Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-10-01
NUMBER %.
Bohemia Mane<s

IT'S EARLY sETTLEMEsT BY THE tsLAAAnlsTs. -
Mr.. William t. Readof New Castle raad before
small but appreciatiye audience. nt the Scientific
Lecture Room of the Institute, Thursday evening,
IN address prepared for the Historical Society He
stated that the facts had been CLEANED from pub
llcation of the Long Island Historical Society,
issued In 1867, entitled j" Journal Of aVoyagB to
New York, and Tour through several of the
American Colonies, in 1679-80 ! by Jasper Dank-
crs, and Peter Siuyter, of Wiewird In Friesland."
The translator, Mr.. Murphey, had added to this
an Introduction stating further facts.
The Labadists were Communisticsect, formed
In Europe by the preachings of Jean de Labadie,
Jesuit priest, born near Bordeaux, In France,i in
1910, who passed successfully to the Jausenists,
the Cramelite friars, Protestantism, and tho Cal
numerous community OF Amsterdam. Continued
persecution drove hisfollowers to Herfurdt Abbey,
in Westphalia, where they for time enjoyed the
protection of its abbess, Elizabeth, daughter OF
the Elector Palatine, until the Imperial Diet or
dered their expulsinn. They then went TO Altoona
in Denmark, where In 1874 de labadie died, and
finally to Wiewird In Friesland. Thence some
went to the Dutch settlements In Surinam, and
finally bankers and Sluyter, having been directed
to explore Delaware and Maryland, arrived in
this country, and started from New Castle across
the head of the Peninsula, In 1879. They finally
reported In favor Of what was called Bohemia
Manor, lying partly in Delaware, but mostly In
Maryland, between the Bohemia and Elk rivers,
at the head of Chesapeake Boy. This tract con-
tanning about %, 900 acres, had been granted by
Lord Baltimore to Augustine Herman, OF Bohe-
mia, surveyor, who had surveyed and made
map of Maryland. His son Ephraim, by the in
fuence of bankers and Sluyter, became con-
vert, and persuaded his father to make gift of
$3.50 to the proposed colonlsts. The latter at
length came over from Wiewird, several families
In number. Buildings were erected; Sluyter pro-
claimed himself Bishop, and his wife Abbess.
The whole of them, men, women, and children,
never numbered over q hundred. They held
their property In common and lived with great
austerity and modification. New converts con-
tributed their possessions to the public stock.
They cultivated tobacco, of which they had con-
siderable plantations, and manufactured linen,
but seem never as community to have pros
pered, though sluyter, who It appears Violated
his own rules and held separate property, became
very wealthy. Finally, the community at Vic
wird having dissolved, that at Bohemia followed
A partial division Of the properly was made In
July 1893 three "necks" OF land being con-
yeyed to Herman Won Berhclan, Nicholas de 10
Montaigne, Peter de Koning Derrick Kolchman,
John Moll, Jr., Hendrick Sluyter, and Samuel
Bayard. sluyter kept one meek" In his own
of his sect, and directed by bis will that be should
be buried in the garden OF the "grcat house. of
the society, on the Manor, where several other
members were already inferred.
This contribution by Mr.. Read to our early
history is interesting and valuable. At the close
of his address, on motion of Mr.. Aikman, q vote
of thanks was rendered him, and q copy requested
for filing in the archives of the Historical Society.