Helfenstein, John Conrad Albert

Helfenstein, John Conrad Albert one of the fathers of the German Reformed Church in the United States, was born at Moszbach, Palatinate, Feb. 16, 1748. He studied theology at the University of Heidelberg, and was sent by the Synod of Holland, in company with Rev. J. H. Helfferich and Rev. J. G. Gebhard, as missionaries to America. He arrived in New York Jan. 14, 1772, and soon after took charge of the congregation at Germantown, Pa. Towards the close of 1775 he accepted a call from Lancaster, but in 1779 returned to his Germantown congregation, and labored there until his death, May 17, 1790. He was an eloquent and successful preacher, and his ministry, both at Lancaster and Germantown, proved a great blessing. Several small volumes of his sermons have been published. — Harbaugh, Fathers of the Reformed Church, 2, 222 sq.