The Founding of Germantown, PA (1683)

Two distinguished individuals deserve the credit for the remarkable founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683. Foremost among them is William Penn (1644—1718), the son of a wealthy aristocratic English family, English writer, theologian, a Quaker by faith, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. Secondly, is Francis Daniel Pastorius (1651-1719), a German lawyer and Pietist who established the first permanent German settlement in America, thereby sharing the “Holy Experiment” in Penn’s Quaker colony. Both of these men were noted intellects of their time.

Each came from Europe, with dissimilar backgrounds, but both were equally sympathetic to Quakers and Mennonites who were dissenters of the established churches of that time. Penn established his colony as a safe haven and refuge for persecuted believers. Pennsylvania would welcome those of all beliefs and be a domicile of peace and harmony.

In 1517, Martin Luther’s Reformation set in motion the unsettling dispute between Roman Catholic and Protestant believers. The doctrinal conflicts led to the 30-Years War in 1618. That conflict was fought not only on religious but also on economic grounds. At war’s end in 1648, more than half the population of the Germanic area of Europe had died, either in battle or by starvation. Some survivors sought renewed hope and relief in new religious denominations such as Quaker and Mennonite. Adoption of new beliefs ofttimes meant persecution for the believer.

Young Penn's Religious Awakening

Early in his private school education, William Penn was inspired by an experience he described as his inner self being filled with light that illuminated the entire classroom. Shortly after, a houseguest of the Penn’s, Quaker preacher Thomas Loe, spoke of the “Inner Light”. So impressed was the young Penn by Loe, that when Penn heard Loe preach at a Quaker Meeting he joined the Society of Friends. It was an extremely dangerous time in history for Penn’s declaration because Quakers were being fiercely persecuted in England.

Nevertheless, Penn was full of enthusiasm for his new faith. He appeared in public debates and wrote religious and political pamphlets. When he published the formal statement, “Sandy Foundation Shaken”, showing the many wrongs of the Church of England, it drew a storm of protest from the clergy. Penn’s refusal to recant resulted in a sentence of 8 months in the Tower of London in 1668. Imprisonment did not change his thinking, rather it hardened his resolve. Behind the gloomy prison walls, Penn wrote his famous book, “No Cross, No Crown”.

Persistence and Victory

Young Penn’s father, Sir William, petitioned King Charles II’s Privy Council requesting his son’s release. Only upon a second request to Whitehall was the young man released in 1669. Nevertheless, the younger Penn was imprisoned a second time when he gathered with a group of Quakers in front of a meeting house that had been boarded up by the authorities. He served his term in London’s Newgate prison where debtors, murderers and highwaymen were housed. Since Penn knew the law, he argued his own case. He spoke out boldly reminding the jurors of the Magna Carta and it’s guarantee of certain rights and privileges granted to all English people. The brave jurors responded with a verdict of “Not Guilty” that resulted in a judicial call for a prison sentence for each of them. When the jurors in turn appealed to a higher court, the result was a landmark decision in English Law, that stated, the jury must be allowed a free verdict.

This important trial made history in the English Justice System because of the courageous arguments of Penn. He was thereby released from imprisonment in time to be at his father’s side when he died in Sept. 1670. Admiral Sir William Penn had served Cromwell and two English kings and had loaned 16,000 pounds Sterling to the king. That debt was the son’s inheritance. Penn persuaded Charles II to grant him land in America in payment of the debt. The ever-penniless King deeded young Penn a vast province west of the Delaware River. Penn called it Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods) in his father’s honor.

The Experiment

In order to populate his vast tract of land, Penn visited Holland and the German States to encourage emigration by offering land for sale with religious freedom guaranteed. With the exception of Quakerism, the various religious sects had their origin in the German lands. As Penn toured Luebeck, Emden, Frankfurt/Main, Krefeld, and Krisheim, his preaching was welcomed by the persecuted Mennonites and Pietists, but German society generally shunned Penn, the Quaker, as being a proponent of the most fanatic sect of all.   

Clients for Land in America

About this time, a group of Mennonites and Pietists from Krefeld approached Francis Daniel Pastorius in an effort to have him act as their agent to purchase land in Penn’s colony. Pastorius agreed to do it and sailed aboard the ship “America”, arriving in Philadelphia on August 20,1683. He quickly purchased 15,000 acres, from William Penn,* for his clients. The group arrived in Philadelphia, via the ship Concord, on October 6, 1683 and established what has become known as “the first German Settlement in America”.

Pastorius' New Life and Dedication to Penn's Experiment

Pastorius was born of Lutheran parents in Sommerhausen, Franconia Circle, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. His forefathers were men of high standing and honor. Pastorius studied the classics in Latin as a child and also learned to read, write and speak fluently in German, Greek, Latin, French, Dutch, English, Spanish and Italian. He studied Law at the universities of Strassburg, Jena and Basel, and was knowledgeable in church history. He was one of few intellectuals in Pennsylvania in his time.

Upon completion of his university studies, Pastorius had established a law practice, but the law soon bored him. It seemed, he wrote, “a game, at another’s expense”. He left the law and embarked on a tour of Europe with a friend. He was soon bored by what he characterized as “The European Idleness”. He wrote that he had seen many young Germans, mostly of the nobility, who were accustomed to follow the vanity of dress, speech, foreign manners and ceremonies and at great expense learned to ride, dance and fence. At the same time, he noted, not a single thought was given to the love of God and following Christ. He stated that the extravagance he saw was underwritten by taxes paid by the common people. Disillusioned with Europe, Pastorius accepted the offer to act as land agent to the thirteen families from Krefeld.

This was the founding of Germantown, which was located outside city limits of Philadelphia. (incorporated into the city in 1859). The settlement became a hub for other German immigrant groups seeking their religious freedom. Newcomers were mostly farmers and linen weavers at first, followed by other trades. It became a busy hub of commerce as the community grew and flourished.

Pastorius became a lifelong resident of Germantown. In 1689, William Penn granted the community its own administration and jurisdiction. Civic rights were confirmed by the British King in 1691. Pastorius held the positions of lawyer, mayor and teacher. He was valued by his fellow citizens for his academic knowledge, teaching and writing. He taught from textbooks he authored himself.

Moral leadership by Quakers in Germantown is demonstrated by the 1688 Petition Against the Practice of Slavery in Pennsylvania. Pastorius is one of four signatories of the document. It reached the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting at Burlington, NJ and is regarded as the first petition against slavery in the American colonies. There is no evidence of action on the petition at that time.

By Charlotte Arndt

Peter Muhlenberg Unit No. 398

Steuben Society of America

Note: 2 documents involved in the sale of land to Pastorius by Wm Penn are preserved in the

collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA.