NIELS OTTO TANK (1800-1864)
MORAVIAN MISSIONARY TO SURINAME AND WISCONSIN From: Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society 1996 Vol 29, 85-102 by Mary K. Killough, Ph.D. Norwegian by birth, Niels (also spelled Nils) Otto Tank, known mostly as Otto Tank, devoted much of his time, energy and talent to serving the Moravian Church in Denmark, Suriname, and the USA. Otto Tank is celebrated in Suriname as a "champion for the emancipation of the slaves". Rod, his family's estate near Halden, Norway, now houses a state-run museum. A child of his is buried in the Gottesacker at Herrnhut, Germany. His first wife, Marianne Frueauf Tank, lies buried in Paramaribo, Suriname. Tanktown and his home on the grounds of Heritage Hill Park are present-day reminders of Tank in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The graves of Tank, his daughter Mary and his second wife Caroline van der Meulen Tank are at Niesky Hill Moravian Cemetery in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In spite of these records of Tank in word or in stone, it is not always easy to piece together the events of his life or to sort fact from fiction. Niels Otto Tank was born March 11, 1800 on the family's country estate of Rod, Halden, Norway, near the border of Sweden. His father, Carsten Nielsen Tank (1766-1832), had been Minister of Finance on the governing council in Norway in 1814. He worked to depose a weak Danish ruler and may have even had hopes that his son Otto could become the new ruler of Norway. Instead, the Norwegians consented to be ruled by Sweden according to the terms of the Treaty of Kiel. This union of Norway and Sweden lasted until 1905. [Facts about Tank's life appear in: Wilhelm Bettermann, Unitaets- Archiv, Herrnhut, Germany, Document R15La10; unpublished material by Nicholas L. Clark, Niels Otto Tank (undated) and The Tank Cottage, 1984?, (with permission of the author); the Heritage Hill Foundation Newsletter, the Heritage Hill Intelligencer, the brochures Tank Cottage Revisited, 1, 2 and 3 from Heritage Hill Park, Green Bay, Wisconsin; Hjalmar Rued Holand, "Nils Otto Tank", Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at its 56th Annual Meeting Held October 15, 1908; H. R. Holand, "Wisconsin's Most Romantic Pioneer", The Milwaukee Free Press, August 29, 1909), and other newspaper articles available at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library, Madison, Wisconsin; C. K. Kesler, "Nils Otto Tank (1800-1864), De West-Indische Gids, 5.2 (June 1923); "A Patrician Pioneer", Oberlin News, (April 2, 1897); Joseph Shafer, "Scandinavian Moravians in Wisconsin", Wisconsin Magazine of History, 24 (1940-41) 25-38; W. A. Titus, "Nils Otto Tank. Norwegian Aristocrat and Philanthropist", Wisconsin Magazine of History, 22 (1938-39) 385-395.] Rumors that circulated in documents found in Suriname and newspaper articles in Wisconsin that Tank's father had threatened to disinherit Otto if he became involved with the Moravian Church or married a "commoner" cannot be substantiated. Political ambitions for Otto after 1814 would not seem likely. The Tank family suffered serious financial setbacks in 1828 and Carsten Tank died in 1832. Tank's mother, Katherine von Cappelen Tank, (1772-1837), had ties to the Moravian "diaspora" in Norway. In spite of the fact that the state Lutheran Church in Norway was very critical of Pietist groups, in 1813 Otto was sent to a school in Oslo run by a Lutheran pastor with strong ties to the Moravian Church and in 1818 to a Moravian School in England. [Clark, Niels Otto Tank, p.1] In 1825, Otto Tank apparently underwent a religious conversion. In 1826, at the age of twenty-six, Tank visited Herrnhut, and Church records show that in 1833 he wrote to the Elders to discuss his hopes of joining their Church. In 1834, he was sent to serve at the Moravian settlement in Christiansfeld, Denmark. He was named head of the Church-run Spielwerg & Co. there in 1838, where he exercised his considerable business acumen until 1841. Articles about Otto Tank in the Wisconsin press after his second wife Caroline's death in 1891 and later paint a very romantic picture of this "winsome, gallant young cavalier", who when injured on a trip in Germany was nursed to recovery by a kind Moravian family. . . . it happened that far up in the mountains of Saxony, inForgotten were his father's wise injunctions, the dream of royalty, the honors and ambitions. His love was unconquerable and in a few weeks he journeyed home with his bride." [Holand, Milwaukee Free Press] According to documents in the Moravian Archives at Church headquarters in Herrnhut, Germany, Otto Tank met Marianne Frueauf while both were visiting Sweden. Marianne Dorothea Frueauf was born in Grosshennersdorf near Herrnhut on July 3, 1804. She lived in the Manor House, "Katherinenhof", which Count Zinzendorf had turned over to Moravian families for their use. Marianne's father's charming drawings of life at the Manor House may be viewed at the Tank Cottage in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Her father, Reverend Friedrich Renatus Frueauf, was the local school inspector and later founder of the Moravian Girls' School in Zeist, the Netherlands. In 1822-23, Marianne herself received teacher training and taught at Fairfield Moravian School, England. She then assisted her father as a teacher in Zeist before teaching three years at Montmirail, Switzerland. [ "Lebenslauf des verwitweten Bruders Friedrich Renatus Frueauf", Gemeinnachrichten 1851, Theil 1, Heft 6, 848-871, from Rijksrachief Utrecht PA IR3D93] Archivist Wilhelm Bettermann at Church headquarters in Germany writes that Otto Tank had consulted the lot twice and twice received a negative response to the question whether he should marry a distant relation of his. Tank then wrote the Unity's Elders Conference to ask permission to marry Marianne Frueauf, "if she is not indispensable at Montmirail", Switzerland, where she was teaching. Marianne's father had reportedly gained trust in Otto Tank and Marianne agreed to put this marriage proposal to the lot. In 1838 an issue of the Weekly News of the Church reported that Marianne Frueauf would no longer be teaching at Montmirail. Otto Tank and Marianne Frueauf were married in Herrnhut on November 6, 1838. Their first child, Beatus, was born October 17, 1841, but died the same day and is buried at Herrnhut. In 1842, the Moravian mission in Suriname issued an urgent call. Someone was needed to administer the mission's business activities in the capital city of Paramaribo. The Church Elders at Herrnhut judged that Niels Otto and Marianne Tank were suited for this task and the Tanks happily answered the call. On April 24, 1842, while in Herrnhut preparing for his new task, Otto Tank was ordained a deacon of the Church by Bishop P. F. Curie. [Woechentliche Nachrichten aus der Unitaets-Aeltesten-Konferenz , 1841 and 1842] On May 13, 1842, the Tanks left Herrnhut for Suriname via the Netherlands. Their trip was somewhat delayed to give Otto Tank the opportunity to meet with the non-denominational board of the "Society for the Advancement of Religious Education among the Slaves and other Heathen People in Suriname" at its headquarters in the Hague. Here Tank could inform himself about the work of this society, meet important supporters of the mission in Suriname, and learn their views about the situation there. On August 19, 1842, the Tanks finally set sail for Suriname from Amsterdam. September 22, after what Tank terms "a speedy and pleasant voyage of only thirty-four days from Holland", their ship dropped anchor at Paramaribo, Suriname (then also known as Dutch Guiana), the capital city of this bustling plantation colony located on the Suriname River several miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. [Periodical Accounts (Relating to the Missions of the Church of the United Brethren, Established Among the Heathen) 18 (London) , 212-213] Reports from missionaries in Suriname had made fascinating reading for Moravians since 1735 when the first small group of Moravians went to work among the native Indians of this Dutch colony. Accounts sent back to Church headquarters had not spared details of the extreme hardship of living in remote areas of the "Wild Coast", as the Guianas were styled by earlier explorers. Slaves who had escaped into the jungles of Suriname, known as "Bush Negroes", called the interior Dede Kondre or "country of the dead" in their English-based creole tongue. Missionaries faced indifference or hostility from the native Indians. Many plantation owners and overseers objected to missionaries' proselytizing among the slaves, for this might lead to political unrest and economic difficulty in the colony. Both Catholic and Moravian missionaries taught the slaves that they deserved respect and dignity as human beings. [Jos Fontaine, Ed. Onderweg. Van afhankelijkheid naar zelfstandigheid. 250 jaar Hernhutterzending in Suriname 1735-1985. (Paramaribo: Evangelische Broedergemeente in Suriname, 1985) This is a comprehensive history of the Moravian Church in Suriname.] These obstacles, however, seemed like nothing compared to the tropical diseases which claimed a great number of German Moravian lives. The missionaries died at an alarming rate, and health conditions had not improved during the first hundred years of missionary activity there. But none of Otto Tank's experience in Church business administration from his stay in Christiansfeld, Denmark, proved valuable to the Moravian community in Suriname. This mission had always had to struggle in a hostile environment to be self-supporting and to meet the increasing expenses needed to educate and provide religious training for the large number of slaves who had begun to respond to the Christian message of hope. [Hartmut Beck, Brueder in vielen Voelkern. 250 Jahre Mission der Bruedergemeine. (Erlangen: Verlag der Ev.-Luth. Mission, 1981). This is a comprehensive history of the Moravian missions.] The Moravian trading firm based in Suriname, C. Kersten and Co., was founded in 1768 and named for Christoph Kersten, the German Moravian missionary who had opened up a tailoring shop there. Additional separate shops and services were gradually added, and the Kersten Company became a well-known and respected business establishment. Today this company includes a department store, bakery, print shop, tailor shop, hotel and other popular commercial services. [Albert Helman, Zaken, zending en bezinning . (Paramaribo: C. Kersten, 1968). History of the Kersten Company.] After his arrival in Suriname, Otto Tank applied himself energetically to the tasks at hand; however, he did not always enjoy smooth relationships with his fellow missionaries. Unlike Tank, they were more often than not of humble background and trained only in some simple craft or trade. Most of them were from German-speaking lands. It was not that Tank demanded royal treatment. On the contrary, one anecdote about him tells of a newly arrived missionary wife asking Tank if the carpenters at the Kersten Company might fashion a cupboard for her things. Tank put her to shame by showing her where he kept his belongings. His Sunday suit and a few other clothes fit into a single drawer. Nevertheless, he had the carpenters build a cupboard for her. [Kesler, 68] The Tanks' second child, Marianna Fredericka, called Mary, was born in Suriname on January 28, 1843. Only a year and nine months later, on September 10, 1844, Tank's wife Marianne died. She had been expecting their third child. She is buried at Marias Rust in Paramaribo. Tank relates his heartbreak at Marianne's death in a letter of September 11, 1844: I can write but little today . . . without the deepest[Periodical Accounts, 16, 358] One of Otto Tank's duties in Suriname was to visit outlying Moravian mission stations. He made such tours enthusiastically and systematically. His academic training in geology and mineralogy and his personal interest in forestry proved useful on these journeys. He reported that there were valuable deposits of gold in Suriname before such deposits were generally known to the public and indeed before gold was mined in Suriname. Tales that Otto Tank personally or otherwise profited from this knowledge or acquired gold in Suriname appear to be mere rumor. Gold was probably not commonly mined until 1861, more than a decade after Tank left the colony. Tank also reported on a great economic asset for Suriname, namely its tropical hardwood trees. From correspondence with Dr. Just Wekker, Paramaribo, Suriname The detailed journals of Tank's trips into the interior of Suriname in 1845-46 provide information of singular value to historians, anthropologists, linguists and geographers in search of eye-witness accounts of contemporary life in Suriname. Tank's reports offer lively reading as well for anyone interested in the adventures of travellers in exotic regions of South America not often visited by Europeans or North Americans even today. These reports also throw light on the personality and character of Tank. [Reports of the trips taken by Otto Tank appear in the Missions- Blatt aus der Bruedergemeine, 10.7 (1846) through 12.5 (1848). Translations from German by Mary Killough.] Otto Tank seemed personally undaunted by the hardships of life in the tropics. He savored the challenge of exploring the interior of Suriname, travelling in dug-out canoes known as corjals with a few trusted religious converts from among the black slave population. Tank's boyish delight in boating through the dangerous river rapids with the experienced Bush Negroes is obvious. It is exceeded only by his joy at seeing Christian teaching and the work of God taking root among slaves on the numerous plantations which dotted the banks of the majestic rivers of Suriname. On May 17, 1845, Tank began a trip up the Suriname River to the Moravian Mission Station at New Bambey. He tells of his small party's arrival the evening of the second day at the plantation Berg en Dal, about sixty-five miles (one hundred five kilometers) upstream from Paramaribo, where the Moravians had a mission station: As we approached our mission . . . the church bells provided Then he reports: On the twenty-first we reached the place where the waterfalls Another time Tank tells that he was presented with an iguana weighing over ten pounds. On May 23 he adds: . . . we reached the famous eighteen foot high Sissabo First and foremost a religious missionary, Tank did not neglect religious services while he journeyed through the jungles of Suriname. Since it was Sunday we kept our little boats as close together On May 26, nine days after beginning the trip and some one hundred thirty miles (two hundred ten kilometers) upstream from Paramaribo, Tank and his party finally reached their destination, the mission station at New Bambey. [The Moravian mission post, Bamby or Bambey [meaning rest or refreshment in Sranan Tongo, the creole language], on the Upper Suriname River, was established in 1774 on the right bank of the river (Gwafoe Bamby); in 1786 it was moved to the left bank (Wana= New Bamby) and from 1819-1848 it was again on the right bank at a second location further downstream (Gingee= church bell Bamby). It was actually Gingee Bamby, not New Bamby, which Tank visited in 1845. From correspondence with Dr. Just Wekker. See also: H. G. Steinberg, Ons Suriname: De zending der Evangelische Broedergemeente in Nederlandsch Guyana . (The Hague: N. V. Algemeene Boekhandel voor inwendige en uitwendige Zending, 1933) Appendix: Map 16.] Tank's descriptions of the little village might fit equally well any number of Moravian settlements on the banks of various rivers in Suriname: We climbed a hill through low shrubbery, and there I caught The graves of the deceased missionaries are marked by two Tank went on to describe the typical daily and weekly activities at a Moravian mission. He then tells of his departure after a two week stay at Bambey. On June tenth I left Bambey, accompanied to the water's edge[This paragraph taken from Periodical Accounts, 17, 507.] Tank often contrasts the behavior of the Blacks who had converted to Christianity with that of the Bush Negroes who still practiced their African religion. A good portion of his trip diaries is devoted to describing the customs of the Bush Negro groups he encounters on his travels. The entire place is strewn with obia charms [objects of In the "Mission Reports" Tank tells of the successes of the mission work in Suriname. Our work is progressing extremely well, by the grace of the I immediately visited the plantation Alkmaar to set up When visiting Plantation Wayambo on the upper Commewijne River Tank remarks: It is very touching to see the way in which we were received Tank is particularly pleased when he can accompany Mr. MacMurray, the agent from the British Bible Society, on a trip to the interior to visit Bush Negro settlements in 1847. MacMurray had travelled for eleven years among the Negroes of Tank also reports some criticism of the Moravians: One plantation manager feels compelled to tell us that because The mid-1840s in a Dutch Colony such as Suriname, whose economy depended upon slaves for the labor-intensive plantations of sugar cane, timber, coffee and other tropical products, were unsettling years at best. England had already freed the slaves in her colonies in 1833, followed by France and Denmark in 1848. Pressure was therefore mounting in many areas of the world for the abolition of slavery. Suriname had, however, remained relatively free of anti-slavery agitation. Large groups of slaves had already escaped into the interior of the country beginning in the latter half of the 1600s when they were first brought in. There they formed their own societies; these are the Bush Negroes Tank told about in his travel journals. At first they were feared and later officially recognized by the Dutch colonial government, which had tried in vain on many occasions to assert control over them again. Though many reports tell of extreme hardship and cruelty for the slaves of the Dutch, slaves working on plantations or in the capital city of Paramaribo did not present much of a threat of revolt. Plantation owners had deliberately separated slaves sharing the same African language or culture in order to lessen their chances of plotting unrest. A great number of slaves had taken comfort in the Christian message brought to them by Moravian or Roman Catholic missionaries assuring them that they would be rewarded for their patience and suffering in the world thereafter. In contrast to the official Dutch colonial churches, which made very little effort to reach the slaves, the merely tolerated Moravian and Catholic missionaries treated the slaves as their brothers and sisters and taught them that all men were equal in the eyes of their Christian God. Of great importance for the slaves was the fact that, unlike many of the other Europeans in the colony, the Moravians did not disdain the creole language which had developed among the slaves. Instead, the Moravians learned it themselves and translated scripture, religious teachings and hymns into this language, Sranan Tongo, the "Surinamese Tongue" (often called Taki at that time). They also used it for their church services and sermons. In addition to the primary goal of spreading the Gospel, the second main goal of the Moravian missionaries was to educate the slaves. By elevating Sranan Tongo to a literary language, the Moravians provided the population at large with a simple by eloquent language capable of being used for educational purposes. The Moravians taught the basics of education as well as trades and handicrafts. They established many schools which are still in existence today. Thus, both the creole language and the education system of modern Suriname bear the distinctive stamp of the Moravians. [H. Schuetz, in "Sporen van het 200 Jaar Herrnhuter Zending" De West-Indische Gids (1935-36) 22l, lists other Moravian influences in Suriname, namely, burial practices and the cemeteries, agriculture, architecture, trades, religious hymns, Holy Week and Christmas customs, and prayer societies.] The Moravian influence on religious life is enormous even today in Suriname, a country which is forty-five percent Christian. Almost 48,000 Surinamese belong to the Moravian Church, making Suriname one of the largest provinces of the Moravian Church worldwide. [Moravian Daily Texts 1994 (Bethlehem, Pa.: The Moravian Church in America, 1993) 72.] In the late 1840s, it became increasingly clear to Otto Tank that the treatment of the slaves in Suriname was intolerable. The local Moravians had remained silent on this issue. For if the plantation owners suspected that missionaries did anything to create unrest among the slaves, the missionaries would have been barred from their work on the plantations. Instructions from Church headquarters for Moravian missionaries included the precept that they must not enter into political affairs; they must work within the existing systems. [Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Texte zur Mission\plain , (Hamburg: Wittig Verlag, 1979) 58] This put the Moravians in a very precarious position. No evangelization had been allowed on plantations from 1760 to 1830 because of the mistrust felt by plantation administrators toward the missionaries. It was only in recent years that they had once again gained access to the plantations. It would be a pity to lose this foothold; it would, in effect, leave newly-Christianized slaves without any follow-up in their religious education. Otto Tank was not happy with this situation. After Tank's wife Marianne died in 1844, he asked headquarters in Herrnhut to relieve him of his duties in Suriname and permit him to return to Europe. His request was granted, but shortly before his planned departure the head of the Moravian Church in Suriname, Wilhelm Treu, died. Tank was therefore asked to stay on to fill the gap created by Treu's death and he agreed to this. Tank was finally able to leave Suriname on May 27, 1847, after additional missionaries had arrived. The Church leadership in Herrnhut asked Tank to stop off at other West Indian colonies to observe the treatment of slaves there. In his report to the Church Tank first describes the heart-rending parting of his four-year old daughter Mary from her black nanny. He then tells of his pleasant journey via the city of Georgetown in British Guiana, the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Guadalupe, Martinique, and finally St. Thomas and St. John, the Danish possessions where the first Moravian missionaries had been sent in 1732. Tank visited Moravian settlements in these places and was astounded to see both how prosperous many of the freed Blacks were and what domestic bliss they could enjoy. He describes his amazement at seeing the daughter of a prosperous black family he visited confidently playing the piano, while other family members enjoyed tea and free conversation with their white visitors. He threw up his arms in despair thinking of the total lack of freedom for the black population of Suriname. Reflecting on these stark contrasts, he saw the situation of the slaves in Suriname in an even less favorable light than he had during his stay there. Tank made a stop in New York, where, according to one report, he ordered a shipload of foodstuffs and supplies to be sent to Suriname. Scarcity of food and equipment from Europe had been a continual problem in Suriname. The unexpected arrival of this shipment, which the missionaries there claimed they had not asked for, supposedly marked the beginning of an economic surge for Kersten and Co. Scarce goods which could be sold for profit to support more schools and good works for the population was an unexpected bonus for the missionaries in Paramaribo. Before returning to Europe Tank also visited the Moravian Church North American headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. [Kesler, 71] Niels Otto Tank was determined to express his indignation about the treatment of the slaves in Suriname. He had stood by patiently for too many years noting the sad plight of the slaves. In 1848, he visited the Netherlands. There he attempted a bold strategy: he circulated a letter among absentee plantation owners who were living in the Netherlands. In this letter he spelled out clearly the lack of cooperation the Moravians found among many of the plantation administrators and the outright mistreatment of the slaves. He cited many incidents of obstruction of missionary work, for example, by overseers threatening slaves with punishment should they attend church services. He then made clear proposals as to how these un-Christian conditions could be remedied. [Circular Letter, Unitaets-Archiv, Herrnhut, Germany, R15La Nr. 10, 25, 1848] Although several plantation owners living in the Netherlands responded by making vague promises to improve matters in Suriname, the repercussions of this Circular Letter in the colony itself were an entirely different affair. Absentee owners had little knowledge of or influence on the events which took place on their plantations in Suriname. Many plantation managers and overseers actually working there were furious at Tank's meddling from afar. Their reaction put Tank's fellow missionaries remaining in Suriname in a very embarrassing position. The Moravian missionaries in Suriname claimed to have had nothing to do with Tank's letter. Nor did "The Society for the Advancement of Religious Education among the Slaves", the independent Protestant organization that had chosen to support the Moravians because they had proved to be the most successful missionaries among the slave population of Suriname, come to his aid. Tank defended his position again in a second Circular Letter, insisting that his reports were honest and true. Dissenting parties took the position that even eye-witness reports can be very subjective. Whether Tank's Circular Letters and later defense against the rebuttal to them had any immediate legal result in improving the conditions of the slaves is not known. His actions, however, may have sped up the momentum in the Netherlands towards the abolition of slavery. Tank demonstrated similar self assurance in a letter addressed to the King of the Netherlands, also written in 1848, pointing out the admirable work of the Moravian mission in Suriname. He told the King that the Moravians had in effect taken on most of the burden of educating the black population in Suriname. Therefore he asked for recognition of the Moravians on an equal footing with other religious groups there. This petition resulted in the grant of a yearly subsidy to the Moravian Church from the Dutch Government of two thousand guilders for their work in Suriname. It also gave the Moravians the official recognition they desired. [Tank's Letter to the Minister of the Colonies of the Netherlands, the Governor of Suriname, and the King of the Netherlands can be found in the Unitaets-Archiv, Herrnhut, Germany, R15La Nr. 10, 20-22] Otto Tank's experience in Suriname ended on a somewhat bitter note, but he has been vindicated and today is honored by the people of Suriname as a "pioneering champion for the emancipation of the slaves" on a first day issue of the postal service of Suriname. The title "Defender of Freedom" and Tank's likeness appear on a bronze relief mounted at the corner of the Kersten Department Store in downtown Paramaribo, a place which hundreds of Surinamese pass every day. In addition, a vocational school in Paramaribo is named in Tank's honor. Nor have Moravian Church members around the world forgotten Tank. He merits frequent praise in Church records. Fifteen years after Tank's Circular Letters, on July 1, 1863, slavery was abolished in Suriname. This was one year before Otto Tank died in Wisconsin. Otto Tank's return to Europe from Suriname completed another chapter in his adventuresome life, which took him from Norway to Denmark, Germany, Suriname, the Netherlands and finally Wisconsin. While in Amsterdam, Tank visited Caroline van der Meulen, daughter of a prominent Dutch Reformed churchman. Tank's deceased wife Marianne and Caroline van der Meulen had been together in Zeist, the Netherlands, at the Moravian Girls' Boarding School there. As recounted in an article written in 1901 about Caroline and Otto Tank, Tank's daughter Mary had come across a portrait of Caroline when looking through her late mother's possessions. She remarked to her father, "Why can't I have that sweet lady for my mother?" Whether her artless remark first induced him to turn his attention in that direction with matrimonial designs, we are not able to state, but Mary's wish was finally gratified and the sweet lady became her mother. [Mrs. R. J. Davidson, "A Brief Sketch of the Life of Mr. and Mrs. Tank", Green Bay Gazette , Nov. 28, 1901] Caroline Louise Albertina van der Meulen, who was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, March 29, 1803, had faithfully kept house for her widowed father, Reverend Reinhard Jan van der Meulen, a renowned Amsterdam clergyman. He had lived well into his nineties, and in 1848, when Tank met Caroline again, she was free to determine the course of her own life. When Otto proposed marriage, she accepted. On August 22, 1849, Otto Tank married Caroline van der Meulen at the Moravian Church in Zeist. [Kerkboek of the Moravian Church at Zeist, the Netherlands from 1849, p. 26, found in the EBG Zeist Archief, PA II 10-1 at the Rijksarchief at Utrecht, the Netherlands. Tank is listed as being from New York. Caroline is listed as an "unmarried friend of the Moravian Church".] Again a call was issued from the Moravian Church. A relative of Otto Tank's first wife living in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, told of the need for helpers in the mission field in North America and urged the Tanks to come. Once again Niels Otto Tank seemed to fit the bill and offered to go. Caroline had agreed to go with Otto "anywhere, but not Suriname". [Davidson, Mrs. D. J., "A Brief Sketch of the Life of Mr. and Mrs. Tank," Green Bay Gazette, Nov. 28, 1901] Armed with Caroline Tank's wealth, which according to their marriage contract Otto Tank would manage, a grant of $169,436 from Caroline to Otto, and Otto's seemingly boundless energy, the couple set off for America, accompanied by daughter Mary. The year was 1849. [Clark, The Tank Cottage] The Tanks travelled to Wisconsin where a group of Scandinavians wished to form a settlement and needed leadership and monetary help. In Milwaukee they met up with Rev. J. F. Fett, who was charged by the Bethlehem Home Mission Board with the task of visiting this area. Together they reached the Green Bay area in June of 1850. Rev. Andrew Iverson, a Norwegian recently ordained in the Moravian Church, had been appointed to minister to the Norwegians and Danes in Wisconsin. Tank agreed to join forces with this group and the settlement of Ephraim was established. Tank purchased a tract of land on the western side of the Fox River at Fort Howard, present-day Green Bay. Tank wanted a communal settlement based on the old Moravian model of Herrnhut, but the Moravian Church no longer wished to set up these communities. Many of the settlers had left Norway for the purpose of owning their own land, so they too objected to Tank's plan. It soon became clear that Iverson and Tank could not work together. With Rev. Iverson at their helm, the small band of settlers pulled up stakes in the Green Bay area and established their own settlement, which they also called Ephraim, in Door County, some sixty miles north of Green Bay. This was a bitter blow for Tank. He watched sadly as "one day in May, 1853, a vessel tied up at the dock in front of the Tank cottage. [Holund, Proceedings, 152; H. E. Stocker, A Home Mission History of the Moravian Church in the United States and Canada (Special Publication Committee of the Moravian Church, 1924) contains a complete account of this era of missionary work in Wisconsin. A two-page handout, A History of Faith Chapel (The former West Side Moravian Church), Green Bay, Wisconsin, also contains useful information.] The Tanks stayed on in Fort Howard, where Otto became involved in civic affairs and various business enterprises, such as the Fox- Wisconsin Waterway Improvement Project. Tank and other businessmen invested large sums of money which they expected to receive back at a later date from the state of Wisconsin. However, their claims were never recognized, and the project fell apart with the advent of the railroad. In 1858 Tank offered to help fund the establishment of a Moravian College in Wisconsin and applied for a charter from the Wisconsin State Legislature. The Provincial Elders' Conference of the Moravian Church, however, rejected this proposal on the grounds that they could not maintain a college in Wisconsin in addition to their Theological Seminary at Bethlehem. [Stocker, 206.] Unfortunately, little seems to have been written about Tank during the last decade of his life. Articles in the Wisconsin press entitled "Patrician Pioneer" and "Wisconsin's Most Romantic Pioneer" mention his reserved, dignified bearing and almost create a legend around him. It would be surprising if Tank had not promoted abolitionist ideas in the USA, given his firm stance against slavery in Suriname. Regrettably, in compliance with his wife's will, his manuscript papers, letters and sermons found among her possessions were destroyed after her death in 1891. [Resume of the will of Caroline Tank from Tank Cottage, Document 101] Niels Otto Tank died on May 4, 1864 at his home in Fort Howard, Wisconsin. It is said that he never fully recovered from a case of chicken pox. He was buried at Niesky Hill Moravian Cemetery in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where his daughter Mary and second wife Caroline would also one day rest. Caroline Tank managed to avoid having a long obituary on Otto Tank appear in the local papers, apparently to curtail any further unpleasant publicity such as that resulting from the problems with the Moravian settlement of Ephraim or business investments. Caroline Tank remained in Fort Howard until her death in 1891. In 1868 she purchased a home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at 323 Center Street (Deed registered at the Northhampton County Court House, Easton, Pennsylvania); however, there is no evidence that she ever lived in it. In 1867, she donated 5,000 books, many of them rare editions, to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, which in turn transferred them to the Wisconsin Memorial Library at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. [Proceedings of the 38th Annual Meeting of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Held January 15, 1891 (Madison, 1891) gives an overview of the 4,812 books and 374 pamphlets donated by Caroline Tank.] She continued to be a generous and staunch supporter of the missions. In memory of her step-daughter Mary, who died in 1872, Caroline donated $10,000 to build a Home for Children of Foreign Missionaries in Oberlin, Ohio. She donated park land to the city of Green Bay. A few days after her eighty-eighth birthday, on April 1, 1891, Caroline Tank died at her home in Fort Howard. She is buried beside Otto and Mary at Niesky Hill in Bethlehem. The Tank Cottage at Heritage Hill Park in Green Bay has recently been restored, and women dressed in gowns of the 1870's play the roles of Caroline and a visiting neighbor for tourists. This assures that the memory of the impressive Norwegian missionary and his family will not be forgotten. The author wishes to thank the following for their help: Ingeborg Baldauf, Herrnhut, Germany; Rev. Hartmut Beck, Karlsruhe, Germany; Jackie Bauder, Bethlehem, Pa.; Dr. Ingrid Guentherodt, Trier, Germany; Ann Stiller, Green Bay, Wisconsin; Laurel Townes, Heritage Hill Park, Green Bay, Wi.; Dr. Just Wekker, Paramaribo, Suriname. The author wishes to thank the following for their help: Ingeborg Baldauf, Herrnhut, Germany; Rev. Hartmut Beck, Karlsruhe, Germany; Jackie Bauder, Bethlehem, Pa.; Dr. Ingrid Guentherodt, Trier, Germany; Ann Stiller, Green Bay, Wisconsin; Laurel Townes, Heritage Hill Park, Green Bay, Wi.; Dr. Just Wekker, Paramaribo, Suriname. From: TRANSACTIONS OF THE MORAVIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1996 Vol. 29, 85-102. -OOO- Sept. 14, 2003; revisited 11/21/2009 |