Henry Antes was born on July 17, 1701 in Freinsheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, and was the son of Philip Frederick and Anna Catherine Antes; his ancestor, Baron von Blume, from Mainz, had hellenized his German name to the Greek equivalent Antes in order to escape persecution during the Thirty Years' War.
Antes emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1720 and then settled in Frederick, in the present Montgomery County, became a partner with his father-in-law in a paper and flour mill, and acquired property.
At first he was a member of the Reformed Church at Falkner Swamp, and a friend of its minister Boehm. He was soon a leader and a lay preacher, unusually broad-minded, being "singularly free from prejudice and bigotry. " In Philadelphia and the back country there were Germans of various denominations, Mennonites, Dunkers, Lutherans--with whom he wished to fraternize--and members of his own Reformed Church, and to these were added new arrivals, Moravians or United Brethren.
Antes and several others formed a group called the "Associated Brethren of Skippack, " which met in conferences until 1740. His house was a rendezvous for German immigrants, and with the new-comer Spangenberg (later Moravian bishop) he discussed religious unity.
His projected union was wider than the "Brethren of Skippack. " He welcomed as an ally the great Moravian leader Zinzendorf, who had recently landed, and on December 15, 1741, he issued a call for a meeting of Christians to be held at Germantown, January 1, 1742. At this meeting Antes presided, and in the subsequent conferences he took an active part. The union, a sort of federation, "Congregation of God in the Spirit" "so grand in its conception, so exalted in its purposes, " nevertheless failed of fulfilment.
Antes had left the Reformed Church in 1740, and not long afterward he joined the Moravians. In 1741 acting as their agent he bought for £400 a tract of 500 acres along the Lehigh River, which became the nucleus of the town of Bethlehem. He removed thither in 1745, and his house and farm in Frederick were used as a school for boys.
He served as business manager for the Moravians--to which office he was regularly appointed in 1748--built a noted mill and other works, was appointed justice of the peace by the governor, and investigated the grievances of the Indians. When the Moravians were attacked he defended them, and acted as the trustee of their property in Philadelphia.
Two further instances may be given: he received a license to run a ferry on the Lehigh River, and when the Moravians launched a vessel of their own, it was registered in Antes's name.
In 1750 Antes left Bethlehem and the Moravians, and returned to Frederick. He objected to certain innovations, especially to the rule that the minister should wear a white surplice at the Eucharist. It has been stated that he withdrew from membership in the Moravian Church.
However this may be, he continued his activity in Moravian affairs at Bethlehem and elsewhere. In 1752-1753, with others, he made a trying journey to North Carolina, exploring in the interests of the church; 100, 000 acres were purchased near the Yadkin River, which became the Moravian colony of Wachovia.
Antes was made justice of the peace in Philadelphia County in 1752. He defended the loyalty of the Pennsylvania Germans in a letter written to the provincial secretary, and died soon after at Frederick, leaving a legacy to the Moravians.
Antes is considered one of the most important religious andpolitical leaders of the time, specifically because he preached tolerance and understanding. His place in history depends upon his religious leadership, and especially on his association with the United Brethren, and his strivings for union. His services were of "immense value, " and his position was shown by his friendship with such religious leaders as Zinzendorf, Spangenberg, Muhlenberg, and Whitefield.
He is described as a man of powerful frame, strong, with the versatility of a pioneer: mechanic, farmer, hunter, guide, a trusted counsellor skilled in the drawing of legal documents.
In 1726 he married Christina Elizabeth, daughter of William De Wees, by whom he had eleven children.
His daughter, Ann Margaret, married the Moravian Bishop, Benjamin Latrobe, and became the mother of the architect Latrobe who designed the central part of the Capitol.
