People Enslaved By The Muhlenberg's

Rev. Judith Meier of the Historical Society of Trappe, Pennsylvania states, “He [Henry Muhlenberg] had trouble with the fact that one of his sons, the restless Peter, was able to lay aside his preaching gown in favor of the uniform and sword of a rebel officer. How must he felt when he first learned that Peter, long-time resident of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, had Negro slaves?”.  The Muhlenberg family owned slaves throughout the 18th century.  It is primarily shown through Henry Muhlenberg's journal, where he describes in some cases, the slaves that he owns.  Although other sources interfere with the description of slaves in Henry Muhlenberg's journal.  Such as Henry Muhlenberg's written will to Peter Muhlenberg, where he recounts a great amount of possessions he owns and each of their values, also mentioning owned slaves.  Although it may be hard to pinpoint how many slaves Henry Muhlenberg owned at any given time, what we do know is that the Muhlenberg family owned slaves throughout the 18th century and into the early 19th century.