Ebenezer Colonies
Encyclopedia
The Ebenezer Colonies consisted of settlements of Inspirationists
in what is now the town of West Seneca near the city of Buffalo in western New York State. The Inspirationists migrated here from Germany in 1843. In 1855 they began to leave for Iowa, where they established the Amana Colonies
. By 1865 they were gone.
lost the gift of Inspiration, Christian Metz
was left as the sole leader of the Inspirationists.
During the final years that the Inspirationists lived in Europe, the main task facing Christian Metz was moving them from persecution to safety. Persecution came about because the Inspirationists refused to report for military duty, they refused to take oaths, and they refused to send their children to the schools established by the state. The authorities arrested and fined them. Mobs threw stones through the windows of their meeting houses. People on the street assaulted them verbally and physically.
Christian Metz led the Inspirationists to Hesse in Germany, where—for awhile, at least—they could live and work in peace. In the 1840s, however, peace began to elude them. Revolution was abroad in Europe, and the ruling classes felt threatened by nonconformists. The rulers began to take away, one by one, the Inspirationists' cherished liberties. Parents had to pay fines for keeping their children out of public schools; and the fines, especially for families with several children, became unbearable. Rents kept rising, and land became too expensive to buy. The very elements turned against the Inspirationists, since excessive heat and drought left them with nothing to gather at harvest time.
They endured many hardships during their voyage, which lasted almost forty days. They reached the harbor of New York in late October, 1842. Their hardships did not cease once they reached land; for three months they suffered winter cold while examining tracts of land in New York State. They inspected and rejected a tract on the shores of Chautauqua Lake. Finally they signed a contract to buy from the Ogden Land Company 5000 acres (20.2 km²) at $10.50 an acre. The tract was part of the Buffalo Creek Reservation, formerly owned by the Seneca Indians. The Company claimed that the Senecas had sold them the reservation in 1838. Manley (2010) suggests that the Company's claim was fraudulent.
Shortly after the Inspirationists purchased the tract, Christian Metz delivered a testimony that named the tract: "Ebenezer."
The Inspirationists bought some time by paying the Senecas $900 for a year of peace. During this time, the Inspirationists asked the Ogden Company for a deed; but the Company also lacked a deed; they had not yet sent to Washington the purchase price for the reservation. They were unable to do so until they had in hand the money that the Inspirationists had contracted to pay. The Inspirationists raised $50,000 and sent it to Washington. A few months later, Washington notified the Senecas that they no longer owned the land. The Senecas, however, were in no hurry to leave. They brought their case before the courts of New York, which decided, after a period of several years, in favor of the Ebenezer Community. This decision put an end to the Indian Troubles. The Senecas migrated to the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in Southwest Erie County.
The profits from all these enterprises went to the Community as a whole. In a provisional constitution and later in a permanent constitution, the Inspirationists agreed that all land and all improvements, everything with the exception of clothing and household goods, should be held in common. Their decision was supported by Scripture:
Their decision was also supported by testimonies delivered by Christian Metz.
Thus the Inspirationists were able to pay for the voyages of members who could not otherwise afford to come to America.
The migration from Europe was substantially finished by the summer of 1844. More than 800 people had come over. Some Inspirationists remained in Germany. Their ties to friends, relatives, and the land were perhaps too strong. Communication between Germany and America ceased by degrees.
In 1854 Christian Metz delivered a testimony: the Inspirationists should direct their eyes to the West in order to find a new home. The Elders hesitated. Christian Metz delivered further testimonies: many opportunities had already been lost; and four representatives should now be appointed to search for a new home in the West.
The Elders appointed a committee of four, including Christian Metz, to make the search. The committee journeyed to the Territory of Kansas, which had recently been opened up for settlement. They spent a month there, inspecting tracts of land recommended by land agents; but they were unable to come to a decision. They returned to Ebenezer, much discouraged.
After more discussions, the Elders appointed a committee of two to go to the new State of Iowa and there inspect the large tracts of land that belonged to the government. Upon reaching the present location of the Amana Colonies, the committee sent back such glowing descriptions that the Elders dispatched a third committee of four who were authorized to purchase land. This committee secured a tract of nearly 18000 acres (72.8 km²), more than twice the size of the current tract in New York State. The price of this land was $1.25 to $2.50 an acre if purchased from the government, and $3.00 to $5.00 an acre if purchased from earlier settlers. Thus it was far cheaper than the original tract in New York State, which cost $10.50 an acre. Furthermore, the land was much more amenable to farming.
The Inspirationists laid out the first village in the Iowa tract during the summer of 1855, on a hillside north of the Iowa River. They called it "Amana," which means "believe faithfully." In that same year, the Lord gave His approval of this name in a testimony delivered by Christian Metz. Within another seven years, five more villages were laid out within a radius of six miles (10 km) from what came to be known as Main Amana: West Amana, South Amana, High Amana, East Amana, and Middle Amana.
The Inspirationists sold their land in the Ebenezer Colonies piece by piece, a task which required much time and patience. To their business credit, it is recorded that they were able to dispose of their land and all its improvements, without the loss of a single dollar. They completed their migration to Iowa in 1865, ten years after they founded their first village there.
Historical Markers (2010) contains photographs of two structures built by the Inspirationists. The house at 12 School Street belonged to Christian Metz. Google Maps on 6/8/10 shows the structure still standing. A meeting house built by the group was moved from what is now the parking lot of Fourteen Holy Helpers Roman Catholic Church to its present site, 919 Mill Road. There it houses the West Seneca Historical Society and Museum. Historical Society and Museum (2010) contains a photograph of the kitchen display, which includes a colonist scrub board and a mannequin wearing a colonist dress.
The West Seneca Town Seal (2010) depicts, among other things, a boundary marker from the Ebenezer Colonies and the Christian Metz home on School Street.
Recipes of the Old Ebenezers (2010) tells how the colonists made cream cake, hot potato salad, oatmeal cookies, raw potato dumplings, sauerbraten, and fritters.
Inspirationalists
The Inspirationalists were a group of Germans, Swiss and Austrians from a number of backgrounds and soci-economic areas who settled in West Seneca, New York, after purchasing land from an Indian reservation...
in what is now the town of West Seneca near the city of Buffalo in western New York State. The Inspirationists migrated here from Germany in 1843. In 1855 they began to leave for Iowa, where they established the Amana Colonies
Amana Colonies
The Amana Colonies are a group of settlements of radical German Pietists in Iowa, USA, comprising seven villages. Calling themselves the Ebenezer Society or the Community of True Inspiration , they first settled in New York state near Buffalo in what is now the Town of West Seneca...
. By 1865 they were gone.
Christian Metz Gathers the Inspirationists in Hesse
After both Michael Krausert and Barbara Heinemann LandmannBarbara Heinemann Landmann
Barbara Heinemann Landmann was twice a Werkzeug, or Instrument, for the Community of True Inspiration. A Werkzeug, under the influence of the gift of Inspiration, conveys the word of the Lord to believers. Barbara was first a Werkzeug in Germany and in Alsace...
lost the gift of Inspiration, Christian Metz
Christian Metz (Inspirationalist)
Christian Metz was born in Germany and emigrated to America on October 26, 1842. Once in America he helped to create a colony for the Community of True Inspiration, a pietist sect. The first was named Ebenezer near what is now Buffalo New York...
was left as the sole leader of the Inspirationists.
During the final years that the Inspirationists lived in Europe, the main task facing Christian Metz was moving them from persecution to safety. Persecution came about because the Inspirationists refused to report for military duty, they refused to take oaths, and they refused to send their children to the schools established by the state. The authorities arrested and fined them. Mobs threw stones through the windows of their meeting houses. People on the street assaulted them verbally and physically.
Christian Metz led the Inspirationists to Hesse in Germany, where—for awhile, at least—they could live and work in peace. In the 1840s, however, peace began to elude them. Revolution was abroad in Europe, and the ruling classes felt threatened by nonconformists. The rulers began to take away, one by one, the Inspirationists' cherished liberties. Parents had to pay fines for keeping their children out of public schools; and the fines, especially for families with several children, became unbearable. Rents kept rising, and land became too expensive to buy. The very elements turned against the Inspirationists, since excessive heat and drought left them with nothing to gather at harvest time.
The Inspirationists Buy Land in New York State
Christian Metz and the Elders became convinced of the need for another move. The Elders appointed a committee of four, including Christian Metz, to make a voyage to America. The committee was given full power to act for all the members and to purchase land where they deemed best.They endured many hardships during their voyage, which lasted almost forty days. They reached the harbor of New York in late October, 1842. Their hardships did not cease once they reached land; for three months they suffered winter cold while examining tracts of land in New York State. They inspected and rejected a tract on the shores of Chautauqua Lake. Finally they signed a contract to buy from the Ogden Land Company 5000 acres (20.2 km²) at $10.50 an acre. The tract was part of the Buffalo Creek Reservation, formerly owned by the Seneca Indians. The Company claimed that the Senecas had sold them the reservation in 1838. Manley (2010) suggests that the Company's claim was fraudulent.
Shortly after the Inspirationists purchased the tract, Christian Metz delivered a testimony that named the tract: "Ebenezer."
- It was called Ebenezer (Eben, a stone, and ezer, meaning help), no doubt from the fact that there was much similarity in their own history to the circumstance mentioned in I Samuel, vii, 12, where it is stated that Samuel set up a monumental stone as a memorial of divine assistance in a battle against the Philistines. (Perkins, 1891, p. 49)
Indian Troubles
During the following summer, Inspirationists arriving from Germany erected a large meeting house, several school houses, and many dwellings, using timber cut from this tract. Unfortunately, some of the Senecas were still living on the tract.- The Indians were enraged as they saw these people planting and building. . . . The settlers applied to Fellows, the land agent, who had promised that the Indians should soon depart for the West. Fellows arrested a few Indians because they hauled and sold wood which belonged to the Ebenezer Community. The Indians in return claimed that the Community had no deed to the land, and therefore had no right to cut trees on it. (Perkins, 1891, p. 49)
The Inspirationists bought some time by paying the Senecas $900 for a year of peace. During this time, the Inspirationists asked the Ogden Company for a deed; but the Company also lacked a deed; they had not yet sent to Washington the purchase price for the reservation. They were unable to do so until they had in hand the money that the Inspirationists had contracted to pay. The Inspirationists raised $50,000 and sent it to Washington. A few months later, Washington notified the Senecas that they no longer owned the land. The Senecas, however, were in no hurry to leave. They brought their case before the courts of New York, which decided, after a period of several years, in favor of the Ebenezer Community. This decision put an end to the Indian Troubles. The Senecas migrated to the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in Southwest Erie County.
The Inspirationists Migrate to the Ebenezer Colonies, 1843-1844
The Inspirationists did not wait for these legal matters to be decided. In May 1843, they laid out their first village. They built a dam nearby, on Buffalo Creek. The dam had two millraces, which powered a sawmill, a grist mill, and a tannery. In less than a year, they laid out two more villages, Upper Ebenezer and Lower Ebenezer; the first village became Middle Ebenezer. Later they laid out a fourth village, New Ebenezer. Each village had its own store, school, and church. In various villages there were sawmills, woolen mills, flour mills, and other branches of industry, giving employment to all according to their talents and inclination.The profits from all these enterprises went to the Community as a whole. In a provisional constitution and later in a permanent constitution, the Inspirationists agreed that all land and all improvements, everything with the exception of clothing and household goods, should be held in common. Their decision was supported by Scripture:
- And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need. (Acts 2:44-45)
Their decision was also supported by testimonies delivered by Christian Metz.
Thus the Inspirationists were able to pay for the voyages of members who could not otherwise afford to come to America.
The migration from Europe was substantially finished by the summer of 1844. More than 800 people had come over. Some Inspirationists remained in Germany. Their ties to friends, relatives, and the land were perhaps too strong. Communication between Germany and America ceased by degrees.
The Inspirationists Migrate to the Amana Colonies, 1855-1864
The original 5000 acres (20.2 km²) became 8000 acres (32.4 km²) as the Community kept growing; but then land became hard to get. The rapid growth of the city of Buffalo, which was but five miles (8 km) away, caused real estate to become so costly that the purchase of additional land in any appreciable quantity was out of the question. In 1851 the Inspirationists lost some of their autonomy when the Ebenezer Colonies in New York State were incorporated into the town of West Seneca. The World was closing in; the thriving city of Buffalo with its worldly influences was too easily accessible to the young people.In 1854 Christian Metz delivered a testimony: the Inspirationists should direct their eyes to the West in order to find a new home. The Elders hesitated. Christian Metz delivered further testimonies: many opportunities had already been lost; and four representatives should now be appointed to search for a new home in the West.
The Elders appointed a committee of four, including Christian Metz, to make the search. The committee journeyed to the Territory of Kansas, which had recently been opened up for settlement. They spent a month there, inspecting tracts of land recommended by land agents; but they were unable to come to a decision. They returned to Ebenezer, much discouraged.
After more discussions, the Elders appointed a committee of two to go to the new State of Iowa and there inspect the large tracts of land that belonged to the government. Upon reaching the present location of the Amana Colonies, the committee sent back such glowing descriptions that the Elders dispatched a third committee of four who were authorized to purchase land. This committee secured a tract of nearly 18000 acres (72.8 km²), more than twice the size of the current tract in New York State. The price of this land was $1.25 to $2.50 an acre if purchased from the government, and $3.00 to $5.00 an acre if purchased from earlier settlers. Thus it was far cheaper than the original tract in New York State, which cost $10.50 an acre. Furthermore, the land was much more amenable to farming.
- To the Inspirationists, who had been obliged to cut heavy timber and remove stones and boulders from the Ebenezer land before it could be tilled, the long green stretches of virgin prairie "ready for the plow" seemed the most wonderful feature of the splendid new domain. (Shambaugh, 1908, p. 74)
The Inspirationists laid out the first village in the Iowa tract during the summer of 1855, on a hillside north of the Iowa River. They called it "Amana," which means "believe faithfully." In that same year, the Lord gave His approval of this name in a testimony delivered by Christian Metz. Within another seven years, five more villages were laid out within a radius of six miles (10 km) from what came to be known as Main Amana: West Amana, South Amana, High Amana, East Amana, and Middle Amana.
The Inspirationists sold their land in the Ebenezer Colonies piece by piece, a task which required much time and patience. To their business credit, it is recorded that they were able to dispose of their land and all its improvements, without the loss of a single dollar. They completed their migration to Iowa in 1865, ten years after they founded their first village there.
Vestiges of the Ebenezer Colonies, June, 2010
West Seneca Cemeteries (2010) describes the cemeteries of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Ebenezer Colonies. The Upper Ebenezer Cemetery has been incorporated into St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery (active) at 1500 Seneca Creek Road. The Middle Ebenezer Cemetery (inactive) is located on the grounds of the Burchfield Nature and Art Center, Union Road and Clinton Street. The last Inspirationist was buried here in November, 1863. The Lower Ebenezer Cemetery (inactive) is located on Main Street between Mill Road and Seneca Street. It is also known as the Main Street Cemetery.Historical Markers (2010) contains photographs of two structures built by the Inspirationists. The house at 12 School Street belonged to Christian Metz. Google Maps on 6/8/10 shows the structure still standing. A meeting house built by the group was moved from what is now the parking lot of Fourteen Holy Helpers Roman Catholic Church to its present site, 919 Mill Road. There it houses the West Seneca Historical Society and Museum. Historical Society and Museum (2010) contains a photograph of the kitchen display, which includes a colonist scrub board and a mannequin wearing a colonist dress.
The West Seneca Town Seal (2010) depicts, among other things, a boundary marker from the Ebenezer Colonies and the Christian Metz home on School Street.
Recipes of the Old Ebenezers (2010) tells how the colonists made cream cake, hot potato salad, oatmeal cookies, raw potato dumplings, sauerbraten, and fritters.