The Life and Works of Christopher Dock/2 Life of Christopher Dock

by Martin G. Brumbaugh

THE LIFE OF

CHRISTOPHER DOCK

To the sturdy German stock that came to the Colony of Pennsylvania in the first half of the eighteenth century we are indebted for more of the initial influences that have made for the progress and prestige of our American civilization than many historians record or know. By a strange perversity they have accepted one from another the traditional misconception of these people for which Benjamin Franklin and Provost William Smith are largely responsible. It is the exception, not the rule, to find among historians and chroniclers, a rare spirit, imbued with insight and sympathy, who patiently investigates the actual conditions of this Pennsylvania-German civilization and records its virtues as well as its frailties. Such a rare and gifted historian is the Honorable Samuel W. Pennypacker, ex-Governor of the Commonwealth and President of its Historical Society.

To Governor Pennypacker many of the younger men, who love, as he does, the great Commonwealth, are indebted for inspiration, guidance and knowledge concerning life in Colonial Pennsylvania. To him the writer gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness for a first acquaintance and for many facts that have to do with the simple but significant life and work of Pennsylvania's pioneer author-educator,—"the pious Schoolmaster on the Skippack," Christopher Dock.^[1]

Dock's birthplace in Germany is unknown. Some time between 1710 and 1714, he came to Pennsylvania, attracted no doubt by the religious freedom enjoyed here by his brethren of the Mennonite faith. To this religious body he was early attached and in its communion he lived and died. He probably came here to farm. But his pious spirit was early concerned for the better education of the children of his German neighbors. He was encouraged to teach by Christopher Saur and other leaders among the Germans of Colonial Pennsylvania.

Of his education and career in Germany no reliable data can now be given. There is a tradition that he had been drafted into the Army and that he was discharged because of his religious convictions, which led him to refuse to bear arms.

Not later than 1718, Governor Pennypacker thinks in 1714, Dock opened a school among the Mennonites on the Skippack in what is now Montgomery County. He believed he was divinely called to teach; and, although the compensation was exceedingly meagre, he continued this school for ten years. At the expiration of this period he engaged in farming. On September 28, 1735, he purchased of the Penns for £15 10s. a tract of 100 acres in Salford Township, now Montgomery County. Upon this tract he lived for many years.

On February 22, 1702, Matthias Van Bebber, a Dutch merchant, who came to Germantown in 1687, secured from Penn by letters patent a tract of land containing about six thousand one hundred and sixty-six acres. This is the famous Bebber's Township which in 1731 became the possession of Hendrick Pannebecker.^[2] By deed, dated June 8, 1717, Van Bebber conveyed to seven trustees one hundred acres of this ground, stipulating therein that “it shall be lawful for all and every the inhabitants of the aboves'd Bebber's Township to build a school house, and fence in a sufficient burying place upon the herein granted one hundred acres of land there to have their children and those of their respective families taught and instructed, and to bury their dead.” This Van Bebber did in consideration of “the true love and singular effection he the said Matthias Van Bebber bears to them and all theirs.” These provisions, as Governor Pennypacker points out, are “without precedent in our Annals, and have never been followed elsewhere.”

The school thus provided was conducted by Christopher Dock, and it was here in 1750 that he wrote the Schul-ordnung, and in 1764 the several articles that Saur published in the Geistliches Magazien. It is significant to note that Saur solicited contributions for his Magazien from few American authors. Two alone were regarded by the great printer as possessing the necessary qualifications to produce articles of sufficient worth for this important publication. One of these was Dock; the other, Alexander Mack, a Bishop of the Dunker Church in Germantown and a man of rare piety and literary power. It is probable that Mack, like the younger Saur, was a pupil in Dock's school in Germantown.

During the ten years devoted to farming Dock could not wholly neglect the children. For at least four summers, in sessions of three months each, he taught school in Germantown. His school wasconducted in the old log meeting house of the Mennonites, the ground for which was deeded by Arnold Von Vossen February 10, 1702-3, to Jan Neuss, on behalf of the Mennonites.^[3] The teaching of this school had far-reaching consequences. Here Dock enrolled among his pupils the only son of the great printer to the Germans of Colonial America, Christopher Saur. Young Saur, who was born in 1721, was then in his teens. The method of Dock attracted the attention of the elder Saur, who as early as 1749, impressed by the great skill and ability of his son's teacher, urged Dock to write a treatise on his method of organizing and conducting a school.^[4] This treatise Saur wished to publish for the guidanceof less gifted teachers and of parents who by knowing how a good school is conducted might the better bring up their own children.

Dock was averse to the suggestion, holding that it was sinful to do anything for his own praise, credit or elevation. Saur then resorted to diplomacy. He wrote to Dock's warm friend, Dielman Kolb, a prominent Mennonite minister, urging the importance of his request and submitting a series of questions on school administration which he desired Dock to answer. Through the influence of Kolb the modest teacher was led to make reply to these questions. The manuscript of the Schul-ordnung resulted.

Dock completed the Schul-ordnung August 8, 1750. The manuscript was given to Saur with the stipulation that it was not to be published during the lifetime of the author. For nearly a score of years the manuscript lay unused. In 1758, the elder Saur died, and his son, Dock's pupil, succeeded to the large publishing interests of his father.

Finally, in 1769, some “friends of the common good” succeeded in overcoming the author's scruplesand secured his consent to its publication. This was, no doubt, an easier task after Saur had published in the Geistliches Magazien a number of articles written by Dock. But alas! the manuscript, so long unused, was nowhere to be found. Saur feared it had been sold along with some waste paper. People began to intimate that Saur really did not wish to publish it and had purposely put it away. Saur advertised its loss in his newspaper and offered a reward for its return. Dock, with characteristic modesty, sent a messenger to Saur to say “that I should not trouble myself about the writing, it had never been my opinion that it ought to be printed in my lifetime, and so I am very well pleased that it has been lost.” After more than a year had elapsed, Saur found the manuscript in a place where he and his employees had thoroughly searched and it was at once published in the form in which it is herein reproduced.

The demand for the pamphlet was so great that a second edition was printed in the same year — 1770. A copy of this second edition is in the Library of the German Society of Philadelphia and the title page is reproduced herewith. The copy of the first edition from which the reproduction in this volume was made is in the library of the writer.

The German Mennonites of Ohio, in 1861, reprinted the second edition at the office of their church paper, “The Gospel Visitor,” at Columbia in that State. Governor Pennypacker records in his “Historical and Biographical Sketches” the following interesting incident attending the publication of this third edition in the German language: “A careless printer, who was setting type by candle light, knocked over his candle, and burned up one of the leaves of the original. The work was stopped because the committee having the matter in charge could find no other copy. Finally, in despair, they wrote to Mr. A. H. Cassel, of Harleysville, Pa., who, without hesitation, took the needed leaf from his copy and sent it to them by mail. Mirabile dictu! It was scrupulously cared for and speedily returned. It is difficult to determine which is the more admirable, the confiding simplicity of a book lover who willingly ran such a risk of making his own copy imperfect, or the Roman integrity which, being once in the possession of the only leaf necessary to complete a mutilated copy, firmly resisted temptation.”

The first translation into English was made by Governor Pennypacker and appears in the above recited volume under the caption, “Christopher Dock, the Pious Schoolmaster on the Skippack, and His Works.” This present volume is the next attempt to give the modern student an insight into the rare spirit of this unique teacher. It is, moreover, the first time that all of Dock's literary remains, with translations, have been collected and published.

Dock was not only a great teacher and author of pedagogical works, but he was the composer of many beautiful hymns. These will be found in the volume; and, to reveal his skill as a penman as well as his accomplishments as a hymn-writer, I herewith reproduce one of the most beautiful of his existing manuscripts.

The elder Saur was an ardent admirer of Dock's teaching ability. When he found that Dockobjected to the publication of the Schul-ordnung until after the writer's death, Saur formulated a plan to pay tribute to Dock's worth in a manner not offensive to the religious convictions of the pious schoolmaster. This resulted in Saur publishing in his almanac for 1752 an article in the form of a dialogue. In this article Saur, in discussing with a “Newcomer” the advantages of life in the Colony of Pennsylvania, pays high tribute to two great teachers whom he knew intimately. Although the names of these teachers are not given, Saur clearly had in mind Ludwig Hoecker and Christopher Dock. Hoecker was an intimate friend of Saur, worshipped with him in the Dunker congregation in Germantown, and regretted Hoecker's removal to Ephrata in 1748. The following extract from the Almanac gives Saur's estimate of these two really great teachers of the Germans in Colonial Pennsylvania:

“New-Comer. A matter that is of very great importance to me is, that, in Germany, one is able to send his children to school to have them instructed in reading and writing. Here it is well nigh impossible to get such instruction; especially, where people live so far apart. O, how fortunate are they who have access to a good teacher by whom the children are well taught and trained!

“Inhabitant. It is true. On that account many children living on our frontiers grow up like trees. But since the conditions are such that few people live in cities and villages as they do in Germany, it is natural that one meets with certain inconveniences. Where is there a place in this world where one does not meet with some objectionable features during his natural life?

“New-Comer. But this is an exceptional want, for if children are thus brought up in ignorance it is an injury to their soul's welfare, — an eternal injury.

“Inhabitant. That is true, but, alas, how few good schoolmasters there are! I myself have had many and known many, but few good ones have I seen. Yet, I remember two, in my life-time, who had many good qualities. The one spent most of his time in secret prayer and heartfelt sighing that God might direct and keep the hearts and minds of his pupils. He taught them their letters faithfully. He observed also their natural dispositions. If he found the child ambitious, he would praise it so that it learned its lessons fairly well. He would promise that it should yet lead the class, but he asked God to take the Devil's haughtiness out of the child's heart, to convert it and give it the lowly spirit of Jesus. After it had reached the head of the class he would tell it alone and in private that haughtiness came from the Devil, but humility was a quality of Christ's spirit for which the child should frequently and heartily join him in prayer to God. Thus he kept such children in his love. To those who were miserly he frequently gave a penny when they studied diligently and if they admired their gift he would tell them that money was the root of all evil, pointing out examples to them. He described for them deceptive riches and the subsequent disappointment if man is not rich in godly things. To the voluptuous and “Lecker-Maüler”^[5] he sometimes gave a sugar pretzel, when they learned well. But he also told them that luxuriousness was a sin, that those who belonged to Christ crucified the flesh with its lusts and evil desires. He impressed them so earnestly with these maxims that almost all the pupils loved him. If any failed in the performance of duty, he would say: ‘I no longer love you,’ (Ich habe dich nicht mehr Lieb). Then they wept until he comforted them. The ill-intentioned, who were not affected by the promise of a penny or a cooky, he threatened with whipping. These then studied out of fear. With some he had to use the rod, but in each case he endeavored, first of all, to win their favor and thus secure obedience through love that they might not only learn their letters, but that they might be able to seek, find and know Jesus Himself.

“I remember still another one who, out of the love of God, loved his pupils as if they all were his own children. They, in turn, loved him dearly. Whenever he was obliged to reprove the children for ill-behavior, he did so with grievous words coming from his wounded heart, so that he frequently softened their hearts; and when they were about to cry, tears crept into his eyes. He studied out many plans so that he might not need to resort to the rod. On going to and from school the children went quietly and orderly without stopping to play, loiter and quarrel. The children of the poor he taught as willingly without pay as he taught others for pay. Those who learned to write, he induced to correspond with one another. The pupils were required to show him the letters and he pointed out for them the places where improvements should be made. He also told them that this was no ordinary matter. For those who could not compose a letter, he set copies so that they might apply their minds to good thoughts for the improvement of their souls. He regarded it indifferently whether he received the tuition fees or not and did not treasure up for himself anything but a good name and a clear conscience.

“New-Comer. Such Schoolmasters are few in number, and here in the woods one must be satisfied if only they teach the children to read and write; and it is very deplorable that, during the winter in severe weather, young and tender children cannot well be sent to schools a great distance from home. In the summer time one needs the children at home to work, and here in the woods the schools are closed during the summer. I have often thought that this was a great need in this land and I know of no remedy to suggest.”

In 1738 Dock gave up his farm and returned to teaching. The remainder of his life, thirty-three years, he devoted to his pupils. He opened two schools, one in Skippack and one in Sallford. These he taught three days each alternately. He encouraged the pupils in each school to write letters to the pupils in the other school. These letters usually took the form of questions relating to some incident in the Bible. Dock acted as letter carrier between the schools. This was one of his devices to promote constructive language exercises by his pupils — a practice that has found many imitators.

Dock has given by indirection the only adequate picture of a colonial school. It is not difficult to construct from his writings a picture of life among the Germans of Penn's Colony. One can vision the children busy at home, preparing for the day's duties; their march over hill and valley to the school; their entrance; the routine of the day's work with the teacher; and their hearty “good-night” as they turn again to their homes; the round of evening duties, and their weary footsteps as they move half asleep to their rest. One can vision their conduct in the home, on the street, in church and at all places where a child might be seen. In this multiform detail of child life he points out in simple precepts right conduct and proper behavior. And in all this he steadfastly holds up the religious life as the goal of all study, the perfection of all learning.

The writing of illuminated texts was common among the Germans of Colonial Pennsylvania. For this work Dock was peculiarly gifted, and the writing of these Schriften was a prominent feature of his school exercises. To this work of skill with his quill pen he added the additional ability of drawing in colors or writing with ink designs of birds and flowers. These designs were used as rewards for meritorious work on the part of his pupils. To possess one of these evidences of the teacher's favor was the ambition of many of Dock's pupils.

In the list of Schriften found in this volume I have included all that are known to be from the pen of Dock. One, by his pupil, Jacob Harley, is included to show the result of Dock's teaching. These Schriften were written in sets. They constituted the earliest recorded mottoes used to adorn the walls of a schoolroom. In Dock's school more than twenty-five of these Schriften were so displayed. They were also used to adorn the walls of the homes of his pupils, as well as to serve as “copy” for the writing lessons. They are usually produced in many colors. Unfortunately the reproductions cannot show the artistic blending of colors found on the originals. With one exception the originals here reproduced are in the possession of the writer. The exception is part of the “Alphabet Schrift,” which may be seen in the rooms of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. The preservation of these rare and curious manuscripts is due to the foresight and industry of Abraham H. Cassel, whose father was a pupil in Dock's school.

In the translation care has been exercised to render as literally as possible the meaning of the author. For this reason the English text is not infrequently broken and archaic. This is especially true in the translation of the poems. It was thought that the reader would prefer to approach as nearly as possible the spirit of the author. In this literal rendering of the text grateful acknowledgment is made to Miss Harriet Boewig, of Philadelphia, and to Dr. S. E. Weber, of Cortland, N. Y. Their unselfish devotion to a theme they loved made easier my labors in editing this pioneer schoolmaster's pious and practical works.

Dock had two daughters, Margaret, wife of Henry Stryckers, of Salford, and Catherine, wife of Peter Jansen, of Skippack. The death of his wife and the marriage of his daughters left him alone in his old age. He then made his home with Heinrich Kassel, a Mennonite farmer on the Skippack. It was Dock's custom each evening after dismissing his pupils to remain in his schoolroom to pray. With the roll of his pupils spread before him, he would kneel and ask God to forgive him for any act of injustice or of neglect toward any pupil in his school. He also asked, as he pronounced each pupil's name, that God would help him on the morrow to do the best things for each one.

One evening in the autumn of 1771, he did not return from his school at the usual time. A search was made and he was found in his schoolroom on his knees — dead. Thus ended in prayer for his pupils a life singularly sweet and unselfishly given to the welfare of those whom he believed God had divinely appointed him to teach.

M. G. BRUMBAUGH.⁠

Philadelphia, Jan. 18, 1907.

BENCH AND TABLE USED BY DOCK IN HIS SCHOOL IN GERMANTOWN

TABLE USED BY DOCK IN HIS SCHOOL IN GERMANTOWN

TITLE PAGE OF SECOND EDITION

SPECIMEN OF DOCK'S MSS.

SPECIMEN OF DOCK'S MSS.

1. Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker's Historical and Biographical Sketches, Philadelphia, 1883.
2. For a most interesting sketch of this township see the article Bebber's Township and the Dutch Patroons of Pennsylvania by Hon. S. W. Pennypacker, in The Pennsylvania Magazine, Vol. xxxi, No. 121.
3. Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, The Settlement of Germantown, Philadelphia, 1899.
4. See the writer's History of The Brethren in Europe and America, Mount Morris, Ill., 1899.
5. Sweet-toothed, dainty-mouthed.