Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
Slavery in the 'German element' may have rooted from an influential minister
Article of July 27, 2000
While not the sole reason for its establishment within Virginia�s Germanic community of settlers near and within the Blue Ridge, the church may have played a role in the introduction of the institution of slavery, and the ultimate seed for this introduction came from Rev. George Samuel Klug.
While holding his main congregation on the east side of the Blue Ridge, several members and descendants from his �flock� eventually settled in the middle Shenandoah Valley. Klug often ventured into the Valley to administer the words of the gospel as well as perform baptisms and marriages. To many, it was the church that established policies by which to live and, inevitably, Klug was the head of that church and prime example for several members of the congregation.
Following the death of Johann Casper Stoever, Klug came to head the Hebron Evangelical Church in Culpeper County in 1739. Originally recruited by Stoever as a lay companion, Klug was exceptionally different in his ministry. He studied at Helmsted with the famous church historian and theologian Conrad Lorenz von Mosheim and was ordained at Danzig in 1736. Upon his arrival in Virginia, Klug quickly cultivated close relations with the Anglican establishment in Virginia and by 1752 pleaded for a �small allowance� which was granted.
While he did labor intensely to prevent the influence of the Moravians upon his flock, Klug did not live according to his predecessors� beliefs. Prior to Klug�s arrival, dependency for survival had stemmed from European charity and insufficient salaries from congregational contributions.
Klug, however, was neither a pietist by training or inclination. Klug became so obsessed at attempting to impress and be recognized by the Anglican establishment that he soon became seriously involved as a major religious and cultural broker and intermediary between his German-speaking congregation and the wider world of Virginia�s planting society. As a result, he quickly learned to adopt the practice of planters and increase the wealth of his glebe by purchasing slaves. To Klug, it appeared that in adapting to the novelty of chattel slavery he had been provided with the North American answer to pastoral poverty.
In addition to embracing the institution of slavery, Klug began a practice of refined and sensuous taste. For his lavish efforts to continue to impress his friends in the Anglican ministry, he soon became seriously criticized by other members of the German established religious order. His efforts may have even drawn the attention of Lutheran Anton Wilhelm Bohme, who warned against this sort of newfound �false freedom,� namely that of �self-willed� licentious behavior.
Bohme had established that true Christians of the new order would not act like these people, who resembled Old Testament Israelites who �wanted to possess lands, goods, and acres to divide among themselves.� The Rev. Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg was quick to recognize Klug as a large and imposing Prussian who enjoyed the regular income from his glebe land and slaves.
For his actions, Klug eventually fell out with many of his own congregations while still maintaining his well-established relations with his Anglican friends. Despite this, he continued to preach to Germanic and Anglican congregations alike until his death in 1764.
Ultimately, Klug became a prime example of what was on the horizon for this ethnic group. It had appeared that the language barrier and the remote location of the Germanic settlements had conspired together to ensure isolation from the influence of English-speaking society. However, while some Germanic settlements were well isolated (such as that seen in what would be known as the Page Valley), transactions with and influence by the English society was unavoidable. Then too, the adaptation of English society practices may have been looked upon favorably by many.
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