburg, February. 
 
 Letter of Resignation. 
 
 Gettysburg, February, 1864.. 
 
 Rev. F. W. Conrad, 
 
 President Board of Directors of Theol. Seminary, 
 
 Dear Brother in Christ. — After nearly forty-four 
 years spent in the active duties of the ministerial office, 
 thirty-eight of which were in connection with the Theolog- 
 ical Seminary, I have resolved, after long and prayerful 
 deliberation to resign my professorship at the next meeting 
 of the Board in August. For this purpose I now give you 
 the constitutional notice of six months in advance. Whilst 
 I reserve to a future communication to the Board such 
 remarks as I may feel desirous of making, I will state in 
 general, that my chief reasons for this step, are the increas- 
 ing infirmities of age, and a desire to devote the remaining 
 years of my life more particularly to literary labors for the 
 cause of God and of religion. 
 
 With sentiments of the warmest fraternal regard, I 
 remain Yours in Christ, 
 
 S. S. Schmucker. 
 
 " During the second session of this meeting, Aug. 9th, 
 1864, Dr. Schmucker himself read the following paper : 
 
338 HIS I^ETTER To THE BOARD. 
 
 "'Christian Brethren : Having six months ago for 
 warded to the President of your body, the constitutional 
 notice of my intention to resign my office in this Institu- 
 tion, I hereby surrender into your hands this important 
 trust, to take effect at the close of the present Seminary 
 year, September 21st., 1864. Nearly forty years have 
 elapsed, since I was elected by the General Synod in 1825, 
 as first Professor of the Seminary, yet to be established. 
 The greater part of the first year I spent, by request of the 
 Board, in collecting funds for the endowment ot the Insti- 
 tution, and on the fifth of September, 1825, the 'operation of 
 the Seminary commenced. Duringalltheinterveningyears, a 
 kind Providence has preserved my health, so that with the 
 exception of two or three cases, the instructions have never 
 been interrupted more than a few days by sickness. Dur- 
 ing all this time also, my conscience bears me witness, that 
 I have endeavored to discharge my duties with fidelity, to 
 watch over the piety, improvement and general welfare of 
 the students, and to promote the best interests of our 
 beloved church. 
 
 "' The Constitution of the Seminary, which was 
 adopted at the commencement of the Institution, has con- 
 tinued to direct all its operations till this day. All its pro- 
 visions have been carefully attended to. Its doctrinal tests 
 have been statedly repeated before the Board by all the 
 Professors, and I am happy here to record the declaration, 
 that I approve of them all at present, as when I framed and 
 first took them. The text book, viz., my Popular Theology, 
 which grew out of my lectures on Dogmatics, during the 
 first few years, has been retained till this day as the basis of 
 my instructions, without the change of a single doctrine ; 
 and I record the additional declaration, that I this day 
 cordially believe every doctrine taught in the entire 
 volume. These facts I state in justice to the Institution 
 
REASONS ASSIGNED. 339 
 
 and myself, and in view of the future history of the Institu- 
 tion and the church. 
 
 " ' In withdrawing from my official connection with the 
 Seminary, as its Theological Professor, I feel constrained to 
 give expression to my grateful recollection of the cordial 
 and active co-operation of the Board throughout the history 
 of the In^^titution in the various measures, which as Chair- 
 man of the Faculty, I from time to time proposed. Many 
 of these dear brethren have entered the eternal world before 
 me, and it cannot be very long before some of us will be 
 called to join them. 
 
 " ' The reasons which influenced me in tendering my 
 resignation at this time, when there has been no serious 
 change in my health, are first : The gradual and natural 
 increase of the infirmities of age. I formerly thought no 
 man ought to hold such a responsible and laborious post, 
 as that assigned me, after he had passed the meridian 
 vigour of life, say fifty, or at most sixty years of age, but 
 should assume some easier post and there labor some years 
 longer. But as I successively passed those periods, I was 
 not conscious myself of any marked decline of vigor, and 
 therefore have retained the post, which, I however now feel 
 it a duty to resign to younger and more active hands, 
 whilst I propose to labor for the kingdom of my God and 
 Savior in various ways, especially by literary efforts. 
 
 " ' With reference to this fact, I would request the 
 Board to grant me the use of the Seminary Library, subject 
 to the regulations thereof, as has been done to the college 
 professors and our pastors in town. This design forms my 
 second reason (2,) for resignation, a desire to have more 
 time at command for the execution of some literary enter- 
 prises, which I hope may redound to the glory of God and 
 the benefit of his church, third : I have also, after having 
 looked at the state of the church for several years, thought 
 
340 REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE. 
 
 the present as favorable a time as wou'd soon be offered, to 
 elect a successor, who would carry on the work to which 
 my life has been devoted, in the same liberal spirit, in 
 which this Institution was founded, and has been thus far 
 conducted; granting liberty of opinion in regard to those 
 non-fundamental points on which the churches of the Gen- 
 eral Synod claim and exercise this right. 
 
 " * Fourth : Finally, no one can be more sensible than I 
 am, of the imperfection of my best meant services in behalf 
 of the church, and of the beloved young men, numbering 
 about four hundred, for whose education I have labored. I 
 pray God, that he may continue to bless their labors for 
 the advancement of the best interests of his church. 
 
 " ' With sincere regard for every member of this Board, 
 and my best wishes for their welfare and that of my 
 respective colleagues, I close this my final communication, 
 
 S. S. SCHMUCKER.' 
 
 Gettysburg, August gth., 1864.. 
 
 "This important document was handed to a committee 
 consisting of Drs. Lochman, Hay, and Rev. Baum, who 
 subsequently reported the following, which was unani- 
 mously adopted : 
 
 '"The undersigned appointed to draft a minute, 
 expressing the views of the Board with reference to the 
 resignation of Rev. Dr. Schmucker, respectfully present the 
 following statement : 
 
 "'This subject, introduced six months ago to the 
 notice of the Board, and now formally pressed upon their 
 attention, they recognize as one of extreme importance, in 
 view of the fact that Dr. Schmucker has been so com- 
 pletely identified with the institution from its incipiency, 
 and has to so great an extent been entrusted with the 
 execution of its affairs. The sundering of relations of such 
 long standing, and which involve to so great an extent 
 
REPORT OF THE COJfMrTTEE. 341 
 
 the welfare of our beloved church, is an act that should not 
 be performed without solemn consideration and devout 
 aspiration for the divine guidance. 
 
 " ' Approaching the subject in this spirit, your commit- 
 tee has been led to the deliberate conclusion, that in view 
 of the considerations adduced by Dr. Schmucker, in his 
 communication to the Board, and of his unqualified 
 declaration to the committee as to his settled purpose of 
 withdrawing at this time, the Board have no alternative, 
 but to accept of his resignation. 
 
 " ' The committee further propose, that the request of 
 Dr. Schmucker with reference to the use of the Seminary 
 Library be cordially complied with, and the Board at the 
 same time return to him their heartfelt thanks for his zeal 
 and success, and for his untiring efforts in various ways to 
 increase and improve the same. 
 
 " ' Nor can your committee close this report without 
 giving some expression of the universal sentiment of 
 gratitude, which is felt to be due to one, who has devoted 
 the labors of an ordinary life time to our beloved Institu- 
 tion, and who amid the increasing infirmities of age, still 
 proposes to consecrate the remnant of an active and useful 
 life, to the service of the church in a less conspicuous posi- 
 tion. May the Lord our Saviour abundantly reward him 
 for his years of patient toil, and grant him grace and 
 strength, still further to co-operate with his brethren in the 
 glorious work of extending the borders and promoting the 
 efficiency of our beloved Zion.' 
 
 "Adjourned with prayer by Dr. Hauer. 
 
 " At a subsequent Session, it was 
 
 " Resolved, that the name of the Rev. S. S. Schmucker, 
 D. D., be retained on the Catalogue of this Institution dur- 
 ing his lifetime, as ' Professor Emeritus.' 
 
 The Gettysburg Star of that date made the following 
 editorial remark : 
 
342 GETTYSBURG STAR — SCHMUCKER'S SUCCESSOR. 
 
 " If any man has ever earned a good claim to retire 
 in his sixty-seventh year from wearisome and routine in- 
 struction, upon the honor and dignity of a Professor 
 Emeritus, Dr. Schmucker had won that right, when he 
 tendered his resignation to the Board of Directors, as the 
 active incumbent of the chair of Dogmatic Theology in the 
 Seminary of the General Synod." 
 
 " Called to preside over this Institution at its founda- 
 tion, he was for some time its sole professor, and he may 
 justly be called its father. He held this position until 1864, 
 a period of nearly forty years, and during this time, by his 
 ascendency over the minds of his students, his numerous 
 publications, his debates at synod, and his manifest devo- 
 tion to every cause of public interest, he was beyond 
 question the most conspicuous and influential man in the 
 Lutheran Church in America, and the best known to the 
 Christian community outside of it." — U^o//. 
 
 " For eight years more he resided in Gettysburg, lead- 
 ing a life of comparative leisure, and yet never idle. A 
 certain number of hours every day were spent in his study, 
 in general reading, and arranging some literary scheme, 
 which, however, was never consummated." — Diehl. 
 
 DR. S. S. SCHMUCKEr's SUCCESSOR. 
 
 Rev. James Allen Brown became Dr. Schmucker's 
 successor. It will be interesting to the readers to learn 
 under what circumstances he was elected to that prominent 
 position, and what were the causes that brought about this 
 result. Rev. Brown came into prominence in the church 
 by his opposition to Dr. Schmucker. He was a colleague 
 with Rev. J N. Hoffman in Reading, and near about the 
 same time that Hoffman published his " Broken Platform," 
 Brown introduced some strong worded resolutions in the 
 Synod of East Pennsylvania, against the " Definite Plat- 
 form." Afterwards he charged Dr. Schmucker with 
 
SKETCH OF DR. A]vt,EN BROWN. 343 
 
 fundamental errors on the doctrines of Regeneration, 
 Natural Depravity and Sanctification. By this means he 
 got himself into prominence and the way of promotion. 
 Had he attacked any other man in the church it would not 
 have aroused much attention, nor have had any influence 
 in promoting him to higher stations. But the opponents of 
 Dr. Schmucker urged him on ; the attention of the church 
 was directed to him ; he was called to a professorship of 
 Theology and ancient languages in Newberry College, 
 South Carolina, and finally elected Professor of Didactic 
 Theology and chairman of the faculty in the Seminary at 
 Gettysburg. 
 
 As this is a very important event in Dr. Schmucker's 
 Hfe, and Rev. Brown's charges affected him more painfully 
 than any other occurrence in his life, we will give a brief 
 extract" from his biographical sketch in Jenson's American 
 Lutheran Biographies, and then copy a part of Dr. 
 Schmucker's reply to Rev. Brown's charges against his 
 orthodoxy : 
 
 REV. JAMES ALLEN BROWN, D. D., 
 
 " Was born in Lancaster County, Pa., February 19th., 
 1821. Both of his parents were Quakers. His early years 
 were passed on the farm, but as he evinced an unusual 
 desire for study, he derived every possible advantage from 
 the public schools, and a few books which he found in his 
 father's library. Then he taught school and pursued his 
 studies privately at Mt. Joy, and Emmaus Institute, Mid- 
 dletown, Pa., of which his uncle was at that time President. 
 He also was a Quaker, but as the charter of that institution 
 required that all its officers, directors and teachers must be 
 Lutherans, he joined the Lutheran Church. 
 
 " In 1 84 1 Mr. Brown entered the senior class in Penn- 
 sylvania College at Gettysburg, and graduated in the class 
 of 1 842. During his year at college he connected himself 
 
344 DR. AI,I,EN BROWN. 
 
 with the Presbyterian Church at Gettysburg, being bap- 
 tized, February 19th., 1841. From October 22nd., 1842, to 
 April 6th., 1843, he had charge of a select school at 
 Leitersburg, Md. In the spring of 1844 he was elected 
 principal of the academy at Darlington, Md., which office he 
 held until the 12th of September, 1845. ^^ the meantime 
 he had also been studying theology with Rev. Mr. Carter,^ 
 a Presbyterian Minister, at New Windsor, Md. 
 
 "On the i8th of October, 1845, Mr. Brown was 
 licensed by the Maryland Synod of the Lutheran Church, 
 and received a call to what was then called Luther Chapel, 
 now the Third Lutheran Church on Monument St^reet, 
 Baltimore. He served this congregation till February 4th., 
 1848, when he accepted a call from Zion Lutheran Church 
 at York, Pa. This church he served something over a 
 year, when he received a call to St. Matthew's Lutheran 
 Church in Reading, Pa. His ministry in Reading con- 
 tinued nearly ten years. In February, 1859, ^^ accepted a 
 professorship of theology and ancient languages in New- 
 berry College, South Carolina. But the civil war breaking 
 out, he had to flee for safety to the North, where he 
 accepted a chaplaincy in the Union Army. After a period 
 of fifteen months he resigned and accepted a chaplaincy of 
 the United States Army hospital at York, Pa. 
 
 " After two years of faithful service in this capacity, he 
 was, in August, 1864, elected Professor of Didactic Theol- 
 ogy and Chairman of the Faculty in the Theological Semi- 
 nary of the General Synod at Gettysburg, as the successor 
 of Dr. Schmucker. 
 
 " On December 9th., 1879, he was suddenly stricken 
 with paralysis, which deprived him of the power of speech 
 and the use of his right arm. His resignation was tendered 
 in June, 1880, but was not accepted by the Board of 
 Directors until the summer of 1881. 
 
SCHMUCKER'S REPI^Y TO BROWN. 345 
 
 " In the month of September, 1881, he removed with 
 his family to Lancaster, Pa., and in the spring of 1883, after 
 one or two slight relapses, he passed away, on the morning 
 of the 19th of June, surrounded by his entire family." 
 
 DR. SCHMUCKER's REPLY TO REV. BROWN's CHARGES. 
 
 In justice to Dr. Schmucker, we copy the greater part 
 of his reply to Rev. Brown's charges. The importance o( 
 the subject is a sufficient apology for the length of the 
 quotation. It will also be interesting and instructive to 
 students of theology and ministers of the gospel to read 
 Dr. Schmucker's views on the subjects of Natural De- 
 pravity, Regeneration and Sanctification : 
 
 " The article in the last number of the Review, 
 charged us with grave doctrinal errors, and we confess, its 
 character and design excited alike our surprise and regret. 
 After examining it, however, the title, ' New Theology. By 
 Rev. J. A. Brown,' appeared to admit of a meaning more 
 appropriate than we had at first supposed ; for the theology 
 discussed, though attributed to us, is really, in the main, the 
 aggregate of Rev. B's. misapprehensions, and may prop- 
 erly be termed his theology. From the beginning, we 
 doubted the propriety of a formal reply to this anomalous 
 production. Had the writer fairly interpreted our views on 
 the topics concerned, as they have for a quarter of a century 
 been understood from our Popular Theology (which he re- 
 peatedly quotes) and other works, by the divines and 
 intelligent laity of our church, and as they have been ap- 
 prehended by able reviewers, and by distinguished theo- 
 logians of other churches ; we would with pleasure have 
 entered on the inquiry with him, whether they accord with 
 the ' Word of God, our only infallible rule, and the funda- 
 mentals of that Word, as substantially set forth in the 
 Augsburg Confession,' which is the doctrinal test of the 
 General Synod. But his charge of fundamental heresy, 
 
346 MISAPPREHENSION AND MISREPRESENTATION. 
 
 when, in the same book, we reiterate and avow the entire 
 articles of the Augsburg Confession on the disputed doc- 
 trines, savors too much of contracted bigotry, to require a 
 serious refutation. The points left undetermined by the 
 Augsburg Confession are, at least among American Luther- 
 ans, regarded as free subjects of private opinion. And the 
 more we examined the article of Rev. B., the more we were 
 inclined to accord with the judgement of our friends gener- 
 ally, both far and near, who dissuaded us from a reply. 
 
 " Therefore, without any unfriendly feelings towards 
 Rev. B., we decline the formal discussion of his article, for 
 the following reasons : 
 
 "I. Because his article is not a reviczu of the sentiments 
 of our book, but of his otvn glaring misapprehensions and con- 
 sequent misrepresentations of them. Either from want of 
 ability or disposition, he has misapprehended the fair, 
 legitimate import of our Popular Theology^ and of our 
 Vindication of American Lutheranism, on each of the sub- 
 jects which he discusses ! 
 
 I. "Thus, in our definition of natural depravity, as a 
 hereditary ' disorder of our bodily and mental constitution' 
 (a mode of definition adopted even by the Form of Con- 
 cord), he makes 'mental' signify only a part of the mind, 
 and, in truth, makes it exclude the most important part of 
 it, namely, the moral or active powers ; and then, on the 
 ground of his own erroneous apprehension or definition of 
 the term, positively charges us with denying that the moral 
 powers are affected by natural depravity ! We would ask, 
 are the will and affections no part of the mind ? Does 
 mental philosophy denote the science which discusses a 
 /(2r^ of our mental faculties, and omits the will and affec- 
 tions^ For the same reason, the phrase "mental constitu- 
 tion," necessarily signifies the constitution of the mind, and 
 not of a part of it. Glaring as this misapprehension is, it is 
 
MISAPPREHENSION ON REGENERATION. 317 
 
 rendered the more inexcusable by the fact, that in the same 
 chapter of the Popular Theology, which furnishes the Rev. 
 B. with our definition of natural depravity (on p. 144), we 
 read the following words : ' That it (the natural depravity) 
 is total , that is, extends to all our powers, is certain." Such 
 glaring misapprehension ol plain English, in a self-consti- 
 tuted critic, bears its own refutation on the face of it. 
 
 2. " He misapprehends our definition of regeneration. 
 We say regeneration in the Scriptures, designates the whole 
 change (by which the sinner becomes a new creature in 
 Christ Jesus), therefore including illumination, conviction, 
 and penitence, as well as the change occurring in the mind 
 in the moment of transition from a state of condemnation 
 to that of justification ; but he strangely supposes us also to 
 include sanctification in this definition of its Scriptural mean- 
 ing. We however generally employ the word in the other, 
 or theological sense there defined, as signifying the change 
 occurring in the particular moment of transition from the 
 state of condemnation to that of justification; but he, in de- 
 fiance of the context, represents us as using it in the former 
 sense, and then charges on us the inconsistencies which 
 flow from his own mistake ! We represent regeneration 
 as a 'radical and entire change,' in opposition to a super- 
 ficial and partial one, and as including 'a new heart;' he 
 charges us with representing it as partial and superficial, 
 and as leaving the heart unchanged ! ! In the passage 
 which immediately precedes the one objected to by our 
 reviewer, we find a definition of regeneration, which cer- 
 tainly covers the whole ground : '' Regeneration, in the 
 proper sense of the term, consists in a radical change in our 
 religious views of the divine character, law, &c ; a change in 
 religious feelings, ^nd in our religious purposes and habits of 
 action!' Here the change is described (a) as radical, not 
 superficial, not a mere outward change of moral character 
 
348 MISAPPREHENSION ON REGENERATION. 
 
 or conduct ; but a 'radical' one, a change which, as the 
 etymology of the word implies, affects the root or source: 
 of human thought and action, (b) It is such a radical 
 change, not only of some one department of the human 
 mind, or of human thought and action; but such radical 
 change of the entire mind, of all the powers of the human 
 soul ; for they are usually reduced to three departments, 
 designated by some metaphysicians as views (cognitions), 
 feelings and actions, or, by others, referring to the faculties,! 
 as intellect, sensibilities and will. Now this makes- 
 regeneration include a change, 
 
 a) " In our religious views , i. e. views of the character! 
 of God, his relation to us, and ours to him; of his law, as; 
 to its spirituality, extent and comprehensiveness; of ouri 
 character as related to that law, as sinners, and in short, in: 
 our views of any and every subject that has any religiousi 
 bearing at all. As this change is a radical one, it affects? 
 these views even in the root or fountains, or powers of 
 mind whence they spring. 
 
 b) " Regeneration includes a change in our religious, 
 feelings, from indifference to religion, to an acute sensibility 
 on the subject ; from selfishness to a feeling of universal 
 benevolence ; from antipathy to religion, to a sympathy 
 
 with every thing holy and good. 
 
 c) " Regeneration, according to the definition, includes 
 a change in our religious purposes, viz., from purposes of 
 self-indulgence, and of a life of sin, to purposes of refor- 
 mation and sincere, entire obedience to God ; and from 
 actual habits of sin, to those of holiness, from the service of 
 the world to the service of God. 
 
 " This, it will be admitted, is the natural import of the 
 above definition ; and we may well ask every impartial 
 reader, what passage of. Scripture, descriptive of regener- 
 ation, will not be comprehended in one or other of the: 
 above features of this change? 
 
MISAPPREHENSION ON JUSTIFICATION. 349 
 
 3. "Again, we affirm, that in the sense of the word 
 regeneration, in which it signifies a radical change in our 
 rehgious views of the divine character, law, &c., of our re- 
 ligious feelings, and of our religious purposes of action, 
 infants (not children of some age, but infants) are incapable 
 of it : because they neither have, nor can have, any re- 
 ligious views or feelings or actions at all ; and if they are 
 naturally incapable of the mental exercises of which re- 
 generation consists, they cannot be the subjects of regener- 
 ation in that sense of the term ; and what sensible man will 
 deny this? We do affirm some influences of the Spirit on 
 infants, (for example, the same which attend the baptism of 
 adult believers, as far as they are capable of them) the 
 nature of which is mysterious ; we do distinctly imply that 
 they are capable of regeneration or spiritual change, in 
 so7ne sense, but not in that applicable to adults ; but he 
 makes us deny all gracious influence on them ! ! He first 
 appears to be horrified at our leaving infants without the 
 hope of heaven, and then admits that we maintain their 
 salvation for Christ's sake ! ! It should, moreover be re- 
 membered, that the change of infants is merely incidentally 
 mentioned in a few sentences, and the negative side pre- 
 sented, the positive not being required by the subject under 
 discussion. We have stated what change does not take 
 place in infants, the nature of that which does, we have 
 not defined, and no one has authority to speak for us. 
 
 4. " Finally, in regard to justification, we say in the 
 Popular Theology, 'justification is that judicial act of God, 
 by which a believing sinner, in consideration of the merits 
 of Christ, is released from the penalty of the law, and is 
 declared to be entitled to heaven.' ' This justification 
 takes place at the moment, when the sinner first attains a 
 living faith in the Redeemer,' And in the Vindication of 
 American Lutheranism, we teach, ' Whenever the return- 
 
35° WANT OF ACQUAINTANCE WITH I^UTHERAN THEOI^OGY. 
 
 ing sinner exercises the first act o{ living faith, he is justi- 
 fied ; that is, then God performs that judicial or forensic act, 
 by which a believing sinner, in consideration of the mcnts 
 of Christ, is relea-^ed from the penalty of the divine law, 
 and is declared to be entitled to heaven.' But notwith- 
 standing these, and other most explicit declarations, that 
 we are justified for Christ's sake, and not for our works, and 
 that this justification takes place at the moment of the very 
 first act of living faith in the Redeemer, will it be believed 
 that our cloudy reviewer insists on it, that we teach justifi- 
 cation in part by works, and that mainly on the ground of 
 his own erroneous supposition, that we use the word 
 regeneration as including sanctification ! ! Other examples 
 of our reviewer's obtuseness could be added, but certainly 
 these will abundantly suffice to show, that he has mistaken 
 his calling when he assumes to act the theological 
 reviewer ! 
 
 II. " Another reason for our declining to enter into a 
 formal refutation of Rev. B's. article, is his manifest zvant of 
 acquaintance ivith Lutheran Theology. Were not the sub- 
 ject too grave a one, it would be purely amusing to behold 
 a man step forward as volunteer champion of orthodoxy in 
 the Lutheran church, adducing as authority to sustain his 
 positions, riot Lutheran^ but Calvinistic divines ; to find him 
 cite, not the illustrious Lutheran Theologians of the six- 
 teenth, seventeenth, eighteenth or nineteenth century ; but 
 the hightoned Calvinist, Edwards, the Congregationalist, 
 D wight, and Dick and Chalmers, and even the erratic 
 opium-eater, Coleridge ! And it would be a useless con- 
 sumption of time, formally to refute the unfounded 
 assertions, which he would not have made, if better 
 informed on the subject. 
 
 " I. Thus, in our definition of innate depravity, as 'a 
 disorder of our mental and bodily constitution,' &c., he 
 
DEFINITION OF DEPRAVITY. 35I 
 
 seizes on the word 'disorder,* which literally implies an 
 abnormal or a confused state, gives it one of its possible 
 meanings, to which we do not object, namely, that of 
 disease; and then makes himself merry, by affirming this 
 view of natural depravity to be exemplified in the case of 
 'a dyspeptic,' or of 'an insane person,' &c.; evidently un- 
 acquainted with the fact, that the representation of natural 
 depravity under the figure of a disease, is authorized by the 
 best Lutheran authorities, and is also often met with 
 among writers of other denominations, such as Drs. 
 Hopkins, Dick, &c. We would refer our reviewer for 
 better information, among others, to Dr. RcinJiard's Dog- 
 matik, who terms it 'moralische Krankheit,' moral disease; 
 and Dr. Baumgartens Glaubenslehre, 'Krankheit,' disease : 
 and Dr. Jidius Mueller, ueber die Suende, 'Krankheit,' 
 disease. The form of Concord terms it 'lepra quadam 
 spirituali,' 'mit einem geistlichen Aussatz,' spiritual lepro- 
 sy ; and also 'morbus,' 'Krankheit,' sickness. The 
 Augsburg Confession itself represents natural depravity 
 as a disease, in Article II., 'morbus,' 'Seuche.' Yea, 
 even the good word of God seemc to have given rise to 
 this view, ' The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint,' 
 &c — Is. i: 5, 6. 'Is there no balm in Gilead,' &c. — Jerenii- 
 ah 8: 22. 
 
 " 2. He objects to our statement, that regeneration 
 does not destroy, but merely restrains the natural depravity 
 of the christian ; although we elsewhere described regenera- 
 tion as ' a radical,' and not superficial, as an ' entire,' and 
 not partial change, and as including ' a new heart,' thus 
 showing that the restraint imposed on natural depravity by 
 regeneration, is an extensive and decided one. But he goes 
 further, and says : ' We boldly affirm that regeneration has 
 to do, and that chiefly, with natural depravity — and that 
 its very object is its removal.' Thus, he seems not to • 
 
3^2 I,UTHERAN AUTHORS QUOTED. 
 
 know, that he is himself unsound, and in conflict tvith our 
 best authorities, zx^A we may add, with \.\\t ivord of God it- 
 self Thus Luther says : ' Baptism removes the guilt of 
 natural depravity, but not the material or subtance of it ; * 
 ' The Holy Ghost, which is given by baptism, begins (inci- 
 pit) to mortify the sinful desires, and creates new impulses 
 or incUnations (motus) in that individual.' (Mueler Symb. 
 p. 83). Quenstedt thus expresses himself: 'The guilt (of 
 natural depravity) is removed in regeneration and justifica- 
 tion ; the dominion of it, gradually in renovation (sanctifica- 
 tion) ; but the root (of this depravity) is not removed, until 
 the separation of the sold from the body! Dr. Baunigartcn 
 says : ' We deny that natural depravity can be entirely 
 eradicated by the use of the means of grace ' in this life. 
 * The fountain and root of natural depravity continues in 
 the regenerate ; ' 'It continually seeks to obtain the con- 
 trol (of them).' ' The entire removal and eradication of 
 natural depravity does not take place till after the death of 
 the believer.' Dr. Knapp thus expresses himself: ' The 
 root and germ of natural depravity will remain, and cease 
 only with death.' And, finally, the Symbolical books, in 
 numerous passages, teach that the deliverance from the in- 
 fluence of natural depravity through the Holy Spirit, in re- 
 generation and renovation, ' is only begun in this life, and 
 ivill not be perfect until the life to come' 'welches doch in 
 diesem Leben nur angefangen, aber allererst in jenem Le- 
 ben, vollkommen seyn wird.' 
 
 " 3. On the glaring mistake of Rev. B., in represent- 
 ing our statement, that the corruptible and mortal nature 
 of children is changed at death, as a quotation from i Cor. 
 15 ; whereas the apostle is there speaking of the body alone, 
 and our sentence is neither marked as a quotation, nor in- 
 tended as one, and his then charging our sentence as being 
 a novel explanation of that text, we will not dwell. But he 
 
tUTHERAN AUTHORS QUOTED. 353 
 
 maintains that infants, and by inference probably (as he 
 states nothing to the contrary) adults also, must be zvholly 
 sanctified in this life ; since, he affirms, that death can effect 
 no change in them, and the body will not be changed un- 
 til the resurrection ; evidently not acquainted with the fact 
 that the prevailing opinion of Lutheran, and also of other 
 divines, is that which we maintain, and he so positively and 
 dogmatically condemns, that not ' by ' death, but at the 
 moment of the separation of soul and body, the depraved 
 nature of believing adults, as well as of infants, that is, all 
 that remains living and conscious of them, their soul, is 
 wholly delivered from every taint of sin by the Holy Spirit 
 of God. Thus is the law in his members, which warred 
 against the law of his mind as long as he lived, eradicated 
 from the believer, as is also from infants, that native de- 
 pravity with which they were born. For the better infor- 
 mation of our reviewer, we would refer him to the follow- 
 ing, amongst a multitude of Lutheran authors, who all 
 agree with us, in what is also the doctrine of the Symboli- 
 cal books, that at death, the remaining depravity of our cor- 
 rupt nature is eradicated ; that is, the souls of those who 
 are admitted to heaven, are perfectly liberated from all re- 
 maining depravity, whilst their bodies return to the dust 
 and are destitute of consciousness and moral character un- 
 til the resurrection. Thus, Quenstedt fixes the time for the 
 final eradication of natural depravity, ' ipsa animae a cor- 
 pore solutione,' at the time of the release of the soul from 
 the body. Dr. Baumgarten, ' in and after death,^ ' in und 
 nach dem Tode : ' Dr. Reinhard 'indeath,^ ' im Tode,' 
 and the learned and pious Dr. Knapp, gives the following 
 testimony in perfect unison with the view maintained in our 
 Vindication, &c. : * This corruption can never be entirely 
 eradicated, even by the most sincere endeavors of the pious; 
 although through divine assistance, an end may be put 
 
354 brown's artici,e confused. ■ 
 
 to the dominion of sin, and its outbreakings be prevented; 
 yet, the root and germ of evil will remain, and cease only 
 with death, ox' \\\Q laying aside of the body.' Finally, the 
 Form of Concord, the most minute of the ancient Lutheran 
 symbols, also agrees with us : ' This work of the Holy 
 Spirit (the deliverance from natural depravity) is merely 
 commenced in us in this life, and will be accomplished 
 and completed only in the other world' ' in altera tantum 
 vita absolvetur et perficietur.' 
 
 III. " Because the entire article of Rev. B. is confused 
 and unsystematic, showing that he has studied Belles Lettres 
 more successfully than Logic or Hermeneutics. Thus, he 
 has but two captions in his article, ' regeneration ' and 
 'justification;' but, in reality, he discusses three topics, 
 regeneration, natural depravity and justification. But in- 
 stead of considering them in the order of nature and 
 system, in which one would illustrate the other, he dis- 
 cusses regeneration before natural depravity ! His article, 
 moreover, exhibits no discrimination between the facts of a 
 doctrine, and different philosophical explanations of it; no 
 clear perception of the difference between its fundamental 
 features, fi.xed in our doctrinal basis, and its collateral as- 
 pects, which are free to diversity. And as to the mode of 
 interpretation, by wresting passages from the context, and 
 considering them apart from other portions of the work, 
 by which their import would be limited and determined; it 
 does violence to the fundamental laws of language, and is 
 sustained by no authority. By it, it were easy to convict 
 the inspired servant of God, Moses, of pelagianism, when 
 he seems to teach the ability of man to turn to God with- 
 out the aid of divine grace, in the words, ' I have placed 
 life and death before you, <://(?c.sr life.' — Deut. 30: 19. Or 
 Paul of teaching Antinomianism, when he tells the 
 Romans, ' Therefore, we conclude, that a man is justi- 
 
THE SPIRIT OF BROWN'S ARTICLE UNBECOMING. 355 
 
 fied by faith, without the deeds of the law.' — 
 Rom. 3 : 28. Or James, of teaching Justification by works, 
 when he says. ' Ye see then that by work§ a man is justi- 
 fied, and not by faith.' — 2 : 24. Paul could also be con- 
 victed of Universalism from i Tim. 2:4. ' Who (God) will 
 have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the 
 truth : ' and even the blessed Savior himself could be con- 
 victed of more than one heresy from the Sermon on the 
 Mount! 
 
 IV. ''Finally, because the spirit of the Rev. B's. article 
 is generally thought not to be such as became him, under 
 the circumstances of the case. Instead of exhibiting some 
 solicitude to ascertain the real sentiments of the volume he 
 undertook to criticise, and an honorable caution, not un- 
 necessarily either to injure the usefulness, or wound the 
 feelings of its author, he manifests an unamiable recklesness 
 and dogmatism. For, he himself admits, * that other por- 
 tions of the volume might be adduced, to show that views 
 contrary to those (which he ascribes to us) are also inculcated;' 
 or rather to show that he had misapprehended our senti- 
 ments, and attributed to us doctrines, which other passages 
 prove we do not hold. But he was not willing to take the 
 trouble rightly to understand us. If he found difficulty in ap- 
 prehending the import of our works; this fact, together with 
 the circumstance, that others generally have not thought 
 them obscure, should have convinced him that to review 
 them was not his vocation. Whether his confusion arose 
 from obscurity in our representations of truth, or want of 
 system in his own mind, the readers of this article are more 
 competent impartially to judge, than our reviewer himself. 
 It is with sincere regret that we have found ourselves 
 called on to make these exposures. We will admit, that 
 for his want of acquaintance with Lutheran theology, 
 some apology may be found in the training of Rev. B. in 
 
356 DEI^USION AND SELF-CONFIDENCE. 
 
 another denomination, and perhaps in the scanty leisure 
 allowed by his pastoral duties, for general theological 
 study; but ought not the same facts to have taught him, 
 what his numerous misapprehensions have demonstrated to 
 others, that he is not the most proper individual to defend 
 our Zion against real or imaginary foes. 
 
 Non tali auxilio^ nee defensoribus istis 
 Tempus eget. — 
 
 "When God called Luther to assail the errors of 
 Popery, the world beheld the wisdom of the choice in his 
 special qualifications, exhibited in the progress of the work, 
 in his just interpretations of his opponents' views, and his 
 intelligent discrimination between truth and error. But 
 certainly we look in vain for such qualifications in the re- 
 view of Rev. B.; whilst it abounds in melancholy evidence 
 of a mind which, if upright, as we trust, is the unconscious 
 victim of delusive prejudice and self-confidence. Let him 
 rather leave to older and better qualified men, the charge 
 of impugning the orthodoxy of those who were preaching 
 the Gospel before he was born, and have devoted their en- 
 tire life to the best interests of our beloved Zion. There is 
 no want of such men in our church. In their hands, her 
 interests are secure; and when the emergency calls for them, 
 they will doubtless be found at their post; whilst our 
 reviewer may be a faithful preacher of the Gospel of Christ, 
 and a successful and peaceful co-worker with those whom 
 he has unaccountably, and without provocation, attempted 
 to denounce. 
 
 S. S. SCHMUCKER." 
 
 Theological Seminary, ) 
 
 Gettysburg, Aug. i. 1857. j 
 
 We have not learned, that Rev. Brown made any 
 rejoinder to the above reply of Dr. Schmucker ; but it is 
 
brown's attack on dr. sprecher. 357 
 
 certain, that the Seminary Board did not entertain the 
 charges, nor were they sustained by any one of the district 
 synods connected with the General Synod. Dr. B, Kurtz 
 is reported to have made a powerful and scathing de- 
 nouncement of the charges before the Synod of East Penn- 
 sylvania at its session in Hughesville, Pa. Says Dr. Jacobs 
 in his Histor)/, page 427, " Dr. Krauth, Jr., arrested these 
 proceedings, who did not deem his former instructor's 
 course such as to warrant action," 
 
 Some years after Dr. Brown had become Professor of 
 Theology at Gettysburg, he made another attack on the 
 orthodoxy of the next most prominent man in the General 
 Synod, which was equally unavailing. This was against 
 Prof. Dr. Samuel Sprecher of Springfield, Ohio, brother-in- 
 law of Dr. Schmucker. He had written a book entitled 
 " Ground Work of Luthei^an Theology." Dr. Brown im- 
 pugned the orthodoxy of this book. The matter was 
 brought for decision before the General Synod at its ses- 
 sion in Baltimore. An earnest discussion ensued. Dr. 
 Brown brought in a large number of books, from which he 
 undertook to sustain his charges by reading extracts. But 
 Dr. Sprecher did not need to read extracts from books ; 
 he could repeat his authorities from memory, and he was 
 overwhelmingly sustained by the General Synod. Dr. 
 Brown attempted to open the discussion again at the next 
 meeting of the General Synod, at Carthage, Ills., but the 
 Synod declined to reconsider the subject. Dr. Brown then 
 began to write a book to sustain his charges against the 
 " Ground Work." He devoted a great deal of time and 
 labor upon this work ; his health became enfeebled ; he 
 went to Bedford Springs to recuperate ; but he took his 
 manuscript with him ; consequently his health was not 
 visibly improved ; but on his return he continued to study 
 and work on his efforts to demolish the " Ground Work," 
 
358 BISECTION OF DR. BROWN, 
 
 and in the midst of these labors he was stricken with paral- 
 ysis, which so sadly ended his literary and professional 
 career. 
 
 THE ELECTION OF DR. J. A. BROWN. 
 
 There were several candidates proposed as the succes- 
 sors of Dr. Schmucker. Dr. W. M. Baum, who was a 
 member of the Board at that time, has kindly sent us the 
 following statement : 
 
 " When the Board of Directors of the Seminary 
 addressed itself to the duty of electing a successor to Dr. 
 Schmucker, the following names were suggested : Dr. J. A. 
 Brown, Dr. C. A. Hay, and Dr. C. F. Schaeffer. I am not 
 positive with reference to the nomination of Dr. C. P. 
 Krauth, Jr. 
 
 " When I nominated Dr. Brown, it was with the state- 
 ment, that in my judgment he was well qualified for the 
 position, by reason of his natural abilities, scholarship, 
 fidelity to the doctrinal attitude of the General Synod. 
 Divergent tendencies and aflfiliations, similar to those of the 
 present day, existed in the church, and were reflected in 
 the minds of the Board of Directors. 
 
 " Dr. Brown was chosen by a good majority, and so 
 far as external manifestations appeared, was cordially 
 accepted by all. He was frank, fearless and decided, and 
 commanded the respect and confidence, even of those who 
 were not in sympathy with his views." The eminent quali- 
 fications here ascribed to Dr. Brown will readily be admit- 
 ted by all ; his " affiliations," and some of the " divergent 
 tendencies " were doubtless the potent factors that pro- 
 cured his election. Dr. Baum does not seem to have been 
 aware, or has forgotten the fact, that there was a strong 
 desire in one part of the church, that Dr. C. P. Krauth, Jr., 
 should fill that vacated chair. I give the following state- 
 
AN UNWRITTEN HISTORY. 359 
 
 ment as a fragment of the unwritten history of the Semi- 
 nary, which I have never seen in print, but have received 
 from the Hps of men who professed to be acquainted with 
 the facts : " An agreement had been entered into between 
 Drs. Hay and Krauth, Jr., and their friends, to use their 
 influence to have the former become the successor of Prof. 
 C. P. Krauth, Sr., and the latter to become the successor of 
 Prof S. S. Schmucker." The first part of this programme 
 was hterally carried out; Dr. Charles Hay, became the suc- 
 cessor of Prof Krauth, Sr., but Dr. C. P. Krauth, Jr., did 
 not become the successor of Prof S. S. Schmucker. 
 
 This unwritten history is corroborated by Dr. Jacobs. 
 I quote here verbatim from his History of the Lutheran 
 Church in the United States, page 462 : " One name, viz., 
 that of Charles Porterfield Krauth, was upon many lips, as 
 that of the most thoroughly trained Lutheran Theologian 
 in America, and there was a general desire that he should 
 be placed as the exponent of the theology of the Lutheran 
 confessions. His exhaustive articles in the Lutheran and 
 Missionary of which he was editor in chief, 1861-67, 
 ranked with the most scholarly defenses of the faith of the 
 Augsburg Confession, which had ever been made. If the 
 chair at Gettysburg, vacated by the resignation of Dr. S. S. 
 Schmucker, had been filled by his election, the Minister- 
 ium (of Pennsylvania) would in all probability have felt that 
 his presence was a guarantee, that the future ministers 
 would be furnished with the necessary defenses ^against all 
 radical tendencies. When the election resulted differently 
 it was no antipathy to the professor elect, who had done 
 good service in the battle against the ' Definite Platform,' 
 that turned the sentiment of a large portion of those, who 
 had hitherto been averse to another seminary," 
 
 This is certainly very high praise bestowed upon Dr. 
 Charles Porterfield Krauth, but some might dispute the 
 
360 WHAT WOUI^D HAVE BEEN THE PROBABI^E EEFECT? 
 
 claim, that his " exhaustive articles ranked with the most 
 scholarly defenses of the Augsburg Confession, that had 
 ever been madeP There was also a most palpable " anti- 
 pathy " between Krauth and Brown, as can be seen by the 
 very bitter controversy that was waged between the two 
 men in the Reviews and separate pamphlets. 
 
 What would have been the effect on the church, if 
 Krauth had been elected instead of Brown, God only 
 knows. Dr. C. P. Krauth a short time before had been 
 the most ardent friend and able defender of the General 
 Synod and her institutions, and the presumption is, that if 
 he had been elected successor to Dr. Schmucker, the Gen- 
 eral Council would not have been organized, and Mt. Airy 
 Seminary would not have been established. Here the 
 proverb was verified, " Man proposes, but God disposes." 
 
 ^TT" 
 
schmuckeh's interest in the orphan house. 361 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 EmMAUS orphan house — REMARKABLE HISTORY — GEORGE 
 FREY's legacy — LARGE ESTATE — ENTRUSTED TO A SELF- 
 PERPETUATING BOARD — PECULIAR DIRECTIONS — PRINCI- 
 PAL AND TUTOR MUST BE LUTHERANS — MORNING AND 
 
 EVENING PRAYERS LUTHER's CATECHISM — CHILDREN'S 
 
 EMPLOYMENT — PRINTED COPY OF THE WILL — CHANGES 
 BY LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS — PERMISSION TO USE ENG- 
 LISH LANGUAGE CHURCH HAS NO AUTHORITY — THREE 
 
 PROMINENT MEN, KURTZ, SCHMUCKER, MORRIS — PECULIAR 
 RELATIONS BETWEEN MORRIS AND SCHMUCKER — TESTI- 
 MONIALS — LEPLEY — S. D. SCHMUCKER — HARBAUGH — MRS. 
 E, M. SCHMUCKER, 
 
 THE EMMAUS ORPHAN HOUSE. 
 
 Dr. B. M. Schmucker speaks thus of his father's ac- 
 tivity in improving the condition of the Emmaus Orphan 
 House : " He gave much time to the claims of the orphan 
 in connection with Frey's legacy. He was generously 
 charitable to the needy with hearty sympathy as well as 
 material help." 
 
 Dr. Morris writes in his Fifty Years in the Ministry, 
 " He was also instrumental in arranging the complicated 
 affairs of the Emmaus Orphan House, and in a lengthy report 
 displayed his acute business adaptation to a remarkable 
 degree." 
 
 The Doctor referred to this subject several times, as I 
 recollect, in the class-room, but his exact words I do not 
 remember after so long a time. 
 
362 ITS REMARKABIvB HISTORY. 
 
 The Orphan House at Middletown, Pa., has a remark- 
 able history. On the 12th of May, 1806, George Frey, 
 merchant of Middletown, Pa., left by will a large estate for 
 the purpose of establishing an orphan house at that place. 
 The estate consisted of over nine hundred acres of land, a 
 water grist and saw mill on the Swatara creek, four dwell- 
 ing houses and a number of unimproved ground lots in 
 Middletown. All this valuable property was bequeathed 
 for the support and education of orphans and poor children 
 whose parents were unable to provide for them. 
 
 The property was entrusted to the management of a 
 self perpetuating board, selected by Mr. Frey himself, and 
 very specific regulations were laid down in the will for the 
 management of the institution. The Principal occupies 
 one of the houses free of rent, his table is furnished for him- 
 self and family from the income of the estate ; he also 
 receives two hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-seven 
 cents annually in money, and if his children are capable of 
 laboring they shall have reasonable wages. If by reason 
 of age he shall be unable to fulfill the duties of his ofifice, 
 he shall be supported during his life out of the funds of the 
 institution ; and if he has a son who is honest, well disposed 
 and faithful, he shall have the preference to be appointed 
 principal instead of his superannuated or deceased father. 
 
 The tutor must be a married man and reside in the 
 Orphan House; his table shall be furnished out of the 
 proceeds of the estate, and two hundred dollars yearly shall 
 be given him in money ; when he becomes superannuated 
 he shall be supported during life out of the funds, and an 
 annual allowance made him at the discretion of the trustees. 
 
 Very minute directions were laid down in the will in 
 reference to the management of the institution. Here is 
 one of them : " The children shall be admitted upon this 
 express condition, that, both male and female shall be edu- 
 
re;ugious SERVICES. 363 
 
 cated in the evangelical Lutheran religion, and in the Ger- 
 man language ; nor shall any other language than the 
 German be taught in this orphan house." 
 
 The Principal and the Tutor must be members of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church. 
 
 The following directions show the pious disposition of 
 the testator : 
 
 " It shall be the duty of the tutor at the ringing of the 
 bell at six o'clock in the morning (in a room or hall in the 
 Orphan House) to sing a morning or other pious hymn 
 with the children, and then to pray a morning blessing 
 {Morgen Segeti) kneeling, together with the Lord's Prayer. 
 They shall then repeat the christian belief (the Creed) and 
 the principal parts of Luther's Catechism. Breakfast shall 
 then follow. After breakfast the school shall be kept for 
 two hours, in which the pupils shall be taught reading, 
 writing and arithmetic, and particularly shall they be in- 
 structed in the aforesaid catechism, until about nine o'clock; 
 then they shall work in the garden, or be employed in 
 some other useful manner. . . About eleven of the clock 
 the bell shall ring again ; a thanksgiving accompanied by 
 the ceremonial of knee prayers and Creed, as in the morn- 
 ing, shall be repeated. The children shall then dine. After 
 dinner there shall be school for two hours, and then they 
 shall again work in the garden. In the evening about six 
 o'clock, a bell shall again be rung, an evening or other 
 religious hymn shall be sung with the children, and the 
 ceremonial prayers of the morning be again repeated. In 
 winter, after supper, the girls about six years old, shall be 
 taught to spin. When the children have been taught to 
 read, one of the boys shall repeat a chapter out of the 
 Bible." 
 
 Similar minute details, regulating the economical de- 
 partment are laid down in the will, which very much com- 
 
364 CHANGES ]«AI>« BY XHE I,EGJSI,ATURE. 
 
 plicated the management and hindered the success of the 
 institution. For a long time scarcely any orphans were 
 sustained ; the income from the farms, mills and houses 
 seems to have been expended in the management of the 
 estate, and some changes were absolutely necessary in order 
 that the design of the benevolent testator might be carried I 
 out. 
 
 Accordingly I find in a printed copy of the will pub- 
 lished in 1878, that certain changes were made by acts of 
 the legislature during 1 838-1 842. 
 
 One of these changes was, that the English language 
 may be used in the institution as well as the German. 
 
 Another change was the permission to dispense with 
 such of the ceremonies and observances as are considerec 
 non-essential to the interests of the children and the granc 
 design of the will, and not calculated to advance the use- 
 fulness of the institution, and conducting the religious ser- 
 vices in the manner approved by the synods of the Lutheran ! 
 Church in Pennsylvania. 
 
 In 1840 the legislature enacted, that Emmaus Orphan 
 House may afford instruction in the various branches of a 
 liberal education to other children than those who are to 
 be maintained at the expense of the institution, provided. 
 that their parents, or guardians, or friends, or themselves 
 will pay for their tuition. 
 
 In 1842 an act was passed empowering the Principal 
 and Tutors to sell any and all ground and rents on property 
 in the town of Middletown or adjacent thereto, and apply 
 the proceeds of such sales to the payment of the debts of 
 the said Emmaus Orphan House. 
 
 These acts were passed by the legislature of Pennsyl- 
 vania and signed by William Hopkins, Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives, Charles B. Penrose, Speaker of the 
 
SYNODS HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER IT. 365 
 
 ■Senate, and David R. Porter, Governor of the State of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Accordingly some of the property was sold, a fir.e 
 building was erected and a number of orphans— some 
 twenty or thirty— are now supported and educated m the 
 : Emmaus Orphan House. 
 
 I Dr Schmucker spent much time and labor in gettmg 
 the above acts passed by the legislature during the sessions 
 from 1838 to 1842, and the institution is, no doubt, largely 
 indebted to him for the improvements that have been made, 
 and the more satisfactory working of the school smce then. 
 The Lutheran synods in Pennsylvania used to send 
 visitors to the Emmaus Orphan House. The writer was 
 once sent as a visitor by the West Pennsylvania Synod. I 
 was very kindly received and hospitably entertamed. I 
 found the institution in a flourishing condition, and was 
 favorably impressed with its present management. But I 
 believe the synods have ceased sending visitors, because 
 the church, as such, has no authority over its affairs or m- 
 fluence in its management. 
 
 Besides the Emmaus Orphan House the Lutheran 
 Church has two Orphan Homes in Pennsylvania. The one 
 at Loysville, supported by the General Synod, and the 
 other at Germantown, supported by the General Council. 
 These must be constantly sustained by collections in the 
 churches, and cannot receive all the orphans that make 
 application for admittance. 
 
 But in all human probability, what a grand institution 
 the Emmaus Orphan House might have become, if it had 
 from the beginning been placed under the management and 
 control of the Lutheran Church. With its rich endow- 
 ment, and the united interest and sympathy of the whole 
 Lutheran Church in America it might have rivaled the re- 
 nowned Frankean Orphan Home at Halle. No doubt the 
 
366 THREE PROMINENT MEN. 
 
 benevolent testator had something of this kind in view, 
 when he wrote his will. 
 
 But Franke, by the help of God and the co-opperation 
 of christian philanthropists established that grand institu- 
 tion during his life-time, and not by his "last Will and 
 Testament." 
 
 THREE PROMINENT MEN IN THE GENERAL SYNOD. 
 
 During the first fifty years of its history, Schmucker, 
 Kurtz and Morris were the most prominent men in the 
 General Synod. They stood forth like mighty mountain 
 peaks, towering heavenwards amid the surrounding hills. 
 
 Kurtz was born in 1795, and died in 1866; Schmucker 
 was born in 1799, and died in 1873 ; Morris was born in 
 1803, and died in 1895. 
 
 All three were evangelically orthodox in doctrine, but 
 differed widely in personal appearance, temperament and 
 manners, as they did also in a few minor points of doctrine 
 and cultus. Each labored in his own peculiar sphere for 
 the extension of Christ's kingdom — Kurtz as an editor of 
 the Lutheran Observer, through which he exerted a power- 
 ful influence in shaping the religious sentiments and prac- 
 tice of the people ; Schmucker as the organizer of the 
 General Synod, the founder of the Theological Seminary 
 and College at Gettysburg, and trainer of the ministry of 
 our church during forty years. It is reported that Kurtz 
 wrote to Schmucker, " Do you train the preachers right, 
 and I will take care of the people;" Morris as a devotee to 
 science, natural history, and also as an author of books, 
 and writer of articles in magazines and newspapers, by 
 means of which he gained a world-wide reputation. 
 
 But Morris stood in a peculiarly interesting personal 
 relation to Schmucker during nearly the whole of the lat- 
 ter's life. Schmucker and Morris lived contemporaneously 
 as boys in York, Pa., and, no doubt, attended the same 
 
RELATION OF MORRIS TO SCHMUCKER. 367 
 
 Sunday-school and worshipped under the ministry of the 
 elder Schmucker in Christ Lutheran Church. Schmucker 
 became principal of the classical department of York 
 County Academy, and Morris' name stands enrolled as one 
 of his first pupils, who was prepared by him for the Sopho- 
 more class in college ; Schmucker organized a class of 
 theological students in New Market, Va., and Morris fol- 
 lowed him to that place and became one of his pupils there, 
 was also confirmed there by Schmucker, and received into 
 the Lutheran Church as a communicant member ; 
 Schmucker had gone to Princeton to complete his course 
 of theological study, and Morris also went to Princeton to 
 study theology ; Schmucker founded the Theological Sem- 
 inary at Gettysburg, and Morris came to Gettysburg, and 
 was enrolled as one of his first students in that now venera- 
 ble school of the prophets. Both were ordained as minis- 
 ters of the gospel by the same synod, then called the Synod 
 of Maryland and Virginia; Schmucker received an earnest 
 invitation to become the pastor of the First English Luth- 
 eran congregation of Baltimore, but declined to accept the 
 call ; Morris then received a call to that church, which he 
 accepted and ably served the congregation as pastor for 
 many years. Schmucker and Kurtz took a tour to England 
 and the continent of Europe, and Morris accompanied them 
 by sea and land until their return to America ; Schmucker 
 published an explanation of Luther's Smaller Catechism, 
 and Morris also published a similar catechism, both of 
 which were extensively used, and passed through a number 
 of editions ; Schmucker was the author of many theological 
 and religious books, and Morris also published a number 
 of books, chiefly historical and biographical of Luther, and 
 also translations from the German ; Schmucker was the 
 chief professor of theology in the seminary at Gettysburg, 
 and Morris was a director in the Seminary, and delivered 
 
^68 MORRIS' I.ETTER. 
 
 lectures to the students on pulpit oratory. Schmucker 
 died in Gettysburg in 1873, and Morris delivered a char- 
 acteristic address at his funeral, and afterwards wrote a 
 biographical sketch of his old preceptor and pastor, in one 
 part of which he extolled him very highly. 
 
 These three great men have now passed over the Jor- 
 dan of death, while their bodies sleep in their graves until 
 they shall be awakened by the trumpet of the archangel on 
 the resurrection day. The writer enjoyed the privilege of 
 their personal acquaintance for nearly half a century. 
 Peace to their ashes ! 
 
 In a private communication dated July 21, 1895, Dr. 
 Morris thus states his relations to Dr. Schmucker : 
 
 " I differed from Dr. S. S. S. on some theological 
 points, and he knew it well, but that did not diminish my 
 respect for him, nor his for me. 
 
 " He and I were not playmates, nor school-mates. I 
 never knew him as a boy ; he was at least six or seven 
 years older than I.* He became my school-master in York 
 County Academy, and prepared me for the Sophomore 
 Class in Princeton College. After my college course I fol- 
 lowed him to New Market, Va., where he had a sort of 
 Vor- Seminar, consisting of five or six raw, country, Virginia 
 boys. I remained there twenty months — thence to Naza- 
 reth, Pa., where I spent a winter — then to Princeton Semin- 
 ary, where I was admitted to the Senior Class. During 
 that time the Seminary at Gettysburg was opened (1826). 
 Having no license and no call, I concluded to enter at 
 Gettysburg, that I might be regarded as an alumnus, and to 
 wait for license in the fall, and both came in a month or 
 two." 
 
 * The Doctor is slightly in error here. Schmucker was born Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1799, and Morris was born November 14, 1803, which, as 
 near as I can calculate, makes Schmucker 4 years, 8 months, and 16 
 days older than Morris. — P, A. 
 
I,ETTER PROM REV. LEPIvEY. 369 
 
 The following letter from Rev. C. Lepley of Spring- 
 field, Ohio, will be read with interest : 
 
 " Many a time in the midst of my work, as a pastor, I 
 thought of the lecture room in the Seminary, the sincere 
 prayers the Doctor offered to God in our behalf, and the 
 clear presentation of truth, which to me often appeared 
 dark. I had all the time I was at Gettysburg the utmost 
 confidence in Dr. Schmucker. I believed him to be a sin- 
 cere, honest man, incapable of duplicity, or any kind of 
 double dealing, or littleness, for private ends or public 
 applause. I never changed my opinions as to his char- 
 acter as a Christian, clear headed man, well adapted to 
 occupy the position he held as a theological teacher. 
 
 " I very well remember a conversation we had at one 
 time after a sacramental service. I think it was in Sinking 
 Valley, Pa., Rev. M. Eyster, Pastor, usually known as the 
 Fleck Congregation, he requested me to take a walk out to 
 the woods close by; we secured seats and sat down. The 
 conversation was mainly upon the subject of a successful 
 ministry. The main point suggested was, to bring souls 
 to Jesus Christ. At that time our ministers were few. The 
 rising generation of our German people were becoming 
 English, as vast multitudes are becoming so now. This 
 became an open field for the-earnest young ministers of the 
 M. E. Church, to reap a grand harvest from our German 
 congregations, as the services in the German churches 
 were conducted in the German language. Now the point 
 was : How to be true to God and to save our people to our 
 own church. Dr. Schmucker realized the perplexed state 
 of things in the Lutheran Church, as he was in the work of 
 preparing young men for her ministry. A stolid indiffer- 
 ence in the German mind, as to the modes of the M. E. 
 Church in building up their churches at the downfall of the 
 German, finally created much jealousy among the churches 
 
370 schmucker's good advice. 
 
 which has remained even to the present day. The young 
 men had this difficulty to encounter in preaching in the 
 English language. We had to meet the objections to the 
 use of the English language, and also meet the demands of 
 the English public, at least that part of the public that had 
 been indoctrinated in what was then called New Measures. 
 
 " We were in a fight, between the Old Modes and the 
 New Measures. Among the old we were called Schwaermer 
 and not Lutherans ; among the New we were called 
 Methodishts, Enthusiasts, etc. 
 
 " Prof. Schmucker gave me much good advice at that 
 retired place. He laid much stress upon prayer, advised 
 me to be moderate in my modes, but firm in my opinions, 
 and said he, pay but little attention to what may be said 
 about you. You will often find remarks made about you 
 by men, who ought to know better. But never mind, that 
 was the lot of the Master. As he did, so do you, just go 
 on and defend the truth. 
 
 " This thought also was discussed by us. I was favor- 
 able then to the practice of New Measures, as it seemed 
 the best mode then, to bring sinners to Jesus Christ. He 
 admitted it, but emphasized the practice of catechising all 
 the converts very carefully. ' Educate the mind and the 
 heart of your young people, and the old as well, when they 
 need it. The gospel truth must be the basis upon which 
 the soul must lodge, as the guide to lead the sinner to 
 Jesus Christ.' 
 
 " I often think of that time we spent together. It was 
 not a formal lecture, as in a room, to discuss theological 
 subjects, but practically to me in the work of the ministry 
 it was one of the best instructive talks I ever heard. 
 
 " I have often wondered, why it was, that the life of 
 Dr. Schmucker was never published. His life ought not 
 to have been passed over into oblivion. I think he was a 
 
TESTIMONIAI, FROM S. D. SCHMUCKER. 371 
 
 man of no ordinary ability, and came, no doubt, into public 
 life, when God saw he was most needed. 
 
 " He was mainly instrumental in infusing the spiritual 
 life into the various congregations, and synods, which 
 became a prominent feature of the General Synod up to 
 the present time. So far as I am informed, I believe that 
 the same spiritual life and instructions are continued in the 
 Institution, which was the main support of the church, at 
 the time about which I write, and I trust it may contine so, 
 until time is no more. I love the Lutheran Church, her 
 doctrines were the pure gold, melted out of the fiery fur- 
 nace through which the fathers of the Reformation passed, 
 when the church under God was born anew. Luther must 
 have lived very fast, thought much, and worked much, for 
 he died comparatively young. Had he lived a little longer, 
 he, no doubt, would have left to the church many 
 scriptural truths, that would be of value to us at this day. 
 But the Good Lord knew best. It was best for the inter- 
 ests of the church in this new country, that men raised in 
 the land, where there were no religious organizations to 
 take up the grand truths that were developed in the Refor- 
 mation, should organize both church and state, and now 
 we have in both Freedom." 
 
 Rev. C. Lepley. 
 
 The foJlowing truly beautiful characteristic is from 
 his youngest son, Samuel D. Schmucker, Esq., of Balti- 
 more: 
 
 "Although he was not a pastor, he made it his habit, 
 whenever it could be done with any hope of advantage, to 
 say a few friendly words, to those with whom he conversed, 
 about bestowing some thought upon their spiritual condi- 
 tion. He did this in many cases with consummate tact and 
 skill, and so far as my observation went, never did it so as 
 to annoy or offend his auditor. When a little boy I often 
 
372 TESTlMONIAlv FROM D. HARBAUGH. 
 
 drove over the country with him and, young as I was, 
 could not fail to admire the delicate and graceful way in 
 which he would, in his conversation with the farmers, and 
 even laborers, whom we met, introduce the subjects of 
 morality and religion into the conversation. Everybody 
 respected, and almost everybody admired him. The lead- 
 ing families in the county esteemed it a great favor to have 
 him stop and dine with them, or, as he sometimes did, 
 spend a night with them. He had a kind and friendly 
 manner and was full of information, and a visit from him 
 was quite an event to his entertainers. When his clerical 
 friends visited him at commencement and similar occasions, 
 the burden of his conversation was the advancement of the 
 interests of the church and its institutions. Sleeping and 
 waking he seemed to think of little else, or more truly 
 speaking, he thought chiefly of these subjects. He had a 
 cultivated literary taste, and refined and pure thoughts, and 
 a poetic sense and feeling, and in his domestic life, 
 although generaly sedate, was a charming companion. His 
 purse was always open to whatever seemed to him to be a 
 deserving call for aid. No beggar went unfed from his 
 door and his private charities were numerous." 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Samuel D. Schmucker. 
 " In the Lutheran Church he is extensively and favor- 
 ably known ; and no man in this country has done more 
 than he to elevate her character and to advance her welfare. 
 As a writer he is able and clear. His style is chaste and 
 easy, his arguments strong and convincing. His ' Frater- 
 nal Appeal ' to the American Churches on Christian Union, 
 is a master piece, which with his other theological and 
 philosophical works, has made him extensively known, 
 beyond the bounds of his own church, both in America 
 and England." — D. Harbaugh, Springfield, i8ji. 
 
LETTER OF MRS. E. M. SCHMUCKER. 
 
 373 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter of his third 
 
 wife, the surviving widow : , . ^ u- 
 
 " He gave his last days to the church, and it cost him 
 
 many a sleepless night. 
 
 " In his sickness he was the most patient sufferer. 
 He never complained to me, for fear it would distress me. 
 He was walking about, and EUie and Mr. Geisenheiner 
 were with us to tea. At 8 o'clock they left. The Doctor 
 went to the door with them, bade them good night, and at 
 
 eleven o'clock he was dead." 
 
 Mrs. Ester M. Schmucker. 
 
374 DEATH OF DR. SCHMUCKER. 
 
 CHAPTER NINETEENTH. 
 
 Death of dr. schmucker — account by the Star and 
 Sentinel — it occured on Saturday night at eleven 
 
 o'clock — FUNERAL SERVICES — ADDRESSES BY DRS. 
 HAY, LOCHMAN, MORRIS, BROWN, AND BAUM — TRIBUTE 
 BY THE SEMINARY BOARD — RESOLUTIONS OF THE COL- 
 LEGE BOARD OBITUARY BY THE Lutheran OF PHILA- 
 DELPHIA — TRIBUTE BY THE Lutheran Visitor — inscrip- 
 tion ON HIS MONUMENT INSCRIPTION ON TABLET IN 
 
 SEMINARY THE GENERAL SYNOD AND THE SEMINARY 
 
 AND COLLEGE HIS ENDURING MONUMENT. 
 
 We copy the following account of his death from the 
 Gettysburg Star and Sentinel of ]u\y 26, 1873, from which 
 it will be seen in what high estimation Dr. Schmucker was 
 held by the people of that town : 
 
 " The citizens of Gettysburg were startled on Sunday 
 morning last by the announcement of the sudden death of 
 Rev. Dr. Schmucker during the night. For some years 
 Dr. S's health had been impaired, requiring cessation of 
 mental labor. More recently he suffered from organic dis- 
 ease of the heart, creating more or less apprehension among 
 his friends ; but he continued to move about cheerfully, ex- 
 changing social visits, and attending to ordinary business. 
 He frequently called at the Star and Sentinel office to read 
 the papers and exchange opinions upon current events, and 
 spent an hour or more with us on Friday, conversing cheer- 
 fully on general topics, and particulary in regard to the ap- 
 proaching special meetings of the boards of the college and 
 seminary. On Saturday evening he entertained some 
 
STAR AND SENTINEI<'S OBITUARY. 375 
 
 friends at his residence, and accompanied them to the door 
 on their leaving. At a later hour, while sitting in his study 
 he complained of pain in his chest. About eleven o'clock, 
 as he was preparing to retire for the night, he was seized 
 with a severe spasm of pain in the region of the heart, 
 sharper than usual. The family physician. Dr. C. Horner, 
 was at once sent for, but when he reached the house, Djr. S. 
 was already in the article of death. The spasm of pain was 
 of short duration, and was followed by a peaceful calm, in 
 which his spirit went home to God. Conscious of his con- 
 dition, among his last audible utterances were the assuring 
 words, ' I have lived, and am dying, in the faith of Jesus.' 
 
 " We forbear further expression to the thoughts and 
 feelings that involuntarily suggest themselves on this occa- 
 sion. Dr. Schmucker had reached a ripe age, and was 
 ready to be gathered to him whom he had so long and 
 faithfully served. In view of his age and known physical 
 infirmities, his removal hence at any time was to have been 
 expected. Yet death came after all, with unexpected sud- 
 denness. 
 
 " His familiar form and friendly counsel will be missed 
 in this community, where he had gone in and out for 
 nearly half a century. He will be missed in the church, in 
 the development of which he so largely participated. Many 
 ot his co-laborers have preceded him to rest. Many who 
 received the benefit of his counsel in preparing for the Mas- 
 ter's service, will lovingly recall the memories of his pleas- 
 ant Christian intercourse and friendly counsel. 
 
 "The funeral services were attended in Christ church, 
 on Tuesday evening, July 29th, at 5 o'clock. The church 
 was appropriately draped in mourning, and a large number 
 of personal friends and acquaintances of the deceased, and 
 also a goodly number ot the neighboring ministers, nearly 
 all formerly his students, had assembled to do reverence to 
 
376 . PROFESSOR HAY'S ADDRESS. 
 
 the memory of a distinguished and truly good man before 
 his mortal body would be committed to the grave. 
 
 " After an appropriate funeral chant by the choir, Rev. 
 D. P. Rosenmiller, of Lancaster, read the Scripture, selected 
 from I Cor. xv. and i Thes. iv. Rev. Dr. Valentine offered 
 prayer, and the choir sang * Rest Spirit, Rest.' 
 
 " Rev. Dr. Hay, pastor of the church, made the open- 
 ing remarks as follows : 
 
 " ' A father in Israel has fallen ! 
 
 '"The sad news has been flashed across the land, carry- 
 ing deep sorrow to many homes whose connecting link has 
 thus been suddenly broken. 
 
 " * The church, too, of which the deceased was so distin- 
 guished a member, has felt the sudden shock, and from far 
 and near have come his ministerial brethren, most of them 
 his former pupils and ever attached friends, to pay the tri- 
 bute of mournful respect to his memory by sharing in the 
 solemnities of his burial. 
 
 " ' It falls to my lot, as at present pastor of the church 
 with which the deceased stood in immediate connection, to 
 speak the first word in this necessarily brief commemorative 
 service, opening the way for others, whose official relations 
 render it fitting that their voice should be heard in this 
 hour of public as well as of private bereavement. 
 
 " * In the death of Dr .Schmucker this church has lost 
 not only one of its founders but the one who probably first 
 conceived the idea of its organization, and who never 
 ceased to take a lively interest in all its affairs ; rejoicing 
 most of all when from time to time the Holy Spirit was 
 poured out upon it in regenerating and sanctifying power, 
 converting multitudes of the precious youth here pursuing 
 their studies and leading them to consecrate themselves to 
 the work of the holy ministry. 
 
 " 'Of that noble band of devoted and self-sacrficing men 
 
DR. HAY'S ADDRESS. 377 
 
 who SO many years toiled together in laying the foundation 
 and in rearing the superstructure of the literary and theo- 
 logical institutions of this place, Dr. Schmucker was the 
 first to appear upon the ground and the last to leave it. 
 He outlived them all. And now that they are all gone, 
 and their places are supplied by others, let our prayers as- 
 cend to our heavenly Father in their behalf, that they may 
 be enabled to emulate the zeal and fidelity of those who 
 have preceded them, and have grace and strength to carry 
 on successfully the noble work entrusted to their hands. 
 
 ' The death of Dr. Schmucker, though sudden, was not 
 unexpected. He was not left without repeated and unmis- 
 takable warnings of its approach. Not merely did the or- 
 dinary infirmities of age give token to him of coming 
 change, but increasingly frequent and severe attacks of the 
 incurable disease with which he was afflicted were distinctly 
 recognized by him as divinely directed premonitions of its 
 approach. Nor did this at all alarm or distress him. He 
 calmly set his house in order and made ready for his de- 
 parture. He died just as he would have chosen to die. 
 He died at home, in the bosom of his family. Beloved 
 friends cannot, indeed, go with us through the dark valley, 
 but it must be a great comfort to have them accompany us 
 to the margin of the river and bid us God-speed as we enter 
 its dreaded waters. The nature of the disease, with which 
 our departed father was afflicted, rendered it probable that 
 he would be called away suddenly, and it was feared by 
 those dearest to him that he wouldbe fatally attacked whilst 
 upon a journey or when amid strangers. But it pleased the 
 Lord long to withhold the summons to spare him to breathe 
 out his soul peacefully in the arms of loved ones, and amid 
 the comforts of his quiet home. 
 
 * He died, too, in a good old age. He was gathered, as 
 a shock of corn fully ripe, into the garner of the Lord. He 
 
378 DR. SCHMUCKER'S I.AST WORDS. 
 
 passed the limit of threescore years and ten, nor was his eye 
 dim or his natural force much abated until within a very 
 short time prior to his decease. 
 
 ' He died, too, in the full consciousness of the change 
 through which he was passing, and in a state of cheerful 
 readiness to meet his Lord and Master whom he had so 
 long served, his loving Redeemer in whom he had so long 
 confidently trusted. 
 
 * We are not disposed to attach undue importance to the 
 last words of the dying; still, it is a source of great satis- 
 faction to us, and a ground of devout gratitude to our 
 Heavenly Father, when we are permitted to hear from their 
 lips such testimony, in that most solemn hour, as fell from 
 the deceased on the eve of his departure : ^ I have lived, 
 and am dying, in the faith of Jesus! Precious testimony ! 
 Name above every name ! O that this dear name may 
 ever be to our hearts the choicest treasure, and may it be 
 the last upon our dying lips as it was upon his ! 
 
 ' This is not a fitting time to dwell at length upon the 
 multiplied and manifold ■ services which our venerated 
 Father has rendered to the church of his love. Indeed, he 
 needs no eulogy at our hands, ' The work praises the 
 master.' On every hand we see the traces of his workman- 
 ship ; — in our literary and theological institutions, in the 
 establishment of which he, more than any other individual, 
 took a controlling part ; — in the zealous spirit and earnest 
 evangelical orthodoxy of the hundreds of ministers whom 
 he trained for their work ; in the formula of government 
 and discipline of our church, that is from his pen ; in the 
 framing of our synodical and congregational constitutions; 
 in our books of devotion ; in our text-books of theology 
 and catechisms for the young ; in our church periodicals 
 and church literature generally ; in the benevolent operations 
 
DR. I,OCHMAN'S ADDRESS. 379 
 
 of our Zion, and in all the general, philanthropic movements 
 of the age, and of the country at large. 
 
 ' When these days of mourning, of personal grief and 
 sorrow, shall have passed away, and we come to consider 
 calmly the true character of the departed, and the influence of 
 his life's labors upon the development of our church in this 
 country, we are much mistaken if he does not then rank 
 second only to Muhlenberg, the Patriarch of American 
 Lutheranism, as instrumental in giving tone and character 
 to our church life and in winning for our beloved Lutheran 
 Zion a place of honorable distinction in the advancing hosts 
 of Israel in this western world.' 
 
 " Rev. Dr. Lochman, of York, for many years a friend, 
 and in church work a noble associate of Dr. Schmucker, 
 said : ' The announcement of his death came like a flash of 
 lightning in a clear summer sky. As once was said on 
 earth in sweetest tones, so now we may hear the consoling 
 utterance, ' our friend sleepeth.' We may reply as was done 
 then, ' Lord if he sleepeth he shall do well.' Cherished 
 friends, cherished landmarks may pass away, but never 
 can the heart's cherished memory forget the revered names 
 of Krauth, Baugher, Stoever, Jacobs, Schmucker. 
 
 ' He did much to raise the standard of education,giving 
 to the church men qualified for her ministry and equal to 
 those in any church in the land. 
 
 ' Though dead, he is still laboring. To have left such 
 a record as he has done is worth living for ; to set up land- 
 marks for all time, to utter sentiments that will thrill the 
 hearts of thousands in the Master's work. Death is a si- 
 lent and powerful preacher, which here eloquently speaks to 
 us through the departed friend.' 
 
 " Rev. Dr. Morris, of Baltimore, related several interest- 
 ing reminiscences of his early and since then constant and 
 intimate intercourse with Dr. Schmucker, first as his instruc- 
 
380 MORRIS' AND BROWN'S ADDRESSES. 
 
 tor in the York Academy, where Dr. S. taught, then of the 
 first year of Dr. S. as Professor in the Seminary at Gettys- 
 burg ; the class numbered fourteen, of whom five are now 
 alive. All who had known him could say with a former 
 fellow-citizen of Gettysburg, ' The more I know of Dr. S. 
 the more pleased I am with him.' Though men might not 
 agree with him in all things, yet they were compelled to 
 respect and revere him. He filled a larger space in this 
 country than any other Lutheran clergyman, and was 
 everywhere the representative of our church, and a worthy 
 one he was. Many years ago the speaker had heard Dr. 
 King, an eminent dissenting clergyman of England, in a 
 public address in London, ascribe the fraternity of the 
 evangelical alliance to Dr. Schmucker. The objects of this 
 alliance Dr. S. ever held dear, and only a few weeks ago — 
 speaking of the approaching meeting in New York — had 
 said to the speaker ; ' I will go there to carry out, if I can, 
 by God's help, my own sentiments.' Who will be his bio- 
 grapher ? To recount his life will be to give the history of 
 the Lutheran Church in America.' 
 
 "The successor of Dr. S. as chairman of the Theo- 
 logical Faculty, Rev. Dr. Brown, in a few remarks, bore 
 witness to the kindly sympathy and hearty support which 
 Dr. S. had ever given him in his official position, every- 
 where with cordial kindness, speaking even flatteringly of 
 him, thus affording him much comfort and support in his 
 laborious position. * 
 
 " Rev. Dr. Baum, of York, chairman of the seminary 
 board, in behalf of the board said : ' We thank God for the 
 life and ministry of Dr. Schmucker. During all the nearly 
 forty years of the active connection of Dr. S. with the Sem- 
 
 * Dr. Brown broke down in the midst of his address; he was very 
 much aflFected; his feelings overcame him, and he ceased speaking. 
 —Ed. 
 
DR. BAUM'S ADDRESS. 381 
 
 inary, fullest harmony had existed between him and the 
 board. Hardly a measure he had proposed but had met 
 with their approval. Few had filled such a place as he had 
 done.' 
 
 " The choir then sang ' Asleep in Jesus,' after which 
 the body was borne to its last resting place, followed by a 
 number of relatives and many friends. At the grave the 
 solemn funeral service was read and the last service of love 
 for the body of Dr. Schmucker was performed, but his 
 memory will ever be held dear to loving hearts. The pall- 
 bearers were Revs. L. A. Gotwald and A. H. Sherts, of 
 Chamberburg, P. Anstadt, of York, S. Yingling and G. 
 Parsons, of Hanover, and C. L. Keedy, of Waynesboro." 
 
 The following Tribute was passed by the Board of Di- 
 rectors of the Theological Seminary: 
 
 " This board leels called upon bythe promptings of the 
 feelings of the heart, and by a sense of duty to pay their 
 tribute of respect to one of their number, so long associated 
 with them in the management of the affairs of their institu- 
 tion, and so much endeared to them by his christian cour- 
 tesy, and by his lifelong devotedness to the interests of this 
 cherished institution of the church. 
 
 " We shall ever fondly cherish his memory as the foun- 
 der of our seminary, for so many years its able head, de- 
 voting the eminent talents of his mind, and all his physical 
 energies to its welfare. 
 
 "Though for some years relieved from active duties as 
 professor, the board felt constrained from a high apprecia- 
 tion of his eminent services, to retain his name as Professor 
 Emeritus, and until his death, his interest in the institution 
 has never abated, laboring and praying with us for its suc- 
 cess. With the whole church we mourn his (for us) too 
 ^arly and sudden departure. 
 
 " We would feel recreant to duty and untrue to our- 
 
382 RESOI^UTIONS OF THE BOARDS. 
 
 selves, did we not bear testimony to our high appreciation 
 of his moral worth, his attainments as a scholar, his chris- 
 tian character and eminent usefulness. 
 
 " Whilst we mourn his departure, we nevertheless bow 
 with submission to the will of our heavenly Father, grateful 
 that He spared him to us so long. 
 
 " We rejoice that his sun has set so radiant and bright, 
 illuminated with the christian's hope ; that the excellency 
 and power of our holy religion was so clearly displayed in 
 his dying hour, giving to us and the church the glorious 
 testimony, as a rich legacy ' I have lived and am dying in 
 the faith of Jesus,' 
 
 " To his bereft and mourning family, we tender our 
 heartfelt sympathy and condolence. 
 
 Aug. H. Lochman, 
 Geo. Parsons, 
 Daniel Eppley. 
 
 Committee." 
 
 " Minutes adopted by the Board of Trustees of Penn- 
 sylvania College, at their meeting, August 6, 1873: 
 
 ' Resolved, That this Board has heard with emotions of 
 profound sorrow, the announcement of the sudden death of 
 Rev. Samuel S. Schmucker, D. D., the senior member of 
 this Board, and an active and influential member from its 
 organization to the day of his death; and that, in justice to 
 the dead, as well as ourselves, we record our high sense of 
 the fidelity and value of his great services, which extended 
 over a period of forty years, 
 
 ' Resolved, That to his .^sagacious, efficient and arduous 
 labors in establishing the college, we bear willing and 
 grateful testimony, as well as to the careful anxiety, ending 
 only with life, with which he watched over all its manifold 
 interests. 
 
 ' Resolved. That a copy of these resolutions be trans- 
 
GENKRAI, COUNCII, PAPER'S EUI^OGY. 383 
 
 mitted by the secretary to the family of the deceased, and 
 be published in the church and Gettysburg papers. 
 
 F. W. Conrad, 
 Charles A. Hay, 
 E. W. McPherson.' " 
 
 We transfer the following tribute to the memory of 
 Dr. S. S. Schmucker, from the L?itheran of August 7, a 
 General Council paper : 
 
 " Wc regret to be called upon to announce the death of 
 this venerable and widely-known minister and teacher of 
 our church. He died in Gettysburg, on the 26th inst., in 
 the 75th year of his age. He may, with some propriety, 
 be called the father of the Theological Seminary of the 
 General Synod at that place, of which institution he was, at 
 the time of his death, an Emeritus Professor. 
 
 " A ready writer, an able teacher, with a naturally vigor- 
 ous mind, the Dr. early in life, took rank among the lead- 
 ing theologians of the country. Than he, few men in the 
 church were more widely known, or more highly esteemed, 
 even by those who felt compelled to dissent from some of 
 his opinions. 
 
 " When our church in this land first after the waves of a 
 fanatical rationalism had passed over her, began to strive 
 after the attainments of a clearer consciousness of her true 
 faith and life, the doctor occupied the commanding position 
 of a theological professor, in the only Lutheran theological 
 seminary in the country, and with the native strength and 
 activity of his mind, soon, as might be expected, became 
 involved in the controversies, which have ever 
 since more or less agitated- the church. He was by all 
 odds the ablest of the co-workers of the late Dr. B. Kurtz, 
 then editor of the Lutheran Observer, and did, perhaps, 
 the most solid and thorough work of any man who took 
 the new, or so called American Lutheran, side of the con- 
 
384 LUTHERAN VISITOR'S EUI^OGY. 
 
 troversy. But with all the polemical battles in which the 
 doctor was engaged, and some of them were quite bitter, 
 we believe he never could be charged with any want of 
 courtesy towards his opponents. 
 
 " He was an earnest, faithful man, ever true to his con- 
 victions, and in his death, we may say, that a great man 
 has fallen in Israel. Among the children left to mourn his 
 death, are Revs. B. M. Schmucker, D. D., of Reading, 
 G. W. Schmucker, late pastor in Pottstown, Pa., and the 
 wives of Rev. A. T. Geissenhainer, Treasurer of the Penn- 
 sylvania Synod, and of Rev. B. C. Suesserott, of Lancaster. 
 We sincerely sympathize with the bereaved family and 
 unite with his numerous friends and former students in 
 cherishing his memory." 
 
 Under the heading, "A Good and A Great Man De- 
 parted," the Lutheran Visitor, in a draped column, notices 
 the death of Dr. Schmucker in the following tender and 
 befitting terms : 
 
 " The memory of no man deserves to be held in greater 
 reverence by English speaking Lutherans than Dr. 
 Schmucker's. He entered the ministry of our beloved 
 church at a time when the faithful laborers were few. 
 Neology, rationalism, indifference to distinctive Evangeli- 
 cal Lutheran doctrine and order prevailed, while godliness 
 and spirituality were almost extinct. With the loss of the 
 form the substance had also disappeared. Dr. Schmucker 
 devoted the freshness of his youth, the vigor of his man- 
 hood, and the ripeness of his old age to the restoration of a 
 living faith, and the promotion of the higher and spiritual 
 life within the church, and as professor and president of the 
 Theological Seminary of the General Synod, he trained 
 and sent out hundreds of devout, earnest and self denying 
 laborers. 
 
 " The doctor was eminently qualified for the work the 
 
INSCRIPTION ON HIS MONUMENT. 385 
 
 Great Head of the Church called him to perform. . He was 
 endowed with talents of high order, which education de- 
 veloped, study enriched, intercourse with society refined, 
 and grace sanctified. But his life's work is done. He has 
 gone to his rest. He departed in a good old age, and is 
 with the Lord he served so long and so diligently. 
 
 " We do not mourn him. We do not have tears to 
 shed over him to whom the Lord says, ' Well done, thou 
 good and faithful servant,' but we hope that our Synods 
 will render him the tribute of respect due his memory and 
 his distinguished services, for he was a great and good man, 
 and he is more than any other man entitled to be called the 
 father of the English speaking Lutheran Church. But for 
 him the church would not this day occupy the prominent 
 position, nor wield the influence it does. 
 
 " We knew him well in former years, and esteemed him 
 highly ; the war parted us, and the later church develop- 
 ments, the return of the church to the ancient Lutheran 
 landmarks, made us strangers, but death unites. Now we 
 but remember the faithful servant of Christ, whose faith 
 was evangelical, whose church love was fervent, and whose 
 praise is in all the church." 
 
 Over his grave near the centre of the Citizens' Ceme- 
 tery at Gettysburg, is a plain shaft of white marble, about 
 seven or eight feet in height, and bearing the simple in- 
 scription : 
 
 REV. S. S. SCHMUCKER, D. D., 
 Born 
 February 28, 1799, 
 Died 
 July 26, 1873. 
 Next to this monument, in the same lot, a white mar- 
 ble slab, placed horizontally on the ground, marks the 
 restingplaceofthebody of his second wife. It bears the 
 
386 INSCRIPTION ON TABI,ET. 
 
 following beautiful Christian sentiments, prepared prob- 
 ably by Dr. Schmucker himself: 
 
 Sacred to the Memory 
 
 of 
 
 MARg e. SCHMUCKER, 
 
 daughter of 
 
 Wm. and Elizabeth Steenbergen, 
 
 and wife of 
 
 S. S. Schmucker, 
 
 Born Feb. 7, 1808; Died Feb. 11, 1848. 
 
 She was an affectionate wife, a devoted mother, 
 
 an eminent christian. 
 
 "She is not dead, but sleepeth — we know that she will 
 
 rise again in the resurrection at 
 
 the last day." 
 
 She came to the cross ivhen her young cheek zvas bloofning^ 
 
 A7id raised to the Lord the bright beam of her eye ; 
 Atidwhe7i o'er its beauty death's darkness zvas glooming , 
 ' Tzvas the cross that upheld her, the Saviour was nigh. 
 
 MEMORIAL TABLET. 
 
 A memorial tablet has been placed on the rear wall of 
 the chapel in the new Seminary building, with this in- 
 scription : 
 
 To the Memory of 
 
 SAMUEL SIMO/N SCHMUCKER, D. D. 
 
 Founder through the General Synod 
 
 of this Theological Seminary. 
 
 Professor 1826-1864. 
 
 Held in Honor by the Luthera7i Church for his Eminent 
 
 Scholarship, Enlightened Zeal and Orga^iizing Talent, By 
 
 His Sttidefits. 
 
 One should think a grateful church would have 
 reared an imposing monument over his grave. But in re- 
 ality he needs no monument of stone to perpetuate his 
 memory and extol his name. The General Synod is his 
 enduring monument ; the Seminary and College at Gettys- 
 burg are his monument. He rests from his labors, and 
 "his works do follow him." 
 
INDEX. 387 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Absolution, .,.---, 324 ff 
 
 Adventure, A Singular, ,.--.. loi 
 
 Alexander, Dr. A., - ■■ - - - - 138 
 
 Alliance, Evangelical, Origin of, - - - - • 298 ff 
 
 Anti-Slavery in, - - - - - ' 302 ff 
 
 American Tract Society, Appointment as Agent for, - - 107 
 
 Ancestors, - - - - - - 'lo, 11 
 
 Andover, Tour to, - - - - - •■ - 108 ff 
 
 Anecdotes of Childhood, - - - - - 28, 29 
 
 Augsburg Confession, - - - - - -71 
 
 Errors Claimed, - - - - - - 317 
 
 Dr. Geo. Ivochman's Omissions, - - - - 319 ff 
 
 Author, Schmucker as an, ... - - 258 ff 
 
 Baltimore, Preaching at, - - - - - - 87 
 
 Call to, ....-.► 108 
 
 Meeting of General Synod at, - - - - 129 
 
 Baptism of First Child, ----- 105 
 
 Baugher, Dr. H , Sr,, ...... 316 
 
 Berlin, Churches in, - - ♦ - - - 246 
 
 Brown, Dr. J A., - - - - - - - 17 
 
 Biographical Sketch of, - - - - - 343 
 
 His Charges Against Schmucker, .... 345 
 
 Schmucker's Reply, . . - . , 345 ff 
 
 His Charges Against Dr. Sprecher, ... - 357 
 
 His Election, - - - - - - 358 ff 
 
 Calls to Philadelphia and Baltimore, .... 108 
 
 Specimen of a call, ..... 142 
 
 Carlisle, Pa, .._..-. 198 
 
 Child, Baptism of First, ..... 105 
 
 Childhood, - - - . - - - - 27 ff 
 
 Anecdotes of, - - . - - - 28, 29 
 
 Church, Deplorable State of, - - - - - 63 
 
 Circular Letter to Germany, . - - - - 25 1 fl 
 
 College Book, - . - - - - - 178 
 
 Confirmation, Morris' . - - - - -115 
 
 Constitation of General Synod, ..... 128 
 
 Controversialist, Schmucker as a, - - . - 3i4ff 
 
 Death and Burial of J. G. Schmucker, - - - - 14 
 
 Of S. S. schmucker, - - - - . 374 ff 
 
 Of First Wife, - 103 
 
 Definite Platform, ...... 316 
 
 Reasons Assigned, •• - ^ - - * 317 
 
 Descent, ........ lo 
 
388 INDEX. 
 
 De Wette, Dr., - - - - - - - i75 
 
 Diary, ...... 32ff, 65ff, Saff, 176 fiF 
 
 Dickinson College, - . - - - - 199 
 
 Diehl, Dr., - - - . . . - 122, 189 
 
 Donation to Theological Seminary, .... 186 
 
 Dunbar, W. H., . - - . - - 51 
 
 Dutch Reformed, - - - - - . 6?, 72 
 
 Emmaus Orphan House, ..... 361 flF 
 
 Fry's Legacy, ....... 362 
 
 Changes Made by the Ivegislature, ... 364 
 
 Encouragements, ..-.--. 84 
 Engligh Ivanguage, Antipathy to, . - - - 143 
 
 Episcopalians, . - - - - . 85, 13c) 
 
 Epitaph, - 385 
 
 Eulogy of General Synod, C. P. Krauth's, - - .240 
 
 Europe, Kurtz's Tour to, . . - . igiff, 203 
 
 Evangelical Alliance, Origin of, - - - - - 298 ff 
 
 Anti-Slavery in, - - - . . - 302 flF 
 
 Exorcism, Rejected, ...... 332 
 
 Family Record, - - . . . . 2X S 
 
 Formulas of Synods, - - • - - - 128 
 
 Franklin College, - - - . - .170 
 
 Frederick, Md., Meeting of General Synod at, - - - 131 
 
 Funeral Sermon by S. S. Schmucker, - - - 82 
 
 General Council, Organization of, . - - - 238 ff 
 
 General Synod, Organization of, . - . - Ii6ff 
 
 Synods Uniting With, • . - - - 117 
 
 His Early Connection With, - - - - 121 
 
 Dr. Diehl 's Account, ..... 122,124 
 
 Withdrawal of Pennsylvania Synod, - - - 124 
 
 Saved from Dissolution, .... i27ff, 133 
 
 Constitution of, . - . . - - 128 
 
 Meeting at Baltimore, - - - - - 1 29 
 
 Meeting at Frederick, Md., ... - 131 
 
 Opposition to, - . . - . - 132, 137 ff 
 
 Original Design of, - . - - . . 149 
 
 Resolution on the Sabbath, ..... 286 
 
 German literati. Correspondence With, ... 68 
 
 German Reformed, - - . - - - 73 
 
 Germany, Tour to, ..... . 241 ff 
 
 His Own Account of, - - • - - - 244 ff 
 
 Circular Letter, . . - . - . 251 ff 
 
 Gettysburg, Installation at, . . - - . 181 
 
 Reasons for Locating Seminary at, • - . - 199 ff 
 
 Gock, Carl, ........ 155 
 
 Gossner, ....... 250 
 
 Hagerstown, • . . . . . - . 198 
 
 J. G. Schmucker's Call to, . - - - 13 
 
 Harbaugh, Rev. D., . . - - • . 372 
 
 Harlem, Ride to, ..... . 75 
 
INDEX. 389 
 
 Harms, Claus, - - - - - - - no 
 
 Hartwick Seminary, - - - - - - 172 £F 
 
 Helmuth, Dr., J. G. Schmucker's Studies Under, - - 12 
 
 Henkel, Paul, J. G. Schmucker's Studies Under, - - 12 
 
 David, . 155 
 
 His Ordination, ...... 159 
 
 Philip, 171 
 
 Immorality, ....... 138 
 
 Inauguration, Oath of ,----- - 182 
 
 Address at, . - - . - - - 183 
 
 Infidelity, English, ...... 137 
 
 Installation at Gettysburg, ..... 181 
 
 Jacobs', Prof. H., Remarks About Seminary, - . - 205 
 
 Klein's Dogmatic, - - - - - - no 
 
 Koethe, Dr , - . . - - - - 112 
 
 Krauth's, C. P., Eulogy of General Synod, - - - 240 
 
 C. P., Sr., 312 
 
 Kunze, Dr., ....... 170 
 
 Kurtz, B., - . - . . . - - 189 
 
 Tour to Europe, - - - - - 191 ff, 203 
 
 His Testimonials, - - - - - - 197 
 
 Letter from London , . . . . . 208 ff 
 
 Letter from Paris, - - ' - - - - 256 
 
 A Prominent Man, - - - - - 366 S 
 
 Laymen Read Sermons, - . . - - . 74 
 
 Lepley's, Rev. C, Letter, - - . - - 369 fF 
 
 Letter to His Father, - . . - - - 61 ff 
 
 Licensure, - - - - - - - 81 
 
 Literary Labors, ..-...-78 
 Lochman, Dr. Geo., - - - - - - 29 
 
 His Omissions from Augsburg Confession, - - - 319 ff 
 
 Lutheranism, Retrospect of, - - - - - 144 ff 
 
 Man, Dr. W. J., Controversy \^ith, .... 320 ff 
 
 Marrlpge, ....... loi 
 
 Second, - - - . - - - 115 
 
 Mason, Dr., ....... 76 
 
 Celebration of Lord's Supper, - - - - 77 
 
 Memorial Tablet, ...... 386 
 
 Methodists, -.-..-..67 
 Miller, Dr. Jacob, ...... 152 
 
 Ministry, Preparation for, - - . - - .40 
 
 Entrance Into, ...... 60 
 
 Moral Character, . .*. - - - -43ff 
 
 Morris' Tribute, ...... 42 
 
 Confirmation, - - - - - - -115 
 
 History of Theological Seminary, ' - . - 193 
 
 Letter from Paris, - - - - - - 256 
 
 A Prominent Man, ..... 366 ff 
 
 Mt. Jackson, Episcopal Church at, - - - - 115 
 
390 INDEX. 
 
 Muhlenberg, J. P. G,, - - - . - - 140 
 
 Henry A., --,,-. 142,273 
 
 Neander, ---.-.. 247 
 
 New Market, Va.. Settlement at, . * - - - 81 
 
 Unfavorable i,ocation, - . , - . 89 
 
 New York, Visit to, - . . - - - 65 flf 
 
 Ministers in, ♦. - - - - 66 
 
 Museum at, - . - « - - 69, 7° 
 
 City Hall, .--...- 76 
 Almshouse, - - - « - - -77 
 
 Nicholas, Uncle, --.*,. 85 
 
 North Carolina Synod, Rupture of, - ... 156 
 
 Relation to Episcopalians, - - - - 160 
 
 Obituaries, By Star and Setitifiel, .... 374 flf 
 
 By Dr. Hay, ...,,. 376 ff 
 
 By Dr. Lochman, - ^ - - . . 379 
 By Dr. Morris, .-,... 379, 380 
 
 By Dr. Brown, --..-.. 380 
 
 By Dr. Baum, - - - - - - 380 f 
 
 Tribute by Seminary Board, - - - - - 381 f 
 
 Resolutions of College Board, - . . . 382 
 
 Tribute by Philadelphia Lutherafi, - . - - 383 
 
 By Lutheran Visitor, - • - - - 384 
 
 Ohio, Objections of Synod of, - - - - - i53 
 
 Opposition to General Synod, .... 132, 137 ff 
 
 Ordination, - -- - . . . . 107 
 
 Organization of General Synod, - - - - 116 flf 
 
 Orphan House, Emmaus, --..-- 361 
 
 Fry's Legacy, ...... 362 
 
 Changes Made by the Legislature, .... 364 
 
 Orthodoxy, ....... 72 
 
 Forerunner of Rationalism, - - - - - 276 
 
 Ott, Mr., ....... 84 
 
 Pascal's View of Human Nature, ..... 9 
 
 Pastor, Schmucker as a, - - - - - 88, 91 
 
 Pennsylvania College, - - - . - -2i4ff 
 
 His Early History of, - - . - - 217 
 
 Under Lutheran Control, ..... 220 
 
 Franklin Professorship, ..... 222 
 
 Articles of Agreement, ..... 226 ff 
 
 Pennsylvania Synod, ...... 124 
 
 Withdrawal of, ...... 150 
 
 Reunion With General Synod, .... 230 ff 
 
 Conditional Entrance, ..... 232 
 
 Continued Opposition, ..... 233 
 
 Withdrawal of Delegates at York, .... 234 
 
 Reasons Assigned, ..... 235 ff 
 
 Final Withdrawal at Fort Wayne, .... 235 ff 
 
 Philadelphia, J. G. Schmucker'a Studies at, - - 12 
 
 S. S. Schmucker's Studies at, - - - - 30 
 
 Preaching at, - - - . - . 86 
 
 Call to, 108 
 
INDEX. 
 
 391 
 
 Pietism, Charge of, - 
 
 Against Muhlenberg, - 
 
 Forerunner of Rationalism, 
 Pietists, - - . - . 
 
 Planck, Dr., Letter from, . . - 
 
 Plan Entwurf, . . - - 
 
 Platform, Definite, . - - . 
 
 Reasons Assigned, - . . 
 
 Praypr, Remarkable Answers to. 
 Preacher, Schmucker as a, 
 Presbyterians, - . - - - 
 
 Princeton, Studies at, - 
 
 Prominent Men, Three, ... 
 
 Pro-Seminary, . . . . 
 
 Morris' Af^count of, - - - 
 
 Publications, List of, - - - 
 
 Puritans, ..... 
 
 Principles of, - 
 
 Persecutions of, • 
 
 Quitman, ..... 
 
 Ranke, Dr. ,....- 
 Rationalism, German, ... 
 
 Result of Pietism, - - - 
 
 Reform, Plans cf, - 
 
 Relic of Oak Tree, .... 
 Religious Experience, J. G. Schmucker's, 
 Resignation, - . . - . 
 
 Letter to the Board, ... 
 
 Reasons Assigned, 
 
 Resolutions of the Board, 
 >^ Revivals, His Vievps of, - - - 
 
 Sabbath, His Vievrs on, 
 
 General Synod's Resolution on, - 
 
 Views of Morris, Conrad, and Krauth, 
 Schaeffer, F. C, 
 
 David, F,, - 
 Schafif, Dr. P., Letter from, - 
 Schmucker, J. G., - 
 
 Letter from, . , . . 
 
 B. M., 
 
 S. D., Esq., .... 
 
 Seminaries, Theological, Eiforts to Establish, 
 
 General Synod's Resolution, 
 
 S. S. Schmucker Elected Professor, - 
 
 Board of Trustees, .... 
 
 Constitution of, - - - 
 
 Endowment of, - 
 
 Opponents to, - 
 Separation, Evils of, - 
 Sermons, Skeletons of, - 
 
 - 
 
 47 ff 
 
 - 
 
 273 ff 
 
 - 
 
 275 
 
 - 
 
 49 ff 
 
 - 
 
 123 
 
 128, 
 
 150 
 
 - 
 
 316 
 
 - 
 
 317 
 
 - 28, 29 
 
 88, 
 
 277 
 
 - 73. 
 
 139 
 
 .*< 
 
 5, 60 
 
 - 
 
 366 flf 
 
 112 
 
 175 
 
 - 
 
 113 
 
 - 
 
 262 ff 
 
 - 52 
 
 i, 53 
 
 - 
 
 54 ff 
 
 - 58, 59 
 
 69 
 
 118 
 
 
 248 
 
 - 
 
 137 
 
 
 275 
 
 - 
 
 64 
 
 
 159 
 
 - 
 
 21 
 
 
 336 ff 
 
 - 
 
 338 
 
 
 339 
 
 - 
 
 340 
 
 
 279 flf 
 
 . 
 
 281 ff 
 
 
 286 
 
 - 
 
 287 ff 
 
 - 63, 
 
 112 
 
 
 182 
 
 
 301 
 
 I 
 
 [, 13 ff 
 
 
 141 
 
 207, 
 
 223 
 
 
 371 
 
 - 
 
 169 ff 
 
 - 
 
 178 
 
 . 
 
 179 
 
 . 
 
 180 
 
 - 
 
 184 
 
 - 
 
 185 
 
 - 
 
 202 
 
 - 
 
 297 
 
 - 
 
 93 ff 
 
392 INDEX. 
 
 Shober, Rev , - . - . . 
 
 Unites With Lutheran Church, 
 Letter to New York Ministerium, 
 
 Slavery, His Position on, - - - . 
 
 Social Disposition, .... 
 
 Socinr'anism, - - - ■ - 
 
 Storck, Rev. C. A. G. , 
 
 Storr and Flatt, Translation of, - 
 
 Strouch, L. C. G., 
 
 Stuart, Prof. Moses, . . . . 
 
 Students, His Firi,t, - - - . 
 
 Studious habits, - - . - . 
 
 Successor, Schmuckers's, 
 
 Synods, Formulas of, - 
 
 Teacher, Schmucker as a, 
 
 Tennessee Synod, Objections of, - - - 
 
 Testimonial to J. G. vSchmucker, by Dr. Brown, 
 
 By His Own Son, . . . . 
 
 Theremin, Franz, .... 
 
 Tholuck, Dr., - 
 
 Tour to Andover, . . . . 
 
 Translation of Storr and Flatt, 
 Turner, Prof., ----- 
 Twesten, .-.-.- 
 
 Dinner With, .... 
 
 Union, Efforts for Church, - . . 
 
 Virginia, Tour to, - 
 
 Vision of Glory, J. G. Schmucker 's 
 
 Weiser'p, R., Criticism, 
 
 Wife, First, ...... 
 
 Second, - . . . . 
 
 Winchester, Va., - - - - - 
 
 York Academy, .... 
 
 His Diary of, - 
 
 - 122, 
 
 161 
 
 . 
 
 162 
 
 - 
 
 164 ff 
 
 - 
 
 292 ff 
 
 - 41 
 
 ,42 
 
 72, 
 
 138 
 
 - 
 
 157 
 
 - 
 
 112 
 
 - 
 
 no 
 
 - 
 
 112 
 
 - 
 
 113 
 
 - 
 
 266 ff 
 
 - 
 
 342 
 
 - 
 
 128 
 
 - 
 
 269 ff 
 
 - 
 
 154 ff 
 
 - 
 
 iS 
 
 - 
 
 18 
 
 - 
 
 no 
 
 - 
 
 255 
 
 - 
 
 108 ff 
 
 - 
 
 112 
 
 - 
 
 III 
 
 174, 189. 
 
 191 
 
 - 
 
 249 
 
 - 
 
 296 
 
 - 
 
 83 
 
 - 
 
 22 
 
 - 
 
 46 
 
 lOI 
 
 103 
 
 - 
 
 115 
 
 - 
 
 87 
 
 - 
 
 31 ff 
 
 - 
 
 32 ff 
 
 
/ 
 
Date Due 
 
 '^<^'hr. 
 
 :J.^ 
 
 Ti^V'^^r-v- 
 
 X j . w m*<* i^ 9 ^ ~ 
 

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