Henry Melchior Muhlenberg House Tour
Henry Melchior
Muhlenberg, Patriarch of American Lutherans
6 September 1711 to 7 October 1787
Historical Context:
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was the principal organizer of American Lutheranism. He was born in Einbeck, Germany, in 1711, and studied at Goettingen and at Halle. Lutherans started to arrive in America around 1735 and were found in a few scattered communities, of various national backgrounds, with no central organization, and with a grave danger of factionalism. In the early 1740s, several congregations wrote to Halle University, asking for a pastor to take charge. Hermann Francke, a Lutheran leader of the Pietist movement at Halle, chose Muhlenberg and sent him to America. He arrived in Charleston on 23 September 1742. He was soon accorded widespread recognition by Lutheran churches, German, Swedish, and others, as the senior Lutheran pastor in America. He set the tone for the Lutheran community in what was to be the United States, and almost all Lutheran Churches in America today use liturgies, which are developed from the one that he proposed for American use. His plans for local church government, presented to congregations that had been accustomed to a great deal of government control, eased the transition to the "free church" model, and form the basis for plans of local church government in American Lutheran churches today.
Pastor Muhlenberg traveled throughout the American colonies gathering information about Lutheran communities and organizing informal congregations. He also heeded a call from a small group in Providence, who were searching for an ordained minister to lead their flock. At first, he preached in a barn, but the congregation was anxious to build a church building and began hauling stones to the site in January 1743. The structure was erected through the spring and summer months and the first service was held in the unfurnished interior on September 12, 1743. The building was completed and dedicated on October 6, 1745, at which time the dedication stone was placed over the west portico. Muhlenberg’s responsibilities grew over the years, finally serving in Philadelphia on the eve of the American Revolution.
Now feeling his age and the wear and tear of those years in the saddle traveling throughout the colonies, Rev. Muhlenberg planned for his retirement. Purchasing a house he remembered quite well from his early days in Trappe at the Augustus Lutheran Church. Here he, his wife Anna Maria, and their youngest daughter Maria Salome could escape the political turmoil erupting in Philadelphia. On the eave of his move, 6 July 1776, he as well as many other Philadelphians stood behind the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) and heard the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. He believed it was not his place to take sides; however, when he came to America he had to take an oath to the King of England, who happened to be German. He would try to remain loyal though two sons would declare their desire for independence. (General Peter Muhlenberg and Frederick Muhlenberg)
Kitchen:
The fall of 1777 brought the War for Independence to the Muhlenberg doorstep. Not only had the British, but also the American army had marched though the little town of Trappe taking everything possible to sustain their men. Now with winter coming and Philadelphia occupied by the British, refugees from Philadelphia, especially the German community, looked to Rev. Muhlenberg for shelter and sustenance as they traveled to safety in towns such as Reading and Bethlehem. Henry cared for their spiritual as well as their physical needs. (Note: medical books, equipment, and medicines.)
Though retired for more than a year, he was still looked upon as the leader of the German citizens of Pennsylvania and the entire United States. He had tried to walk the line of neutrality, but by 1777 the British saw him as a rebel, putting a price on his head. Henry was a man full of anxieties, not only for himself, but also for his family and his community. He had been warned to flee the area, but how could he abandon his flock that he served for so long. And what of his family?
Stube:
There was 11-year-old Maria Salome, they affectionately called her Sally. She was just learning the duties of a wife (sewing: sampler, chatelaine, tape loom and cooking: the meager offerings that they shared). Though a child her age was not yet strong enough to fully take over her mother’s responsibilities of managing the household. Sally found herself thrust into helping to run what was equitant to an inn. Luckily there were older sisters and sister-in-laws among the refugees that could help.
There was their eldest son Peter’s wife Hannah and their almost 2-year-old son Henry. They had come all the way from the Shenandoah Valley (Bluish walking wheel for spinning wool from the Valley). While the Continental Army was encamped at Valley Forge, General Peter would visit the family when he could.
Visitors proceed to the second floor and turn to their left. (If you are conducting a full tour you will follow them and meet them at the top.)
Second floor bedroom:
Of course there was their romantic daughter, Polly who shocked the family with her elopement to a man, named Swaine, from County Cork Ireland. He had served under General Peter but was court-martialed for neglect of duty. But this didn’t seem to discourage him, as he would run messages back and forth from Trappe to Valley Forge. He had an infectious friendliness and genteel manner that made Polly fall in love and made all others forgive him everything. Even the refuge families that stopped for the night even found something to laugh about with Mr. Swaine’s jokes or his ability to turn babies’ tears into giggles. After the war he would rise to be a general in the Pennsylvania militia. (Note: cradle, baby bottle, clothes and toys)
Exhibit Room:
Talk about the restoration.
Second floor bedroom (with fireplace):
One of Henry’s concerns was his daughter Margaretta (Peggy) and her husband Rev. Christopher Kuntze. Though not in agreement with the British, the Kuntzes decided to stay in Philadelphia and look after their Lutheran congregations of St. Michael’s and Zion. Throughout the British occupation, messages were past between Henry and Peggy by a sympathetic and brave man known only to us by his Jewish faith. He was part of the first American underground. (Note: Inkstand and stationary)
Second floor bedroom:
If letters could get through the British lines, why not people? At least that is what two of the younger members of the family thought. Daughter Polly and daughter-in-law Catherine hatched a plan to visit Philadelphia. They saddled horses and convinced a neighbor to escort them to the edge of the city. From there they went on foot. For several days there was no news and the worst was thought, but with snow falling and with a foot of snow on the ground the girls finally returned from Philadephia . (Note: Woman’s clothing, cape and mitts.)
Parlor:
Another son that had returned home was Frederick Augustus from New York. He arrived with his family in tow. At the beginning of the war, he tried not to mix politics and religion and he disapproved of Peter’s joining the war effort. When the British occupied New York, Frederick and his family were forced to flee with 1500 other refugees. They too came home to Trappe and his parents and he changed his mind fully supporting the American cause. (Note: his portrait depicting him later in life)
Then there was Henry Ernestus, the third son and his wife Catherine. Henry Ernestus spent most of the fall flitting back and forth between Philadelphia and Trappe, but once the British took Philadelphia he rejoined the family. He would keep himself busy with his studies of botany. His sister Peggy even had a copy of Linnaeus’ Philosophia Botanica smuggled through the British lines for him. He would later become famous as a botanist.
First floor bedroom:
When the two precocious young women returned from Philadelphia, they had bad news to tell. The British were coming, or at least the Hessians. They had orders to capture old Muhlenberg and hang him. There was no peace that night in the parsonage. General Peter had heard the news and tried to persuade his father to flee. Henry was almost convinced but his wife Anna Maria would not leave. And there was the question of her health. She had been sick all Fall and had taken to her bed. She could not travel nor would she ever agree to leave.
While Anna did her best to be hostess to her
family and
guests, (Note: Anna and a guest are sharing tea.) Henry sat down to
craft a
letter to the British authorities in Philadelphia. In it he would
plead his
case. We do not know if the British ever received his letter, but
nether the
British or the Hessians came. All we do know is that the winter
of 1777-78 was
a time of stress yet a time of joy as the majority of the family was
able to
spend the season together.
9 December 2008