Israel Christian Gronau

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Israel Christian Gronau (born March 11, 1714 in Kroppenstedt ; † January 11, 1745 in New Ebenezer , Georgia ) was a German theologian who worked from 1734 to 1745 as a Lutheran parish junior in the Salzburg congregation in Ebenezer , Georgia, and later in New Ebenezer was.

Training and starting your career

Gronau was born as the son of Henricus Gronau, deacon in Kroppenstedt, and his wife Anna Margarete, geb. Long born into a large family of Lutheran theologians. At the age of only fifteen he enrolled in 1729 at the University of Halle (Saale) to study theology . As early as the following year he taught while studying at the Latin School of the Francke Foundations associated orphanage in Halle .

Emigrants from Salzburg

In 1732 Gronau had accompanied a group of emigrants from Salzburg overland from Halle to East Prussia in order to give them spiritual support and instruction on the way. He then returned to Halle, but planned to return to East Prussia as a teacher .

When Professor Gotthilf August Francke , the head of the Francke Foundations, was looking for two theologians in 1733 at the request of the senior and pastor at St. Anne's Church in Augsburg , Samuel Urlsperger , to bring a group of 78 Salzburg emigrants to the British colony Accompany Georgia and stay with the colonists as a pastor and teacher, Gronau's life plans should change fundamentally. On Francke's recommendation, Gronau was appointed to the post of parish clerk and catechist , who was supposed to support Johann Martin Boltzius, who was intended for the office of pastor .

Urlsperger gave Gronau very specific instructions for carrying out his task. He was supposed to teach the children of the colonists reading, writing and arithmetic and to teach catechism. In preparation for this, Urlsperger particularly recommended the works of the pietistic theologians Philipp Jacob Spener , Gotthilf August Francke, Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen and Johann Jakob Rambach . In addition, he imposed the obligation on Gronau to keep a diary and to correspond regularly with the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia in America , the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Urlsperger.

Gronau and Boltzius went to Rotterdam via Wernigerode , where both were examined and ordained by the court preacher Samuel Lau in November 1733 . There they met the Salzburg colonists coming from Augsburg and accompanied them via Dover to Charleston and Savannah .

General James Oglethorpe , the representative of the trustees for the establishment of the Georgia colony, allocated a piece of land to the settlers near Savannah. There, the people of Salzburg founded the town of Ebenezer in 1734. It was only two years later, with Oglethorpe's consent, that the settlement could be relocated to a climatically more favorable location with better soil quality, which was named New Ebenezer.

Relationship with Boltzius

While Boltzius developed great commitment and organizational talent right from the start, it became clear that Gronau had little energy. Whenever Boltzius was out, Gronau postponed pending decisions until his return. He did not feel up to the task he had taken on and after a short time fell into deep self-doubt. He also realized that he was inferior to Boltzius when dealing with people. In addition, he was not as resilient as his older colleague and, from 1736, stepped back more and more because of his weak health.

Within the scope of his possibilities, however, Gronau did everything possible to relieve Boltzius. He taught school, took care of pastoral care in the community and looked after the sick. However, he only kept the official diary when Boltzius was unable to attend.

Despite all the differences, the relationship between the two clergy remained untroubled. Gronau adored his older colleague for his skills and Boltzius never let his superiority be felt. It hit him very hard when his colleague and friend Gronau died after a long illness.

family

Gronau married Catharina Kreher, an émigré from Salzburg, in 1734, thus strengthening the bond with his community. Since Boltzius married her sister the following year, the two became brothers-in-law. There were four children from Gronau's marriage, two of whom reached adulthood.

literature

  • Franklin Arnold: The Salzburg people in America. In: Yearbook of the Society for the History of Protestantism in Austria. Volume 25. Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, Vienna 1904, pp. 222-261. Digitized
  • C [arl] Fr [anklin] Arnold: The expulsion of the Salzburg Protestants and their acceptance by their fellow believers. A cultural and historical image of the time from the eighteenth century. Verlag Eugen Diederichs, Leipzig 1900. Text archive - Internet Archive
  • Hildegard Binder-Johnson: The attitude of the Salzburg people in Georgia to slavery (1734-1750). In: Communications from the Society for Regional Studies in Salzburg. 78th year of the association 1938. Self-published by the Society for Salzburg Regional Studies, Salzburg 1938, pp. 183–196.
  • Gerhard Gottlieb Günther Göcking: Complete emigration story of those Lutherans who were expelled from the Ertz-Bißthum Saltzburg and who mostly went to Prussia, containing an exact description of both the Ertz-Bißthum Saltzburg and the Kingdom of Prussia and the history that belongs to it before and present times. In addition to accurate country charts. With a preface by Sr. Reverend Johann Lorentz Mosheim, Abbots von Marienthal and Michaelstein. With Königl. Prussian and Chur princes. Brandenburg most gracious privilege. [1. Part]. Christian Ulrich Wagner publisher, Frankfurt / Leipzig 1734. Digitized
  • Gerhard Gottlieb Günther Göcking: The perfect emigration story of those Lutherans who were expelled from the Ertz-Bissthum Saltzburg and who were largely accepted into the Kingdom of Prussia. Zweyter Part, containing an exact description of the Kingdom of Prussia and the history of past and present times that particularly belong here. In addition to an accurate country chart. With Königl. Prussian and Chur princes. Brandenb. most gracious privilege. Christian Ulrich Wagner publisher, Frankfurt / Leipzig 1737. Digitized
  • Dietmar Herz / John David Smith: "Into Danger but also Closer to God." The Salzburgers' Voyage to Georgia. 1733-1734. In: The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Volume 80, No. 1 (Spring 1996). Georgia Historical Society, Athens 1996, pp. 1-26.
  • George Fenwick Jones: The Georgia Dutch. From the Rhine and Danube to the Savannah. 1733-1783. The University of Georgia Press, Athens / London 1992, ISBN 0-8203-1393-9 .
  • George Fenwick Jones: Urlsperger and Eben-Ezer. In: Samuel Urlsperger (1685–1772). Augsburg Pietism between external effects and the internal world. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-05-002824-6 , pp. 191–199
  • George Fenwick Jones: The Salzburg Saga. Religious Exiles and Other Germans Along the Savannah. University of Georgia Press, Athens 1984. ISBN 978-0-8203-0689-6 .
  • Russell C. Kleckley / Jürgen Gröschl (eds.): The Letters of Johann Martin Boltzius. Lutheran pastor in Ebenezer, Georgia. German Pietism in Colonial America. 1733-1765. Edwin Mellen Press Ltd., Lewiston / Queenston / Lampeter 2009. ISBN 978-0-7734-4759-2 .
  • James Van Horn Melton: Religion, Community, and Slavery on the Colonial Southern Frontier. Cambridge Studies on the American South. Cambridge University Press, New York 2015, ISBN 978-1-107-06328-0 .
  • Joann Trodahl: The Salzburger Story and its Legacy in Rincon, Georgia. Kennesaw State University. Dissertations, Thesies and Capstone Project, 2014, p. 38. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who settled in America. In which, in addition to a historical preliminary report of the first and other transports of the same, the travel diary of the Royal British Commissarii and the two Saltzburg preachers, as well as a description of Georgia, also contain various letters pertaining to this. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1735. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): First continuation of the detailed message from those Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. In which the day registers of the two Saltzburg preachers at EbenEzer in Georgia from July 17th 1734 to 1735 ended, with some letters belonging to it included. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1738. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): Second continuation of the detailed message from those Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. What includes I. The day register of the two preachers at EbenEzer in Georgia from the year 1736. II. The Herr von Reck travel diary, when the same went to America in 1735 with the third transport of evangelical emigrants, along with two letters from Neu -England. III. The preacher in EbenEzer letters from 1735 and 1736. IV. Some letters from the Saltzburgers in EbenEzer from 1735, 1737, and 1738. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1739. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): Third continuation of the detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. What includes I. The day register of the two preachers at EbenEzer in Georgia from I. Ian. 1737. until June 30th. 1737. II. The preacher in EbenEzer, as well as some letters from Saltzburg, from the year 1737. 1738. and 1739. III. A brief encouragement to a Christian and voluntary love tax from EbenEzer, & c. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1740. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Fourth continuation of the detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. Which includes: I. The day register of the two preachers at EbenEzer in Georgia from. I. Jul. 1737. except for the 31st Mart. 1739. II. Committed preacher, as well as some Saltzburg and other letters, from the year 1739. III. An extract from Georg Sanftleben's little travel diario, as the same at the end of the Ianuarii in 1739. I went back to Georgia with several colonists. IV. A list of all persons, some of whom lived in EbenEzer on May 19, 1739, and some of whom died in Anno 1734 until then. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1740. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): Fifth continuation of the detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. This includes: I. The daily register of the two preachers at Eben-Ezer in Georgia from April 1st, 1738 to the end of the same year. II. Committed preacher, as well as some Saltzburgers, and especially the Eben-Ezerischen Waysenkinder, also other letters, from the end of the year 1739. and from the beginning of the year 1740. III. A letter of acknowledgment from the Saltzburg colonists in Eben-Ezer to all their previous benefactors in and outside of Germany. The same exhortation letter to their compatriots, especially known and related to them, in and outside the empire. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1740. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Sixth continuation of the detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. This includes: I. The daily register of the two preachers at Eben-Ezer in Georgia from the year 1739. II. Committed preacher, as well as other letters from the year 1740. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1741. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): Seventh continuation of the detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. This includes: I. The daily register of the two Messrs. Preachers zu Eben-Ezer from the year 1740. II. The same, as well as other letters written there from the year 1740. and 1741. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1741. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Eighth continuation of the detailed reports from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. It contains: I. The register of days of the two preachers at Eben-Ezer, from the first six months of the 1741 year. II. The same, as well as other letters written from there from the year 1741. III. Reliable news of the condition of the Saltzburg emigrants established in Prussia and Litthauen, and the same letter to the Eben-Ezer community. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1742. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Ninth continuation of the detailed reports from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. What it contains are I. The daily register of the two gentlemen Preachers at Eben-Ezer, from Isten. Jul. to 12th November of the 1741th year. II. A day register from Mr. Commissarii Joh. Gottfried von Müllern. III. The same from Mr. Vigera, the first of whom led the 4th transport from Augspurg to London, but the other from there to EbenEzer under God's guidance. IV. Some letters written there from the year 1742. V. Reliable news from the one in Jul. 1742. The Spaniards invaded the Georgian province, and God's marvelous provision was made for it. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1743. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Tenth continuation of the detailed reports from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. What it contains: I. The rest of the day register of the two preachers in Eben-Ezer, from November 13th to December 31st. of the 1741th year. II. Some letters written from there for the year 1741. III. The daily register of the two preachers from Eben-Ezer, from January 1st to March 31st of the 1742th year, IV. Extracts of some letters from the preachers, as well as several members of the community at Eben-Ezer. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1744. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Eleventh continuation of the detailed reports from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. Wherein I. The rest of the day register of the EbenEzerischen gentlemen preachers of the year. 1742. II. A small travel journal from Mr. Past. Bolzius to and from Charles Town included. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1745. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): Twelfth continuation of the detailed reports from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. In which the register of days of the EbenEzerischen gentlemen preachers from the beginning of the year 1743 up to the end of the same is contained. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1746. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (ed.): The thirteen continuation of the detailed reports of the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America, First part: In which the letters of Messrs. Preachers Bolzius and Lemke, especially the first of the years 1744, 1745 and 1746 and among these there is a thorough objection to Mr. Bolzius of the harmfulness of introducing black slaves into a colony. Along with a country chart of Georgia and a plan by Neu-Eben-Ezer. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1747. Digitized
  • Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): The thirteen-thirteen continuation of their detailed reports from the Salzburg emigrants who have settled in America, part two: Wherein contained: I. The daily register of Mr. Prediger, Boltzius, to EbenEzer, from January 17th to now June of the 1747th year. II. Some letters written from there from the years 1746, 1747 and 1748. III. Description of the annual thanksgiving festival celebrated in EbenEzer, 10th Merz, 1744. IIII. Copies of the respective vocations and instructions given by the Preachers in EbenEzer, Bolzius and Gronau. Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle 1749. Digitized

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Association for pastors in the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony e. V. in cooperation with the Interdisciplinary Center for Pietism Research of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in connection with the Francke Foundations in Halle and the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony (publisher): Parish Book of the Church Province of Saxony . tape 3 (Fe-Ha biograms). Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-374-02135-2 , p. 382 .
  2. ↑ Fritz Jundtke (Ed.): Matriculation Book of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg . In: Works from the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt in Halle ad Saale . tape 1 (1690-1730) . Verlag Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Halle (Saale) 1960, p. 186 .
  3. ↑ a b George Fenwick Jones: Urlsperger and Eben-Ezer . In: Samuel Urlsperger (1685–1772). Augsburg Pietism between external effects and the internal world . Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-05-002824-6 , pp. 193 .
  4. ^ Letter from Gotthilf August Francke to [Christian Ernst von Stolberg-Wernigerode] from November 1733. Franckesche Stiftungen zu Halle (Saale), Study Center August Hermann Francke - Archive, June 6, 2016, accessed on July 11, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Gerhard Gottlieb Günther Göcking: The perfect emigration story of those Lutherans expelled from the Ertz-Bissthum Saltzburg and largely accepted into the Kingdom of Prussia. Zweyter Part, containing an exact description of the Kingdom of Prussia and the history of past and present times that particularly belong here. In addition to an accurate country chart. With Königl. Prussian and Chur princes. Brandenb. most gracious privilege . Publisher Christian Ulrich Wagner, Frankfurt / Leipzig 1737, p. 542 .
  6. ^ Gerhard Florey: History of the Salzburg emigrants and their emigration 1731/32. Studies and texts on church history and history. First row. In cooperation with the Institute for Protestant Church History, Vienna . tape 2 . Verlag Hermann Böhlaus Nachf., Vienna / Cologne / Graz 1977, ISBN 3-205-08188-9 , p. 184-185 .
  7. ↑ instructions from Samuel Urlsperger for Israel Christian Gronau of their duties and obligations as an adjunct of the pastor and catechist of the community Salzburg emigrants in Georgia from (31st October) 1733. Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale), Study Center August Hermann Francke - archive, 22 February 2010, accessed July 11, 2016 .
  8. ^ Letter from Johann Martin Boltzius and Israel Christian Gronau to Gotthilf August Francke dated November 11, 1733. Franckesche Stiftungen zu Halle (Saale), Study Center August Hermann Francke - Archive, June 6, 2016, accessed on July 11, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Joann Trodahl: The Salzburger Story and is Legacy in Rincon, Georgia. 38. In: Kennesaw State University. Dissertations, Thesies and Capstone Project. 2014, accessed on July 11, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Carol Ebel: Johann Martin Boltzius (1703-1765). In: New Georgia Encyclopedia. History & Archeology. September 3, 2015, accessed July 11, 2016 .
  11. ^ Letter from Israel Christian Gronau to Gotthilf August Francke dated December 11, 1734. Franckesche Stiftungen zu Halle (Saale), Study Center August Hermann Francke - Archive, May 12, 2015, accessed on July 11, 2016 .
  12. ^ Letter from Israel Christian Gronau to Gotthilf August Francke dated June 9, 1737. In: Franckesche Stiftungen zu Halle (Saale), Study Center August Hermann Francke - Archive. June 6, 2016, accessed July 11, 2016 .
  13. ^ The correspondence of Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg. From the early days of German Lutheranism in North America . In: Kurt Aland in connection with Beate Köster and Karl-Otto Strohmidel (ed.): Texts on the history of Pietism. Commissioned by the Historical Commission for the Study of Pietism. Dept. III. August Hermann Francke. Handwritten estate . tape 4 (1769-1776) . Verlag Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1993, ISBN 3-11-012842-X , p. 195 .
  14. ↑ Samuel Urlsperger (Ed.): Fourth continuation of the detailed message from the Saltzburg emigrants who have settled in America. Which includes: I. The day register of the two preachers at EbenEzer in Georgia from. I. Jul. 1737. except for the 31st Mart. 1739. II. Committed preacher, as well as some Saltzburg and other letters, from the year 1739. III. An extract from Georg Sanftleben's little travel diario, as the same at the end of the Ianuarii in 1739. I went back to Georgia with several colonists. IV. A list of all persons, some of whom lived in EbenEzer on May 19, 1739, and some of whom died in Anno 1734 until then . Verlag Waisenhaus, Halle (Saale) 1740, p. 2083-2086 .
  15. ^ A b George Fenwick Jones: The Georgia Dutch. From the Rhine and Danube to the Savannah. 1733-1783 . The University of Georgia Press, Athens / London 1992, ISBN 0-8203-1393-9 , pp. 125 .
personal data
SURNAME Gronau, Israel Christian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gronau, Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Lutheran pastor in Georgia
DATE OF BIRTH March 11, 1714
PLACE OF BIRTH Kroppenstedt
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1745
Place of death New Ebenezer , Georgia