Madison was right. Free exercise is God’s own way of letting His own “choose this day Whom we will serve.” Men should not appropriate by compulsion that which God granted freely in conscience and spirit.
And as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, the One God Almighty, by the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for sharing this important piece of history that apparently goes under the radar for many, including me. Every American citizen should read it.
I was also reminded of the recent act by President Trump cutting off public funding to PBS and NPR. I was very glad indeed that tax monies supplied by American citizens were no longer automatically routed to the woke, anti-Biblical, anti-God religion of the lefty leftists and its practitioners/propagandists.
I count 8 different schools I attended grades 1 - 12 in the 70s and 80s. Of those 8, at least 5 have been rebuilt, relocated, or closed/demolished altogether. The areas in which I grew up in my home state are barely recognizable to me whenever I go back; and there are fewer and fewer reasons to do so.
It's a reminder that I am getting older, and it feels as though the historical markers of my existence have faded. There's something to be said for preserving old buildings as historical markers, and I salute those showing the skill, discipline, and dedication to keep old places like the church in such fine shape.
Loved this. I recently finished teaching a course in America's Founding Documents. I tried to fill that course with local stories that ended up being turning points in history. I will add this one! Thank you.
It's also a testament to sovereign men and women who understood and exercised their rights as human beings, created equal by the Creator. They didn't learn about these rights in civics class, they learned them from their Christian texts.
As a lover of early American history, I loved this account & can easily picture the whole setting. Thank-you very much for providing this slice of American & Virginian history. I am already looking forward to the next part. If you are interested in the broader account of the years preceding, during, & following the Revolution, I recommend the book, "Revolution" by Eric Metaxas, which is a recent release. He wrote it to tell the story of the founding of our country, in time for our 250th anniversary. It is very compelling & you will learn things in this book that you will not learn elsewhere. It is about 600 pigs. & I am only half-way through it. It is hard to put down.
I appreciate this, & I know I will learn so much about the historic value of Virginia. The past 6 years, I have used Familysearch.org to trace family history, & found out I have many patriots in VA, & the information has been valuable to know, & pass on to my Grandchildren!
So cool! I am descended on my paternal side from those hijacked passengers. My great grandmother, "Kittie" Broyles ancestors, were part of that group. Broyles is not the original spelling. I think it was something like Bruelle, Breil. But also Yowells, and Blankenbaker etc. According to research done by my Great Aunt, Jess Puckett, youngest daughter of Kittie, they were indeed forced to work for Spotswood for about 8 years from 1717. John Broyles was the original immigrant, along with his wife Ursula. I believe the whole "group" did move west as soon as they could. My ancestors, were members of the Hebron church. Broyles's eventually founded Broylesville in Tennessee. My 2nd grt. grandfather, Manley Broyles, b.1839, came west after the Civil War, ending up in Chico, Calif. I am so appreciative of your article. It adds alot to what I know of Germana, and I had no idea about the meeting at the Hebron church.
As always, grateful for your research and your time and energy. Blessings to both of you and all who value and support your many endeavors to open our eyes, minds and hearts to truth and light .
What a nice change-of-pace essay for leisurely Sunday afternoon reading. Seeing the nearly contemporaneous accounts of the of folks who lived in the early years of our Republic's evolution and revolution adds valuable context to our understanding of our history.
Fascinating history! Hillsdale College has a free online history of the American Revolution that fills in an awful lot that I never learned in high school. Definitely worth watching.
They have an entire curriculum to study the Revolution, the Constitution, and all of our history before, between, and after. I wish I'd known about them when I was attending college. I wouldn't have felt so alone. :)
Interesting. This might help to explain why my ancestors kept going past Virginia, and continued on to North Carolina, finally settling in the mountains. Also, none of them that I know of were either Anglican, Episcopalian, or Baptist.
Lovely. So appropriate considering that the Steuben Day parade was just yesterday in NYC. Needless to say, the Mayor did not show. In the past, Mayor Adams always did. Thank you for the history. Quite a story.
Sarcastic alert: So assuming the Germans were white it would appear the early Virginians were not racist when it came to slave labor. When you consider all the obstacles these people had to endure (had to wait for the ship’s captain to bail himself out of debtors prison) & there were no government assistance programs or apps on the other end, it is nothing short of a miracle anything got done.
Most indentured servants--another name for slavery with a supposed end date--were white. Many masters cheated, starve, and beat them. Color was no barrier.
Some historians have noted that indentures often did not survive because the masters had no long-term investment in them, whereas keeping a slave alive paid off over a long time.
Another nuance that had long lasting effects, and that those who think slavery was restricted to black Americans don't consider. Something I hadn't considered, either, and I've been aware for a very long time that slavery was world wide and its origins lost in antiquity. Thanks for that.
An aside but relevant to your observation: Most Americans do not know that federal government census records show that 94.6% of residents of the 11 confederate slaves did not own ONE single slave. Of the remaining households, the vast majority had 1-5 slaves. You have to copy the handwritten record into a spreadsheet and calculate to get this information. I did so to verify what was reported by Sen. Jim Webb in his book on the Scots-Irish in America. As for some other cultures, Saudi Arabia and Yemen did not outlaw slavery until 1962, after which they imported vast numbers of foreign workers (slaves by any other name?) to do all the work.
I love the way you write together. And yes,
Madison was right. Free exercise is God’s own way of letting His own “choose this day Whom we will serve.” Men should not appropriate by compulsion that which God granted freely in conscience and spirit.
And as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, the One God Almighty, by the spirit of Jesus Christ.
(Citing Joshua 24:15)
Thank you for sharing this important piece of history that apparently goes under the radar for many, including me. Every American citizen should read it.
I was also reminded of the recent act by President Trump cutting off public funding to PBS and NPR. I was very glad indeed that tax monies supplied by American citizens were no longer automatically routed to the woke, anti-Biblical, anti-God religion of the lefty leftists and its practitioners/propagandists.
Beautiful! Thought provoking! Thank you for sharing this inspiring history. Very timely! Looking forward to your next.
Wonderful essay.
Now, if only we could stop pouring tax money into teachers unions, which are a religion unto themselves.
yeah, that gets me thinking. . . how could the semantics be engineered to reflect unions as such BEING essentially, a religion.
Maybe a first step in disgorging them.
I count 8 different schools I attended grades 1 - 12 in the 70s and 80s. Of those 8, at least 5 have been rebuilt, relocated, or closed/demolished altogether. The areas in which I grew up in my home state are barely recognizable to me whenever I go back; and there are fewer and fewer reasons to do so.
It's a reminder that I am getting older, and it feels as though the historical markers of my existence have faded. There's something to be said for preserving old buildings as historical markers, and I salute those showing the skill, discipline, and dedication to keep old places like the church in such fine shape.
similar instances for me but not so much, perhaps.
Grade school in the Catholic school, still there. But, of FOUR Catholic churches, the ONLY one left in this town of 15,000 people.
High School still standing. but, another Catholic grade school, convent, and church-- completely demolished, flat land.
Loved this. I recently finished teaching a course in America's Founding Documents. I tried to fill that course with local stories that ended up being turning points in history. I will add this one! Thank you.
It's also a testament to sovereign men and women who understood and exercised their rights as human beings, created equal by the Creator. They didn't learn about these rights in civics class, they learned them from their Christian texts.
As a lover of early American history, I loved this account & can easily picture the whole setting. Thank-you very much for providing this slice of American & Virginian history. I am already looking forward to the next part. If you are interested in the broader account of the years preceding, during, & following the Revolution, I recommend the book, "Revolution" by Eric Metaxas, which is a recent release. He wrote it to tell the story of the founding of our country, in time for our 250th anniversary. It is very compelling & you will learn things in this book that you will not learn elsewhere. It is about 600 pigs. & I am only half-way through it. It is hard to put down.
Yes, thank you Debra for the suggestion for the above book.
You're welcome, Patricia. If you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
I appreciate this, & I know I will learn so much about the historic value of Virginia. The past 6 years, I have used Familysearch.org to trace family history, & found out I have many patriots in VA, & the information has been valuable to know, & pass on to my Grandchildren!
I did not know about Familysearch.org. I will have to check it out. Thanks for letting me know about it.
thanks Debra. I have other books by Metaxas, will acquire this one based on your fine recommendation.
You will not be disappointed, pretty-red, old guy. The detailed information, is nothing short of astonishing at times.
So cool! I am descended on my paternal side from those hijacked passengers. My great grandmother, "Kittie" Broyles ancestors, were part of that group. Broyles is not the original spelling. I think it was something like Bruelle, Breil. But also Yowells, and Blankenbaker etc. According to research done by my Great Aunt, Jess Puckett, youngest daughter of Kittie, they were indeed forced to work for Spotswood for about 8 years from 1717. John Broyles was the original immigrant, along with his wife Ursula. I believe the whole "group" did move west as soon as they could. My ancestors, were members of the Hebron church. Broyles's eventually founded Broylesville in Tennessee. My 2nd grt. grandfather, Manley Broyles, b.1839, came west after the Civil War, ending up in Chico, Calif. I am so appreciative of your article. It adds alot to what I know of Germana, and I had no idea about the meeting at the Hebron church.
do you live in Madison now?
No, I was born in Eastern Oregon, where Kittie married and raised her 12 children. I now live in Northern Colorado.
As always, grateful for your research and your time and energy. Blessings to both of you and all who value and support your many endeavors to open our eyes, minds and hearts to truth and light .
What a nice change-of-pace essay for leisurely Sunday afternoon reading. Seeing the nearly contemporaneous accounts of the of folks who lived in the early years of our Republic's evolution and revolution adds valuable context to our understanding of our history.
Fascinating history! Hillsdale College has a free online history of the American Revolution that fills in an awful lot that I never learned in high school. Definitely worth watching.
They have an entire curriculum to study the Revolution, the Constitution, and all of our history before, between, and after. I wish I'd known about them when I was attending college. I wouldn't have felt so alone. :)
great information, I am a Virginian and never heard this history. Thank you
What a beautiful and well-illustrated historical account! Thank you.
Interesting. This might help to explain why my ancestors kept going past Virginia, and continued on to North Carolina, finally settling in the mountains. Also, none of them that I know of were either Anglican, Episcopalian, or Baptist.
Lovely. So appropriate considering that the Steuben Day parade was just yesterday in NYC. Needless to say, the Mayor did not show. In the past, Mayor Adams always did. Thank you for the history. Quite a story.
Sarcastic alert: So assuming the Germans were white it would appear the early Virginians were not racist when it came to slave labor. When you consider all the obstacles these people had to endure (had to wait for the ship’s captain to bail himself out of debtors prison) & there were no government assistance programs or apps on the other end, it is nothing short of a miracle anything got done.
that point is often overlooked.
Most indentured servants--another name for slavery with a supposed end date--were white. Many masters cheated, starve, and beat them. Color was no barrier.
Some historians have noted that indentures often did not survive because the masters had no long-term investment in them, whereas keeping a slave alive paid off over a long time.
Another nuance that had long lasting effects, and that those who think slavery was restricted to black Americans don't consider. Something I hadn't considered, either, and I've been aware for a very long time that slavery was world wide and its origins lost in antiquity. Thanks for that.
An aside but relevant to your observation: Most Americans do not know that federal government census records show that 94.6% of residents of the 11 confederate slaves did not own ONE single slave. Of the remaining households, the vast majority had 1-5 slaves. You have to copy the handwritten record into a spreadsheet and calculate to get this information. I did so to verify what was reported by Sen. Jim Webb in his book on the Scots-Irish in America. As for some other cultures, Saudi Arabia and Yemen did not outlaw slavery until 1962, after which they imported vast numbers of foreign workers (slaves by any other name?) to do all the work.