|
John Adam Treutlen (January 16, 1734 – March 1, 1782) arrived in colonial America as an indentured servant and rose to become a wealthy merchant and landowner. He was a leader in Georgia of the American Revolution and helped write Georgia's first constitution. In 1777, he was elected Georgia's first (post-British) governor. He was one of Georgia's few governors to die by violence, and much of his life has been surrounded by mystery and controversy. But in recent years, more details have emerged. ==Family== He was born to Hans Michel Treutlen and Maria Clara Job in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Hans Michel and Maria Clara were married in 1731 after having two illegitimate children. John Treutlen was the second child born after his parents married. This was Hans Michel's second marriage. His first marriage was to Maria Regina and they had seven children. Maria Regina died in 1727. The Treutlens were Protestants. In parts of the German-speaking lands, Protestants were persecuted by Catholic authorities, and many left for America seeking religious freedom. Maria Clara, however, was a Catholic. Thus, the Treutlens were also very likely persecuted by the Protestant establishment for Maria Clara's religion and because the family had two children outside the marriage bond. This situation probably caused the 56-year-old Hans Michel to take, in late April 1744, his wife and four of their children on the arduous and dangerous voyage to seek a new life in America. The four children who went on this voyage were Friedrich, from Hans Michel's first marriage, Hans Philipp, one of the illegitimate children, and John Adam and Jonathan, the two youngest children. The Treutlens traveled first to Gosport on the southern coast of Britain. In November 1745, Maria Clara and three of the children left Gosport for Georgia with a group of Lutheran Salzburgers who had been expelled from their Catholic-dominated homeland (see Salzburg#Religious conflict). The mother and children embarked on the ill-fated "Judith". Hans Michel and one of the children, Hanß Philipp, remained in Britain. During the voyage across the Atlantic, there was an outbreak of typhus fever on the Judith. Thirteen individuals died, including the ship's captain. The first mate also became seriously ill. The Judith was in danger of not making the trip safely for death and illness left no one skilled at navigating a ship on the high seas. However, the Rev. Bartholomäus Zuberbühler, who had no prior experience sailing, used his knowledge of geometry to figure out how to navigate the Judith safely to Georgia. Upon their arrival in Georgia, Maria Clara and the three Treutlen children were indentured to Michael Burckhalter of Vernonburg. Pastor Johann Martin Boltzius of the Salzburgers in Ebenezer took notice of the extraordinary talents of John Treutlen and endeavored to remove him to Ebenezer in order to enroll him at the school there. However, Boltzius found it difficult to arrange for permission for Treutlen's attendance at the school because of Maria Clara's history of abandoned husbands, illegitimate children, and Catholicism. Treutlen's "wicked and worldly parents" were also probably the reason the true origins of John Adam Treutlen have remained hidden for so long. For 200 years it was believed that John Adam Treutlen was born in Berchtesgaden, Austria. According to this story, the Treutlens, on their way to America, were attacked, and the father captured and imprisoned, by Spanish pirates. The father was supposed to have died in a Spanish prison in 1744. This story avoids many of the facts of Hanß Michel's and Maria Clara's life together that people of the eighteenth century would find disagreeable. For this reason, the story gained credence and then took on a life of its own over the next 200 years. However, marriage, birth, and other documents, recently discovered in Europe, have provided a more accurate picture of the Treutlens' European origins and voyage to America. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John A. Treutlen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|