Statue in Vernon Park Germantown

Vernon Park, Gemantown, PA

Ancestors: Jan Lueken and Abraham Tuenes (Tunes)

Do you see the John the Baptist gesture?

GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

by Betty Randall

The settlers to Germantown came from the Lower Rhine where German and Dutch cultural ways mingled. These thirty-three settlers from Krefeld, Germany who established the first sizable, stable and distinctly German settlement in America at Germantown, PA in 1683, were followed by more than seven million immigrants to our shores from German-speaking countries. The city of Krefeld west of the Rhine near Düsseldorf, known for the manufacture of silk and linen, prided itself on being a haven of tolerance during the 17th century, and a refuge for those suffering religious oppression. When changes in the rule of the region caused the spirit of religious acceptance to diminish, some among the Mennonite and Quaker families decided to accept the invitation of William Penn to settle in America.

The English Schooner which brought these German settlers to the port of Philadelphia was named the Concord, an appropriate symbol of the immigrants' friendly cooperation with the English and Dutch aboard. All the passengers, attached to religious groups outside the established churches, answered the call of William Penn to share the "Holy Experiment" and settle on the land granted to William Penn. At age 36 Penn had petitioned King Charles II and received a vast province on the west bank of the Delaware River, which was named Pennsylvania after his father (to whom Charles II had owed a large debt canceled by this grant).

When the thirteen Mennonite families from Krefeld landed in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683 after a 75-day voyage, they were greeted not only by Penn but also be a young, 32-year old German lawyer, Francis Daniel Pastorius, who had become close friend with Penn since his arrival on August 20, 1683 on the ship America with about a dozen people, among them his personal servants.

When Pastorius, a well traveled scholar, had heard about Penn's visits to the Rhineland in 1671 and 1677 to recruit a group of religious and affluent Pietists, he decided to associate himself with the group. But plans with the Frankfurt Land Company did not materialize. Instead, Pastorius became the leader of thirteen more modest families, who wished to escape religious intolerance, and settle where they could lead a quiet and god-fearing life, free from religious controversy and with the promise of liberty. That place was to be Germantown, PA.

Pastorius arranged with Penn for the Krefelders to settle on a parcel of land six miles north of newly founded Philadelphia. Cellars were dug into the ground and covered and these were their shelters for the first winter. Even though that winter brought many hardships, the new settlers endured. The nickname for the new town, "Armentown" (town of the poor)was soon made obsolete by their hard work and skills in the trades of weaving, tailoring, carpentry, and shoemaking.

They built homes first of logs and later of native stone; they raised flax, built looms and set up their spinning wheels. Many were accustomed to growing vines and when they saw wild grapes, they establishing vineyards. The official seal of Germantown bears at its center a trifolium having a grape vine on one leaf, flax blossoms on another and a weaver's spool on a third with the inscription "Vinum, Linum et Textrinum," to show that the people lived from grapes, flax, and trade. The Germantown Fair, first held in 1701 became a center of exhibiting and selling the products of these craftsmen.

Penn had advised the new settlers not to reside on scattered farms, but to follow the European pattern of living together in a town. By the end of the 1600s Germantown had a wide Main Street bordered by peach trees, a central market and on opposite ends of town were burial grounds. Along the several streams were a number of mills. More than fifty families built spacious farm buildings and tended their three acre town plots growing vegetables and flowers. The fields of the town lay to the north and south. These Germans had a love and respect for the land unequaled by other immigrants and so they gained the reputation for caring for the land exceedingly well.

In a few years the population of Germantown had increased so that additions were made: Kriegsheim with 884 acres (named for the home of the Palatine Quakers), Sommerhausen with 900 acres (in honor of Pastorius' birthplace), and Crefeld with 1166 acres were added to the 2750 acres of Germantown. All were on the same road; Germantown was the nearest to Philadelphia and Crefeld was beyond Chestnut Hill in present Montgomery County.

On August 12, 1689 Germantown was incorporated and its first burgomaster, Pastorius, made many lasting contributions to the community. Among them he is credited with the establishment of a school system in which he became a teacher. Since Mennonites considered education important, school houses were often built first with worship held there until meetinghouses could be built. Another of Pastorius's contributions was the writing of the first resolution in America against Negro slavery*. As Germantown prospered, its administration, founded on self government and civic responsibility, became a model for later German settlements in America.

In 1883 America remembered the Germantown settlement and on Thanksgiving, November 29, 1884 William Penn's statue was completed in Philadelphia. Today one can visit the rebuilt home of Penn called Pennsbury Manor which is about 26 miles from Philadelphia.

In 1983 ceremonies were held throughout the U.S. to commemorate the first organized settlement and books were published to tell the story of German-American involvement in the founding and development of America. The U.S. and Germany issued postage stamps of the ship Concord to salute the courage, stamina, and motivation of those immigrants and all who followed in their footsteps.

On this 300th anniversary of the arrival of the German pioneers the home of the father of Franz Daniel Pastorius in Germany was acquired by the Pastorius Home Association. The historic building was restored to its original charm by a combined, voluntary effort of German and American citizens. It contains a lecture hall, library, and facilities for guests. The home is open all year round for travelers, and educational programs are scheduled throughout the year.

Since 1983 several landmarks in Germantown have been restored, among them the site of Rittenhouse Mill, America's first paper mill, established by Wilhelm Rittenhouse in 1690. A U.S. postcard was also issued showing the Rittenhouse mill.

In 1988, under the leadership of the Greater Germantown Housing Development Corporation, the Germantown community initiated a comprehensive economic development program for the area which was suffering urban decay. Plans called for the renovation of the 49 houses along Germantown Avenue and the creation of new job-producing enterprises in the neighborhood. In the center was to be a town square and historic park dedicated to the 1688 slavery protest and to the thirteen pioneer families. It was also fitting that thirteen "family trees" were planted.

On a marker, previously placed for the families in Germantown, is written:

In commemoration of the Landing of the German Colonists, October 6, 1683, FRANZ DANIEL PASTORIUS, Dirk, Herman, Abraham Op Den Graeff*, Tuenes Kunders, Lenert Arens, Reinert Tisen, Wilhelm Strepers, Jan Lensen, Peter Keurlis, Jan Siemens, Johann Bleikers, Abraham Tuenes and Jan Lueken with their families.

Information taken from articles in: Krefeld Immigrants and Their Descendants, Links Genealogy Publications, Sacramento, CA, Iris Cater Jones Editor ijones@n.s.net (ISSN 0883-7961)

This was written for the Indiana German Heritage Society Newsletter by Betty Randall, a descendant of Abraham op den Graeff, one of the original Krefelders, who was also one of the signers of the "Protest Against Slavery." Ms. Randall is a long-time member of IGHS and also a member of the DAR. She has a masters degree in history from Indiana University.

Pastorius Monument

Vernon Park: Germantown and Chelten Avenues, Philadelphia

Area history: "Guidebook to Historic Germantown", 1902

Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by EVC. USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ A 1902 Edition of a "Guidebook to Historic Germantown". One of the opening pages contains a poem written by Francis Daniel Pastorius, the agent for the Frankfort Company, and the leader of the original thirteen settlers who came to Germantown. The original poem was written in Latin, and translated by John G. Whittier (John Greenleaf Whittier???) The poem was written in 1688. Hail to posterity! Hail, future men of Germanoplis! Let the young generations yet to be Look kindly upon this, Think how your fathers left their native land,-- Dear German-land! O sacred hearths and homes!-- And, where the wild beast roams, In patience planned New forrest homes beyond the mighty sea, Then undisturbed and free To live as brothers of one family. What pains and cares befell, What trials and what fears, Remember, and wherein we have done well Follow our footsteps, men of coming years! Where we have failed to do Aright, or wisely live, Be warned by us, the better way to pursue, And, knowing we were human, even as you, Pity us and forgive! Farewell, Posterity! Farewell, dear Germany! Forevermore farewell! THE SETTLEMENT OF GERMANTOWN The first settlers of Germantown came from the country of the lower Rhine, not far from the borders of Holland. The purchase of land was made through the Frankfort Company, of which Francis Daniel Pastorius was the agent in America for a number of years. In 1683, thirteen famlies, including in all thirty-three persons, set out from Crefeld, their native town, for London, where passage had been engaged for them to Pennsylvania in the ship Concord, by James Claypole, a Quaker merchant of that city, who was to be their fellow passenger. On the 24th of July they sailed from London, and arrived in Philadelphia the 6th of October. They were met on landing by Pastorius who had preceded them a few weeks. On the 23th of October, Thomas Fairman, the surveyor of the Province, laid out their land in the township, afterwards called Germantown, and on the next day the immigrants met in the cave of Pastorius on the bank of the Delaware and made selections of the plots of land by lot. Having done this, they proceeded at once to clear their land and erect dwellings before the winter should overtake them. The following are the names of the thirteen settlers: Abraham Op den Graeff Thones Kunders Herman Op den Graeff Reynier Tyson Lenart Arets Jan Lucken Jan Seimens Johannes Bleikers Willem Streypers Peter Keurlis Jan Lensen Abraham Tunes Dirck Op den Graeff They were all Friends or Mennonites, but just how they were divided between these two bodies is not known. Before their departure from Germany there had been a Friends' Monthly Meeting held at Crefeld, which was discontinued immediately after their departure, indicating that all or nearly all the full body of members had gone. By 1690 when the village of Germantown had grown to forty-four families, twenty-eight of them were Friends and the other sixteen of other religious faiths. The next year (1684) other immigrants arrived and thereafter a steady flow of settlers from Germany and the Rhine provinces cme to Pennsylvania, the majority passing through Germantown. Many remained in the town, among them the ancestors of some of our present day families,- the Keysers, Shoemakers, Johnsons, Rittenhouses, Leverings, Sauers, etc. Germantown was the threshold over which entered the new country, the various German sects, the Dunkards, Lutherans, Swenkfelders, etc., now occupying the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. On the 13th of February, 1694, a number of Pietists, originally from Germany, embarked at London on the ship Sarah Maria for Pennsylvania. After many adventures the ship entered the Chesapeake and landed the immigrants in Maryland, whence they journeyed overland to Germantown. These men, with Johannes Kelpius, as their Superior, took up their residence on the Ridge, as the high land between the Wissahickon and Schuykill is called. Here they built a tabernacle of logs. They spent their time mostly in seclusion, engaged in religious devotion, in the study of astronomy and the occult arts. These men gradually passed away, the Hermitage in Hermits' Lane, near the Wissahickon, being one of the few reminders of their existence. The early settlers brought with them the habits of industry and thrift which characterize the German race. In addition to the cultivation of the soil, which was never their main dependence, they brought various trades with them. Many were linen weavers. In 1686 Abraham Op den Graeff petitioned the Council to grant him the Governor's premium for "The first and finest piece of linen cloth", and as early as 1692 Richard Fraeme wrote: "The Germantown of which I spoke before Which is at least in length one mile or more, Where lives High German people and Low Dutch Whose trade in weaving cloth is much.-- Here grows the Flax as also you may know That from the same they do divide the tow." Later the manufacture of stockings from the famous Germantown wool was begun and by 1760 the Rev. Andrew Burnaby writes:--"The Germantown thread stockings are in high estimation and the year before last I have been credibly informed there were manufactured in that town alone above 60,000 dozen pairs, their common retail price a dollar per pair." "The earliest settlers used to make good linens and vend them in Philadelphia. They were also distinguished, even till modern times, for their fabric of Germantown stockings. This fact induced the bank of Germantown to adopt a seal, with such a loom upon it. The linen sellers and weavers used to stand with the goods for sale on the edge of the pavement in Market Street, on the north side, near to Second Street corner. The cheapness of imported stockings is now ruining their business." --Watson's Annals. The Borough of Germantown early adopted a label to mark their goods so that their excellent quality would be more easily recognised. About this time the tanning industry had assumed considerable importance, as the following letter from John Morgan, Jr., dated at Reading, PA., December 23, 1777, while Philadelphia was occupied by the British Army shows: "I understand that all the stocking weavers at Germantown with their looms and out of work supposed to be one hundred, also six or seven tanners who have large tan yards full of leather, part of which is nearly tanned; they might easily be removed. Query:--Are they not objects of notice of Council? Should the enemy determine to stay or leave Philadelphia this winter they will probably destroy them which would be a great loss to this State." As has been pointed out elsewhere, the manufacture of paper was first begun in Germantown in 1690. This pre-eminence in manufacturing, first encouraged by the character and skill of the early settlers and carried on by them in their homes, has continued to the present time, as the great number of factories and important manufacturing plants in the neighborhood testify. THE ANCIENT TOWN For many years Germantown consisted of a long, straggling village extending for nearly two miles along the Main Street. The appearance of the town was thoroughly German and continued so down through the period of the Revolution. The language of conversation among the inhabitants was mainly in German, until even a later period. The prevalence of yellow fever in Philadelphia in 1793 and again in later years caused many Philadelphians to take up their residence in Germantown, which made many changes in the language and customs of the town. As originally laid out, there were to be four distinct villages along the Main road, all within the limits of what is now Germantown. Roughly their boundaries were: GERMANTOWN from the present Wayne Junction to the Abington Road, now Washington Lane, CRESHEIM from this point to about the Mermaid Tavern, SOMMERHAUSEN to about one-eighth of a mile above Chestnut Hill and CREFELDT to Streeper's Mill, which was where the turnpike crosses the Wissahickon at the foot of Chestnut Hill. In later years the settlement above Upsal Street, surrounding the Dunkard Church, was called Beggarstown, for the origin of which name there are several theories. This name has, however, passed entirely away, but in the dispatches and descriptions of the Battle of Germantown, it is frequently used. The early homes of the settlers were first of logs and later of the rough, dark, native stone. Built with their gables in the road, they had over-hanging hipped roofs and a projecting pent over the doorstep, as is still seen in the Engle house, No. 5938 Main Street; the door was divided in the middle to keep out stray animals, but with the upper portion open to admit air and light; on either side of the front door were little benches; the windows were small, usually swinging on hinges. The sombre coloring of the houses, the solidity and air of comfort and thrift surrounding them, the rows of trees along the streets, the orchards and spacious farm buildings in the rear, are mentioned as prominent characteristics by many of the early travelers who have described the village. As the tracts of land along Main Street were sold and divided up, they usually retained their full depth, so that the owners might have their wood and pasture lots in the rear, with the house on the Main street. As more land was sold, these strips became still more narrow, so that at the time of the Revolution, it was over and through these dividing walls and fences that the divisions of the American Army were compelled to advance, greatly retarding their progress and affording protection to the retreating British. At the centre of the town was the market place and at the upper and lower ends were the two public burial grounds. On the east were several mills run by the waters of the Wingohocking, then a considerable stream, and on the west were even a greater number scattered along the Wissahickon. The cross roads of the town connected it with these mills and the ferry over the Schuylkill. The Abington Road, now Washington Lane, led to Abington Meeting. It was many years before any streets parallel with the Main street were opened. FRANCIS DANIEL PASTORIUS (Prelude to the Pennsylvania Pilgrim) I sing the Pilgrim of a softer clime And milder speech than those brave men's who brought To the ice and iron of our winter time A will as firm, a creed as stern, and wrought With one mailed hand, and with the other fought Simply, as fits my theme, in homely rhyme I sing the blue-eyed German Spener taught Through whose veiled, mystic faith the Inward Light, Steady amd still, an easy brightness, shone, Transfiguring all things in its radiance white. The garland which his meekness never sought I bring him; over fields of harvest sown With seeds of blessing, now to ripeness grown, I bid the sower pass before the reapers' sight. John Greenleaf Whittier. There seems no proper place in the description of localities to mention Francis Daniel Pastorius, and any book of Germantown, even a guide book, would be incomplete without some allusion to him. He was born in Sommerhausen, Germany, September 26th, 1651. He reached Philadelphia August 6th, 1683. He first built a little house in Philadelphia, but later he moved to Germantown and became the leader, cousellor, lawyer, teacher and conveyancer for his countrymen. He was one of the best educated men in the colonies, being familiar with and writing fluently German, Italian, French, Dutch, English, Spanish, Greek and Latin. He kept the records of the court, was bailiff of the borough, a justice of the peace and member of the Assembly, 1687 and 1691. He looked after the affairs of the Frankfort Company, the company owning the land comprised in Germantown, until 1700. He wrote a primer, which was the first original school book printed in Pennsylvania. Seven of his books were printed, besides which he left forty-three works in manuscript. It was his name which appeared on the protest against slavery, issued in 1688, handed into his meeting and by it referred to the Monthly Meeting as mentioned, and it was written by him. Pastorius married November 25th, 1688, Anna Klostermann, in Germantown. They were the parents of two sons, Johann Samuel, born March 30th, 1690, and Henry, born April 1st, 1692. In 1698, Pastorius was master of the Friends School in Philadelphia and his home in Germantown stood idle. His home stood where now is the new Methodist Church, between Dr. Alexis Smith's house, No. 6019 Main Street, and Dr. Dunton's house, which originally stood where High Street is now opened through. Dr. Dunton tore the house down some thirty years ago, and stones from it were used to build the rear portion of his present house, now No. 25 High Street. Dr. Christopher Witt was Pastorius' neighbor and at one time, they exchanged verses by throwing them over the fence to each other. They were both interested in flowers and horticulture and their verses related to these subjects. Pastorius left a remarkable book called "The Beehive", a volume of family and miscellaneous matters containing a thousand pages of history, agriculture, philosophy, poetry, laws, etc., written in seven languages. The book is still in possession of the family, but is at present deposited in the Library of the University of Pennsylvania. Whittier has immortalized Pastorius and the placid life of the Germantown settlers in his "Pennsylvania Pilgrim". Pastorius died February 27th, 1719. It is not known where he was buried, but it is supposed in the Friend's burial ground on the Main Street above Coulter. Some of his descendants of the name Pastorius are still living in Germantown. For much other information concerning this talented and useful man, see Judge Pennypacker's "Settlement of Germantown".

The 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery

Historical Background Pennsylvania was founded in 1682 by William Penn as an English colony where people from any country and faith could settle, free from religious persecution. In payment of a debt to Penn's father, Penn had received from King Charles II of England a large land grant west of New Jersey which Penn named Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's woods". Penn had become friends with George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, called Quakers after their unique way of speaking in Meeting for Worship. Penn had converted to Quakerism and had been imprisoned several times for his beliefs. The king allowed Penn to establish a proprietary colony where Penn appointed the governor and judges but established an otherwise democratic system of government with freedom of religion, fair trials, elected representatives, and separation of church and state. In the period 1660­1680 several Quakers including William Penn visited Holland and the Rhine valley of what would later become Germany, and organized gatherings where they preached the Quaker testimony. Many people, including some who had been Mennonites in Krefeld, in what was then Holland, and Krisheim, in the German "Palatinate", converted to the new Quaker faith. Among them was Francis Daniel Pastorius, a young German born near Würzburg to a family of elite officeholders. After training as an attorney, Pastorius sought spiritual release from his lucrative but uninspiring practice with the local gentry, and he turned inward looking for a philosophical purity in his life. He was attracted to Penn's colony as a place where religious freedom would allow him to start afresh a life free from "libertinism and sins of the European world." Meanwhile, the Mennonites and Quakers in Holland and along the Rhine valley were often imprisoned for belonging to a faith other than the officially recognized Catholicism and Lutheranism. In 1681, Penn invited people from his native England and from other European countries to the new colony. He arrived in 1682, had the land surveyed, organized Philadelphia as a welcoming town laid out as a grid with many green spaces, and profited by selling lots. Soon, the waterfront was a bustle of activity, town streets were laid out with houses built on narrow lots, and churches of several different faiths were established. The town merchants traded with the largely Quaker colony of West Jersey. The town and surrounding countryside prospered. The German Settlement In 1683 Pastorius was delegated authority to purchase land in the new Pennsylvania colony by a group of men from Frankfurt who intended to emigrate. He traveled to Philadelphia in August, 1683, having purchased a warrant from Penn's agent on behalf of the Frankfurt men who had supplied the funds. In October, 1683, thirteen German­Dutch families from Krefeld in the Rhine valley arrived with their own land claim. Seizing upon a chance to create a viable German­speaking town, Pastorius negotiated with Penn to combine the the two 1claims. As it turned out, the people from the Frankfurt Company never emigrated to the new colony, but more Quakers and Mennonites came from the Rhine valley and Pastorius' ambitious plan for a German­speaking town near Philadelphia grew and became real. Pastorius had devised a simple plan for a town, with lots parceled out along one long main thoroughfare, where settlers could build their houses. He required land good for tilling because the emigrants would need to grow their own food to survive. Pastorius and Penn became good friends, and they often discussed plans for the new settlement over dinner. The land originally promised to Pastorius was supposed to be level and along a navigable river, and Pastorius had paid for 6,000 contiguous acres. However a suitable tract of land near Philadelphia was unavailable on the Delaware River, because level ground there was valuable and most of it had already been sold. Penn suggested land near the Schuylkill Falls (East Falls), but it was too steep for Pastorius' plan, so as an alternative Penn suggested land a little further east, near the top of a gentle hill between two creeks, and Pastorius agreed. Germantown was thus founded along a Lenni Lenape trail four miles north of Philadelphia, between the Wissahickon and Wingohocking creeks. Pastorius had the land surveyed, and over the first winter the families lived in downtown Philadelphia while struggling to clear the land for their makeshift log houses. Germantown became a separate and self­sufficient town of Dutch and German speakers. The thirteen original Krefelder families were Mennonites who had become Quakers in their native Holland before they arrived in the New World. Because they had been persecuted in their own land on account of their beliefs they understood the value of a community founded on religious toleration. Unlike Pastorius, they were not wealthy, but were skilled craftsmen who knew they would have to work hard for a living. By trade they were carpenters, weavers, dyers, tailors, and shoemakers, so they were not fully prepared for the hard work of clearing the forest. Over the first year they cleared land and planted crops for food and flax for weaving. They set up looms and soon were producing linen cloth that sold widely throughout the colonies. The Issue of Slavery Some of the early English settlers of Philadelphia and its surrounding towns were wealthy and purchased slaves to work on their farms. Although many such slaveowners also had immigrated to escape religious persecution, they saw no contradiction in owning slaves, because serfdom, slavery and servitude had existed in Europe since the Middle Ages. Although serfdom was abolished in northwestern Europe by 1500, servitude was ubiquitous in Europe, sometimes under harsh conditions. Some immigrants to the new colony were indentured servants, working for several years in exchange for being carried on a boat to the new colony. Slaves were widely owned in the colonies and local slave markets made purchasing slaves easy. The slave trade was protected by the British crown and some thought it necessary for economic growth in the colonies. It was justified by racism and intolerance towards what many British saw as "uncivilized" cultures. Many ship owners and captains made large profits carrying slaves from Africa to the Caribbean islands and the mainland colonies. William Penn oversaw the economic progress of his colony and once proudly declared that during the course 2of a year Philadelphia had received 10 slave ships. The first settlers of Germantown were soon joined by several more Quaker and Mennonite families from Krisheim, also in the Rhine valley, who were ethnic Germans but spoke a similar dialect to the Hollanders from Krefeld. Some out of pragmatism attended the local Quaker Meetings held in the newly­built homes of immigrants, becoming involved and accepted in the Philadelphia Quaker community, and eventually joining as members. However, in several ways they felt themselves outsiders, which allowed them to see and question what the English could not. Some attended the Quaker Meeting temporarily while they waited for a Mennonite minister to arrive, and then helped to build the first Mennonite Meetinghouse. The town prospered and grew, and a Quaker Meeting was organized at Thones Kunders' house, under the care of Dublin (Abington Meeting). By 1686 a Quaker Meetinghouse was constructed near the current site of Germantown Friends Meeting. The German­Dutch settlers were unaccustomed to slaves, although from the shortage of labor they understood why their British neighbors relied on slaves for prosperity. Slaves and indentured servants were a valuable asset for a farmer because they were not paid. Yet the German­Dutch settlers refused to buy slaves themselves and quickly saw the contradiction in the slave trade and in farmers who forced people to work. Although in their native Germany and Holland the Krefelders had been persecuted because of their beliefs, only people who had been convicted of a crime could be forced to work in servitude. In what turned out to be a revolutionary leap of insight, the Germantowners saw a fundamental similarity between the right to be free from persecution on account of their beliefs and the right to be free from being forced to work against their will. About the Contents of the Petition In 1688, five years after Germantown was founded, Pastorius and three other men decided to raise the issue of slavery with the Quaker Meeting which they attended. The men gathered at Thones Kunders' house and wrote a petition based upon the Bible's Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," urging the Meeting to abolish slavery. It is an unconventional text in that it avoids the expected salutation to fellow Quakers and does not contain references to Jesus and God. It argues that every human, regardless of belief, color, or ethnicity, has rights that should not be violated. Throughout the petition the reference to the Golden Rule is used to argue against slavery and for universal human rights. On first reading, the argument presented in the petition seems indirect. Nowhere is the Meeting specifically asked to condemn the practice of slavery. Instead, in reference to the Golden Rule, the four men ask why Christians are allowed to buy and own slaves, almost in mock sarcasm, to get the slaveowners to see their point. In doing so, it arguably was very successful, but it would be easy to miss the sophistication of their argument. They emphatically argue that in their society the capture and sale of ordinary people as slaves, where husband, wife and children are separated, would not be tolerated, again referring to the Golden Rule. 3The four men also assert that according to the Golden Rule, the slaves would have the right to revolt, and that inviting more people to the new land would be difficult if prospective settlers saw the contradiction inherent in slavery. In mentioning the possibility of a slave revolt, they clearly were suggesting to the English colonists that slavery would discourage potential settlers from emigrating. In the Caribbean colonies there had been many slave revolts over several decades, so the possibility was real. However, the power of the argument for potential settlers from Europe was more than the fear of a revolt ­­ it was that any such revolt would be justifiable according to the Golden Rule. This logic strengthened the newly defined universal rights, which applied to all humans, not just the "civilized". The petition has several examples of such counter­intuitive but forceful arguments to push the slave­owning reader off his balance. The petition contains several points of difficulty for the reader unfamiliar with history. First, the petition's grammar seems unusual today but reflects the Krefelders' incomplete knowledge of English as well as typical pre­modern use of variable spelling. The original wording includes "ye." which is a contraction of the word "the", and might be confused with the second person plural "ye" that was widely in use at the time. Second, the petition mentions Turks as an example of a people who might take someone on a ship into slavery in their native Turkey. Although this example would be considered neither helpful nor politically correct today, the four men were referring to the widely known stories of Barbary pirates who had established an outpost of the Ottoman Empire on the coast of North Africa and for hundreds of years had plundered ships. After the Moors were driven out of Spain in 1492 they took revenge on the Spanish coast and the Spanish countered with more attacks. The Barbary pirates in the period (1518­1587) were allied with the empire in Constantinople and captured slaves to be brought back to North Africa or Turkey. Thus in their early period, their motivation was political. In the later period during the 1600's the North African pirate communities became more independent and lived mainly on plunder so the motivation for piracy was mainly economic. In that period up to 20,000 captured Christians were said to be kept as slaves in Algiers. The slave raiders traveled throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic, often taking slaves from Italy and Spain, but ranging as far north as Iceland. Among the Barbary pirates were renegade individuals from Europe including England and Holland. A long list of English, French, and Germans were allowed to pay their way out of slavery and so brought back the stories of marauding pirates capturing slaves. The petition's mention of this point, then, is another example of their sophisticated reasoning. The widely circulated stories of slavery on the Barbary Coast were true, for Europeans had been the prey of political enemies and renegades who had captured them as slaves. This analogy in the first paragraph of the petition cast the taking of slaves by the English in a questionable light. The four men were claiming that slaves had social and political equality with ordinary citizens. Third, the petition refers to the black slaves as "negers", which was a German word meaning black or negro. In its 1688 usage the term was simply descriptive and not in any way 4derogatory. Throughout the petition the four men show respect for enslaved people and declare them equals. The Effect of the Petition The four men presented their petition at the local Monthly Meeting at Dublin (Abington), but it is not clear what they expected to happen. Although they were accepted in the Quaker community, they were outsiders who could not speak or write fluently in English, and they also had a fresh view of slavery that was unique to Germantown. They must have understood from the beginning that it would be difficult to force the whole colony to abolish slavery, as it was generally believed that the colony's prosperity depended on slavery. It is not clear whether the four men expected the local Meeting to affirm their view, because they knew that nearby Meetings might not in be in agreement, and consequences would be far­reaching. The Meeting decided that although the issue was fundamental and just, it was too difficult and consequential for them to judge, and would need to be considered further. In the usual manner the Meeting sent the petition on to the Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, where it was again considered and sent on to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (held in Burlington, NJ). Realizing that the abolition of slavery would have a wide and overreaching impact on the entire colony, none of the Meetings wanted to pass judgment on such a “weighty matter.” An epistle describing the petition and the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's concerns about it was sent on to London Yearly Meeting where again no action was taken. The practice of slavery continued and was tolerated in Quaker society in the years immediately following the 1688 petition. Some of the authors continued to protest against slavery, but for a decade their efforts were rejected. Germantown continued to prosper, growing in population and economic strength, becoming widely known for the quality of its products such as paper and woven cloth. Eventually several of the original Krefelders rejoined the Mennonites and moved away from Germantown at least in part because of their insistence not to side with slave­owners. Several other petitions and protests were written by Quakers against slavery in the next several decades, but were based on racist or practical arguments of inferiority and intolerance. Some of the protests became entangled with politics and theology and as a result were dismissed by the Yearly Meeting, confusing the issue. Almost three decades passed before another Quaker petition against slavery was written with sophistication comparable to the Germantown 1688 petition. But the Germantowners' condemnation of slavery continued, and their moral leadership on the issue influenced Quaker abolitionists and Philadelphia society. Gradually over the next century, due to the efforts of many dedicated people such as Benjamin Lay, John Woolman, Anthony Benezet, and Dr. Benjamin Rush, Quakers became aware of the essential wrongness of the institution of slavery. Many of the Quaker abolitionists published their articles anonymously in Benjamin Franklin's newspaper. In 1776 a proclamation was written by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting banning the owning of slaves. By that time, many Quaker monthly meetings in the Delaware Valley were encouraging freed slaves by providing funds and encouragement for them to start businesses, attend Quaker meetings and educate their children. 5Historical and Social Importance The 1688 petition was the first American public document of its kind that made a plea for equal human rights for everyone. It compelled a higher standard of reasoning about fairness and equality that continued to grow in Pennsylvania and the other colonies with the Declaration of Independence and the abolitionist and suffrage movements, eventually giving rise to Lincoln's reference to human rights in the Gettysburg Address. The 1688 petition was set aside and forgotten until 1844 when it was re­discovered and became a focus of the burgeoning abolitionist movement. After a century of public exposure, it was misplaced and once more re­discovered in March 2005 in the vault at Arch Street Meetinghouse. It was discovered in deteriorating condition, with tears at the edges, paper tape covering voids and handwriting where the petition had originally been folded, and its oak gall ink slowly fading into gray. To preserve the document for future generations, it was treated at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in downtown Philadelphia, where tape obscuring the text was removed, the document's paper treated by a protective anti­acidic solution, and thin Japanese paper carefully applied to bridge the voids. Finally, the petition was photographed at high resolution and was sealed into mylar protective sheets in an inert atmosphere. The petition was shown at an exhibit of original rare American documents at the National Constitution Center on Independence Mall in the summer of 2007. It currently resides at Haverford College Quaker and Special Collections, the joint repository (with Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College) for the records of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Today the 1688 petition is for many a powerful reminder about the basis for freedom and equality for all. In a world where slavery continues in many forms, the 1688 petition seems relevant to many people because of its statement on the nature of human suffering and institutions that conspire to continue injustice based on power and tradition. In many countries today people have been reported to be duped into being taken to foreign lands where they are held under difficult conditions and forced to work with meager pay. The power of economic progress has in some cases created conditions where those with less education and resources are convinced to travel from familiar surroundings and feel threatened not to complain for fear of losing their work. Ethnic minorities and women of many third­world countries are especially vulnerable. Societies that are sometimes called "advanced" are to some extent dependent on cheap labor and resources taken from those less fortunate. Some believe that our worldwide environmental crisis has been created by our willingness to ignore the pleas and lost lives of people who would work hard for equal pay and privilege. The expectation of equal rights for everyone is a powerful motivator that may help to give economic progress and environmental responsibility worldwide. References: Gerbner, Katharine, "We are against the traffick of mens­body: The Germantown Quaker Protest of 1688 and the Origins of American Abolitionism", Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid­Atlantic Studies (Spring 2007). 6Wolf, Stephanie Grauman, "Urban Village: Population, Community, and Family Structure in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1683­1800". Princeton University Press (May 1, 1980); ISBN 0691005907. Nash, Gary B., and Soderlund, Jean R. "Freedom by Degrees: Emancipation in Pennsylvania and its aftermath" Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0195045831. Jenkins, Charles F, "The Guide Book To Historic Germantown", Site and Relic Society, Germantown, 1915. Learned, Marion Dexter, "The Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius, the Founder of Germantown", Philadelphia, William J Campbell, 1908. Pennypacker, Samuel W, "The Settlement of Germantown and the Beginning of the German Emigration to North America", Philadelphia, William Campbell, 1899. Ruth, John L, "The Emigration From Krefeld to Pennsylvania 1683," an article in Mennonite Quarterly Review, Vol LVII, #4, October 1983. Ward, Townsend, "The Germantown Road and its Associations", in "Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography", 1881, Vol V, No. 1. Poster and introductory text prepared by Germantown Friends Meeting Working Group on the 1688 Petition Against Slavery, Copyright (C) 2008 by Germantown Friends Meeting of the Society of Friends. ­ ­ ­ Text of the 1688 Petition: This is to the monthly meeting hold at Rigert Warrells. These are the reasons why we are against the traffick of men­body, as followeth: Is there any that would be done or handled at this manner? viz., to be sold or made a slave for all the time

of his life? How fearful & fainthearted are many on sea when they see a strange vassel ­ being afraid it should be a Turck, and they should be tacken, and sold for slaves into Turckey. Now what is this better done, as Turcks doe? yea, rather is it worse for them wch say they are Christians, for we hear that the most part of such Negers are brought heither against their will & consent and that many of them are stollen. Now tho they are black, we can not conceive there is more liberty to have them slaves, as it is to have other white ones. There is a saying that we shall doe to all men licke as we will be done ourselves; macking no difference of what generation, descent or Colour they are. and those who steal or robb men, and those who buy or purchase them, are they not alicke? Here is liberty of conscience wch is right and reasonable; here ought tobe likewise liberty of the body, except of evildoers, wch is an other case. But to bring men hither, or to

robb and sell them against their will, we stand against. In Europe there are many oppressed for Conscience sacke; and here there are those oppressed wch are of a Black Colour.

7 and we who know that men must not comitt adultery, some doe comitt adultery in others, separating wifes

from their housbands and giving them to others. and some sell the children of those poor Creatures to other men. Ah ! doe consider well this things, you who doe it, if you would be done at this manner? and if it is done according Christianity? You surpass Holland and Germany in this thing. This mackes an ill report in all those Countries of Europe, where they hear off, that the Quackers doe here handel men licke they handel there the Cattle. and for that reason some have no mind or inclination to come hither. And who shall maintaine this your cause, or plaid for it? Truely we can not do so, except you shall inform us better hereoff, viz: that christians have liberty to practise this things. Pray, what thing in the world can be done worse towards us, then if men should robb or steal us away, & sell us for slaves to strange Countries, separating housband from their wife and children. Being now this is not done at that manner we will be done at, therefore we contradict & are against this traffick of men body. And we who profess that it is unlawfull to steal, must lickewise avoid to purchase such things as are stollen, but rather help to stop this robbing and stealing if possibel. and such men ought to be delivered out of the hands of the Robbers, & made free as well as in Europe. Then is Pensilvania to have a good report, in stead it hath now a bad one for this sacke in other Countries. Especially whereas the Europeans are desirous to know in what manner the Quackers doe rule in their Province, & most of them doe loock upon us with an envious eye. But if this is done well, what shall we say is done evill? If once these slaves (wch they say are so wicked and stubbern men) should joint themselves, fight for their freedom and handel their masters & mastrisses, as they did handel them before; will these masters & mastrisses tacke the sword at hand and warr against these poor slaves, licke we are able to belive, some will not refuse to doe? or have these Negers not as much right to fight for their freedom, as you have to keep them slaves? Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and in case you find it to be good to handel these blacks at that manner, we desire & require you hereby lovingly that you may informe us herein, which at this time never was done, viz., that Christians have such a liberty to do so. To the end we shall be satisfied in this point,& satisfie lickewise our good friends and acquaintances in our natif Country, to whose it is a terrour, or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in Pensilvania. This is from our meeting at Germantown, hold the 18 of the 2 month, 1688, to be delivered to the Monthly Meeting at Richard Warrels. gerret hendericks derick up de graeff Francis daniell Pastorius Abraham up den graef Monthly Meeting Response: at our monthly meeting at Dublin, the 30 ­ 2 mo., 1688, we having inspected the matter above mentioned & considered of it we find it so weighty that we think it not Expedient for us to meddle with it here, but do Rather commit it to the consideration of the Quarterly meeting the tennor of it being nearly Related to the truth. On behalf of the monthly meeting, Signed, P. Jo. Hart. Quarterly Meeting Response: 8This, above mentioned, was read in our quarterly meeting at Philadelphia, the 4 of the 4th mo. '88, and was from thence recommended to the Yearly Meeting, and the above said Derick, and the other two mentioned therein, to present the same to the above said meeting, it being a thing of too great a weight for this meeting to determine. Signed by ord the meeting, Anthony Morris. [ Yearly Meeting Response: At a Yearly Meeting held at Burlington the 5th day of the 7th month, 1688. A Paper being here presented by some German Friends Concerning the Lawfulness and Unlawfulness of Buying and keeping Negroes, It was adjusted not to be so proper for this Meeting to give a Positive Judgment in the case, It having so General a Relation to many other Parts, and therefore at present they forbear It. ] Copyright (C) 2008 by Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends

CHAPTER V FIRST SETTLEMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA We remember William Perm went through Germany just prior to his first voyage across the sea in 1682 and there preached his Holy Experiment, i. e., his efforts to make Pennsylvania a free colony. In 1683, October 6, in response to Penn's visit to Ger- many, the good ship Concord arrived at Philadelphia from Crefield and Kreigsheim, Germany, with a small colony of German and Dutch Mennonites. (The Mennonites, it will be remembered, is a name borne by certain Christian communities in Europe and America, disciples of Menno Simons in Switzerland. From this teacher sprang the Regular Baptists [for Menno was a Baptist] of England and thence brought to America; also the Dunkards or German Baptists. When Mack emigrated from Switzerland to America he brought with him his two Dunkard churches entire, all the believers of that faith in the world then. In the free and friendly soil of Pennsylvania, Mack's two little congregations have grown and become a strong and influential church in America.) When these Mennonites landed at Philadelphia, however hearty the welcome accorded them by Penn's English settlers, they resolved to begin a new home back in the woods, so they followed a bridle path for 12 miles and there settled. They called the place Germantown, now an integral part of the great city of Brotherly Love. Here then began that emigration of German people, chiefly for religious liberty, which was to play the greatest part in this great state's history. These German settlers wrote their kinsmen across the sea of their free community; rich land, new houses in a wonderful country. Others, attracted by the news, came. The word was somehow carried to our distressed people down in the Palatine on the Rhine and in Switzerland, where our people also lived, and there was an awakening such as we can scarcely find a parallel in history. The people who sat in darkness saw a great light. We can imagine one of our ancestors in the homeland as the twilight falls, after a hard day's toil, sitting at the doorway of his humble home on the Rhine, watching the swallows in their home- ward flight and musing on the innocent and joyous life of the creatures of the air. "Why should not human beings live inno- cently and happily? Why is life for man made perilous and bitter because of the intolerant and savage instincts of man to man?" Ad the twilight deepens into night and the moonlight bathes the land- scape and splashes the river with silver, he lifts his eyes to the distant hills and the familiar scenes are transformed in a wondrous vision into new scenes, a new land, a new home ; another river