page_title: Benjamin Ingham
section_title: Missionary Work in Georgia
hierarchical_section_title: Benjamin Ingham / Missionary Work in Georgia
caption_attribution_description: English: The settlement of New Ebenezer in the Englisch colony of Georgia, founded 1736. Text: German artist Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck drew a map of New Ebenezer during his visit to the settlement in 1736. New Ebenezer, located on the bluffs above the Savannah River, was the second settlement established by the Georgia Salzburgers, a group of Protestants expelled from the Catholic province of Salzburg in 1731. Deutsch: Die Siedlung New Ebenezer in der englischen Kolonie Georgia, gegründet 1736. Bar: S'Doaf New Ebenezer in da englischn Koloni Georgia, grünt 1736 Español: El puelbo New Ebenezer in la colonía inglesa de Georgia, fondado en 1736
context_page_description: Benjamin Ingham was an English cleric who was the founder of the Moravian Church in England as well as his own Inghamite societies.
  He was born and raised in the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. He earned his B.A. degree from Oxford University, and was ordained at age 23. Methodist connections from Oxford led to a colonial mission in America where he developed a keen interest in the Moravian church from German missionaries. Following a 1738 visit to Germany for greater exposure to the Moravian faith, Ingham returned to preaching in Yorkshire for the next four years. During this time he built up a following of more societies than he could manage. Ingham relinquished control of his societies to the Moravian Brethren in 1742. Ingham’s Moravian transformation occurred the year following his marriage to Lady Margaret Hastings. The Moravians, or Unitas Fratrum, were recognized by the British Crown in 1749 thereby creating the Moravian Church in England. While Ingham’s bond with his Brethren strengthened, it was a relationship that was to evolve. By the early 1750s Ingham found his views differing from the Oxford Methodists.
context_section_description: On 9 June 1732 [O.S.], King George II of Great Britain enacted a corporate charter authorizing James Oglethorpe to colonize the Province of Georgia.  Oglethorpe planted his original colony near an Indian village along the banks of the Savannah River.  The city that later formed here took on the name of the river that flowed past.  Tomochichi, a Yamacraw chief, together with John and Mary Musgrove (outpost traders), were instrumental to Oglethorpe as mediators and interpreters in the establishment of peaceful relations between the original European settlers in Georgia and the Lower Creek people.
  Word travelled quickly throughout Europe that both land and English citizenship were available in Georgia.  Count Nicolous Ludwig von Zinzendorf arranged for August Gottlieb Spangenberg to lead a party of 10 Moravians to the province in January 1736, just ahead of Oglethorpe’s return.  Scotch Highlanders sailed from Inverness aboard the Prince of Wales in October.  They arrived in January 1736 and established their town of New Inverness.  Rev. John McLeod was their minister. After a four-month stay in England, Tomochichi's Creek party returned to Georgia with the first group of 56 Salzburgers.
  During his return to Georgia, Oglethorpe’s party of 231 persons set sail from Gravesend, Kent in December aboard the brigs Simond and London Merchant. They were accompanied on part of their journey by the sloop HMS Hawke. Among the passengers were the brothers, John and Charles Wesley, Benjamin Ingham, Chas. Delamotte, 26 Moravians led by their bishop, David Nitschman, and a second group of Salzburgers headed by Baron Philip George Friederich von Reck. There were many other nationalities represented in this group of immigrants.  These colonists arrived off Savannah on 8 February 1736 [O.S.].
  During the first months ashore, this second wave of colonists established fortifications and dwellings among and around the various settlements as they adjusted to their Georgian setting.  The community leaders incessantly communicated with one another discussing future plans.  The Moravian Brethren, at the inclination of Oglethorpe, built a schoolhouse near Tomochichi’s village to teach reading and writing to the Creek children.  The site was named Irene, and was built over the grave of an earlier chief.  John Töltschig led five other Moravians to the island location and started the construction on 13 August 1736 [N.S.]. The building had three rooms: one for Benjamin Ingham, one for Peter Rose and his wife, and the third would be the schoolroom for the children.  The hut was finished the next month allowing the mission to proceed.  This arrangement initially worked well for all parties.  Benjamin Ingham acted as liaison between the main settlement in Savannah and this school, where he and the Roses instructed the children.
  The Indian village went on the warpath, and Ingham sailed to England, via Pennsylvania on 9 March 1737 [N.S.].  He returned to London to rally support for the colony.  In his possession were letters from Spangenberg to the Trustees of the Province of Georgia.  John Wesley followed Ingham to London some months later. Upon John Wesley’s return, the two journeyed with John Töltschig to Marienborn, home of Zinzendorf, and Herrnhut for greater exposure to Moravian Christianity. John Wesley was replaced by George Whitefield as Oglethorpe’s Chaplain to Georgia.
caption: 1736 Map of New Ebenezer drawn by Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck.  This Salzburger community was located about 15 miles upriver from Savannah, Georgia.
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