Zubly, John Joachim, 1724-1781

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Reverend John Joachim Zubly (August 27, 1724 – July 23, 1781), born Hans Joachim Züblin, was a Swiss-born American pastor, planter, and statesman during the American Revolution. Although a delegate for Georgia to the Continental Congress in 1775, he resisted independence from Great Britain and became a Loyalist.

Born in St. Gall, Switzerland, Zubly was ordained to the German [Reformed] Church ministry in London on 19 August 1744. Following that, he came to South Carolina, where his father David Zublin had settled near the Savannah River in 1735. He preached first at small congregations south of Savannah. He then spent 10 years as minister at the Wappetaw Church near Charleston, SC, an interesting congregation composed largely of descendants of a shipwreck that carried Congregationalists from New England. In 1756 he visited and preached to a congregation in Savannah, Georgia. They were so impressed with him that he was later invited to their newly created pulpit. So in 1760 he moved to Savannah and became the first pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church there.

Reverend Zubly's relationship to the Revolution reflects the confusion and conflict inherent in the shift of ideas during his time. Zubly's Calvinist religious beliefs made him an outspoken and influential supporter of the colonists' rights. By 1775, Zubly had come to view what he saw as the increasingly secular and godless resistance of the colonies with alarm. Many view his career as moving from a staunch defender of colonial rights, to an apologist for the monarchy, to a loyalist and opponent of republican government. However, it was his religious beliefs that remained constant, while the political environment shifted around him.

After the Stamp Act in 1765, some of his sermons began to be issued as pamphlets. His reasoning helped to clarify the differences and relationships between constitutions, legislatures, laws, and people. In the period leading up to the Revolution, he was not a member of the Georgia Assembly. But, he was frequently called on to open their sessions with prayer and a sermon. Georgia was not represented in the First Continental Congress of 1774, but in July 1775, they held a revolutionary congress in Savannah and Zubly was named as one of their delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. John Zubly took his seat as a delegate in Philadelphia on September 15, 1775. Resisting independence, he became outspoken with his desire for reconciliation with Britain. By mid-November Zubly was on his way back to Savannah. The Congress had accused him of disloyalty since he was still carrying on a correspondence with his friend, James Wright, the Royal Governor of Georgia.

As the revolutionary fervor rose in Georgia, the Council of Safety decided that Zubly's "going at large will... endanger the public safety"; Governor Archibald Bulloch subsequently ordereded his arrest but Zubly was able to escape and find refuge with his family in South Carolina. When the British recaptured Savannah in 1778, Zubly was able to return home. Beginning in August 1780, the Savannah newspaper The Royal Georgia Gazette published a series of nine essays written by Zubly, who used the pseudonym of Helvetius. In these essays, Zubly laid out his case for opposing the American Revolution. Zubly made the case that the revolutionists were violating both God's law and international law. He died in Savannah on July 23, 1781 before the end of the American Revolution. Though it is rumored that he is buried at Savannah's Colonial Cemetery, his grave has never been found.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Crow, Dorothy, 1920-1981. The true history of the American revolution, 1948-1949. University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
creatorOf Zubly, John Joachim, 1724-1781. Papers, 1773-1777. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Houghton Library printed book provenance file, E-K. Houghton Library
creatorOf Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 1812-1883. [Georgia broadside collection 1773-1867]. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Historic Augusta, Incorporated Revolutionary and Early Republic Era Manuscripts, 1770-1827, n.d. Georgia Historical Society
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 1 -- Letters to Franklin, 1730-1776 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Zubly, John Joachim, 1724-1781. John Joachim Zubly manuscripts and letters, 1770-1781, 1853. Georgia Historical Society
referencedIn Thomas Addis Emmet collection, 1483-1876 (bulk:1700-1800) New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bulloch, Archibald, d. 1777. person
associatedWith Crow, Dorothy, 1920-1981. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Emmet, Thomas Addis person
associatedWith Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 person
associatedWith Gwinnett, Button, ca. 1735-1777. person
associatedWith Harden, Edward, 1784-1849. person
associatedWith Houghton Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Houstoun, John, 1744-1796. person
associatedWith Independent Church of Savannah (Ga.) corporateBody
associatedWith Jones, Noble Wimberly, 1723-1805. person
associatedWith Tefft, I. K. (Israel Keech), 1794-1862. person
memberOf United States. Continental Congress corporateBody
associatedWith Wright, James, Sir, 1716-1785. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Savannah GA US
London ENG GB
Sankt Gallen SG CH
Charleston County SC US
Subject
Occupation
Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
Ministers
Planter
Activity

Person

Birth 1724-08-27

Death 1781-07-23

Male

Swiss,

Britons,

Americans

English

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