Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was born on September 6th, 1711 in Einbeck, Hanover, Germany. His parents were Nicolas Melchior and Ann Maria; his father was a member of the City Council of Einbeck and he also held a seat in the judiciary. Henry’s mother was the daughter of an officer and was considered a woman that was tireless, of rare good sense and a devoted Christian. His parents’ instructions and counsel, were accompanied with fervent and sincere prayers that reinforced their admonitions, which left an impression on young Henry that never faded.

Following his fathers’ death Henry worked to help support his mother from 12 to 21 years of age. Many of his studies were carried out with the assistance of the pastors of Einbeck and finally in the spring of 1735, at the age of 24, he was accepted to the University of Göttingen. These years found Henry a bright and attentive student, though confined by time with his necessary work to put food on the table; among his talents was that of playing the Organ.

It was while at the University that Mr. Muhlenberg found that he indeed was not living a life suitable for a Christian. He wrote that “as I learned to recognize sin as sin, there followed sorrow, repentance, and hatred of it-shame and humiliation on account of it-hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

At the University of Göttingen, he was involved in the founding of a school for the poor; in 1737 he graduated from the University, and he went to Halle to continue his Biblical studies. In Halle, he labored in pastoral duties and was a candidate for the mission field to India, but in 1742 Henry was sent to America to raise funds for expansion of the Lutheran Church, help to start new Lutheran congregations and revitalize older ones.

Though Reverend Muhlenberg’s ministry was based in the Philadelphia area, his area of influence was nearly as large as the American colonies themselves. On December 12th, 1742 Henry Melchior Muhlenberg assumed the pastorate of the Old Trappe Church (about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, PA), in with fifty families in his care.

Atler Anfang ist schwer (Every beginning is difficult) was befitting of the Lutheran movement in Pennsylvania as a whole but for Henry Muhlenberg’s ministry it was far from true. So excited and moved were the congregation, by Muhlenberg’s’ leadership, that by the fourth Sunday they had determined to build a church and a school-house. He designed, and the congregation built the Augustus Lutheran Church in Trappe, PA. The cornerstone being laid on May 2, 1743 and the first service held September 12th, of that same year. It was consecrated on October 6, 1745; the church stands to this day, and is the oldest unchanged Lutheran Church building in continuous use, in the United States.

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and Anna Maria Weiser were married on April 22nd, 1745; furthermore, with the help of his father-in-law their two-story-house was built on a thirty-three acre parcel which adjoined the church. Anna Maria Weiser was the daughter of Conrad and Anna Eve Weiser; Conrad was an interpreter and emissary between the colonies and Native Americans, most especially, in Pennsylvania, with the Iroquois tribe. He also was a lay-minister and in 1751 along with Henry Muhlenberg founded Trinity Lutheran Church in Reading, PA.

Henry and Anna Maria Muhlenberg had eleven children, four of which died in infancy, several of were quite prominent in their own right. Their son Frederick served as the first Speaker of the House in the U. S. Congress Peter Muhlenberg was a minister and a congressional representative for Pennsylvania. Henry Jr. was pastor of the Zion Lutheran Church at Oldwick, New Jersey. Henry Ernst was a scientist, and was the first president of Franklin College, now known as Franklin & Marshall College. Daughter Elisabeth married General Francis Swaine, and Sarah married Congressman Mathias Richards.

The Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, a true man of God, considered to be the Patriarch of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church; a father whose influence molded young sons into heroes of the Revolutionary War, politicians of integrity and men of God in turn; truly, a Trailblazer for the Church in these several United States.