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The settlement of Germantown, Pennsylvania: and the beginning of German ... By Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker

' HERE was a rustic murmur in the little burgh in the year i68£kwhich time has shown to have been the echo of the great wave that r^lls around the world. The event probably at that time produced no commotion and attracted little attention. It may well be that the consciousness of having won immortality never dawned upon any of the participants, and yet a mighty nation will ever

recognize it in time to come as one of the brightest pages in the early history of Pennsylvania and the country. On the i8th day of April, 1688, Gerhard Hendricks, Dirck Op den Graeff, Francis Daniel Pastorius and Abraham Op den Graeff sent to the Friends' meeting the first public protest ever made on this continent against the holding of slaves. A little rill there started which further on became Protest Against Slavery. 145

an immense torrent, and whenever hereafter men trace analytically the causes which led to Gettysburg and Appomattox they will begin with the tender consciences of the linen weavers and husbandmen of Germantown. The protest is as follows :

This is to ye Monthly Meeting held at Rigert Worrells. These are the reasons why we are against the traffick of mens-body 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 fearfull & 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 in 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 ye 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 cannot 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 our selves: 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 all alicke ? Here is liberty of Conscience, wch is right & reasonable, here ought to be lickewise liberty of ye 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. And we, who know that men must not commit adultery, some do commit 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. Oh, 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 ye Qjaackers doe here handel men, Licke they handel there ye 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 towarts us then if men should robb or steal us away & sell us for slaves to strange Countries, separating housband from their wife & 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 not lawfull to steal, must lickewise avoid to purchase such things as are stolen, but rather help to stop this robbing and stealing if possibel and such men ought to be delivred out of ye hands of ye Robbers and set 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 ye Europeans are desirous to know in what manner ye Qjiackers 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 don evil?

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 & warr against these poor slaves, licke we are able to believe, 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 Liberty to do so, to the end we shall be satisfied in this point, & satisfie lickewise our good friends & acquaintances in our natif Country, to whose it is a terrour or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in Pensilvania.

This was is from our meeting at Germantown hold ye 18 of the 2 month 1688 to be delivred to the monthly meeting at Richard Warrels.

gerret hendricks
derick op de graeff
Francis daniell Pastorius
Abraham op den graef.

" At our monthly meeting at Dublin ye 30 2 mo. 1688, we having inspected ye matter above mentioned & considered it we finde it so weighty that we think it not Expedient for us to meddle with it here, but do Rather comitt it to ye consideration of ye Quarterly meeting, ye tennor of it being nearly Related to ye truth, on behalfe of ye monthly meeting. signed, pr. Jo. Hart."

" This above mentioned was Read in our Quarterly meeting at Philadelphia the 4 of ye 4 mo. '83, 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 ye above-said meeting, it being a thing of too great a weight for this meeting to determine.

Signed by order of ye Meeting,

Anthony Morris."

Event

Germantown was laid out in fifty-five lots of fifty acres each, running along upon both sides of the main street, and in 1689 Dirck Op den Graeff owned the second lot on the west side going north, Hermann the third, and Abraham the fourth, with another lot further to the northward. All three were weavers of linen. Richard Frame, in a description of Pennsylvania in verse, published in 1692, refers to Germantown:

" Where lives High German People and Lotu Dutch Whose Trade in weaving Linnen Cloth is much, There grows the Flax, as also you may know That from the same they do divide the tow;" and Gabriel Thomas, in his account of the " Province and Country of Pennsylvania," published in 1698, says they made "very fine German Linen, such as no person of Quality need be ashamed to wear."