Johann Gottfried Arends (1740 - 1807)

Born 11 Dec 1740 in Goettingen, Germany

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah Sarah (Rudisill) Arends — married 24 Oct 1776 in Tryon County, North Carolina [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 9 Jul 1807 at age 66 in Lincoln County, North Carolina

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Biography

Johann Gottfried Arends was born on December 11, 1740 in Hanover, Germany. He was a pioneer teacher, preacher and Revolutionary War Patriot.

In 1772 the newly organized Lutheran congregations of North Carolina determined to send to Europe for a pastor and schoolmaster, as none could be obtained in America. The Lutheran delegation applied to the Consistory Council of Hanover. As Hanover at that time was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire under the British ruling house, the delegation first sought the approval of the English throne. George III granted the delegation its petition for a schoolmaster, as well as a minister, and when Arends left for North Carolina, he took with him both his diploma from the Teachers' Seminary in Hanover and a personal recommendation and certification to teach from King George.^[1]

When Johann arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1773 at age 32, his name was anglicized to John Godfrey Arends. He settled in the southern part of Rowan County, North Carolina, teaching for two years, then entering the ministry. For a decade he served as itinerant minister in the vast area that today includes the counties of Rowan, Cabarrus, Davie, Iredell, Catawba, Lincoln, Davidson, Guilford, and Stokes. Arends was the founder of the North Carolina Lutheran Synod and served as its first president. ^[2]

In 1776, Johann married Hannah Rutensell (also spelled Rudisill). He served his congregation at Organ Church in southern Rowan County during the American Revolution. ^[3]

Children of Johann Gottfried Arends and Hannah Rudisill are;

1. Catherine Arends. Bom, 8 Jan 1778, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married Solomon Hoover.
2. John Amdt Arends. Bom, 12 Oct 1780, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married Susan Bisaner.
3. Elizabeth Arends. Bom, 27 Jan 1783, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married David Smith, son of Peter Smith and Hannah Best. Her father spent the last years of his life with Elizabeth.
4. Hannah Arends. Bom, 19 Apr 1786, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married Lewis Hafer.
5. Susanna Arends. Bom, 30 Jan 1789, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married John Sadler.
6. Jacob Arends. Bom, 3 Apr 1791, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married Jane Rutledge.
7. Frederick Arends. Bom, 10 Apr 1794, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married a Miss Robinson.
8. Mary Magdalena Arends. Bom, 25 Jun 1799, in Lincoln Co, NC. Married Henry Cansler.

In 1785, Pastor Arends removed to Lincoln County, North Carolina and became the founder of the Lutheran Church in the territory west of the Catawba River and was that county's first resident minister.

Johann's legacy is the diary and ledger that he left behind recording in exquisite detail the life of his parishioners. He recorded the events of the common people as carefully as the more wealthy members of his church.

Johann died July 9, 1807 in Lincoln County, North Carolina.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ NCPedia Arends, John Godfrey
2. ↑ NCPedia Arends, John Godfrey
3. ↑ Organ Lutheran Church founded 1745 : a brief history, by Sifford, Harry, Published 1993
4. ↑ Life sketches of Lutheran ministers : North Carolina and Tennessee Synods, 1773-1965 Author: Lutheran Church in America. North Carolina Synod. Publisher: The North Carolina Synod 1966. Page(s): 7 to 12.

See also:

• Johann Gottfried Arends Author; Anne Williams McAllister and Sylvia Moehle 2005. starts page 5.
• The Rudisill genealogy the American descendants of Hans Rüdisüli of Frümsen, Kanton St. Gallen, Switzerland with an introduction of the Swiss families preceding our common progenitor to circa 1580. Author; Edward L. Rudisill. Published; Newton, Connecticut : E.L. Rudisill, c1995. Page 40.
• Diary of Johann Gottfried Arends, 1740-1807 : annotated transcription Author: Johann Gottfried Arends; Jo White Linn Publisher: Salisbury, N.C. : Jo White Linn, ©1999.
• Arends_Henkel_Storch.pdf contains Notes Taken from Johan Arend's Book (Johann Gottfried Arends, 1740-1807)
• The History of Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church by Carpenter, Robert C. (Robert Claude), Published 1990