Year: 1877

as al DOHtutlGHs


CHAPTER IN.


THE LABADIsTS.


The Ladadists we must now speak of,
ished in the latter pa,t Of the seventeenth
century and took their name from their
founder, John Labadie. who was. at one
time, a Jesuit priest, and afterwards en-
braced the doctrines of Calvin. He seems
to have been hard TO please in matters of
religious faith, and probably because he
did not find the creed of any religious sect
adapted to his peculiar views, he originated
one himself, which was better adapted to
his wishes and wants. One great distinc-
tive feature of the Labadie creed was, that
the believers in his doctrines should live in
communities of themselves. In accordance
with this tenet of their faith, they had estab-
lished a community at Wiewert, in Den
mark. and being full of zeal aud mission
ary enterprise, had established, or tried to
establish, another community at Surinam,
but the climate and country proving unfav-
orable, they We're soon forced to abandon
the enterprise at the latter place. The
community at Wiewert sent two of their
number, Peter Slayter, alias Noorsman,
and Jasper bankers, alias Schlders. to
America in the latter part of the year 1879,
and they spent part of that and the fol-
lowing year in "spyng out a good loca
ton for the colony. They travelled to-
gether and bankers kept journal during
this visit, in which he described the coun-
try through which they passed and speaks
of the people with whom they were thrown
in contact


They landed in New York, where they
first met Ephram Herman, the eldest son
of Augustine Herman, who had recently
been married and had not yet taken his
wife to New Castle, where he then lived.
/ They state that Ephraim and his wife rode
upon the same horse while making the
journey from New York to New Castle.


Their journal was found in the posses
sion of book seller in Amsterdam few
years ago. In what manner it had been
preserved could not be ascertained, but it
is probable that it passed from the hands
of some member of the community of Laba
dists at Wiewert, and after the lapse of
many years ceased to be appreciated and
fell into the hands of the book seller, where
the secretary of the Long Island Historical
Society found it. The Society had it trans
. I ~, bo Oh, J;ct.
at Bohemia Manor were so intimately con
nected with the early history of Cecil
county, ard were the only colony of these
strange people that was established in the
United States, the reader, we hope, will ex-
cuse US for quoting largely from it and for
saving much about the Labadists and their
doings upon Bohemia Manor when they
lived there nearly two hundred years ago.
These two Labadists appear to have been
on intimate terms with young Herman soon
after they first met him. They travelled in
company with him and his wife, as before
stated, from New York to Chester, and
afterwards stopped at his house during
their sojourn in New Castle, he having
left them at Chester and arrived at New
Castle first. They stopped a short time in
the vicinity of Wilmington and speak of
many medlar trees growing there which
bore good fruit, from which liquor was
distilled that they speak of tasting, and
say it was better than the best French
brandy. Vincent speaks of the medlar in
bis history of Delaware, and says that it
was fruit quite common and very plenty
doubt it was raised to a limited extent in
our county. One peculiarity of this fruit,
which bore some resemblance to pear in
size and shape, was tnat it was not eaten
till partially rotten.


During the sojourn of these travellers at
New Castle they appear to have ingratiated
themselves into the good graces of Ephraim
Herman, who became convert to their
religion. They also speak of his sister
Margaret, who then lived with him, in
way that leads us to think they hoped to
proselyte her. Whether she became men,
ber of the community on the Manor we
have not been able to learn, but it is pro.
bable she did not, because her father, who
at first treated the Labadists with respect,
and who, it appears, gave them some en-
couragement, had reason to regret having
done so. They speak of Ephraim Her
mans wife as having the quietest disposi.
tion of any person they met with in Amer
ica, and no doubt their efforts to convert
her to the Labadie faith and the influence
they had over her had much to do with the
conversion of her husband. They repre-
sent him to have been very goddess and wild
in his early life, but say he had become
reformed at the time of their visit. He
was man of much distinction, and was
not only clerk of the court at New Castle
and Chester, but also surveyor and clerk
of permits and customs on the Delaware,
and receiver of quit rents within the .juris-
diction of the courts before mentioned.


After obtaining passport or letters of
credit and introduction from Mons Mol,
Mr.. Aldrix and Ephraim Herman, who
were the dignitaries of the court at New
Castle, they left there in company with Mr..
Moll to visit his plantation, which was
about fifteen miles from New Castle, in
the direction of Casparus Herman's place,
which was on the Delaware river, near the
head of the bay.* Speaking of Mr.. Moll's
plantation, bankers says: "There were no
persons there, except some servants and
negroes, the commander being a Partisan.
The dwellings were very badly appointed,
especially for such man as Mons. Mol
There was no place to retire to, nor a chair
to sit on, or a bed to sleep on. For their
usual food the servants have nothing but
maize bread to eat, and water to drink
which sometimes is not very good, and
scarcely enough for life. Yet they are
compelled to work hard and TO spend their
lives here and in Virginia and elsewhere in
planting that pile tobacco, achich uanishes
into smoke, and is, for the most part, mis-